Hi, I'm Macy Fisher the Mifflin County Dairy Princess. This week has been a lot of fun. I was at Dairy Princess Seminar for part of the week. I had a great time catching up with old friends and making new ones. We had a special speaker, too. The speaker was Leona Dargis. Leona lives in Canada with her four sisters and they run their family's farm. Some of you may remember Leona if you ever read "The Furrow." "The Furrow" is a magazine about farm life and Leona and her sister's story was published back in March. Leona told us about her story, which was the same one in "The Furrow." You see, Leona's family owns a large farm in Canada. The thing is though that her parents were killed in a plane crash and her story of how her sisters worked through everything and still are managing to run the huge farm was inspirational to all of us. This also showed us all that the time that we get to spend with our families while working on the farm is precious time. We may not always want to go clean stalls, but the fun that you can have with the ones you love while you do it will always be a memory that you treasurer. Families all across the nation are growing closer together by farming.
At seminar we also played a lot of fun games and learned new facts. Now I wasn't at seminar the whole week, so when I came home there was a lot of work still to do. There were cows to milk and calves to feed. I also came home to a very wild sheep that really needed to be walked. He was jumpy and running around. So now I've been walking my sheep and my cows getting them ready for fair. I've also been working in our garden. Amanda and I planted our garden a few weeks ago and now everything is growing like wild fire. I just hope that we soon get some rain so it can grow even more. I love having a garden and tending to it. The thing I love the most is eating everything that comes from it. Fresh vegetables are an awesome snack for a warm afternoon and it's really easy to get a serving of dairy along with them. You can dip veggies in sour cream dip or in cheese sauce. I like adding vegetables to classic dishes. Like adding broccoli to chicken Alfredo or you can make brand new dishes. The recipe this week is one of my favorite dishes where I can get a serving of dairy and veggies.
Creamy Garden Spaghetti
pound fresh broccoli, broken in florets
11/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 large carrot, sliced
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
In a large skillet, saute the broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms and carrot in oil until crisp-tender. Remove from the heat and set aside. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
In another saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, bouillon, and thyme until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low; stir in cheeses until melted. Add the vegetables; heat through. Drain spaghetti; toss with vegetable mixture.
Yield: 4 servings.
