Lyme disease awareness movie to be shown

Pennsylvania Lyme Disease Awareness Committee will have a public showing of the movie “ Under Our Skin” on March 11, at 7 p.m. at the East Brandywine Township Bldg., 1214 Horseshoe Pike (Route 322) Guthriesville.

The movie, a gripping talk of microbes, medicine, and money, investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic larger than Aids. Each year thousands of patients go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, often told that their symptoms are “all in their head.” Following the stories of patients and physicians fighting the disease, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of the health care system and a medical establishment all too willing to put profits ahead of patients.

The meeting is free and open to the public, everyone is welcome. For information, call 610-384-2249.

(The PA Lyme Disease Awareness Committee is a collaborative effort between the Chester/Delaware County Farm Bureau, the Lyme Disease Association of Southeastern PA, Inc., and the Chester County Health Department)

SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

   The Chester/Delaware Farm Bureau Board of Directors is pleased to announce scholarship grants of up to $1000.00 each toward higher education to be awarded in 2010.
    High school seniors in Chester, Delaware, and/or Philadelphia Counties who are planning to pursue a career in agriculture or an agriculture-related field are eligible to apply.
   Students must file grant application on or before March 31, 2009.
    For more information, contact Robert Hewitt at 610-495-7927 or email: hewittdf@comcast.net.

FIGHT CANCER WITH MUSHROOMS

Eating common white supermarket mush-rooms – from baby buttons to large stuffers – may help ward off breast cancer, suggests new research at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope in Duarte, CA.
    Extracts of white mushrooms slashed estrogen production up to 50%; that’s important because estrogen can spur growth of breast cancer.
     Shitake, Portobello and crimini mushrooms had similar actions.
     A major new worldwide review of mushroom studies by Cancer Research UK reports that many mushrooms can stimulate immune functions.
Of those, the most popular is the shitake mushroom. Shitakes’ active chemical, kantinan, increases natural killer cells and lymphocytes to help fight infection and cancer, and it also has direct anti-viral activity.
      In Japan, where many studies show that mushrooms have anti-cancer properties, kantinan is approved in cancer treatment.
A recent study in Japan found that farmers who regularly ate mushrooms, primarily enoki, had a 40% lower death rate from cancer than those who ate few mushrooms. See recipe below

-submitted by Donna Feconda

Mushroom Goulash

1 (14.5 ounce) can plum tomatoes
2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lb. white mushrooms, stemmed and cut in ¾-inch pieces
4 tsp. Hungarian paprika (can replace 2 tsp. with hot paprika)
Salt and ground black pepper
8 ounces egg noodles, preferably whole wheat
4 tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream
2 tbsp. chopped dill, optional garnish

Place tomatoes in bowl, reserving liquid from can for another use.
Coarsely chop tomatoes, and set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add peppers, onion and garlic and cook until they start to brown, eight minutes, stirring often.
Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they release their juices, about eight minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes and their liquid to mushrooms,
Mix in paprika and season goulast to taste with salt and pepper.
Simmer until liquid has thickened slightly, four to five minutes.

Meanwhile, boil a large pot of water and cook noodles according to package directions.Drain noodles, and divide them among four wide, shallow bowls.

To serve, spoon goulash over noodles. Top each serving with one tablespoon of sour cream and one-quarter of the chopped dill, if using. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 380 calories, 10 g. total fat (2 g. saturated fat), 58 g. carbohydrate, 16 g. protein, 14 g. dietary fiber, 260 mg. sodium.

Jason and Germaine Baughman planting flowers in children's shoes during an AITC gardening lesson.

TEACHERS LEARNING ABOUT AG

My name is Germaine Baughman and my husband, Jason, and I teach kindergarten at Jordan Bank Elementary school in Oxford.  We were both fortunate enough to attend Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) at Penn State in July.
Ag in the Classroom was the most educational, fun, and useful class we have taken since leaving college. Maybe, even before that. Everyday was filled with facts and hands-on activities that we could use in the classroom.
Many of the topics discussed we already teach in our classes. But, after going to AITC, we have learned many new facts and hand-on activities to keep our students involved and excited about agriculture.
     Jason and I will now take all the materials and information that we gathered from this wonderful week and share it with our school. We will, of course, share our excitement with our students, but we will also get the other teachers in our school excited about using Agriculture in the Classroom. We are even thinking of going to the National Agriculture in the Classroom program in Baltimore, Maryland this year.
     My husband and I would like to thank Chester/Delaware County Farm Bureau for giving us the opportunity to take this week-long class. We look forward to implementing all the fun and educational lessons into our classroom this year.