Shop until midnight on Sat., Feb. 25th, with delivery on Thursday, March 1st.

We’ve completed the move to our new space, which is just inside the south entrance to Merle Hay Mall near Younkers (there’s a big Kohls sign above the door). Note: we are going to a three-week delivery cycle until the growing season, and then delivery will be every other week until Thanksgiving. We’ll place a calendar with our new schedule on the website.

Also, to shop use http://iowafood.coop/shop/ and type in your username and password to log in. If you need help with your username and password, please send an email to info@iowafood.coop

Local Food Discussion Set for Feb 27

Taking the mystery out of the rules and regulations that govern buying and selling locally grown foods is the goal of a workshop featuring Scott Platt with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Platt, a field inspector with the department and spokesperson for the local food perspective will inform and clarify the regulations for both buyers and sellers desiring to support the demand for locally grown food.

The workshop will be held in two locations on Monday, February 27.

• At 1:30 pm Platt will be at the Union County Extension Office in Creston.
• From 6:30-9:00 pm, A repeat of the session will be held in Chariton at Carpenter Hall.

The workshop will cover practices and procedures that growers need to be able to address with potential buyers. Southern Iowa Regional Food System Coordinator, Sharon Wasteney, encourages institutional buyers who want to be better informed about buying food from local producers to attend as well. At both sites there will also be discussion of progress on community kitchen facilities. At the Chariton workshop there will be an update on discussions regarding the need for a community kitchen serving that area, and continued plans to cooperate with the Iowa Food Cooperative.

The program is being sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and Southern Iowa Resource Conservation and Development and is also appropriate for continuing education credit of Master Gardeners. There is no fee for the program but registration is requested by February 24 to insure adequate materials are available for attendees.

• Questions and reservations can be directed to Sharon Wasteney via email at sharonwasteney@gmail.com or by calling the Union County Extension office at 641-782-8426 for the Creston meeting.
• To register for the Chariton meeting, call Joe Sellers at 641-203-1270, or e-mail sellers@iastate.edu.

 Raised English Pork Pie

I tend to honor my asian roots and my southern roots in my cooking, and I have a strong cultural connection to England, but have never really paid much attention to it.  Lately I have been paying alot of attention to it, obsessively much attention to it.  I love BBC America, I love Doctor Who,  so it was totally appropriate that it was on in the background as I was making this english pork pie recipe.  I had been a little afraid to make these pies, the hot water lard crust was intimidating, and I think, shaping the pies.  But as with anything, by the time you do the tenth one, its pretty easy!

This pie is constructed in three parts:  the savory jelly, the filling and the crust.  It helps to make the savory jelly a day or two in advance, as it needs alot of simmering time, then chill time.  Don’t be afraid to work the dough, its quite forgiving, but be gentle when working with it, its not bread dough, its a short crust, but having your warm hands on it will keep the lard soft so that it is easy to work with, like play dough.
Yes, the anchovy essence or paste is somewhat important as it adds umami, that savoryness that rounds out the flavors.  Only a tsp is used so you won’t taste fishiness, just do it, trust me.  I’ve shown two methods of construction, the one using a form is traditional-ish.  The one not using a form is easier.  You can also make this into one big pie using a spring form pan, or many little ones using a jumbo muffin pan.  But, I wanted the experience of making these by hand because I like a challenge.
If your crust develops a hole or tear, just take a piece of dough, wet it and paste it over the hole like a patch.  Look over your pie carefully before baking for any holes, you don’t want the jelly to leak out.  The purpose of the jelly is to fill the gaps after cooking, between the crust and filling, and it adds an authenticness to the dish, as does the anchovy essence, don’t frown, just do it, trust me.  Traditionally, pork trotters were used for the jelly, but I used pork soup bones, and cooked them down.

Read through the directions thoroughly, and write down an outline of your plan of attack, trust me, you won’t forget anything that way.  Using my recipe takes alot of trust doesn’t it?

Jelly Ingredients:
Pork soup bones
garlic clove
1 tsp salt
bay leaf
bouquet garni (I used a 1/2 tsp of italian seasoning)
6 cups water or more to cover the soup bones

Filling Ingredients:
1 lb boneless pork country ribs
1 lb pork shoulder roast
1 tsp sage
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of alspice
pinch of pepper
1/2 tsp anchovy essence or paste (just do it!)
1 tsp salt

Crust Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup lard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp powdered sugar

A beaten egg for brushing onto the pastry pies
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

boneless ribs, IFC of course!

The Process:

The day before, or even two days before, simmer the all the jelly ingredients for at least 2 hours.  Strain the stock through a fine sieve, return to the pan and boil rapidly until reduced to about 3 cups or less.  The stock should be slightly silky and thicker than just plain liquid.  Chill in the fridge, and when solid, skim the fat off the top.  Leave covered in the fridge until after the pies are cooked and cooled.

Process the boneless ribs to rough chunks with a food processor, dump into large mixing bowl.  Process the pork shoulder a bit finer, but NOT to mush, just a little finer than the ribs.  Mix both meats with the rest of the ingredients.  Keep in the fridge until you are ready to use.

Slowly bring the milk and lard to a boil.  While waiting, put the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl, make a well in middle, and add the boiling milk and lard.   Mix until the pastry is smooth.  Dump out onto work surface and begin making your pie cases before the pastry cools.

Bottom of pie over jar, and using the jar as a cutter for the top

Method One – using a form

Knead your pastry until its smooth like play dough, then divide it into fourths, take one fourth away and cut that piece into four pieces, these will be the tops.  Mush the leftover three fourths together and again divide into four pieces.  Take one piece to work with, cover the rest with a towel until you are ready.  Have a little bowl of water nearby.

Roll out the piece into a circle, drape it over the bottom of  a floured16oz peanut butter jar, or something about that size or even a bit larger, slowly and gently mold the sides.  While the bottom is draped over the jar, roll out one of your small bits of pastry and use the jar as a cutter for the top.  Just apply gentle pressure and rotate back and forth.  Turn the jar upright and gently prise off the pastry cup, it will stick and be stubborn, but the pastry is forgiving and any tears and holes can be patched.

Place a small handful of the filling into the case, then moistening the sides, and the top piece of pastry, put the lid on it, and start pressing the two firmly together.  The lid will attach from the inside, creating structure for the cup so that it will keep its shape. 

Method Two – without using a form (my preferred method)

Roll pastry out into a large circle, place a small handful of filling in center, then begin pulling up the sides of the pastry around the filling like cinching the top of a sack.

Pull or cut off the excess dough around the top, and start pinching the sides at the top to form the cup like shape.

Moisten the inside top of the pastry cup and the top piece and place the top just inside the pastry cup and begin pressing together, try not have too much excess pastry, pinch off any thick parts, the finished product will be better for it.

After firmly attaching the top and pressing together, begin crimping the edge, just like you would a pie crust, I think it looks cute that way.  If you look at the pictures on the internet, you can tell the man-made pies, and the lady-made pies, ours are WAY prettier

Place all your pies on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and brush the tops with a beaten egg. 

The large crimped pies are the form raised, and the smaller crimped pies are the ones I made without the form.  I liked not using a form, I felt as though I had more control over the dough.  Also, its one less thing to wrestle around.

Bake at a preheated 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake 55 minutes more.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.  After they have cooled to at least room temp.  Gently reheat your jelly, not until its hot, but just until its liquid.

I used a cupcake filling tip as my funnel, and added spoon by spoon of my liquid jelly into each pie.  I just kept going around the tray to each one and added a spoonful of jelly until each pie could not hold anymore jelly.  If you have a pie that sprung a leak, just add jelly until you see it seeping out. 

Refrigerate, then eat!!  Traditionally these were served cool or room temp with a side of english mustard.  Ankeny, Iowa doesn’t have english mustard!  So I decided maybe a spicy brown mustard would suffice.

Would I make this recipe again!  Emphatically yes.  These will freeze beautifully and I believe my husband will love them as a quick lunch.  After going through the process, its not nearly as daunting as it seemed, just like most things in life.  I had plenty of jelly left, and I froze it, to use when I make these again.

 

So, what should I do when I arrive to pick up my order at the Merle Hay Mall distribution site?

First thing, bring in your reusable grocery bags, we are doing it a bit greener after all.   Then find your invoice on the rack, grab a black tub and wait for one of the volunteers to assist you.  The Merle Hay site pick-up line  is divided into three sections:  frozen foods, refrigerated foods and dry goods.  The volunteer will gather all your product in his or her section, check them off your list, then send you on to the next area to pick up more of your product.  After your goods are checked off your list, you can start bagging them. 

When your entire order has been gathered, and you’ve bagged it, proceed to the cashier table.  You can pay your invoice with cash, check, credit or debit card, Dwolla and Paypal (Dwolla and Paypal must be done ahead of time, and a copy of your receipt given to the cashier with your invoice).  Cash and check will save the Coop  the most money as no fees are charged to process.  Credit, debit, Paypal and Dwolla do charge a percentage or per transaction charge, with Dwolla being the best value for the Coop.  Why should you care?  Well, YOU are the Iowa Food Coop, and those finance charges come out of your dividend  from the share you bought in the Coop.  The more we can keep our costs down, the more dividend, and hopefully grow enough to pass those dividends onto the members.

Fill out your check AFTER you receive your invoice, the amount may change.  You won’t believe the number of things that can happen with an order in 24 hour period!  If you have a very large order, we have wheeled carts available and most of the time can get a volunteer to help you out to your car.

After payment, you are free to leave and enjoy some awesome local food, produced by the great people of Iowa.

A few insider tips….shhh, I’m only sharing these with you!

Keep a list of Coop items that you want to try so you don’t forget and miss out.  This also helps in meal planning, and jot down a little note near an item so you don’t forget why you wanted it in the first place.  In my opinion, this is the best way to manage your order and take advantage of some cost saving, as you will buy items that you know you will be using and you have a plan.  One thing I’ve learned, if in doubt, put it in your cart anyway, you can alway take it out later.

The shopping cart opens at 12:01 on the first of the month during the winter cycles, if you want eggs, jump on the site quick and put  eggs in your cart!  Some producers don’t list all their product right away, so be sure to check every few days to make sure you get what you want.

If there is something you want from a particular producer and you don’t see it listed, email or call them.  The producers are quite open to dialogue, and do want you to be happy with your product, and are happy to assist you.  If you are seeking an unusual or very large or small cut of meat or want an oddity of some sort, contact the producer, you may be pleasantly surprised at what is available but not listed!

If you are overwhelmed or stymied because of the number of producers offering your particular favorite item, order one from each producer or a selection of producers, and taste test.  This is really good if you can’t decide on which egg producer.  You can certainly ask other members or the volunteers for opinions, but be aware, we have favorites and believe our favorite is the best.  So, using that premise, then ALL the producers, according to member opinion, produce the best food! 

If you have a problem with an item, i.e., not quite satisfied with quality etc.  immediately email the producer.  Don’t wait, don’t complain to everybody then 3 months later finally tell the producer.  Shoot off an email that night and let them know!  They want you to be happy with your product and want you to be happy with their food.  You can email the IFC and complain, but your first step in resolution is to contact the producer, then contact IFC and let us know. 

If you get home and are MISSING an item, please call Gary and let him know right away!  Sometimes this happens, distribution day can be quite active and well, after all, we are just volunteers and we try to do our best.  Actually, if you want to understand the Coop better, volunteer on distribution day, we ALWAYS need volunteers, and this will do much to help you grasp how the Coop works.  Plus, its a great way to see items in person and make a note to order the next cycle. 

I hope this answers a few questions, and I’m not kidding about ordering eggs at 12.:01 am on the first, that’s why I always have eggs!

• What: “Healthy Iowa” Expo
• When: January 10 at 5:00 pm
• Where: Point of Grace Church, 305 NE Dartmoor Drive, in Waukee

Waukee, IA – The first annual “Healthy Iowa” Expo is set for January 10 at 5:00 pm at the Point of Grace Church, 305 NE Dartmoor Drive, in Waukee. The expo is free to the general public and is helping attendees take steps to change the way they look at their health forever. The expo is dedicated to introducing individuals and families to local food producers and suppliers of organic produce, meats and eggs and prepared foods. After the Expo, attendees will come away with ideas and tools that will help them live a healthier, more fulfilling life. Guests will learn from leading researchers in the field of nutrition and health, will meet people with similar interests…. And have a great time doing it.

At this event you can also expect to benefit personally from:

• Speakers, such as Steve Deace, a nationally syndicated talk radio host, Jake Velie, Food sourcing/lifestyle education expert and Brian Peskin, omega oil expert, will talk about eating whole, natural plant-based foods, sourcing, and omega oil supplements.
• Healthy Food Preparation: wholefood chefs will show you how to prepare delicious meals.
• Over 3 dozen exhibitors will offer information on locally grown and organic whole foods, whole food restaurants, healthy cookware, functional fitness experts, natural/holistic family healthcare and more.
• Networking opportunities to meet your local farmers, growers and producers
• Sample goods and services from your local providers.
• Over $2,000 worth of healthy food and service prizes will be given away.

More further information please visit our web site:www.healthyforlifeuniversity.com or contact Jake Velie, Chief Education Officer, jake@healthyforlifeuniversity.com.

Samples galore and products for sale plus the opportunity to chat with the
great folks that provide our food!

Come out to our new location at Merle Hay Mall on Saturday, December 3rd and sample some of the best that IFC has to offer!

You will also be able to purchase products from the available farmers. Maybe some summer sausage for your holiday get-togethers? Beef sticks for those hunting trips? And if you know someone who has been hesitant about joining the IFC, bring them with you.

One sample of Shanon Ebersole’s beef jerky and they will be hooked!

Note: we’ll be able to use the inside entrance, which is near the southeast corner of the mall just north and west of the inside entrance to Target.

Ooh, and how about making a pie out of that pumpkin you’ve got sitting around?   Do I have a recipe for you!!!  http://iowafood.coop/recipe/easy-as-pie-pumpkin-pie/

If your dinner turns out extraordinarily well, let us know what you did to make it spectacular!

I have the most awesome, creative and inspiring friends!  This time it was Amy’s fault for my current project.  She gifted me recently with a little tub of homemade cultured butter.  It was so so good!  I had stopped putting butter on my toast, and was using it judiciously for cooking, but not anymore.  This butter was butter on steroids, if you are using butter purely for its taste, like on toast and potatoes, use cultured butter!

Actually, making cultured butter is quite easy, albeit a bit messy, but no more so than regular butter and the flavor return is tremendous.

To begin, take two quarts of the best heavy cream you can find, but not ultra-pasturized.  Luckily I have a few very good local dairies and chose to use Sheeder Cloverleaf Dairy  because my favorite local grocery store carries it. By the way, their skim milk is divine, its like NOT drinking skim milk its so good! 

Mix your good heavy cream with a small container of yogurt, I chose to use a good greek yogurt, its the only one I could find for small plain unflavored yogurt.  Mix well, cover, and let sit overnight in a warm place.  I just put mine on my counter, it sat out about 12 hours or so.

After letting it sit out overnight, mix vigorously.  Amy said it won’t take much mixing, but I have weak little arms and let my KitchenAid mixer and paddle attachment do the work.  Soon you will hear a sloshing and voila!  A large lump of butter will be sitting in buttermilk!  It didn’t take much time at all!

Drain off the buttermilk, but keep it!  You can use it in biscuits, pancakes, and cornbread.  From 2 quarts of cream I was able to reap 1 quart of buttermilk, pretty good return!  Now put the butter in the refrigerator to let it firm up a bit and be easier to work.

 After chilling for a bit, rinse and knead, then rinse and knead some more.  Your goal is to have your final rinse water very clear without a trace of cloudiness.  All the buttermilk needs to be rinsed out so your butter won’t sour and taste bad.  I just kneaded it with my hands, and now my hands are literally buttery soft.

 After kneading and rinsing very very well, you will now press out the water.  Using a rubber spatula, press and smooth the butter against the sides of the bowl and pour out any water that “weeps” out the butter.  Keep pressing and draining until no more water remains.  At this point, your butter is finished, or you can salt it using pickling salt or sea salt.  I chose to salt it.  Salting also may help the butter firm up a bit.

Years ago, I found a great carnival glass cow butter mold, on ebay.  I have had great luck finding good vintage items at reasonable prices on ebay, but I was probably just lucky and looking in the right place at the right time, but that’s part of the charm of vintage, right?  I set the mold in one of the cream bottles to hold it while I filled it, then turned it over and set in on a saucer to firm up in the refrigerator.

The rest of the butter I put in little containers to give away.  This was really so simple, I may put into the regular rotation of kitchen chores along with canning, bacon curing and bread baking.

 I do hope you will give this a try, I used 2 quarts of cream and made alot, and I’m sure it will keep well in the freezer.

I ran across this recipe at some point in the last week, and kept telling myself to give it a try, as I had a rather large jar of pumpkin apple butter that I needed to use, so today was the day.  I really enjoyed this quick bread made with my homemade pumpkin apple butter, but I think it would be equally delicious made with apple butter, or really any fruit butter you have on hand.  This is so tweaked about from the original recipe that it is now my own, so I won’t even give you the original.

Apple Butter Bread

2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
3/4-1 cup apple butter
3/4 c buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients, then mix in wet ingredients.  Pour into a greased loaf pan, I had enough to also make a little mini loaf pan, bake for 1 hour 5 minutes, but check it near the end, as your oven may vary.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then tip out and cool.

This would be a lovely tea bread, as it is not too sweet, and would be wonderful spread with a little of that cultured butter I know you all made!