All posts by Gary Huber

Totally Local Baked Polenta

Board President Lisa brought this to our latest meeting and everyone left with a new favorite way to prepare polenta. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Lisa!

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Totally Local Baked Polenta
Author: Lisa
Polenta baked with cheese to make something between cornbread and classic polenta
Ingredients
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups Early Morning Harvest polenta
  • 2 eggs
  • Half package of Frisian Farms Gouda cheese curds, roughly cut
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a 9×12/13 pan.
  2. Bring water to boil, add 1 teaspoon salt, and slowly add 2 cups of polenta and stir well. If after 15 minutes it is still runny, add a little more polenta, mixture should be creamy.
  3. Stir in beaten eggs, Gouda cheese curds, and red pepper/pepper.
  4. Pour all into pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Shopping list:

Wonderful Winter Skin Survival

Winter dryness does not have to mean dry skin:

 

by Stephanie Tang (pictured above), owner of Wonderful Skin Care

 

With dry, winter weather, we lose a lot of moisture, which can be particularly noticeable in the form of dry skin. Harsh soaps will further the damage by breaking down the oils in your skin (your lipid barriers). A good way to avoid this is by using a high quality, full-of-oils skin moisturizer immediately after washing or bathing, while the moisture is there. Wonderful Body Butters come to mind, full of natural butters and oils, and with beeswax that will help form and keep a barrier between your skin’s moisture and the dry environment. Consistent moisturizing is very important – after every hand wash, when you get up, and when you go to sleep. Try this for 1 week to get significant results. Remember that everyone experiences some dryness in this weather, but if you still have redness and painful cracks even after you have consistently applied good quality lotion, you should consult a dermatologist.

 

Sources:

http://www.drbaileyskincare.com/blog/dermatologist-explains-what-causes-dry-skin/ http://www.livestrong.com/article/337127-what-happens-when-your-skin-is-really-dry/ http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Dry-Skin

Shopping Cart is Open; New items + Returning Producers!

Shop now—many new items + returning producers:

 

1,291 different products listed; welcome back to many producers!

We are in our winter schedule of three-week shopping cycles. Remember to to stock up! Having trouble keeping track of shopping cycles? Our 2015 calendar is available in a PDF (click to view).

Thank you to all who participated in our survey. Your time is greatly appreciated; we’ve made a summary of some of our findings for you to see here. And congrats to Connie Maxwell who won the $100 shopping credit!

Note: The online shopping cart is open and will close Sunday, March 8th at midnight. Distribution is Thurs., March 12th at our Osceola, Albia, and Des Moines area sites and Friday March 13th in Ames. If you can’t make those times, our alternative pick up is Saturday March 14th from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Avenue location.

To shop go to https://iowafood.coop and log in. If you need help with your username or password, send an email to info@iowafood.coop.

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IFC producers have listed a wide selection of products such as winter greenhouse greens (lettuce, collard & mustard greens, spinach, swiss chard, kale, arugula) as well as cheese, milk, yogurt, meats, chicken, eggs, dry beans, apples, potatoes, winter squash, salsa, sauerkraut, olive oil, pasta, and sweet corn. Here’s some ideas for shopping this cycle:

Welcome back producers!

Threshing Floor (Dallas Center) is back from their break with a new product, cheddar whole wheat bread, made with whole grain Iowa flour + fresh cheddar cheese. Shop all their baked goods here.

Zaza’s Pasta (North Liberty) says “We’re back to work after our baby hiatus. 🙂 I’ve added a couple of new flavors of Orecchiette: Tomato-Basil and Garlic-Chive. Also, our fun spring flavor, ASPARAGUS, is back…available in Fettuccine shape!” Shop here and email congrats on their baby (Hugo) here!

Greene Bean Coffee (Jefferson) is back with an array of their signature coffees, all roasted in-house. Read about the farms their beans come from, and the taste profile of every roast and blend here.

Broadhorn Farm (West Des Moines) is back with their grass-fed beef from Belted Galloway cattle. Check out their packages and sales on beef bundles.

Audubon County Family Farms (Audubon) is back with eggs, frozen aronia berries, and pork spare ribs.

Sunset Ridge Family Farm (Waucoma) is back with their selection of specialty goat cheeses.

New Items!

Herbal Blis Soaps (Boone) listed two new soaps—coffee & cream scrubby bar and green tea tree soap, all handmade and free of fragrance and dyes.

Good Shepherd Grass Farms (Monroe) has their beef roasts on sale (10% off)! Shop and save now.

Wonderful Skin Care (Ames) added a couple new products to their natural skin product line—massage lotion in muscle relief or relaxation, and ‘Wonderful Mommy’ lotion in two scents. Browse the selection here.

Des Moines Bacon Co. (Adel) is now offering pork bellies for all the homemade bacon fans out there! This is a product that’s been sought after and we are pleased to have it available here!

Lucky George Farm (Derby) is offering goat shoulder + goat stew meat; check out their listing for recipes!

Yoke S Ranch (Russell) put their sirloin roast on sale for $6/lb.

Wild Rose Pastures (Ames) added grass-fed Beef Oxtail  and grass-fed Sirloin Lamb Chops.

IFC Distribution Today (Tomorrow in Ames)!

This is being sent via email to everyone who ordered this cycle and have products to be picked up. Today is distribution at our Osceola, Albia, and Des Moines area sites, and tomorrow is distribution in Ames. We have an alternative pick up time on Saturday from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Plaza site. If you need to pick up on Saturday and haven’t told us already, please let us know with a call to 515-450-6812.

Pick-up is Thursday

We had 241 members order 2,323 items this cycle, with total purchases just under $15,000. That’s down a bit from same cycle sales a year ago now. Not quite sure why, but we did have a great year last year. We truly appreciate your purchasing through the IFC . Thank you!

If you are getting this message as an email, you’ve ordered something this cycle that will need to be picked up. Pick-up is Thursday at our Des Moines-area sites, plus Osceola and Albia. Our Ames pick-up is on Friday. Details on times and locations are available with this link. If you need to use the 10:30 to noon Saturday alternative pick up time, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

NOTE: please check to be sure your pick-up site is correct. You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”.

Shopping Cart is Open; New month, new stuff!

New month, new stuff! And win $100…

 

1,275 different products listed; new producers, new items, fresh Iowa greens in the middle of winter!

We are in our winter schedule of three-week shopping cycles. Remember to to stock up!  Having trouble keeping track of shopping cycles? Our 2015 calendar is available in a PDF (click to view).

Chance to win $100 in purchase credits! We have a new survey we’d like members to complete to learn more about topics such as our website and online shopping cart system. If you haven’t completed it yet, please check it out here. All participants will be entered to win $100 in IFC purchase credits.

Note: The online shopping cart is open and will close Sunday, Feb. 15th at midnight. Distribution is Thurs., Feb. 19th at our Osceola, Albia, and Des Moines area sites and Friday Feb. 20th in Ames. If you can’t make those times, our alternative pick up is Saturday Feb. 21st from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Avenue location.

To shop go to https://iowafood.coop and log in. If you need help with your username or password, send an email to info@iowafood.coop.

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Welcome new producers!

Prairie Rose Farm of Martelle (near Cedar Rapids) was established 2008 and by Paula Spaight and Gary Buker. They grow various food crops including dry beans, aronia berries, purple asparagus, blue and green corn, and chestnuts. This cycle they’ve listed Yellow Indian Woman beans along with Cannellini white kidney beans. Welcome Prairie Rose!

Wonderful Skin Care of Ames makes natural body care products that are 100% natural, great for your skin, and do not contain any preservatives, toxins, parabens, suflates, or petroleum products. They’ve listed their body butter in several different sizes and scents along with a several kinds of lip balm. Welcome Wonderful Skin Care!

Rosebud Botanicals (Afton) relisted their liquid hand soap in Honey Berry (made from Iowa beeswax and Iowa-grown aronia berries).

Beaver Creek Produce (Berkley) is back with their hydroponic-grown greens, including arugula, mustard greens, leaf lettuce, and collard greens. Welcome back!

From Lee of Lee’s Greens (Nevada): “We’ve listed all of our greens – lettuce, spinach, baby red kale, baby green kale, Swiss chard, arugula, radishes, sweet baby turnips – along with our potted herbs and flats of grasses for small animals. Thanks.”

Salama Greenhouse (Boone) added Green Leaf Lettuce (fresh cut, 3 heads per bag) to go along with their spinach, swiss chard, and kale.

Country View Dairy (Hawkeye) added a new yogurt product: a 3 lb tub of their most popular variety – Greek Lemon Custard.

Des Moines Bacon Co. (Adel) introduced all-natural ‘America’s Cut’ boneless pork chops from humanely-raised Berkshire pork.

Herbal Blis Soaps (Boone) added a new handmade soap – Lavender-Anise – to go along with their other soaps and hand salves products.

Yoke S Ranch (Russell) has Minute Steaks from their Corriente herd on sale for $5.25/lb.

Purrfect Muttchies (Truro) has a new treat variety for dogs + cats called Best Budd Beer & Cheese Crackers featuring three kinds of cheese, and of course, beer.

The Kiowa House of Herbs (Searsboro) added Aronia Triple Cherry Muffins to go along with their amazing selection of teas, jams/jellies, baked goods, eggs, and desserts.

WW Homestead Dairy (Waukon) is now offering ice cream in ½ gallon size! They’ve also listed a few new flavors of their famous cheese curds.

IFC Distribution Today (Tomorrow in Ames)!

This is being sent via email to everyone who ordered this cycle and have products to be picked up. Today is distribution at our Osceola, Albia, and Des Moines area sites, and tomorrow is distribution in Ames. We have an alternative pick up time on Saturday from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Plaza site. If you need to pick up on Saturday and haven’t told us already, please let us know with a call to 515-450-6812.

Pick-up is Thursday

We had 259 members order 2,465 items, with total purchases just over $17,000. That’s a record number of people placing orders; highest before now was 234 last November the week before Thanksgiving. Thank you!

If you are getting this message as an email, you’ve ordered something this cycle that will need to be picked up. Pick-up is Thursday at our Des Moines-area sites, plus Osceola and Albia. Our Ames pick-up is on Friday. Details on times and locations are available with this link. If you need to use the 10:30 to noon Saturday alternative pick up time, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

NOTE: please check to be sure your pick-up site is correct. You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”.

Shopping Cart is Open; Experience the Winter Edition!

The Winter Edition (with fresh greens and much more)!

 

Nearly 1,200 different products listed; many new items.

We are back to our winter schedule of three-week shopping cycles. Given there will be an extra week between distributions, remember to to stock up!  Remember, our 2015 calendar is now available in a PDF (click to view).

Consumers, please fill out our Desired Products Survey (click here) —this is your chance to let producers know what you’d like to see offered this year!

Welcome Albia!

Thanks to IFC member Stacie Gibler, we now have a drop-off site on the square in Albia (about 65 miles SE of Des Moines). Thank you, Stacie!!!

Note: the online shopping cart is open and will close Sunday, Jan. 25th at midnight. Distribution is Thurs., Jan. 29th at our Osceola, Albia, and Des Moines area sites and Friday Jan. 30th in Ames. If you can’t make those times, our alternative pick up is Saturday Jan. 31st from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Avenue location.

To shop go to https://iowafood.coop and log in. If you need help with your username or password, send an email to info@iowafood.coop.

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IFC producers listed a wide selection of products such as greens (lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula), cheese, milk, yogurt, meats, chicken, eggs, dry beans, apples, potatoes, winter squash, salsa, sauerkraut, olive oil, pasta, and sweet corn. Here’s some ideas for shopping this cycle:

From Lee’s Greens (Nevada): “We have listed a nice selection of greens (lettuce, spinach, red and green kale, arugula) along with sweet baby turnips and potted herbs. We also have fresh wheat, rye, and oat grass flats that can be fed to small animals. Our chickens particularly like these.”

Threshing Floor (Dallas Center) has returned with their much-loved breads, rolls, and other baked goods. Check out their ‘Iowa’ whole wheat bread that uses organic red wheat grown by Early Morning Harvest. Welcome back!

Herbal Blis Soaps (Boone) listed two new soaps—rosemary and absinthe bar soaps; the absinthe uses a blend of anise, blood orange, gingergrass and French clay for a very unique bar.

Broadhorn Farm (Truro) added specials for Valentine’s Day: porterhouse, ribeye, top sirloin, and filet mignon. They’re also introducing two new products—flat iron steak and beef strips (for fajitas or stir-fry).

Lucky George Farm (Derby) added these new items: Pork Cutlets, Blade Steak, and Country Style Ribs from their Large Black hogs, plus “20 Acre Lotion Bars” and Pasture Raised Heritage Whole Chicken in small/large.

Yoke S Ranch (Russell) has ground beef patties from their Corriente herd on sale for $5.50/lb.

Overhome Farm (Waukee) listed popping corn, variety called ‘Dynamite’, it has a buttery flavor and comes in two pound bags. Perfect for a local, healthy snack.

The Kiowa House of Herbs (Searsboro) added several new items, including grasshopper pie (that uses WW Homestead Dairy’s mint ice cream!), raspberry tea, and potpies, some of which are vegetarian and many use Iowa vegetables.

WW Homestead Dairy (Waukon) has increased inventory in their farm fresh butter—get it while you can!

Chris’ Custom Bakery (Ankeny) updated their sugar cookie shapes; choose from winter, football, or Valentine’s hearts.

Agri-Cultured (Waukee) added two new items for those who like spice—ghost curry pickled vegetables and smoke’n ghost sauerkraut. Check out their new kombucha flavors too: aronia, raspberry, and strawberry.

Sunrise (Woodward) has Job’s Tears necklaces made with beads grown on a plant—check them out and pick up this unique Iowa gift.

Farm Baby Foods (Des Moines) listed many new baby food varieties and flavors. Absolutely nothing is added other than the produce listed… no salt, sugar, fillers or preservatives. Check out their selection of on-the-go pouches and 4-oz containers. Their on-the-go pouches are reusable and refillable!