Celebrate National School Breakfast Month

Don’t just send your kids off to school, send them off with a tank full of juice to fuel their brains. Give them the chance to get ahead by serving them breakfast! I run behind as much as the next person, but I always grab something healthy for breakfast. I might not set down, read the paper and drink my juice before I stroll to work, but I do have something at my desk as I dive into each work day. But, I am an adult, I am in charge of myself and I formed these habits because of my mom and dad making me eat with them each morning, while waiting on the school bus.

This week, March 8- 12, is National School Breakfast Month. There is much research out there to suggest that kiddos learn better and keep it with them if their brain has fuel from breakfast. I know, I know- Preaching to the choir, right? Well, I wanted to share this pancake recipe with you. I received it in an e-mail from the hungry-girl.com Web site.

Strawberry Short Stack

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 289 calories, 1.75g fat, 471mg sodium, 60.5g carbs, 7.5g fiber, 7g sugars, 14g protein — POINTS® value 5*

Ingredients:
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp. old-fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda)
Dash salt
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1 tbsp. light vanilla soymilk
2 tbsp. sugar-free strawberry preserves
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1/4 cup Cool Whip Free, thawed
Optional: Fat Free Reddi-wip, sugar-free pancake syrup

Directions:
To make the batter, combine flour, oats, baking powder, sweetener, and salt in a bowl. Add egg substitute, soymilk, and 2 tbsp. water. Mix well and set aside.

Place preserves in a microwave-safe bowl and nuke for 20 seconds, until softened and warm. Stir into pancake batter until thoroughly integrated.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add half the batter to form a large pancake. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, until pancake begins to bubble and is solid enough to flip. Gently flip and cook for an additional 1 – 2 minutes, until both sides are lightly browned and inside is cooked through. Plate your pancake and set aside.

Remove skillet from heat, re-spray, and return to medium-high heat. Repeat with remaining batter to make a second pancake, and then set that aside as well.

While pancakes cool slightly, combine strawberries with Cool Whip in a bowl and lightly stir. Spoon this mixture evenly over one pancake, and then place the second pancake lightly on top.

If you like, add some strawberries, a squirt of Reddi-wip and a drizzle of pancake syrup. Woohoo!

MAKES 1 SERVING

A Recipe for Success: the Oklahoma Wheat Commission

Written by the Editorial Team of Fastrecipes.com

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission is dedicated to promoting Oklahoma wheat on a local and international level through the development of policy and programs.  We have had the honor of interviewing Commission Director Mike Schulte on the efforts being made to promote the Oklahoma Wheat industry and the importance of wheat-based products in a healthy diet.  As Director, Mr. Schulte has placed an emphasis on promoting and helping local wheat farmers, who are the essence of the state’s wheat industry. What was it like to transition from being the marketing director to your Executive Director role? I think the transition was rewarding and yet humbling at the same time.  I have been involved in agriculture my entire life having grown up on a wheat farm.  When I was first given the opportunity to work with the Oklahoma Wheat Commission as the Marketing Director, I really wanted to be a part of promoting and developing a better product for the consumer.  I think as people get further removed from agriculture they forget that farmers take great pride in what they have to offer.  Being in a position to help the farmer move his product through all aspects of the marketing chain has always fascinated me. I always felt when the Executive Director position was available, I would at least try for it.  To go through the interview process and then be selected by the board to serve in a greater capacity I think has been better for me, because it has motivated me more. Being the Executive Director has also made me more appreciative of the actual producer concerns for the wheat industry on a different level than before.  I always felt like I worked for the wheat producer, but now I have much more dialogue with them on a personal level.  Oklahoma wheat farmers take great pride in what they grow, so when it comes to selling what they have to offer, you have to take great pride in promoting and building relationships with those who are potential buyers. Could you tell us of your current efforts to promote the Oklahoma Wheat Industry? At the Oklahoma Wheat Commission we spend a lot of time working with both the foreign and domestic markets to see what needs are important to create better milling and baking qualities.  We also spend a lot of time with cereal chemists and food scientists to see if they can continue to find better technologies to create longer shelf life and greater baking consistencies that allow for better nutritional value.  A lot of our funding goes to the wheat breeding program at Oklahoma State University. Our state is fortunate because we have one of the most premier wheat breeding programs in the nation and that has been made possible because of the investment from the Oklahoma wheat producer through check-off dollars.   Oklahoma wheat producers like to see the new varieties released from Oklahoma State that have better growing characteristics that allow for them to have better quality wheat to sell. What efforts are being undertaken to foster personal connections with foreign buyers? We work a lot with our national organization US Wheat Associates in order to source the product they are looking for in the export market.  Quality is the one word that all buyers are looking for, but in many places continued relationships are important as well.  We have specific trade teams that come to Oklahoma to look at what we have to offer.  In recent years we have been working a great deal with the Mexican Milling Associations.  Our close proximity to Mexico makes it cost effective for us to ship our product to the millers and bakers located in that country.  We also have been working closely with them to have the wheat available that they like.  It is important to remember that we grow six classes of wheat in the United States. Those classes are Hard Red Winter Wheat, Soft Red Winter Wheat, Hard Red Spring Wheat, Durum, Hard White Wheat and Soft White Wheat.  In Oklahoma we grow Hard Red Winter Wheat, this class is primarily grown in the central United States.  The Hard Red Winter Wheat is mainly used for bread baking and that is what the Mexican market has the most use for.  We also have spent a lot of time fostering relationships with Nigeria, South Africa and Columbia. What are your thoughts on the importance of wheat-based foods in the healthy diet? Having the proper amount of whole grains in your diet is especially important.  People sometimes associate carbohydrates with increased weight gain, but having the proper amount of carbohydrates in the body are essential for maintaining good health.  We continue to find scientific evidence that the consumption of whole grains has also been consistently linked with significant decrease in risk factors for cardiovascular disease.  In addition, whole grain consumption is also good for fighting hypertension, diabetes and obesity.  Scientific evidence also suggests that whole grain consumption lowers blood pressure, and they also have nutrients and antioxidants that are important for good health.  The USDA Food Guide Pyramid recommends 6-11 servings of whole grains per day.  What are your harvest predictions for the wheat harvest of 2010? I do not like predicting, but I am hopeful that in Oklahoma we will have a successful harvest in the summer of 2010.  We had great planting conditions and good moisture up until the middle of December.  In Northwest areas of the state producers could use moisture, but we still have good prospects in most places. I just hope we continue to get moisture and good weather in the spring that allows for the wheat plant to fill properly so we have large yields statewide. For more information, visit www.wheat.state.ok.us

Bake and Take month is near

Hurry! Run to your cookbooks and fire up your mixers! March is Bake and Take month around Oklahoma.

Started in 1971 in Kansas, Bake and Take month was created to jump-start the use of whole wheat products and to promote helping others. The object is simple: bake something and take to someone who needs it- new mothers, elderly folks, firefighters, doctors pulling long shifts, whoever. With the heat of your oven, you can cause a smile to spread like wildfire!

Here in the great Okie state, we have some mills and you can purchase pure OKLAHOMA wheat (which is sort of the driving point behind this, by the way:) Check out this list and try to find them.
SHAWNEE MILLING COMPANY: their products are on shelves in most grocery stores, like Wal-Mart and Homeland.
PILLSBURY: There are two products from them that are milled in Enid at the ADM plant. Purchase the All-Purpose, or Unbleached All-Purpose and the Bread Flour.
MAGEE FARM, Alva: They have stone ground flour and are members of the OK Food Coop (www.oklahomafood.coop)
CATTLE TRACKS, LLC, Fairview: Another OK Food Coop member
EARTH ELEMENTS, Lexington: And one more Coop member

Bake any recipe that calls for at least 50 percent whole wheat and take it to someone you know might need it. Our office has had calls from 4-H clubs that are turning this into the topic of their March meeting. We have a stockpile of recipes we can share, so give us a shout. Never hesitate to ask us questions on this topic, either. We love to help others!

 

So go to our recipe page and bake up some whole wheat bread like this!

Pioneer Woman and wheat bread

I love, love, love the Pioneer woman blog! You can find her, and her millions of followers, at http://thepioneerwoman.com/. I searched to see if she has a whole wheat bread recipe and was sad to find that she didn’t. I think I am going to send her ours since she is so good at giving credit where credit is due. Her cinnamon rolls look delish, but I would venture to say ours are better:)

However, she does show off a nice, scrumptious looking piece of whole wheat bread in the pictures that accompany her Egg in the Hole recipe. Check it out…..http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/07/egg-in-a-hole-see-alternate-names-below/ My daddy always made these for me as a kiddo, but he never used wheat bread. I grew up in a white bread house, but I am now the head of a whole wheat house! Egg in the Hole’s are awesome to begin with, but using wheat bread helps keep the from getting too soggy and you will feel better about yourself!

What other ways can we put whole grains in our diet, you ask???? (I know you were thinking this!) Well, try whole wheat crackers, wheat noodles with your spagetti, English muffins that pack an extra kick with whole wheat. There are many ways and I know we can do it.

Toodles for now as I am on my way to forwarding our small version of the whole wheat dough to the Pioneer Woman. If you need it again, check out our Web site- www.wheat.state.ok.us. Click on the recipe link. And, coming soon- our new cookbook! It will be posted there, too!

Much to be thankful for….

Tis the season to count your blessings. A few that I know our office is thankful for is the great report just put out by our NASS office! We have plenty of moisture throughout the state and have gotten 95 percent of our crop in the ground, with 85 percent of it emerged. That is slightly behind normal, but an encouraging progression from their last report. The report also shines a light on the fact that 80 percent of our crop is currently rated good to excellent, which is about a 20 percent increase from last year.

Our board member Jeff Krehbiel keeps progressing and updating his care pages site. Since it is the holiday season, we ask that you continue to keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. And, I know he enjoys to read all of the comments left on his care page, so cheer him on.

The Oklahoma Wheat Growers announced their annual convention. It is always a great gathering of wheat minds, producers and staff to help expand your horizons. Feel free to register and show up on Dec. 12, 2009. You will be thankful that you attended!

If you are setting here with me, cruising the Internet, than you should be thankful for your ability to make ends meet. I know at times I forget, but watching a segment on the news this a.m. about the Jesus House and the increase in the need for their services really hit home. Please take time to donate canned goods, loaves of bread or your time this season. Go to the store, buy some loaves of whole wheat bread and deliver to a church or shelter in your area. Do it because it is healthy for your heart and soul!

Be thankful that there are people out there trying to find a healthy alternative to Eggo waffles, in case their shortage hits home! HAHA. No, on a serious note, you can start providing a bit more whole grain nutrition to your family by reading this article and trying some alternatives. Your heart and brain will thank you!      http://www.mnn.com/food/markets-groceries/blogs/taste-test-frozen-waffles

I could go on and on, but I am a bore! Please let us know what makes you thankful! Keep your loved ones in your thoughts and do good for others!

Have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving week and weekend! CHEERS!

 

 

Other ag blogs and OWC News

I don’t know about you, but I am still getting my feet wet on this whole blogging deal. I thought it would be easily concured, but here I am once again struggling for content. Please bear with me as I tackle my blog:)

Ironically, as I was trolling the Internet for some inspiration for wheat “stuff”, or more professionally blogging content, I got a phone call from the folks at www.agblog.com and they want to do more wheat talk. Upon hanging up, I surfed on over to their site and found a ton of helpful and interesting content.

Now, my question is: What are your favorite ag blogs? Where do you go? I visit the Oklahoma Department of Ag’s blog, the Pioneer Woman one, one my creative and talked pal Crystal puts together and various wheat/work related sites. Help me out folks!

Other related business….

We were ever present at the Farm Bureau convention last weekend and we thank everyone for stopping by and chatting. They said our smell was all over the Cox Center…. our GOOD smell! We love providing our amazing product made from our amazing, high quality Oklahoma wheat. Thank a farmer if you ever get a chance to sample our goods. We gave out about 1260 cinnamon rolls and 1344 samples of our bread. What a couple of days!

 

Don’t forget that November is National Peanut Butter month and nothing can tempt a person or make their day brighter than a great PB&J made with whole wheat bread. If I do say so myself, our little recipe makes some great bread to put your peanut butter and jelly on. Here you go….http://www.wheat.state.ok.us/Web%20Site/Recipes/bread_and_rolls.pdf

 

WARM BREAD MAKES FOR HAPPY SANDWICHES!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baking Tips on Video

Many people go to the Internet to find videos for how-to demo’s. In our many surfs around the Internet, we have found some very helpful ones. This list is something that can be book marked and used over and over again. And, PLEASE help us add more to the list!

First one…. this video is from King Arthur Flours and helps you know when your dough is at the perfect elasticity. http://how2heroes.com/videos/techniques/bakers-tip-pulling-a-window-pane. They have many more featured on that how2heroes site, so take a gander at the rest, too.

Second one…. this site has two videos. They both illustrate an “almost no-knead” bread; one white, one whole wheat. http://www.breadtopia.com/cooks-illustrated-almost-no-knead/

The Queen of Cooking, Julia Child, is showcased in nine baking videos on the PBS Web site. Here they are, all ready sorted for you…. http://video.pbs.org/feature/90/tag/Baking

A certain yeast company has three video’s showcased on their site; mixer made breads, hand made bread, and bread machine made bread. They are hosted by a culinary expert and can be found here….http://www.redstaryeast.com/lessons/how_to_bake_videos.php. This site also has a lot of useful resources, so we suggest bookmarking it for further reference!

Dinner rolls are featured in this video ..http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-bake-homemade-dinner-rolls-from-scratch-204816/

We sure hope these help you. There is only 11 months until next years Wheatheart Contest! Start perfecting your method now:)

Wheatheart Contest a Success!

This past Sunday, the last day of the Oklahoma State Fair, was also the site of the State Wheatheart Bread Baking Contest. Senior and Junior county division winners alike gathered in the Hobbys, Arts and Crafts building to watch the Oklahoma Wheat Commission host the contest.

Four dedicated judges, who help each year, take center stage as they evaluate each entry for these merits:
APPEARANCE: evenly rounded top, a symmetrical, well shaped, uniform size, a smooth tender crust, a golden brown color, a characteristically even brown color for whole wheat, rolls should be attractively shaped, plump, and all the same size, rolls should be golden brown and a bit lighter on the sides than the top,
TEXTURE: free from large air bubbles, moderately fine and even grained, soft and free of crumbliness, free from dryness or doughiness, rolls should be crisp, tender and thin crust,
CRUMB: moist and silky, tender to the touch, elastic in quality,
FLAVOR: pleasing well-baked flavor, nut like or wheaty taste, free from undesirable flavor – yeast or other ingredients.

We could not do it without our judges!! A huge thank you goes to Karen Armbruster, Liz McBee, Arlen James and Kaye Tipton. We are also blessed to have the help of Debbie Matz and her daughter Kasi Westfahl. Together they run a tight ship! Thank you so much, ladies.

This years competition drew numbers we didn’t expect. We were very pleasantly surprised at the turnout and are pleased to announce the winners. In the senior division, Carol Andrews of Kay county took home grand honors. Her entry first topped the Whole Grain Bread class. The junior division was won by the Other Wheat Bread class winner, Brandi Lane of Noble county. Their recipes will follow, I promise:)

Thanks to everyone who participated, who requested information about next year and the ones that stayed around and watched. It was a great way to close out the fair, no doubt!

Enjoy some scenes from the contest…….

 

Septemberfest memories….

Again this year, the OWC teamed up with the Southwest Dairy Farmers and the Peanut Commission to dish out free stuff to everyone who entered the Governor’s mansion grounds. On the menu this year were fresh Oklahoma peanuts, cartons of white and chocolate milk and fresh cinnamon rolls and bread.

If you haven’t been to Septemberfest, keep your ears open for the date of next years. The basic concept, from our angle, is to teach the geneneral public about agriculture. The variety of people that we encounter in one day there is well worth the cost of supplying product. We touched many lives that would never have asked about wheat before.

And, as always, our commissioners and family saved the day. At one point and time, I saw Mrs. Shortie Glazier teaching a group of youngsters about where the wheat kernal came from. She was making do with some wheat we purchased from Hobby Lobby. Very creative and always in a good mood, I believe she got through to them.

The forecast called for a 100 percent chance of rain and that didn’t stop the hordes of people from assembyling single file into our tent. At one point and time, people where standing in the rain, with and without protection from the elements! Even with intermitton rain, we gave out over 1000 cookbooks, 800 lapel pins, 1050 cinnamon roll samples and slices from 42 loaves of bread.

The project was handled by our staff and volunteers, like Mr. Tim Bartam from the Oklahoma Wheat Growers and the Tom Glazier family. And the bread was dressed with real pats of butter provided by the Southwest Dairy Farmers, which is a great supporter of our organization. A HUGE, ALL CAPS THANK YOU goes to each and every one of our supporters!!!!!

Scenes from Septemberfest………..

 

Heloise to the rescue!

I can always remember my grandmother freezing extra loaves of bread. I don’t mean to complain, but she always served up stale bread! Now that I am involved in the wheat industry and making people aware of the best use practices to get fresh, wholesome bread, I cringe.

Low and behold, once I opened my e-mail this morning and scrolled down a google alert I noticed this article. Heloise is such a smart lady and this is helpful. I can’t tell you how many times people ask this and I don’t have any answers, as I don’t do it. I sure can’t tell someone how my grandma did it, because I know they will be sorely dissapointed! Take a gander at her suggestions. If  I have an extra loaf laying around, I might just try these!

HINTS FROM HELOISE….. 09/09/09

Dear Heloise: How do I SOFTEN BREAD that has been in the freezer? Just one side of two loaves is semihard. I even double-bagged the bread. — Diane H., via e-mail

Hmm — I’ve frozen bread too, and this has happened to me. I tested this again and had the same result, with part of the loaf hard and part soft once the bread was thawed.

This problem perplexed all of us at Heloise Central, so we checked with several experts in the bread industry, and here are some hints that were suggested:

- First, never use the fridge to thaw bread. It causes the bread to dry out faster, accelerating the staling process.

- Always thaw bread on the counter (in a plastic bag so it doesn’t dry out).

- The recommended time to freeze bread is three months. Longer may cause the bread to dry out.

- Remember to use freezer-safe bags and seal them tightly. Or double- or triple-bag the loaf. You also can wrap the bread in foil and then place in a freezer bag.

Here’s another tip: Self-defrosting freezers partially thaw then refreeze on occasion, which is not good for bread. White crystals will form on the crust during a partial thaw, which will make the crust hard once thawed later. If you have a large chest deep freezer, put bread in that instead of your refrigerator’s freezer. — Heloise