Month: March 2010

Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup

March 31, 2010
by Gary Huber
  • 1 medium-to-large butternut squash
  • 3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
  • 2 large leeks (white part only), cleaned and chopped
  • 4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1½ teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Halve and seed the squash. Oil a baking sheet and place the squash on it, cut side down. Bake until squash can be easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Let cool, then scoop the pulp from the skin and discard skin.

Melt butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add leeks and ginger and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned. Stir in squash pulp and 4 cups of stock; bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up squash with a spoon.

Remove from heat and puree until smooth with an infusion (stick) blender or in batches in a food processor.

Return to heat adn stir in remaining stock and salt. Heat through and serve.

Arm Roast

March 31, 2010
by Gary Huber
Arm Roast
Recipe Type: Entree
Author: Weisshaar Family Farm
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 3 hours 20 mins
Total time: 3 hours 30 mins
Roasting time will depend on the size of your roast. Plan on about 50 to 60 minutes per pound of meat.
Ingredients
  • Frozen arm roast
  • Vegetables of choice (potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms)
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Cover frozen roast with foil or use a roasting pan with a lid and place in heated oven for 20 minutes or until browned.
  3. Turn roast over, reduce heat to 350 degrees F, add 1 cup water, cover and cook for 1 hour. Check water level and add more if needed to keep the meat moist.
  4. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and cook for an additional hour.
  5. Add vegetables and cook for 1 hour, adding more water if needed to keep moist.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

March 31, 2010
by Gary Huber

  

  • 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups cooked, mashed, and cooled sweet potatoes (2 medium)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp salt

  

Frosting – 1 ¼ cup sifted powdered sugar, 8 ounces cream cheese (softened), 3 tsp. milk, 1 tsp. vanilla

  

Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

 

For cake, beat together the butter or margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the potatoes and vanilla and beat well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition  (batter will look curdled) 

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the potato mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. 

Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes (or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.) Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Then invert onto a serving plate. 

 

For frosting, in a small bowl, stir together the sifted powdered sugar, milk, cream cheese, and vanilla. Spread the frosting over the cake and, if desired, sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

– Angie and Kelly Tagtow

 

Saucy Meatballs

March 31, 2010
by Gary Huber

Meatballs 

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1 can evaporated milk (12 oz.)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 3 pounds grassfed ground beef

Mix and make balls. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Sauce

  • 2  cups ketchup
  • 1½ cups brown sugar
  • ½ cup chopped onion or substitute dried onions to taste
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons liquid smoke 
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder 

Mix together and heat in a pan. Simmer meatballs in this sauce in a crockpot or pan and serve hot.

Sauce Variations

  1. Substitute your favorite spaghetti sauce for the homemade sauce.
  2. Make a cream sauce using 2-3 cups of cream and 1 cup grated parmesan cheese.  

—Kevin and Sophie Ryan, Horsefeather Farm

Beans and Franks

March 31, 2010
by Gary Huber
Beans and Franks
Recipe Type: Entree
Author: Timber Ridge Cattle Company
Cook time: 4 hours
Total time: 4 hours
This has cookout written all over it!
Ingredients
  • 2 large cans pork-and-beans
  • 1 cup ketchup, more or less to taste
  • 1 cup brown sugar, more or less to taste
  • 4 teaspoons molasses
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 package no-nitrite franks, cut into bite-size pieces
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients and bake at 300 degrees F for 3-4 hours, removing from oven occasionally during baking time and stirring.

White Bean-Garlic Dip

March 31, 2010
by Gary Huber
  • 1 cup dried white beans
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 bunch rosemary
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Crusty bread

Rinse and pick over the beans. Soak in water to cover by 2 inches for at least 6 hours, or up to 24 hours. Drain.

Put beans in a stockpot or large saucepan and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a rapid simmer. Skim any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 1½ hours or until beans are tender but not mushy.

Drain beans in a colander set over a bowl. Reserve cooking liquid. Transfer beans to a blender or food processor. Add garlic cloves and puree until smooth, adding as much of the cooking liquid as necessary to make a thick, spreadable or dippable consistency.

Gently stir dip with the rosemary bunch for about 3 minutes or until the dip is fragrant with the scent of rosemary. Discard rosemary. Season dip with salt and pepper and serve with bread.

Open House at Des Moines Social Club

March 27, 2010
by Gary Huber

The Iowa Food Cooperative would like to invite you to a gathering to learn how you can get healthy, local food from local farmers. We’ll have delicious samples prepared by members of the IFC, local chef, Jason Kapela and his wife Cynthia. Come visit local producers and Iowa Food Cooperative members eager to share their stories and answer questions.

Cynthia has posted more details on her Posterous Blog.

A Word About Winter

March 21, 2010
by Gary Huber

This last month I exchanged some e-mails with our producers regarding the toll this winter had on them and their operations. Michelle Heater was able to get some, but not all of the responses in the March Newsletter. So I thought what a perfect item for the first blog post on the new website for the Iowa Food Cooperative!

Sophie Ryan sent word from Horsefeather Farm:

With all the snow we had this winter we did as much indoor activities as possible like catching up with paperwork (still not done, will I ever be ?), going to workshops (PFI and Moses Organic Conference in WI), enjoying ‘webinars’ and movies (thanks to Netflix!) and doing some french folk-dancing with friends, making cheese (great Camembert , cream cheese and cheddar), homemade summer sausage….

We worked a little more on our part time job with the post office and had to enjoy plowing through snowy roads with a little 4WD. We got drifted in quite a few times but who needs to go to the store to get milk when you have your own cow at home!

Draft horses doing some logging.

Draft horses doing some logging.

Kevin did take the time to enjoy his team of draft horses and hitched them to go on sleigh rides and do some logging. He was pretty excited to try a different way to hitch the horses, one in front of the other instead of side by side (requires special attachments with pulleys) and the horses had to learn to stay in line instead of being side by side. Worked a little better when they got tired!! So that way he was able to drag out logs from places hard to get to with a wagon, bring them by the house and then cut them up and stack them. Nice Job.

Now all the snow is melted and we are waiting for the warm weather to uncover our potted peonies and then back to serious work.

Sophie.
www.horsefeatherorganicfarm.com

I also heard from Jean Weisshaar of  Weisshaar Family Farm:

This winter was definitely a hard one. With so much snow and the fact that it came early really challenged us with feeding all the cows & calves. Usually you put them out on the corn stock field after harvest, and this will feed them for quite some time. The snow covered all the food and we had to start feeding them with hay and corn stock bales. We have had to purchase quite a few of both to keep the heard fed & healthy.

The mud is always a bummer as it is difficult to get around on foot and in the tractor. Pregnant cows have an especially hard time negotiating the mud. Most cattle producers calve from mid February through the end of march, but fortunately we pushed our calving season back to May & June, so hopefully it will not be as wet.
It is hard to tell what planting season will be like, it is much too early.

Jean Weisshaar
Weisshaar Family Farm

Apple Crisp

March 20, 2010
by Gary Huber
Apple Crisp
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: David and Linda Gobberdiel
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 5 cups peeled and sliced apples
  • 2-4 Tblsp. Granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup regular rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (can use whole wheat)
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg and cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine
Instructions
  1. Place fruit in 2-quart baking dish.
  2. Stir in granulated sugar.
  3. For topping, combine rest of ingredients in a medium bowl except butter/margarine. Then cut in butter/margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  4. Sprinkle topping over fruit.
  5. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes until fruit is tender and topping is golden.

Brussels Sprouts with Cauliflower and Mustard-Caper Butter

March 20, 2010
by Gary Huber

This recipe is from the book Local Flavors by Deborah Madison.

Brussels Sprouts with Cauliflower and Mustard-Caper Butter
Recipe Type: entree
Author: adapted from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 8 mins
Total time: 28 mins
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Sea salt
  • 6 tblsp unsalted butter, at room temperature (may substitute olive oil)
  • 2 tsp Dijon-style mustard
  • 1/4 cup drained small capers, rinsed
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 3 tblsp chopped marjoram
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1 lb Brussels sprouts
  • 1 small head white cauliflower
  • 1 small head broccoli Romanesco
Instructions
  1. To make the butter: Pound the garlic with ½ tsp. salt in a mortar until smooth, and then stir it into the butter with the mustard, capers, lemon zest, and marjoram. Season with pepper. The butter can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Bring back to room temperature before serving. (I use olive oil instead of butter.)
  2. To prepare the vegetables: Trim the base off the sprouts, then slice them in half or, if large, into quarters. Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the other vegetables and continue to cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, shake off any excess water, then toss with the Mustard-caper Butter.
  4. Taste for salt, season with pepper, and toss again.