Nice DayOne Day,One Nice!!!!

Don’t fight to make kids eat: Try gentle nudges
(By Anne Brockhoff, McClatchy Newspapers) Young children are notoriously finicky. Broccoli, salmon, beets – name a healthy food, and there’s a preschooler who won’t eat it.

“Picky, picky, picky,” many a parent has muttered over the antics of a pint-sized diner.

Great pair: Bacon and Brussels sprouts
(By Mark Bittman, The New York Times) In recent years, Brussels sprouts have made the happy transition to trendy: We see them cooked in stock, roasted, sauteed and now shredded.

The shredding – which can be done in moments in a food processor equipped with the slicing (not grating) disc – cuts cooking time and results in a nicely crisp and uniform texture.

Broccoli, carrots and peas are taunting me
The beauty of our local food economy is that it is spread across various microclimates surrounding Charlotte. But we need more local growers.

There is a misconception that us farmers, because we are farmers, are able to grow anything in the seed catalogs. That is certainly not true in our case, although I think we have tried to grow just about every crop available.

Thanks to Conservatove Rumblings Blog for this update and story. Providing great iinsight at http://ianessling.com/blog/.

New veterans group seeks members
The Otto J. Ernst Chapter of the U.S. Merchant Marines and U.S. Navy Armed Guard has formed in this area, and meets the second Tuesday of each month at noon at the Golden Corral restaurant in Concord.

Blue heron project, osprey honoree to be highlighted at wildlife program
The next Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists free nature program, set for 7 p.m. Thursday, March 11, promises to be an evening full of surprises.

Climber’s body found along Blue Ridge Parkway near Sparta
A man was killed while ice climbing on Ice Rock, an area along the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Sparta, authorities said today.

Thanks to Conservatove Rumblings Blog for this update and story. Providing great iinsight at http://ianessling.com/blog/.

Legal Sea Foods’ Clam Chowder Recipe
Ingredients:
4 quarts littleneck clams (about 1 2/3 cups cooked and chopped)
1 garlic clove — chopped
1 cup water
2 ounces salt pork — finely chopped
2 cups chopped onions
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups fish stock
1 1/2 pounds potatoes — peeled, and
diced into 1/2″ cubes
2 cups light cream
Oyster crackers — (optional)
Cooking Directions:
Clean the clams and place them in a large pot along with the garlic and water.
Steam the clams just until opened, about 6 to 10 minutes, depending upon their size.
Drain and shell the clams, reserving the broth.
Mince the clam flesh, and set aside.
Filter the clam broth either through coffee filters or cheesecloth and set aside.
In a large, heavy pot slowly render the salt pork.
Remove the cracklings and set them aside.
Slowly cook the onions in the fat for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cooked through but not browned.
Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
Add the reserved clam broth and the fish stock, and whisk to remove any flour lumps.
Bring the liquid to a boil, add the potatoes, lower the heat, and simmer until
the potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the reserved clams, salt-pork cracklings and light cream.
Heat the chowder until it is the temperature you like.
Serve in large soup bowls with oyster crackers on the side.

Restaurant Recipes at http://secretrecipes.blogspot.com

In this chili, you’ll never miss the meat
(United Feature Syndicate) In the past, when we thought of TVP (which was not often), we always thought of chili. And we also thought “compromise.”

Using textured vegetable protein, or TVP, for meat felt like a last resort in our efforts toward vegetarian cooking.

Ovens cancels all 3 chef shows
(By Kathleen Purvis, kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com)

Comfort food may turn cutting-edge this year
(By Sylvia Rector, Detroit Free Press) The food trends and ingredients that hit big in 2009 were mostly familiar and easy to like.

We saw sunny-side eggs topping everything from salads to gourmet burgers, the proliferation of artisanal thin-crust pizzas, more burgers everywhere, and an explosion in vegetable gardening inspired by first lady Michelle Obama.

Don’t fight to make kids eat: Try gentle nudges
(By Anne Brockhoff, McClatchy Newspapers) Young children are notoriously finicky. Broccoli, salmon, beets – name a healthy food, and there’s a preschooler who won’t eat it.

“Picky, picky, picky,” many a parent has muttered over the antics of a pint-sized diner.

Thanks to Conservatove Rumblings Blog for this update and story. Providing great iinsight at http://ianessling.com/blog/.

State wrestling results – first round
NCHSAA state wrestling championships At Greensboro Coliseum 4A: First Round results

Police seek 3 in vending machine thefts
Mooresville police are seeking three suspects in the vandalizing of vending machines at the Hampton Inn hotel in Mooresville.

Tonight’s playoff schedule
Tonight’s sectional final schedule:

Thanks to Conservatove Rumblings Blog for this update and story. Providing great iinsight at http://ianessling.com/blog/.