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Edible iowa river valley

Contentsfall 2006

features

10 on good land

Preserve the Apples, Preserve the OrchardSimple Methods of Apple Preservation Can Also Help ProtectIowas Treasured but Dwindling Orchardsby Kurt Michael Friese

13 movers and shakersRudys Tacos: Waterloos Model of Local Foodby Kamyar Enshayan

14 Iowa foragerVisiting Old Friends in the WoodsInside an Iowa Wild Food Foray at Squire Point with Mycologist Dand Members of the Prairie State Mushroom Clubby Damian Pieper

15 Notes from the foodshed

Traceability: Finding Food in Iowaby Ken Meter

departments

3 grist for the mill

Editors Letter

4 whats in season

Heritage Turkeys: Preserving a Thanksgiving

Tradition, Plate by Plate

by Wendy Wasserman

6 Edible Imbibables

Brewing Up Autumn in Iowa

by Katie Roche

7 subscription form

8 what a difference

a day makes

A Day Trip from Iowa City to Decorah

by Kurt Michael Friese

17 buy fresh, buy local

moving forward

by Mallory Smith

18 Incredible edibles

Food Finds in Ames

by Brian Morelli

19 behind closed doors

Rummaging Through My Fridge

by Rob Cline

20 edible endeavors

Practical Farmers of Iowa: 21 Years

of Sustainable Success

20advertiser directory

cover

The Bounty of Wilsons Orchard

by Carole Topalian

4

8 10

14 15 19

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Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for picking up the premiere issue of the onlyperiodical dedicated entirely to the food scene in east and centralIowa. Edible Iowa River Valley is a seasonal magazine that celebrates

the abundance of Eastern Iowa, from the bluffs of Decorah to theDes Moines metro area, and from our Mississippi River towns toour fertile farms and fields. We showcase the family farmers, chefs,food artisans, farmers market vendors and other food-relatedbusinesses for their dedication to using the highest quality, seasonal,locally grown products.

If you love food that is raised with care, prepared with passion andserved with love, then youll love the people, places and stories ofEdible Iowa River Valley.

Its appropriate that Ediblepremieres here and now. Were a memberof a nationwide family of publications, each locally owned andoperated and each dedicated to showcasing the food that makes itsregion great. Now Iowa stands alongside places like Santa Fe, SanFrancisco, Phoenix, Brooklyn and Cape Cod (among many others)

as a home to an Ediblemagazine.

For our first edition, we sought out the people who know food, and the people who know Iowa, to present theirautumns harvest flavor. Youll hear from our resident beer maven, Katie Roche, about the great fall brews from Imicrobreweries, and from confessed mushroom geek Damian Pieper about a walk in the woods.

Rob Cline will take you Behind Closed Doors in a sneak peak into his refrigerator, and Kamyar Enshayan revto the success of Waterloo landmark Rudys Tacos. We have the first in a series of updates on the Buy Fresh, Buyprogram in our state, and the first nonprofit profile in our series Edible Endeavors. Meanwhile, well show you wgreat Thanksgiving turkey that preserves the heritage of the holiday, and take you on a road trip from Iowa City

while Brian Morelli reveals where to find the good eats in Ames.

All that and more in 24 pages of full-color Edibleyumminess. So sit back, pour yourself a nice cold local brew aAnd you can find even more, like area food events and where to find Edibleon our website at www.EdibleIowa.

Oh, and by the way, every issue ofEdibleis free on the newsstands but it sure would be a great thing if youd pa

along to a f riend, get a subscription for yourself and your extended family, and maybe even stop by our wonderfand tell them that you saw their ad in Edible. Then, tell your friends, coworkers, neighbors, people you stop nexstoplights or ride in elevators with that Edibleis here and they should pick up a copy.

Thanks again for checking us out, and please write and tell us what you think at Info@EdibleIowaRiverValley.co

Enjoy!Wendy Wasserman, PublisherKurt Michael Friese, Editor-in-Chief

2 fall 2006 Edible iowa river valley Edible iowa river valley f

grist

for the mill

EDIBLE iowa river valley

PUBLISHERWendy Wasserman

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFKurt Michael Friese

CONTACT US

Edible Iowa River Valley

22 Riverview Drive NEIowa City, Iowa 52240-7973

Telephone:(319) 400-2526

info@edibleiowarivervalley.com

www.edibleiowarivervalley.com

CUSTOMER SERVICEEdible Iowa River Valleytakes pride in

providing its subscribers with fast, friendlyservice.

Subscribe Give a Gift Buy an Ad(319) 400-2526

info@edibleiowarivervalley.com

LETTERS

To write to the editor, use the address aboveor, for the quickest response, email us:

kurt@edibleiowarivervalley.com

Edible Iowa River Valley is published quarterly by

River Valley Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Subscription rate is $28 annually. Call (319) 400-

2526 to inquire about advertising rates and

deadlines, or email Wendy Wasserman at

wendy@edibleiowarivervalley.com. No part of

this publication may be used without written

permission by the publisher. 2006. Every effort

is made to avoid errors, misspellings, andomissions. If, however, an error comes to your

attention, please accept our sincere apologies and

notify us. Thank you.

Edible Iowa River Valley is proud to bea member of Edible Communities(www.ediblecommunities.com).

our contributors

Damian Pieper was born on a farm in sight of Hamill, Iowa on January 6,1942. He enjoyed a great deal of freedom in some areas of life, but was alwaysscolded for going barefoot. When the family acquired some timberland a fewyears later, he was never prevented from exploring every inch of the property,only being warned to Watch out for the Poison Ivy and carry a stick in caseyou see a rattlesnake. He assumed he was supposed to use the stick to killsnakes, but usually lost the stick long before spotting the first snake. Heentered college the day after graduating from high school. Having attended 3different colleges, he remains an undergraduate in good standing.

Rob Cline is the marketingdirector for The University ofIowa's Hancher Auditorium.He is also the foundingpresident of the Iowa CulturalCorridor Alliance and an activefreelance writer. He lives inCedar Rapids with his wife

Jenny and his children, Bryan,Jessica and Emily.

Kamyar Enshayanis an agriculturalengineer and runsthe University ofNorthern Iowa'sLocal Food Project(www.uni.edu/ceee/foodproject). He is

a member of the Cedar Falls City Council.

An Iowa girl with 8 years in big-city Brooklyn (that's New York, not Iowa),Katie Roche has returned to the Iowa River Valley as Executive Director ofSOTA, the Summer of the Arts, an umbrella organization that includes the bestof the summer festivals and activities in Iowa City. Katie is Edible's residentbrewhound, seeking out the best of the regions 17 microbreweries.

Brian Morelli is a journalist who covers university news for the Iowa CityPress-Citizen. A recent University of Iowa graduate, Morelli has a major in

journalism and minor in political science. Prior to writing, Morelli traveledfor several years primarily in the U.S. and Canada, and he cookedprofessionally at several restaurants across the country, most recently atDevotay. He currently resides in Iowa City with his wife and two children.

Mallory Smith is a native of Iowa City. She has a BA in Home Economics from theUniversity of Iowa and an MBA from Western Illinois University. Her interest infood and business has led to a variety of noteworthy jobs including Peace CorpsVolunteer, Guest Services Director for the Kellogg Center for Rural Development inHonduras and Deli Manager at New Pioneer Co-op. Smith owns and manages MSmith Agency, a business that helps clients such as Practical Farmers of Iowa-BuyFresh, Buy Local, Eulenspiegel Puppets and Midwest Community DevelopmentInstitute to develop and market their services. Smith lives in West Liberty with herhusband Jose and three sons: Erik, Tony and Diego.

Born and raised in the Heartland, Edible Iowa River Valleyeditor-in-chief ChefKurt Michael Friese earned his BA in photographyat Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa before graduating from theNew England Culinary Institute, where he later was a Chef-Instructor. With more than 25 years of professional foodserviceexperience, he has been Chef and owner, with his wife KimMcWane Friese, of the Iowa City restaurant Devotay for 10 years.Devotay is a community leader in sustainable cuisine andsupporting local farmers and food artisans.

Ken Meter, president of Crossroads Resource Center in Minneapolis, serves as aneconomic and strategic advisor to the Aldo Leopold Center for Sustainable

Agriculture at Iowa State University, and has worked with six Iowa regions tocompile economic analysis of the local farm and food economy. He taughteconomics at the University of Minnesota.

Photograph,

CaroleTopalianA recent arrival to Iowa City, Edible Iowa River Valley

publisher brings her culinary curiosity, her backgroundin food marketing and public policy, and her enthusiasmfor all things t asty with her. She most immediately moved to Iowa from Tokyo,

Japan, where she was a senior consultant for www.myfood.jp, a new websiteventure showcasing American food culture to Japanese consumers and media.Before living in Japan, Wendy was on the marketing team for Whole FoodsMarket in Washington, DC, and was the Marketing Associate for one of thecompany's top ten stores.

Photo by Dan Videtich/Radish(Used with permission)

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4 fall 2006 Edible iowa river valley Edible iowa river valley

Ode to the food holidays of autumn and winterwhen eatingbecomes an endurance test! First comes Halloween, then ElectionDay (I usually ponder politics over a pint of ice cream), NationalHomemade Bread Day (Nov. 17), National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day (Dec. 16), and then Hanukkah, Christmas,Kwanza and New Years. But the mother of all American food

holidays is, of course,Thanksgiving. When thinking about

Thanksgiving, think aboutIowas turkey story. Iowa isamong the top states for turkeyproduction, but most of thebirds are conventionally raised incoops where some of a turkeysfavorite pastimes, roosting uphigh and pecking at fresh bugsand grass, are not encouraged.Iowa is also one of the greateststates for wild turkey hunting, where success rates for huntersare considered some of thenations best. Most of these birdsare descendants of flocks that werereintroduced to the wild by t he Department of Natural Resourcesin the 1960s.

On the other hand, there is a cluster of poultry farms that raiseheritage turkeys with an all-natural diet of bugs and grass, plusroom to strut and roost. When that fateful day in November rollsaround, these birds are long on tasty dark meat with thick, meatythighs.

Tom Wahl and Kathy Dice start thinking about this everyspring. Tom and Kathy are the owners and operators of Red FernFarms, a sweet spot tucked along a gravel road in Wapello, about25 miles southwest of Muscatine. Here, in addition tomaintaining a fertile grove of chestnut trees (which they harvestas part of the Southeast Iowa Nutgrowers Association), pawpawsand persimmons, Tom and Kathy raise goats, broiler chickens andturkeys.

The turkeys that Tom and Kathy raise arent the big-breastedwhite birds that end up on super market shelves and over 99percent of Thanksgiving tables across the country. Red Fern Farmturkeys are the svelte dancer-like Narragansetts and waddlingAmerican Bronze turkeystwo heritage turkey lines bred from along line of prized turkey progeny. In June, Tom and Kathy gettheir poult (turkey chicks) directly from a hatchery when thehatchlings are no older than 4 days. They are carefully andlovingly raised on a turkeys delight of fresh pasture, tast y cricketsand plump grasshoppers. Tom and Kathy diligently rotate theirgrazing grounds, protect them from coyotes and do whatever elseneeds to be done to make sure they are happy.

There are eight heritage turkey varieties raised in this country:Standard Bronze, Narragansett, Bourbon Red, Jersey Buff, Blue

Slate, White Holland, Beltsville Small White and Royal Palm.They are all descendants of original breeds that were onceplentiful throughout North America. Many heritage species wereoriginally crosses between regional varieties of wild turkeys anddomesticated birds, which makes sense because turkeys are one ofthe few animal breeds that originated in North America that have

since been domesticated. Despitetheir once plentiful numbers,these breeds were once on theverge of extinction and now areraised mostly on small familyfarms that have an interest inpreserving food traditions.

Saving heritage breeds andthe social, cultural and economichistory that comes with thesefood traditions is one of the mainmissions of Slow Foods Ark ofTaste project. Slow Food is aninternational organizationdedicated to preserving foodtraditions and the communitiesthat rely on them across North

America and the world. SlowFoods Ark USA is a list of all sorts of foodstuffs that have helpedform Americas history: from fruits and vegetables, cured meats,cheese, cereals, pastas, cakes, confectionery to, of course, heritageturkeys. Farmers who raise these breeds are also recognized fortheir dedication to food and cultural history.

Patrick Martins, former Slow Food USA director and co-founder Heritage Foods USA, called Iowa poultry farmer HenryMiller eight years ago in Kalona, about 15 miles south of IowaCity. Martins recognized Millers dedication to the fine craft offarming and his concern for poultry, and convinced him toexpand his poultry flock to include four breeds of heritageturkeys. Now, in addition to his chickens, Miller also raises avariety of heritage turkeys and is recognized by Slow Food USAas a farmer dedicated to preserving endangered poultry breeds.Like Red Fern Farms, Miller gets his birds direct from a hatchery when they are merely days old and raises them on free rangepasture, without antibiotics.

Together, farmers like Tom Wahl, Kathy Dice and Henry

Miller are carefully bringing back breeds once on the verge ofextinction by creating a market demand. They are not alone,according to Heritage Foods USA, which specializes in heritagebreeds of meat and vegetables. Until recently, there were fewerthan 500 farmers raising heritage breeds; now that number isnearly 5,000. Each farmer might not have more than a dozen ortwo birds, but as market demand increases, so will their flocks.

So add the heritage turkey to your own Thanksgivingtraditions. You can help preserve a bird, even if you dont taketime out for National Homemade Bread Day.

whats in season

by Wendy Wasserman

heritage turkeysAn Unconventional Tradition

PhotographbyKurtMichaelFriese.

A proud American Bronze Tom shows his colors.

Tips

Heritage turkeys are best purchased directly from the breeder,and you will probably need to add picking it up to your pre-Thanksgiving rounds. When you think about the size, includea few extra pounds to account for the weight of the feathers,bones and giblets. The breeder will process the birds andremove these extras for you, but if you want the giblets, say so.If you missed your chance this year, tell the breeder you areinterested in a bird for next year. This will give him an idea ofhow many birds to prepare for.

To order

Red Fern FarmTom Wahl & Kathy Dice13882 I StreetWapello, IA 52635(319) 729-5905redfernfarms@lisco.com

Miller FarmHenry & Ila Miller1012 Juniper AveKalona, IA 52247-9117(319) 656-3518

Cooking Heritage Turkeys

When cooking a heritage bird, be aware that theseon average, about 10 percent less time to cooconventional counterparts. Start them off at 425covered in parchment paper (not foil). The bird nan internal temperature of 140150 degrees to be parchment paper should be removed at least 30 mthat time. You will also need to stay on top of bathe bird moist.

For additional heritage turkey cooking tips, go towww.localharvest.org/features/cooking-turkeys.js

To Learn More

For more information about heritaand their conservation, see:www.slowfoodusa.orgwww.heritagefoodsusa.comwww.albc-usa.org

turkey tips

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Just when the Iowa summer is at its most lush, the trees heavy withleaves, the waves of prairie grass rounding out the landscape like amuse for a Grant Wood painting, I inevitably start longing for fall.

They say that you cant appreciate an Iowa winter until youvesweated through an Iowa summer, but for me the reward for thelong, hot summer will always be the instant feeling of coziness that

comes with the colors and the cool of autumn.

As the fields are taken in, t he way that we eat and drink naturallychanges. As a beer connoisseur I find autumns beers to be reflectiveof the seasons flavor, earthiness and spice. Just as a chilled Pinot Griscannot be beat on a blazing July day, it is hard for me to imagine

anything more perfect than a pint of Pumpkin Ale to mark themoment. In fact, where winter beers often lean on the heavy side,offering a higher alcohol content to warm us nose to the toes, autumns

beers are often surprisingly lightweight, though many brewers dopreview the winters heavyweights by introducing some spice and bodyto their fall beers.

Here are some thebest Iowa beers androad trip-worthybreweries to keepyou comfy:

After visiting thecharming andhistoric AmanaColonies youll findthat you needsomething to washdown the requisitejams, mustards andfudge that inevitab-ly weigh you downat the end of yourexplorations. At thetraditional Mill-

stream Brewery youll find that its just as hard to leave this townwithout a sampler six-pack. Their Oktoberfest Beer is one of themost true-to-form German-style lagers available. Nothing

dramatic hereyou wont be pondering over remnants ofcinnamon sticks as with some other fall beers. This is just a goodmalty beer with full, strong, smooth flavor. It usually sells out tolocals and visitors to their Oktoberfest celebration and is almostalways gone by the middle of October. The Millstream Breweryproduces about 1,600 barrels a year and only distributes ineastern Iowa. So, if you want to taste the lovely and light SchildBrau Amber theyve been making for 21 years, leave yourlederhosen at home and get ye to the Amana Colonies.

Over the years if Ive learned one thing about beer sampling,its that a good base of fried food might allow you to imbibe for abit longer than, say, a stomach full of field greens. Beer requires asolid base to stand on and one of my favorite weird brewery foodsthat does the job right has to be deep-fried pickles. So shimmy upto the bar at the Old Capital Brew Works in Iowa City and orderup a plate of these strange craveables with Harvest Moon BelgianWit. Brewed with Curacao orange peel and coriander seeds, onlya great microbrewery could convince a palate that orange andpickle should be paired. And now that the scaffolding is in place,please dont leave without tr ying the Pumpkin Splitter Ale. Servedonly in October, its the perfect prelude t o Novembers full-herbedand bitter Big Cock Country Indian Pale Ale (IPA). AmericanIPAs have been the subject of debate because they are a totallydifferent experience than their weaker and less citric Englishancestors, but this is one gulpable IPA that brew snobs can agreeon.

Oh, beer! How you make everyone a better dancer at leastthats how we feel when were getting a boogie on with one handaround a frosty pint at the Raccoon River Brewing Company inDes Moines. The menu is full of fresh foods that beg you to forgetthe concept of pub food altogether, and Im further convinced by

the great live music and a serious selection of hand-crafted in-house beers. If the smoky soul sisters of Public Property, Iowasmost danceable reggae band, on October 27 arent enough foryou, blaze up your taste buds with a MacCoys Scotch Ale.Imported smoked malt gives this self-described highlandalternative a distinct flavor. Its one of the strongest and darkestbeers of my fall picks; be prepared for a beer thats more a sipperthan a quencher. So when you need t o replenish your system afterPublic Propertys ukulele surprisingly presses your funk button, Irecommend a sweet and hoppy West Coast Wheat to help youfeel as creative as the scene at Raccoon River.

Last but not least, I have to give a shout out to my hometownbrewery in Dubuque, aptly named Bricktown. Housed in amassive, renovated turn-of-the-century warehouse that in a deal-turned-down could have been the manufacturing site of a long-shot idea known as the automobile, this brewery does not suffer

from the same lack of vision that plagued its former tenants.When Dubuque Star Brewery sadly closed doors in 1999 afterbeing in operation since 1898, this river town, which was alreadyon the road to a major renovation, did what river towns do best:bounce back with something shiny and new, housed in history.So, as youre sipping a Laughing Ass, which gives American-stylebeers a good name, take a moment to reflect on Big Miss out thewindow and the abundance that shes brought to the valley thatshe forged.

Edible iowa river valley 6 fall 2006 Edible iowa river valley

edible imbibables

by katie roche

brewing up autumn in iowa

Photographs,CaroleTopalian

I Yes,I want to become a subscriber to Edible Iowa River Valley.I have filled out the and am sending it, along with my check made payable to Edible Iowa River Valley in th$28, (for 4 issues), to: Edible Iowa River Valley,22 Riverview Drive NE, Iowa City, Iowa

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Edible Iowa River Valley is published quarterly by River Valley Press,LLC. 22 Riverview Drive NE,Iowa City, Iowa 5224(319) 400-2526. Distribution is throughout the greater Iowa River Valley region and nationally by subscription.Subscription rate is $28 annually.Call the number above to inquire about advertising rates,deadlines,or subscription ius at: info@edibleiowarivervalley.com. No part of this publication may be used without written permissio 2006 All Rights Reserved.

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Details

Bricktown Brewery & Restaurant299 Main St. (at 3rd)Dubuque, IA 52001(563) 582-0608

www.bricktowndubuque.com

Millstream Brewing Company835 48th Ave.

Amana, IA 52203(319) 622-3672www.millstreambrewing.com

Old Capitol Brewworks and Public House525 S. Gilbert St.Iowa City, IA 52240(319) 337-3422

www.oldcapitolbrewworks.com

Raccoon River Brewing Company200 10th St.Des Moines, IA 50309(515) 362-5222

www.raccoonbrew.com

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For a wonderful way to enjoy autumns abundance, take a daytrip or overnight jaunt through some of eastern Iowas most scenicsmall towns.

Start on a crisp October morning two miles north of Interstate80 at Wilsons Orchard, just off Highway 1. Take in the coolorchard breeze as it mingles with hot apple turnovers from theirbakery. Be sure to ask to see the Hawkeye Apple trees, source ofthe original Red Delicious.

Solon is just 5.2 miles north on Highway 1, and you can stopat Savvy for a great cup of coffee, or, if your timing is right,Redhead is a delightful little restaurant.

From there, another 6.4 miles up Highway 1 will bring you toKrouls pumpkin patch, which is a treat to visit anytime, but kidsespecially like it in October when the pompous pumpkins areeverywhere and scarecrows watch over the dry decorative corn,gourds and squash.

Then its on to Mount Vernon, where you can stroll throughthe leaves of the beautiful Cornell College campus, and do a littleantiquing. Before settling into a delicious meal at the LincolnCafe, one of the areas true hidden gems, consider selecting abottle of wine from DeVine Wines, just a couple doors down.

Taking Highway 30 west from Mount Vernon just a few mileswill bring you to Highway 13, which will take you north to thequaint village of Strawberry Point, home of the worlds largest

statue of a strawberry, and nearby Backbone State Park, Iowasoldest.

Next stop, an unusual town that was made famous by StephenG. Blooms book Postville: A Clash of Cultures in the AmericanHeartland(Harvest Books, 2001), which tells the story of how aLubavitcher rabbi bought a declining meat-processing plant thereand turned it into a kosher processor, simultaneously turning thetiny town of Postville into the city with the largest percentage ofrabbis in the world. Dont miss the kosher market, Jacobs Table,but remember they close two hours before sundown on Friday,

and all day Saturday.Its only 30 miles up Highway 52 from Postville to Decorah,

past the Bily Clocks Museum & Antonin Dvorak Exhibit inSpillville. Decorah is home to one of Iowas greatest gifts to thefood world, Seed Savers Exchange, where they care for more than30,000 varieties of heirloom seeds, 80 head of rare Ancient WhitePark cattle, beautiful gardens and a new post-and-beam visitors

center. In downtown Decorah, you could enjoy a frosty treat atthe 50-plus year-old Whippy Dip, shop at Oneota Co-op, andthen sit down to a fantastic supper at La Rana Bistro. La Rana isa cozy place with a nice wine list and excellent, carefully preparedfood from local ingredients.

If you can stay the night, consider the Hotel Winneshiek, justa block from La Rana, and recently restored to turn-of-the-last-century grandeur. Or, double back to Spillville and the homeyTaylor-Made B&B.

Nows the perfect time to take this tri p, while the fall colors areat their best and the air is crisp with apples and pumpkins.

Edible iowa river valley f8 fall 2006 Edible iowa river valley

what a difference a day makes

by kurt michael friese

a day trip from iowa city to decorah

Photograph,

KurtMichaelFriese

If You GoBackbone State Park1347 129th St.Dundee, IA 52038(563) 924-2527

http://www.iowadnr.com/parks/state_park_list/backbone.html

Bily Clocks Museum& Antonin Dvorak Exhibit

323 S. Main St.Spillville, IA 52168(563) 562-3569www.BilyClocks.orgClosed December-February

DeVine Wines125 1st St. W.Mount Vernon, IA 52314(319) 895-9465

Hotel Winneshiek104 E. Water St.Decorah, IA 52101(563) 382-4164(800) 998-4164

www.hotelwinn.com

Jacobs Table121 West GreenePostville, IA 52162(563) 864-7087

Kroul Farm Gardens245 Highway 1 S.Mount Vernon, IA 52314(319) 895-8944 or 895-8999

La Rana120 Washington St.Decorah, IA 52101(563) 382-3067

Lincoln Cafe117 1st St. WestMount Vernon, IA 5 2314(319) 895-4041www.FoodIsImportant.com

Oneota Co-op415 W. Water St.Decorah, IA 52101(563) 382-4666www.oneota.net/~foodcoop/

Seed Savers Exchange3094 North Winn RoadDecorah, IA 52101(563) 382-5990www.seedsavers.org

Taylor-Made B&B330 Main Street

Spillville, Iowa 52168(563) 562-3958

Whippy Dip130 College DrDecorah, IA 52101

Wilsons Orchard2924 Orchard Lane NEIowa City, IA 52240(319) 354-5651

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on good land

by Kurt michael friese

preserve the apples, preserve the orchard

Simple Methods of Apple Preservation Can Also Help Protect Iowas Treasured but Dwindling Orchards

One sure sign of autumn in the Iowa River Valley is theincrease in traffic on Highway 1 just north of Iowa City. Not onlyis it a scenic drive (see What a Difference a Day Makes in thisissue), but it is also the way to t he famous Wilsons Orchard. HereJoyce and Chug Wilson care for 80 rolling acres and nearly 140varieties of apples that people drive well out of their way to enjoy.

Strolling amid the well-tended rows of apples, you can feelalmost instantly at peace. There is no traffic noise, no blaring

advertisements, no background staticonly the occasionaltickling buzz of a honeybee flying by to see who is appreciatinghis work. In mid to late October, the trees are usually heavy-ladenwith yellow, blush, red and gold, and this year is no exception.Chug Wilson calls the 2006 crop a limb-buster, which is awelcome relief after 2005s disastrous late-spring freeze, whichwiped out the blooms on Wilsons trees and left a harvest of zero.

We had to import apples from Wisconsin to sell in theorchard store, Chug told me on a recent visit. Never had to dothat before.

Like all farming, growing apples is a very challengingundertaking, subject to the whims of weather and the market,insects, environment and urban sprawl.

Iowa was once the second largest apple producer in thecountry, not behind Washington but behind Michigan. Theubiquitous Red Delicious apple was originally called theHawkeye, and was developed in the late 1800s by MadisonCounty farmer Jesse Hiatt. He sold the rights to the Stark

Brothers Fruit Company of Missouri, which propagated cuttingsfrom the original tree near Peru, Iowa, and hybridized it out of allresemblance to its origins. Today, Red Delicious apples found ingrocery stores are bred for appearance and durability, not flavor.

On November 11, 1940, the Armistice Day Freeze sweptacross the Midwest, devastating many states, and none was morehard-hit than Iowa. Because its storied orchards, known to be thebest nationwide, were still heavy with leaves and fruit, the icestorm destroyed them. Lightning split Jesse Hiatts Hawkeye inhalf. Since orchards are expensive to replant and can take up to 10

years to come to fruition, and with war on the horizon, Iowasorchards were plowed under and replaced with corn andsoybeans.

But Hiatts little tree resprouted, phoenix-like, from thesevered trunk. It grows there today, cared for by its ownhorticulturalist from Iowa State University Extension, serving asymbol of what was and still could be in Iowas apple market.

Joyce and Chug Wilson know these challenges all too well andhave had plenty of offers from land developers to plow their treesunder in favor of zero-lots, split-level ranches or McMansions.Theyve been tempted, but have never relinquished the land. Itsfar too valuable to them as it is, which the glint in Chugs eyeshows you when he so much as talks about his apples, or whenyou see Joyce pull her magnificent apple turnovers from the ovenin the orchard store.

Enjoy one of those hot turnovers as you ride behind Chug andhis wide-brimmed hat aboard his big old tractor, towing you andmany others on a tour of the land on a crisp October morning.Preferably, share the experience with one or more children. Pick abasket of Suncrisps, Blushing Goldens, Spigolds and Crispins. Infact, pick two baskets full, or even three. Dont worry abouthaving too much; they store very well, and you can preserve evenmore by saucing, drying, canning or freezing them.

Treasures like Wilsons Orchard, and the other orchardsaround the state, will survive only so long as there is demand fortheir luscious products. Buying more and preserving the excess isa good way to support the artisan-orchardists of Iowa, while alsogetting lots of tasty treats for your family.

To store your fresh-picked apples, Joyce says, place them in aplastic bag with a dripping wet cloth or paper towel. Refrigeratethem as soon as possible (ideally at 35 degrees and near 100percent humidity) apart from other fruits and vegetables. Theearly summer apples will keep this way for a week or so, but laterapples like Gala, Honeycrisp and Blushing Golden will last forthree to six months.

Canning apples is not as daunting as it may seem. As with allcanning, cleanliness and organization are the keys to success, and,done right, youll have the perfect filling for a hot apple pie onNew Years Day or beyond.

Photographs,KurtMichaelFrieseDetailsWilsons Orchard

2924 Orchard Lane NE(On Highway 1, 2.2 miles north of I-80)Iowa City, IA 52240(319) 354-5651Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m.,

August, September and October

Big Batch Applesauce

Choose your favorite kind of apples,since nearly any kind will do. Youlladjust the sweetness at the end. Leavingthe peels on will change the texture,flavor and sometimes the color (red ones

will) of the sauce. This is entirely a matterof personal taste.

1/2 bushel apples, peeled (if desired),quartered and cored

2 quarts (or so) waterSugar to taste, perhaps as much as 46cups, depending on your taste and the type of apple.

Place the apples in a large, heavy-bottomed kettle or stockpot, withenough water so that they wont stick to the bottom while c ooking.Place over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer, cover and simmerabout 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

When apples are tender, remove to one or more large cookie sheetsuntil cool enough to handle.

For a chunky sauce, use a fork or potato masher to achieve desiredconsistency. For a smooth sauce, pass the apples through a foodmill. Sweeten to desired level after mashing.

To can applesauce, pack 1/4 inch from the top. Por quarts for 25 minutes

water bath.

Apple Pie Filling for

10 cups water1 cup cornstarch4 1/2 cups sugar1/4 tsp fresh ground nutm2 tsp fresh ground cinnam1 tsp salt

Combine 2 cups of the wcornstarch, and stir until smooth and milky. This is aside.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a large saucepan aboil. Mix the slurry again and add gradually to the bostirring it constantly. Turn down to a simmer, cook 2more, stirring constantly, then set aside.

Peel and slice enough pie apples (Granny Smiths arefill 7 or 8 quarts. Fill the jars with apples. Pour cookseal. Cook in pressure canner at 5 pounds pressure 5 or for 20 minutes in boiling hot water bath.

Editors Note: Always follow the instructions that accanning equipment.

apple recipes

Joyce Wilson pulls another fresh batch of delicious apple turnovers

from the oven at Wilsons Orchard store.

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A few years ago, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courierran an articleheadlined Chains vs. Independent Restaurants in which theindependents complained about how the chains are taking theirmarket share. A few days later, I noticed a letter in response byBarry Eastman, owner of the local independent restaurant, RudysTacos in Waterloo.

As restaurant owners our job is to create the best foodpossible. In order to take the chains head-on, we have to producea better product, period. To achieve this goal, we must firstimprove the quality of our ingredients. This can easily be done bypurchasing fresh, local ingredients directly from local farmers.This is something the chains cannot do. And the chains are goingto keep coming. Now is the time for independents to prove whatbeing local is all about.

In 1997, a couple of my students and I tracked two chickensall the way back to the eggs and wrote a report called A Tale ofTwo Chickens. One chicken was raised locally and organically;the other came all the way from Alabama, from a ConAgraprocessing plant. The chicken contract grower (one of 160) wasraising 140,000 chickens eight times per year, was dissatisfiedwith the price ConAgra was dictating to him, and did not evenknow what was in the feed. ConAgra brought him the feed,which contained two kinds of antibiotics, on a routine basis froma ConAgra feed mill. Based on ConAgras most optimisticprojections, the net annual income of the contract farmer I spoke

withafter growing nearly a million chickens per yearwas$21,000.

After trying the locally raised chicken, Eastman started servinglocal, organic chicken as a standard part of Rudys menu. Hischickens come from Welsh Family Organic Farm near Lansing.They buy the chicks from an Iowa hatchery, raise the feedorganically and do not give animals any drugs. They raise a totalof 150,000 chickens per year, setting their price so that they canmake a living (far better than $21,000 a year, they told me).

On the dinner plate, these two chickens would look identical,but they represent two different rural economies, two differentfutures, two different qualities. In the much shorter, local food-supply chain, Eastman knows he is getting the freshest, highestquality ingredients; he also knows exactly where the ingredients

come from, and he knows the farmers. He is livelihood of the farmers, who, in turn, support a local businesses.

Now, nearly 10 years later, Eastman buys chickcheese, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cut flowers anlocally. Nearly 70 percent of food purchases for Ru15 or so nearby food and farm businesses. Thats to any high-end restaurant in the nation. And Wis simply a popular local diner serving excellent reasonable price.

Barry Eastmans work has been a n inspiration oin the area. Last year, 21 buyers (restaurants, grochomes, hospitals and colleges) purchased $600grown foods, a quarter of it by Rudys alone. Eaeasy to buy from local farmers, it has worked grehis customers love it. As Eastman wrote, iindependent restaurants to show what being loca

movers and shakers

by kamyar enshayan

rudys tacos: waterloos model of local foo

PuppetsbyMattKollasch.

BarryEa

stmanbyArionThibourmery

DetailsRudys Tacos2401 Falls AveWaterloo, IA 50701(319) 234-5686

Welsh Family Organic Farm1509 Dry Ridge Dr.Lansing, IA 52151(563) 535-7318

Rudys Tacos owner Barry Eastman with some of his locally g

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With its lush, sprawling expanses of corn and soybeans, and with numerous livestock operations scattered across its plains,Iowa is often viewed as the epitome of a farm state. Indeed, Iowaranks third in the nation for farm sales, selling $15 billion in2004, and leads the nation in production of grain, hogs and eggs.Northeastern Iowa is a national leader in organic foodproduction. Food sales at Oneota Coop in Decorah are ri sing 30

percent per year.Yet immense clouds loom on the horizon. From 1998 through

2004, Iowa farmers lost $2.8 billion dollars raising foodcommodities, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Forfive of those years in a row, farm losses averaged $1 billion a year.Rising energy costs may inflict greater losses. Already productionlosses are deeper than during the credit crisis of the 1980s.

This downward spiral is a long-term one. Iowa farmers earn $3billion less per year by farming (adjusted for costs of living) thanthey earned 35 years ago, despite doubling their farmproductivity. This gives Iowa the dubious honor of posting thegreatest loss in production income of any state in the nation.

To compensate, farm families take on off-farm work. Federalsubsidies also help, averaging $1.7 billion per year. Yet this is sti lla striking dependence on public moneys, at a time when politicalleaders say that, after Iraq and Katrina, we cannot count onfederal money being available. Further, the World Trade

Organization has ruled that U.S. farm subsidies harm developingcountries, and must be scaled back.Even in their best years, farmers ship billions a year out of the

state, buying farm inputs that are sourced elsewhere. Theirpurchases of petroleum products, livestock feed and farmchemicals each year would be enough to pay for all food eaten athome by all state residents.

Tragically, farmers who work at a loss have also helpedundermine the regions water quality. The Iowa DNR reportsthat nitrogen and phosphorus levels in Iowa streams are two to10 times the levels considered appropriate for healthy waters.Manure and commercial fertilizer, it adds, cause one-third ofnitrogen inputs and 99 percent of phosphorus inputs.

Yet Iowa suffers from an even more curious dependency.Living in one of the most productive farm states, Iowans buyalmost all their food from other states. Farmers currently sell only0.1% of their production directly to consumers. The LeopoldCenter for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University

calculates that on average, food is consumed 1,500 miles awayfrom the farms where it is produced. This means most of the $6.5billion dollars Iowa residents spend buying food each year leavesthe stateeven as farmers struggle.

Moreover, as the Wall Street Journalreported late in 2005, theU.S. itself is becoming a net food importer on a permanentbasiswith imports of Iowas most prized commodities, such asgrains and meats, rising.

Iowa consumers, who have taken for granted the availability of

cheap foods raised far away, may be in for a rudeillusion has been based on cheap oil, also subsidizegovernment. Now, roughly 17 percent of all eneU.S. is required for bringing food to our tablesbillion per year. Moreover, oil supplies are peakchoices are highly dependent on the price of political and military decisions made far away. Tstate highly vulnerable.

As Iowa consumers become divorced from the sfood, they suffer in other ways; 61 percent overweight. The medical costs of obesity total $7year.

Many Iowans are tired of feeling helpless in thtrends. They have set to work building new local Their work has been strengthened by the Leopold role in convening campaign leaders to deepen sWith Leopold Center support, I have been privwith six regional foods efforts in 26 Iowa counties,and food economies in each place.

One example is the Northeast Iowa Food and F

notes from the foodshed

by ken meter

traceability: finding food in iowa

After Dean Abel and I passed the Squires Point Sign, an Americangoldfinch led us down the shady lane toward the parking lot. The

weather was perfect, and no mosquitos were out, perhaps due to theprevious chilly night. Through the open window, I heard a house wrensing and then a cardinal flew across the lane. Out from the woodsbeside the parking area appeared two earlybirds, my friends TomSchulein of Iowa City and Roger Heidt of Robins. A cottontail rabbitdashed across the gravel as Roger explained the four-letter notation forlisting birds. Tom said he heard a great-crested flycatcher, but none ofus could see it.

The miniscule white flowers of honewort and windflower greetedus along the broad trail as well as thread petals (or daisy fleabane). AsI snacked on the intensely lemon-flavored yellow wood-sorrel andsomewhat less lemony green fruit of gooseberry, I looked up to seemyriad little purple-brown, four-petaled flowers looking down at me.They were the flowers of Native American wahoo. Dean pointed out avery large crown coral fungus, two or three yards off the trail on alength of dead tree branch. I pulled branches down to pick the fruit ofa Siberian black mulberry overhead.

Tom said he heard the call of an ovenbird. Then he spotted the little white birds nest fungus. Roger admired the ebony spleenwortscattered here and there in the area. Dean recognized a lady fern and

we all saw the maidenhair fern. Dean thought he found the poroidversion (meaning having pores) of coral slime. Checking it later,under the microscope, proved that it was, indeed, the poroid form.

I noticed a small population of apparently very young sensitive fernon the opposite side of the path near the place where I picked andchewed a few prickly gooseberries. We all admired the airy patches of

white-flowered Eurasian marsh bedstraw. At first, I thought it might bethe fragrant bedstraw, but no one could detect much fragrance from it,including a young man who had been jogging up the path toward usand was pressed into service to sniff the flowers. He agreed witheveryone else that they had no detectable fragrance.

Roger collected a Scutellinia species and some Hemitrichiacalyculata (nearly microscopic yellow pom-poms in yellow Martiniglass-shaped cups) while Tom collected an identifiable eyelash cup.Roger found a Phellinusshelf, some little black foot polypore and a fewcarbon balls.

Whats this? queried Tom, who had got ahead of the rest of us. Ittook only a glance from three yards away to convince me that he hadlocated Galiella rufa, or rubber cups. Squeeze them, I ordered. Hedemurred. Go ahead, squeeze them hard, I repeated. He must havethought they looked delicate for he gave one such a hesitant touch thatit couldnt possibly have shown how squeezable they are. It was a newspecies for Tom, so he was quite excited about finding it. I came acrossan old dry branch with a lot of split gill on it and scribbled that intomy notebook. What are these little gray balls? said Tom, to no onein particular. Could these behey! I thinkyes! These must beLycogala epidendron, the exploding Pepto-Bismol balloons. He wasnot afraid to squeeze those until they exploded with a most satisfactorypink ooze.

Then we heard Dean shout Eureka! I found it. Always on thelookout for the miniscule and the unusual, he had spotted Cordycepsvaribilisamid the moss of a well-rotted log. We all took time out toinspect both sides of its sporocarp, and the mummified remains of the

insect larva it had parasitized and killed. This is an old artists conkisnt it? Tom asked, as he showed it to me briefly before tossing itsdead, rotting carcass aside. Then he drew everyones attention to a bitof hair on a log. Dean identified that as Stemonitis. It seems to havebeen a slime-mold day for Tom and Roger.

Nice, soggy, moldy log. Oh boy! exclaimed Dean. Who else buta mycologist could sing the praises of such? Up ahead I saw a large,dead, oak snag. Likely a century old before it died. Odd that the largestoak in sight had died while slightly smaller ones thrived all around. It

was well covered with small brackets, which, on closer inspection,proved to be ancient, decayed remains of Trichaptum biforme, thepurple edge or purple tooth fungus.

Here are some dead mans fingers, I heard Tom say. But I did notgo to investigate those, because just in front of me, small groups of ETfingers peeped out from under an enormous fallen log. Judging fromthe number of fingers, the log must have squashed the entire ET crew.Both finds, of course, are fungal and not animal.

I wandered off to another log that no one had yet inspected. Righton top was a young Agaric, which I guessed to be of the speciesTricholomopsis platyphylla, but Dean pointed out to me that its gills

were free and slightly pinkish. He later identified it as Pluteus pallidus,the little fawn mushroom. A few inches away, and on the same log,

were half a dozen holes through the bark, each large enough to hold apen or fat pencil. From three of those holes, fungous structures hademerged that seemed to have a micro-suede, deep-brown surface. Their

shape was somewhat irregular and each stood on a stout, green-blackstipe. I had discovered the Mystery Mushroom of the day. I glancedback to see Roger had whipped out his collapsible saw. While Rogersawed away at the log, Dean searched for a suitable container to holdthe unknown life form for further study. It now rests in a moistchamber, an antique glass tumbler with glass lid, in Deans kitchen. Heinspects it daily, waiting for developments, hoping it will identify itself.None of us could.

Dean announced the finding ofCoprinus radians, and Tomreplied, Dean taught me that one last year.

We trekked uphill into a small remnant of a pine plantation,hoping to locate other species in the different habitat, perhaps someblue mushrooms. Instead, I found a single well-dried specimen ofearthstar, too weathered to be identified to species.

Tom, Dean, and Roger chatted about the future possibility ofarranging a Bioblitz, or all-species inventory at Hickory Hill Park.Roger collected a small cluster of mushrooms, which I was able toimmediately identify as Coprinus quadrifidus, shingle top inkys.

We returned to the parking lot for a well-deserved, and well-anticipated, picnic lunch. We lingered on there, enjoying the perfect

weather and marvelous surroundings. On the way home, I saw a Robinand then, a great surprise, a Falco sparverius, the American kestrel, flewacross the highway, so close in front of us that narrow tan and whitestripes that cover its underside in flight were clearly visible.

Back home in the kitchen, the fragrances of cooking fawnmushroom and shingle top inkys made my mouth water. Supper wasa delicious finale to a fine day thoroughly enjoyed.

Damian Pieper and Dean Abel are editors of the Prairie StateMushroom Club newsletter, Symbiosis. This article is adapted from fieldnotes first published in Symbiosis, Volume 22, Number 4.

iowa forager

by damian pieper

visiting old friends in the woods

Inside an Iowa Wild Food Foray at Squire Point with Mycologist Damian Pieperand Members of the Prairie State Mushroom Club

Photograph,

CaroleTopalian

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centered in Decorah (see page 9). Here, a combination offarmers, lenders, Main Street businesses, input dealers andconsumers has launched a bold strategy to localize the foodsupply.

Woodbury Countys resolution requiring county offices to buylocal, organic foods when available has inspired like-minded worknationally, including a similar resolution in Cherokee County.Woodbury also gives a property tax break to farmers who convertto organic food production, apparently the first county in thenation to do so.

University of Northern Iowas local foods project is alsonationally revered. With sparse funding, it has fosteredtremendous growth in local food sales from farmers torestaurants, institutions and schools. Sales have risen from

$100,000 to $600,000 over the past eight years.New food manufacturers are also springing up. In Clarinda,

Naturally Iowa produces organic milk, yogurt and ice creamand molds its own bottles from a corn-derived plastic. Food Alliance Midwest has worked with Naturally Iowa and withPractical Farmers of Iowa (see page 20) to identify new markets.

Consumers are also organizing. Heres to Our Health inWright County found there is already a quarter-million-dollars worth of local food sales there. Theyve helped new farmersmarkets emerge, and have publicized the established wordmissing here? as well. ZJ farms in Solon raised special funds sothat low-income neighbors could buy shares in theirCommunity-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm (see FoodSecurity, page 15). Several Slow Food chapters hold taste

education workshops and build gardens in local schools,promoting higher quality cuisine.

Importantly, Iowas Resource Conservation and Developmentdistricts have begun to realize they cannot attain good waterquality, or stable farms, unless they focus their attention oneconomic development that builds local food, energy andrecreation businesses. Prairie Rivers (six central counties near Ames) and Golden Hills (eight counties in the southwest)districts have taken the lead. Now the discussion is movingstatewide.

PFI also brings producers together to learn more effectiveproduction methods. Coalitions such as Women, Food and Agriculture Network and Iowa Network for Community Agriculture have added vision and vitality to these efforts by

raising public awareness. The National Catholic Rural LifeConference has assisted several Iowa communities in mappingtheir local assets. Food Policy Councils, such as the state councilhoused at the Drake University Law School, helped coordinatepolicy attention to these efforts. Iowa State University scholarshave often lent expertise.

These are still fledgling efforts to stem immense losses. Yetindisputably, these lay the foundation for regional food networksof the future that will be essential, if we are to reverse the lossesthat are structured into the prevailing farm and food economy.Strangely, these courageous pioneers remain obscure to themainstream media, and most consumers.

Sidebar shown at bottom of next page

It is somewhere between idea and institution. That is myanswer when people ask about the progress of the Buy Fresh, BuyLocal program in Iowa. Rolled out byKamyar Enshayan in the Black HawkCounty area in 2003, Buy Fresh, BuyLocal Iowa is a marketing campaign thatpromotes the consumption of locallyproduced foods in our fair state. Iowa isone of more than a dozen states withcampaigns doing the same good work. Infact, Iowa is one of the foundingcollaborators, thanks to the folks atPractical Farmers of Iowa, whoenthusiastically stepped forward a fewyears ago to participate in the initialmarket research and campaign design.Other Buy Fresh, Buy Local states includeCalifornia, Pennsylvania, Alabama andMontana.

The campaign cycle begins in the spring with a membership drive and annualplanning. In early summer local food directories are printed anddistributed. Once that enormous task is taken off the to-do list,campaign focus shifts to events and educational outreach. Evaluationand planning wrap up the year. Fall and winter campaign activitiesinclude local meals at restaurants, farms tours, cooking classes andwinter farmers markets.

In Iowa the state campaign is an umbrella organization for anetwork of local campaigns, each with its own oversight committee,coordinator, support agency and evaluator. Local campaigns recruitmembers, manage budgets, print local directories and host eventsthat highlight the benefits of eating local foods. Practical Farmers ofIowa, as the statewide coordinator, provides technical assistance,facilitates coordination among campaigns, encourages thedevelopment of new campaigns and seeks funding to providechallenge grants to catalyze campaign efforts. The hope is that bydeveloping strong local support networks Buy Fresh, Buy Local Iowawill become sustainablein other words, make the journey fromidea to institution.

Editors Note: Mallory Smith will provide updates on activities of thevarious local programs in upcoming editions ofEdible Iowa River Valley.

buy fresh, buy local moving forward

by mallory smith

The eight Buy Frescampaigns in Io

below. The charyear each cam

name, support agco

03 Black Hawk Fresh, Buy Loca

of No

Butler, BreGrundy, Buchanan, T

04 Des MoineFresh, Buy

Agricultural

04 Upper Iowa

NE Iowa FHoward, Winneshie

Coalition 0Buy Local Southeast Iowa Ge

Louisa, Henry, Des

05 Fairfield Buy FreshPathfin

Keokuk, Washington, WapeDavi

05 Quad Cities Buy Fresh, BuyCounty ExteClinton, Sco

06 Johnson County Buy FreshJohnson County Local F

Jo

Prairie PartKossuth, Humboldt

What You Can Do

As a consumer, there are many things you

can do to gain a more secure food supply.Buy local. Look for local and sustainablelabels when you shop, and ask your grocerto carry these foods.

Eat at restaurants that serve local foods.Question the menu. Ask where your foodcomes from, and ask if the restaurantsupports the Buy Fresh, Buy Localcampaign.

Invest in local value-added firms.Southeast Minnesota is now forming aregional investment fund, the HiawathaFund. Iowans are making similar plans.Convince your school, hospital, nursinghome and local government to buy local.Support local foods planning throughregional and state food councils.Support a food bill in Congress, ratherthan a farm billfor 2007 that will directfederal investments toward regional foodnetworks and better conservation practices,and away from commodities.

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Buzzing 25 miles upInterstate 35, I detoured toDes Moines to shake downmy old chef, Steve Feig,executive chef of Hotel FortDes Moines and RaccoonRiver Brewing Company,for a few names that could

help me navigate Amessustainable food map.

Ames is a universitytown in central Iowa, hostto one of the state regentschools. A beacon ofagriculture and technology,the 26,000-student IowaState University houses theLeopold Center forSustainable Agriculture andmakes up about half thetowns population.

Pat Breen, co-ownerof Aunt Maudes, spun outof my old chefs Rolodex.On the western edge of

downtowns Main Street, Aunt Maudes has been afixture in Ames for morethan 30 years.

We have always bought local stuff whenever we could,Breen said. Why? Because it tastes better.

Wooden trim, stained glass, green floral wallpaper, winebottles and mounted fish line the 100-seat dining room. Firstimpression during my pre-dinner service visit was of an upscalebar and grill.

Aunt Maudes performs a major menu overhaul about fourtimes a year and makes little tweaks year-round. In the heart ofthe season, July to October, Maudes incorporates more than 50percent local products, from milk, eggs and cream to chicken,beef and lamb to heirloom carrots and basil.

If we can get it well try it, and if the quality is there, wellbuy it, Breen said.

His nominee for best local dish might be the GrilledBerkshire Pork Chop for $21.95. The pork comes from EdenFarms, which is down the road in State Center. It is served withgarlic-mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. Onion CreekFarms in Ames grew the garlic; the potatoes came from SmallPotatoes Farms in Minburn and the asparagus spears fromReinhart Family Farms in Boone.

You can go on and on about sustainability and supportingthe local economy, but the bottom line is flavor, he said. Ithink it makes a difference to people.

After showing me through his kitchen, Breen directed me toa three-year-old neighborhood cafe on the west side of town.

Called The Caf, it is set in a new residential development,Summerset Village. Inside, mustard yellow walls contrast withbrick floor and black exposed ceiling. A bakery and coffee bar sitbeside an open, full-throttle kitchen.

Its casual farmhouse chic, said Kurt Chausse, who isexecutive chef of both The Caf and Aunt Maudes.

From its in-house bakery and artisan breads, to breakfast,lunch and dinner service, its basic but hardly standard fare.

The simplest details, the ones that in many restaurants are anafterthought, you can tell have been thought out. Evensomething that sounds basic, like the sausage and cheese omeletwith potatoes and toast for $6.95, is made with house-groundsausage, free-range local eggs and homemade bread.

The biggest thing Ive noticed is that people are interested in where their food comes from, Chausse said, noting he usesabout 85 percent local produce.

Relationships with local farmers are at the heart of The Caf.Chausse starts planning menus during winter strategy meetingswith farmers. They look at what the farm wants to grow, whatthe restaurant wants and what the farm can grow.

Winding northwest out of town, I head for one of theirgrowers.

Handmade Onion Creek Farms signs point toward a rustic

dirt road that ends under shade trees. Contrasting traditionalIowa farm imagesparcels of corn or soy blending into thehorizonOnion Creek offers diversity. Native prairie grass waves in a northern field, while purple basil and beets mixamong arugula, tomatoes and leeks, not far from rows ofrecently picked filet bean plants.

I park in front of a flower and he rb garden. Joe Lynch, ownerand operator of Onion Creek (with Lonna Nachtigal), meets mein his driveway.

Despite Ames commitment to agriculture, Lynch says he isone of the few organic, diverse-crop farmers in town. And TheCaf and Aunt Maudes are some of the only restaurants that inAmes that use local goods.

Lynch stopped vending at the four weekly farmers markets(Wednesday and Thursday afternoon and two Saturdaymorning) because they are in flux. There is a struggle overregulations. The markets are organized by farmers, as opposedto city-backed markets in other areas, which leads to competinginterests.

With bushels of onions, boxes of tomatoes and bags of lettucemix already set to go, Lynch opts for his own venture on an in-town friends porch. About 40 regular customers stop by weekly,and some people visit his farm through the week to get produce.Also growing for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)program, he manages to carve out a living.

It is very satisfying to sell food to people who appreciate it,Lynch says.

Edible iowa river valley f18 fall 2006 Edible iowa river valley

incredible edibles

by brian morelli

food finds in ames

Photographs,ChrisLynxwiler

I am prone to feelings of anxiety. I feel anxious about themedical conditions I learn about via pharmaceuticaladvertising; I feel anxious about my fluctuating coolness factor

with my three children; I feel anxious about ever-loomingfreelance deadlines.

But until I agreed to pen Behind Closed Doors for EdibleIowa River Valley, I had never feltany anxiety about the food in myrefrigerator. After all, other than my

wife and kids, nobody really knows whats in thereand theyre just asculpable as I for its contents.

Yet somehow I agreed to open myown magnet-adorned door to set abaseline for future investigations intothe iceboxes of others. The anxietykicked in almost immediately.

After all, when I was warnedupfront that we didnt want aguided tour of organic Wal-MartCheetos and Diet Coke. My firstthought was, Whew! At least theCoke is of the sugar-filled classicvariety. I shuddered at the thoughtof what organic Wal-Mart Cheetosmight be. Then I started to worry.

Did the contents of my fridgemeasure up? And measure up towhat, exactly? Perhaps to an idealizedrefrigerator filled with food that islocal, luscious and expressive of myfamilys idiosyncratic personality. Ifthats the standard, I have work to do.

That said, all is not lost. The Amana Colonies are fairly wellrepresented in our Amana refrigerator. At a recent meeting ofthe Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance held in Main Amana, Irediscovered the delicious offerings of the Millstream BrewingCompany. The only beer I drink is of the root variety, andMillstreams contribution to the category is exceptionallysmooth and delightful. Its just one of several great flavors.

A lot of toast in the Cline household is topped withpreserves that bear the Amana name. Im particularly fond ofthe peach, which has a subtle flavor that isnt too sweet. I have

no complaints about the cherry, either. We also spice things up at our house with Mad ButcherSalsa. Not only do I enjoy the taste, I like this companysattitude. As it says on the website(www.madbutchersalsa.com): Mad Butcher Salsa wasdeveloped by real people from garden fresh vegetables inNorthwest Iowanot produced in some food laboratory bygeeks who know nothing about flavor!

My wife and I are on a quest for the perfect popcorn and

next up in our informal taste test is Ellie MPopcorn out of Breda, Iowa. Will it be the perfecof texture and taste? Well find out the next tigathers around the TV to watch our belovCardinals.

A huge chunk of fridge real estate is currenta watermelon. Tpopcorn, is an expeThe seedless melon,

label that admits, Moccasional seed, wBells Melons in CoDoes genetic enginemelons of great tasteyet, but Im bettinspitting is involved tstandard melon.

And thats wthe moment: a fewscattered among mfare. I know there other interesting edand Im headedcommunity and refrigerators to find

So this colu

more than peekincrispers of local lumsimple voyeuristic pthough that woureason enough for ialso represents an o

meand by extension, youto learn about thquirky foodstuffs that might deserve a spot in band, ultimately, our mouths.

Im already stalking my first few fridges and this space with the results of my forays. Meanwfile this column. The anxiety is getting to me.

behind closed doors

Rummaging Through My Fridgeby Rob Cline

Get into Robs Fridge:Bells Melons

303 Burlington St.Conesville, IA , 52739-8530(319) 725-6631

Ellie Maes Gourmet PopcornP.O. Box 160610 Main StreetBreda, IA 51436(800) 742-0228

Mad Butcher Sa

P.O. Box 219Ruthven, IA 513(712) 837-5511

www.MadButch

Millstream Brew835 48th Ave.

Amana, IA 5220(319) 622-3672

www.Millstream

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20 fall 2006 Edible iowa river valley

edible endeavors

advertiser directoryBURLINGTON

THE DRAKE RESTAURANT106 WASHINGTON STREETBURLINGTON, IOWA52601319.754.1036WWW.THEDRAKERESTAURANT.COM

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NEWPIONEERCO-OP1101 2ND STREETCORALVILLE, IOWA52241319.358.5513WWW.NEWPI.COM

IOWACITY

DEVOTAY117 NORTH LINN STREETIOWACITY, IOWA52245-2142319.354.1001WWW.DEVOTAY.COM

THE ENGLERT THEATER221 EASTWASHINGTON STREETIOWACITY, IOWA52240-3927319.688.2653WWW.ENGLERT.ORG

HANCHERAUDITORIUMTHE UNIVERSITYOF IOWA231 HANCHERAUDITORIUMIOWACITYIOWA52242-1794319.335.1160 OR1.800.HANCHERWWW.HANCHER.UIOWA.EDU

HOTEL VETRO

201 SOUTH LINN STREETIOWACITY, IOWA52240800.592.0355WWW.HOTELVETRO.COM

IOWACITYCORALVILLE CONVENTIONANDVISITORS BUREAU900 FIRSTAVENUECORALVILLE, IOWA52241319.337.6592 OR800.283.6592WWW.IOWACITYCORALVILLE.ORG

JOHN'S GROCERYJOHN'S GROCERY INC.401 EAST MARKET STREETIOWACITY, IOWA52245319.337.2183WWW.JOHNSGROCERY.COM

LAMMERS CONSTRUCTION35 IMPERIAL COURTIOWACITY, IOWA52246PHONE: 319.354.5905WWW.LAMMERSCONSTRUCTION.COM

NEWPIONEERFOOD CO-OP

22 SOUTH VAN BURENIOWACITY, IOWA52240319.338.9441WWW.NEWPI.COM

PRAIRIE TABLE223 E. WASHINGTON STREETIOWACITY, IOWA52240319.337.3325WWW.PRAIRIETABLEGOURMET.COM

LEIGHTON

TASSEL RIDGE VINEYARD1681 220TH STREETLEIGHTON, IOWA50143641.672.WINE (9463)WWW.TASSELRIDGE.COM

MT. VERNON

LINCOLN CAF117 FIRST STREETWESTMT VERNON, IOWA52314WWW.FOODISIMPORTANT.COM

SOLON

REDHEAD RESTAURANT240 EAST MAIN STREETSOLON, IOWA52333319.624.5230

WASHINGTON

CAFE DODICI122 SOUTH IOWAAVENUEWASHINGTON, IOWA 52353319.653.4012WWW.CAFEDODICI.COM

Iowa is home to a multitude of nonprofits and organizationsfocusing on the states formidable population of artisanal producersand small farmers. Some groups focus on the production sidehelping farmers and small businesses that specialize in unique foodproducts to stay on their feet and keep their doors open. Someorganizations support the other side of the supply chain by helpingconsumers and customers easily access some of the wonderfulproducts made with care in Iowa. Some organizations do other workacross Iowa to keep Iowas cuisine alive.

Edible Endeavors is our way of recognizing some of theseincredible organizations. Each issue, Edible Iowa River Valleyis proudto use this space to feature an organization so you can learn moreabout what it does, and how to assist these amazing efforts. If you

know of an organization that is an Edible Endeavor and supportsIowas unique food culture, please let us know atinfo@edibleiowarivervalley.com.

PRACTICAL FARMERS OF IOWA: 21 YEARS OF SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

In the midst of the 1980s farm crisis, Story County farmer DickThompson and a group of fellow farmers were touring the state in a

Winnebago camper, holding impromptu conversations with farmersand citizens about what was happening in agriculture. Thompsonssurvival as a farmer was directly linked to his application ofsustainable farming methods and his belief that the farm was a fullecosystem, with each part working together to create a dynamic andefficient whole.

In 1985, Thompson helped found Practical Farmers of Iowa(PFI), with the idea of putting resources, information and ideas intofarmers hands. In 1987, PFI initiated a statewide network ofproducer-researchers. More than 100 farmers have been part of thenetwork, opening their gates to the public at farm field days acrossthe state. These events combine practical management tips, data and

observations derived from the on-farm trials and information fromIowa State University. Since 1987, 19,000 people have attended.

PFI has grown into a c omplex and diverse organization that now

includes over 500 farmers andnonfarmer members. In additionto gaining access to sources ofsustainably produced food,nonfarmers who join theorganization become an integralpart of the growing movementtoward a food system thatsupports local farmers, ruralcommunities and a healthyenvironment.

For more than 10 years, PFI has spearheaded a program devotedto helping farmers market products raised in an ecologically sound

fashion. The program also connects PFIs growing number ofnonfarmer members with local foods and the people who producethem. Some of these programs include The Pork Niche MarketingGroup, which addresses the burgeoning market for niche pork; theBuy Fresh, Buy Local campaign, which provides a direct marketingoutlet for farmers, and other ongoing workshops that providefarmers and food related businesses with the tools they need tosucceed. PFI also holds an annual conference in Des Moines to fosternetworking among farmers and producers.

PFI is recognized around the country as a prototype organizationsupporting sustainable agriculture. Many groups across the countryare replicating PFIs model. The growing demand for organic food,CSAs and farmers markets in Iowa, and across the nation, has beenpartially spurred by PFIs quiet yet pioneering work.

Practical Farmers of Iowa300 Main St.PO Box 349

Ames, IA 50010(515) 232-5661www.practicalfarmers.org

8/14/2019 EIRV 2006-10 - Issue #1

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