I had the pleasure of visiting my friends, Greg & Denise Hoffman at Hoffman Produce Farms. They grow a wide variety of produce from apples to zucchini on about 20 acres of land in Waterloo, IA. The Hoffmans are very well known for
Spring Warmth I’ve been so thankful for the warmer weather we’ve experienced lately. The sun and rain really made the grass green and the trees leaf out. Most days it feels like summer,
Last week I hinted at an upcoming post on Bacon Wrapped Asparagus–well here it is. These spears are a hot ticket item right now. Asparagus season
Spring lambs The last few weeks have been interesting here in Iowa. It’s like winter finally decided to arrive “better late than never,” and now won’t let go.
Clinging to Winter If you live in Northern Iowa, you know that winter is having a hard time releasing its grip this year. We got 10 inches of new snow just a few days ago! Granted, most of it is already gone and the roads are cleared, but the fields are still covered in a blanket of white. Yesterday morning we received a true winter gift
A Magical Night A few weeks ago, my husband and I made good on the Christmas gifts we gave to our children and their significant others by taking them to see/hear the Des Moines Symphony play live to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at the Des Moines Civic Center. We are all huge Harry Potter Fans (although, I think I may be the biggest one-just saying) and this was a magical night together as a family.
Community Food Systems Conference Upon returning to Iowa on the 9th, it seemed as if we brought the tropical warmth back with us for a little while. January 10th was what I like to call an “open coat” day, with temperatures in the 30’s. Unfortunately, the bottom dropped again and by the 12th we were below zero again. That didn’t stop the Courtney Long and Community Food Systems enthusiasts
A few weeks ago (Dec. 5) we celebrated World Soil Day. OK, truth be told, most people don’t even know there is such a “holiday,” not to mention why soil deserves its own day. But if we really dig deep (pun intended)-soil is the basis for health.
Some people like comfort foods, like a piece of sweet, rich, chewy pecan pie or cheesy, gooey potatoes. While those foods are good, I love root vegetables-especially roasted. Nature’s own comfort foods, they are earthy and packed with
‘Tis the time of year when gardens are all but finished and winter squash is plentiful. I wasn’t really introduced to winter squash until after I was married. My mother-in-law