Time to be happy!Thanks to help from member Brandy Case Haub, we’ve got a new WDM drop-off site. It will be in the Courtyard Hall of Valley Church, which is at 4343 Fuller Road in West Des Moines. That’s about 1.5 miles east of our old location (or about a mile east of the I-35/George Mills Parkway interchange). Brandy says you should park on the Northeast side of Valley Church. As you approach the double doors on that side of the building (it says Valley Church above the doors), you’ll want to actually turn to the immediate left, locate the white handrails, and go down the short stairway to the outdoor bricked patio area. The door there opens into the Courtyard Hall. NOTE: This pick-up location is now available when you open your shopping cart for the first time. If you’ve already started and order and want to change your pick-up location to West Des Moines, send an email to info@iowafood.coop. Below are some updates from producers. Also, 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. |
| Chris’s Custom Bakery updated the shapes available for her Frosted Sugar Cutout Cookies to SPRING FLOWERS (tulip, daisy, pansy) or SPORTS MIX (jersey, basketball, team pennant, baseball).
Julie at Broadhorn Farm sent this update: “Welcome to spring! I added some new products from our Belted Galloway herd – Top Round Steak, Bottom Round Steak, Large Brisket (yum!) and Crosscut Shank (aka leg boil). I’m also having a spring STOCK-UP sale on Tenderized Top Round and Bottom Round Steaks.” The Berry Patch lowered the price of their Salanova lettuce from $4 to $3 a bag, and they added radishes ($1.50 per bunch). Special K Ranch has added Texas Longhorn Grassfed Beef Jerky, Beef Sticks and Summer Sausage (yes, Kent has Texas Longhorn cattle). Early Morning Harvest has marked down their Wheat Cereal. Their 1.5 lb package is now $.85 and their 2.5 lb package is now $1.40. |
All posts by Gary Huber
IFC Shopping Cart is Open – Note Change in WDM Drop-Off Site!
Time to go shopping!The cart opened at last night midnight. It will close at midnight on Sunday, March 31st. Delivery is Thurs., April 4th at our Des Moines area locations (pending a new West Des Moines site) and Friday, April 5th at our Ames location. See below for updates on new stuff. NOTE: We learned last Friday that our WDM drop off site has been leased. We are looking for a new site with good access (no stairs) and reasonable parking. We are investigating several possibilities (mostly churches). Until we secure a new site, we’ve eliminated a WDM pick-up option from your choices when you start your shopping basket. We hope to have a new place secured before the cart closes on the 31st. If so, we’ll let you know and (if need be) help you change your pick-up location to this new site. We apologize for the inconvenience. As always, 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. |
| Pickle Creek Herbal is a new producer member from Brighton (near Fairfield). They listed various sizes of three infused olive oils (Genovese Basil & Roma Tomato, Lemon Basil & Garlic, and Greek Basil & Garlic), two infused balsamic vinegars (Rosemary and Lemon Basil), and a Tarragon Infused White Wine Vinegar. They’ve also listed various herbal soaps and lip balms. Please welcome them and check out their offerings!
The calendar says spring arrived this week, and so have vegetable transplants from SalAmander Farms (April 4th is perfect timing for some early garden work). Sondra’s listed Bok Choi, Chinese Cabbage, Kale, Kohlrabi, two varieties of Sweet Peppers, and four types of herbs. Yoke S Ranch added a new product (arm roast) from their Corriente beef herd and their beef jerky (product #2350) is marked down to $13/lb (regular price $17.50/lb). Horsefeather Farm has returned with two beef bundles from their certified organic herd: 1) 25 one lb packages of ground beef and 2) an assortment of steaks, roasts, stew meat, and ground beef. The Berry Patch continues to delight with fresh produce offerings from their greenhouse, including salad mix, swiss chard, spinach, red kale, and a new product: Salanova head/leaf lettuce. They also have potted curled parsley and chives, plus apple wood (perfect for the smoking meats). Here’s a “shout out” to producer member Des Moines Bacon Company for winning 1st place in the Dry-Cured Division and Grand Champion for the best overall bacon at the Baconfest last month. You gotta give their products a try – truly best in show! Holdeman ABF Poultry has their boneless skinless capon breasts on sale this cycle for $5.29/lb (see https://iowafood.coop/recipe/holdemans-capon-recipe-of-the-month/ for a simple crock pot recipe). Raccoon Forks Farm an insulated grocery bag with their logo under the accessories section as well as jumbo eggs (which they’ve not had listed for quite a while). Heart of Iowa Soapworks has two new products: 1) Beer Shampoo, a reformulated Ginger Beer shampoo that customers have begged for months to get back in-stock; 2) MMMM Spicy!, a new goat milk soap that puts all your favorite baking spice smells into one bar (men especially love this one, and it works really well in the kitchen to take strong smells, such as onion, off your hands); and 3) Attitude!, a nice blend of Musk with Black peppercorn (men just plain smell GOOD after they use this soap). Wild Rose Pastures added a new product, grass-fed beef liver.
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Bees hit the road – story from Fieldstone Farm
Almond pollination
Fieldstone Farms, Clemons, IA (Eli Kalke & Dale Fields)
We were fascinated by bees, so we attended a beekeeping class at NIACC in Northern Iowa five years ago to learn more, whereupon we ordered 11 hives. Since then we’ve grown our operation to well over 100 hives.
Our apiary is located ½ mile east of Clemons. We sell an array of products using our own honey, such as raw unpasteurized honey, 12 varieties of creamed honey, cut comb, chunk honey, honey straws, beeswax candles, lip balm and lotions. We are also both active with the Iowa Honey Producers Association; Eli is the Vice President and Dale is on the Educational Committee.
When dropping off our products a few cycles ago, we got to talking with the volunteers about something that is a bit unusual about our apiary, which is that we send our bees out to California in the winter to help pollinate their almond crop. They suggested we write up something for IFC members.
Here’s how it works. After we harvested our honey crop last summer, we fed our bees with a sugary liquid feed and protein patty substitute to ensure they had sufficient nutrition and food stored in their hive in preparation for their journey to California for almond pollination. To help orientate the bees, we paint the boxes different colors; this helps them identify which one is “home”.
End of November our hives were loaded on a truck and later transferred to a semi, which had around 400 hives on it bound for California; roughly a four day drive. About 1.6 million colonies are needed for the almond population. 500,000 of these come from California and the rest (1.1 million) are trucked in from all across North America.
Their food supplies were checked mid-January and didn’t require feeding, as they still had an abundance of honey in the hive. Depending on the weather, almond blossom typically begins around Valentine’s Day and ends about a month later, which is when our bees go to work.
The hives will be brought back on a semi-truck the second half of March and will likely be in need of a lot of feeding, as they will have very little food reserves left in the hive. This will keep the bees alive and healthy prior to the arrival of spring flowers, like dandelions, which are very high in protein and essential for rearing their young
IFC Distribution is Today Thursday, March 14th
Today is the IFC distribution (or tomorrow if you are picking up in Ames). Don’t forget to pick up your order. If you need to talk to us, call 515-450-6812.
Pick up your order on Thursday or Friday (Ames only) of this week!
Hello. We had 136 members order 1,292 different items this cycle, with total purchases of just over $8,500. Thanks so much for buying products from our producer-owners
Also, we apologize for the issue with the cart closing early. We think the time change somehow messed up the time stamp in the system for telling it when to close the cart.
We’ll see you on Thursday or Friday (Ames only) when you come pick up your orders. If you want to see your invoice, log in and go to the shopping tab, and on the left hand side you’ll see a link titled “View In-Process Invoice”.
IFC Shopping Cart is Open – 997 Products Listed!
Time to go shopping!
The cart opened at last night midnight. It will close at midnight on Sunday, March 10th. Delivery is Thurs., March 14th at our Des Moines area locations and Friday, March 15th at our Ames location. See below for updates on new stuff. NOTE (thanks to LaVon Griffieon for this reminder): Easter is early this year, so if you want great food for a special Easter meal, the time to order it is now. 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. |
| Lisa from Gardner’s Harvest writes: “I archived our pretzels (they will come back at some point) and added Hot Cross Buns, Irish Soda Bread, Irish Soda Bread with Raisins, and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.”
Yoke S Ranch has two products from their Corriente beef herd on sale right now: ground beef patties @ $5/lb and beef liver @ $2/lb. Lee from The Berry Patch writes: “It looks like we’ll have a good selection of greens, lettuce, spinach, red and green kale, and radishes along with potted curled parsley and chives.” Wildwood Farms is back (they sell every other cycle) with over 40 products. New are two soup mixes – Mushroom and Cheesy Potato (both great additions for that Easter meal). Raccoon Forks Farm added six different styles and sizes of hand-painted barn quilt signs (for bring that country feeling to the city). They are in the Decorations subcategory under Non-Food Items. Griffieon Family Farm added lamb shoulder steaks. Zaza’s Pasta added wheat-free Amaretti cookies, Kale & Golden-Raisin Ravioli, Chocolate-Hazelnut Pizzelles, and Hazelnut-Orange Biscotti. Twin Girls Gardens is back with their Blush Wine Jelly (a perfect compliment to any celebration) to add to seven other unique jam and jelly products. Heart of Iowa Soapworks has a new, limited-edition product this cycle: Spring Flowers Shampoo bar (scented with Lily of the Valley, Jasmine and some herbal notes to round out the blend). Corazon Coffee Roasters added a new certified-organic coffee, Colombian Popayan (smooth and full bodied with a hint of chocolate).
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Zaza’s Pasta
Dine with Zest with Zaza’s Pastas, by Rita Pray
If you are looking for an elegant yet easy dinner, stock up on some of Zaza’s homemade Ravioli. It’s about as easy as it gets, and with some simple accompaniments, you can have a delicious, amazing meal on the table in about 10 minutes. The first ravioli I tried was the Butternut Squash-Parmigiano Ravioli, which I embellished with a quick and easy creamy pesto sauce. It was rich and creamy and filling. Just recently, I served the Beet Ravioli with Gorgonzola cheese and Caramelized Leek filling. I followed the recommendation of the Zaza folks and served it with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Accompanied by fresh greens from the Berry Patch and a glass of red wine, we had a lovely meal, simply made and exquisitely delicious.
Zaza’s Pastas originate in North Liberty, made by a producer who learned to cook from her Italian grandmother. Zaza’s offers a variety of focaccia breads, breadsticks, biscotti, homemade pasta sauces, and about a dozen or more varieties of dried pasta and several types of frozen ravioli. The dried pastas are colorful (beet, semolina, seppia, butternut squash, saffron, herbed) and shapely (fettuccine, lasagna, farfalle.) The ravioli boast filling ingredients from local creameries and vegetable gardens when possible. All of the pastas are flavorful and nicely textured, and make a simple pasta sauce shine. But for the easiest dinner ever, the ravioli wins, hands down. Simply boil a salted pot of water, drop in the frozen ravioli and let them simmer for 3-5 minutes, drain and drizzle with olive oil or sage butter.
I have tried one of Zaza’s dessert offerings, by accident when I was given another member’s order of Pizelle—which are the light and crispy waffle-style Italian cookies. I served them with fresh blackberries, a drizzle of chocolate, and whipped cream, feeling only a little guilty about the unexpected windfall in our distribution. I’m guessing the tiramisu would be fabulous, based on the other Zaza’s treasures I have discovered. Buon Appetito!
Mom’s Crazy Open Tacos
Mom’s Crazy Open Tacos – from busy mother of three Stacy Hancock
Not much time to throw something together for dinner? Open Tacos are a great way to get a variety of good stuff in while also being family-friendly. Adjust to whatever you have on hand.
Tortilla Chips
Pinto Beans(can or cooked from dry)
1 lb ground beef from Nova Vitae
Greens of choice, chopped(spinach, baby kale, chard, etc)
Tomatoes of choice, chopped
Shredded Cheese- we used Frisian Farms gouda
Toppings:
7 Pines salsa
7 Pines sweet jalapenos
Cilantro
Taco seasoning
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Fry up the beef in the homemade taco seasoning. Drain grease if needed. Add can of drained/rinsed pinto beans when meat is cooked, mix together and set aside.
3. Layer tortilla chips on bottom of a rimmed cookie sheet or a pyrex casserole dish. Top chips with meat/bean mixture and shredded cheese. Bake in oven until cheese is melted and chips look toasty.
4. Top with greens, tomatoes. Serve salsa, sweet jalapenos and cilantro on the side. Goes great with clementines! Follow up with popcorn and a movie, be crowned the Best Mom Ever!
IFC Distribution this Week – Snowstorm Options
Hello. The weather forecast isn’t looking good for what we’ll be facing come Thursday, so we need to give you a heads up on current plans.
We are working with our producers to get their products delivered today (Tuesday) and tomorrow.
As for picking up, we are considering delaying the time until Friday and/or Saturday. It all depends on what what happens come Thursday.
If we get to a point where the forecasters are confident with what’s going to happen on Thursday, we’ll make a choice on what to do and let you know. We’d don’t want to postpone, but if it looks unsafe to drive, we will.
If we do postpone, people who specified West Des Moines and Ankeny as their pick-up sites may need to come to Merle Hay Mall, and we’ll work with folks picking up in Ames on an alternative time they can get their products at the regular drop off site there.
Please note: Also, we’ll work with you to figure out ways we can get you your orders if the options we choose don’t work.
Look for another email either late on Wednesday or first thing Thursday morning with our choices.
Thanks.
Holdeman’s Capon Recipe of the Month
Courtesy of Matt Holdeman, Holdeman ABF Poultry –
Here is our recipe of the month using boneless skinless breasts that are on sale this month for $5.39 per lb.Take advantage of this great sale. Thanks and have fun shopping. Matt.
Creamy Italian Chicken
- 3 lbs boneless skinless capon breast cut into large pieces
- 1 cup water
- 1 package Good Seasons Zesty Italian dressing mix
Combine above ingredients in crock pot and cook on low heat for approximately 6 hours Add 1 can Cream of Chicken soup and 4 to 8 ounces cubed cream cheese. Heat until cream cheese is melted. Optional (add one can of mushrooms). Serve over rice.