eirv 2011-03 - issue 19 - spring - final lo-res

Celebrating Local Food Across IowaNumber 19 :: Spring, 2011

edible®

Member of Edible Communities

IOWA RIVER VALLEY

www.EdibleIowa.com

IowaWomen in Foodand Farming

Spring 2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 3

Spring, 2011In This Issue

5 Grist for the Mill

7 Rebooting an IconAbout the cover...

8 Saving Seeds, Sharing StoriesHow Diane Ott Whealy helped bring backheirlooms—by Renee Brincks

10 Honey Creek GoatsIowa’s first and only certified organic goatcheese—by Michael Brownlee

14 Women and FoodIt starts with the land—by Sue Futrell

16 Season to SeasonRadishes

17 Subscription Information

18 Farming as Art FormJudy Beuter’s Love of Livestock and theLand—by Mary Blackwood

23 Edible Bazaar

25 2011 Local HeroesWe asked, you answered!

28 Proof PositiveBack of the House with Carly Groben of DesMoines’ Proof Restaurant—by Brian Morelli

30 Pantry RaidA Girl’s Best Friend—by Kim McWane Friese

32 Women “Fixing” FoodThe Women, Food, and AgricultureNetwork—by Leigh Adcock

34 The Last WordAn Appreciation of Joan Dye Gussow’sGrowing, Older: A Chronicle of Death, Life,and Vegetables—by Kim McWane Friese

On the cover:Burrowing Owl Farm’s Allie Gnade by Kurt Michael Friese

All of us at Edible Iowa are proud to call these folks ourFriends. They understand the importance of support-ing local farms, local food, and the local economy.

Be sure to visit the eiFriends listed here, and thankthem for supporting local, sustainable food and EdibleIowa River Valley. You can also follow many of themvia Edible’s regular posts on Facebook and Twitter.

To join our growing list of eiFriends, please contact usat 319.337.7885 or [email protected]

Backyard Abundance—pg. 27El Banditos—pg. 21Bur Oaks Farm—pg. 33Cafe del Sol Roasting—pg. 26Chelsea Green Publishing—pg. 36Classic Smiles—pg. 33Colony Inn—pg. 33Devotay—pg. 6Edible Bazaar—pg. 23Edible Marketplace—pg. 35Edible Radio—pg. 33The Englert Theatre—pg. 24Fireside Winery—pg. 20Freighthouse Farmers Market—pg. 24Great River Brewery—pg. 27Iowa City-Coralville CVB—pg. 27Iowa City Farmers Market—pg. 21Jasper Winery—pg. 26John’s Grocery—pg. 26L. May—pg. 26Local Foods Connection—pg. 24Locally Grown Clothing—pg. 20MC Ginsberg—pg. 4MidWestOne Bank—pg. 21Mote Wealth Management—pg. 21New Pioneer Co-op—pg. 16Oneota Community Co-op—pg. 24Peace Tree Brewing—pg. 20Pepper Sprout—pg. 13Pet Central Station—pg. 20Robinson Family Wellness—pg. 26Rubaiyat—pg. 13SavvyRest—pg. 20Seed Savers Exchange—pg. 13Shaklee—pg. 13Share—pg. 21Tabor Home Winery—pg. 24Tassel Ridge Winery—pg. 2Templeton Rye—pg. 13Twin Image Salon & Spa—pg. 13Terri Wiebold—pg. 4University of Iowa Sustainability—pg. 33VisitDecorah.com—pg. 6Women, Food, & Agriculture Network—pg. 15

eiFriends

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & PUBLISHERKurt Michael Friese

MANAGING EDITORKim McWane Friese

WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

DESIGNED BYKurt Michael Friese

PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE FROMThomas Agran

CONTACT USEdible Iowa River Valley22 Riverview Drive, NE

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©2011.Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings, and omissions.If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our

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Proudly printed in Iowa.

4 www.EdibleIowa.com Spring, 2011

edibleIOWA RIVER VALLEY

Leigh AdcockMary Blackwood

Renee BrincksMichael Brownlee

Sue FutrellBrian Morelli

Dan McRoberts

®

Dear Eater,

March 2011 marks the 100th anniversary ofInternational Women’s Day (March 8th, to bespecific), a global holiday celebrating the role of womenin society. Globally, women continue to take primary responsi-bility for caring for their families and the land. In many countrieswomen grow 75 percent of the food people eat and are on the frontlines of thefight to end hunger and preserve the environment. Yet women are often treated un-fairly, with the result that 75 percent of the world’s hungry are female. Oxfam America isworking to change this by supporting women worldwide to challenge discrimination anddevelop solutions to feed their families. Join us on March 3rd in Ames for a free interactive mealwhere you’ll hear the personal story of a woman-farmer, learn how women are feeding the world, and lend your voice insupport of their efforts. For directions or to RSVP, email Stephen at [email protected] If you can't make the event but want to be in-volved, visit www.OxfamActionCorps.org.

In this spring issue of Edible Iowa, our 19th, we bring you stories of just a few of the women who are making a difference on Iowa’s local, sustain-able food scene. e story behind our cover image kicks off the issue on page 7, then from one icon to another, Renee Brincks brings you thestory of Seed Savers Exchange co-founder Dianne Ott Whealy and examines some of the important work she has done and is doing to protectour heirloom seed heritage.

Just a stones throw from the Missouri river, just north of Council Bluffs, sits the tiny town of Honey Creek, and that’s where Michael Brownleemet Stanley, the friendliest goat in the herd that is part of the first certified organic goat dairy in Iowa. Michael spent a day strolling the hillsthere with Honey Creek Creamery owners Sharon Oamek snf Janna Feldman.

Sue Futrell takes the broad view with a look at the many roles women have taken in the modeern Iowa food and farming scene, and then new Edible contributorMary Blackwood brings it back down to earth as she spends a day with Solon livestock farmer Judy Beuter.

Brian Morelli’s Back of the House column is back with a portrait of Carly Groben, owner of two restaurants in downtown Des Moines, Proof, and Flour. Notonly was she recently a James Beard Award semifinalist for best chef-Midwest last year, but Edible Iowa’s loyal readers voted her Best Chef in our annual Local Heroesreader survey (more on that below). We’ve also brought you a Pantry Raid with the University of Iowa’s Michele Conlon, as well as an overview of one of our fa-vorite non-profits, the Women, Food and Agriculture Network.

In the last word, Edible Managaing Editor Kim McWane Friese has an appreciation of Joan Dye Gussow and her latest book, Growing, Older: A Chronicle of Death,Life, and Vegetables.

Last but certainly not least, as mentioned, you’ll find this year’s Local Heroes revealed on page 25, and we thank the hundreds of readers whotook the time to go online last fall and vote. is was our fourth year doing the awards and they’ll be back again this fall for another round.

With Relish,

PS: We are all over the Internet, with active streams on Twitter and Facebook, as well as our fantastic new podcast, e Blue Plate Special, onwww.EdibleRadio.com, hosted by Kurt and his sister Christine. Tune In, Turn On, Eat Up!

grist forthe mill


As soon as the decisionwas made to commemo-rate the 100th anniver-sary of InternationalWomen’s Day with anissue dedicated towomen in food andfarming in Iowa, theidea or recreating the

iconic “Rosie theRiveter” image came

to mind. How bet-ter, after all, to em-

phasize the growingimportance of Iowa’s

women in the local, sus-tainable food movement

than to demonstrate howvital and integral women

have always been to ourgrowth and security.

The original Rosie the Riveterdesign was commisioned by the

Westinghouse Company’s WarProduction Coordinating Com-

mittee from Pittsburgh artist J. Howard Miller. He in turn basedthe now iconic “We Can Do It!” poster on a United Press photo-graph taken of Lansing, Michigan, factory worker GeraldineDoyle, who passed away just last December at the age of 86.

Edible Iowa’s tribute to Geraldine, Rosie, and the women ofIowa’s sustainable foods began with a simple photo shoot withIowa City’s Allie Gnade. Editor of New Pioneer Co-op’s maga-zine The Catalyst, Allie is also a “microfarmer” and a baker.Readers will remember her from our “Notables” section sometime ago, where we talked about the amazing meringues and tartsshe and partner Thomas Agran produce under the name “Bur-rowing Owl Bakery.”

An artist himself, Thomas is also a whiz with Photoshop, so Edi-ble enlisted his help in taking the image from the plain photo tothe finished work, as detailed in the film strip on the right.

First came the mimicking of the wardrobe: the blue work shirt,the button on the collar, and the distinctive polkadot headscarf.Of course we needed a food angle so we threw in a crispy freshleek, then set about posing, framing, and shooting the image,which was done at Allie’s parents’ store (Iowa City’s DesignRanch, on Dodge Street).

Edible Iowa publisher Kurt Michael Friese shot alittle over 150 frames to get one that was justright, some with and some without having Alliesmile (Rosie’s demeanor being decidedly moredetermined). In the end though there was sim-ply no rejecting that dazzling smile.

From there Thomas set to work, placing theselected image on the yellow-and-blue back-ground with the word balloon at the top,just like Miller’s original poster. He thenaltered the shading. Note on the filmstrip how the original photo get’schanged first with the background, thenwith the darker torso to align moreclosely with the original. He thenused just a little more photoshopmagic to draw Allie’s right shoul-derblade back, and the image wasready for the cover.

Our sincere gratitude to everyonewho helped produce the imagesuccesfully, from Allie and Tomto Design Ranch and New Pio-neer Coop. But we reserve ourheartiest thanks for the inspi-ration for the concept, thewomen of Iowa’s farms andrestaurants, just a few ofwhom are profiled in thisissue. It’s good to knowIowa’s food system has abright future in thehands of these smart,strong, savvy women.


Rebooting an IconAbout the cover...


SAVING SEEDS, SHARING STORIES

HOW DIANE OTT WHEALY HELPED BRING BACK HEIRLOOMS

BY RENEE BRINCKS

Diane Ott Whealy can easily explain what led her to co-found SeedSavers Exchange 35 years ago, before terms like heirloom, slow foodand locavore were common in conversations of eating and gardening.In fact, this spring she’ll release a book chronicling the nonprofit orga-nization’s development. Rather than just tell the story, however, OttWhealy prefers to demonstrate what inspired her.

“Sometimes, genetic diversity is hard to describe. It’s sort of an abstractconcept. But if people can actually see peppers and squash and lettuceand beautiful tomatoes of every size, shape and color, they can under-stand what we’re trying to save,” she says. “It’s not just a red tomato.It’s 20 different colors of tomatoes.”

Ott Whealy and her then husband, Kent Whealy, started Seed Saversin 1975. The goal was to maintain genetic diversity by collecting, pre-serving and sharing rare seed varieties traditionally passed downthrough generations. Today, approximately 13,000 gardeners, farmers,chefs and supporters hold Seed Savers memberships, and members andnon-members alike can order from the organization’s extensive collec-tion of heirloom vegetable, fruit, flower and herb seeds.

After beginning with two seed varieties, Seed Savers’ collection hasgrown to approximately 25,000 seed records. Many are grown on a ro-tating basis at Heritage Farm, the nonprofit’s 890-acre headquartersseven miles north of Decorah. Twenty miles south of Heritage Farm,Ott Whealy grew up gardening with her grandparents and working onher parents’ farm. There, she learned about stewardship and living offthe land.

“Growing up on a dairy farm, I was definitely connected to food andgardening,” she says. “My mother had a garden, and we canned, and itwas an important part of our lives...I had a great fascination with thisland and how people provided for themselves before the introductionof all our modern conveniences.”

As an example she cites her grandmother, who raised nine childrenduring the Great Depression by growing and preserving much of thefamily’s food. Ott Whealy also remembers her mother planning mealsaround what was in season, such as corn on the cob or strawberryshortcake made with fresh fruit.

“We ate seasonally – it was unintentional, but that’s how we ate at thattime,” she says. “That was our natural lifestyle. I was really very fortu-nate.”

When she was newly married and ready to plant her own garden, OttWhealy turned to her grandfather. As a child, she’d spent many after-noons sitting among his morning glory vines, listening to him tell sto-ries. When he shared morning glory and German pink tomato seeds toget her started, they, too, came with a tale.

“He said his parents had actually brought that seed with them whenthey immigrated to St. Lucas from Bavaria. I never knew that – I justthought Grandpa had them, and I never thought about how they gotthere,” says Ott Whealy. “It was such a living link to my ancestors...Ihad family living in Germany, and now I had a part of their garden inmy hand.

The experience got the young couple thinking about how easily seeds,and the stories behind them, could be lost or forgotten – particularlyin a place like Iowa, where families often carried seeds from othercountries when they settled the countryside. To advance the preserva-tion and circulation of those heirloom varieties, Kent and Diane OttWhealy launched Seed Savers.

Initially, awareness of the organization spread through back-to-the-landpublications and word of mouth. Slowly, more and more people ex-pressed interest. Some shared individual seeds. Others donated wholecollections of beans, tomatoes or peppers. Ott Whealy says Seed Saversacquired some non-hybrid seeds from catalogs, and collected others ontrips to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. She credits sup-porters nationwide for helping make the nonprofit’s collection what itis today.

“We were so surprised and pleased that there were other people outthere encouraging us, saying, ‘Yes, we do need to save the older vari-eties of seed, and thank you for doing this,’” she says.

Ott Whealy attributes Seed Savers’ growth to several other factors, aswell. For one, she and Whealy were eventually able to leave their full-and part-time jobs to concentrate on building the organization andraising their five children. In addition, a feature article in Organic Gar-dening magazine provided national exposure that turned attention totheir efforts. As new members and grant-making foundations sup-ported Seed Savers, the co-founders also began searching for a perma-nent home and demonstration farm.

In 1987, Seed Savers moved to what is now Heritage Farm. About 60employees now tend to thousands of organic heirloom fruits and

vegetables there, and the fertile, forested acres include an orchard withpre-1900 apple varieties and a collection of grapes. To remind visitorsthat the genetic diversity of livestock, like that of plants, is also threat-ened, a herd of rare ancient white park cattle grazes the property. TheLillian Goldman Visitors Center (open March through December)houses a gift and garden shop, educational exhibits and event space;this spring, nature walks, an apple grafting workshop and a plant saleare all on the schedule. Seed Savers’ annual conference, headlined in2011 by author and scientist Vandana Shiva, will also be held on thegrounds from July 15-17 (Edible Iowa publisher Kurt Michael Friesewill be speaking there too!).

The scope of it all surpasses Ott Whealy’s own early expectations forthe organization.

“Even in my biggest dreams, to have this beautiful farm of almost 900acres and people coming here to help us out in our work is really morethan I could have ever imagined,” she says.

Rosalind Creasy, who wrote 17 gardening books including the recentrelease, Edible Landscaping, believes Ott Whealy has played an integralrole in the development of Seed Savers as well as the larger culinary in-dustry. Creasy, who joined the Seed Savers board of directors threeyears ago, first became acquainted with the organization as she was re-searching her first book in the late 1970s. She remembers the SeedSavers co-founders having the vision and conviction to see their workthrough at a time when the United States was moving toward mass-produced foods transported great distances. As vegetables seemed to befalling out of favor, Ott Whealy worked to keep natural, healthy fare inthe spotlight.

“Diane is the dynamic focus…she is one of the people who knows theevolution of seed saving the best,” says Creasy. “She is a very firm andloving foundation to the organization.”

Since those early years, Creasy has watched Ott Whealy share not onlygardening knowledge, but also knowledge related to canning and cook-ing with heirloom varieties. For that reason, Creasy lists her amongwomen who made “a profound and unrecognized contribution to whatwe now serve on the table” – including pioneers such as chef Alice Wa-ters, Renee Shepherd of Renee’s Garden and the former Shepherd’sSeeds, and author and nursery owner Rose Marie Nichols McGee.Creasy calls Ott Whealy’s upcoming book a good story that providesbackground for “people who don’t know much about why they can goto the farmers’ market and get heirloom seeds, tomatoes or melons.”

“I just felt like the history needs to be told because it hasn’t always beenlike this,” says Ott Whealy. “It was the result of a lot of people’s effortsand sacrifices and hard work over the years. That’s why Seed Savers ishere today.”

She sees her own role in the organization as one of nurturing, protect-ing and promoting growth, and she finds herself inspired, in part, bythe way her mother and grandmothers approached their own work. “The women in my life have given it their all, their heart and soul,” shesays. “They never expected to be singled out…their ego didn’t have tobe fed. Their joy was just knowing that they were doing the best theycould in providing for their family…It isn’t about the glory; it’s aboutwhat you’re doing.”

As she cultivates Seed Savers’ programs and offerings, Ott Whealy alsoencourages beginning gardeners not to be intimidated by growing orsaving seeds.

“When I grew up, gardening was just a natural thing. You planted theseeds, you weeded, you hoed, you harvested. Now people think it’smore difficult than it needs to be,” she says. “They think they needspecial tools and books, and I’m not saying you can’t have those things,

but I like to encourage people to just garden. It’s the experience that ismost helpful.”

Customers at all stages of gardening order different varieties from theSeed Savers catalog, though carrots, beans, tomatoes and moon & starswatermelon are among the most popular. And, not surprisingly, so isthe seed that started it all.

“In general, seeds that have a story and are productive and beautifuland practical and easy to grow are popular. Our number one seller isprobably Grandpa Ott’s Morning Glory seed, because I tell the story alot and it is a beautiful plant,” Ott Whealy says. “It’s interesting howpeople like stories.”


Get Your SeedsSeed Savers Exchange, Decorah

To request a catalog, order seeds, register for membership or learnmore about Seed Savers Exchange, visit www.SeedSavers.org or

call 563.382.5990.

Diane Ott Whealy (center), co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah,shows vistors around the glorious gardens of Heritage Farm


Honey Creek Creamery’s mixed herdfeels right at home in Iowa’s Loess Hillsnorth of Council Bluffs.

While it’s not true that a goat “will eatanything,” they will tussle over a treatnow and then


Stanley loves me.

On a hike through Sharon Oamek's patch of the Loess Hills, Stanley stays by myside, walking when I do, stopping with me when I take a photo or jot down anote.

Stanley is a 10-year-old fixed alpine goat, a male who keeps company with the fe-male herd that makes up half of the Honey Creek Creamery operation in south-west Iowa.

Located about 10 miles north of the Council Bluffs-Omaha, Neb., metro area,Honey Creek Creamery is a goat dairy split between the farms of Oamek andJanna Feldman, neighbors six miles apart who found each other by chance.

The story begins in 1999. Feldman's daughter Mia - only four at the time - haddigestive problems and the family found goat milk as a solution. So Janna andhusband Tom bought a goat. “That’s what truly helped. Their milk is naturallyhomogenized, that's why it's so much better for the elderly and children." Feld-man said. "And if it's fresh and cold it's a wonderful milk. So that's what wedrink.”

Feldman found that to keep the milk fresh and flowing she had to breed herdoes. “I had three, then four… it was a natural progression,” she said. “So I hadmy goats and I was milking.”

That same year Sharon moved to Honey Creek from Colorado with her hus-band, George (an area native) and their infant daughter Paige. Sharon's goatscame with. One day a friend from Omaha told Oamek, “Sharon, I swear there’sa woman out in that area who raises goats and wants to open a dairy.”

Sharon eventually picked up the phone and called Janna. The pair set up a meet-ing. "It was a hoot. If you could've seen us. Our eyes lit up, 'are you serious?!'"Janna said. "That's how we started: by accident. The two of us finding out abouteach other, the same dream, six miles apart."

A word about the goat breeds: Saanen are a Swiss alpine breed, pure white.They're the largest. Alpines are smaller, “but sturdier,” Feldman says. They pro-duce a nice blend of milk, good mix of butter fat and milk. Nubians are distinc-tive for their floppy ears. They're also the loudest of the three breeds, their “baahs”providing the background music while feeding the goats at Feldman's farm.

"Definitely the most vocal," Feldman said. "My Nubians will tell me whenthey're hungry. They want this, they're interested in that. They're the cry babies.

Neither woman wants to deal with a buck year-round, so they rent one for thebreeding season. “They're so stinky,” Feldman said. "And a handful to deal with."

That cartoon image of goats eating tin cans, garbage, whatever-is-put-in-front-of-them is a misnomer. “Contrary to everyone's belief, they are very picky eaters,”Feldman said.

Added Oamek: “On the tin can, what they're after is the paper.”

Proving that point is a hungry saanen on the hike. Sharon is telling me about thenatural terracing on her property when I feel the white goat snipping at me. The goat chomps off a piece of paper from the notebook in my back pocket. I'mbarely able to retrieve it. Those notes better be important.

We reach the top of Oamek's hill and the view is breathtaking. A row of woodedLoess Hills is off in the distance, while in the foreground harvested cornfields arevisible. Beauty all around; it's inspiring. Religions start on hills like this.

I stop to take it in. Stanley stops with me.

Once together, Sharon and Janna began the journey from dream to goat cheese."Research, research and more research," Janna says of the early days. The pairstarted in 2007 and the research process took about two years.

In Iowa they visited Dairy Air (Knoxville), Picket Fence (Woodward) and North-ern Prairie Chevre (Woodward) dairies, in addition to dairies in Nebraska andIllinois. In all, they traveled to about seven dairies, including some of the bovinevariety.

They even went west to take a cheese-making course through Cal-Poly Univer-sity. “We learned a lot out there," Janna said.

Over time the pair learned what exactly goes into a creamery. “We were flying inthe dark on equipment,” Feldman said. “Not knowing what we could and could-n't use, because there's no manual saying ‘get this, this is and this. Use this, thisand this. And there is no new small-scale dairy equipment available in theUnited States."

In searching for equipment, the pair ran into a number of problems with theIowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Depart-ment of Natural Resources, which had strict guidelines on what could be used ina dairy. They finally found equipment, which was shipped from Italy and TheNetherlands.

The creamery also had problems with waste discharge regulations from theDNR, which placed the milk that the creamery drained under a regulation re-garding toxic waste. “Basically, we were caught under regulations that are moregeared toward large-scale operations,” Janna said. “Have you ever dumped a gal-lon of sour milk down the drain? What we poured out was less than that.”

Honey Creek GoatsIowa’s first and only certified organic goat cheese

Story & photos by Michael Brownlee


Another “toxic waste” problem came from cleaning the vats with a solution con-taining a tablespoon of bleach and 10 gallons of water.

The pair went to legislators at the state house in Des Moines.

State Sen. Hubert Houser, (R-Carson), a member of the agriculture committee,came out to the women’s operation and found the problems they were experienc-ing “appalling.”

“I think this situation points out some real problems we have in the state, when itcomes to helping to encourage and promote small-scale entrepreneurs getstarted.” Houser is working to draft legislation in the state senate that will take amore nuanced approach to agriculture waste regulations. Rep. Jack Drake, (R-Lewis) is drafting similar legislation in the House.

“Right now the creamery is treated like a huge Dupont plant, which is ridicu-lous,” Houser said.

Bahia Barry, local food coordinator for Golden Hills Resource Conservation andDevelopment, Inc., a non-profit working on behalf of local food ways and con-servation in southwest Iowa, helped facilitate meetings between Honey CreekCreamery and the legislature.

“This ordeal has opened eyes in the legislature on how small, simple standard po-lices can impact small local startups,” Barry said. “We need amendments or rein-terpretations to support multiple levels of industrial production in Iowa. Thelarge industries are not building factories or bringing production to our state at ahigh rate right now in this economic climate. The best chance we have for Iowa’seconomy to grow is to support local small businesses.”

Between dealing with the DNR and IDALS, the creamery's opening was delayednine months. Oamek and Feldman were only able to sell cheese for a few weekbefore the milking season was over. They lost an estimated $30,000. "But we didget open," Feldman points out.

The pair is thankful for that. And reticent to discuss, let alone criticize, the gov-erning bodies that at times were difficult to deal with (because they still have todeal with them).

So the creamery's open, the goats are ready, people are hungry. The journey fromgoat to cheese begins with, of course, milking. The operation's dairy is a con-verted bunkhouse on Oamek's property.

Oamek has owned goats for more than 13 years, since buying wethers (castratedmales) as hiking buddies. Before the creamery she’d never milked a goat. “"So I

showed her how," Feldman said.Oamek and Feldman pour their respective goats' milk into the bulk storage tank,where it stays cool and is stirred. When it's time, the milk is moved to the adja-cent pasteurizing tank and cultures and enzymes are added.

The pasteurizer agitates and heats the milk; cold water is added. Oamek andFeldman scoop out curds into mesh-style cheese bags for drying. Whey tricklesinto a drain on the floor, where it flows through an underground tube to just out-side the dairy, where it is given to cows on the Oamek farm.

Goat milk to curds takes four hours, followed by a day of drying. To ensure fresh-ness, the women never let milk sit more than two days."Otherwise it's not fresh enough for us," Oamek said.

Then the cleaning. Rinsing out the bins, the spickets, the floor, the walls, etc."Cheese is mostly cleaning," Oamek told me during our tour of the dairy, laugh-ing.

The milking season begins in the spring and runs through about September.Right now the creamery produces only fresh cheese – seasoned with herbs fromtheir gardens or from creamery neighbor Blooms Organic farm.

And not just the end product is fresh and local. In addition to hay and the cedartrees on both women’s farmland, the goats are fed organic alfalfa grown on theOamek farm. “If you have very high quality feed, you're going to have highquality milk, which will make high quality cheese,” Feldman said.

The pair takes those words to heart. Honey Creek Creamery has the onlyUSDA-certified organic goatherd in the state.

Honey Creek is a rural community of about 1,000 that's at the heart of a regionripe with small-scale, local producers.

Further north in the town of Missouri Valley are Sawmill Hollow, an aronia berryfarm and the Loess Hills Lavender Farm. To the south of the creamery on OldLincoln Highway is Loess Hills Woodworks, the Loess Hills Winery and Vine-yard and Garden Grove Deli.

The old guard is Hitchcock Nature Center, 1,200 acres of native prairies andwoodlands in the Loess Hills.

"All these unique artisan adventures,” Feldman said. "We want people to knowwhat's in this area."

For their part, this season the creamery will double production from last year. Fu-ture plans include using a cave on Sharon's property for aging cheese and tinker-ing with different flavors. Janna said they are considering opening a retail shop aswell.

The pair continue to add goats, too. "They crack me up," Feldman said. "Somuch fun to own." And to be around.

That ripped piece of paper sits on my desk as I write this. And that hike is still inmy head. So peaceful, so serene. So awesome.

I miss Stanley.

Goat Cheese SouffléCompliments of e Cornerstone Mansion B&B, Omaha, NE

8 ounces goat cheese with herbs (preferably basil)7 ounces cream cheese4 egg yolks1 cup cream or half-and-half1/2 cup bread crumbs1/2 cup melted buttersalt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Butter 8 ramekins (or muffin tins)

Let cream cheese and goat cheese soften, then mix together.Mix in egg yolks (one at a time), then cream or half-and-half.Blend well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on bottom of ramekins. Fill with batter. Bake 35 min-utes or until puffed and browned on top. Serve immediately.Serves 8

When You Go...e first full season is just getting underway for Honey Creek Creamery,so it’s best to contact them ahead of time if you’d like to visit, or if you’d

like to find out where to get their cheese. Also take a look at their website, and be sure to “like” them on Facebook!

Honey Creek CreamerySharon Oamek & Janna Feldman25593 Old Lincoln Highway

Honey Creek402.594.5111

www.HoneyCreekCreamery.com


Driving through Iowa on one of the Interstate highways that bisect the state isa pretty good way to see the kind of agriculture that dominates Iowa’s econ-omy, and reputation. Corn alternates with soybeans and not much else, onboth sides of I-80, all the way across the state from east to west; heading upHwy 35, north of Ames, clusters of long, square hog and poultry confinementbuildings stretch off to the horizon. But the view from the two-lane highwaysand county roads that criss-cross the state is more multi-textured, and more di-verse. Driving south on Hwy 1 near Kalona, signs like “pastured fryers,”“open air pigs,” “fresh brown eggs” and “we have apples” decorate the roadside.Along county roads to the north and west, fruit trees are nestled in betweenthe cornfields, and cattle and sheep dot the fields even in winter.

There’s more variety in the farmers who tend the fields than might be obviousat first too, at least when it comes to the role of women. Here in Iowa,women’s place in farming, especially sustainable farming, is especially rich anddeep. Perhaps we’ve welcomed leadership in this realm because agriculture isso central to Iowa’s economy and identity. Or perhaps there are just some ex-ceptional women here!

For starters, there are the remarkable women who head up many of Iowa’smajor sustainable agriculture and food organizations: Theresa Opheim, Execu-tive Director of Practical Farmers of Iowa; Leigh Rigby-Adcock, Executive Di-rector of Women Food and Agriculture Network (editor’s note: see the featureon WFAN on page 18); Angie Tagtow, of the newly-formed Iowa Food Sys-tems Council; Lois Wright Morton, recently named interim director of theLeopold Center for Sustainable Ag at ISU; Laura Dowd, founder and Direc-tor of Local Food Connection; and young women like Andrea Geary ofNortheast Iowa Food and Farm Project.. I’m leaving out many others, and Ihaven’t even started counting the farmers and chefs.

Over half of Iowa’s farmland is currently owned by women —depending onhow land owned by couples and families is allocated, it’s probably now around55%, according to Iowa State University Extension farm economist Dr. MikeDuffy. That’s a surprise to many, even though the percentage hasn’t changed

dramatically over the past several decades. Earlier studies put the number ataround 47% in 1982 and it has stayed about that level most years since.

Duffy, who conducts an annual survey of land ownership in Iowa, points outthat 20% of Iowa’s farmland is owned by single women, the majority ofwhom are over 65. Half of those women are 75 years of age or older. There’sbeen a 16% increase since 1982 in Iowa farmland owned by folks 75 or older,but because women tend to live longer, and many of them became sole own-ers after the death of husbands and family members, that number is growingfastest among women.

About ¾ of the land owned by these women is rented out to someone else tofarm. These women often have particular concerns about how the land isused, especially when the land they have tended and called home for manyyears is leased to someone else to farm.

In a 2007 study comparing 20 years of Iowa farm characteristics, Duffy foundthat women owned over 60% of the leased farmland in the state, and thosewomen were somewhat more likely than men to rent their land in exchangefor crop shares rather than cash rent. 81 percent of the land owned by womenis owned without any debt, also a higher proportion than the overall. Manywomen are actively involved in farming both owned and leased farmland, ei-ther alone or as part of a family or couple. Nationally, Iowa ranks among thetop states in the number of women-operated farms doing over $10k/yr insales. And it’s interesting to note that the percentage of woman-owned farm-land is slightly higher in central and eastern Iowa than in other parts of thestate.

In 2002, Women Food and Agriculture Network, (WFAN, a national organi-zation founded by Iowa farmer Denise O’Brien) held a series of ‘listening ses-sions’ for women farmers in Cass County, in southwest Iowa. They found thatthe women who attended were very concerned with conservation, caring forthe land, and keeping it healthy for future generations, but were often frus-trated and had difficulty finding the information and resources they needed

Women and Food:It Starts with the LandBy Sue Futrell


when they approached bankers and agencies. One outgrowth of that survey isa program called Women, Land and Legacy (WLL), a joint program of severalagencies and organizations statewide, which has expanded the listening ses-sions to 22 counties and over 1500 women, and continues to build bridges be-tween women farm-owners and support agencies, community by community.WLL has also found that women farmland owners are committed to conser-vation practices that protect air and water quality and wildlife habitat. They’reinterested in young farmers, and smaller-scale, diversified crops and see them-selves as taking care of the land for the future. For many of these women,farmland represents independence and connection to community.

WFAN has also continued their outreach through a program called WomenCaring for the Land. In a series of meetings in eastern Iowa, led by LinnCounty farmer Laura Krouse, women discussed the challenges of workingwith tenants, who don’t always take them seriously. They were introduced tocounty and state resources available to help foster the kinds of conservationand crop practices they want for their land.

Every 5 years, the US Department of Agriculture conducts a special Ag Cen-sus to give policy-makers and the public an accurate picture of farming in theUS. According to the most recent 2007 Ag Census, the number of women-owned and –operated farms and ranches in the US is growing, even thoughthe total number of farms in the country has been declining for many years.By 2007, there were over a million women operating farms in the US, about30% of all farm operators, and a 19% increase over the number in 2002.

The most striking characteristics that distinguish farms owned and operated bywomen are farm size and type. Nearly 70 percent of them have less than 140acres, less than a third the average size of farms owned by men. Nearly 80 per-cent report annual sales under $25,000, less than one-fifth the level of overallaverage farm sales. Women are more likely to raise small livestock and high-value specialty crops. As the USDA report notes, “Nearly half of these womenregard farming as their primary occupation, though the financial rewards arenot great. Most women-owned farms are small, diversified, and financially at-risk. “

Anyone who shops at one of the many bountiful farmers markets in our re-gion (by the way, Iowa now leads the nation in the number of farmers marketsper capita!) or belongs to a CSA has met some of these dedicated, hard-work-ing women in person. They include:

Susan Jutz of ZJ Farm, raises vegetables and sheep grown on her rolling, 80-acre farm near Solon. In 1997, she started Local Harvest CSA , now a collab-oration that also includes Simone Delaty of Simone’s Plain and Simple, andJean Donohue of Hue Hill Farm. Together they and other local farms supplytheir members in Linn and Johnson Co. with nearly year-round vegetables,eggs and bread.

Laura Krouse, who headed up the Women Caring for the Land program,owns and operates Abbe Hill in Linn County and is also a part of Local Har-vest CSA. She boughf her farm in 1988, and in 2008 was able to leave ateaching career at Cornell College to farm fulltime. She raises over 100 vari-eties of vegetables, sold primarily for 200 CSA families, as well as open-polli-nated heirloom seedcorn, soybeans, oats, hay, and chickens. Also a Soil andWater Conservation Commissioner, she has restored prairie and wetland onher farm.

This year will be Angela Tedesco’s 16th season at Turtle Farm, near Granger incentral Iowa, where she raises certified organic fruits and vegetables for a CSAof 170 families, one of the first in Iowa. She’s currently working on plans for asustainable co-housing community to become part of the farm. Her visionaryleadership earned her a mention as a Person to Watch in 2011 by the DesMoines Register.

Ann Franzenburg is a familiar face at the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids Farmer’sMarkets, standing behind buckets and baskets full of her beautiful cut flowers.She and her husband Eric own Pheasant Acres Farm, near Van Horne. In ad-dition to corn and soybeans, they built three greenhouses on their farm in

2008, where they now raise grape tomatoes, herbs, and an unusual (for Iowa),but popular crop, fresh ginger root. They supply several Iowa stores includingNew Pioneer Coop.

What about the future of Iowa’s farmland? Duffy of ISU notes that as the aver-age age of Iowa’s farmers rises, operation and ownership of farmland are likelyto change hands in the coming years. Most farmers surveyed say they plan tosell or pass along the land to family members, or sell to neighboring farmers.But the cost of land is a tough financial burden for young farmers who are juststarting out. Practical Farmers of Iowa, Iowa’s largest sustainable farming or-ganization, has a Next Generation program to help provide resources andmentoring for beginning farmers. Program coordinator Sally Worley reportsthat about half of the Next Generation participants are women. The top en-terprise for all NG participants is vegetable production, as well as some smalllivestock, both of which are labor-intensive but allow farmers to start small.Worley thinks the outlook for young women in the program is good. “Theyare hard-working, intelligent, and not shy of a day’s work. They aren’t dream-ers, they know what’s required to succeed in farming,” she says. The PFI pro-gram offers mentoring by more experienced farmers and has goodparticipation from women mentors as well as men.

In Iowa, it’s not unusual for women to own farmland, but in much of the restof the world that’s not the case: women work the land and are primary foodproviders for their families, but do not have the right to own the land theyfarm. A new Worldwatch State of the World 2011 report notes that up to75% of agricultural producers in Africa are women. In most countries ofAfrica, Asia and Latin America, women tend to produce food crops, farmsmall plots, and do seasonal work. Larger scale, commercial and export cropsare mostly produced by men. This same dichotomy does hold true here in theUS--women are the majority of farmers running CSAs and small-scale, directmarket farms, while export and commodity crops are mostly grown on largerfarms operated by men, or by family partnerships.

Denise O’Brien, Cass Co. farmer and 2008 candidate for Iowa Secretary ofAgriculture, sees this dichotomy becoming more visible as smaller scale alterna-tives have gained support and credibility. “In the 80s and 90s, there were noalternative markets, and there was more peer pressure on farmers not to be ‘dif-ferent.’ But the work that happened over those decades is what helped to cre-ate the positive growth and acceptance for sustainable agriculture that existstoday,” she notes. She’s encouraged that now there is solid economic researchshowing that small-scale agriculture is not only viable, it can have many posi-tive benefits for local communities.

O’Brien remembers meeting a woman from Kenya in 1996, at the WorldFood Summit in Rome. The woman had farmed her land all her life; her hus-band was in a wheelchair and unable to help. The woman told Denise of herfear that when her husband died, the land would go to his brothers and shewould lose the farm. In fact, a few years later that is exactly what happened.Her situation is still repeated over and over in many parts of the world today.

Things are changing, though. The Worldwatch Institute report offers some ex-citing examples of agricultural projects involving women, including:


Fort Madison's Martha Wolf, along with partner Sue Saunders, beganselling baked goods off coffee tables in Sue's basement back in 1992.From there, they opened the Ivy Bake Shoppe a bakery and cafe indowntown Fort Madison at Sixth Street and Avenue G. e cafe be-came a national fixture when reporters on the Iowa Caucus beat eightyears ago came in for a snack. Martha and Sue have since branchedout to West Burlington, where they have a second Ivy in the Shot-tenkirk Superstore.

Wolf is a devoted farmers market shopper, Buy Fresh Buy Local ac-tivist and a proponent of community supported agriculture, eagerlyanticipates her weekly market share delivery from Kathy Hohl's farmin Donnellson. She's adapted the following recipe from e GreenEarth Institute, a 60-acre farm and CSA provider in suburbanChicago, and it's a regular when e Ivy caters local events.

SPRING RADISH SPREAD

6 ounces cream cheese, softened1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (or to taste)2 teaspoons green onion tops or chopped chives2 teaspoons fresh chopped dill1/4 teaspoon salt1 cup finely chopped red radishes

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let sit in refrigerator for 1 to 2hours.

Serve with crackers, crusty bread or pita crisps.

Recipe courtesy of Martha WolfIvy Bake Shoppe

6th Street at Ave GFort Madison319.372.9939

Or Shottenkirk Superstore309 S. Gear AveWest Burlington319.752.4981

www.IvyBakeShoppe.com

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Season to Season:Radishes

“School Gardens in Uganda: The school garden movement is gaining groundin Africa! The Slow Food Mukono Convivium has helped establish 31school and community gardens “to improve young people’s relationship withagriculture and to develop innovative methods for long-lasting food sover-eignty.” Ugandan children are learning to preserve their culinary traditionswhile the program brings nutrient-dense, local fruit to school meals.”

“Theater that gives women farmers a voice: Three quarters of agriculturalworkers in Sub-Saharan Africa are women. Women do all the food process-ing and most of the storage, transportation, marketing. Yet because culturalbarriers keep women’s interests from being represented in decision-makingbodies women experience relatively low productivity and little access to mar-kets. In recognition of the important role women play in ensuring householdfood security, Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Net-work has launched Women Accessing Realized Markets in Mozambique andMalawi. There, popular theater performers use scripts based on FANRPANresearch followed by community discussions that allow women to tell devel-opment organizations what they need–but in a culturally-sanctioned way.”

Which brings us back to another remarkable woman here in eastern Iowa:Mary Swander, author and Iowa Poet Laureate. Swander, who lives on asmall farm near Kalona, teaches English at Iowa State and is a co-founder ofAg Arts, a unique organization that blends farm issues and the arts. Alongwith her students, she has written Farmscape: A Readers Theatre. Based oninterviews conducted with farmers, bankers, and other Iowans, the play ex-plores the plight of the contemporary Iowa farmer. The play has been per-formed all over the US and in Canada. The powerful, emotionalperformances are especially compelling because the parts are always played bymembers of the local farm and food community.

True to the landscape of farming in Iowa, half of the voices belong to women.


Too TastyTo Miss

Share what’s growing in Iowa all yearlong with your favorite foodies

(Even if that’s YOU!)

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The thermometer says it’s a frosty zero degrees Fahrenheit and it cer-tainly feels like it. The sky is that sunless winter grey that softens col-ors, and the fields are covered in a cushiony layer of white. Judy Beuterpours a bucket of hot water she just brought from the back porch ofthe house into a large barrel, while several young calves hover near thecorner of a barn, watching me – a stranger – with deep suspicion.Judy gets a shovel to break the ice in the barrel, since the hot water isinsufficient for the task.

“The calves just got here yesterday,” she says, “so they’re shy.”

In cold weather, Judy carries six buckets of warm water every morningand evening to the water bucket, thinking she’s giving them a treat inthe cold weather. Sometimes they come over and have a look at thebucket, then go and eat snow instead. That’s gratitude for you.

On this cold winter’s morning I’ve come to Judy’s farm outside Solonto learn about her business raising calves, chickens, and pigs withoutantibiotics, hormones or chemicals. Her animals live on her farm inhealthy conditions, eating diets of high-quality, certified organic al-falfa, corn and soy, with access to indoors and outdoors. When theyare ready for market, Judy directly markets to individual consumerswho learn of her business through word-of-mouth.

Erin Brothers has volunteered on the farm and also buys chickens fromJudy every year. She appreciates knowing that her dinner is not lacedwith hormones. Judy’s animals eat only certified organic feed, eventhough the animals themselves are not certified. According to the Or-

ganic Trade Association, something that is “Certified Organic” hasbeen grown according to strict standards verified by state or private or-ganizations, a process which is lengthy and expensive. Even withoutcertification, a farmer may produce organically grown food. Becauserestaurants and stores must abide by governmental guidelines, smallproducers often market directly to consumers without the requirementof inspection, although the butchers and processors do have to be in-spected. From Erin’s perspective, it’s enough to visit Judy’s farm and seehow the animals are raised.

Farming is in her blood: Judy grew up on a farm two miles from whereshe now lives. Her parents continue to work the family farm to thisday, so Judy acquired her own farm eighteen years ago. Her brothersalso farm in the area, as does her grown son, who along with Judy isthe main advocate of organic production in the family. In addition toraising the animals, Judy rents her tillable fields to other farmers. Theland itself has been free of chemicals since 1992 and was certified or-ganic in 1994 by the Organic Crop Improvement Association, and thecrops grown here are certified organic. Indeed, Judy buys much of herfeed from the renters of her land, thus helping to sustain other localbusinesses.

The farm itself is lovely, the weathered red farm buildings are delight-fully picturesque against the backdrop of a snowy winter. Add to that aherd of Hereford cattle and it looks like a picture from a century ago,which is about when the peg barn was built. Since the barn and otherbuildings were built of wood taken from surrounding woodlands, Judyhas planted numerous trees on her property as a way of restoring the

Farming As Art FormJudy Beuter’s Love of Livestock and the Land

By Mary Blackwood

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balance by giving back to nature what was taken in the service of agri-culture. The old buildings remain in daily use. They aren’t the fanciestand most technologically advanced farm buildings, they work just fine,and Judy loves the feeling of history that the buildings bestow. Some-times she touches a hand-hewn beam and thinks of people who farmedhere before her – the work they did, the grain they stored, the animalsthey raised, the lives they led. The farm is redolent of the pioneers whosettled Iowa’s fertile land, from the young children scattering feed forthe chickens to the octogenarian grandmothers milking the cows.

Judy’s customers are welcome to get involved and in effect becomepartners in the means of bringing food to the table. Volunteers helpher at special times in the production cycle when extra hands areneeded. She feels it is important for people to understand where theirfood comes from. She welcomes questions and visits to the farm.Every year after the newly hatched chicks arrive, Judy hosts a BabyChicken Day, and families bring their children to the farm and get toknow these fascinating birds. Judy shows them how to pick the chicksup gently and hold them with care. If the children prefer, they canfeed grass through the fence to the curious pigs, or visit the cattle, per-haps getting a rough-tongued lick of the fingers.

Judy enjoys raising three kinds of animals – cattle, chickens, hogs.Each is a different creature with different needs and different personal-ity traits. New calves arrive in January and live on the farm for twelveor thirteen months. Hogs arrive in August and stay for four to fivemonths. Chickens come in August and grow very fast – they are readyfor market within ten weeks. All the baby animals come from farms orhatcheries that handle them in a natural way, without chemicals.

Once at Judy’s farm, the calves freely roam the pasture or take refuge inthe barn if the weather is inclement. Generally they enjoy being out-doors day and night. The hogs also prefer the outdoors, although theyhave a shed if they want shelter. The chickens are outside during theday but must be taken inside every night, because, after all, everyonelikes chicken – from raccoons to foxes to owls to weasels.

The calves are bought from a family who sells them after they areweaned. They weigh around 400 lbs when they first arrive, and by thetime they leave they are around 1000 to 1300 lbs. Hogs come from afarmer who pasture-raises them without chemicals or antibiotics. Theyarrive weighing about 40 to 50 lbs and Judy raises them until they arearound 240 to 270 lbs.

When it’s chicken season, Judy’s 12-year-old niece comes to her houseand stays overnight. Around 6:00 a.m. the next morning they get a callfrom the post office – the chicks have arrived! That’s right, they aremailed from the hatchery and arrive in Solon – 650 peeping poopers,as the niece calls them. They bring the chicks home to the farm and setabout getting them used to their new surroundings, dipping each littlebeak in water first so that the chicks know where to find it later, thentaking them to the feeding area.

After the animals grow to the right size, the processing phase begins.For example, when it is time to send the chickens to the processor,Judy puts out a call to volunteers who help to round up the chick-ens and bed them in deep straw in the livestock trailer, where theyare comfortable and uncrowded. Again she teaches children aswell as adults how to handle the full-grown birds gently, beingcareful not to chase them around the yard. If the chickens getstartled, the whole job gets a lot harder.

In the direct-marketing process, customers buy a live animal.Judy takes charge of having the animals taken to the proces-sor and stored in meat lockers until the customers can pickup their food.

Processing time and storage space must be arranged a year in advance.

Unfortunately mom-and-pop operations are getting snowed under in-creasingly onerous regulations, making it more expensive to run theirbusinesses. Judy likes to use processors as close to home as possible sothat the animals don’t have to travel far, but she has had to changewhen a processor or butcher has closed down. These small operationsare barely profitable; entrepreneurs like Judy do it because they believein the value of what they are doing.

My toes are getting cold because I forgot to wear wool socks, but atlast one of the calves gets up the nerve to approach my proffered mit-ten. He licks it gently and I’m smitten by his deep brown eyes andlong lashes. Other calves bump up against him, curious, getting closerto me but not bold enough to touch.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” asks Judy. She’s right; they’re beautiful, healthy,gentle and sweet. When I worry about whether they feel the cold, shelaughs and assures me that they are very warm under all that cowhideand long hair, with plenty of food to keep their body temperatures up.If the wind chill increases, they have the option of going into an openbarn to nestle in the straw.

Judy, as a friend once told her, has turned the raising of food into anart form. She regards those who are her customers more as partners;she loves raising good food for people, and in turn those people appre-ciate how things are done at her farm. If we take care of these creaturesso that they live well, later they can become a blessing for us. We thrivein the embrace of nature, part of it and partaking of it. How we par-take definitely matters.

For more information contact Judy Beuter, 319.624.2686, 2019Vincent Ave, Solon, IA 52333 or email judy-

[email protected]

8-year-old Molly Whaley is a devoted fan of “Baby

Chicken Day” at Judy Beauter’s Farm

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edibleBazaar

ARTISANS

As the Crow FliesHome Grown and Handspun YarnJoanne Nelson319.512.8858

Julie's Fountain of FlowersJuliesFountainOfFlowers.com319.629.5522

Pedretti’s Bakery101 North Main Street, ElkaderPedrettisBakery.com

Yellow River CheesePremium Farmstead Style Goat CheesesYellowRiverDairy.com

BEVERAGES

Aroma's105 N. Main Street, Charles City641.228.4773

Buzz Coffee Shop506 South River Park Drive Guttenberg

Eagle's Landing WineryFeaturing Marquette Maid Wines563.873.2509EaglesLandingWinery.com

Grounds for Celebratione Best Fresh Roasted Coffee3 Locations Des MoinesGroundsForCelebration.com

e Secret CellarFine Wine, Liquor, Beer, GiftsSchueyville, 319.841.2172SecretCellarWines.com

Toppling Goliath BrewingBig Beers Brewed in Small Batches310 College Drive, Decorah563.387.6700TGBrews.com

CVB/TOURISM

Greater Des Moines CVB400 Locust St. #265, Des Moines515.286.4960SeeDesMoines.com

McGregor - MarquetteChamber of Commerce800.896.0910McGreg-Marq.org

Quad Cities CVB1601 River Dr., Suite 110 Moline-800.747.7800VisitQuadCities.com

Winneshiek County CVBe Good Life!DecorahArea.com

FARMS

Highland Vista FarmBeef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Eggs3268 320th Street, Wellman319.646.2989

Kissing Emu FarmsHeart, Skin, & Earth FriendlyKissingEmu.com

Muscatine MelonsDarwin Paulsen563.785.6334

Prairie Grass MeatsUSDA Grass Fed Angus BeefNo Hormones, No AntibioticsHawarden, 712.552.9945PrairieGrassMeats.com

HOME

At HomeKitchen,Yarn and much more.52 North Main Street, FairfieldAtHomeStoreOnline.com

Design RanchWhere Fun Meets Function andLooks Good Doing ItDesignRanch.com

RSVPCards-Journals-Jewelry-Soap-etc.140 North Linn Street, Iowa CityRSVP-ASAP.com

Savvy Rest Organic MattressesPurity. Comfort. Integrity. Value.866.856.4044SavvyRest.com

HOTELS/INNS

B&B on BroadwayWhere the Past Meets ModernConveniences305 West Broadway Street, DecorahBAndBOnBroadway.com

Hotel Fort Des Moines1000 Walnut Street, Des MoinesHotelFortDesMoines.com

Hotel Winneshiek21st Century Comfort and 19thCentury Charm104 East. Water Street, Decorah800.998.4164HotelWinn.com

MARKETS

Campbell's Nutritione Source for Local, Organic Food In Des MoinesCampbellsNutrition.com

Edgewood Locker609 West Union, EdgewoodEdgewoodLocker.com

Everybody's Whole Foods501 North 2nd Street, FairfieldEverybodysWholeFoods.com

Greatest Grains1600 Harrison Street, Davenport563.323.7521www.GreatestGrains.com

McGregor's Top ShelfMeat, Cheese, Wine, Spirits & More221 Main Street, McGregorMcGregorsTopShelf.com

New City Markete Highest-Quality Organic andNatural Foods 48th and University, Des Moines 515.255.7380NewCityMarket.com

RESTAURANTS

Blue Mountain Culinary Emporium814 Lincoln Place SE, Orange CityBlueMountainEmporium.net

Centroe Urban Eatery1007 Locust, Des MoinesCentroDesMoines.com

Ge-Jo’s by the Lake12 North 3rd Street, Clear Lake641.357.8288

Her Soup Kitchen625 South Dubuque Street, Iowa CityHerSoupKitchen.com

La Reyna1937 Keokuk Street, Iowa City

ProofInspired Mediterranean Cuisine1301 Locust Street, Des MoinesProofRestaurant.com

Ralph's Garden Café5 S. Federal Avenue, Mason City641.422.9902

Schera's Algerian AmericanElkader 563.245.1992Scheras.com

Trostel's Dish12851 University Avenue, Clive dishtrostels.com

SERVICES

Green Angels Herbs & Healing ArtsCedar Rapids319.247.1243GreenAngelsHerbs.com

Larry A. StoneWriter. Photographer. LecturerElkader, 563.245.1517LarryStonesIowa.com

Plant PeddlerRetail, Wholesale, Young PlantsStone Creek Farms, Cresco800.827.1654PlantPeddler.com

Enter the Bazaar

Interested in seeing yourbusiness in the Edible

Bazaar? Reach thousandsof Iowans just like you

who care about Iowa andits great local foods.

For more informationand to get listed in theBazaar, contact Kim at319.337.7885 or via

email at

[email protected]

Tell’em edible Sent You


NEW CATEGORY! Food Shop: New Pioneer Coop

22 S. Van Buren Street Iowa City319.338.9441

www.NewPi.coop

Farmer: Andrew Dunham, Grinnell Heritage Farm

933 Penrose Street, Grinnell641.236.4374

www.GrinnellHeritageFarm.com

2010 Hero: Susan Jutz, ZJ Farms, Solon2009 Hero: Shelley Squier & Mile Donnelly, Squier Squash and Donnelly Farms, Hinkleton2008 Hero: Bob Braverman, Friendly Farms, Iowa City

Food Artisans (TIE!): Barbara Grant & Mark Armstrong, Acoustic Farms Cheese

[email protected] Reichert, Reichert’s Dairy Air Goat Cheese

1022 Quebec Street, Knoxville641.218.4296

www.ReichertsDairyAir.com

2010 Heroes: Mike and Jason Bandstra, Frisian Farms Gouda, Oskaloosa2009 Heroes: Herb & Kathy Eckhouse, La Quercia Prosciutto, Norwalk2008 Hero: Simone Delaty, Simone’s Plain & Simple, Wellman

Non-Profit: Laura Dowd, Local Foods Connection

319.338.2010www.LocalFoodsConnection.org

2010 Hero: Laura Dowd, Local Foods Connection2009 Hero: Chris Grebner, Luke Prottsman, & Stan Laverman, Reclaiming Roots2008 Hero: Laura Dowd, Local Foods Connection

Beverage Artisan: Joe Kesteloot, Peace Tree Brewing

107 W Main Street, Knoxville641.842.BREW (2739)

www.PeaceTreeBrewing.com

2010 Hero: Scott Ervin, Sutliff Cider, Lisbon2009 Hero: Jean, Paul & Mason Groben, Jasper Winery, Des Moines2008 Hero: Bill & Rona Wyant, Fireside winery

Chef/Restaurant: Carly Groben, Proof

1301 Locust Street, Des Moines515.244.0655

www.ProofRestaurant.com

2010 Hero: Masae Judge & Harriet Woodford, Leaf Kitchen, Iowa City2009 Hero: Steve Logsdon, Basil Prosperi’s Lucca, Des Moines2008 Hero: Enosh Kelly, Bistro Montage, Des Moines

We asked, you answered!For the fourth straight year we asked the loyal readers of Edible Iowa River Valley to tell us about their Local Heroes. We received hundreds of re-sponses from all over the state. Included this year you’ll find our first-ever tie (in the “Food Artisan” category), Laura Dowd scores our first “three-peat” with yet another win for her important non-profit, and we included a category for food shop this time too.

We were extra-pleased to see that our readers were as enamored of eiFriends Peace Tree Brewing and New Pioneer as we are, and promise that ittruly is mere coincidence that an occasional writer for us won “Best Farmer” while a feature subject in this issue won “Best Chef/Restaurant.”Please be sure to visit and support all these wonderful Local Heroes, tell your friends about them, and “like” them on Facebook. It’s your supportthat keeps heroes like these bringing great local food to everyone.

Congratulations to all our winners past and present for your excellent work, all of Iowa thanks you for fighting the good fight. And many thanksto our readers as well, who voted online in their hundreds. Voting for the next edition of the Local Hero Awards will begin around harvest time.

On a wintry Christmas Eve day, I walked into one of Des Moinesnewer eateries, called simply Proof. I noticed the clean, simple decorand tall ceilings focus the senses on the wonderful aromas wafting fromthe kitchen.

Proof chef and owner Carly Groben had sent some staff home expect-ing a slow lunch given the weather and that many of the surroundingbusinesses were closed for the holiday. Instead, a mix of new customersand regulars used the opportunity to chow down on Groben’s Mediter-ranean and North African influenced dishes, making for a surprisinglybusy lunch. But, no worries for Groben and her staff.

In the kitchen the challenge is to remain organized, even in the heat ofbattle, and on this day, the Proof staff is up to the task. The experi-enced crew, some of whom have been on board since Proof opened in2008, hunkers down, keeps control and finds their groove. Short orderplates flow from the kitchen, and customers are devouring paellas, fetaand tabbouli salad and veggie falafel sandwiches.

Groben offers up a lamb burger, one of the highlights of the menu.The patty is stuffed with goat cheese and tucked into flat bread withtabbouli and tomato aioli is drizzled on top. It might sound a littlerich, but the marriage works.

“I like very simple foods, foods where natural flavors and ingredientsstand up for themselves. I like when you taste something and you cantell what is inside it,” Groben said.

Proof is encased in a panorama of tall windows on the ground level ofan urban building on Locust and 13th Street in Des Moines. It is justwest of the main part of the downtown area near the Pappajohn Sculp-ture Park and the public library, and a quick five minute detour off In-terstate 235.

The restaurant is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday toFriday, dinners on Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. and private parties. A sis-ter restaurant called Flour, which Groben opened in December, is lo-cated around the corner. Flour focuses on pizza and pizza by the slice,and also prepares breads for Proof, including focaccia and flat bread.

On this snowy day in December, Groben floats back and forth fromkitchen to dining room, keeping the afternoon moving alongsmoothly.

“In two and a half years, we’ve grown and improved. We are more well-versed in North African spices and that’s allowed us to dig our noseinto the cookbook,” she said.


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Back of the HouseBy Brian Morelli

ProofPositive

Chef/Owner Carly Groben of Des Moinesrestaurants Proof and Flour

The fresh feel of Proof can in part be attributed to the young business-woman. Groben, at age 29, stands slender and tall with shortlycropped blond hair and seems at home with a bright smile on herface. Groben joined the culinarycommunity after receiving de-grees in gender studies and inter-national development andpursuing a career towards thoseends. She studied at the AsianInstitute of Technology inBangkok, Thailand, and workedat African refugee camps inRwanda, Nairobi and Eretria.But, the Iowa girl missed home.

With parents who own a wineryand a brother with a brewery -Jean and Paul Groben of JasperWinery in Des Moines andMason Groben of MadhouseBrewing in Newton - an artisancraft is not entirely a new direc-tion for Carly Groben. She re-turned to the U.S. and spenttime learning with Steve Larsonat Lucca in Des Moines as thegeneral manager.

Groben has carried with hersome of the lessons she learnedat Lucca, she said.

Groben works with local farmersin season to provide as muchproduce and meat as is practical,which is fun, she said, because itallows Proof to customize themenu to what is available. Thisspring, Groben plans to join acommunity supported agricul-ture group.

At Proof, everything is madefresh, from scratch, and themenu is reasonably priced.Lunches feature three types ofsalads for $8, five kinds of flatbread sandwiches to choose from for $9,such as the Moroccan chicken and beef brisket, and entrée-style graindishes for $10 such as the salmon and risotto cake and scallops andtabbouli. The dinner menu changes weekly, so the price will depend

on when you visit. Proof also offers a range of home made sweets,such as pastries, and a selection of craft beers and wines. Of course,you’ll also find a variety of Jasper wine and Madhouse Beer.

So far, Groben has found a wayto make it all work, and evencalled upon her experiences glo-betrotting to spruce up the culi-nary offerings in Des Moines.

“I wanted to figure out a way tointroduce this cuisine in an up-scale way so that it isn’t scary forpeople to try,” Groben said. “Ifyou can elevate it so it’s accessibleto the everyday diner, they aremore willing to try it.”

Her plan must be working, be-cause the loyal readers of EdibleIowa River Valley voted her, andProof, this year’s Local Hero inthe Chef/Restaurant category.See more about that on page 25.

Harissa: (moroccan chili spice

blend)1 bag dried chili peppers (avail-able at Asian grocery)1 tbl paprika2 tbl cumin1/2 tsp cinammon1/2 tsp nutmeg1 tbl salt12 cloves garlicolive oil

Hydrate the chilis overnight, thenstrain. Place the garlic and chilisin the food processor and processuntil finely ground. Add thespices and then pour oil throughfeed tube until consistency of awet paste. At this point, theharissa can be added to mayon-

naise, braising liquid, or used as a meat rub to add moroccan spiceand flavor.


When you Go...

Jasper Winery2400 George Flagg Parkway

Des Moines

www.JasperWinery.com

Madhouse Brewery

www.MadhouseBeer.com

A freshly baked pear and blue cheese pizza awaits hungry lunch clientsat Groben’s second establishment, Flour.

And Don’t ForgetProof

1301 Locust StreetDes Moines

515.244.0655

Lunch Monday-Friday, from11-2pm, and dinner onFridays from 5-10pm

www.ProofRestaurant.com

Flour1220 Locust St.

Des Moines515.288.2935

Lunch Monday-Fridayfrom 11-2

www.FlourPizza.com

You can taste the Groben family’s wines at Proof, or you can enjoythem right from the source. And Carly’s brother Mason’s beer,Madhouse, is available all over Iowa.

Pantry Raid

AGirl’sBest Friende University of Iowa’sMichele Conlon, and LolaStory & Photos by Kim McWane Friese


Michele Conlon is an Iowa tennis icon. She has a list of awards andaccomplishments as long as her racquet, including University ofIowa’s number one-ranked player for four straight years, Big TenTennis Sportswoman of the Year, State of Iowa Tennis Hall ofFame, 16 years as women’s tennis coach at Iowa State where herathletes had an amazing 100% graduation rate. Oh, and she’ssmart too: Dean’s list 7 semesters at University of Iowa and Aca-demic All-Big Ten.

Currently, she is the Assistant Director of the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex, where she spends her timecoordinating a comprehensive tennis program and giving tennis lessons and mentorship to all levels and ages. Iowa City is her hometown whereshe graduated from City High and the University of Iowa, and after sixteen years away, she is enjoying being back home and spending time withher family. Coaching a college team as well as she did took constant focus and dedication.

Her enthusiasm is not on hold, though. Michele works six days a week, with very little time for rest, relaxation, or dining.

But there is Lola.

Lola, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, makes sure that Michele takes time out for the finer things, like keeping her pantry organized so there is nomistaking where the Milkbones are kept. It is very tidy, and although Lola would prefer the Milkbones on the bottom shelf, they are kept up on ahigher level, next to Michele’s favorite breakfast food, Raisin Bran.

Michele and Lola have very similar eating habits. ey both eat all their meals at home, and both need high nutrition to maintain the energy lev-els required by their work. Morning fare consists of the aforementioned Raisin Bran with skim milk and hot tea, Lipton black tea, none of thatfancy stuff for Michele. Lola has the proverbial kibble, but she’s on a diet right now so it’s lo-cal kibble. When Michele needs reminding that Lolais supposed to have her bowl filled first, she’ll paw at her Michele’s leg. is was established early on in their four-year friendship.

When early afternoon rolls around, Michele comes home for a sandwich, usually deli ham on whole wheat with leaf lettuce and fat free MiracleWhip, pretzels and milk on the side. Lola waits patiently until it’s walk time, which often means there’s a Milkbone in Michele’s pocket. Michelekeeps her snacks at work, to help maintain energy through the active day. She has a small pantry in her office with granola bars, pretzels, juices etc.


en it’s time to get back to work. Michele teaches lessons well into the evening and her mom, Pat Conlon, has a meal waiting for her when shegets home. Lola prefers to eat dinner earlier in the evening, so she doesn’t wait for Michele. Pat, like her late husband “Pinky,” is a wonderfulcook, both members of a local gourmet club. So Michele grew up with consistently good food, prepared at home, and continues to enjoy that tra-dition for her evening meal. She loves to cook too, but since her days are so full, and Pat loves to cook for her, she doesn’t spend much time inthe kitchen. Lola is very helpful in the kitchen and clean up is her favoriteactivity.

In season, Michele and Lola can be found in their backyard garden. eyenjoy the solace and quiet enjoyment that gardening brings to a busylifestyle. Lola’s favorite garden activity is to tamp down the seeds afterMichele has put them in the ground. ey grow radishes, peppers, cu-cumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. Lola, though, is a strict carnivore andwhile she enjoys being in the garden, doesn’t have much interest in thebounty grown there. Michele enjoys the vegetables she grows preparedvery simply. Fresh garden produce doesn’t need to be dressed up, it’sgood on it’s own.

Dedication and simplicity are consistent themes in this busy and fo-cused lifestyle. It has worked very well for Michele and Lola as theycontinue to be such positive influences on the people whose lives theytouch. As long as there’s a Milkbone or a home-cooked meal in thedeal there somewhere.

For four years now, Michaell Conlon’s Cavalier KingCharles Spaniel, Lola, has been trying to figure out whythere are only vegetables and salad dressing on the bot-tom shelves of their Iowa City refrigerator.

You might guess it’s no coincidence that MicheleConlon is the captain of Team Edible in the health

and weight-loss initiative known as “Live HealthyIowa.” At press time the team of ten members has put in 196

hours of activity (and is just getting warmed up). To learn more,visit the website at

www.LiveHealthyIowa.com


In January, nearly 70women and men gath-ered in Des Moines forthe 2011 annual confer-ence of Women, Foodand Agriculture Network,a 14-year-old non-profitorganization servingwomen in sustainableagriculture. The confer-ence theme, “Women‘Fixing’ Food,” high-lighted the pivotal role women play in the effort to create a healthier food systemin their own communities and across the country.

Women are entering farming at a faster rate than any other segment; the USDACensus of Agriculture reported in 2007 that of the 3.3 million U.S. farm opera-tors counted, 30.2 percent — or more than 1 million — were women. The totalnumber of women operators increased 19 percent from 2002, significantly out-pacing the 7 percent increase in the number of farmers overall. The number ofwomen who were the principal operators of a farm or ranch increased by almost30 percent, to 306,209. Women are now the principal operators of 14 percent ofthe nation’s 2.2 million farms.

Census figures also show that women are more likely than men to operate small-scale, diversified farms that provide food marketed in their local area. They startfarmers’ markets and CSAs, work with their children’s schools to bring local foodsinto the cafeteria, and provide fresh, healthy foods to area restaurants and institu-tions.

Women Are the Drivers

“The sustainable food movement is largely a women's movement,” says TomPhilpott, food editor of Grist. “Women run many of the farms, staff the non-profits, provide the vital intellectual and physical energy that propels the move-ment forward “

Temra Costa, California-based author of Farmer Jane: Women Changing the WayWe Eat, was keynote speaker at the January conference. Costa’s book profiles 30women across the US who are working to make fresh, healthy food available tomore people. She sees women having an even deeper impact on our societythrough their involvement in healthy food.

“Women lean towards relationships and long-term strategies that prioritize futuregenerations,” she says, “and the good news is that this viewpoint is starting to be-come valued in the emerging green economy.”

Who We Are

WFAN is the offspring of a handful of visionary women who attended the 1994International Conference on Women in Beijing, China. Iowa’s Denise O’Brien,an organic farmer from Atlantic and tireless advocate for women in agriculture,returned from that conference determined to remedy the absence of women'svoices in food and agricultural issues.

Although centered in Iowa,WFAN members comefrom nearly all 50 states andseveral other countries. Weare diverse in ages (rangingfrom teens to eighties) andbackgrounds. We are farm-ers, urban gardeners, envi-ronmental educators,community activists, aca-demics, concerned con-sumers, and others who care

about food and our environment. We are a national organization with the con-centration of our work in Iowa and the Midwest.

Our History and Mission

Since 1997, WFAN has been working to promote gender equity in sustainableagriculture, by supporting, educating and empowering women to become leadersin the movement in their communities. Our mission is to link and empowerwomen to build food systems and communities that are healthy, just, sustainable,and that promote environmental integrity. We provide an online community tomore than 1,200 women around the US through our email list and listserv. Wepublish a quarterly newsletter, sponsor an annual conference and a fall tri-stategathering with women in sustainable agriculture in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Min-nesota, and hold learning circles around the state of Iowa with women farmlandowners to give them the information and support they need to improve soil andwater quality on their land. We also provide young women who want to farmwith apprenticeship opportunities on women-owned farms, and beginning in2011 will hold regional meetings throughout Iowa highlighting various heirloomskills such as gardening and canning.

Past accomplishments include organizing a “Women in Farming” briefing inWashington, DC, during the Rally for Rural America (March 2000); conductinga groundbreaking participatory study with more than 200 women farmlandowners in Cass County, which revealed critical data about women’s landowner-ship patterns, attitudes, knowledge and needs (2000-2004); sponsoring a consul-tation with women of color on diversity issues within the sustainable agriculturemovement (November 2003); co-sponsoring the first National Women in Sus-tainable Agriculture Conference in Burlington, VT (2005); conducting a series oflistening sessions with women farmers and landowners around Iowa to gathertheir input for the 2007 federal farm bill; and meeting with women farmlandowners around Iowa to provide support and information on improving soil andwater quality on their land (2009 – present).

Looking ahead, WFAN’s all-volunteer board and two staff members will beworking with The White House Project (www.whitehouseproject.org) to encour-age more women from rural areas to run for public office. WFAN is also spon-soring a summit for women leaders in sustainable agriculture in Wisconsin inMay, to create a strategy for women to impact the next farm bill. Our collectivevoice is growing in power, and we will be heard.

To learn more, visit us at www.wfan.org, or call 515 460 2477.

Women “Fixing” FoodBy Leigh Adcock


The Last WordBy Kim McWane Friese

Growing, OlderA Chronicle of Death, Life, and Vegetables

When is Organic Life: Confessions of anUrban Homesteader came out in 2001, Idevoured it. I was a beginning grower, andwas always on the lookout for knowledgeand inspiration. Little did I know the ef-fect this book would have on me. Joan’swork is at once grounding and uplifting,poetic and political, intensely visual and somuch more than a gardening book. Itmade me realize that my seemingly casualafternoons in the sun, snacking onarugula, berries and cherry tomatoeswhile pulling weeds and listening to thebirds, were of dire importance. I couldquantify the significance of this workthrough the micro-economies of my fam-ily and small restaurant, but had never rec-ognized the value of that work on a globallevel. I was inspired. All those labors, bothof love and frustration, were affirmed. Ifelt a deep reverential kinship with those who tend the Earth and feedtheir neighbors, and that was just the beginning.

When I learned that Growing, Older was being released last year, a littlebit of trepidation set in. I wasn’t sure I was ready to be altered at such adeep level again, and the very cover title of the book conveys that youare entering a digest of human emotions.

She did not pull any punches, as the very first chapter is titled, “eDeath of My Husband.”

rough welling tears, and swallowed sobs, I finished the first page. Isoon realized, though, that I wasn’t choked up exclusively by the sadnews, but at how much I had missed her deeply engaging writing.

Dr. Joan Dye Gussow is a Professor Emeritus of Nutrition and Educa-tion at Columbia Universlity Teachers College where she earned herdoctorate in 1969. She has written 6 books and a plethora of academicarticles. Her life’s work is intrinsically woven together, her lecturestyle, writing style and life style are inseparable, and this comesthrough so clearly in Growing, Older.

All of her knowledge and experiencescome to light through her ability tosimplify complex issues, human and ac-ademic, and get to the root causes ofthe problems our world is facing. Fromthere, the solutions are simple, thoughnot necessarily easy.

As Iowans (as most of our readers are),you will be delighted to know thatJoan’s work ethic and persistance werepassed along to her by her Iowan par-ents. Her mother and father were bornin Orange City and Carson, respec-tively. Her genetics are hard-wired withthe kind of determination it takes tosettle the harsh plains of NorthwestIowa.

Her stories of “Urban Homesteading”take us through two different home gardens, the second of which wasregularly flooded on the banks of the Hudson River. All the while,going through the trials and tribulations of remodeling an old house.Each lesson, or, as she calls them, “horticultural morality tales”, bringswith it a broader story that we all must carry with us whether we’repaying attention or not. To mention but a few, the political threats ofrelying on foreign oil and foreign food, how the use of that oil bringsabout the demolition of our own ecosystems, and the foreign andprocessed “food” which undermines our health and financial resources.

When we grow, share and eat local food, we raise our status on thisplanet from that of a meer consumer, to that of liaison between theEarth and our families and communities. We directly transfer life fromour planet, to the ones we love. Sustainably tending the Earth andbringing forth it’s bounty is the most important thing a human can do.Without it, we cease to exist. Joan teaches this on every level, throughhumor, anguish, wit, and persistance.

Growing, Older: A Chronicle of Death, Life, and Vegetables - byJopan Dye Gussow. Published by Chelsea Green, White River

Junction, VT ©2010 Joan Dye Gussow. ISBN 978-1603582926

eirv 2011-03 - issue 19 - spring - final lo-res

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