Posts Tagged: 4-H
The best of the best: salted caramel butter bars
Well, if you're Angelina Gonzalez, an alumnus of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, Vallejo, and now the Solano County's 4-H SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) Program representative, sometimes practice makes perfect, and sometimes perfect doesn't need practice.
Gonzalez's salted caramel butter bars swept all five awards in the adult baked goods section of the 2014 Solano County Fair. Judges first awarded the bars a blue ribbon, and then best-of-division, followed by the sweepstakes award and the coveted best-of-show.
"I've been entering cookies in the adult baked foods department for the past few years and have done well in the past," Gonzalez said. "I love baking and cookies are my specialty. This year, I attempted a recipe that I had never made before. It was a bit of a risk, but I wanted to try something new rather than another cookie recipe. I'm glad I did."
Its origin? Gonzalez selected the recipe on the Internet. (Shelly, the person who posted it several years ago, describes herself as "an addict of the buttercream sort.")
"Although I never took a 4-H food project, I am thankful to 4-H for everything that I have learned through it," Gonzalez said. "I started 4-H when I was nine years old and quickly learned that I loved it. The following years, I became an active member our Sherwood Forest 4-H Club as historian, treasurer, vice president, and president."
She enrolled in many different projects, including arts and crafts, ceramics, rabbits, dogs, dairy goats, horses, and leadership, receiving multiple awards at fairs. Among them: first place in novice and senior showmanship and various best-of-show awards and outstanding 4-H exhibitor awards.
"I would definitely say that 4-H gave me confidence and life skills for the future," said Gonzalez, who holds a master's degree in sociology from Sacramento State University. "After aging out of the program and a year off, I came back to 4-H (Sherwood Forest 4-H Club) as an arts and crafts project leader."
She just completed her seventh year as a project leader. Her work is much appreciated; she recently received the Solano County 4-H Alumni Award. "I love 4-H and look forward to where it takes me next," she said.
4-H'ers celebrate National 4-H Week every October. Youths and adult volunteers who want to sign up for the youth development program should contact their county 4-H program or the statewide office for more information.
Here's the prize-winning recipe, not only perfect for the holidays but for any occasion.Salted Caramel Butter Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 lb. salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla (or use Princess Cake Emulsion)
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels), unwrapped
- 1/3 cup milk or cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt (optional) (*see No. 7 below)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325°
- In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Using mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.
- Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Wrap remaining dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator.
- Bake crust until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown approximately 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool about 15 minutes.
- While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place the unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.
- Once the caramel is melted, add in your 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and stir until combined.
- Pour the caramel filling over the crust. If you are going to salt the caramel, sprinkle it on caramel layer now.
- Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Let cool before cutting into squares.
Next step? Enjoy! P.S.: There will be no leftovers.
4-H enthusiast Angelina Gonzalez with her best-of-show salted caramel bars, Solano County Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sacramento 4-H takes to the national stage
An innovative 4-H program developed in Sacramento will be featured on American Graduate Day 2014, a multi-platform PBS event broadcast live from Lincoln Center in New York on Sept. 27. It can be viewed on the web at http://americangraduate.org/grad-day and on participating PBS stations from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
“I got to look at the stars. I saw the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, and the Milky Way. It looked like a line of milk and glitter,” said one camper.
To tell the nation about this program, American Graduate Day 2014 has made arrangements for three Sacramento representatives to travel to New York City next weekend to be panelists on the show. They are Marianne Bird, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H advisor; Gayle Craggs, a Twin Rivers Unified School District teacher and 4-H On the Wild Side leader; and Bonnie Lindgren, a 4-H member who was an On The Wild Side teen leader for four years. (Lingren, 2014 McClatchy High School graduate, is now a freshman at Carleton College in Minnesota.)
Media contact: Marianne Bird, (916) 875-6423, mbird@ucanr.edu
For more information, see the attached PDF documents:
4-H members to plant one millionth tree
The project was launched in 2008 after 4-H member Laura Webber saw Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." At the end, the documentary suggests ways viewers can help ease the dire consequences of global warming. One was, "Plant a tree." Webber decided to plant one million.
Even as she went off to college, trees continued to be planted around the world and tallied on the 4-H Million Trees website. Many 4-H members coordinated tree planting projects in their local communities to take part in 4-H Million Trees. One of those was Julien Lévy of the Belmont 4-H Club, who created "The Reforesting San Bruno Project" after the September 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion. In Louisiana, a 4-H member coordinated the planting of 150,000 trees to replace those lost in Hurricane Katrina. In Mariposa County, a 4-H member planted trees to reforest an area ravaged by wildfire.
Webber, now an international studies major starting her senior year at Vassar College, and her father will join current 4-H members at Huddart County Park in Woodside to plant the millionth tree.
Other media:
ABC Eyewitness News interviewed Webber at the site of the very first tree planted as part of the project for a story on the evening news.
New UC advisor is already making a positive impact
“She brings enthusiasm, high energy, intelligence and a passion for agriculture to her job," said Bill Gass, executive director of the San Mateo County Farm Bureau.
No day is average for Bolshakova, who is also the county director for San Mateo-San Francisco counties UCCE and the director of Elkus Ranch, a place for hands-on learning experiences for Bay Area children.
One morning she is working with concerned citizens about beekeeping policies, collaborating with scientists at UC Berkeley about eradicating aphids in gardens, and in the afternoon herding students around Elkus Ranch teaching about rangeland, the story said.
“I think the biggest challenge facing San Mateo County agriculture is urban-rural interface, and that goes in both directions,” she said. “I work with many youth who never thought about plants or planting a seed and watching it grow. I worry that people are becoming disconnected to their food and where it originates.”
Bolshakova was born and raised on a 450-acre pig and crop farm in southwestern Michigan where her parents still work the land. Her childhood experiences nurtured a passion for the environment and a keen awareness of the interdependency between people and nature.
Bolshakova has a bachelor's degree in biology from State University of New York, Buffalo, a master's degree from the University of Toledo, and a Ph.D. in ecology from Utah State University.
A Super Bowl of Chili: 4-H'ers prepare 4-alarm chili
Making a "super bowl" of chili is also quite timely for Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 2, when the Denver Broncos try to defeather the Seattle Seahawks.
The Solano County 4-H Program traditionally hosts a chili cookoff at its annual Project Skills Day. All clubs in the county are invited to participate.
This year three boys enrolled in an outdoor cooking project teamed to win the four-way competition, held Jan. 11 at C. A. Jacobs School, Dixon.
Cody Ceremony, Randy Marley and Justin Means, all members of the newly formed Pleasants Valley 4-H Club in Vacaville made “4-Alarm Chili,” obtaining the recipe from Justin's uncle, Chuck Means, engineer with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District and a co-community leader of the Dixon Ridge 4-H Club. The boys dressed in firefighter uniforms including helmets and turnouts that Means provided.
The outdoor cooking project is a joint endeavor of the Pleasants Valley and Dixon Ridge clubs.
“We simmered the chili for four hours,” Marley said of the recipe which included both pork and beef, plus four types of peppers: pasilla, serrano, anaheim and green bell.
They said it has "a little kick at the end," but not too much. The "heat" can be adjusted, depending on taste.
Judges scored the teams on temperature (it had to be 140 degrees or more), aroma, flavor, texture and freshness, plus a written recipe (neatness), and the overall presentation (table decor and costumes).
Julie Tanaka, a community leader of the Maine Prairie 4-H Club, Dixon, coordinated the event. Judges were Solano County Supervisor John Vasquez Jr. of Vacaville, Ed Coffelt of the Maine Prairie 4-H Club, and longtime 4-H'er Kathy Keatley Garvey of UC Davis/Vacaville.
"The 4-Alarm Chili was very flavorful, and the team understood the combination of ingredients - the blend of the peppers and the blend of the meats," Vasquez said.
"They all put a lot of work into it," the trio of judges agreed.
Also competing were:
- Want Quackers With Your Chili? Vaca Valley: Makenzie Davi, Marissa Davi and Emma Ryder
- Jeans ‘n Beans, Pleasants Valley: Sabrina Brown, Melanie Campilongo, Lillian Tudbury and David Witzel
- The Persim-Monsters, Suisun Valley: Alexis Taliafero, Clairese Wright and Robert Wright
The Quackers' key ingredient was - guess what! - "duck," purchased at a local market. The Persim-Monsters added persimmons to their chili, while the Jeans ‘n Beans team entered a more traditional chili.
Here's the winning recipe:
4-Alarm Chili
2 pounds of pork shoulder, cut in 1/2-inch chunks
2 pounds ground beef
Olive oil (as needed to brown meat)
2 cans of tomatoes (chopped or diced work best)
2 cans of beans (one kidney and one pinto), drained
2 pasilla peppers
2 serrano peppers
2 Anaheim peppers
2 green bell peppers
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
Water (approximately one cup)
Cornstarch
Seasonings to taste:
Beef bouillon, chili powder, ground cumin, garlic salt and black pepper.
Preparation:
In a large stock pot, brown pork in the olive oil. Add the ground beef and continue cooking over high heat until beef is browned (about 30 minutes). Add the water and seasonings. Cook an additional 30 minutes. Add tomatoes and beans. Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes. While mixture is simmering, coarsely chop onions and peppers and finely chop garlic. Add these to the pot and continue cooking until pork is tender (about another 30 to 35 minutes). Check flavor and add seasonings to taste. If needed, thicken chili with cornstarch.
This recipe, featuring ground duck, got high marks from the judges.
Quackers' Chili
2 to 3 pounds ground duck (the 4-H'ers purchased duck at a local supermarket; beef can be substituted)
1 to 2 large onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon dried ground cumin, or to taste
1 tablespoon dried oregano, or to taste
1 tablespoon each of chili powder and cayenne pepper (fresh chile peppers may be substituted)
Coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
3 to 4 cups of a combination of tomato puree, tomato sauce and fresh/diced tomatoes
2-1/2 cans (14.5 ounces) of beef broth, red wine, or water can be substituted for some of the liquid (Additional broth, wine or water can be used, as needed)
1 to 2 tablespoons molasses (This helps cut down the acidity of the tomatoes. Honey may also be substituted)
1 can each of black beans and kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Condiments:
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Chopped green onions
Preparation:
in a large pot over medium-high heat, sauté ground duck, onion and garlic until meat is browned. Add cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, tomatoes and beef broth. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, approximately 3 to 4 hours, stirring often. Additional broth, water or red wine may be added as needed.
Add molasses to taste. Add beans and continue to simmer another 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
For maximum flavor, cool chili and refrigerate overnight so flavors will mellow. Chili is best made one day ahead to allow the flavors time to meld.
When ready to serve, skim top of solidified fat, reheat over low heat, and serve with cheese sour cream and green onions.
Solano County 4-H Program
Solano County has a total of 500 members in its 12 clubs. Of the seven cities in the county, Dixon has the most, with five clubs.
The clubs are:
Dixon: Dixon Ridge, Maine Prairie, Roving Clovers, Tremont, and Wolfskill
Fairfield-Suisun: Suisun Valley and Westwind
Rio Vista: Rio Vista 4-H Club
Vacaville: Elmira, Vaca Valley, and Pleasants Valley
Vallejo: Sherwood Forest
More information about the Solano County 4-H program is available from Valerie Williams, Solano County 4-H program representative, Solano County Cooperative Extension, at (707) 784-1319 or vawilliams@ucanr.edu. The website is http://cesolano.ucdavis.edu.
The 4-Alarm Chili Team of the Dixon Ridge 4-H Club and the newly formed Pleasants Valley 4-H Club, watches as judge John Vasquez Jr. samples their dish. From left are Randy Marley, “captain” Cody Ceremony and “driver” Justin Means. In back (at right) is Justin’s uncle, Chuck Means, who provided the recipe and the firefighter uniforms. Chuck Means is an engineer with Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District and a co-community leader of the Dixon Ridge 4-H Club. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Waiting for judges at the Solano County 4-H Chili Cookoff are Team Quackers (from left) Marissa Davi, Kylie Walker, Emma Ryder and Makenzie Davi, all of the Vaca Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville. Judges praised their chili, which featured duck. For the occasion, they crafted duck hats. They were among four teams competing. The winner: the 4-Alarm Chili, the work of Cody Ceremony, Randy Marley and Justin Means of Dixon Ridge 4-H Club/Pleasants Valley 4-H Club.