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The Citizen, 1996-03-13, Page 13Meals go back to basics By Anne Kennedy Food trends indicate that consumers are returning to basic foods and comfort foods as a means of coping with today's fast- paced lifestyle. The emergence of bread pudding, shepherd's pie and cabbage rolls in the frozen food section of grocery stores confirms this trend. These foods are compatible with today's "lean" times. Simple dishes are economical and help families stretch their dollars. They also reflect an era when families tended to share the highlights of the day over the meal table. Whether you pull out a recipe that has been in your family for years or pick up one of these frozen entrdes, review the ingredient list for sources of fat. Often recipes can be slightly modified to lower fat content and match the current nutrition guidelines. Here are some tips: • When making a cheese sauce or cheese topping, mix low fat cheese with regular Cheddar cheese. Add mustard, chili sauce or a little curry to spice up the flavour. • Most recipes are not affected if you cut back on fat or salt. Start by cutting out small amounts. Use a little less each time you make the recipe until you find the smallest amount that gives you results. • Add bran to casseroles, baked goods and salads for extra fibre. • Use meat alternatives, such as eggs or legumes, at least once a week. • Stretch a casserole or stir fry by replacing some of the meat with extra vegetables, cracked wheat, rice orlegumes. • Try using herbs, spices, garlic, onion or lemon to flavour your food instead of salt. Anne Kennedy is a dietitian with the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency. 4416-/rim7i0/ ANNOUNCEMENT MIKE CREGAN The Board of Directors of the Clinton Community Credit Union is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Cregan to the position of Loans Officer. Mike brings with him many years experience in consumer, commercial and agricultural lending. CLINTON COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION 48 Ontario Street CLINTON 482-3467 118 Main St. North EXETER 235-0640 SERVING THE CO UNITY SINCE 1952 THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 1996 PAGE 13. Ontario Federation of Agriculture's MPP's dinner Farmers tell Huron MPP Johns, 'Get realistic' Ontario farmers can't help to sug- gest where to make cuts to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs budget until the government gets more realistic than suggesting a 30-35 per cent cut, Helen Johns, MPP for Huron was told Saturday. "We can't be helpful until you're realistic,"Bill Wallace, past presi- dent of the Huron County Federa- tion of Agriculture told Johns at the Federation's annual Members of Parliament briefing session. "Thirty to 35 per cent isn't realistic. You don't think it's realistic, I don't A commission looking into ways of cutting red tape in Ontario is welcome as long as it doesn't inter- fere with farm products marketing boards, Huron's farm leaders told Helen Johns, MPP for Huron, Sat- urday. Johns told the commodity group leaders attending the annual Huron County Federation of Agriculture Members of Parliament briefing that agriculture is not on the list of areas to be looked at by the com- mission but she has asked to be kept aware and be part of the dis- cussion if agriculturally-oriented issues arise. Also, she noted, Mar- cel Beaubien, parliamentary assis- tant to the minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, is on the commission. Concerns arose after the presen- tation from the Huron County Pork The Brownies and Sparks met at their regular time on Thursday, March 7 at the East Wawanosh Public School. The Brownies spent time in the kitchen learning how to use electrical appliances safely. They put all the ingredients in an The Evening Unit of the UCW met at the home of Barbara Anderson with 16 members present. Barbara opened the meeting with a poem, "The Size of Your Heart" and welcomed everyone to her home. The theme of the worship service was "Self Control" presented by Freda Johnston and Laura Johnston. The hymns were Jesus Thou Joy of Loving Hearts and Jesus I My Cross Have Taken. Scripture reading was from Galatians. There was also meditation. During the business the roll call was answered by "How I spent last Sunday as Church was cancelled because of the storm." March 28 is the general meeting and lunch after church on March 17. Louise Bosman presented the program of a video of familiar hymns. WMS meets Continued from page 12 Mrs. Scott read some poems and stories, "Friendship is a Recipe", "Tips for Planting a Garden" and "Beatitudes of a Housewife". Mrs. Siertsema read two poems Abide With Me was also read. Mrs. Scott closed with prayer and the hostess served lunch. think it's realistic." Wallace told Johns when the government comes back with an amended figure then farm groups could help make sug- gestions on how to deal with lesser cuts. Johns said all ministries have been asked to put forward a busi- ness plan for a 30-35 per cent cut and OMAFRA has made its pro- posal already. "I don't think it will come back for another round of dis- cussion," she told Wallace. "Then the process has been derailed," Wallace -said. Producers, who told Johns they were upset over the way the Farm Products Marketing Commission (FPMC) had interfered in negotia- tions between the Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board and packers. "It was clear to all in the industry that inside pressure and manipulation by the processors caused a great deal of unfairness in the actions of the commission," the brief said. Johns admitted frustration with the fact the FPMC is an arms- length commission with only one representative of the provincial government sitting on it. It was hard to get information out of the commission on what was going on, she said. "I think that it has to be more open," she said. Some worried about the fact that automatic bread machine and Alice Yuill had brought a loaf already- baked to show them what it would look like after it was baked. They learned how to deep fry french fries in a french fryer, learned how to make toast, how to use an electric can opener, as well The meeting closed with the benediction and lunch was served by Wilma Higgins and Donna Shaw. Others challenged Johns on the savings to be gained by what they saw as an emasculation of OMAFRA by such a huge cut. "We're talking one half of one per cent of provincial spending," said John Gaunt, chair of the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board. "Why spend so much time dis- cussing it?" "Everybody believes their issues are the most important," Johns said. Over and over again the leaders of the farm groups present remind- ed Johns her government had promised there would be no cuts to the commission has to answer to no one. "I think it raises some red flags for all farmers who work under (marketing) boards," said Bill Wallace, past president of the Huron Federation. "Boards are per- ceived as interfering with society's right to cheap food. There are some false impressions of what we do. It's very concerning to us that someone outside the political arena can make important decisions on our future." Wallace expressed con- cern similar pressure might be brought through the red tape com- mission to undermine the power of marketing boards. Bob Down, president of the Ontario Corn Producers Associa- tion, said that cutting red tape is welcome but "we don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water." as making pudding in a blender. The Sparks read The Three Little Pigs and drew pictures pertaining to the story. The Brownies had to guess the story by looking at their pictures they had drawn. The Brownies and Sparks enjoyed the food that they had made. They will'meet again after the March break on Thursday, March 28. Anybody wishing to buy cookies should contact Lianne Swanson, Alice Yuill or Barb Pletch. the agriculture budget when it was trying to get elected last June. Johns admitted the government had changed its tune along the way. "I lied and I didn't know I was lying," she said. "You'll have to judge me at the next election." But the province could not con- tinue to spend when it was $100 billion in debt with $9 billion in interest to be paid each year, Johns said. Shc said she had met with most of the groups represented in the room to ask advice on what were the most important aspects of OMAFRA's service. Ken Kelly, vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture told Johns he was disturbed by "three or four rounds of quasi-con- sultations that seem to have been designed to pit farmer against farmer, commodity against com- modity and region against region." He said most farm groups, with the exception of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, have reached a joint agreement to be united in not suggesting cuts until the real budget figure is announced. "I'm concerned that some people are willing to suggest where cuts should be made," he told the farm leaders present. "All the commodi- ty groups have met and said they will talk about where to cut when they get a real budget figure, not before. We have to try to be united and play it close to the vest. There could be just as big a cut coming next year." Johns floated a few trial balloons about where cuts might be made. She quoted from an OMAFRA study which claimed that the farm- ers who used OMAFRA services the most were also the farmers who made the most money. Many in the room disagreed with that sugges- tion. She also dealt with the need to get tax reform so that the farm tax rebate can be cancelled (the rebate makes up 35 per cent of the OMAFRA budget). "If we got the tax reform done it would get rid of the farm tax rebate," Johns said. That would be the size of the cut needed to OMAFRA. But money will have to be found elsewhere to fund the education system, she said. Already an average'of $5,000 is spent on each child schooled in Huron County compared to $7,500 in Toronto. Tempers flared when Jean Kirk- by of Walton, OFA director for Central Huron, told Johns it was her duty to represent Huron in Toronto. "Whether you have farm roots or not you have to express our interests. You have to give agricul- ture the importance it deserves." When someone else suggested Johns has to be available to listen to local residents she bristled and said she had met with many people in her office but she can't be at every meeting. She was the parlia- mentary assistant to the Minister of Health, she said, and she had been fighting hard for rural health care. "I've been working on getting doc- tors here for emergency rooms. " Thanks in part to her efforts there was now a $70 per hour funding for doctors on emergency duty, she said. Johns drew some kudos along with the brickbats. Steve Thomp- son, president of the Huron Federa- tion, thanked her for meeting with farm groups to discuss the OMAFRA situation and Bob Down, president of the Ontario Corn Producers Association thanked her for her efforts on behalf of getting funding for two ethanol plants in Ontario and praised the government for increas- ing the GRIPP coverage to 85 per cent. 16 attend UCW meeting Red tape concerns producers Brownies try out appliances