Home & Family Ideas
Matanuska-Susitna/Copper River District Cooperative Extension Service 809 S. Chugach, Suite 2, Palmer, Alaska 99645 907/745-3360
October, 2007
Eating Right
Apple Season
Mmmm, the crisp crunch as I bite into a fresh, juicy apple is a wonderful part of fall. Apples are an American classic and quite versatile! They can be eaten raw or cooked, as salad, dessert, or part of the main meal. A medium-size apple has five grams of fiber, some potassium, vitamins A and C, even a little iron. Studies show that a number of components in apples, such as fiber and phytonutrients, have been found to lower blood cholesterol and improve bowel function and may be associated with a reduced risk of stroke, prostate cancer, type II diabetes and asthma. The old adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” may have an element of truth in it! When selecting apples you should choose apples with shiny skin. Dull apples will not be crisp. The apples should also be firm and free of bruises or punctures. Keep apples refrigerated at just above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Displaying apples in a fruit bowl is a beautiful decoration but the apples won’t stay crisp for long on the countertop. Prepare apple dishes just before serving to minimize browning (oxidation). Protect cut apples from oxidation by dipping them into a solution of one part citrus juice and three parts water. There are so many varieties of apples. Try this activity—let each family member do a blind taste test to determine which variety of apple is the favorite, then stock up!
Upcoming Activities Cooking Light Though we are told to have less fat in our diet, it is easier said than done. This class will look at how to lessen the amount of fat in our diet, discuss portion sizes and show what a “healthy plate” should look like. Tuesday, Oct. 9 3:30-4:30 p.m., Kluti-Kaah Hall, Copper Center 6-7 p.m., Tazlina Village Hall, Tazlina Solar Energy for Alaskans What’s possible? What’s real? What’s for me? Discuss local options for solar energy. Friday, Nov. 2, 1-5 p.m. MTA Building, 480 Commercial Drive, Palmer Large training room, lower level of the building Call 745-3360 to register. Cost: Free Solar Manual is $10. Please park on the side of the building to allow customer parking in front. Cold Climate Home Building Having a technically proficient, well-functioning house is essential to life in the north. Discussion will include windows, ventilation, walls, indoor air quality, roofs and wind and seismic activity. Saturday, Nov. 3, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MTA Building, 480 Commercial Drive, Palmer Large training room, lower level of the building Call 745-3360 to register. Cost: Free Serger Basics Have a serger sitting in the closet gathering dust? This workshop will address threading and basic use of a serger. Make a simple fleece sock to practice. Bring your serger, the serger instruction manual, thread, a pair of scissors or rotary cutter and mat, and $5. Tuesday, Dec. 4, 1:30-3:30 p.m. 809 S. Chugach, Suite 2, Palmer Call 745-3360 to register. Cost: $5 Limited class size.
District Home Economist Cooperative Extension Service University of Alaska Fairbanks
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2 Healthy living Sandra McCurdy, Extension food safety specialist at University of Idaho, shares the following instructions for the cleaning and sanitizing of kitchen sponges.
Sanitize Kitchen Sponges
Sponges provide an ideal way to spread disease. In the kitchen, bacteria tend to be concentrated in the sink, its drain and the sponge. Continually moist cellulose sponges provide a great environment for bacteria. Key to their survival is a surface easy to cling to, a steady supply of nutrients— even microscopic scraps of food—and moisture. If a sponge stays moist, the number of live microbes doesn't decrease for two weeks. Bacteria can even survive for at least two days in a damp sponge gradually drying in the air. On dry surfaces, resident bacteria survive no more than a few hours. However, microbiologist Carlos Enriquez of the University of Arizona in Tucson, points out, that's long enough to infect another source of food, or a person's hands during meal preparation. University of Florida engineering researchers have found that microwaving kitchen sponges sterilizes them rapidly and effectively. Two minutes of microwaving on full power mode killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of all the living pathogens (e.coli, salmonella, etc.) in the sponges and scrubbing pads. Bacillus cereus spores required four minutes to be totally inactivated. When sterilizing sponges at home, to guard against the risk of fire, ensure the sponge is completely wet. Two minutes of microwaving is sufficient for most sterilization. Sponges should also have no metallic content. Be careful when removing the sponge from the microwave as it will be hot! Two minutes may be too much or too little, depending on the size of the sponge, how much water it contains, and the wattage of the microwave oven. Excessive microwave time can result in the sponge scorching or catching fire. 1. Clean sponges after each use by removing visible food and dirt particles with hot soapy water. 2. Every other day, sanitize the clean sponge. 3. To sanitize in the microwave oven, thoroughly wet the sponge and wring out the excess water. Then, place it in a zipper-closing plastic bag, seal the bag, and heat in the microwave until the bag “bloats” due to the production of steam. (Comment: This required just 20 seconds with a small sponge.) 4. Let the bag and sponge cool for 30 seconds before opening the bag. 5. Sponges can also be sanitized in a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle. The zipper bag provides a closed environment, so that the sponge heats more evenly and is in 100 percent relative humidity, which is most effective in killing microbes. The bag also indicates that the correct temperature—as evidenced by the bloating of the bag—has been reached. Alternatively, an instant read thermometer can be used to check that the sponge inside the bag has reached at least 180°F. It is important to clean sponges before sanitizing. If this is not done, leftover food and other soil will provide food for microbes to grow right back. Sources: Hoover, Aaron, Microwave oven can sterilize sponges, scrub pads, http://news.ufl.edu/2007/01/22/zap-thebugs/ McCurdy, Sandra, Practical Advice on Sanitizing Sponges, The Communicator, October, 2007, University of Idaho, http://www.agls.uidaho.edu/fcs/extension/news/Oct07. pdf Raloff, Janet, Sponges, Sinks and Rags, Oh My! http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arch/9_14_96/b ob2.htm
Matanuska-Susitna/Copper River Valley District Extension Home Economics Newsletter
3 Raising Kids Tips to Safeguard your Medicine Cabinet and Protect your Kids: Now banks typically place customers in an overdraft loan program automatically when they open a checking account. Under this system, banks make high-cost, unsolicited loans to cover a check, debit card purchase, ATM withdrawal, or other electronic transaction when there is not enough money in the customer’s bank account. The bank charges the customer a fee averaging $34 for each overdraft transaction it covers and is repaid with the next deposit into the account. Some banks levy additional fees for each day the account balance remains negative. The bulk of overdraft loans are caused by debit card point of sale transactions for small, everyday purchases. Because these debit card overdraft loans are very small, the fees are often larger than the loans themselves. And because customers often pay back these loans quickly from their next deposit, annualized interest rates are extremely high. An example that Leslie Parrish and Peter Smith of the Center for Responsible Lending use is that of G.C., a college student. He used his debit card over four days, spending less than $17 for coffee, supplies, and other small purchases. As shown in the table below, G.C. was charged $245 (his bank charged $35 for each incident) for overdrawing his account by about $13.
Table 2: Student’s transaction history showing overdraft domino effect
Transaction # Date Transaction Overdraft Loan Overdraft Fee
1. Know what medicines and how much of them are in your home. 2. Keep track of your medicine cabinet, and ask your friends to keep an eye on theirs as well. 3. Teach your kids that medicine is important for treating illness, but it should only be used according to directions and under adult supervision. 4. Read the label carefully every time you give medicine to your children. 5. Warn your kids that they should never take someone else's medicine.
Spending Smart
Be Alert to Debit Card Fees
The Center for Responsible Lending analyzed a large, commercially available database of personal bank account transactions. When they focused on account holders 18 to 24 years old they found: ♦ Banks use overdraft loans to collect nearly $1 billion per year in fees from young adults who earn relatively little as students or new members of the workforce. ♦ Debit card point-of-sale (POS) transactions are the leading cause of overdraft loans for young adults. ♦ Young adults pay more than $3 for every $1 borrowed for debit card overdrafts. Young adults routinely use debit cards for purchases under $25, a study by Visa USA found. When these purchases are more than is in the purchaser’s bank account, fees can add up quickly.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3/30/2007 3/30/2007 4/02/2007 4/02/2007 4/02/2007 4/02/2007 4/02/2007
$4.58 $1.94 $3.01 $1.79 $1.79 $1.74 $1.70
$1.09 $1.94 $3.01 $1.79 $1.79 $1.74 $1.70
$35 $35 $35 $35 $35 $35 $35
Total $16.55 $13.06 $245 Banks and credit unions once discouraged customers from overdrawing their accounts by routinely denying When looking for a bank, choose a bank that does not transactions when the account holder did not have make abusive overdraft loans and that will you’re your enough money, and charging non-sufficient funds checking account to your savings account or a less (NSF) fees. Debit card and ATM transactions that expensive line of credit for back-up funds. would result in an overdraft were denied at no cost to the consumer. Customers seeking a source of back-up Source: Parish, L., Smith, P., September 24, 2007, Billion Dollar Deal: Banks Swipe Fees as Young Adults Swipe Debit Cards, funds to accommodate the occasional overdraft could Center for Responsible Lending, link their checking account to a low-cost line of credit http://www.responsiblelending.org/pdfs/billion-dollar-deal.pdf (with an annual percentage rate of less than 20 percent) or a savings account. Matanuska-Susitna/Copper River Valley District Extension Home Economics Newsletter
4 Upcoming Activities page 1
Lingonberries, also called low bush cranberry, are a tart Alaskan berry. Here is one of my favorite ways to use the berries I have in the freezer:
Eating Right Apple Season Healthy Living Sanitizing Kitchen Sponges
Lingonberry Muffins page 1 page 2
Lightly grease 12-cup muffin pan. Preheat oven to 350. Mix: ¾ cup lingonberries 1/2 cup powdered sugar Measure and sift into a bowl: 2 cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt ¼ cup sugar Melt: ¼ cup shortening in a separate bowl Add: 1 cup milk and 1 egg, well beaten, to the melted shortening Pour liquid ingredients all at once into dry ingredients. Mix only until dry ingredients are just moistened. Fold in sugared lingonberries. Fill muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. These muffins freeze well.
Source: Alaska’s Wild Berries Cookbook, Alaska Cooperative Extension, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1998
Raising Kids Safeguard Your Medicine Cabinet page 3 Spending Smart Be Alert to Debit Card Fees International Polar Year Lingonberry Muffins page 3 page 4
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Matanuska-Susitna/Copper River Valley District Extension Home Economics Newsletter