A to Z Challenge: O is for Oilseeds

This month, I’m taking part in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, the annual event where hundreds of bloggers write 26 blogs—one for each letter of the alphabet—and post them each day of April, except Sundays. This year, I’m blogging about: THINGS THAT GROW IN ALBERTA. Don’t forget to check back daily and leave a comment on my blog, Facebook page, Twitter, Tumblr or via email at chase.superman.duffy@gmail.com. I’ll randomly pick a few winners who will WIN a SIGNED copy of one of the Chase “Superman Duffy” comics.

Canola is an oilseed.
Sunflowers are oilseeds.
Sesame, flax and saffron are oilseeds.

What’s an oilseed, you ask? Great question! An oilseed is a grain crop—like canola—that is valuable for the oil content it produces.

And in Alberta, we grow a lot of oilseed crops. Not just canola (but most of those yellow fields you see in the summer are responsible for the canola oil in your pantry), but also flax, soybeans, and sunflowers. 
Did you know that the Spitz sunflower plant is in southern Alberta?!

Edible vegetable oils—like canola and sunflower—are mostly used for salads and cooking. When combined with solid fats like palm or palm kernel oil they are used to make margarines and shortenings. Cool, right?

Check your pantry or fridge. By reading the ingredient labels, how many oilseeds products can you find?

Speaking of cooking…did you know TASTING MY STORY, the fourth book in the Chase “Superman” Duffy series is a mystery AND a cookbook? Comment below or on any of my social media links listed above, and you could WIN your own copy. (You’re going to want the recipe for MONSTER COOKIES!)

Gotta Jet! Tomorrow we round off week three of the A to Z Blogging Challenge with a “P” word that always confuses me. See you then!

— Chase Superman Duffy