Local Ladies are Enjoying Sewing

Vickie Dumford, Cathy Bevin and Vicki Watson proudly displaying their totes made in the Cherokee County Sewing and So-On Class!

Grape Creek Extension and Community Association Sew Up Some Love

Who doesn’t love a Teddy Bear? The members of the Grape Creek Extension and Community Association demonstrated this in a big way with their Victory Junction Bears. The Victory Junction Gang Camp is a camp for terminally ill, and chronically ill children located in Randleman, NC. The camp was created in the memory of Adam Petty, teenage son of Kyle Petty. Adam was killed in a racing practice accident in 2000. The Victory Junction Gang Camp is open year –round for campers. When the campers arrive at VJGC, they receive a hand made Teddy Bear. The bears must be made using black and white checkered fabric. Cherokee County Victory Junction Bears are certainly well represented since the Grape Creek members assembled over eighty bears for the campers.
The teddy bear committee worked tirelessly cutting, sewing, and stuffing the Victory Junction Teddy Bears. The rest of the club was very supportive and assisted in the efforts to complete the bears and deliver them to the camp located in Randleman, NC. Since part of the Grape Creek ECA mission is volunteer work, what better way to show the great spirit of Grape Creek volunteerism than the labor of love involved with the Victory Junction teddy bear project.

Photo 1 – Teddy Bear Committee
Left to right:
Robin Johnson, Ann Mingus, Sue Rhodes, Jan Rose, Madelyn Rose, Joyce Pastore, Carolyn Willer

Photo 2 – Grape Creek Members
Left to right:
Front row: Glenda Sneed, Neva Jean Whitener, Madelyn Rose, Francis Fisher, Glenda Sanders, Vera Bond, Clydie Rogers
Back row: Ethel Fisher, Joyce Pastore, Jan Rose, Carolyn Willer, Jane Kidd, Della Johnson, Jenny Keith, Ann Mingus, Helen Dockery, Shirley Whitener, Sue Rhodes, Robin Johnson.

Photo 3 – Sue Rhodes
Photo 4 – Robin Johnson

Preparing for 4-H District Activity Day

There’s nothing that quite compares to a project completed. At the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year two students met with me each day after school to learn basic sewing skills. Leah Wood, fifteen and Alyssa Marescalco, thirteen consequently applied these skills to a presentation to be used at the North Carolina 4-H District Activity Day that was held on June 23rd in Cullowhee. Leah decided to focus her presentation on “The Shock Factor of Fashion.” Alyssa took a different approach by researching the history of brocade and damask fabrics both woven on the Jacquard loom. Leah and Alyssa both learned many sewing techniques including how to operate a different type of sewing machine, the serger. Leah fashioned her dress of emerald green satin after one that was worn in the movie musical “Burlesque.” Alyssa decided to construct a garment that would have been typically made from brocade. Her Shakespearean period costume featured a soft white under dress layered with a brocade over dress. The dark teal over dress was trimmed with silver. The bodice and the sleeves of Alyssa’s dress both featured silver lace ups. The girls have been working on their presentations since they completed the actual costumes that will be worn to illustrate their individual topics. Hopefully the girls will take the skills that they learned this year and apply them to a project for the 2012 District Activity Day.

Pictured: Alyssa Marescalco

Teresa's Purple Peppers

Purple. Purple, and more Purple! My purple plot has started producing. I have harvested purple eggplant, purple peppers, purple Brussel sprouts, and even purple green beans! The purple green beans are so tender and without any strings. It is so fascinating to watch them cook-they go from deep purple to green! The best part is that you know that you are getting antioxidants from the purple phytochemicals. Keep watching the blog as more purple is harvested!

Vickie Dumford and Her Sewing Skills

Vickie Dumford is the master of recycling using her sewing skills. She recently purchased curtains that simply did not give her the desired effect that she was after. In true Scarlet O’Hara style, Vickie took those curtains and made a lovely mandarin styled dress. She learned the new skills of applying a zipper and a mandarin style collar. Vickie is a great student who is eager to learn more sewing skills in the “Sewing and So-On” program that is scheduled to begin July 11th at the Agriculture Learning Center in Murphy, NC.

More Good News About Fruits and Vegetables

More good news on eating more fresh fruits and vegetables- they help with cholesterol levels! Most contain lots of fiber, which lowers cholesterol. Why then do so many of us have problems getting enough fruits and vegetables? One problem is that too many of us have become accustomed to convenience. We prefer the foods that require minimal prepping and consequently are often highly processed. Many balk at having to wash, peel, slice, and serve. Stated as such it seems pretty. Choose a time to prep your fruits and vegetables when you are not pressed for time. Then store the good food in proper storage containers and use within a few days. I also think that many of us are bored with the same fruits and vegetables that we have been eating for years. Look for new recipes to give the produce a new taste. Also, since we are becoming a more global world look for fruits and vegetables that you have never tried before. Have you ever tasted jicama, artichokes, arugula, daikon, rutabaga, fennel, butternut squash, or parsnips? Fruits that you may not have tried include mango, papaya, guava, kiwi, pummelo, quince, lychee fruits, passion fruit, pomegranate, kumquats, and ugli fruit. I was curious about the ugli fruit and found that “UGLI® is the registered trade mark under which Cabel Hall Citrus Ltd. markets its brand of tangelos from Jamaica. You should make it a goal to try at least one new type of produce every week. This could be fun and help prevent boredom with our fruit and vegetables. The following recipe is from the George Mateljan Foundation.
Calabacitas (Mexican-flavored vegetable side dish)
Total Time: 20 minutes Serves 4
Ingredients:
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 4 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups zucchini, 1/2 -inch cubes
• 2 cups yellow squash, 1-inch cubes
• 15 oz diced tomatoes, drained
• 4 oz diced green chili
• 1 TBS + 3 TBS chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 TBS fresh chopped fresh oregano (or 1 TBS dried oregano)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• *Optional: drizzle with olive oil before serving
Directions:
1. Slice onion and chop garlic and let sit for 10 minutes to bring out their health-promoting benefits.
2. Heat 1 TBS broth in 11-12 skillet. Sauté onions in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.
3. Add zucchini, yellow squash, remaining broth, green chili, and cook for another 3 minutes or so until vegetables are tender, stirring often. Add tomatoes and continue to cook for another couple of minutes.
4. Add herbs, salt, and pepper.

Preserving the Bounty

It feels as though summer has been here for a couple of months instead of being a couple of weeks away. Most of us agreed not to complain about hot weather if we could ever see the end of our long cold winter. Our memories get very short when we must make good on such promises. Well it is hot and that can be a good thing if you have a garden planted. It is that bright warm sunshine that makes the tomatoes sweet and the other garden vegetables have the wonderful summer flavors. Now is the time to start planning how you will use the bounty that can be harvested from even a small garden plot. Remember that most of the summer vegetables are low acid and need to be preserved using a pressure canner if you are planning to can the vegetables. There is also the option of freezing and dehydrating in addition to canning. Simple dehydrators can be constructed to dry apples, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables. I have talked to some people who prefer to dehydrate their green beans. These are called leather britches. Fruit can also be pureed and dried to make fruit leathers. Dehydrated foods are perfect for people who enjoy camping and hiking. High acid foods, which include most fruits, can be preserved using the hot water bath. Of course making jams and jellies is another option for preserving fruits. If you are concerned with the large amount of sugar that is used with the jams and jellies, look for a recipe that uses less sugar or low sugar pectin recipes. The tomato varieties that we have today have less acid than some of the heirloom varieties. These tomatoes can still be preserved using the hot water bath but lemon juice needs to be added to the tomatoes to make them more acidic. If you plan to make a batch of tomato vegetable soup using a variety of vegetables, plan to preserve that soup either by freezing or using the pressure canner. The low acid vegetables need to be pressure canned. Botulism is the concern of low acid foods. When water boils in a hot water bath it never gets hotter than 212 degrees, the boiling point of water. The botulism spore can only be killed at temperatures that are around 240 degrees. The only way to get to this temperature is using the pressure canner. Another option for any extra produce that you may have is to donate excess food to the local food banks in the county. There are many people in the county that are not able to plant a garden and can certainly use the extra food!

Teresa Wiley
FCS Agent