Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 2, 1994 TAG: 9403030014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Almena Hughes
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On March 11 and March 12, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Roanoke Civic Center, the Southern Living Cooking School will make its 10th visit to the Roanoke Valley. Program coordinator Leigh Ann Denton said that this year's theme, "Simply Southern," will put a new spin on some old Southern-cooking favorites, such as a strawberry shortcake done with a brownie-like crust or Hoppin' Juan, which takes the traditional Hoppin' John out West.
"The South reflects a mix of many cultures. Plus many of today's cooks don't have time to spend preparing foods the old way, so we've also made the recipes easy to prepare," Denton said.
The roughly two-hour long school will include cooking demonstrations, tips on entertaining and decorating and a special segment aimed at cultivating culinary talents in kids. All attendees will receive money-saving coupons, a cookbook and opportunities for door prizes. Admission to the American Women's Show, which will also be in progress at the civic center, is included in the $4 cost of the cooking school ticket.
A vegetarian dish (including recipe, please) is the only ticket needed Saturday for the Virginia Vegetarian Society's Great American Meatout Potluck Supper. This second annual nondenominational event at 6 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke is actually a few weeks premature since the official Great American Meatout is March 20.
Keep an eye out for society founder Mary Clifford whose 300-plus page book, "Simple, Lowfat & Vegetarian," co-authored with nutrition consultant Suzanne Havala, was recently released. A quick perusal shows that the book by the two registered dieticians - both longtime vegetarians - offers practical solutions and recipes for a variety of topics, including how to eat meat-free while traveling and how to compensate for possible deficiencies in the diet. Order your copy now for $14.95 through the Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, Md. 21203, and you'll have it in time to be autographed by Clifford at her first official book-signing, 11 a.m. March 19 at the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-Op on Grandin Road.
Vegetarians who don't eat dairy products are commonly thought to be at risk of calcium deficiency. But, in fact, according to a new study commissioned by the makers of Wonder Calcium-Enriched Bread, teen-agers and blacks are more subject to adverse effects from calcium lack.
The study found that in general, teens and adult females consume less than 80 percent of the recommended daily allowance of 800-1,200 milligrams of calcium, often resulting in bone mass loss in later years. Further, low calcium levels are suspected as a factor in hypertension, which affects a disproportionate number of blacks. Unfortunately, since many blacks are also lactose intolerant, they might find themselves in a Catch-22 situation unless they turn to some alternative calcium sources favored by vegetarians including collard or turnip greens, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, almonds, sunflower seeds, tofu or fortified soy milk.
Or they might find that they are able to tolerate Kefir, a slightly carbonated cultured milk drink that producer Lifeway Foods Inc. says is debuting in plain and fruit flavors at the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-Op and at Annie Kays in Blacksburg.
Kefir, thought to have been discovered by ancient eastern nomadic shepherds whose fresh milk in leather pouches would sometimes ferment, is credited with numerous health benefits including longevity. Many of the 100-plus year old locals of the Caucacas Mountains in Soviet Georgia reportedly scarf down the bubbly yogurt-like beverage which, like yogurt, is an acquired taste.
New tastes recently arrived from Nautilus Lite 'N Luscious Lunch packages, which combine in a pop-top can old standards with assorted garden vegetables to bring convenience and surprising new flavors to tuna, crab or shrimp salads. Each 4.5-ounce (drained weight) serving contains 35 percent plump chunks of seafood, only 100 calories and 1.5 grams of fat.
The tuna, which I tried, was good enough to stand alone, and it also made a good and different casserole. A free recipe folder, available from Nautilus Recipes, P.O. Box 91-1130, Commerce, Calif. 90091 offers a variety of other preparation suggestions. The producer says that Nautilus six packs for about $6 will be available at Sam's Club.
Probably most of us have had tastes for foods come back to haunt us. For Michael Smith of Roanoke, it's the Beer-Cheese soup he had several years ago at the B52 Fighter Squadron restaraunt in Atlanta, Ga. For Maryann Ferguson of Roanoke, it's a broiled Missouri club sandwich with cheese sauce and a lemon buttercup pie with custard in the middle - both served at the old Miller & Rhoads tea room.
Shelf Life runs twice a month in the Extra section. If you have an interesting new product, cookbook, contest, gadget or gew gaw, tell us about it. Write to Shelf Life, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010.
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