Funding opportunity

MU Extension has agreed to a partnership with the US Census Bureau to ensure all Missourians count. County offices that signup by June 29 will be eligible to receive funding for promotional activities.

Garden 'N Grow in Gladstone Hits KC Star

This past Monday, June 22, Bob Cronkleton, a multimedia reporter for the Kansas City Star, visited us at the Fairview Christian Church to report on the Garden ‘N Grow Program. On Wednesday, the story appeared on the front page of the Northland section of the Star. The video “Ready, Set, Grow, Eat” is available for viewing on the Star website, as well.

The program has been running since May 27. It is held every Monday and Wednesday from 9:00-11:00 am. There are a few key Master Gardeners of Greater Kansas City that have been instrumental in putting all of this together, including Cass Sullivan (pictured in the article) and Fred Deckman, among others. Our resident farmer is Jeff Hunter who graduated from the Growing Growers program last year. He and his wife Stacey have been operating a market garden on the church’s property for 3 years now. We are officially having a great time with these kids and hope to see more of these programs in future years.

Newspaper columns

Currently, West Central is offering a weekly agriculture article with the writer's byline and photo. Requests for this column have blossomed through the winter. If your local newspaper accepts bylined articles, ask the editor if he/she is interested in receiving the ag column and let me know if the answer is positive.

More Matters is a national effort to get people to eat more vegetables. We all know how good they are for our health! Our local Farmer’s Markets are well supplied with wonderful, tasty fresh vegetables. I’ve been trying to branch out and try some new vegetables and I’d like to challenge you to do the same!

I always made the assumption that fresh greens like Swiss Chard and Beet Greens would taste really strong – wrong! One of our local grower’s encouraged me to try her Swiss Chard and shared a recipe. It was wonderful! I then decided to use the same recipe for tender young Beet Greens – they were really tasty too! So here’s the recipe, give it a try! Be sure not to overcook. Enjoy! J


Swiss Chard Sautéed with Garlic (4 to 6 servings)
1 ½ lbs. Swiss chard, red or green
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes (or less to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper – to taste
Salt
1 ½ Tbsp. lemon juice or red wine vinegar

Cut stems from chard and cut them crosswise into ½ inch pieces. Stack leaves, roll up, and cut crosswise into ribbons. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and brown till just beginning to color. Add the red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt to taste. Add the chard stems and stir-fry until the chard stems are nearly tender, about 2 minutes. Add the chard leaves and cook, partially covered, until both the leaves and stems are tender, about 3-5 minutes more (depending on amount of chard in skillet). Season with lemon juice or red wine vinegar. (I prefer red wine vinegar or balsamic)

Nutrition Facts per serving: 75 calories, 5 g. fat, 5 g. carbohydrates, 2 g. fiber, 2 g. protein, 158% Vitamin A, 68% Vitamin C, 11% Iron


Lynda Johnson
Lynda S. Johnson, M.S., R.D.
Nutrition & Health Education Specialist
University of Missouri Extension
14 E. 19th Street, Suite 102
Higginsville, MO 64037
Phone: 660-584-3658 Fax: 660-584-3659

Check your title

For efficiency purposes, I often capture faculty and staff titles, phone numbers and e-mail addresses from Outlook. Recently, I noticed some faculty members have not updated their titles, for example, from nutrition specialist to nutrition and food education specialist. Check your directory profile at extension.missouri.edu under people. If updates are needed, the Web page extension.missouri.edu/webteam/2009/profile.html has instructions. It's also helpful to include your contact information with each e-mail you send: just add to your signature, which is then automatically inserted in messages.

Legislative Day

Jackson County had a good day also at Legislative Day. We had a team of six council members attend and they made personal calls on 19 representatives and senators. I sat in on the visit with Rep. Tom McDonald from Raytown. He is in his first year in the General Assembly and knew Extension through 4-H from his background as a farm kid from Iowa. Admittedly he didn't know much about MU Extension in Jackson County but is supportive and wants to learn more.

Tips for Healthier Summer Salads

1. Lighten up on the dressing – Regular mayonnaise or salad dressing contains about 900 calories per cup. Substitute lite mayo or mix half regular with half fat-free. Another option, substitute half the mayo with reduced fat sour cream or fat-free yogurt to reduce calories.
2. Use less dressing on your salad. Try cutting dressing by one-third to one-half.
3. Add more veggies to increase volume and more nutrition without the calories. In potato or pasta salad, reduce the potatoes or pasta by 10% to 20% and add more veggies like shredded carrots, chopped zucchini, cucumbers or celery.
4. Opt for the healthier oils – choose canola or olive oil when making or buying salad dressings.
5. Cut the salt and add herbs or other seasonings. Boost dry herb flavor by grinding with a mortar and pestle to release oils, and enhance flavor.
(Source: Food & Fitness Advisor, June 2009)

Lynda Johnson
Lynda S. Johnson, M.S., R.D.
Nutrition & Health Education Specialist
University of Missouri Extension
14 E. 19th Street, Suite 102
Higginsville, MO 64037
Phone: 660-584-3658 Fax: 660-584-3659

Warm welcome for MU Extension

The Jackson County open house on Monday drew an impressive crowd of campus dignitaries, legislators, city officials, council members, chamber members and Extension advocates - all MIZ-ZOU fans. As future tenants of the Mizzou Innovation Center at the Missouri Innovation Park, Jackson County's new temporary location became official with a cutting of both the ribbon in the mist and the cake.

High visibility for your articles

Take a look at the newly resigned extension.missouri.edu Web site, which is getting rave reviews. On the splash page, you'll notice four articles written by West Central Extension faculty - that's 50 percent of the listed articles. Congrats to West Central for making a splash of its own!