When I arrive at Global Greens Farm I walk up to the barn to find farm manager Zachary Couture washing produce with a group of enthusiastic, joyful women. Two of the women, Anastasia and Katie, discuss some beautiful tongue of fire fresh beans.

“You don’t even have to soak them,” they told me. “Just boil for 15 minutes and they’re ready to eat.”

I’m immediately intrigued. My love of eating beans is equal to my hatred of soaking them. I never think to do it ahead and always have to use a quick soak method, which doesn’t always yield tasty results. These fresh beans sound easy to prepare and they’re beautiful to look at.

“Everyone eats beans,” says Zac, as we walk around the farm to see what other beans are out there. We find long beans, which hang like a beaded curtain over a doorway. There are also cranberry beans coming on, which I remember eating in my soups all winter.

Of course there are green beans as well, which Simon & Mariselina Bucumi of Simon’s Plant Collaboration are harvesting in preparation for the sale. Mariselina and Simon fled their homeland of Burundi in 1972 for the Congo and then lived in refugee camps in Tanzania. They continue their lifelong experience as farmers in Des Moines.

Global Greens farmer Beuline Bucumi helps harvest green beans.

Register for the Global Greens Farm Field Day

It’s hard not to go to Global Greens Farm without learning something new or tasting something new and delicious. That’s why Iowa Food Coop members enjoy attending their annual Farm Field Day. Visit the farm and enjoy:

• Cultural dances from Bhutan
• Learning a few words and phrases in a new language
• Trying new foods made by the farmers at our potluck
• A farm scavenger hunt to learn about some of the more unique vegetables growing out at the farm
• A raffle to win Global Greens Farmers’ Market coupons!

Event Details
August 4th from 5:30 – 7:30pm
4444 Fuller Rd. West Des Moines, 50265

It’s a potluck meal – bring a dish to share!
LSI will provide drinks, utensils and dinnerware.

Register here for the field day!

This spring Iowa Food Cooperative is hosting the first Locavore Cooking Class series at the Des Moines Social Club. The second class in the series was March 1 and was a fantastic time! We made a healthier Fettuccine Alfredo with noodles from Zaza’s Pastas, greek yogurt from Country View Dairy, bread from Daily Bread Bakery, and chicken breast from Holdeman Poultry. Be sure to join in the fun by registering for our next class on April 5 where we’ll make sausages from Lucky George Farm, potatoes from Grimm Family Farm, and have wonderful Gouda from Frisian Farms.

How the Class Works

Once everyone arrived in class we shared wine and introduced ourselves. Amanda Mae Phillips, Des Moines Social Club’s Culinary Director, took a few moments to teach us all about the five basic tastes: sweet, savory, sour, bitter, and umami. In every meal we cook at our Locavore classes we shoot to have every taste represented, because it leads you to feel fuller and more satisfied at the end of the meal. We divided into teams of 2-3 people to tackle the menu Amanda created for our class. Throughout the class Amanda was available for help, but we learned as much cooking with each other as we did from her!

Tomato Basil Toast with Garlic Rub
We used the tomato herb bread from Daily Bread Bakery, which Ash had to admit she ordered kind of selfishly. We rubbed it with butter and garlic and it made for wonderful toast!

Vegetables with Herbs and Spices
The Des Moines Social Club provided carrots and green beans for the class and we used fresh herbs from their aquaponic display with spices for Allspice to make them even more delicious!

Fettuccine with Chicken
The star of the show was Zaza’s Pastas Fettuccine with herbed chicken breast from Holdeman Poultry. This was a big hit with everyone! It was easy to say it was the best chicken breast all of us had ever had and trying multiple kinds of pasta from Zaza’s was a real treat.

What Did People Say?

Once the meal was complete we sat as a group to enjoy our food and talk about why eating local is so important. It was great to have Bob Howard from Country View Dairy present, as well as IFC members Inger Lamb and Rita Pray. A few students from the first class also joined us. We all agreed that even if it wasn’t good for our environment and community, eating local is still worthwhile because the food tastes so good!

This “casual but gently overseen” framework led to lots of fun conversation, wine and opportunity to learn cooking tips and locavore lore from Amanda and other attendees.  When we were done cooking the dishes were laid out buffet style so we could load our plates and sit down to enjoy the results of our efforts.  We chose from chicken breasts in a Greek yogurt –based “cream” sauce, cinnamon carrots, balsamic green beans, vinaigrette-tossed salad, several pasta flavors and garlic bread.  All were delicious and made all the better for having been part of our very recent cooking party.

It was a great opportunity to have a nice meal while meeting other people interested in cooking with local foods.  Many kudos to Ash and her team  –  I’ll be at the next event in this series, on April 5!

-Inger Lamb, IFC member and class attendee

That was a lot of fun last night. And what a great meal they all ended up putting together. Fun to be around so many “Locavores”

-Bob Howard, Country View Dairy producer and class attendee

As local food lovers it was refreshing to enjoy an amazing meal without having to do all the work, pick up a few new tricks, and get to take home leftovers. Included in the course fee was culinary instruction from DMSC’s Culinary Director, wine, a delicious meal, leftovers to take home, and a great selection of yogurt from Country View Dairy!

This spring Iowa Food Cooperative is hosting the first Locavore Cooking Class series at the Des Moines Social Club. The first class in the series was January 5 and was a fantastic time! The theme was cooking with storage vegetables and featured frozen corn and apples from Iowa Choice Harvest, fresh greens and sweet potatoes from Lee’s Greens, and carrots from Huber Family Farm. Be sure to join in the fun by registering for our next class on February 2 where we’ll make Fettuccine Alfredo using Country View Dairy yogurt, Zaza’s Pastas, and Pickle Creek Herbal Garlic!

How the Class Works

Once everyone arrived in class we shared a champagne toast and introduced ourselves. Amanda Mae Phillips, Des Moines Social Club’s Culinary Director, said every time you cook it’s a celebration. We agree, especially if you’re cooking with fresh local ingredients! We divided into teams of 2-3 people to tackle the menu Amanda created for our class. Throughout the class Amanda was available for help, but we learned as much cooking with each other as we did from her!

Salad with Corn-Apple Topping
One team created a warm topping for our salad mix from Lee’s Greens by heating the frozen sweet corn and apples from Iowa Choice Harvest and adding in pomelo, champagne, and seasoning for extra flavor.

Sweet Potato Wedges
We sliced our sweet potatoes from Lee’s Greens and coated them thoroughly with olive oil and spices from AllSpice. Then we grilled them until they were crispy but soft.

Carrot Gratin
The star of the show was Carrots Au Gratin made with Huber Family Farm Bolero carrots, WW Homestead Dairy Butter, and La Quercia pancetta. This was rich, creamy, and delicious!

What Did People Say?

Once the meal was complete we sat as a group to enjoy our food and talk about why eating local is so important. We all agreed that even if it wasn’t good for our environment and community, eating local is still worthwhile because the food tastes so good!

It was so fun learning new ways to cook with local food! I love that the IFC is doing this and definitely plan to attend future classes.

-Shelene Billups, IFC member and class attendee

This class was both entertaining *and* educational! I learned how to turn locally sourced ingredients to fancy-pants dishes that could impress friends and family alike! The best part was sitting around with my classmates, enjoying the delicious foods we prepared and extolling the virtues of local veggies and the perfect egg sandwich. I will definitely be attending future classes.

-Liz Johnson, class attendee

As local food lovers it was refreshing to enjoy an amazing meal without having to do all the work, pick up a few new tricks, and get to take home leftovers. Included in the course fee was culinary instruction from DMSC’s Culinary Director, champagne, a delicious meal, leftovers to take home, and a bag of salad greens from Lee’s Greens!