edible iowa river valley issue #12, summer 2009

Summer 2009 Celebrating the Abundance of Iowa’s Local Foods, Season by Season Number 12

Ancient White Park Cattle - Iowa’s Wine Trails

Nordic Fest - Tortilleria el Norte - Home Ec

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Member of Edible Communities

IOWA RIVER VALLEY

ContentsSummer 2009

Departments4 Grist for the Mill

EIRV at ree Years Old

6 Notable EdiblesTasty tidbits to savor around Iowa

16 Edible ImbibablesOn the Trail of Great Iowa Wines—By Katie Roche

21 The 99RAGBRAI’s Final Stop is Full of Flavors—By Anna Wilsonand Criss Roberts

24 1,000 WordsChiles at the Market

26 Behind Closed DoorsStarving Artist—By Rob Cline

29 Subscription FormGet Edible delivered right to your home

30 The Last WordDeborah Madison’s What We Eat When We Eat Alone—By Kurt Michael Friese

Features 7 A Festival of Flavors

e 43rd Nordic Fest Keeps Tradition Alive in Decorah— By Renee Brincks

10 Flat-Out FreshTortilleria el Norte is a West Libery Original— By Mike Brownlee

12 Sewing Seeds of CommunityA Knitter’s Breakfast at Home Ec in Iowa City— By Brian Morelli

18 Reviving an Ancient BreedSeed Savers Exchange Protects Animal Diversity Too — By Kurt Michael Friese

31 Edible CommunitiesFind Your Edibles Wherever You Go

Summer 2009 www.EdibleIowa.com 3

On the cover:BB 372. Photo by Kurt Michael Friese

All of us at Edible are proud to call these folks ourPartners. ey understand the importance of

supporting local farms, local food, and the localeconomy. To join the growing list of Edible Partners,

please contact sales manager Rachel Morey @319.241.4442 or [email protected]

Be sure to visit the Edible Partners listed here, andthank them for supporting sustainable food and

Edible Iowa River Valley

Augusta—pg. 27Blackhawk Hotel—pg. 14Blend—pg. 23Bread Garden—pg. 32BrewNost—pg. 22Cafe Dodici—pg. 12Cafe del Sol Roasting—pg. 15Cart by Cart—pg. 15Design Ranch—pg. 28Devotay—pg. 9Edible Communities—pg. 31Edible Communities Marketplace—pg. 25e Englert eatre—pg. 5Fireside Winery—pg. 23Hills Bank—pg. 15Iowa City Farmers Market—pg. 15Iowa Wine Trail—pg. 23Jasper Winery—pg. 28John’s Grocery—pg. 20La Reyna—pg. 14Local Food Conference—pg. 22MidWestOne Bank—pg. 27Motley Cow—pg. 28Muddy Creek Wine—pg. 14New Pioneer Co-op—pg. 20Oneota Community Co-op—pg. 28Robinson Family Wellness—pg. 5Scattergood—pg. 29Shmuggle Knits—pg. 23Sutliff Cider—pg. 14Tassel Ridge Winery—pg. 2UNI Museum—pg. 15Wheatsfield Co-op—pg. 29

edibleIOWA RIVER VALLEY

grist for the mill

Dear Eater,

We will go just about anywhere, do just about anything,for the amazing flavors and savors of Iowa. We’ll evenride our bikes across the entire state for a bite of hard-wood-grilled Iowa sweet corn, so a big shout-out to allour fellow RAGBRAI enthusiasts. You folks will bedipping your front tires in the Mississippi River inBurlington, so you’ll want to pay special attention tothis issue’s edition of “e 99,” our county-by-countyinvestigation of the great local foods of Iowa, in whichCriss Roberts and Anna Wilson regail you riders (andeveryone else!) with stories of all the good eats in Des Moines County.

ere’s much more in this issue as well. Our official refrigerator investigator Rob Cline commits his twelfth fridge raid on the immaculate -yet nearly empty - icebox of Leslie Charipar, Artistic Director for eatre Cedar Rapids.

Meanwhile we welcome two new writers into the fold, both with a lot to say about flat round breads. Mike Brownlee goes behind the scenesof Iowa’s first Tortilleria in West Liberty, while Renee Brincks has a lefse recipe and the scoop on the 43rd annual Nordic Fest in Decorah.

While you’re in Decorah, don’t miss visiting the Ancient White Park Cattle at Seed Savers exchange - that’s one of them on the cover - they’vejust welcomed 50 new calves! Also that’s a good starting point for the Iowa Wine Trail, one of the five wine trails Katie Roche investigates inour regular column, “Edible Imbibables.”

Back in Iowa City, a unique local business combines food and friends with fiber arts: Brian Morelli visits a Saturday morning “Knitter’s Break-fast,” at Home Ec, an old-fashioned knitting circle complete with homemade treats from a genuine Sugar-Lovin’ Mama.

Now is the time when Iowa’s bounty can truly strut its stuff. e farmers markets are filling up with the world’s best sweet corn, heirloomtomatoes and summer squashes. ere’s just no excuse for not eating locally in the summertime in Iowa. When these magnificent foods arein season, they’re usually cheaper than at the grocery store, removing that last old chestnut some cling to as an excuse. So get out there andget some of the good stuff, and let Edible be your guide.

As we complete our 3rd year of publication, we offer our heartfelt thanks to our clients and our writers, who make this edible dream a realityby seeking out and supporting the best food and drink in the state. And a very special thanks to you, Dear Eater, for supporting Edible andall the great foods and businesses you see in our pages. Your support of the businesses you see here is what makes this publication possible.So be sure to visit them and thank them personally for supporting great local food and Edible Iowa River Valley

With Relish,Kim & Kurt

4 www.EdibleIowa.com Summer 2009

Publishers Kurt & Kim Friese on RAGBRAI, 2008

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & PUBLISHERKurt Michael Friese

MANAGING EDITORKim McWane Friese

WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERSRenee Brincks

Michael BrownleeRob Cline

Kurt Michael FrieseBrian MorelliCriss RobertsKatie RocheAnna Wilson

DESIGNED BYKurt Michael Friese

ADVERTISING SALESTo become an Edible Partner, please contact sales manager

Rachel Morey @ 319.241.4442 [email protected]

CONTACT USEdible Iowa River Valley22 Riverview Drive, NE

Iowa City, Iowa 52240-7973Telephone: 319.321.7935

Fax: 888.704.1235

CUSTOMER SERVICEEdible Iowa River Valley takes pride in providing its

subscribers with fast, friendly service.Subscribe • Give a Gift • Buy an Ad

www.EdibleIowa.com — [email protected]

Edible Iowa River Valley is published quarterly by River ValleyPress, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscription rate is $28 annually.

No part of this publication may be used without writtenpermission from the publisher. ©2009.

Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings, and omissions.If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our

sincere apologies and notify us. Thank you.

Proudly printed in Iowa.


edibleIOWA RIVER VALLEY

notableedibles

Nice Loins

Although he made his bones down on the bayou at the famous New Orleans eatery Bayona,Chef Ben Haperin of Augusta in Oxford has shown he knows a thing or two about the fare up-river as well.

e Iowa Pork Producers Association crowned his the “Best Pork Tenderloin in Iowa,” which isof course to say the best in the world, since Iowa is the undisputed home of the tenderloin andworld heavyweight champion in this particular arena. You can sample this triumph for yourself(if you’re hungry enough), as well as some good cajun cooking, next time your near Oxford andlooking for some good home cooking.

Augusta - 101 South Augusta, Oxford - www.AugustaRestaurant.net

Cochon 555

A big congratulations to Chef Matt Steigerwald of the Lincoln Café in Mt.Vernon. He was the first prize winner of the Iowa Edition of Cochon 555 - acooking competition and fundraiser that pitted five of Iowa’s best chefs againsteach other using five different heritage breed pigs and accompanied by five dif-ferent wines.

All the food was fantastic, yet Chef Matt managed to beat out some of thestate’s other heavy hitters. Andrew Meek of Sage, Jamie Monaghan of the Em-bassy Club, Tag Grandgeorge of Le Jardin and Bill Overdyke of Centro all laidout some amazing pork dishes - even cookies and ice cream made with porkfat.

Chef Matt will compete in the National Championship against nine otherchefs from all around the country - all to promote heritage breeds and to sup-port the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society.

www.AmuseCochon.com

Celebrating Beer

“is is grain, which any fool can eat,” FriarTuck said in the movie Robin Hood, Princeof ieves, “But for which the Lord intended a higher purpose.” Two excellent op-portunities to celebrate that divine wisdom are coming up, so mark your calendars.

On September 6th, Millstream Brewing will host 1200 of its closest friends at theAnnual Festival of Iowa Beers in Amana, a celebration of all the great craft beers inthe Hawkeye State, both professional and homebrewed.

en on October 16th, experience the wider world of beer as the annual BrewNost(Czech for “Beer Night”) gets underway again in Cedar Rapids. It’s especially impor-tant to support the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Librabry this year inlight of last year’s devastating floods, but what a fun way to do it!

Details for both events are at their respective websites:

www.MillstreamBrewing.com and www.NCSML.org


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A Festival of Flavorse 43rd Nordic Fest Keeps Tradition Alive in Decorah

By Renee Brincks

When Nordic Fest founders sat down inthe late 1960s to plan their annual event,they pledged to celebrate Decorah’s com-munity spirit as well as its Norwegian her-itage. Since then, some 1.5 million visitorshave attended, and more will travel intotown for the 43rd Nordic Fest, this July23-25.

Part street fair, part historical fête, the an-nual Scandinavian celebration boasts cul-tural displays, storytellers, street musicand sporting events. Hundreds of runnersand walkers wind along the Upper IowaRiver for the 5- and 15-kilometer“Elvelopet” races. Participants heave heftystones during the rock throw. And, visi-tors can’t help but dance during perform-ances by the Foot-Notes, a local folkgroup, and the Nordic Dancers, a troupefeaturing Decorah’s elementary and highschool students.

Often, however, it’s the food at NordicFest that attracts the biggest crowds.There is, of course, the infamous lutefisk-eating contest, where dozens of partici-pants line up to slurp down bowls ofgelatinous dried fish prepared with lye.The winners of each heat compete for thefirst-place prize: Nordic Fest merchandiseand a year of unmatched bragging rights.Guests can savor slightly less daring dishes at community dinners heldthroughout the weekend. Those menus typically showcase foods suchas Norwegian meatballs, herring and ham, plus kringla (soft, doughytwists), mandel-vannbakkel (almond puffs), rosettes (delicate, crispypastries) and other sweet treats.

To find the true epicurean center of Nordic Fest, however, head toDecorah’s Water Street. Each year, 20 red and white wooden boothsline several downtown blocks; from inside each, volunteers dish up fla-vorful Scandinavian fare. Community members volunteer hundreds ofhours to roll out lefse, whisk milk and butter into rommegrot andsprinkle sugar over rosettes, and proceeds from every food booth fundlocal non-profits and school groups.

“What makes this work is the willingness of people to lend their timeand talent,” says Maureen Stockman, who heads up the Nordic Festfood events. “It’s just amazing that this little town can put on this pro-duction every year.”

Preparations for the festival’s culinary line-up begin the previous fall.While many of the same groups host booths each year, new foods areintroduced from time to time. Stockman lists the recent additions ofkransekake, a cake made from ringed pastries, and lingonberry drinks.

“Occasionally we do have some new peo-ple come in, which is great. As traditionalas Nordic Fest is, it’s nice to have some-thing new to offer,” she says.

According to Stockman, food boothsoften sell out on Sunday, the last day ofthe event, particularly when good weatherinspires stronger-than-average attendance.Regardless of numbers, servers consis-tently run short on varme polse. Volun-teers produce more of these lefse-wrappedsausages every year – and every year thedish is snapped up quickly.

Lefse itself is another big draw.

“You wouldn’t believe how excited peopleget,” says Stockman. “They are almost lit-erally licking their chops.”

Karla Erdman has coordinated NordicFest lefse demonstrations for 12 years, or-ganizing 70 volunteers who typically sellabout 7,000 rounds over 3 days. Dressedin customary Norwegian attire, thedemonstrators roll out potato-baseddough and bake the traditional food asvisitors look on. When its time to samplethe thin potato pancakes, which look liketortillas, people head to the toppingstable.

“We have white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter, and thelefse comes out warm. That butter just melts, and people pour on allthe sugar and cinnamon,” says Erdman. “It’s fun to see how they dressit up.”

How people then eat lefse is a matter of personal taste, as well. Somefold their round into a triangle. Others roll it up before taking a bite.Erdman has even seen friends stage contests, each starting on eitherend of a lefse roll and chewing along to the middle.

When fellow Nordic Fest volunteer Barbara Willis and her family eatlefse for the holidays, they top each round with sausage and soft-boiledeggs before rolling and dipping the bundle in maple syrup.

Willis, who first volunteered as a lefse demonstrator in the mid-1970s,says visitors often ask for the secret to perfect lefse. That, she replies, issimple: a good recipe and the right ingredients.

“I’m sure they didn’t have Idaho potatoes back in Norway, but I alwaysuse Idaho russets,” she says. “I also buy potatoes in netted bags becausethey are a little drier than the ones in plastic bags. The drier the po-tato, the better it rolls.”

Kransekake

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Making lefse is second nature for Willis now. She whips ten pounds ofpotatoes into more than 50 rounds with each batch she bakes. How-ever, her first few years behind the grill weren’t as successful. She saysher earliest attempts “came out like wallpaper paste,” even thoughshe’d grown up watching her grandmother in the kitchen.

“She made lefse when we were little kids, and we thought nothing of itwhen she did it on a little gas stove in the basement. We ate it as fast asshe made it,” Willis says. “But when I moved to Decorah, I thought,‘Oh, that’s a good place to learn to make lefse.’”

Just as it provides a link to the past, the cultural cuisine connectsWillis’ family today, as well. For the past four years, she and her imme-diate family have gathered with her brothers and sisters and their chil-dren for a post-Christmas lefse day.

“We all practice making lefse, and thelittle ones do really, really well. It’s somuch fun to watch them,” Willis says.It’s a tradition she hopes to continue.“It means a lot. Our parents havepassed away and this just keeps thefamily together... Everybody makes aspecial effort to get there.”

That same sense of connection drawsDecorah residents and visitors alike toNordic Fest.

“It’s part of our identity, a nod to theheritage, and a chance for different generations to get together. This isa reason to come home,” says Stockman. “It’s a good touchstone foreverybody that’s had anything to do with Decorah – whether that’sgrowing up here, going to college here, or what have you.”

And, just as families get together for birthdays, anniversaries and otherannual celebrations, so do community members gather to dine duringNordic Fest.

“You get excited because this is something you only get once a year. Itreminds you of different points in your life when you were youngerand things were simpler, so there’s that emotional thing,” Stockmansays. “And, this food just tastes good. There’s something about it thatjust tastes better than fast food.”

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum,Decorah

When YouGo...

43rd Annual Nordic Fest:“Northern deLights”

July 23–25, 2009800.382.FEST

www.NordicFest.com

VesterheimNorwegian-American

Museum523 W. Water St., Decorah

563.382.9681www.Vesterheim.org


Recipes From Nordic FestLefse

2 cups riced potatoes, packed (Russet or other starchy variety preferred)1 tablespoon butter1 tablespoon cream1 scant cup flour½ tablespoon sugar1 ½ tablespoon salt

Boil peeled potatoes in salted water, drain, mash, then rice. Add butterand the cream. Mix and cool.

Just before rolling, add flour, sugar, and salt. Mix by hand or with ahand mixer.

Roll thin using a cloth covered pastry board and lefse rolling pin. Bakeon a dry hot griddle, turning once. Will make about 8 lefse.

Rommegrot

2 sticks butter1 cup flour5 cups milk¾ cup sugar¼ teaspoon salt

Melt butter in heavy kettle. Add flour. Cook and stir until wellblended. Add milk. Cook until thick. Add sugar and salt. To serve,sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Five Foods to TryNew to Nordic Fest? Don’t miss these five Scandinavian favorites:

Sandbakkels. These crumbly, almond-infused cookies are baked influted tins and sometimes dished up with fresh fruit and cream.

Kransekake. This traditional Norwegian cake, often served for wed-dings and special celebrations, consists of stacked, ring-shaped pastriesthat are crisp on the outside and chewy within. Each layer is drizzledwith sweet icing.

Lefse. Lines form early for these thin, flat, hand-rolled rounds made ofriced potatoes, butter, cream and flour. Lefse is made with specialrolling pins, turning sticks and grills.

Varme Polse. Varme polse is a fitting festival food: The sausagewrapped in lefse makes a convenient grab-and-go lunch for guestsbouncing between Nordic Fest events.

Rommegrot. Often sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, this thick,buttery cream dish resembles porridge in texture and frequently turnsup on holiday menus.

West Liberty is a pint-sized town of 3,555 in eastern Iowa that ishome to an ever-burgeoning Latino population. As the immigrantsfrom long ago grow older and the new immigrants arrive, stayingconnected to Latino roots can be challenging, especially when itcomes to food.

Gilberto and Marisela Erives moved to West Liberty from Denver inOctober of 2004. They knew that despite the high number of Latinoimmigrants in the town – predominantly drawn here by West Lib-erty Foods, the local turkey-processing plant – there were no localtortilla makers.

Nestled off of Columbus Street, the Tortilleria El Norte factory is afactory in name only. The pequeña building looks like a house fromthe outside, but inside the work being done is no less industriousthan the work at West Liberty Foods.

The “squeak, squeak, squeak” of gears and conveyor belts rings out,providing the bass-line of each day. Gobs of tortilla dough is com-pressed into small circles of Latino tradition, while Gilberto con-stantly darts around the room, interacting with his two employees,making sure the machines are operating properly and that the tor-tillas are bagged and stored.

What the Erives strive for is a taste of home. In the villages andtowns of Mexico and other countries of Latin America families maketheir tortillas from scratch, cooking up a pile for that night’s dinner.Fresh tortillas only keep a few days, if that, but taste so much better.

The tortillas made at the factory are simple. For flour tortillas: flour,lard, a smidgen of salt, and a “secret ingredient” Marisela guards likea lady guards her age. Despite some prodding, it became clear thatshe wasn’t going to reveal the secret ingredient.

Marisela admits that the tortillas have a modicum of preservatives –“We have to, otherwise the stores wouldn’t buy them because they’dgo bad too quickly,” she says. Customers haven’t seemed to mind thefaint amount of preservatives, however. As the saying goes, the proofis in the floury, doughy mush. Tortilleria El Norte’s tortillas are bestsellers in West Liberty and elsewhere.

“[Immigrants] want to eat like back home; they want fresh tortillas,”said 45-year-old Antonio Sosa, the owner of New York Dollar Store,a Mexican grocery in town. “People want a soft tortilla. The othersdry up earlier.” Sosa says the Tortilleria El Norte tortillas are themost popular that he sells.

The Erives’ factory has two tortilla-pressing machines, one for flourand one for corn. Tortilleria El Norte pumps out about 75 bags(about 50 pounds) of both flour and corn tortillas per day. Whenasked how many individual tortillas they produce for a day, Mariselabalks.

“Oh my God, I don’t have any idea… Over 1,000 per day.”

In addition to the tortilla factory, in August of 2008 the Erivesopened up a restaurant – Gorditas La Pasadita – next door, servingup authentic Mexican dishes.

The tortilla factory and restaurant are a family operation, Gilbertoand two sons, work along with one other employee. They maketortillas from 6 a.m. until around 8 or 9 p.m., five days a weekMarisela helps out in the morning, at night and periodicallythroughout the day, but most of her time is spent running therestaurant.

Jazmine, their 10-year-old daughter, sometimes helps out Mom inthe restaurant after school.

Gilberto stands 5-foot-9, and is wearing a green T-shirt (dustyfrom the flour) and a sweat-and-dirt-worn Iowa Hawkeyes hat ashe works on the day’s load of tortillas. He said he is passing a workethic and tradition to his children that he learned as a young boy.He learned how to make tortillas when he was eight years old andsaid he has worked in some capacity ever since.

“My parents told me I need to make everything,” the 38-year-oldsaid. “If you want to make money, you have to learn how to makeeverything.”

Tortillas, day-in and day-out. Do they ever get tired of them?

“Yes,” Marisela said. “Even my dreams are sometimes about tor-tillas. I see tortillas everywhere.”

Given the saturation of tortilla exposure, one might guess that fortheir meals at home, the family would just grab a few tortillas ontheir way out the factory door after work. Nope. Before leaving forthe restaurant and factory each morning, Marisela usually makes apile of tortillas from scratch, to be used for that night’s dinner.

The Erives are both from Mexico. Gilberto hails from the north-ern city of Chihuahua, while Marisela grew up in Durango, in themiddle of the country. From Durango, Marisela moved to Musca-tine with her family, while Gilberto eventually ended up in Den-ver with his family.

“I only planned to stay in U.S. 8 or 9 years,” Gilberto said. “Butmy family didn’t want to go back to Mexico.”

Gilberto eventually moved to Muscatine to find work and metMarisela while there. They moved to Denver, where Gilberto laidcarpet for 11 years. When asked how long the two have been mar-ried, Marisela paused, having apparently forgotten for a moment.She laughed and turned to her husband to ask him, in Spanish.Gilberto thought a moment before responding.


Flat-Out Fresh

Tortilleria el Norte is a West Libery OriginalBy Mike Brownlee


“Diecisèis años,” he said. Sixteen years.

It doesn’t take much to make a flour tortilla at home. Mariselasaid she uses the same ingredients as they do at the factory, in-cluding that secret ingredient (is it love?). Mix it all up in a bowluntil it takes on a doughy consistency and let sit five minutes.The hard part is over.

Next, form small chunks of the dough into balls, lay them outon your flat surface of choice and roll them into that circleyou’re used to seeing. Heat on a skillet for about a minute or lesson each side and enjoy.

“I remember the first time, I burned my hands,” Marisela said.She learned how to make tortillas from her mother when she was10 years old. Marisela was just a little taller than the grill hermother and she were making them on.

“I was falling and I put my hands out to catch myself,” Mariselaremembered, “right onto the grill.”

Marisela said Tortilleria El Norte tries to give consumers a tasteof what her family gets each day at home, minus any hand burn-ing.

“I try to do it like the original,” she said. “We want to be differ-ent.”

In addition to the factory, Tortilleria El Norte tortillas are soldthroughout Eastern Iowa, including grocery stores in Iowa City,Coralville, Cedar Rapids, Muscatine, Davenport and ColumbusJunction, along with Moline, Ill.

Roxana Ochoa of Iowa City says Tortilleria El Norte tortillas areall she buys – “Solo compro.” The Honduras native buys them atEl Paso and La Reyna, two tiendas in Iowa City. She says they’rebetter than the other options in her grocer’s tortilla section.

Jim Peterson, 56, of West Liberty goes directly to the source tobuy his tortillas, pulling his work-worn white truck into the fac-tory’s gravel parking lot.

“They taste wonderful. Close to town, fresh,” Peterson said. “It’simportant that they’re a local business.”

For the college set, 20 minutes down the highway in Iowa City,the tortillas are superior to most rivals when it comes to a stapleof the collegiate diet – a microwaved tortilla-with-cheese. Whilemost tortillas harden and become about as easy to fold asorigami, Tortilleria El Norte tortillas remain soft and flexible.

Sitting in the restaurant – a quick respite before the lunch crowd – Marisela is wearing a flo-ral-patterned blouse and tan pants, covered by an apron. Three packages of flour tortillas laybefore her: Azteca, Mi Mama’s and her own, Tortelleria El Norte.

“The others have a lot of preservatives, you can see in the colors,” Marisela said. “Too white.”

She explains that the preservatives make them last longer than her tortillas. But those preserv-atives also make the tortillas more chewy, stale and bland.

“Those can stay out of the fridge for two-to-three weeks.”

The more preservatives, the longer the tortillas stay good and the longer they’ll last outside ofrefrigeration. That’s why at the grocery store there are mounds of tortillas in non-refrigeratedaisles, with just a few brands near the cheese and deli meat. The Tortilleria El Norte tortillasare browner, thinner, moister. Marisela examines her own, then looks at the competitors.

“They look nice, but…”

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When You Go...

Tortilleria el Norte &Gorditas La Pasadita

Gilberto & Marisela Erives, Owners1100 North Columbus Street

West Liberty319.627.2617

Sewing Seeds of CommunityA Knitter’s Breakfast at Home Ec in Iowa City

By Brian Morelli


Tucked in the north side of Iowa City's downtown is a shop offeringsomething a little different. It's a little bit crafts. It's a little bit sweets.It's a little bit of a social scene; and, it's a lot of heart and soul. At itsroot, Home Ec Workshop is a boutique where people make thingsfrom scratch.

Co-owner Alisa Weinstein can describe it best.

"Home Ec is a natural fiber fabric, yarn and craft supply boutique withan espresso bar and Sugar Lovin' Mama's homemade baked goods. Wefeature a workshop space for sewing projects and it is a gathering spotfor people interested in making things with their hands," she said.

Stop in on Saturday mornings to feel the pulse of the business, Wein-stein said. that is when Home Ec hosts its Knitters' Breakfast. Fifteenor so regulars and a mix of newcomers help ensure a vibrant sceneweek after week. ey mingle in the heart of the shop made cozy witha red couch encircled by wooden chairs and stools lining a servicecounter filled with quiche, blueberry coffee cake and cookies. Here,young and old gather to create. ey knit, inspire one another, chat,sip on coffee and nosh on goodies.

"A lot of people come in to knit and hangout and wind up gettingsomething to eat," Heidi Anderson said.

Anderson, who operates as a separate entity called Sugar Lovin'Mama's, has baked for Home Ec since it opened in 2008. e spreadshe prepares is not countless. Rather, Anderson prepares a few highquality items a day. Cookies are always on the menu, and a seconditem changes at her whim.

She makes everything there, behind the counter, wafting friendly aro-mas through the store while knitters knit and seamstresses sew. e setup is pretty basic. She has a small red convection oven, a stand blenderand a little bit of counter space to whip up her edibles.

Her cupcakes every Friday seem to be gaining a following, she said.

"e cup cakes are a big deal. People call and want to know what's thecup cake [of the day]." Anderson said.

Most items she makes have fresh, local flavors. When available, Ander-son sources the eggs for her quiche from an Amish family in Kalona.Her children picked a freezer full of blueberries that make appearancesin cakes and muffins, and she put the kids to work last fall picking ap-ples from Wilson's Orchard that became the filling for apple turnovers.

Local produce is not always an option, but everything Anderson servesis made fresh, from scratch and by hand, she said. Oh, and the serv-ability barometer; her three kids -- 8-year-old twins and a three yearold -- often get the first crack at a new recipe. ey give the thumbs upor down.

"I want it to be something your grandmother would make. Home-stylebaking" e home-style feel extends beyond the baked goods. Every-thing about Home Ec screams, "from scratch."

"People do spend a lot of time here, and the food is a good way torecharge," Weinstein said.

Skeins of yarn decorate displays with heather grays, cornflower bluesand burgundies in one room. Rolls of catchy fabrics ranging from vin-tage to modern adorn another section of the store. Knit sweaters,shawls, scarves and aprons are draped on furniture and hung on wallsthroughout for inspiration. Advanced knitters and seamstresses oftenprovide advice or suggestions for novices. Locally-made hand-spunyarns also supplement the stocks.

"We carry the kinds of materials that inspire you to want to makesomething with them, and material that when you make it are worthyour time," Weinstein said. On consignment, they sell products fromLone Tree Wools, Bluest Girl of Iowa City, Lamb Lane of Fort Madi-son, among others.

An ice cream cone person made by Jody Stoffer 32, of Iowa City, sitson the local shelf. Stoffer knit that at Home Ec, and put in on display.She works at a downtown law office and stops in daily. Typically visit-ing on her lunch break, she also attends most of the Knitters' Break-fasts on Saturdays. Building crafts into her routine ensures she keeps atit, and being surrounded by other creative minds helps with trou-bleshooting and new ideas for projects.


"It has become my hangout," Stoffer said. "I came to check it out andkept coming back because it has great product, great food and greatclasses."

Some patrons simply drop in to pick up something; others come in andstay for a few hours. Either way is OK, Weinstein said. On most Sun-days from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., a group called the Knit Wits meets atHome Ec e group is open to anyone, Weinstein said.

Home Ec offers a variety of classes each month, ranging from sewing,quilting, and toy making to screen printing. ey cost on average $35,Weinstein said.

In back is the workshop, lined with sewing machines and a large crafttable. People pay by the hour to use that space, and Weinstein and co-owner Codi Josephson provide advice on projects.

Stoffer has taken a sewing class and one on cake decorating. She alsooffers a class with her husband on making sock dolls.

Whenever you come, Weinstein said, you will find a positive, friendlyenvironment filled with creative, artistic, do-it-yourselfers.

"People always come in and say how inspired they feel when they walkinto the store. I think it is positive and colorful. It is open and friendlyto people of all ages. It has a really nice vibe," Weinstein smiled. "A lotof people make friends here."

Home Ec Workshop207 N. Linn St., Iowa City

319.337.4775HomeEcWorkshop.com

Hours: Mon-ur, 10am -7pm

Friday, 10am – 6pmSaturday, 10am – 5pmSunday 12pm - 5pm

When You Go...

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edibleiowa river valley

Opportunities are available for upcoming issues.Contact sales manager Rachel Morey @

319.241.4442 or [email protected]

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California produces 90 percent of the wine made in America, butyou don't have to go all the way to Sonoma to taste good wines. Agreat variety is made right here in Iowa. With the development ofcold tolerant wine grape hybrids created by the University of Min-nesota and Cornell University in New York, Iowa was ready withplentiful soil and strong agricultural roots to lay a bedrock for a vi-able wine industry.

Perhaps as important to this growth was the role of various support-ive institutions, such as the Des Moines Area Community College,which has strategically positioned its programs to provide trainingand certification for everyone from growers to sommeliers. In CedarRapids, Kirkwood Community College now has a vineyard and avineyard management program. Meanwhile the Iowa Wine GrowersAssociation, which formed in 2000, brought Iowa State University,Community Colleges, the Iowa Departments of Agriculture andEconomic Development and legislators on board to help grow thisindustry.

With just over 40 grape varieties in the mix, Iowa has gone fromvine to bottle in less than a decade and in bigger numbers than anyof its neighbors. Iowa is rated 14th in number of wineries and 23rd

in wine production. Helping to make sure this industry sticksaround is as easy as buying Iowa wine. Not only do you support itdirectly, but every time you buy Iowa wine the tax you pay helps tofund the agencies that support the wine industry. Since most winer-ies don’t turn much of a profit in their first decade, it’s just this sortof encouragement that these mostly family-run businesses need tohelp them handle the minimum $250,000 start-up costs. Iowa’swine excise tax is the 3rd highest in the nation (at $1.75/gallon) tohelp guarantee that our grapes are here to stay.

e Midwest has been producing so much wine that the 3-year-oldMid-American Wine Competition has expanded to include 16states. With a combined 640 entries, the umbrella title of the “Mid-west” is stretched outside of the usual boundaries to include stateslike Kentucky and Tennessee.

Now that you have something to brag about, jump in your car, des-ignate a driver who will sample grape jelly instead of grape drinkand explore the wine trails of Iowa. You might be surprised by howthe Iowa countryside can be even more gorgeous when groomed forgrowing grapes.


Edible ImbibablesBy Katie Roche

On the Trail of Great Iowa Wines


Amana Colonies Wine Trail

If you’ve never been to the Amana Colonies, this idyllic communitywill charm your socks off. It's a great place to bring visitors to learnabout the European settling of the Midwest. Little has changed intheir food, architecture, wine and liqueur varieties.

e Ackerman Winery is a 3rd generation facility with 54 years offruit wine experience and 300 awards including 86 gold medals.Sampling here is tons of fun because of the sheer variety on hand.Close by is the Village Winery with 15 varieties of fruit and berrywines, including favorites like cranberry, apricot, blackberry andraspberry. Just a few minutes away is Little Amana Winery, whichencourages the sampling of their fruit/dessert wines and six tablewines. is trail is short and sweet and could take you just an after-noon, but I would hit one winery before lunch, grab a bite at one ofthe fabulous Amana farm kitchen restaurants, and finish out the af-ternoon with some lazy sampling.

Heart of Iowa Wine Trail

e “Heart of Iowa” wine trail covers approximately the central onethird of the state from north to south. From the party room at theEagle City Winery in Iowa Falls (between Webster City and CedarFalls) to the live entertainment and beautiful grounds at the South-ern Hills Winery in Osceola, the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail is expan-sive. With 15 wineries in all, you might need a long weekend toconquer this one. Try to go when one of the many wineries thatoffer entertainment are putting up a show. Imagine sipping winesurrounded by rolling hills of grapevines and listening to some greatmusic. Not bad at all.

Most of the wineries included in the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail havesampling rooms on location at the vineyards and some even havefood on hand. It’s fun pairing food and wines with the people thatknow the wine best, but if you plan to spend an afternoon and foodis not provided on location, most wineries will allow you to bring ina picnic. You might think to call in advance and get recommenda-tions for food pairings, to get the most out of your picnic. Plan ontaking a tour to learn more about the stewardship of the land in-volved in growing grapes. Visit the sterling facilities of Tassel Ridgenear Oskaloosa and try their bubbly Osky Fizzante. Or, think aboutplanning a party or reception at one of the vineyards, such as LaVida Loca in Indianola.

Iowa Wine Trail

ere is something about the upper Mississippi Valley wine regionthat reminds me of Tuscany. e low valleys tend to fill with fog in

early morning and the rolling hills catch the vibrant sunset, espe-cially in the fall. e landscape will make you feel like you have es-caped to another part of the world.

Bankston’s Park Farm Winery is a family run operation, which fea-tures an Italian style villa with long views of the valley from a vastterra cotta tiled sampling room. If you ever wanted to throw a reallymemorable party, this is the place to do it. e wine is excellent,with interesting labels making them great for gift giving.

roughout the Iowa Wine Trail there are quite a few gems to be-hold. e oak fermented Sutliff Cider in Lisbon is a refreshing alter-native to wine. Venturing from the wineries towards the Mississippibrings you into little river villages where you can pop a bottle andsample some local food. Ask for restaurant recommendations at thewineries.

Western Iowa Wine Trail

Mark your calendars for «Holiday Entertaining with the WesternIowa Wine Trail,» November 8th and 9th this year. Or get therewhile the weather's still warm and meander through the Loess Hillssampling the wares of the seven wineries on Iowa's newest wine trail.ey feature both traditional grape and assorted fruit varieties, all lo-cally grown in the unusual soil of the region.

Tastes are always free, and most offer wine by the glass in addition tobottles to take home. Some have tasty food as well.

Scenic Rivers Wine Trail

is is the biggest trail of them all with 13 vineyards and 15 winer-ies. It stretches into three states, and Iowa has almost half of thewineries. On this journey you'll find the Christian Herschler Dis-trict Winery and Stagecoach Stop, (mentioned in the last issue ofEdible), as well as the Lindon Winery (discussed in this issue onpage 22).

Each winery on the trail is small and family owned, and each wine-maker is eager to share methods and discuss the mysteries of thegrape. Like the others they plan numerous events both individuallyand as a group.

When You Go...For maps, lists of wineries and details on the on all of the Iowa

Wine Trails go to: www.IowaWineAndBeer.com.


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Reviving an Ancient BreedSeed Savers Exchange Protects Animal Diversity Too

By Kurt Michael Friese

We could hear the bellowing long before we could see the bovine per-petrator, a new mother cow who had somehow managed to get on thewrong side of the barbed wire fence from the herd – and therefore hercalf. She was not pleased.

While I opened one gate (and hid behind it), Aaron Whealey, vicepresident and chief cowboy of Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah,opened the other and encouraged the wayward mom to pass throughboth gates and rejoin the herd and her calf. With one last bellow at meas she passed, the family was reunited. The erstwhile orphan was oneof 50 new calves expected this season from the Seed Savers Exchangeherd of Ancient White Park Cattle. A tiny number in a state that regu-larly sees herds of thousands in their feedlots, but this is no ordinaryherd, nor ordinary cow.

The Ancient White Park, also sometimes called “White Forest,”“White Horned,” “Wild White,” or simply “Park,” has a recorded his-tory that goes back more than 800 years. Their first literary mentioncomes from a 13th century Irish epic called Táin Bó Cúalnge or TheCattle Raid of Cooley:

It was at that time that the Morrígan daughter of Ernmasfrom the fairy-mounds came to destroy Cú Chulainn, for shehad vowed on the Foray of Regamain that she would comeand destroy Cú Chulainn when he was fighting with amighty warrior on the Foray of Cúailnge. So the Morrígancame there in the guise of a white, red-eared heifer accompa-nied by fifty heifers, each pair linked together with a chain ofwhite bronze.

The author’s name is lost to history, and this noble breed nearly wastoo. In fact even today the American Livestock Breeds Conservancylists the White Park as “critical,” a term that means that there are“Fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and esti-mated global population less than 2,000.” So the pair we had justhelped reunite were important indeed. The 50 new calves at SeedSavers could be counted among the 500 expected at ranches in Vir-ginia, Nebraska, and Montana. If they all get registered, they justmight help the White Park move up a notch on the ALBC list of pa-

rameters from critical to the not-exactly-reassuring “threatened.” Butnothing is sure when it comes to farming.

These noble cattle, with their distinctive white coats, reddish ears andlong, imposing horns first came to North America as a single breedingpair sent to the Toronto Zoo from England in 1939 to protect thebreed due to fears of Nazi invasion. From there they went to theBronx Zoo, and later to a ranch in Texas. The small herd, descendedfrom that pair, was brought to Iowa in 1981 by the Moeckly Farm ofPolk City. A couple of the heifer calves were then bought by SeedSavers just before the rest of the herd was bought by B Bar Ranch inEmigrant, Montana, where today 80 percent of this year’s calves are ex-pected.

Now I am a city boy born-and-bred and know precious little abouthow to care for these creatures before they reach my kitchen. Witheach heifer averaging three-quarters-of-a-ton it took some encourage-ment to get me to enter the pasture to snap a few photos. These arenot the docile, de-horned creatures of Old MacDonald’s Farm, butrather a social herd of very protective mothers, some with horns longerthan my arm. I cautiously entered, and the bellowing began again –“moo” does not describe it.

This behavior is part of the reason some ranchers are starting toawaken to the benefits of the breed. They calve easily and on theirown (Aaron says he’s never pulled a calf from a Park), are fiercely pro-tective of their young, live and grow quite happily on pasture, and de-liver exceptional quality meat. None of Seed Savers’ herd has ever seena veterinarian.

Happily the herd’s behavior was more wary than aggressive. They didnot, as I had feared, smell my urban upbringing and thus realize thatthey had the upper hoof. Or maybe they just wanted to lull me intogetting just a little too close and then hook the strap of my Nikon withwhat appeared to be needle-sharp horns. Whether I was reading toomuch into the situation or not, all this from what turned out to be thesmaller of the two herds kept on Seed Savers’ rolling acreage.

Whealey and his counterparts on the B Bar Ranch in Montana, in ad-


dition to Alec Bradford in Virginia and Lance Kuck in Nebraska, whoeach keep smaller herds, are keeping separate groups on their lands tostrengthen the genetic variety within the breed. Scrupulous attentionto which calf came from which heifer and which bull prevents in-breeding and thus reinforces the herd. This is important not only tothe genetic code, but also to the marketability of the cattle. In thiseat-it-to-save-it model, encouraging more ranchers to take on thebreed is vital. A strong herd makes that more likely.

Nature is not monolithic. It can only thrive with diversity, so protect-ing a wide variety of breeds strengthens each species. In order to en-courage that to happen in the modern world, one effective method isto create markets for the product. Recent successes in this model havebeen seen with the American Bison, and with the four formerly en-dangered breeds of turkeys that Slow Food USA’s Ark project broughtback from the brink – The American Bronze, the Bourbon Red, theJersey Buff and the Narragansett. Now not only is Seed Savers helpingto rescue the Ancient White Park, but it has begun working with sev-eral heritage breeds of poultry as well.

As I gingerly approach a calf, it seems curious at first, but one sternwarning from its nearby mother sends the youngster scurrying behindher for protection. I think I’m gaining ground, getting some decentimages. Just then Whealey points out to me that while I’ve been fo-cusing on what was in front of me, the herd was not retreating – it wassurrounding. Best to retreat myself before they realized I’d be prepar-ing one of their kin for dinner.

Thai Beef Salad2 pounds beef flank steak (or substitute skirt)

For the Marinade:

2 teaspoon soy sauce2 tablespoons hoisin sauce1 teaspoon fish sauce1 lime, juiced2 cloves garlic, minced1 teaspoon ginger, minced1/2 each red onion, minced1/3 cup peanut oil1/2 teaspoon tuong ot toi (a Vietnamese chili paste, available inmost Asian markets)

For the Dressing:

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar2 teaspoons soy sauce1 tablespoon ginger1 clove garlic1 teaspoon tuong ot toi2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil1/2 cup peanut oil1 sweet red bell pepper, julienned3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Marinate the beef in the next 9 ingredients 1 hour to overnight.Remove the beef from the marinade, scrape off excess. Grill orbroil on high heat just a couple minutes on each side, to mediumrare.

Slice the beef thin and on a bias, as if for fajitas, and toss with theremaining ingredients. Chill thoroughly before serving.

Serves 4 as an entrée. 8 as a salad. Keeps refrigerated for 2-3 days.

The 99By Anna Wilson and Criss Roberts

RAGBRAI’s Final Stop is Full of Flavors


Back when Iowa was a twinkle in the eye of the United States, Burlington was a capitalcity. Before Iowa City, long before Des Moines, this town on the banks of the Missis-sippi River was where legislators from the Wisconsin Terroritory came to tame thewilderness.

Des Moines County – and the city that now serves as Iowa’s capitol – are named afterthe river. Once the home of Sac and Fox tribes of Indians and a branch of the AmericanFur Company, this area where the Des Moines meets the Mississippi lost the legislaturebut grew as steamboats plied the waters and farmers tilled the land. Burlington, thecounty seat, welcomed German and Irish immigrants who built homes on the city’sNorth, South and West hills. In 1887 it became the birthplace of Aldo Leopold, the fa-mous naturalist and author for whom the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture atIowa State University is named.

Burlington is the hub of the local food movement with a thriving farmers market andseveral restaurants serving up something interesting (and more rumored to come.) atcultural past has melded together, coming full circle as several community restaurantspledge their support to the local, sustainable food movement.

e only thing missing from La Tavola, a gem-like Italian eatery, are the checked table-cloths and candle-holding Chianti bottles. at, and empty tables, since La Tavola fillsup fast and frequently. Reservations are highly recommended. is trattoria is a new-comer to the food scene – opening in November 2007. Sicilian Carlo Falcone came toBurlington, leaving his brothers to run the family’s three New Jersery pizzerias, at thesuggestion of his sister-in-law. His wife Carla is a Kansas native, but her sister Cathyworks at the local community college and saw opportunity. e Falcones have a tidymenu of southern Italian classics ranging from generous portions of chicken parmigianato linguine in clam sauce.

When area native Danielle Munson moved back to Burlington from Boca Raton,Florida, she missed some of the boutiques and the trendy restaurants. So she opened herown version in the Bazaar Boutique.

Tucked in the back of the classy shop is the funky little wine bar, with a varying selec-tion and weekly specials. Open since May 1, the Bazaar Bar is a work in progress withlimited hours and a casual elegance.

If you are more of a beer person, Mister Moto’s Café is a coffee shop and restaurant byday with fantastic coffee and breakfast fare, and a bar by night, with an extensive beerlist and a vegetarian pizza menu. ursday features local musicians in a quasi open mikenight. e pizzas – and let’s repeat: Vegetarian – are great. e baked goods are mouth-watering. Lunches center on paninis and salads. More ambitious lunch items are onhold until Nathalie Girod, who partners with designer Kevin Bangert, in the enterprise,returns from Paris. is bodes well. Mister Moto’s is worth a visit simply to viewBangert’s artistic efforts, from the tile skeletons on the floor to the funky restrooms inthe former factory building.

e Drake offers a fine, though limited, view of the Mighty Mississippi, and it main-tains a deep commitment to local foods. e wide-ranging menu includes locally pro-duced elk and duck and chef Mike Clem makes an effort to visit local farmers forproduce. Situated in a refurbished hardware store and renovated with artifacts fromBurlington’s past, owner Sam Jennison takes a personal interest in expanding the restau-rant’s already fine wine collection. e outside courtyard regularly rocks with regionalbands on weekends.

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Aussie Dr. Philip Eves moved to Burlington with wife Mary, a native,and opened Digger’s Rest Coffeehouse. His specialties are tasty littlesandwiches (the bread’s from New Pioneer Co-op in Iowa City), in-house roasted coffee and Wednesday ai food lunches cooked byNonia Workman, a former ailand tourism official who followedher husband, a local firefighter, to Iowa.

e Burlington Farmers Market is held at the scenic and historicPort of Burlington, right below the towering Great River Bridgeevery ursday and Saturday throughout the season (though on Sep-tember 17 it moves to the band shell in Crapo Park). is is rapidlybecoming one of the best and best-attended markets in the state, fea-turing everything Iowans have come to expect in our fabulous mar-kets, and more. You can even find soap made from local goats milk,made by Doreen Roy of the Wholesome Basket.

For a little taste of wine, visit the Lindon Winery – only be careful,it’s easy to fly right by their hidden driveway and tiny little sign asyou cruise up Highway 61. But if you do spot it, treat yourself totheir magnificent Sherry – a fortified wine made with grapes grownliterally right next to the winery. Lindon is a member of the ScenicRivers Wine Trail, mentioned on page 17.

With too many delicious finds to fit in these pages, you’re sure tohave plenty to taste, smell and see on a visit to Des Moines County.

When You Go....La Tavola Italian Restaurant & Pizza

316 N. Fourth St., Burlington319.768.5600

Bazaar Bar212 Jefferson St., Burlington

319.754.4800www.Bazaar-Boutique.net

Mister Moto’s Café122 North 4th St., Burlington

319.754.1965

e Drake106 Washington St., Burlington

319.754.1036www.eDrakeRestaurant.com

Digger’s Rest Coffeehouse314 Jefferson St., Burlington

319.758.6067

Lindon Wines12646 Highway 61, Burlington

319.753.1072

e Wholesome Basket 1719 South St., Burlington

319.754.7891www.eWholesomeBasket.com



1,000WordsChiles at the Market

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Behind Closed DoorsBy Rob Cline

Starving Artist

The term “starving artist” is inescapable when Leslie Charipar opensher refrigerator. Of the many fridges I have intrepidly investigated,Leslie’s was easily the emptiest. Emptiest, but certainly not empty.We’ll get to its limited contents in just a moment.

First, the lowdown on Leslie: She’s the artistic director for TheatreCedar Rapids, a non-professional theatre company celebrating its 75th

season. I’ve known Leslie since we served together on the board of theIowa Cultural Corridor Alliance. She’s passionately committed to thearea’s cultural scene in general and to TCR in particular.

Every now and again, I have the opportunity to get crosswise of Lesliein my role as a theatre reviewer, but she is unfailingly gracious—de-spite being one of the sharpest wits one is likely to encounter. Andtruth to tell, TCR consistently offers audiences and critics much moreto like than to dislike.

As for Leslie’s fridge, however, its meager contents include both thingsshe likes and, oddly enough, things she dislikes.

Of cheese and coffee

“This is my I’m-waiting-for-my-paycheck-to-buy-groceries fridge,”Leslie explained as we gazed over the sparsely populated icebox land-scape.

The first thing I noticed in the refrigerator was a meager collection ofbottled beer, a beverage Leslie doesn’t imbibe. “I always have left overbeers from parties because I don’t buy it, but this way I can offersomeone a beer,” she said. The food-from-parties refrain was just be-ginning.

But Leslie pointed out two other items as the fridge door swung open.

“This is pretty indicative of me, really—cheese and coffee.”

There was, indeed, cheese. Provolone for sandwiches, for example.But there was also an unopened package of Swiss cheese. This itemhad two things in common with the beer: it was leftover from a partyand Leslie is unlikely to eat it.

“I don’t have the heart to throw it away,” she said, “because it’s goodfood. But apparently nobody else at the party liked Swiss either be-cause that’s all that was left.”

A large red container of Folgers coffee occupies a prominent spot onthe top shelf. Like many people, Leslie has heard that keeping coffeein the refrigerator keeps it fresher, but that’s not the only reason it’s inthere.

“Frankly, it’s just a good place to keep it.”

This isn’t any old Folgers, by the way. “It’s Black Silk,” Leslie saidwryly. “That’s their darkest blend. It’s ‘bold, yet smooth.’”

A member of the cast of TCR’s recent production of Hair who worksat Starbucks provided Leslie with some (expired) beans. “That’s a Sun-

day morning coffee. That’s not just brew it and run to work.”

Negative space

The bottom shelf and produce drawers of Leslie’s fridge were com-pletely devoid of content on the day I visited.

“That whole lower shelf is reserved for Diet Coke,” said Leslie, point-ing out that for the time being she had been reduced to purchasing atwo-liter of her favorite beverage.

(Permanently) Frozen foods

Leslie’s freezer is full of foods that come with stories. Take, for exam-ple, her bag of VIP Quality Plus Soybeans. “This was something Iwas going to eat, but then I sprained my ankle and it became some-

thing to take the swelling down.” In-deed, the bag has been refrozen insuch a way that one could imagine itcurved around Leslie’s ankle.

The Mr. Dell’s Original Potato Casse-role lost out to a box of donuts duringa blue afternoon shared with a friend.Trouble is, the friend brought over thecasserole. “I can’t throw them away be-cause at some point she’s going to say,‘Hey, what about those potatoes?’”

Prominently displayed in the freezer’sdoor, however, is the piece de résistance:A Deli Express Mega Muffaletta.

Returning from a conference in Ab-erdeen, Texas in 2005, Leslie and company stopped at a conveniencestore. Leslie assured her comrades that she didn’t need anything, butone of her peers was so moved by the combination of spicy ham,pepperoni, and provolone cheese on offer in the Mega Muffalettathat he purchased one for her.

“I said I would keep it forever,” Leslie said. “This is sort of its exhibi-tion spot.”

Unlikely to be eaten

The Mega Muffaletta is not the only item in the icebox unlikely to beconsumed. There is a bottle of squeeze grape jelly—another gift froma cast member—that has remained unopened though its original ac-companiments of peanut butter and bread have long been consumed.

There’s the unopened bottle of sweet relish left over from a cookout:“I didn’t want them to go to waste so I put them in my fridge—where they’ll go to waste.”

There’s the frozen package of Alexia Oven Reds: “Those expired thisyear, but I’m never going to eat them.”

“This is myI’m-wait-ing-for-my-paycheck-to-buy-groceriesfridge,”

Finally, the flour

Leslie also had a couple of bags of flour on the top shelf of her fridge,for much the same reason the coffee is in there—because she’s beentold that it keeps it fresh. She seems intent on testing that proposi-tion, however.

“I’m going to guess that flour has been in there for a good two orthree years,” she said, taking it out to take a look at the dates whichsuggest that she’s quite right. “But honestly, how does flour go bad?See? I’m putting it back in.”

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The Last WordBy Kurt Michael Friese

What We Eat When We Eat Alone

So much of our daily meal plan-ning centers on how many peo-ple we are feeding. In mostcases it’s two, or four, or morepeople for each meal. Whenholidays and other festivities rollaround, it’s even more. Wemust consider the tastes and di-etary restrictions of everyone atthe table in order to provide ameal that is at once healthy,tasty, and interesting,

But what happens when we eatalone?

is is among the most private,personal, and intimate of acts.We are free to express our inner-most cravings; secret desires thatwe dare not share with othersfor fear of judgment or ridicule.

e gourmet chef might treathimself to a can of Hormel chilihis mother served when he was a child. A kid might eat sour creamsprinkled with brown sugar. e “NASCAR dad” may have a slice ofquiche when his friends aren’t looking, aware as he is that it was in-vented not as a test of masculinity but rather to use up leftovers. Asfor me, more often than not it’s chips and salsa.

James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Deborah Madison setout to encourage people to reveal these intimate moments in her latestbook, What We Eat When We Eat Alone. is slim yet quite entertain-ing volume contains both stories and a full 100 recipes from people ofnearly every walk of life. From kids to senior citizens, farmers to cityslickers, nearly everyone has something secret they love to eat. Manyhave funny or even heartwarming reasons why they eat it.

Take for example Madison’s friend, peach farmer and writer DavidMas Masumoto, explaining why he almost always turns to leftoverswhen eating by himself:

“I immediately miss my wife, and leftovers are a way of reliving ameal. I have often wondered how someone eats after a spouse or part-ner dies. Reliving a meal can be both sad and yet memorable. Besides,leftovers are usually not that bad.”

Madison’s husband Patrick McFarlin, an artist who illustrated notonly this latest work but also Local Flavors, the one that garnered herthat James Beard Award, tells in that same chapter of making a deli-cious - if somewhat messy - version of fried cornmeal mush bybrowning leftover polenta in a pan in his studio and topping it withfresh mozzarella.

As a companion to the book,she’s put a video up on YouTubewith a few vignettes. ere theexamples truly run the gamut:

“A spelt tortilla, with olive oil,and gomasio, and wakame, andyou could put anything rolled upin that”

“My favorite vegetable is bacon”

“I do things like open up a can oftuna and mix it with some cot-tage cheese. at’s about as cre-ative as I can get”

“I like to do a pork tenderloin,and I do it slow over the grill,with jerk sauce.”

Not only does this book bring usthe secret voyeuristic thrill ofpeeking into our neighbors’ pri-vate preferences, it supplies us

with simple to execute yet incredibly delicious meals scaled especiallyfor one person to enjoy on their own. Sure you could double therecipe for a guest, but that’s spoiling the secret.

In one recipe, for a guacamole, Madison offers simple advice and in-vents my new favorite word, “salady.”

“Given that this, along with some blue corn chips or a warm tortilla,might be your dinner, this guacamole has a bit more tomato thannormal, making it a bit more salady.”

Guacamole for One

1 tablespoon finely diced white onion

2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon finely diced jalapeño chile

¼ teaspoon salt

1 avocado

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1 teaspoon lime juice, or to taste

Chop the onion, cilantro, and the chile with ¼ teaspoon salt to makea rough paste. Peel and mash the avocado with a fork, keeping itchunky. Add the onion mixture and tomatoes, season with half thelime juice, then taste and add more, if needed.

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edible iowa river valley issue #12, summer 2009

Documents

edible communitiespg

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