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Soup’s on is an iconic call to come eat what’s been prepared. I am fascinated with food history! I quickly learned from a Google search that the phrase comes from a German word “sup, or suppa,” meaning some kind of hot broth meant for soaking bread. The phrase “soup’s on,” or “soup’s up” no longer refers exclusively to soup, however. Soup is no longer described simply, as a broth. Now there are countless varieties from which to choose: hot, cold, commercially canned, homemade, spicy, sweet, savory, with pasta, rice, beans, vegetables, etc. It...
By Kelly Moore Missoula County Extension, Family and Consumer Science Agent The holidays we look forward to each year can often bring stress and anxiety into our already busy lives. Attempts to please everyone can leave us feeling exhausted and less able to feel thankful. Family traditions and guests can become a dark cloud of dread in our minds as November and December come into view. Re-evaluating traditions and reducing expectations, can pave a rejuvenating path to the holiday season. Let’s start with the Thanksgiving menu. We know that m...
Home food preservationists feel especially grateful in January, for having spent countless autumn hours canning, pickling, fermenting, drying and vacuum packaging their garden or local farmer's market produce. Ingredients are typically more identifiable and easier to pronounce than the generic commercially available or "temporarily unavailable" grocery store item. Few things compare to the gratification of consuming something that has been planted, fed, weeded, watered, picked and prepared by...
September is disaster preparedness month (Ready.gov). "Promoting Preparedness Through Public Involvement", is the goal of this year's national public service campaign. Natural disasters continue to make headlines accross the globe altering economies, health outcomes and food security. Locally, we continue to confront the effects of an extremely dry summer and fall with record high temperatures. The impact of climate change on extreme weather events is impossible to overlook! More than ever...
To the right is a picture of my garden on March 1! It's not looking very promising right now! But by month's end, we will see the beginnings of this summer's garden. Late March – early April is the month when gardening starts in earnest in the colder northern climates. Keep in mind that last frost dates are everything in early spring planting. To plant at the correct time, you have to know when your last frost date is and then you count backward from there to get your March Planting Dates. T...
While sitting on the back porch, soaking up the warm fall sunshine, contemplating the benefits of a good growing season, little did we know that we would be lead, a few short days later, to grapple with a cruel twist of frigid cold and falling snow. Have you noticed that the seasons change rapidly these days? No surprise! We’ve been consumed during the last few seasons with the obstacles Covid has placed before us, and rightly so! It has reminded us once again about life’s uncertainties and how important it is to value our lives, our fam...
"Thinking will not overcome fear-but action will." ~ W. Clement Stone Before COVID-19, most of us had no idea what fear the word, "Pandemic" would evoke in our minds and how drastically it would alter our normal routines. The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic had little relevance for most and a 2020 pandemic seemed as unlikely as a blizzard in August! The Weather Channel did, however, report an "unprecedented August snow event" in Great Falls (8.3 inches) in 1992. Yes! August snowstorms and pandemics...
Your chances of stepping into the role as "caregiver" for a family member, are greater than you might think. According to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, it is estimated that over 44 million caregivers have provided informal or unpaid care to an adult or child in the last 12 months. These family caregivers averaging 49.2 years old, have often provided care for family members for three or more years, an average of 13 days each month and helped with personal care, food preparation,...
Wellness Checks. We’re constantly reminded of the importance of getting one. It is a preventative action that normally takes little time and effort to complete. The resulting peace of mind usually outweighs the dread of visiting your health care provider. There are times when you find yourself inventing at least a dozen excuses for putting it off for another month and then another… By putting it off, your routine check-up may suddenly become an emergency! Our fear of knowing, feeds our habit of not wanting to know. How many times have we sai...
Food preservation opportunities abound! Most of us are willing to undergo the challenges of Montana's most frigid, snowy winter months just so that we may experience the pure joy of a productive tomato-laden, late summer and early fall. Since the beginning of time, climate, resources and availability have dictated our survival. The invention of various food preservation techniques, helped to guarantee the procreation of the species. Those who lived in frozen climates, dug into the ice to...
New Year's resolutions are typically made with great deliberation and conviction - especially after devouring that second piece of Aunt Betty's famous double chocolate fudge cake Jan. 1 at 10 p.m. In your mind, the guilt of having crossed that calorie laden line one too many times, necessitates a lifestyle change. The first step is recognizing that an acquired habit has somehow challenged your sense of self-control. You make plans for the dieting to commence at promptly 7 a.m., Jan. 2. Not all...
