The most controversial of the trio, Issue 3, is Ohio’s fifth attempt at allowing casinos in the state. In the county, 60.62 percent of voters gave the measure their approval. The issue also passed statewide. The issue would allow one full-service casino to be built in each of the state’s four largest cities: Cleveland, Toledo, Cincinnati and Columbus. A fixed tax of 33 percent of the casinos’ gross revenues would be levied. Fifty-one percent of those taxes would be distributed among the state’s 88 counties.

Proponents argued that the state is losing an estimated $1.4 billion in casino gambling activity to neighboring states. On the county level, there is concern that the state, which is facing a huge deficit, will use the tax windfall to replace local government funding it provides to counties, leaving revenues flat except in the counties where the casinos are located.

Issue 1, which will authorize the state to sell up to $200 million in bonds to finance one-time bonuses to military veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq wars, passed in both the county and state. The unofficial vote on the issue in Ashtabula County was 19,388 votes for the issue, or 71.48 percent.

Passage of the issue means combat veterans can expect up to $1,000 and noncombat veterans up to $500. Families of service personnel killed in action would receive $5,000 from the state.

On the statewide livestock and poultry regulation issue, an aggressive campaign in rural Ashtabula County paid off with 64.08 percent of the voters approving the measure. The issue seeks to pre-empt animal-rights groups from wresting control of how livestock is raised and treated in the state by handling the issue through the Constitution.

The amendment will create a Livestock Care Standards Board to prescribe standards for animal care and well-being. The board will have 13 members, representing Ohio family farms, farming organizations, food safety experts, veterinarians, consumers, the dean of the agriculture department at an Ohio college or university, and one county humane-society representative.

It authorizes the Ohio department that regulates agriculture to administer and enforce the standards established by the board, subject to the General Assembly’s authority.

The measure, which also received approval at the state level, goes into effect immediately.

A ballot issue creating a new board that oversees livestock care was approved by 65 percent of voters, with 54 percent of precincts reporting. The issue was intended to thwart efforts by the Humane Society of the United States to outlaw holding sows, hens and veal calves in cramped cages or crates.

Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Robert Boggs issued a statement about the passage of Issue 2.

“With the passage of Issue 2, Ohioans have proven their support of keeping the state’s No. 1 industry — food and agriculture — vibrant and strong,” he said. “The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board will serve Ohio’s citizens in a way that will be transparent and open.  Ohioans who desire to have their voices heard will have an opportunity to do so during this public process.

“The diverse group of experts serving on this board, together with Ohio’s citizens, will work to create a fair, uniform set of standards that ensure the safe and humane treatment of the state’s livestock and poultry, therefore sustaining the viability of Ohio’s family farmers and assuring safe, affordable food for all citizens.

Boggs will serve as chairman of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.

Michael Markarian, the Humane Society’s chief operating officer, said the group will return to Ohio with a future ballot measure that protects animals.

“By packaging Issue 2 as a pro-animal and pro-food safety measure, the factory farming interests really did everything they could to ensure its passage,” he said. “We never really viewed it as a poisonous measure but we viewed it as an empty one, because it doesn’t achieve any reforms for animal welfare.”

Large farm operators mounted a $4 million campaign to pass the issue, which was backed by Gov. Ted Strickland, while environmental, animal rights and other activists fought it mostly through the press and the Internet.

Issue 1, which would pay bonuses of up to $1,000 to war veterans who served in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq, was approved by 73 percent of voters, with 55 percent of precincts reporting.

Voting was going smoothly statewide except for a glitch in Summit County, which includes Akron.

The county ran out of ballots around 5 p.m. and had to turn away some voters. Poll workers contacted them and asked them to return after printing more ballots.

Voters in Ohio said yes to Issue 3, which would allow casinos to be built in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo. Supporters of the issue said it would be a huge economic boost bringing thousands of jobs to Ohio. But business owners said Issue 3 is anything but good for Ohio. Many said they would like to see businesses get a gaming license before a casino. Many thought Issue 3 would be defeated because Ohio voters have defeated gambling measures four times in the past.

Ohio voters also approved issue 2. which would allow for a constitutional amendment establishing a 12-member livestock board. That board would oversee standards for livestock care in Ohio. Proponents of the amendment said it would maintain food safety, encourage locally grown and raised food and protect Ohio farms and families.

And, as expected, Issue 1 won too. It would provide financial “bonuses” to veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The issue authorizes up to $200 million in funding, financed by the sale of bonds. Supporters said the bonuses not only would show the state’s veterans that Ohio appreciates their service, but also help them transition from the military back to civilian life.

“This is good news for US pork producers, who have been suffering through an economic crisis for the past two years,” said NPPC President Don Butler. “China is, by far, the largest potential money-making opportunity for the US pork industry.”

The US pork industry shipped nearly 400,000 metric tonnes of pork worth nearly $690 million to China in 2008, making it the No. 3 destination for US pork. This year, due mostly to the H1N1-related ban, US pork exports to China through August were down by 50% over the same period last year.

“A Chinese market reasonably open to US pork would single-handedly put a huge dent in the US-China trade imbalance,” Butler said.

China’s announcement came at the conclusion of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meeting in Hangzhou, China. The bilateral forum was held to resolve trade issues between the countries. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke attended the meeting. Re-opening the Chinese market to US pork was at the top of their agenda.

“China’s intent to remove its H1N1-related ban on US pork marks an important step forward in cooperation between the countries on agriculture issues,” said Vilsack.

“NPPC would like to thank the Obama administration, particularly Sec. Vilsack and Ambassador Kirk, and Congress for pressing China to re-open its market to US pork,” said Butler. “And we would ask that they continue to work with the Chinese government on other trade issues that are hampering our pork exports to China.”

Among those issues are China’s ban on US pork produced with ractopamine, an FDA-approved feed additive that improves efficiency in pork production, and the subsidies China provides its domestic pork producers. The Chinese pork industry also derives  significant benefits from an exemption from corporate income taxes and a partial exemption from the country’s value-added tax.

Source: Google news

The data indicates that poultry meat output dropped 1.4% during the July-September period.

In addition, the number of pigs slaughtered went down by 11.4%, while their average carcass weight increased 0.7% in comparison with the same period of the previous year (87.2 kg). As a result the production of pork declined 10.7%.

Beef production (including veal) meanwhile decreased 6.3%.

According to the data, cattle numbers increased as of 30 June 2009by 0.7% to 1,424,000 heads. At the same time pig numbers went down by 9.4% to 2,130,000 heads. Total poultry numbers went up by 2.1% to 26 million heads.

The prices of cattle for slaughter increased for bulls and cows (by 1.3% and 6.4%, respectively). On the other hand prices of cows and calves for slaughter declined (by 3.8% and 3.1%, respectively). Average price of bulls for slaughter in S,E,U-quality reached CZK 39.56 per kilogram in live weight and CZK 74.52 per kilogram in carcass weight.

Agricultural producers’ prices of pigs for slaughter went down by 3.4%. Average price of pigs for slaughter in S, E, U-quality rose to the level of CZK 31.53 per kilogram in live weight and CZK 40.84 per kilogram in carcass weight.

Prices of chicken for slaughter in the 1st-quality category decreased by 9.6% y-o-y. Average price of chicken in the 1st-quality category reached the level CZK 20.68 per kilogram in live weight.

According to the Statistical Office, foreign trade in meat ended in a passive trade balance 3,487 tons for beef, 35,870 tons for pork and 11,345 tons for poultry meat in the period from 1 June 2009 to 30 September 2009.

Beef imports went up by 13.4% (by 561 tons) y-o-y, while exports decreased by 7.8% (by 106 tons). Beef was imported predominantly from Poland (44%) and to a lesser extent from Germany (20%, Austria (12%) and Ireland (10%). Exports went to Slovakia (37%), Austria (20%), theNetherlands (17%) and Poland (16%).

Imports of pig meat went up by 19.3% (by 7,216 tons) and exports increased by 3.3% (by 281 tons) y-o-y. Almost a half of pig meat imported came from Germany (45%), a lesser amount was imported from Austria (10%), Spain (9%) and Poland (9%). Majority of export went to Slovakia (90%).

Imports of poultry meat went up by 22.1% (by 3,172 tons) and exports increased by 7.3% (by 420 tons) y-o-y. Poultry meat was imported largely from Poland (43%) and to a lesser extent from Brazil (19%), Slovakia (12%) and France (7%). Poultry meat was exported predominantlyto Slovakia (36%), to a lesser amount to Germany (18%) and Hungary (17%).

Source: newsroom – meattradenewsdaily.co.uk

Barcelona, regarded as one of Europe’s most visually stunning cities, is mostly associated with art and architecture. Barcelona is considered a place to go for a cultural experience. With culture comes food.

From 2005 to 2006 Barcelona commanded culinary respect when it hosted a 12-month celebration and exhibition of food. Since then, Barcelona has not been able to live down its reputation.

Barcelona features chefs from all over Spain and around the world, but an appreciation of two qualities — local and fresh— bind them together.

People in Barcelona love fish, rabbit, duck, lamb and natural ingredients such as mushrooms and herbs from the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. If you’ve never been able to tell when dishes are made from frozen ingredients, a visit to Barcelona will grant you the ability.

Barcelona’s chefs have a signature style which is unique pairing. You will find menus with creative and tempting food couples such as duck and pears and goose with prunes. Fish with nuts is also popular.

Visitors usually find the combination of flavors quite irresistible. More than a few travelers overspend because they are enticed by food adventures. For many, the tasty budget busting is well worth it.

Advice Before You Go Out

Speaking of money, there are a few things to consider unless the number of euros you peel off doesn’t concern you.

If you choose to eat in touristy places, you will eat like a tourist. That means you will get scanty portions of somewhat authentic and mediocre food.

Lunch, usually served from 2 to 4 p.m., is the locals’ main meal of the day. If money and value concern you, it should be yours too. Most restaurants offer a menu of the day which may be one of the most delicious deals in Europe. Usually you get three generous courses including wine and coffee for only €5.50 to €25.

Dinner in a restaurant may be something you wish to try for a night or two. If you plan to dine in restaurants every night, hopefully you are not a budget traveler.

People of Barcelona eat late and enjoy courses. Dinner rarely starts for locals before 9pm.

Don’t be shocked to find that the portions are small, especially if you eat in a touristy restaurant. Usually items are a la carte. So you may find that you order a meat dish but vegetables, if desired, must be ordered separately. By the time you receive the bill, it can easily amount to €55 or €60 per person.

To do as the locals do, in lieu of restaurants for dinner, you will choose tapas. If tapas had to be compared to something, fast food would probably be best. But the offerings are not burgers and fries.

Tapas are small portions of fresh foods that are prepared quickly. A delicious example is gambas ajillo (shrimp in garlic). Tapas dishes are not designed to get you full. And, the tapas experience is not meant to be had in single location. The idea is to have a dish or two in one place and continue to the next and the next until you have had your fill.

Breakfast in Barcelona is far from an extravagant affair. For most people, a cup of strong coffee will do. Sometimes locals go for bread or patisseries.

Specialties
Barcelona’s diet is a healthy one which thrives on seafood, fibrous vegetables and red wine. But the three absolute musts in every kitchen are olive oil, tomatoes

and garlic.

Fideua is a good example of how the popular ingredients merge. This dish is like a special Catalan paella. It is cooked in a large flat pan with olive oil, shellfish, poultry, meat and vegetables. The unique twist is that skinny noodles replace rice.

Mar i muntanya (sea and mountain) is a specialty dish which is hard to hide from. In Barcelona, chefs have their own method of surf and turf. It is not merely the predictable steak and shrimp that most Americans know. Sea and mountain pairs game with seafood. So you may well find at your fingertips a platter of rabbit with prawns or meatballs with cuttlefish.

Pa amb tomaquet is thick rustic bread doused with olive oil and rubbed with garlic and tomatoes topped by a pinch of salt. This is a Catalan staple that is delicious anytime.

Espinacas a la Catalana is spinach made divine by cooking it in olive oil, with garlic, pine nuts, raisins and sometimes bacon bits.

Additionally, there are five sauces that lie at heart of Catalan cuisine:

Sofregit consists of fried onions, tomato and garlic.

Samfaina is sofregit with red pepper and eggplant.

Picada has a base of ground almonds accompanied by garlic, parsley, pine or hazel nuts, and usually breadcrumbs.

Allioli is pure garlic and virgin olive oil whipped into a mayo that you will find served with potatoes and vegetables.
Romesco consists of almonds, tomato, olive oil, garlic and vinegar. This sauce is sometimes used as salad dressing.

Drinking

Barcelona’s cuisine is most often complimented with robust Catalan wines from the Pendes region. While you may enjoy the chase of hunting down a nice red wine, white wines are almost always better. Most popular is cava, a local sparkling white wine.

Sangria is also popular. Some restaurants place jugs of it on the tables. This drink is usually made with wine and fruit punch. But be careful. Sometimes sangria is laced with brandy. For those who aren’t accustomed to the mixture, the end results can be heavy.

Estrella Damm is a local beer that has several varieties. If you are going for potency, you’ll want Voll Damm. If you want to experiment with your brew, order a clara, which is beer with a generous splash of lemonade.

Bars, cafes, tapas, whiskerias (singles bars filled with professional escorts) xampanyerias (cava bars), restaurants and beer halls— each of these places have their own styles and offerings. In Barcelona, you won’t go hungry or thirsty. And you won’t be able to stick to a diet either.

Located in the Sants-Montjuic district of Barcelona, the Mossen Costa i Llobera Garden is considered by many to be one of the most important succulent plant gardens in the world. Dedicated to cacti and other tropical plants from as far away as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mexico, the garden offers a range of scenery unlike anywhere else in the area.

Mossen Cinto Verdaguer Garden

The Mossen Cinto Verdaguer Garden, which is also located in the Sants-Montjuic district, is known for its beauty and tranquility. Dedicated to aquatic, bulb, and rhizome plants, the garden showcases outstanding planning based on color and height, with extra consideration given to the blooming period of each species. The best time to visit is from March to April or July to September when the garden is in full bloom.

With so many beautiful gardens to see in Barcelona, it can be hard deciding on which ones to visit. For a unique experience, consider going to one of the city’s thematic gardens. With a different theme featured in each of the three locations, you can witness spectacular sights unlike anything else in the city.

This occurs to me while using a fork to move about a bland nugget of chicken breast, pushing it this way and that on a plate packed with other pieces of poultry, red peppers, bamboo shoots, onions, and basil leaves in the sort of simple curry sauce you can make at home if you follow directions printed on cans of commercial curry paste. Crammed alongside is steamed jasmine rice wrapped in a banana leaf — which, granted, is probably something you would not have around the house.

We are at one of the tables on a 100-plus-seat patio wrapped around Balans in Mary Brickell Village. The original stands in London, and Miami’s first outpost opened in 1997 on Lincoln Road. Back then, it felt like a privately owned neighborhood joint — if located on a touristy track. The past decade has brought four more in London, this newest Brickell outpost, and a third local Balans that will soon debut on Biscayne Boulevard at 67th Street.

As I stare blankly at the chicken curry and music blares loudly enough to drown out the gurgling of fountains that run parallel to the patio tables, I wonder, Just how many branches of a restaurant does it take before the place becomes thoroughly impersonal? It’s difficult to say, but whatever that number is, Balans has passed it.

Which isn’t to say the establishment doesn’t have appeal. On a recent Friday evening, Balans was mobbed (as was Mary Brickell Village, in a way unthinkable a year ago). It’s easy to see why: a relaxed ambiance, accessible food (including, incidentally, a very agreeable brunch), hip cocktails, and a final bill that won’t break the bank. That last point is particularly pertinent — most plates go for less than $20.

Service isn’t a strong suit. During slow times, slow waiters served us; a busier night brought a harried waitress who worked hard and gallantly — and came pretty close to getting the job done. But she was stretched way too thin.

Diners are started with a timbale of olive spread and a basket of Parmesan-herb flatbread plus slices of what is either dull, airy baguette or Cuban bread. The culinary choices are printed on the front of a long laminated menu (same as the one at the Lincoln Road locale), but, as an out-of-town guest noted, “This seems like the sort of place where most people come for the drinks.” Indeed, a bevy of beers, wines, and cocktails is listed on the flip side of the shiny sheet, and as if to bolster said guest’s assumption, margaritas, mojitos, and Long Island iced teas are proffered by the pitcher.

If it isn’t a diner’s natural inclination to imbibe, it might be after sampling some of the generously salted snacks, such as chicken quesadilla — four triangles of griddled flour tortilla filled with potently seasoned nubs of breast meat and some type of processed pepper jack cheese. Once you plop fresh tomato salsa on the tortilla and then swipe it through plated squiggles of sour cream and tomatillo salsa, it adds up to a vaguely satisfying appetizer. Other less than inspiring but eminently edible opening numbers include fried calamari, pot stickers, and popcorn shrimp. It isn’t so much the formulaic nature of the selections that leaves us cold, but how 1990s they are (one of only two seafood entrées is Chilean sea bass, which is both dated and ecologically insensitive).

Still, you can get a solid burger with tasty char-grill flavor on a toasted bun served with skinny, pre-battered frozen fries that seem popular for their snappy crispness. Steaks, too, come assertively flamed and appropriately juicy. Properly cooked spaghetti is laced with moist morsels of lobster meat in mellow lobster-cream sauce, although small, hard cubes of salty pancetta seemed indelicately paired with the daintily flavored crustacean.

Most diners choose to sit outside this time of year, but the interior is lovely, if misleadingly suggestive of an Asian restaurant.

Black lacquer tables are neatly arranged in the earth-toned space, and gray Eastern prints in red frames adorn textured taupe walls. So you might define this particular Balans as a London-based Miami restaurant serving globally inspired “modern brasserie-café” fare in an Asian setting. Which brings us to the jambalaya: a base of spicy, Louisiana-style red rice generously stocked with plump shrimp, teeny clams, calamari rings thick as Lance Armstrong bracelets, and an avalanche of chorizo coins that I deemed a jackpot but everyone else at the table thought was overpowering. Also blanketing the rice was an abundance of crisply fried onions — at best unnecessary and at worst reminiscent of T.G.I.Friday’s. Yet there are enough brisk flavors involved to satisfy most (but not most discriminating) diners, and the price is right: $19.50.

An abbreviated dessert menu trots out treats such as lemon mousse, dulce de leche crêpes, and a dulce de leche/banana sundae. On one occasion, we were served by a waiter who admitted to having “just started here,” which was his way of trying to recover from a muffed description of blueberry and pear cobbler that included news of the granola topping being “solid, not liquid.” I went with the brownie, a sizable flat square of microwave-warmed flourless pecan brownie that in tandem with pistachio ice cream does the trick for most people. Sticky toffee pudding was more intriguing — the traditional British dessert rendered as a date-flavored muffin and submerged with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in toffee syrup. There is no sweet tooth on Earth that this dessert can’t sate.

Plenty of potential postdinner cocktails are listed alongside the sweets on the dessert menu, but no mention of coffee or tea. An American version of the former brought a very large mug of barely warm brew. In the time it took to get the undrinkable elixir delivered, I could have walked into Starbucks next door and done much better.

Construction workers are applying the finishing touches to the building that houses the latest Balans in MiMo (a three-story project, with ten apartments occupying the top two levels). They have splashed the exterior with coats of beige paint, hung an oversize Balans sign, and prepared the sidewalk for some 140 patio seats. One thing these workers won’t be able to do, however, is put a face to it.

This has parallels with salmonella in eggs, where commercial launch of an effective vaccine greatly assisted in eliminating it from laying flocks. Vaccines have also proved successful in the control of various epizootic viral disease such as Newcastle Disease or infectious bursal disease (Gumboro).

The interest in reducing campylobacter is being driven by the European Commission which last year asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to consider approaches and targets to reduce campylobacter in poultrymeat. The poultry sector is being targeted as it has been suggested that up to 85% of human infections are caused by campylobacters from poultry.

Campylobacter jejuni and its close relative C coli commonly colonise the chicken gut in large numbers while the birds show no obvious symptoms. And these organisms contaminate carcasses during processing and can infect humans causing moderate-severe enteritis. Campylobacteriosis is now the most frequently reported cause of food poisoning in Europe.

Most intensively-reared flocks become campylobacter positive after two-three weeks of life (the lag-phase in colonisation). Studies have shown that transmission to flocks occurs horizontally from the environment via a number of routes including human traffic into the houses and possible vectors like water, rodents or flies.

Such routes could be minimised by strict biosecurity, but to date such levels of biosecurity have proved difficult to effectively introduce and maintain. Therefore, there is an increasing recognition for the need for complementary approaches, such as vaccination, to supplement biosecurity in protecting flocks from campylobacter colonisation.

Nevertheless to date, no effective campylobacter vaccines have been commercialised. To discuss progress in this area, an international scientific workshop was held back in April 2009 under the auspices of the European Network of Excellence, Med-Vet-Net.

Immunity to campylobacter

As early as 1992, it was reported that chickens infected with campylobacter generated detectable levels of antibodies in their blood and at the gut surfaces. These antibodies were directed against those parts of the bacterium essential for colonisation like the flagella (projections).

Importantly, the level of these antibodies was associated with the elimination of colonisation in older birds and with partial protection from subsequent challenges. Moreover, it appears that hens can transfer some of this protection, via antibodies in eggs, to their chicks and that this explains the observed lag-phase in flock colonisation. All this evidence provides considerable optimism that vaccination could generate protective antibody responses.

Antibodies are not the only way by which protective immunity is conferred. Certain cellular immune responses are also important in resistance to infection, especially during the initial stages of colonisation.

Recent studies have demonstrated that campylobacter stimulates these cellular responses and that they are genetically determined. This means that it may be feasible to breed future chickens that are more resistant against campylobacter.

Vaccination studies

Since the early 1990s, there have been many experimental studies on vaccination against campylobacter in chickens. Campylobacter is rarely, if ever, vertically transmitted so the target has to be the broiler not the parent flock.

In the broiler, the immune response has to be generated at the gut level, so the approaches used have either involved live organisms colonising the chicken’s gut and producing campylobacter antigens locally, or parts of campylobacter (so called sub-unit vaccines) delivered to the gut surface.

Currently two strategies are generating interesting results. The first strategy involves the use of a live salmonella vaccine genetically engineered to incorporate campylobacter antigens. The salmonella vaccine is also engineered to be quickly eliminated from the chicken’s gut, so that vaccinated birds would be salmonella-negative by slaughter.

To date these experiments have been undertaken using different salmonella strains and campylobacter antigens, by research groups in Poland and the USA. Both groups report successful protection against experimental challenge with campylobacter.

However, the use of a genetically engineered (GM) live salmonella vaccine in food production raises a number of issues regarding consumer acceptability and commercial viability, which will need to be addressed in Europe. Clearly considerable further research is needed to establish the effectiveness of this approach on commercial poultry units.

A second strategy, using sub-unit vaccines of campylobacter has been reported in the UK. Because this approach does not use GM vaccines, acceptability is not an issue. The problem with this approach is that such antigens, delivered orally, fail to generate a response at the chicken’s gut surface.

In mice and humans, there are several materials (adjuvants), which can effectively present the antigens to generate an immune response at the gut surface. Unfortunately, research has shown that most of these adjuvants are ineffective in the bird’s gut.

However, one such adjuvant, chitin microspheres, was able to effectively present a major campylobacter antigen, flagellin, to stimulate both antibody and cellular immune responses in chickens and that these responses gave protection against experimental challenge.

Both strategies provide proof that vaccination is a feasible way of protecting chickens from campylobacter. However, considerably more research is required to establish the practicality of such an approach on commercial units.

In particular there are practical issues regarding vaccine efficacy, safety and stability, as well the timing and delivery method to achieve protection in an immunologically immature and short-lived bird. There is also a need for fundamental research to select the best campylobacter antigens to use and the most suitable adjuvants or live vectors for delivery.

To conclude, vaccination is a long-term strategy requiring considerable future investment. But given the extent of the public health issue, the difficulty in excluding campylobacter from flocks and the current lack of an alternative strategy, a commitment to vaccine development may become worthwhile.

• Diane Newell is an independent consultant who established Food-borne Zoonoses Consultancy in September 2008. She previously worked for the Veterinary Laboratories Agency as a senior scientific consultant.

With such an abundance of glorious autumn fruits and vegetables, we truly are enjoying a veritable cornucopia of seasonal flavours.

One of the best ways to enjoy the bounty is by slow cooking the goods.

And one of the best kitchen investments is a good slow-cooker — that handy standalone appliance that can turn a handful of this, a bit of that into a delicious, slow-cooked work of wonder.

Just out to be enjoyed is The Canadian Living Slow Cooker Collection (Random House) written by our own award-winning author Elizabeth Baird and the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.

It’s a treasury of Canadian Living’s best slow cooker recipes, complete with updated classics and brand-new recipes and ideas.

A boon for busy families, slow cooker recipes save time and money, letting you eat better for less — whether you’re entertaining for a crowd or serving up a simple weeknight meal.

Many of the dishes can simmer away all day and are ready the minute the family comes in ravenous for good food.

The only thing you need to remember is savour the dish. Slowly!

Enjoy the following recipes for the slow cooker:

FIVE-SPICE BRAISED PORK LOIN

Look for a roast with the backbone (chin) removed or with the chops separated at the backbone. From The Slow Cooker Collection.

3 lb. (1.5kg) pork loin centre roast, tied

1/2 tsp. (2ml) pepper

1 Tbsp. (15ml) vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. (30ml) gingerroot

3/4 tsp. (4ml) five-spice powder

1 cup (250ml) sodium-reduced chicken broth

1/4 cup (50ml) Chinese rice wine, sherry or water

2 cups (500ml) pearl onions (one 10oz./284g pkg.)

2 Tbsp. (30ml) cornstarch

Sprinkle pork with half of pepper. In dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown pork all over. Transfer to slow cooker.

Drain fat from Dutch oven. Fry chopped onion, garlic, ginger, five-spice powder and remaining pepper over medium heat, stirring often until onion is softened, about five minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan. Scrape over pork along with rice wine and pearl onions; stir to combine.

Cover and cook on low until pork is tender, about 5 to 6 hours. Transfer pork to cutting board; cover and keep warm for 15 minutes before cutting any strings and cutting across grain into chop-size slices.

Meanwhile skim fat from liquid in slow cooker. Move onions to one side. In small bowl, whisk cornstarch with 1/4 cup (50ml) water; whisk into liquid. Stir to redistribute ingredients.

Cover; cook on high until thickened, about 15 minutes. Serve with pork.

Serves 8.

ROASTED GARLIC

Roasted garlic is a great flavour booster. Now you can make large quantities of it easily, thanks to the slow cooker. From The Slow Cooker Collection:

6 plump heads garlic

1 Tbsp. (15ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. (5ml) dried thyme

Rub loose paper skin off garlic.

If desired, cut off top to just expose tips of cloves.

Arrange garlic, root end down, in a single layer on large sheet of foil. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with thyme.

Pull foil up and around garlic loosely; fold in edges to seal.

Place in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low until fragrant and garlic cloves are tender and golden, about two hours.

(Make-ahead: Let cool. Refrigerate in foil packet for up to 3 days.

Or freeze packet in airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

SO, WHAT’S A SLOW COOKER?

It’s a standalone appliance with a heating element and a ceramic inner dish that cooks foods with slow, moist heat, allowing the meal to be cooked over a long period of time. The insert is removable for easy cleaning.

Crock-Pot slow cookers are the original slow cookers. Research shows it was the Naxon Utilities Corp. of Chicago that developed the Naxon Beanery All-Purpose Cooker in the late 1960s. Rival Industries bought Naxon in 1970, and reintroduced the product under the Crock-Pot name in 1971.

In 1974, Rival introduced removable stoneware inserts. The brand now belongs to Sunbeam Products.

–Crock-pot.ca

TIPS FOR TAKING IT SLOW

- Brown your meats before placing in slow cooker.

- No peeking. Every time you lift the lid you add an extra 15-20 minutes to the cooking process

- Watch the amount of liquids you use — the amount will increase as foods release their own liquids

- Always defrost meat and poultry thoroughly before using in slow-cooker

- Read slow cooker instructions thoroughly before you start.

– Courtesy of The Canadian Living Slow Cooker Collection