Tag Archives: Indiana Family of Farmers

3rd Annual Ag Essay Contest “Our Food, Our Farmers: Nourishing Generations of Hoosiers”

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Do you remember essay contests from when you were in school? In grade school, I think we wrote essays in class for the DAR, the Rotary Club and other assorted civil clubs. It’s a right of passsage that hasn’t passed on- this is the third year for Indiana Family of Farmers Ag Essay Contest.

This year’s contest is sponsored by both Indiana Family of Farmers, as well as Indiana Humanities (as part of their two-year Spirit of Competition initiative). The theme is one that will make proud Hoosiers stand a little taller:  “Our Food, Our Farmers: Nourishing Generations of Hoosiers.” Students are asked to write a grade-level appropriate essay addressing the following:

Describe how Indiana farmers 1) nourish our families, 2) our animals, and 3) our earth (soil). Please provide an example from each of the three areas.

Students in any school in Indiana, grades 4-12 are eligible to participate. Grades 4-6 are to write less than 200, grades 7-9 are to write less than 400, and grades 10-12 less than 600 words.

For teachers (I know you’re reading), Indiana Family of Farmers and Indiana Humanities has already done the heavy lifting for you. They’ve lined up the essay writing process with Indiana Core Academic Standards, making your job a little easier.

Does your class or your individual child need a litte more motivation? Each grade level will have two award winners. In addition to an invitation to the Indiana State House for recognition on March 5, 2013 in celebration of National Ag Day, the first place winner of each group will recieve an Apple iPad, and the second place winner will recieve Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones. I kind of want to enter myself now…

The deadline is February 1, 2013, so it’s time to get researching Indiana’s rich agriclutural contributions. Encourage your children to enter, and email your child’s teacher the details on this exciting contest!

Complete details about the contest can be found on the Indiana Family of Farmers website, as well the Indiana Humanities website.

This post is sponsored by Indiana Family of Farmers and Indiana Humanities. 

 

October is My Favorite

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Ah…that’s better. Are you seeing any malware warnings? I hope not. My friend Spencer seems to have cured what’s been ailing this blog for awhile now- so welcome back, and have a read. This is a post I wrote as an Indiana Family of Famers Table Talk Ambassador. It originally appeared at bgkahuna.com during my quarantine.

After much consideration, I think October may be my favorite Indiana month. There is so much to do, and so many ways to celebrate fall in central Indiana, I actually schedule it all in so we don’t miss anything (Calendars. It’s what I do). October is a big month for agrotourism in Indiana and all across the midwest- it’s finally time to enjoy the fruits of the farmers’ endless labor.

There’s pumpkins and corn mazes and apple picking and so many hayrides it’s hard to keep track. I love bringing the kids outside in this long pants-short sleeve weather, where they can soak up the sun and  marvel at the change of seasons

Taking a break on an actual pumpkin.

This year, we took the kids to a real pumpkin patch- a field where pumpkins were actually growing on the vine. They wandered happily for nearly an hour, exploring the field, moving the pumpkins around and generally soaking it all in. There is something about being in the moment, being in the place where food is grown, that is centering in a way nothing else is. To find a pumpkin patch near you, check out My Indiana Home’s Pumpkin directory.

We also made it to a corn maze, where they trekked for another hour. Not only was it an adventure, it was a good lesson in the way our food depends on the weather. Last year, the maze was lush and green, with stalks so thick there was no cutting through. This year, the stalks were short, thin, and dry. The corn that did grow was unusable, and there were bald spots in the maze where nothing grew at all. While they may be a little thinner than in years past, it’s still fun to get lost in a field. Find a corn maze near you using My Indiana Home’s Corn Maze directory.

My son had the thrill of apple picking for the first time with my parents. We typically shop at the store rather than a farm market, and by doing so, I think we’ve forgotten what fresh produce tastes like. When I bit into that Rome apple grown in northwest Indiana, my mouth was shocked at the flavor. So delicious. Because they are detail oriented, the kids have had a great time taste-testing apples this season- in a blind taste test, they know the difference between a Golden Delicious, a Gala, and everyone’ most favorite, the Honeycrisp. For everything apple, check out My Indiana Home’s Apple Page.
For a list of seasonal crops and where to pick them, see this handy pdf: http://www.in.gov/isda/files/Harvest_Calander.pdf.

Thanks to Indiana’s Family of Farmers Table Talk program for providing me with some fall-themed goodies, passes to Kelsay’s Fall Fun on the Farm  and handy information about Indiana’s agrotourism. October is also National Pork Month- can you say BACON? Learn more on Indiana’s Family of Farmers website, and connect with them socially @FamilyofFarmers and www.facebook.com/familyoffarmers.

 

The Kitchen is Closed (It’s Time for Cool Treats and Grilled Meats)

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Who has time to eat when there are water cannons to shoot?

I read somewhere that we only get eighteen summers with our kids. Really, it’s a lot fewer than that- when I think of childhood summers, it’s always the years I was in elementary school. Old enough to remember, but before I started doing more things with my friends/away from home than I did with my family. This means I have *maybe* five summers left with MaM to make the bulk of those memories.

I want her to remember our summer evenings outside on the patio and eating popsicles. I want her to remember evenings where we stopped swimming just long enough to eat supper, and then headed back to the pool. There is no need to spend an extra second in the kitchen when there are memories to be made.

I should hang a sign on my stove: “Closed for the Season”. Once the weather heats up, I don’t do much in the kitchen. I mean, we still eat, but I moved the cooking to the grill and everything else goes in the refrigerator.

I attribute my affection for grilling to my parents, who pretty much cook out all summer long. Even if it’s too hot to eat outside, grilling outside keeps the house cool. You know what else happens when  I grill? There are no dishes. Most everything I grill goes directly on grill, and what doesn’t gets cooked in a tin foil pouch, because I am classy.

Tin Foil Potatoes

3-4 baking potatoes

olive oil to coat potatoes

salt and pepper

1. Slice or dice the potatoes

2. Brush with olive oil

3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (and garlic, if you’re so inclined)

4. Place potatoes in a tin foil packet so that the potatoes are in a single layer.

5. Cook on a medium-hot grill for about 30 minutes, turning once.

Seriously, does it get any easier than that? These potatoes are a staple on my summer dinner menu, and even MaM likes to eat them (with ketchup). You can pretty much grill any vegetable this way- squash cooks faster, carrots take a bit longer.

Summer time isn’t so much about the grill for the kids though. They don’t fully appreciate grilled steaks, or any meat at this point (but for those who do, check out these Grilled T-Bones).

For the kids, it’s the dessert. Specifically, desserts of the frozen persuasion. Hot summer nights get instantly cooler when I pull out the ice cream or the popsicles. We pretty much stick to frozen treats in the summer, because again, remember, my kitchen is closed.

This summer we’ve gotten a little more creative, and have started attempted making our own popsicles. And just like pizza, even if they don’t turn out, there’s no such thing a a bad popsicle. These popsicles came out just fine:

Mmm…chocolate chip pudding pops with a chocolate shell.

Ready to try your hand at popsicle making? Here are some recipes to get you started!

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I am excited to be an Indiana Family of Farmers Table Talk Contributor. A few times a year I will write a sponsored post on a provided topic. As always, my experiences and opinions are my own. But really, have you ever met a “bad” popsicle?