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Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Creamy Spinach and Pumpkin Lasagna

As pig farmers, most people assume that we eat something pork every. single. day. While that is almost true, I try to think out of the box and make something up that is a little different every now and then.  While trying to find a lasagna recipe, I stumbled upon Pinch of Yum's Creamy Tomato Lasagna Florentine and stealthy added it to our menu for the week.  This recipe contained all sorts of Mike disapproved foods, mainly spinach and cottage cheese.  Needless to say, after finishing a plate, he went back for seconds and thirds.  I figured the recipe was a keeper.  Then I started to experiment and came up with and even more delicious variation- adding pumpkin to the cheese sauce.  It was an accident really, I just needed to use up a partial can of pumpkin in a place that Mike wouldn't expect (of course pumpkin is on the no-eat list), and voila, Creamy Spinach and Pumpkin Lasagna was born.



Creamy Spinach and Pumpkin Lasagna

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups fresh spinach (or most of one bag- the more the merrier!)
2 cups cottage cheese

1/2-3/4 cup pureed pumpkin (or whatever you have on hand)
2 eggs

¼ cup ground flaxseed meal
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
4+ cups tomato sauce (I use tomato basil usually, or homemade)
12 lasagna noodles
2½ cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (or fresh mozzarella cut into thin slices)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Get a large fry or saute pan and heat olive oil.  Add minced garlic to warm oil and cook until just aromatic before adding the spinach.  Let the spinach wilt to 1/2 or 1/3 of original volume. Set aside.

3. (Optional, but it really makes a wonderful cheese sauce if you do it this way) Spoon cottage cheese into a blender or food processor and puree until it has a smooth consistency.

4. In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, pumpkin, eggs, flax seed meal, oregano, salt, parmesan cheese, and spinach mixture.

5. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and put a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom, spread in a nice thin layer.  Then place down 3 noodles, topped with 1 cup of tomato sauce, topped with approximately 1/3 of the cheese mixture, then topped again with 1/2 a cup mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers 2 more times. Place the final 3 noodles, followed by the last cup of sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.  

6. Pop in the oven for 40 minutes.  Remove and let set 10-15 minutes before serving (this will save the roof of your mouth, too).

Thursday, January 5, 2017

What I know about GMOs

(Unloading corn at the Grain Elevator this Fall)

GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are something I have not talked about too much over the last few years.  It's just not something I felt comfortable going over, and with so many animal welfare topics to cover it was an issue I stayed away from.  On our farm we grow some varieties of GM corn and soybeans.  If things change and consumers do not want us to produce GM crops, that's fine, but I think we are giving up some very real opportunities by throwing it out entirely.  I'm not an "expert," or a crop/biotech/biochemical scientist, but I am the user of GM technology, and a person who consumes some GM foods.

For those who don't know, a GMO is created by taking a desired trait from one organism and putting it into another organism to give it the desired trait.  For example, a corn variety that is drought resistant naturally may not have the stalk sturdy enough to support a large ear, so a plant geneticist will take the drought resistant trait and put it in the sturdy-stalked corn.  If we get technical, cross-breeding for a desired trait is a type of genetic modification.  The benefit of GMOs are that scientists can isolate desirable traits, and avoid less desirable traits when creating new varieties of crops.  Common types of genetic modification include drought or flood resistance, disease resistance (fungal, bacterial, etc), and weed and insect resistance.  These things allow farmers to produce a heartier, healthier crop that is better suited to their unique growing conditions.  I am not a GMO expert, but I have learned a few things that I think should come into consideration as you make decisions about GMOs.

1. GMOs are medically important.  One of the most innovative ways GMOs are being used is to produce insulin for diabetics.  The insulin produced is reliable and consistent. If people ate more balanced diets, where more active, and less overweight, maybe there would be fewer diabetics, however there would still be those who have genetic diabetes and need insulin. GMOs will help those fighting the disease to control their health.

2. GMOs are generally regarded as safe by the scientific community.  I often find that people have strong feelings about genetic engineering, and also about climate change.  Studies from around the world generally agree that climate change is real.  Many of the same institutions that back climate change, also back the safety of GMOs.  Science shouldn't just be used to support arguments when it's convenient.  Maybe the science is wrong.  I don't have the education, or time to really find out on either of these issues, so I am generally going to agree with the people who do.  For those arguing that Monsanto has payed it's way into positive outcomes in trials, consider the oil & gas industry with climate change, or even the tobacco industry on the carcinogenic effects of smoking.  The companies in these industries are large and have a lot of lobbying power, yet they were not able to stop the tide of research that pushed for change in our practices for health, safety, and longevity.  The same can be said about GMO research.
 
3. GMOs aren't everywhere.  The current list of GM crops available commercially in the United States are: corn, soybeans, canola, papaya, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, squash, potatoes, and apples.  All but the potatoes and apples were modified to resist a significant threat to the plant (fungus, disease, growing conditions, etc).  The apples and potatoes are modified to avoid bruising/browning during transport and preparation, which causes large losses between farm and table.  Not every seed grown is genetically modified, and farmers have the option to grow non-GM crops.  For farmers, GM crops are more of a risk management tool than an ideological point.  Consumers have the option to buy non-GMO products.  Now with labeling requirements, and different marketing campaigns by food companies you can fairly easily avoid GMOs in your food if that is what you choose to do.

4. GMOs are proprietary.  This is a sore point for some, because the idea of food flow is something that a private business has control over is scary.  I understand and can empathize with this way of thinking. However, the amount of time devoted to research, development, trials, and government regulations, as well as money that is put into developing this technology, it deserves a patent.  GMOs are innovations to production systems, just like the assembly line, interchangeable parts, or other manufacturing processes.

5. GMOs hold tremendous possibility.  Even if you choose to oppose GMOs in your own life, there are so many innovations that are awesome to think about.  In bio-fuels: there is research on different algae modifications to produces abundant supplies of clean energy relatively inexpensively.  In food crops: peanuts that don't cause allergies, or rice that provides vitamins to people in poverty stricken countries that can't afford a variety of different foods.  Even in forestry: what about a modification that would prevent thousands of trees from dying due to Emerald Ash Borer, or the drought affecting the Redwoods, or even the Chestnut Blight that basically eradicated the American Chestnut?  Maybe there are other ways to solve these problems, maybe there are practices we can take up to minimize the risk of any of these things, but there are tools that can help us combat these issues, so why not at least give the chance to use them?