As the weather gets chilly, you may be looking for a heartier, spicy meal. Green chilies can still be found in-season around Chicago. We just finished picking the last of our hot peppers at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Look to our urban hort website to learn more about fall gardening. If you do not have a garden at home, look to your local farmers market or grocery to find fresh chilies for the recipe below. Most farmers markets will be closing after October. So don't delay!

Recipe shared from Fiesta of Flavors, also in Spanish.

Beef with Green Chile

Ingredients:

1½ pounds lean beef (such as sirloin)
2 cups diced green chile (roasted and peeled, fresh or frozen)
¾ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Cut beef into chunks or strips.

2. Add all ingredients except cornstarch.

3. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. You may need to add a little water so mixture simmers well. (Don't add too much water or mixture will get soupy.)

4. Add cornstarch to small amount of water to make a
smooth paste. Add to meat mixture and stir.

5. Cook until cornstarch thickens (about 5 more minutes).

Note: This dish can be served as an entree or as a burrito filling. When you buy flour tortillas for burritos, choose those that are thinner or smaller, because they have fewer calories and carbohydrate.

According to the Chicago Tribune local apple orchards have been picked bare. A warm spring and summer moved up the fall picking season, while some local farmers endured spring freezes that cut their harvests by as much as 40 percent from last year.

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The project title is "Improving Food Safety Education Through Use of Music-Based Curricula" and the Project Director is Carl Winter at the University of California, Davis. Other cooperating educational institutions on the project are the University of Idaho, Clemson University, the University of Delaware, and North Carolina State University.

My favorite video is "Don't be a Gambler" which shows you how to properly prepare burgers. Another great video especially for kids is "You Better Wash Your Hands" sung to the Beatles song, "I Want Hold Your Hand". Other videos include "We Are the Microbes", "Don't Get Sticky Wit It", "Stomachache Tonight" and "Veggie Believer". Audio versions are also available on the Web site.

Food Safety Music Videos

Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. Introducing children to them in schools will improve their present and future health. Fresh produce must be handled safely to reduce the risks of foodborne illness. There are a number of steps that foodservice employees can take to minimize the chances for fruits and vegetables they handle to become contaminated. Best practices for handling all types of produce are described in this fact sheet, along with practices specific to leafy greens, tomatoes, melons, and sprouts.

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Did you know that once an apple tree begins to bear fruit, it will do so for a century? Today, there are over 2,500 varieties of apples grown in the United States. Fall weather brings the best fresh apples in bushels.

How can I preserve these apples while they are peaking, you ask? Preserved apple products can add lots of variety to the menu. Apples can be dried, made into applesauce or apple butter, or even made into a delicious apple pear jam. Apples do not make the highest quality canned or frozen slices, but they can be preserved by those methods, also.

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Pumpkins offer far more than a door-stop at Halloween. Make them do double duty. Instead of carving a face in your Halloween pumpkin, use nontoxic paint or marker pens to create a unique face. After Halloween has passed, the pumpkin flesh inside can be preserved by canning, drying, freezing, and it makes excellent freezer or refrigerator preserves. Pumpkin seeds can also be dried and roasted.

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The National Center for Home Food Preservation is your source for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation. The Center was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods.

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