edible

IOWA RIVER VALLEY®

Celebrating Iowa’s Local Foods
Number 18 :: Winter, 2010-2011
Member of Edible Communities

Why We Love Dumplings

www.EdibleIowa.com
Winter 2010-11
In This Issue
eiFriends
5 Grist for the Mill All of us at Edible Iowa are proud to call these folks our
Dumpling Love
Friends. They understand the importance of support-
ing local farms, local food, and the local economy.
6 Season to Season
Parsnip Oven Fries Be sure to visit the eiFriends listed here, and thank
them for supporting local, sustainable food and Edible
8 Conversation, Coffee, Community Iowa River Valley. You can also follow many of them
Brewed Awakenings Puts the the “CR “in via Edible’s regular posts on Facebook and Twitter.
Crema—By Leah Wilson
To join the growing list of eiFriends, please contact us
11 Rocky Mountain High at 319.337.7885 or Kim@EdibleIowa.com
Iowa Chef Hits the Big Time in Colorado
—By Renee Brincks All-Iowa Cheesemakers’ Dinner—pg. 36
El Banditos—pg. 21
14 Heart of the Meal Bur Oaks Farm—pg. 4
Trepidatious Tips on Nose-to-Tail Dining Cafe del Sol Roasting—pg. 26
—By Brandi Janssen Classic Smiles—pg. 4
Colony Inn—pg. 4
16 Buy Fresh Buy Local Update Devotay—pg. 6
Local is the New Normal—By Elizabeth Brown Dubuque Winter Farmers Market—pg. 12
Edible Bazaar—pg. 23
Edible Institute—pg. 7
17 Subscription Form Edible Marketplace—pg. 35
Edible Radio—pg. 9
18 Grandma’s Dumplings The Englert Theatre—pg. 13
Searching for Authenticity
Fireside Winery—pg. 20
—By Criss Roberts
Freighthouse Farmers Market—pg. 26
Iowa City-Coralville CVB—pg. 27
22 Notables Iowa City Farmers Market—pg. 21
Food News & Tidbits from Around the State Iowa Public Radio—pg. 13
Jasper Winery—pg. 26
23 Edible Bazaar John’s Grocery—pg. 33
One Stop Shopping for the Best in Local L. May—pg. 26
Businesses Local Artists Holiday Show—pg. 33
Local Heroes—pg. 5
24 Four Generations of Liver Dumpling Locally Grown—pg. 20
Soup—By Kurt Michael Friese MidWestOne Bank—pg. 21
Mote Wealth Management—pg. 21
28 The 99 Motley Cow—pg. 26
What’s Cooking in Clayton County New Pioneer Co-op—pg. 27
Oneota Community Co-op—pg. 20
30 Fridge Raid Peace Tree Brewing—pg. 20
Walking the Walk at Cleverley Farms Pepper Sprout—pg. 12
—By Kim McWane Friese Pet Central Station—pg. 13
Robinson Family Wellness—pg. 27
Rubaiyat—pg. 12
32 The Commonsense Kitchen SavvyRest—pg. 15
—By Tom Hudgens Shaklee—pg. 13
Share—pg. 21
34 The Last Word Tassel Ridge Winery—pg. 2
Bob Blumer’s Glutton for Pleasure Templeton Rye—pg. 20
—By Kurt Michael Friese Twin Image Salon & Spa—pg. 13
On the cover: Terri Wiebold—pg. 4
Liver Dumpling Soup by Kurt Michael Friese USA Pears—pg. 6

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 3

 edible
IOWA RIVER VALLEY ®
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & PUBLISHER
Kurt Michael Friese
MANAGING EDITOR
Kim McWane Friese
WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Renee Brincks Brandi Janssen
Elizabeth Brown Criss Roberts
Tom Hudgens Leah Wilson
DESIGNED BY
Kurt Michael Friese
CONTACT US
Edible Iowa River Valley
22 Riverview Drive, NE
Iowa City, Iowa 52240-7973
Telephone: 319.337.7885
www.EdibleIowa.com — info@EdibleIowa.com
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Edible Iowa River Valley takes pride in providing its
subscribers with fast, friendly service.
Subscribe • Give a Gift • Buy an Ad
www.EdibleIowa.com — info@EdibleIowa.com
Edible Iowa River Valley is published with the seasons by River
Valley Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscription rate is $28
annually. (See page 17) No part of this publication may be used
in any form without written permission from the publisher.
©2010.
Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings, and omissions.
If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our
sincere apologies and notify us. Thank you.

Proudly printed in Iowa.

4 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011

grist for
the mill
Dear Eater,
Few foods fill us with the warm and cozy feelings of home as well as dumplings. Nearly every culture has their variations on them, from
dainty dim sum to fleischknoedel as big as your fist. In this season’s issue, we bring you three stories of dumplings.
Renee Brincks has a profile of an Iowa boy who traveled the world to become one of America’s best chefs, and he has now opened his own
place in Denver, Colorado. Criss Roberts searches for dumpling authenticity on both sides of her family, while we examine four generations
of one lowly liver dumpling in the family of our own Kurt Friese.
It’s not all dumplings this issue though! Leah Wilson has a profile of one of Cedar Rapids best, and most community-centered coffee houses -
Brewed Awakenings on 1st Avenue near Coe College. And Brandi Janssen brings us a culinary adventure with heart - beef heart to be exact -
in a story about the thrills of nose-to-tail dining.
We also raid the refrigerator of one of the Des Moines Farmers Market’s best-known farmers, Larry Cleverley, and go traipsing out among
some of his late autumn greens.
One bit of business to take care of: We owe two people an apology for an error in our Summer issue (#16). Seems when we requested a
RAGBRAI photo from the Des Moines Register of director TJ Juskewicz for that RAGBRAI-themed issue, we received a RAGBRAI photo,
but not of him. Rather it was of dedicated rider Catherine Sue Timberlake. e helmet, shades and bunny ears combined with the fact that
we here at Edible had never personally met Mr. Juskewicz, made for a perfect storm of mistaken identity. Still was a great photo though, so
our thanks nonetheless to the Register, and our sincerest apologies to TJ and Catherine. We shall endeavor to be ever more diligent.
With that, and with the holidays upon us, we hope that they find you and yours surrounded by family, friends, and wonderful food!
With Relish,
PS: We are all over the Internet, with active streams on Twitter and Facebook, as well as our fan-
tastic new podcast, e Blue Plate Special, on www.EdibleRadio.com, starring Kurt and his sister
Christine. Tune In, Turn On, Eat Up!

vote soon!
Deadline
Dec. 3rd!

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 5

6 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011
Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 7
CONVERSATION
COFFEE
COMMUNITY
Brewed Awakenings puts
the “CR” in Crema
Story and Photo By Leah WiLSon
Maybe for you coffee is just coffee. It doesn’t really matter too much
what brand it is, where it was brewed or how it underwent its journey
from bean to cup. The most important thing is that you get it in you,
so you can get on with your day.
On the other hand, if you have strong opinions about beans, roasting
methods and crema; if your morning begins with an artful, spiritual
routine where a warm, aromatic liquid combines with all that is good
and sound in the universe to rouse the senses and lighten your foot-
steps as you take on the new day; if coffee is an experience – and one
you prefer to share with others – you belong at Brewed Awakenings.
Brewed has its own energy and you feel it as soon as you get inside.
There’s nothing cookie-cutter, it’s not overly-polished, not overly-spa-
cious or even a tiny bit industrial. For me, it feels like walking into a
friend’s living room, with comfy couches and eclectic decorations I can
sit and ponder. It feels lived in, the kind of place where they won’t yell
at you for putting your feet up; where your voice doesn’t echo off of
hard surfaces; it’s intimate and ownable. And maybe it’s because every-
one is abundantly caffeinated, but it just feels alive. People are smiling
at one another, some are curled into each other for a close conversa-
tion, others are passionately debating the day’s headlines. And as soon
as you clutch your cup of happiness, you get to join them.
To its owners, expertly-trained baristas and customers, a hill of beans is
actually a pretty big deal. It’s something to carefully define and pas-
sionately discuss. It’s the raw material of a perfectly-executed coffee
drink; a catalyst for the creative process, productive labor, or a note-
worthy social experience. Manager Ellen Pelzer has been with Brewed
for about 5 ½ years, and she is focused on quality. “Our roasters work
with their growers to ensure the best growing practices to achieve the
best quality in the cup.”
8 www.EdibleIowa.com
David Harris, a regular customer at Brewed was quick to give kudos,
“Their mochas are the best I’ve had, and I’ve lived in Boston, San
Franciso … metro areas with first-class coffee options.” He continues
enthusiastically, “They take the process of making coffee very seriously
here, like pulling short shots so there’s no bitterness, for example.
There’s more flavor and less volume.”
Brewed’s primary source of beans is PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. in
Topeka, Kansas -- Roast Magazine’s 2009 Roaster of the Year. PT’s fo-
cuses on direct trade. On their website, they state, “We are committed
to working with coffee farmers who are true artisans of coffee cultiva-
tion and practice their craft with dedication, skill and passion. We be-
lieve that an artisan coffee farmer who grows an award-winning coffee
should be given all the credit. We only work with farmers who think
long and hard about economic, social and environmental conditions of
their farms and their communities. We seek the highest possible re-
turn to farmers.” Pelzer feels that PT’s Coffee sets the bar pretty high
and that the holistic approach to coffee production sets them apart.
Bean worshippers appreciate the attention to both quality and sustain-
ability with every sip. Brewed has a great assortment of drinks -- one of
my favorites is the espresso breve: Made with half-and-half instead of
milk, it is rich. Most coffee freaks would take at least 12 words (and al-
most as many minutes) to describe how much it rocks, but I can do it
in one made-up word – zensational.
In 2000, owners Richard and Nancy Marsceau went on a trip to
Verona, Italy, where they visited a neighborhood coffee bar. Of course
the coffee was outstanding, but what they really paid attention to was
how the people just stood, drank their coffee and talked. Richard re-
calls, “It was a slower pace of life in Verona. People wanted to con-
Winter 2010-2011
nect.” He says it was this experience that inspired them to bring arti-
sanal coffees to Cedar Rapids, but to also create a place for meaningful
human transactions.
“We wanted a place for peaceful conversation,” he said, and in 2003,
they bought Brewed Awakenings.
with produce grown in the Marsceau’s personal garden and by local
farmers.
Brewed also purchases biopaper cups from Baker Paper in Cedar
Rapids, and source their teas from Frontier Natural Products in Nor-
way, Iowa.

Of course, conversation comes in many forms. Aside from the couples,
friends and families gathering to eat, drink and chat, you might over-
hear the political science group from Coe debating at 9:00, take in a
Shakespeare reading at noon and catch a musical performance later
that night.
Or you can join the local “Conversation Café.” The concept was the
brainchild of international best-seller Vicki Robin, author of Your
Money or Your Life. Her idea, which was a response to the 9/11 attacks,
was that positive and lasting community change requires ongoing com-
munity dialogue. According to her website, “Conversation Cafés are
hosted conversations among diverse people in public places on subjects
that matter.”
Brewed’s Conversation Café meets weekly during September - May.
Attendees get a complimentary 12 or 16 oz drink to get the cognitive
wheels turning, and if the coffee isn’t stimulating enough, the discus-
sion will get you going. “We call it 21st century conversation. We ex-
plore politics, philosophy and religion, all the things that tend to
divide us.” Marsceau says that talking about those things gives people
perspective and helps develop the communication tools that create
more cohesive, resilient communities.
“What makes our place special, aside from the quality of the coffee, is
the people,” says Pelzer. “It’s like a family.” Coe College sits just across
the street, so students and staff view the coffee house as a second
home. Coe employee and frequent Brewed patron, Marty St. Clair ex-
pressed how much the personalized attention means to him, “It’s a
Cheers-like atmosphere. I can come in and not say a word, and they’ll
hand me a medium dark roast to go, and charge it to my account.”
Have their efforts paid off? According to Marsceau, business at Brewed
has been on the upswing. “Since Heather’s letter, the community has
rallied around us and other local businesses. They love these unique,
iconic places and we’ve been overwhelmed and grateful to them for
showing us how much they care. That’s why I think the future looks
good for us. We’ve seen some very positive signs of growth and we’re
excited about the coming year.”
When You Go...
Brewed Awakenings
1271 First Ave SE, Cedar Rapids
Hours: Monday - Friday 6:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.,
Saturday 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., closed Sunday
Also located next to the gift shop in St. Luke’s Hospital
Hours: M-F 6:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., closed Sat, Sun
www.BrewedCR.com
www.e350Project.net
www.PTsCoffee.com
www.FrontierCoop.com
www.ConversationCafe.org

Harris caught the vibe, too. “I noticed right away that there was some-
thing going on here. People were great ... I’ve never found a Starbucks
with this kind of atmosphere.”

Brewed has many loyal fans, but after the flood of 2008 drowned
Cedar Rapids’ downtown and the economy tanked, the reduction in
business was leaving the shop’s financial cup half empty. They weren’t
the only business feeling drained, and after the closure of Blend, a
nearby restaurant, co-owner Heather Younker, Richard and Nancy’s
daughter, made a bold move. She asked for help. Not just for Brewed,
but for neighboring businesses, too.

She joined and publicized the 3/50 Project, a national endeavor to save
independent brick-and-mortar businesses. The idea is that if half of the
employed U.S. population spent $50 each month at their three favorite
independently owned businesses, more than $42.6 billion in revenue
would be generated. That would leave $68 of every $100 spent in the
community compared to $43 returned to the community per hundred
spent in a national chain, or $0 retained in the community if the pur-
chase was made online.

The owners made another important decision. They vowed to support

other local businesses with their own dollars, and to create community
partnerships whenever possible. Marsceau explained, “We’d been buy-
ing local as much as we could, but our situation pushed us to make it
even more of a focus.” In 2009, they launched a partnership with
Brucemore, a National Trust Historic Site situated on 26 acres in
Cedar Rapids. From the vegetable gardens on site, they obtain seasonal
produce like lettuce, zucchini, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions,
peppers, raspberries and herbs for their lunch menu. They supplement

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 9

10
www.EdibleIowa.com
Winter 2010-2011
Photos courtesy of ChoLon Bistro - used with permission
 Rocky Mountain High
Iowa Chef Lon Symensma hits culinary heights in Colorado
By Renee Brincks
Media buzz aside, it often surprises people that one of the country’s most promi-
nent Asian food masters is a blue-eyed, 33-year-old Iowa boy.
On his culinary journey from Letts, Iowa, to Denver, Colorado., Chef Lon
Symensma stopped off in France, Spain, China, Hong Kong and, most recently,
New York City. Along the way, he earned nods from NBC’s “Today” and “The
Early Show” on CBS. He became a regular guest on Martha Stewart Living
Radio. The foodie website Eater NY dubbed him a “strong contender for the title
of New York's hottest chef.” And in October, the Denver Post called Symensma’s
new modern Asian restaurant, ChoLon Bistro, “the most exciting new eatery to
hit Denver in a long time.”
“You wouldn’t look at me and think, ‘That guy’s an accomplished Asian chef,’”
laughs Symensma. “But once you get to know me and see my vision and inspira-
tion, it’s pretty easy to see why I got to where I am.”
The Louisa-Muscatine graduate traces his culinary interests back to his child-
hood, though not in a traditional grew-up-working-in-the-kitchen sense. His fa-
ther was a veterinarian who worked as a government meat inspector, and his
mother grew the family’s vegetables in a backyard garden. Consequently,
Symensma understood the connection between food, farmers and land at an
early age.
“Mine wasn’t necessarily a ‘culinary family’...we weren’t cooking for a profession,
but we were cooking to live. We had that whole farm-to-table thing going on in
our own house,” he says.
Each summer, Symensma’s mother canned vegetables to be used in winter
menus. His father purchased beef directly from a farmer, rather than picking up
meat from the store.
“I kind of got into that way of life and living off the land,” says Symensma.
At age 14, the young chef landed his first restaurant job at Columbus Junction’s
CJ Diner, and during high school he worked in the kitchen at Geneva Golf and
Country Club in Muscatine. He started competing in international cooking
events, earning the American Culinary Federation’s student chef of the year award
in 1997, and eventually enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in
Hyde Park, New York.
Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com
From there, an assortment of opportunities helped Symensma season his skills.
He worked in two Michelin two-star restaurants in France before apprenticing in
Italy and Spain – including a stint at the famed Arzak, a Basque restaurant in San
Sebastian. After a brief stop in New York City, he set off for Southeast Asia and
China. Symensma cooked in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Malaysia before return-
ing to New York to open Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market.
A few years later, Symensma was the opening chef de cuisine and then executive
chef at Buddakan in Manhattan, one of the country’s highest grossing restaurants.
When he addressed a CIA graduating class in 2009, he joked that the restaurant
seated more people than lived in his hometown.
“I only had 59 people in my graduating class, and most kind of stayed in the
area,” Symensma says. “Not too many people really broke out and did something
on the national level. I’m really fortunate that I decided at a young age that it’s im-
portant to always travel and be doing fun and different things.”
That adventurous spirit took him on the road again earlier this year, when he ex-
plored the flavors of Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries
in the process of planning his new Denver restaurant. Named for the largest Chi-
nese-influenced market in Saigon, ChoLon Bistro is the first by Symensma and
his Flow Restaurant Group partners, James and Alicia Pokoik Deters. The eatery,
located in downtown Denver’s hip, historic LoDo district, features authentic
Asian fare with a modern twist: dishes such as soup dumplings, grilled pork satay,
barbeque chicken bao bun, green papaya salad and stir-fried wok items.
“I have a whole small bites menu, which is meant to be finger food,” Symensma
says. “There’s no structure to the menu as far as appetizer, entrée and dessert – it’s
more put together as a selection of different categories all meant for sharing.”
The menu capitalizes on the lightness and liveliness of flavors common in Asian
cuisine.
“In Asia, there are a lot of flavor dynamics going on, as far as hot, sour, salty and
sweet. You’re taking these aggressive flavors and balancing them and utilizing very
little fat and calories,” explains Symensma. “You’re trading that for a nice light
dining experience with just explosive flavors that keep you wanting more. You
don’t get bogged down by heaviness.”
Introducing this lighter class of fare in a city where dishes such as steak, lamb and
local trout are popular does produce some challenges, but Symensma is finding
11
ways to present traditional proteins with creative garnishes and tasty twists.
While Denver’s culinary scene is less developed than the one he left in New
York, he has been impressed by the commitment to local, sustainable and inno-
vative cuisine.

“I believe Denver is the next food city. I think that right now Portland, Oregon,
is number one in the country, as far as new, cutting-edge things happening in a
small community and lots of young chefs working together to enhance the food
scene. But I firmly believe Denver is going to be that next food city,” Symensma
says, adding that he appreciates the opportunities that come with his new loca-
tion.

“New York City was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget, but at some
point it’s time to ask yourself where you want to be and where you want your
career to go to the next level. I thought being part of a young and growing food
scene was advantageous.”

Because his parents have returned to their Indiana hometown, Symensma

doesn’t get back to Iowa as often as he’d like. Still, two elementary school friends
also live in Denver (“Even though we’re not in Iowa, we talk about it a lot and
feel like we’re still part of that small town,” he says), and the lessons he learned
growing up in the Hawkeye State shape the adult he has become.

“The fact that I’m from a small, homey, farm kind of environment, I think that’s
helped me develop my work ethic and become the disciplined, structured per-
son that I am today. But then when you take into account that I was able to
have these nice worldly experiences and see new things and different cultures,
that also really helped develop me into a well-rounded person.”

Dumpling Tips from Chef Lon

Chef Lon Symensma has built his career making fresh, flavorful
Asian fare. Here, he shares three tips for cooking up dumplings:

1. Typical dumpling fillings, such as ground pork or chicken, can

be seasoned with fresh water chestnuts, ginger, garlic or scallion.
“A lot of times, you can use fresh chiles and also some herbs – a
nice handful of chopped cilantro or ai basil is great to add to a
dumpling filling,” he says.

2. Finding dumplings too dry? “Egg whites help bind the meat to-
gether and actually help absorb some of the moisture as the meat
cooks and renders out its fat. e egg whites help keep it emulsi-
fied and retaining some of that juiciness.”

3. Folding dumplings can be tricky. For those new to the craft,

Symensma recommends searching the internet for instructional il-
lustrations or videos. Don’t forget proper sealing techniques.
“ere are two ways of sealing. One is to use just water, which
will actually help the edges seal and adhere so the dumpling stays
nice and closed tight. You don’t want it to come open when it’s
cooking,” he says. “And also try egg wash, which is just the egg
yolks with just a little splash of water. You can brush that on, and
the proteins from the egg wash help to bind the dough together
and create a nice, tight seal.”

ChoLon Bistro
1555 Blake Street, Denver, Colorado
www.ChoLon.com
303.353.5223

12 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 13
It’s no secret that local food has become mainstream. The measure of one’s envi-
ronmental savvy often comes down to the speed with which she can calculate the
relative food miles of every item on her plate. In Iowa, with our rich agricultural
history, we have moved well beyond the basic vegetable stand and have access to a
wide array of produce, dairy and meat products. Local food, however, often chal-
lenges us as consumers to change our wasteful ways. It requires us to eat season-
ally and take on the kale, the kohlrabi, and the celeriac. It encourages us to
extend our seasons by putting up our own food, as Sherri Brooks Vinton points
out in her recent tome to preservation “Put ‘em Up.” Local food also encourages
us to reduce waste by using every part of what we have. Yes, those broccoli stalks
are edible! Freeze the leafy parts of your celery to use in soup! Save those carrot
peels for your vegetable stock! It is personally satisfying to use up those extra bits
of vegetables in creative ways, particularly when you know your farmers and how
hard they work to deliver them to your table. The “use it up” philosophy doesn’t
stop with vegetables, however. When purchasing local meat by the half or quar-
ter, you are quickly confronted with the reality that a cow is more than just ham-
burger and a pig is more than just bacon. My husband Marc and I recently
found ourselves facing some of the extra bits that we hadn’t bargained on.
So, how did we get into this situation? For the past three years, Andy and Melissa
Dunham of Grinnell Heritage Farm CSA have been providing our family with a
wonderful variety of produce. We have eagerly signed up for spring shares full of
salad greens and herbs, summer shares full of every vegetable and herb you could
ever hope to eat, and winter shares that are perfect for holiday cooking: root veg-
etables, squash, garlic, and onions. When we got an email from Melissa telling us
that a couple of their certified organic, grass-fed steers would be ready in August,
we jumped on the chance to buy our first quarter of beef. As the friendly folks
from Community Lockers in Sully helped us select our preferred cuts, we day-
dreamed about the juicy burgers, rich stews, and blood-rare steaks we’d soon be
cooking. When we arrived home with our finished meat and we began loading
up our chest freezer, however, a couple curiosities arose. The first was four pack-
ages of liver, which we had been trained since childhood to hate. We certainly
didn’t order liver. It stands to reason, however, that since a cow has a liver and we
ordered a quarter of a cow, we should get a quarter of a cow’s liver. The second
curiosity was a little more intimidating. At the bottom of the cooler was a large
14 www.EdibleIowa.com
package labeled “Heart – ½.” Beef heart? What in the hell are we going to do
with that?
Marc fancies himself an at-home chef, and he enjoys springing new recipes on
me. His creations are often tasty interpretations of our favorite cuisines using
local meats and produce: sautéed Delicata squash with Thai basil and fish sauce,
roasted Purple Viking potatoes with roasted tomato salsa and goat cheese, kale
and onions braised in mustard sauce with local bratwurst, to name just a few. I
consider myself a culinary adventurer as well; I ate haggis in Scotland with relish,
enjoyed fried squirrel and frogs’ legs as a child in the Ozarks, and often repulse my
friends with a penchant for shockingly rare steaks. Somehow, though, preparing
and consuming the internal organs of a fellow mammal put us outside our gusta-
tory comfort zones. Anthropologist Nick Fiddes explains that “meat is not only
the most privileged nourishment; it is also the most feared and abhorred. The
likeliest potential foods to nauseate us today are those recognizably animal—the
gristle, the blood vessels, the organs, the eyes—unlike vegetable foods whose iden-
tity we rarely dread.” Judging from the many shock-television programs that
show chef-hosts gobbling down the “nasty bits,” we’re not alone in our aversion to
offal.
On the other hand, there are some very good reasons to eat those “extra bits.” For
one, they are often less expensive. As Anthony Bourdain has pointed out, many
of the great cuisines of the world are based on “food that poor people eat.” Any-
one can go buy filet mignon and have great meal, but turning tough, gristly meat
scraps into a perfectly-seasoned sausage is a true art form. Secondly, eating the en-
tire animal reduces waste and helps to moderate excessive meat production. The
high demand for specialty cuts and steaks means that we have to produce more
animals to meet our demand because there are only a few of these cuts on each
animal. If more of us would eat more of each animal, we could reduce our over-
all meat production and reduce waste as well.
Faced with something I didn’t know how to prepare, I did what anyone would
do: I called my mom. My mother is no slouch in the unusual foods depart-
ment, she has cooked and enjoyed squirrel, elk, rabbit, bear, venison, raccoon,
quail, pheasant, duck and porcupine. “Well, I can’t take credit for the porcu-
Winter 2010-2011
pine,” she clarified, “my mother cooked that.” She also once cooked a live sea tur- Marinated Grilled Beef Heart
tle that my father and his co-workers caught while working on the Chesapeake
Bay Bridge in Maryland. When I asked her if she had prepared beef heart, she ½ beef heart, cleaned and quartered
said, “oh sure—I love it!” Her preferred technique was to stuff the whole heart 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
with bread stuffing, “just like you put in a turkey,” cover it with bacon or beef suet 1 teaspoon salt
and bake. She also has pan-fried it, though she prefers it baked. She told me to ½ cup white wine vinegar
make sure to remove the outside membrane and to remember that its very lean, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
so it helps to add some fat if it will be cooked for a long time. ½ cup water
I turned this information over to Marc, whose job, after all, it would be to do the Combine meat with marinade and refrigerate for 3 hours. Grill
actual preparation. While I consulted my mother, he consulted Google and had the beef heart about 3 minutes per side on very hot grill, slice
learned that beef heart is popular in the culinary traditions of Peru and Korea. In and serve with chimichurri. Serves 4-6
addition, the heart, as a constantly-worked muscle, is very lean and dense and has
a higher protein content than other cuts. It is also an excellent source of a number Simple Chimichurri
of nutrients, including thiamin, folate, selenium, phosphorus, zinc, CoQ10 and
several of the B vitamins. Websites about healthy eating also claimed that beef ½ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsely
4 cloves garlic, minced
heart contains amino acids that are thought to improve metabolism and com- 1 teaspoon salt
pounds that promote the production of collagen and elastin. Most of the recipes ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
he found recommended either a slow braise in the oven for a tender, succulent ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
dish, or a quick sear on the grill for a medium rare steak-like experience. 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
The late October day we had reserved for our culinary adventure turned out to Blend all ingredients until salt is dissolved, then whisk in 1/4
be sunny and warm, so we opted to quickly grill the heart on our indoor cast iron cup extra virgin olive oil.
grill pan. The first task was to remove the outer membrane and “silver skin” from
the meat. This proved to be the most difficult job of the entire meal. The halved Roasted Beets and Carrots
heart was still quite large and the thin layer of fat and membrane adhered to its
surface. After the membrane was removed and the heart was cut into quarters, Heat oven to 425F
Marc declared, “now it just looks like meat!” He marinated the heart for a few Peel 4 or 5 large carrots and about 6 medium beets; cut into a
hours in a simple mixture of white wine vinegar, water, olive oil and fresh thyme. large dice (about 1 inch)
On the side we served mixed greens and roasted carrots and heirloom beets from
Grinnell Heritage Farm; we topped the roasted vegetables with goat cheese made Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread vegetables out on a
by Brenneman’s farm, near Parnell. Finally, Marc made a simple chimichurri to sheet pan or in a cast iron skillet and roast for 20 minutes. Toss
drizzle over the meat as a nod to the many South American dishes that are based to redistribute the vegetables in the pan and roast for 10-20
on beef heart. minutes more. Vegetables should be golden brown outside and
tender. Serve topped with fresh goat cheese.
Now, for the moment of truth. We each poured a healthy glass of La Posta Mal-
bec and toasted to our adventure. I took my first bite without the chimichurri,
wanting to get the full flavor of the meat. It was, well, good! The meat was
medium rare and surprisingly tender with a rich, earthy flavor. I was glad for
bright, garlicky chimichurri, which provided a balance to the meatiness of the
heart. We were pleased with our decision to serve the beets and salad on the side,
the meal felt well rounded with the sweet beets, tangy goat cheese and rich meat.
We initially approached this meal as one might approach sorting three months’
worth of piled up recycling—a mildly unpleasant task that you do to fulfill your
own criteria for ethical consumption and behavior. This was, I assure you, more
pleasant than sorting recycling—enjoyable even! A good meal shared with good
company for which we gave thanks to our farmer, the bounty of Iowa, and the
creatures, head to tail, that sustain us.

Where’s the Beef?

A Few Prime Sources for Local Meat

B & B Farms
Barney Bahrenfuse & Suzanne Castello Grass Run Farm
Grinnell - 641.990.7843 Ryan and Kristine Jepsen
Beef, pork, lamb, goats & chicken Dorchester
www.GrassRunFarm.com
Grinnell Heritage Farm Beef and Pork
Andrew and Melissa Dunham
Grinnell Sawyer Beef
GrinnellHeritageFarm@gmail.com Norman and Neal Sawyer
Beef and chicken Princeton
www.SawyerBeef.com
Wallace Farms Beef
Nick Wallace
Keystone
www.WallaceFarms.com
Beef, pork, chicken, turkey

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 15

 Season to Season:
Parsnips
Winter brings us a plethera of root vegetables and one of our favorites
in the Edible kitchen is parsnips. Parsnips seem to get a bit more re-
spect than their other root vegetable cousins like turnips and
rutabegas, perhaps because they look like pale, cream-colored carrots.
Europeans have been cultivating them for millennia, and brought
them to the Americas in the 17th century. When fresh and young
(you’ll want to avoid overly large ones as they’ll have a fibrous core),
they’re sweet with an earthy, herbal undertone that pairs beautifully

Buying Local: with flavors like garlic and rosemary.

e have quite a number of uses, but our favorite (and a surefire way
the New Normal to get kids to like them) is this simple recipe for oven fries. Simple,
tasty, and much more healthful than the fast-food variety.

By Elizabeth Brown
Garlic-Parsnip Oven Fries
1-1/2 pounds parsnips, peeled cut into 1/4-inch x 1/4-inch x 3-inch
e U.S. Dept. of Agriculture named Iowa fifth in the nation for the batonettes
number of farmers markets, with 229 markets of the nation’s 6,132 2 tablespoons Canola oil
total (August 2010). According to a 2009 Farmers Market Economic 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced paper thin
Impact Survey, the number of markets in the state has increased by Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
more than 75 percent over the past 15 years. Iowa’s Buy Fresh, Buy 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Local (BFBL) Statewide Coordinator, Mallory Smith, attributes this 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
success in part to organizations like BFBL. “Local food supporters, es- Preheat oven to 425.
pecially members of BFBL, are more focused, determined, and organ-
ized now than ever before.” Toss the parsnips with the oil and garlic until thoroughly coated, and
then toss again with salt and pepper. Lay out on a cookie sheet in a
From September 15-17, Buy Fresh, Buy Local chapters from across single layer (keep the bowl for later).
the nation convened at Virginia Beach for the FoodRoutes Network
BFBL National Gathering. Smith made the trip out east as part of a Place sheet in the middle of the preheated oven and bake 15-20 min-
4,375-mile, two-week working road trip with stops in 15 states, mak- utes, turning with a spatula about every 5 minutes. en cook an ad-
ing an effort to participate in the local economy every step—or ditional 10 minutes or to desired crispiness.
stop—of the way.
Remove from the oven and return parsnips to the bowl. Toss the fries
“Sometimes it took a little more effort to find local foods, but it was with the cheese, rosemary and additional salt and pepper to taste.
always worth it.” Smith reports. “We ate things we had never tried be- Serve immediately.
fore and met wonderful shop owners, restaurateurs and cooks.”
So what was Smith’s big takeaway from the conference? “e local
food movement has changed since BFBL started in 2003,” she says.
When BFBL started, supporters were primarily interested in sustain-
able agriculture, conservation issues, and maintaining the unique cul-
ture of family farming. ese days, people concerned with public
health, environmental stewardship, economic development, and even
tourism join them.
“e talk is no longer about what should be done, but rather, what is
being done and how to do it better.” is goes for local foods, but also
extends to local banks, local commercial retailers, and other local serv-
ice providers. Smith reported that this was apparent at the national
conference, as there were stands for organizations like the Business Al-
iStockPhoto.com

liance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), a fast-growing network

of socially responsible businesses with community networks in 30
states. “Now it’s local everything!”

16 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011

 Extra Issue
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Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 17

 Grandma’s Dumplings
By Criss Roberts

iStockPhoto.com

18 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011

I married into a family with a single culinary touchstone. All good
meals must, by definition, trace back to Grandma Ethel. The best Chicken and Dumplings
meal, the meal by which all others were judged, was Grandma Ethel’s
beef and noodles. For the Chicken:
1 4-pound broiler (or parts)
Only once did I taste the originals. My sister-in-law, who filled 8 cups chicken broth
Grandma Ethel’s shoes as the family’s designated cook, never experi- 1 onion, halved
enced them. But this will not be a story about those noodles. It tried to 1 bay leaf
be that story - God knows, it tried. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
My sister-in-law has heard about the noodles and is committed to giv- 2 stalks finely-chopped celery
ing her husband a gift of that particular childhood memory. It had be- ½ to 1 cup finely chopped carrots (less if your kids are going to pick
come a personal challenge to duplicate those noodles. them out anyway.)
“So what were they like?” Laurie asks. salt and pepper to taste.

We are in the farmhouse kitchen. The men are out on the combine be- Simmer chicken with onion, celery, carrots, bay leaf, garlic and parsley
cause there is still corn in the field. Our mother-in-law comes in with a on low for up to 90 minutes or until chicken begins to fall from bone.
basket of eggs and is handed a paring knife. Even she, Ethel’s daughter, Once done, remove chicken from broth to cool. DO NOT throw out
has little solid information. Grandma Ethel had a great many firmly broth. Keep it on simmer while making the dumplings.
held beliefs, but passing down recipes was not one of them.
After the chicken is cool, take it off the bones and set it aside.
“There was kind of a gravy,” we’re told. “And she rolled them out and
cut them.” For the Dumplings:
2 cups flour
But they weren’t egg noodles. We learned that after the first attempt. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
And they certainly weren’t drop dumplings. “These kind of taste like ½ teaspoon salt
paste,” I said. “Broth-flavored paste.” ½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup butter, cold and cut into pieces
Those pasty blobs sparked a memory of my own. Forget the beef and ½ cup buttermilk, cold
noodles. I wanted my own grandmother’s chicken and dumplings, a
bowl of richness and flavor. She called them galushka, a mash up of the Combine dry ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in chunks of but-
Hungarian word for goulash, but the recipe had been simplified over ter until it is the size of small peas. Add buttermilk and pulse a few
the years and was as far from goulash as I was from my eastern Euro- more times, but finish by kneading it, adding flour if the dough is too
pean roots. It had been her grandmother’s recipe before I’d ever tasted sticky. Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 1-inch
it. Generations of grandmothers had cooked steaming pots of galushka squares.
over wood fires in their little village outside of Budapest. I longed to
feel the heat steaming up from the pot of boiling dumplings. It was all I Bring the broth up to a rolling boil and drop in the dumplings. Re-
needed to feel warm in fall’s damp chill. duce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove cooked
dumplings with slotted spoon to serve.
Food memories are formed as much from a shared culture as they are a
shared table. As much as I had once appreciated the legendary beef and Place chicken in serving bowls and top with dumplings. (Add broth as
noodles, they would never satisfy that childhood place in my heart. desired.)
Tastes of home can be recreated, but its takes more to trigger the feeling
of home. Taste is like a half-cooked cake, sweet but still wanting. Local Sources
Science would argue that it isn’t the taste that triggers memory at all,
it’s the smell. Once an odor starts working through the brain’s limbic ere are plenty of sources in Iowa for farm fresh chicken, and one
system, you might as well break out the scrapbooks because you’re on we know of for flour. Nearly all are listed on the very helpful web
your way back home, baby. database called LocalHarvest.org. Check there to find one near
you, or simply contact these two favorites:
One nibble of those paste-like dumplings sent me reeling back decades,
to my grandmother’s tiny kitchen. The big green bowl she used for her
dumplings is now in my cupboard and I found an enameled pot like Foxhollow Poultry Farm Pauls Grains
hers years ago. This journey to duplicate this particular memory began
a while ago and for whatever reason, I’ve never taken the simple step of
turning on the burner, fearful that I couldn’t create the food I treasured. 12898 NE 56th Street 2475-B 340th Street
But memory is flexible. Recipes are negotiable. Elkhart Laurel
www.FoxHollowPoultryFarm.com www.PaulsGrains.com
I may have married into beef-and-noodles family, but I was born a 515.367.3402 641.476.3373
chicken-and-dumplings kind of girl.

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 19

20 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011
Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 21
Notables
Schera’s Cade & Harissa
Research for our county-by-county exploration
of Iowa series e 99 (see page 28) led us to
enjoy a meal at Schera’s Restaurant and Bar on
Main Street in Elkader, and we’re sure glad of
it. ey source local ingredients whenver feasi-
ble (which is often in Northeast Iowa), and are
rightfully proud of their selection of local beers.
But what had us doing the Yummy Dance in
our seats and getting the locals to look at us
funny was the cade, a traditional Algerian
chickpea custard (pictured here at right). It’s
served with a spicy harissa, which is also an Al-
gerian specialty, but this one is much better
than the yellow tubes you’ll find in Mediter-
ranean specialty shops.
Redolent of toasted fennel and tamarind, with
heat enough so you’ll surely feel it yet it won’t
overpower your meal, it is highly addictive and
we here at Notables would just like to take this
opportunity to publicly insist that Schera’s pursue bottling this sauce commercially so that we can always have some on our shelves. It is a
moral imperative.
Schera’s
107 South Main, Elkader, 563.245.1992
Scheras.com

Local Harvest Supply Outlet

Photos by Kurt Michael Friese

If you’re looking for another reliable source of local food, check out Local Harvest Supply’s
“e Outlet.” A division of Hawkeye Foodservice, their main business is catering to restau-
rants. But the Outlet is open to the public and has a large selection of restaurant surplus
alongside a growing supply of locally-sourced meat, eggs, dairy and produce in season.
It’s a little tricky to find, tucked behind a warehouse at the eastern-most extreme of the
Coralville strip, but their website can help guide you.
Local Harvest Supply Outlet
3800 2nd Street, Coralville, 877.797.8881
LocalHarvestSupply.com

Mushroom Mills grow Kits

Most Edible readers are deeply involved in
their food. Here is another easy way to become more active in your food system, and
it's fun, simple and inexpensive! We are seeing more diverse and interesting foods at
our farmers markets every year, and this is a great example. e Edible Iowa test
kitchens have put these ‘shrooms through their paces, and have been delighted with the
results.
Mushroom Mills' began cultivating mushrooms in 2010, and has brought this simple
and innovative method to Joe & JoAnn Consumer. Just spritz a couple times a day
with water, and within two weeks you'll have an abundance of very tasty oyster mush-
rooms, about two to three pounds for a $10 kit (3 varieties available). A fantastic gift
for anyone who loves mushrooms. Great for kids too! Available at the December 11th
Iowa City Farmer's market, or contact millsmushrooms@gmail.com. ey have a
great Facebook page also where you can ask questions and keep up to date on the
next market availability.

22 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011

 edibleBazaar
Tell’em edible Sent You
ARTISANS Quad Cities CVB
1601 River Dr., Suite 110
As the Crow Flies Moline-800.747.7800
Home Grown and Handspun Yarn VisitQuadCities.com
Joanne Nelson
319.512.8858 Winneshiek County CVB
e Good Life!
Julie's Fountain of Flowers DecorahArea.com
JuliesFountainOfFlowers.com
319.629.5522 FARMS
Pedretti’s Bakery Highland Vista Farm
101 North Main Street, Elkader Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Eggs
PedrettisBakery.com 3268 320th Street, Wellman
319.646.2989
Yellow River Cheese
Premium Farmstead Style Goat Cheeses Kissing Emu Farms
YellowRiverDairy.com Heart, Skin, & Earth Friendly
kissingemu.com
BEVERAGES
Muscatine Melons
Aroma's Darwin Paulsen
105 N. Main Street, Charles City 563.785.6334
641.228.4773
Scattergood Friends School
Buzz Coffee Shop Scattergood.org
506 South River Park Drive
Guttenberg HOME
Eagle's Landing Winery At Home
Featuring Marquette Maid Wines Kitchen,Yarn and much more.
563.873.2509 52 North Main Street, Fairfield
EaglesLandingWinery.com AtHomeStoreOnline.com
Grounds for Celebration Design Ranch
e Best Fresh Roasted Coffee Where Fun Meets Function and
3 Locations Des Moines Looks Good Doing It
GroundsForCelebration.com DesignRanch.com
Hotel Winneshiek
21st Century Comfort and 19th
Century Charm
104 East. Water Street, Decorah
800.998.4164
HotelWinn.com
MARKETS
Campbell's Nutrition
e Source for Local, Organic Food
In Des Moines
CampbellsNutrition.com
Edgewood Locker
609 West Union, Edgewood
EdgewoodLocker.com
Everybody's Whole Foods
501 North 2nd Street, Fairfield
EverybodysWholeFoods.com
Greatest Grains
1600 Harrison Street, Davenport
563.323.7521
www.GreatestGrains.com
McGregor's Top Shelf
Meat, Cheese, Wine, Spirits & More Elkader, 563.245.1517
221 Main Street, McGregor
McGregorsTopShelf.com
New City Market
e Highest-Quality Organic and
Natural Foods
48th and University, Des Moines PlantPeddler.com
515.255.7380
NewCityMarket.com
Proof
Inspired Mediterranean Cuisine
1301 Locust Street, Des Moines
ProofRestaurant.com
Ralph's Garden Café
5 S. Federal Avenue, Mason City
641.422.9902
Schera's
Algerian American
Elkader 563.245.1992
Scheras.com
Trostel's Dish
12851 University Avenue, Clive
dishtrostels.com
SERVICES
Green Angels Herbs & Healing Arts
Cedar Rapids
319.247.1243
GreenAngelsHerbs.com
Larry A. Stone
Writer. Photographer. Lecturer
LarryStonesIowa.com
Plant Peddler
Retail, Wholesale, Young Plants
Stone Creek Farms, Cresco
800.827.1654

e Secret Cellar RSVP RESTAURANTS

Fine Wine, Liquor, Beer, Gifts
Schueyville, 319.841.2172
SecretCellarWines.com
Toppling Goliath Brewing
Big Beers Brewed in Small Batches
310 College Drive, Decorah
563.387.6700
TGBrews.com
CVB/TOURISM
Greater Des Moines CVB
400 Locust St. #265, Des Moines
515.286.4960
SeeDesMoines.com
McGregor - Marquette
Chamber of Commerce
800.896.0910
McGreg-Marq.org
Cards-Journals-Jewelry-Soap-etc.
140 North Linn Street, Iowa City
RSVP-ASAP.com
Savvy Rest Organic Mattresses
Purity. Comfort. Integrity. Value.
866.856.4044
SavvyRest.com
HOTELS/INNS
B&B on Broadway
Where the Past Meets Modern
Conveniences
305 West Broadway Street, Decorah
BAndBOnBroadway.com
Hotel Fort Des Moines
1000 Walnut Street, Des Moines
HotelFortDesMoines.com
Enter the Bazaar
Blue Mountain Culinary Emporium
814 Lincoln Place SE, Orange City Interested in seeing your
BlueMountainEmporium.net
business in the Edible
Centro Bazaar? reach thousands
e Urban Eatery of Iowans just like you
1007 Locust, Des Moines who care about Iowa and
CentroDesMoines.com
its great local foods.
Ge-Jo’s by the Lake
12 North 3rd Street, Clear Lake For more information
641.357.8288 and to get listed in the
Bazaar, contact Kim at
Her Soup Kitchen
625 South Dubuque Street, Iowa City 319.337.7885 or via
HerSoupKitchen.com email at
La Reyna Kim@EdibleIowa.com
1937 Keokuk Street, Iowa City

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 23

 Marie Pilz, originator of the liver dumpling soup recipe, on the
occasion of her engagement in 1918.

24 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011

Four Generations of
Liver Dumpling Soup
By Kurt Michael Friese
e year was 1957, and a blushing bride was nervously but dutifully help-
ing in the kitchen at her first holiday feast with her new “big city” in-laws.
e young groom’s aunt Dorothy, culinary matriarch of the family, had
been working away at the meal for days (as she always did) and the banquet
to be laid upon the enormous, antique dining table had to be just so.
is was a family of immigrants and their children were the first generation
to be born beside the Golden Door. Traditions were adhered to as gospel
truth, and familial pride was paramount. ey had achieved some measure
of success, the nation was in boom times, and there was plenty to be grate-
ful for that anksgiving Day.
All the bride could think about was not spilling the soup.
e first course was a simple peasant soup recipe by Dorothy’s sister Marie
who was the mother of the groom. It was one of broth and liver
dumplings, served in shallow soup plates of delicate bone china. It took all
the poise she’d been taught in school (yes, they still taught “poise” to young
ladies in school then) for the new bride to bring the soup – unspilled – to
the men at the table.
Succeed she did, but when she would go on to have a family of her own,
and serve the liver dumpling soup at her own gatherings, it would be ladled
out at the table and carefully passed from her to my father, then my sister,
and then to me. Spills would be our faults.
Every family has a dish, or more than one, that speaks volumes of family
history. e aroma brings back memories so powerfully that a single whiff
can bring a nostalgic tear to a grown man’s eye. I never knew my Grand-
mother, the originator of the recipe, who died when I was an infant. But I
was lucky enough to spend my first few anksgiving meals in my Great
Aunt Dorothy’s Chicago brownstone, amidst uncle Mumm’s music boxes,
gazing up at the enormous table covered edge to edge with wondrous treats.
My sister fondly remembers chocolate angel food cake on pink plates, and
Shirley Temples in hollow-stemmed crystal wine goblets. I’m sure there was
a turkey, and I’m sure it was delicious, but the truly memorable foods for
me were the houska (Dorothy’s braided egg bread), the wild rice and the
cranberries (also my late grandmother’s recipes), and the liver dumplings.
We kids ate the dumplings and left the broth behind, unaware that children
were not supposed to like liver.
In fact I did not like liver, not the fried-with-onions variety anyway, but re-
mained blissfully unaware that the dumplings actually did contain it until
well into my teens when it first fell to me to make them. I had gained an
interest in cooking through years living in a household where the main
topic of conversation during lunch was what to serve for supper. e sound
Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com
of the onion, garlic, and liver passing through my mother’s Oster electric
meat grinder is a vivid memory. Clearer still was the revelation that some-
thing that seemed so gross could be transformed into something so deli-
cious.
Today the liver dumpling soup is expected on our holiday table, though
now it has become a Christmas tradition, there being already simply too
many “must haves” on anksgiving. e aroma, each bite of the tender
dumplings, each slurp of the broth (which I do now enjoy), brings on that
rush of comfort, of belonging to a loving family, of gratitude and joy and
the realization that the happiest moments of my life have been spent around
a table with great food in front of me and the people I love all around.
ese traditions are vanishing. People rarely cook anymore, let alone with
their grandmother’s recipes. Perhaps we’d do well to look to some of these
older traditions to find some of the joys of childhood and the love we share
around a table. at, after all, is what the holiday rituals have always been
about.
Liver Dumpling Soup
1 pound cleaned beef liver
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 beaten eggs
½ pound dry breadcrumbs (about 2 cups, plus)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 gallon beef broth*
1 gallon chicken broth*
Put the liver, onion and garlic through a meat grinder on a fine setting (a
blender or food processor may be used, however it will puree the meat and
make the dumplings rather heavy). Add the remaining ingredients and mix
thoroughly.
In separate pots, bring the beef and chicken broths to simmer.
With wet hands, form the mixture into golf-ball-sized dumplings. Simmer
them a dozen or so at a time (or whatever fits well without crowding) for
about 20 minutes, gently stirring once or twice.
Serve in shallow soup plates with the chicken broth, garnished with more
chopped parsley. Yields about three dozen dumplings.
*Canned is fine, but choose the low-sodium variety so that you can control the
salt level.
25
26 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011
Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 27
 The 99: What’s Cooking
Every Iowa County, One Season at a Time
in
Clayton County
In season the patio at Schera’s offers a beautiful view of the old bridge that spans
the Turkey River and the historic courthouse beyond. Inside you’ll find delicious
and unexpected treats with a North African flair. It’s all delicious food sourced lo-
cally whenever feasible, but the not-to-be-missed part (especially for “chileheads”)
is their homemade hot sauce. It packs a pretty good punch but won’t blow your
head off, and is redolent with fennel and tamarind in a base of the Algerian chile
paste called harissa.

If the heat turns out to be too much, cool it with the small-batch craft beers of
Toppling Goliath Brewery from nearby Decorah (The 99 will visit them in Win-
neshiek County in the Summer, 2011 issue of Edible).

The Turkey River, by the way, is a haven for flyfishers thanks to the 24 spring-fed
raceways of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Big Spring Trout Hatch-
ery just a few miles upriver from downtown Elkader.

Across the street is the historic Pedretti’s Bakery, where you can enjoy tasty treats
from simple breads, cookies and fresh doughnuts to the fanciest wedding cake.
It’s just down the street from the also-historic Opera House, where you can take
in a show after visiting Ellen Dirrs’ Elkader General Store and stocking up on
local treats like Fassbinder’s honey and Ruff’s sorghum.

Photos by Kurt Michael Friese

As if that weren’t enough local goodness – don’t miss Willow Creek Wine & Gar-
den, where two sisters combined their passions and created an interesting store-
front gift shop with lots of local wines, food gifts and more.

Before leaving town, take a tour of the Motor Mill, built in 1867 of stone quaried
From Buena Vista to Marquette, Clayton County is home to some of the pretti- right nearby. They milled barley, wheat and corn until 1883, when it fell victim
est stretches of riverbank on the Mississippi. And while the river defines it both to a flood. The Klink family used it as a farm building from 1903-83, and today
geographically and figuratively, Clayton County offers much more to see and do, it’s being renovated and restored to become a museum.
especially for the dedicated food tourist.
Of course Clayton County’s treats aren’t all relegated to the county seat of Elkader.
The Old River Road connects north to south and offers some spectacular views,
but state highway 13 cuts right through the heart of this historic area from Man-
chester to Marquette-McGregor, making for a splendid day trip to find old and
new traditions alike. It also offers up some of the most interesting stories behind
how the many small towns got their names.

For example, according to Tom Savage’s fascinating 2007 book A Dictionary of

Iowa Place Names (UI Press), Strawberry Point was originally called Franklin. But
since there already was a US post office called Franklin in Iowa, the post office in
Clayton County got named for the abundance of wild strawberries that grew
around it. The name stuck to the town, and now the world’s largest strawberry
sits atop its perch in the center of town.

Strawberry Point is also the home of Kevin Powell, a farmer who raises the very
rare Mulefoot Hog. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy lists the breed’s
status as critical, and says there are fewer than 200 left in the world.

From there it’s just a 20-minute hop up highway 13 to Elkader, which according
to Mr. Savage has perhaps the most unexpected namesake in the state – the 19th-
century Algerian emir Abd el Kader – a national hero there for his strong resist-
ance to the French invasion. That fact played no small part in the choice made
by Frederique Boudouani and Brian Bruening when they chose to open their
restaurant, Schera’s, in the heart of town.

28 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011

The Irish Shanti is home to “The Wonder of Gunder,” the Gunderburger – a
full pound of ground beef with a variety of toppings to choose from (if you
dare). Over in McGregor don’t miss McGregor’s Top Shelf, a gourmet shop and
When you Go...
wine cellar with a lot of variety packed into a small space. Afterwards, stop by
the Old Man River Brewery for a pint or two in their renovated home of “Dia- e Buzz McGregor’s Top Shelf
mond” Jo Reynolds, a 19th century riverboat baron for whom the casino in Lori Wallace, Proprietor 221 Main Street, McGregor
nearby Marquette is named. 506 South River Park, Guttenberg 563.873.1717
563.252.2522 McGregorsTopShelf.com
If you make that one-mile trek up the river from McGregor to Marquette, be
sure to stop in at the Eagle’s Landing Winery for a taste and some shopping. Eagle’s Landing Winery Motor Mill
Their wines run from very sweet to very dry, and they have a great selection of 127 North Street , Marquette MotorMill.com
wine-related gifts to peruse while you enjoy the wines. 563.873.2509
EaglesLandingWinery.com e Mulefoot Pig Association
Across the way in Monona is the home of Yellow River Goat Cheese, where the Kevin Powell
Lund family keeps a herd of 120 Saanens, Toggenburgs and Alpine dairy goats Edgewood Locker 563.933.2252
for their cheeses, which are among the best out there. They are regulars at the 609 West Union, Edgewood
Decorah farmers market and they’re happy to send you some – just contact 563.928.6814 Pedretti’s Bakery
them through their website (see the sidebar). EdgewoodLocker.com 101 North Main, Elkader
563.245.1280
Downriver in Guttenberg, get a cup of coffee and pick up on the latest gossip e Elkader General Store PedrettisBakery.com
around town with all the locals at Lori Wallace’s coffee shop. The Buzz. 107 North Main, Elkader
563.245.1799 Schera’s
If meat is more your thing, swing back down to the southern edge of the 107 South Main, Elkader
county, just east of where we started in Manchester, to the small town of Edge- e Elkader Opera House 563.245.1992
wood. Since 1966 the Kerns family has shepherded the Edgewood Locker 207 North Main, Elkader Scheras.com
from a small two-person operation to a large facility of more than 50 employees 563.245.2098
can process nearly 3,500 deer in any given season. Of course they stock a full ElkaderOperaHouse.com Willow Creek Wine & Garden
line of beef and pork products as well, and the largest variety of bratwursts you 104 1st Street NW, Elkader
are likely to find anywhere. e Irish Shanti Alpinecom.net/~WillowCreek
17455 Gunder road, Gunder
Take a day to wander through Clayton County, and tell’em Edible sent you. 563.864.9289 Yellow River Goat Cheese
eGunderBurger.com YellowRiverDairy.com

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 29

 Fridge Raid

Walking the Walk at

Cleverley Farms
Story & Photo By Kim McWane Friese

30 www.EdibleIowa.com Winter 2010-2011

Larry Cleverley knows good food. As a matter of fact he is surrounded by some
of the best food in the world every day. Larry is a mainstay at the downtown Des
Moines Farmers Market where he has been selling his gorgeous heirloom vegeta-
bles for 14 years. Larry is also the central Iowa distributor for Niman Ranch
pork, beef and lamb. Restaurants all over central Iowa appreciate his personal
service and wily sense of humor when he rolls in with the some of the highest
quality meat products available in the United States.
His farm in Mingo was settled by his grandparents in 1928, the children of Eng-
lish immigrants. Larry returned to the farm from a 23-year career in marketing in
Chicago and New York. His experience in marketing really shines through his
ability to create relationships with clients who know and trust the products he
brings to the table. Sustainable farming doesn't work without sustaining personal
relationships with eaters and chefs.
Knowing all this, what would be hiding in his fridge? Would it represent his en-
during and tireless advocacy of local, healthy and delicious? The kind of foods he
peddles to the happy masses, or would we find anomalies and secret junk-food
stashes? We now know that Larry is not, to be sure, a hypocrite.
He had just returned from Terra Madre, an international convention, organized
by Slow Food, of small food producers, artisans, chef's and local food systems
managers from more than 120 countries. There cannot be a more culturally di-
verse city in the world than Turin, Italy every other October. Larry was once
again a delegate to Terra Madre, his third time, and he is full of stories from his
experiences there.
He also came home with any and all great food from this event that would travel
well. Front and center in the fridge is half of a jar of Peperoncino Picante from a
small Italian family company called Artigiana Funghi. The label boasts an ingre-
dients list of hot red chilis, olive oil and salt. There was other evidence of some
spicy preferences with a few bottles of hot sauces, cajun and otherwise.
One might assume that there would be Niman Ranch products, and there are.
Niman Ranch sausages and bacon await the Sunday morning breakfasts that
Larry and his wife Beth Jaeger enjoy in the best Midwest farming tradition. Larry
looks forward to the ritual of the Sunday morning feast – a special meal – slow,
delicious and relaxed. He and Beth are usually early risers, and the other morning
meals consist of granola and fresh berries from The Berry Patch in Nevada, when
available.
No breakfast, let alone morning, will happen in this house without coffee. A bag
of Kona coffee has a place of prominence in the fridge. The coffee maker sits right
next to the refrigerator, so one can tell that ergonomics are important when it
comes to the morning brew. Larry offers a hot cup as he picks up and refers to the
worn but sturdy 27-year-old coffee grinder as an old friend.
Household shopping starts just outside the door. Fresh greens are abundant for
meals and nibbling. Greens and garlic are the mainstays of Larry’s farm opera-
tion, and the long warm autumn has kept that operation going well into Novem-
ber, which is a blessing because the long wet spring wrecked havoc on all farmers
Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com
in that area. Most of the spring planting simply rotted in the ground before it
could even get a start. It was estimated that this area had 180 percent the normal
rainfall. Nothing could withstand that kind of a beating.
Whatever isn’t grown or warehoused on the premises, comes mostly from the
Gateway Market in Des Moines. Gateway is also Larry’s best customer when it
comes to Niman Ranch products, so returning the favor is simple. Porcetta,
made in the Gateway Market with Niman Ranch Pork will settle very nicely on
top of the mini ciabatta buns from South Union Bakery. This family bakery,
owned by renowned Des Moines chef George Formaro, is now located within
Gateway Market and continues to put forth the high quality Italian baked goods
Formaro’s family had been known for since 1913.
We also find LaQuercia products, most notably, a jar of “Iowa White Lardo.”
This is an amazing product, one which can replace butter with only 40 percent of
the saturated fat, all the flavor, and is completely natural. LaQuercia Prosciutto is
a great story in and of itself, and has been featured in the pages of Edible more
than once – including on the cover in 2009.
The two percent and non-fat jugs of milk are from Picket Fence Creamery, an
80-acre farm with 80 Jersey cows tended by the Burkhart family, Jeff, Jill, Jenna
and James. Their products are available in groceries in central Iowa, and also from
their farm store. The Cleverley dairy section is rounded out with eggs from
Sheeder farms in Guthrie Center.
The freezer keeps Niman Ranch ground beef, and a meal from Conte di Savoia
properly frozen until the time comes. Conte di Savoia is a favorite Italian market
in Chicago, making spinach tortellini and puttanesca sauce on premise for the
lucky eaters like Larry when he hits the windy city. The products look authentic
and delicious, even in their frigid state.
This raid was quite a lesson in eating local, and the only highly processed, big
name items within the icebox walls were not the least bit edible, EverReady AA
batteries and several jars of fingernail polish. Larry shrugged and said “I don’t
know why she keeps them there, must be a reason though.”
A Few Quick References
Terra Madre - TerraMadre.info
Niman Ranch Meats, ornton - NimanRanch.com
e Berry Patch, Nevada - BerryPatchFarm.com
Gateway Market, West Des Moines - GatewayMarket.com
La Quercia Prosciutto, Norwalk - LaQuercia.us
Picket Fence Creamery, Woodward - PicketFenceCreamery.net
Sheeder Farms, Guthrie Center - 641.747.9956
Conte di Savoia, Chicago - ConteDiSavoia.com
31
One day, as I finished cooking lunch for the community of fifty hun-
gry people at Deep Springs College, the wife of a faculty member asked
me, “Tom, have you written down any of your recipes?” “No,” I said,
“but I really need to start.” “Yes, you really need to start,” she said.
And I did. That was twelve years ago.
Stated very simply, Deep Springs is a college on a ranch: a very small,
fully accredited, two-year college program for academically advanced
young men (only twelve are admitted each year), situated on a real,
working cattle ranch in an isolated valley in California’s Eastern Sierra
region. In addition to rigorous academic coursework, the students put
in about twenty hours of physical labor each week at a variety of jobs
on the ranch. Though it’s not a vocational school, the young men who
attend Deep Springs get a good taste of many vocations during their
two years: rancher, gardener, farmer, mechanic, cowboy, butcher, cook.
Meals are an important part of Deep Springs’ community life, bringing
everyone together, marking the rhythm of the day. Deep Springs can
be a wonderful place to cook. Fresh beef is always in abundant supply,
and four cows are milked by student hands twice daily. There are pigs,
lambs, goats, chickens, and geese. Apple, pear, peach, and plum trees
32 www.EdibleIowa.com
thrive in the orchard. In the warmer months, many crops emerge from
the garden, including onions, garlic, lettuce, leeks, tomatoes, corn, po-
tatoes, asparagus, and raspberries.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend Deep Springs as a student, to work
there as the chef, and to teach a cooking class there. In my student
days, I performed a three-month tour of duty as Student Cook, and
oversaw sumptuous Thanksgiving dinners for 60 people. After Deep
Springs, I immediately began cooking professionally. I cooked for
families, private clients, and restaurants, including an amazing year at
Chez Panisse in Berkeley.
A decade later, I returned to the valley for three years as Deep Springs’
chef. I did eventually start writing down my recipes…I compiled a
small cookbook to give to the graduating students. Each year, with
each graduation, the cookbook expanded. A few years later, I returned
to Deep Springs once more, this time to teach a seven-week course in
culinary arts. I used the old cookbook as a reference, and ultimately
edited and expanded it into The Commonsense Kitchen.
Winter 2010-2011
 Bosc Pear Pie Dump the pears into the prepared pie shell, arranging them in an even
layer, slightly mounding in the center. Dot the pears with the butter
and gently drape the top crust over, pressing around the rim to fuse the
Makes one 10-inch, double-crust pie; serves 6 to 8 top and bottom crusts. Using a knife or kitchen shears, cut away the
excess crust around the rim, leaving about 1 inch of overhang. Fold the
This is one of my favorite pies. Allow the pears to ripen on your overhanging crust in toward the rim and crimp, pinching the folded
kitchen table for several days, until their brown skin takes on a golden edge of the crust in an attractive, even scallop pattern—the structure of
hue and a matte finish. A crust made with a small portion of whole- this fluted edge helps keep the crust in place. Make an egg wash: thor-
wheat flour is especially good with pears. oughly mix the egg yolk and milk together in a small bowl. Brush the
top and rim of the pie with the egg wash, sprinkle the top with the
for the crust: sugar, and cut 3 vents in the center of the top crust.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, then turn the oven tem-
1 teaspoon salt perature down to 325ºF. Bake for 40 minutes longer, or until the pears
1/4 teaspoon sugar are soft and thoroughly cooked. Test by inserting a small knife into a
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter vent; the pears should offer no resistance when pierced. The bottom of
6 to 8 tablespoons cold orange juice the pie should be golden. Rotate the pie once or twice during baking.
Let the pie cool on a rack for a couple of hours at least, until room
for the filling/assembly: temperature or barely warm—the juices will continue to thicken as it
about 7 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/2 inch thick (for 7 to 8 cools.
cups sliced pears)
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
pinch of salt
1 egg, separated
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

To make the piecrust: Combine both kinds of flour, salt, and sugar in
a large bowl. Slice the cold butter thinly into the dry mixture, tossing
to coat the slices. Using your hands, rapidly work in the butter, break-
ing up large chunks of butter and smearing clumps of the mixture be-
tween your palms, until the visible chunks of butter are pea-sized. As
the flour is moistened by the butter, it will darken slightly in color,
turning from cream white to pale ivory. Sprinkle in the orange juice
and, using a fork, lightly toss and combine just until the mixture co-
heres. If the mixture seems dry, sprinkle in a bit more orange juice, but
do not add so much that the dough becomes sticky.

Divide the dough into 2 balls of equal size. Wrap tightly in plastic
wrap and press each into a disc. Let the dough relax in the refrigerator
for 1 hour, then unwrap and roll out on a floured surface with a
floured rolling pin, flipping frequently so it doesn’t stick, to a large cir-
cle about 1/8 inch thick. When rolling, apply outward, not downward
pressure. Rolling piecrust takes practice. Fold the circle gently in quar-
ters, lay it in a 10-inch glass pie plate, and unfold. Gently press the
crust into the plate so there are no air pockets. Patch any holes or tears
with bits of excess dough, lightly moistened with water. Roll out the
second crust a bit thinner than the first, and reserve it between 2 sheets
of plastic wrap.

To make the filling and assemble the pie: Heat the oven to 425ºF. As
you slice the pears, toss them with the lemon juice in a large bowl to
sharpen the flavor and prevent them from browning. Toss the pears
with the lemon zest, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, grated ginger, and
salt until thoroughly combined. Taste a pear, adding more sugar if they
are very tart.

Before filling the pie shell, lightly beat the egg white and brush the en-
tire inside surface of the pie shell with it, making sure to apply a good
coat around the rim. This will help keep the bottom crust from getting
soggy and will also “glue” the top and bottom crusts together at the
edge.

Winter 2010-2011 www.EdibleIowa.com 33

 The Last Word
By Kurt Michael Friese
Glutton for Pleasure
If you’re not already familiar with Bob
Blumer then you don’t watch the Food
Network.
He cooks salmon in a dishwasher. He
makes snowmen out of mashed potatoes
and birthday cake of meatloaf. He’ll serve
you pound cake French fries, dog bone
ginger snaps, and sliced Jell-o shooters in
orange peels. Not weird enough? How
‘bout Cracker Jack soup?
In his new book, Glutton for Pleasure: Sig-
nature Recipes, Epic Stories and Surreal Et-
tiquette, Bob Blumer helps you channel your inner child while creating
fun and delicious food built on rock-solid culinary fundamentals. e
author of three other books, creator of five seasons of the acclaimed
Food Network series e Surreal Gourmet and current host of Glutton
for Punishment, you can “like” him on Facebook and you can watch
video clips on his website, and just in time for the holidays you can
buy his new book just about everywhere.
Bob was a recent guest on our podcast, e Blue Plate Special (available
to stream or download free on iTunes or at EdibleRadio.com). In that
show he explained the intracacies of opening a bottle of Champagne
with a ten-inch Santoku kitchen knife, regaled us with the legend of
his travels in the toaster-mobile, and gave listeners tips on how to
streamline a kitchen into ergonomic perfection. All this before he even
made mention of “maple-bacon-crunch ice cream” or “Ahi tuna sno-
cones.”
See, Bob Blumer is a different sort of cook. He sees food as much
more than sustenance and even more than mere art (though his whim-
sical food sculptures are legendary). Men’s Health editor-at-large
Stephen Perrine said of Blumer, “If Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson
and Salvador Dalí had a ménage à trois, this would be there love
child.”
Want to know how to make lamb cupcakes? Page 184. Ten pages later
it’s time for “Meatloaf Surprise” (e surprise is: it’s that birthday
34 www.EdibleIowa.com
cake). e aforementioned pound cake
fries are on page 212, and the Cracker Jack
Soup is on page 100.
It’s all fun, but it’s not a game for Blumer,
who is as serious about the techniques be-
hind his whimsy as he is passionate about
the fun to be had in a kitchen. It needn’t
be a fancy kitchen either; his own is small
enough that he can touch both side with-
out stretching out his arms. His attention
to ergonomic detail make it a dream to
work in though, with each and every thing
he needs right where it needs to be, and
nothing he doesn’t need anywhere.
Blumer is unconventional to be sure, and these are not recipes for the
everyday meal, but the techniques he employs are valuable to novice
and expert alike, and the joy he brings to each and every page will sim-
ply leap out at you.
Each recipe comes with a recommendation for “music to cook by,”
such as rocking out to Los Lobos’ La Pistola y El Corazón while you
mash Hass avocados into a “rock-a-molé.” Or, because “every bitter-
sweet symphony should be followed by a grilled pizza,” listen to e
Verve’s Urban Hymns while you whip up some blisterd corn and as-
paragus pizza.
Glutton for Pleasure is not a beginners cookbook, but all beginners
should have it to help encourage Blumers love of fun-with-food in
everyone. Serious cooks too will take themselves a little less seriously
once they’ve devoured a healthy dose of Mr. Blumer’s trademark zani-
ness. Don’t get it as a gift, get it for yourself and make your friends
envious.
Glutton for Pleasure: Signature Recipes, Epic Stories, and Surreal
Etiquette - by Bob Blumer. Published by Whitecap Books, Van-
couver, BC, Canada ©2010 Bob Blumer and Whitecap Books
ISBN 978-1-77050-015-0
Winter 2010-2011
 (And watch for the Des Moines Area
Cheesemakers’ Dinner, coming this spring!)