86-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 3, 2003 Beef: It’s What’s For Dinner — Virginia Beef Expo A'- *- < t <f V WHAT’S FOR On Friday April 18, in Harrisonburg Amie Knick was led Virginia Beef Queen at the Va. Beef Expo. Aim! that beef is nature’s best “multi-vitamin,” and more is a great-tasting, healthy choice for dinner because contains iron, zinc, proteins and B-vitamins. GAY BROWNLEE Virginia Correspondent HARRISONBURG, Va. At 2003 Virginia Beef Expo, 18-19 at the Rockingham inty Fairgrounds, it was hard surprising to find stations ;re the Virginia Cattle len and their helpers were various samples of beef, iding the “famous’* ribeye 'wich. One promoter doing a share of work because she had just in herited a new title was Amie Knick, the 2003 Virginia Beef Queen who shows open cattle and lives on a Simmental farm comprised of about 40 head, in a cow/calf operation. In the fall, Knick will be com pleting the studies necessary to receive her degree in ag educa tion from Virginia Tech. “Im required to travel across Virginia to promote the beef in dustry,” Knick said. “Beef,” she said, “is natures best multi-vitamin because it con tains, iron, zinc, protein and B vi tamins.” Winning the state title was a gratifying experience for Knick after being thwarted twice in pre vious attempts to earn the title. This time she pulled together a speech that emphasized the posi tive phase of the beef industry and focused on factual informa tion to impress the judges with Garden Reproduction: Birds, Bees, Flowers, Trees COLLEGEVILLE (Mont gomery Co.) Did you know that the center of some flowers will change color after they are pollinated to let other bees know not to stop? Learn everything there is to know about plant pollination in this educational and hu morous presentation by Jim Bobb, Montgomery County BE her knowledge about her prod uct. Knick said the Beef Check-Off Program is an important promo tional tool that receives $1 any time a beef animal is sold. The beef queen was anticipat ing interacting with the public and didn’t have long to wait for the first opportunity. Almost im mediately she was directed to the table where hamburger sandwich halves to offer to passers-by had been prepared. The burgers were made from irradiated beef, so Knick found herself answering questions about food irradiation issues. According to an educational brochure developed by the Min nesota Dept, of Agriculture in co operation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Minn. Dept, of Health and the Minn. Beef Council, food irradiation is the process of exposing food products to ionizing radiation for a specified length of time. The amount of exposure is controlled to produce various preservation effects, such as retarding spoilage or killing any harmful bacteria. Some skeptical consumers con tinue to reserve judgment and still are not ready to whole-heart edly endorse the idea of using ir radiation to kill food-borne bacte ria, by moving the food through a radiant energy field that, accord ing to the brochure, never touch es the energy source. Master Gardener and vice president of Montgomery County Beekeeper Associa tion. Free, no pre-registration re quired for class scheduled Monday, May 19, 7 p.m. at the Montgomery County 4-H Cen ter at 1015 Bridge Road in Creamery (Rt. 113, between Skippack and Collegeville). At the 2003 Va. Beef Expo in Harrisonburg, between the times for her scheduled cooking demonstrations, Shirley Simmons of WTVR Ch. 6, Richmond, displays the "On Your Menu” cookbook. The cookbook project evolved by popular request of viewers watching her cooking seg ment and attending her community appearances. A num ber of excellent recipes in it list beef amongst the neces sary ingredients. But researchers say that food irradiation has been studied for more than 40 years and has nei ther been found to cause harm to human beings, nor make the food radioactive. Shirley Simmons from WTVR TV6, Richmond was doing cook ing demonstrations at the Expo as well as offering the stations 50th anniversary cookbook, “On Your Menu” to visitors. In con junction with the station’s noon news that every Monday features a segment with Simmons, the cookbook carries over the title. “On Your Menu” contains a number of recipes that call for SWEET AND SPICY CHINESE MEATBALLS (on Brown Rice) 1 (18 ounce) package frozen fully cooked beef meatballs 2 cups uncooked instant long grain brown rice 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice V/i cup prepared medium pi cante sauce 1 cup sugar-free apricot pre serves ORIENTAL EXPRESS BEEF Sliced green onions beef in the ingredients list. Sever al of these are printed as follows: (Lettuce Wraps) VA pounds ground beef chuck Vi cup hoisin sauce Vi cup Asian peanut sauce 1 medium cucumber, seeded, chopped 'A cup tom fresh mint leaves Salt and pepper 12 large Boston lettuce leaves (about 2 heads) or iceberg or romaine lettuce Fresh mint leaves In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef 8-10 minutes or until meat is not pink, breaking into small crumbles. Pour off drippings. Stir in hoisin sauce and peanut sauce. Heat through. Just before serving, add cu cumber and tom mint, toss gent ly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve beef mixture in lettuce leaves. Garnish with fresh mint. Microwave meatballs accord ing to package directions. Cook rice according to package direc tions. Measure 'A cup of juice from the pineapple and place in large sauce pan. Reserve remaining juice for some other use. Stir in picante sauce and preserves, bring to a boil. Add meatballs and pine apple chunks. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occa sionally. Serve over the rice. Sprinkle with green onions. MEAT LOAF POT ROAST 1 pound lean ground beef 2 A cup evaporated milk l A cup Italian-style bread crumbs !A cup thick and chunky pi cante salsa Vi teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 'A teaspoon pepper 3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 'A- in. thick 2 medium onions sliced '/i-inch thick and quartered 3 medium carrots quartered and cut lengthwise 3 teaspoons dried parsley flakes Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the first 7 ingredi ents in a bowl. Shape into a loaf and place in center of a 13x9x2-inch pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Around the meat loaf layer the potatoes, carrots and onions. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley flakes. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake one hour or until vegetables are tender. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer to brown the meat. Serves 4. MUFFIN TIN MEAT LOAVES I/2 pounds lean ground beef VA cup zucchini, shredded 1 cup soft bread crumbs 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 teaspoon dried Italian sea soning Vi teaspoon salt 'A cup ketchup Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, combine all ingredi ents except ketchup, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Place ap proximately Vi cup beef into each of 12 muffin cups, pressing light ly. Spread ketchup over the tops. Bake 20 minutes or until centers are no longer pink. Remove meat loaves from pan. Serve with mashed potatoes if desired. Serves 6. MEXICAN BEEF STIR-FRY 1 pound top sirloin steak 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves 1 clove garlic 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips 1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges 1 jalapeno pepper, cut into slivers 3 cups romaine lettuce, sliced '/4-inch strips Cut beef into '/8-inch strips. Combine oil, cumin, oregano and garlic setting aside half. In a large nonstick frying pan, heat half the seasoned oil over medi um heat until hot. Add red pep per, onion and jalapeno pepper. Stir-fry 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove and re serve. In same pan stir-fry beef strips in reserved oil 1-2 minutes. Return vegetables to pan and heat through. Serve beef mixture over lettuce. Serves 4.
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