Grandma Crabtree's Ole Bollens

1 pket of yeast
1 c lukewarm milk
2 1/4 c flour
2 t salt
1 egg
1 qt vegetable oil
conectioners sugar or
regular sugar and cinnamon mixed

Pour yeast into cup of lukewarm milk, stirring, let it sit for 5 min till soft.
Sift flour and salt into large bowl.
Stir in yeast mixture and egg into flour mixture till smooth.
Stir in currents
Cover bowl of dough, set it in a warm place and let rise untill double, about 1 hour

Heat oil in deep fat fryer to 375 degrees-this is critical-if the oil is to low the ole bollens will be tough and greasy.
Form dough into balls with spoons and drop into oil.
Cook for about 8 minutes
Roll in sugar and cinnamon or dust with confectioners sugar

My grandma only made these once a year, at Halloween. They are terrific! As fun as it was going into Lynden and trick or treating, it was going to grandmas that we waited for. There is nothing like walking into a house that smells like doughnuts and sugar. Did it matter if some where tough? Nope. While we were there different family groups would stop by-it was so much fun. I really miss my grandma and love doing it for my own kids. Now that I'm grown and am conscious about I eat, I've decided an occasional deep fried food item occassionaly will do much much harm. -at least when it comes to ole bollens! As a side note, I brought them to a Hanukkah party and it turns out my Jewish friends have a similar doughnut in their tradition.

My Favorite Recipe

Louisiana Seafood Gumbo
-Olive oil, for sautéing
-Medium-sized onions, coarsely chopped
-Clove garlic, finely chopped
-Green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
-Baked okra, sliced
-Chopped tomatoes
-Stock, recipe follows
-Shrimp heads reserved for stock
-Sliced hotlinks
-Cleaned crab and chopped into chunks
-Lemon slices
-Chopped green onions
-Served with rice

Directions:
-Coat a large saucepan with oil and cook the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, bell peppers, and okra. Add the roux and mix thoroughly to pick up all the excess oil in the pot.

-Next add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. When mixed, strain the stock and add it to the pot, mixing thoroughly to prevent lumps. Cover with lid, bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes. Clean the shrimp and sauté in a separate pan to get rid of any excess moisture. When they have turned pink add the shrimp and crab to the gumbo. Cook for 10 minutes. Lastly, add lemon slices and chopped green onions

Food Network, "Louisiana Seafood Gumbo". 05/30/10 .

Here is my family's Alfredo recipe:

Fettuccine with Alfredo Sauce – 4 servings


This is an enhanced Alfredo Sauce using three cheeses.

We have also added garlic and mushrooms to a basic

Alfredo Sauce. Parmesan, the third cheese, is tossed with

the noodles and also passed around the table.

4 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped

A handful of sliced mushrooms

1 and 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash of white pepper

1 and l/2 cups half-and-half (light cream)

2/3 cup shredded semi-soft cheese like

Provalone or Mozzarella

1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola (we use Feta)

8 ounces medium-wide noodles

¾ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Begin by bringing water to boil in a large saucepan.

(Cook noodles as package directs.)
In a small fry pan, over medium low heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter

and sauté the garlic and mushrooms until lightly browned (2-3 minutes).

Remove from heat. Set aside.

In a 2-quart pan over medium-low heat, melt 1 and ½ tablespoons of the butter. Mix in flour, nutmeg, and pepper; cook. Stirring until bubbly. Slowly stir in half-and-half; cook, stirring constantly until sauce

gently boils and thickens. Mix in semi-soft and Gorgonzola cheeses until blended. Add garlic and mushrooms. Turn heat to lowest temperature to keep warm.
Toss cooked noodles with 1 and ½ tablespoons butter and ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese. Use the remaining cheese on the sauce.

Favorite Recipe

Here is a link to my favorite meat pizza recipe. I'm a big pizza fan and tried this one a few months ago and loved it :)

http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/super-bowl-recipes/hearty-meat-pizza.htm

8th Post

Breaded Eggplant w/ Lamb Gravy
-Family Recipe, not written down, dictated to me.

After roasting a leg of lamb, take the drippings and combine with water and flour roux and create some lamb gravy. Pour into small pot & set aside

Peel a large eggplant
Cut into slices 1/2 inch thick
Spinkle with salt
Cover the slices with a wet paper towel
(this removes the bitterness of the eggplant)

Prepare a bowl of flower and small bowl of whipped eggs
and a plate of bread crumbs

Let the eggplant stand for an hour
Take a frying pan, pour a 1/2 inch of olive oil and bring to high heat
(sizzling)

Now take the eggplant slices
Dip in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs
Then fry on both sides
Fry untill golden brown

Create several and serve with lamb gravy

Enjoy

The most readily apparent element of each of these websites it the biases that the creators hold in terms of each. With both the Mon Santo site and “saynotogmos.org”, their motivations are quite clear, as the author, their purpose for providing this information, and their biases are clear within the realm of the work. Because of this, when it comes to instilling any particular fears about eating genetically modified foods, the assertions of either site simply cannot be taken at face value. Still, there some notion about fearing something upon which so much debate rests. That said, the fact that there is so much debate does create the precedent for a great degree of openness regarding the issue, whether it is simply labeling the products using genetically modified ingredients. Even though the industry might claim that this might lead to a consumer backlash, discussion is still the best method to promote greater safety and responsibility. With the internet, even though there still may be some form of contact, as was apparent on the sites, there remains a disconnect between the viewer and information supplier, separated by technology and geography. There is little accountability this way, the individual can make variable assertions and suffer few repercussions for their actions. Because of this, even though a website may be accessible to the user, the fact remains that this form of media allows a certain degree of anonymity and thus potential irresponsibility on the part of the author.


Here are two opposing viewpoints regarding the issue:

“Attack of the Really Quite Likable Tomatoes” Economist 27 Feb. 2010: 16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 May 2010.

Clark, John. “Why Should We Believe in GM?” Farmers Weekly 24 Oct. 2008: 56. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 May 24, 2010.

7th Blog Assignment

I feel the site with the least reliable information is of course saynotogmos.com. Like the others have stated below me, they used no sources in siting their information and seemed very biased in opinion. Next on the list I would rate monsanto.com as the middle reliable site. It provided very little actual facts and information, rather more info on trying to "sell" me into believing what they believe in. I feel the most reliable site for actual information and facts is the nature.com site. The nature.com site did the best job siting sources of where the information came from and was most professional to read, though a bit boring.

After reading through all of these I am still unsure about genetically modified foods and how I feel about them. Going into this, it just seems so impossible to do anything about. It's such a large issue that seems near impossible to solve. People are not going to start paying much more for foods just because they are not genetically modified. People want low prices... it's that simple. And until organic foods can get their prices down to similar levels that these genetically modified foods, I don't see the majority of people switching over anytime soon.

However, regardless of price/demand and the whole social issue of selling genetically modified foods, I really don't see any reason why all foods shouldn't be labeled that they are genetically modified. Like the person said below me, we should all know what we are eating and how it is made. We have the right to know. That way it is up to the CONSUMER to decide whether they are okay with eating genetically modified foods or not. To me, that makes the most logical sense.

Azadi, Hossein; Ho, Peter. "Genetically modified and organic crops in developing countries: A review of options for food security" Biotechnology Advances Vol 28, Issue 1. Jan 2010.