Month: October 2010

Seasonal Produce

October 15, 2010
by Gary Huber

While I realize this may not be the most timely of posts, it is an important one.Ā  I was drafting the latest announcement to our members, you the owners of this Iowa Food Cooperative, and I came across a message I had sent early in the year. It was intended to address the concerns around sparse picking in the way of vegetables, and greens.Ā  I recall I checked ‘the Google’ and quickly found a great resource: The National Resources Defense Council (NDRC) has created a great listing by state. In that long-ago email, I posted this same link to Iowa’s in season produce.

As my wife & I have become increasingly dependent upon seasonal food and days get colder, I begin to think about pumpkin-pie and apple cider, and Turkey. Oh yes! Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Our stairs have become an impromptu root-cellar. I have big feet, and I’m always afraid I’m going to make some accidental mashed potatoes as I head downstairs.

According to the NDRC this is what we can look forward to this season:
Apples, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Bunching Greens, Cabbage, Carrots , Celery, Collards, Garlic, Head Lettuce, Kale , Kohlrabi , Leeks, Lettuce Mix, Onions , Oriental Greens, Ornamental Corn, Parsnips, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Raspberries, Snap Peas, Snow Peas , Spinach, Turnips, and Winter Squash.

Lots of good stuff in there. I look forward to this fall season as a close to my first year as board-member and I believe 4th year as conscientious consumer of local foods. What I mean by that is that I have been a fan of the idea for some time, it was about 4 years ago now that Lori introduced me to the bounties of Turtle Farm CSA, an IFC Member by the way, and her passion for ‘Good Eats’ (a nod to Alton Brown there).Ā  Well I’ve rambled enough. Here’s to a wonderful upcoming season of thanksgiving. Support your local farmers, and lets not forget those artisans, makers of things too.


Easy as Pieā€¦Pumpkin Pie!

October 4, 2010
by Gary Huber

I think I have finally found the perfect fresh pumpkin pie recipe. This might even pass the husband test. This was this best pumpkin pie I ever made, and it might even be the best I ever tasted!

My issue with fresh pumpkin pies has been that they taste blah. Not pumpkiny, but watery, pulpy, just not good at all. So I researched a few recipes and hit upon one that seemed good. This recipe also gave me tips on how to make the filling smooth etc., and a secret ingredient, molasses. Wouldn’t you know I didn’t have molasses? Well they don’t call me the queen of punt for nothing! I used dark karo syrup and brown sugar and it worked. Next time I will use molasses, in fact, next time I will try the recipe exactly as written. Sure, right, but there’s a first time for everything!

I am going to give you the recipe as I made it, also the original before I changed it. Make them both, you decide.

Be aware that sometimes your pumpkin may just not be a tasty pumpkin. I try to use sugar pie pumpkins. I try to choose ones that are small but heavy for their size.

Homemade Fresh Pumpkin Pie as I made it

Single, unbaked crust
2 large eggs
1/2 c fat free evaporated milk
1 1/2 c pumpkin puree (instructions below)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp dark Karo syrup
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I use Penzey’s)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs until frothy, add milk. Whisk in pumpkin, sugar, syrup, butter, salt and spices. Whisk until well blended.
Pour filling into crust, bake until center is firm, 45-50 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie – original recipe

Unbaked single crust
2 large eggs
3/4 c milk
1 1/4 c pumpkin puree
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 c sugar
1 tbsp dark molasses
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350.
Heat milk in saucepan over medium heat until just starts to bubble around edges. Remove from heat.
Beat eggs until frothy, add milk stirring constantly. Stir in pumpkin, sugar, butter, molasses, salt and spices. Whisk until well blended.
Pour into prepared our crust, bake until center is firm 45 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

How to make pumpkin puree

Split pie pumpkin in half cross wise, remove seeds and fibers.
Place cut side down on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 325 until tender, about 1 hour.
Scrape pulp away from skin, discard skin.
Place pulp in blender or food processer, process in batches until smooth.
Push puree through a course sieve. Puree can be stored in freezer for up to 6 months.

My way of doing things

Cut pumpkin, remove stem. Place cut side down on greased baking sheet, seeds pulp and all.
Bake at 350 until tender, scrape away seeds and fibers, discard. Then scrape pumpkin pulp into bowl, discard shell. Blend until smooth with stick blender.

Iowa Food Cooperative 2nd Annual Meeting

October 2, 2010
by Gary Huber

Dear Iowa Food Coop Members,
You’ve seen the mentions in the regular e-mails and the last newsletter; the time is fast approaching for

The 2nd Annual Membership Meeting of The Iowa Food Cooperative!

We highly recommend you attend this get-together to help guide the Iowa Food Cooperative into the coming year.

What:

  • The 2nd Annual Membership Meeting!
    • Town-Hall, Potluck & Business Meeting

Where:

When:

  • Saturday, October 16th
  • 4:00 – 4:30 Town Hall Meeting
  • 4:30 – 5:30 Potluck Dinner
  • 5:30 – 6:00 Board Member Elections & Acknowledgements
  • 6:00 – 6:30 Presentation – Urban Agriculture by Jason Grimm
  • Announce Results of the Elections
  • 6:40 – 7:00 Business Meeting

Town Hall Meeting: This meeting is for those who of you who have any specific requests or suggestions, or if you want to tell us how we’re doing. We’ll be expecting you promptly at 4:00. Ā If you can’t make it to the Town Hall Meeting, we will also have a suggestion Box for your feedback.

The Potluck: Last yearā€™s potluck was a hit! So we’ll do it again! Like last year, we are asking each family to bring one main dish plus one side dish (a salad, vegetable or dessert).Ā  To keep our gathering as ā€œgreenā€ as possible, please also bring your own table service, utensils, and cup for beverages.
(*Coffee, lemonade, and water will be provided by the coop. As this is a school please do NOT bring alcoholic beverages.)

Producer Members ā€“ please bring some of the foods you grow for your pot luck contribution or make a dish using the food you grow.

All Attendees – Bring your recipes for the foods you bring to share. You may also e-mail them to recipes@iowafood.coop. We’ll post those on the website too! When you bring or share a recipe with us, be sure to include the following: name and source of recipe. If you have used ingredients that you bought through the coop, it would be nice to have the producer’s name for those ingredients, too.

You can find new recipes and those from last year here: https://iowafood.coop/category/recipe/

The Meeting: The business portion of this get-together will be a short business meeting with presentation of our Annual Report and election of four new board members.Ā  We will also have a short presentation by our guest speaker, Jason Grimm. Jason is the Food System Planner with Iowa Valley RC&O in Amana, and coordinates the Iowa Corridor Food and Agriculture Coalition; he is also working to establish a food cooperative in the Iowa City area.Ā  Jason’s presentation will be on ā€œUrban Agriculture.ā€

Volunteers & RSVP:

  • IN ORDER TO PLAN FOR SUFFICIENT BEVERAGES AND SEATING, PLEASE RSVP BY OCTOBER 9th TO DAVID COUCH.
  • If you bring your children please bring a game for them ā€“ these adult events can be kind of boring for them.
    • We will need a volunteer to supervise the children.

See you on October 16th!

David Wade Couch
V.P. Membership & Education
The Iowa Food Cooperative

& Awards Presentation