Every year, family farms in Southern Iowa opens their farms to the public on a day called Farm Crawl. This year seven farms participated on a beautiful sunny, Sunday afternoon.

The seven farms included

1. Blue Gate Farm – (Jill Beebout & Sean Skeehan) – a Certified Naturally Grown, chemical-free produce farm with pastured eggs, and honey bees servicing our CSA and DM farmers market. 
2. Coyote Run Farm – (Matt Russell & Patrick Standley) –  a 110 acre farm rebuilding to profitability through relational marketing and sustainable agriculture that grow chemical-free produce & cut flowers, pastured poultry & eggs, hormone-free beef & grass fed beef, hay, and mules.
3. Dan-D Farm – (Dan & Jana Dennison) – 18 acre corn maze, racing pigs, barnyard animals, hay rides, and a giant slide.
   
4. Pierce’s Pumpkin Patch – (John & Joy Pierce) – thousands of different pumpkins, squashes, gourds, and decorative corn.
5. Reichert’s Dairy Air - (Lois & Jack Reichert) – a state licensed goat micro dairy that recently moved into a custom built milking barn and cheese-making building.
6. Schneider Orchards – (Arnie & Jane Schneider) – fresh Iowa grown apples!
7. White Breast Pottery – (Sharon Seuferer & Carol Oliver) Local clays in making pieces that reflect our area.

By the time we had gotten out of church, rounded up all the kids, and ate lunch, we were only able to make it to three farms.  Reichert’s Dairy Air, Pierce’s Pumpkin Patch, and Blue Gate Farm.  I was a little saddened to have missed Coyote Run, however, I have already spent a day on their farm helping them process chickens which you can see here.


Follow me along as I share a bit about some of our outstanding family farms!  To see all of my pictures please visit me at flickr.


Reichert’s Dairy Air

Lois and Jack Reichert’s goat micro dairy is impecable. It’s a beautiful clean facility with healthy La Mancha goats.  Lois Reichert uses the milk to produce one of our communities most popular goat cheeses.  From Chevre to Robiola, Lois Reichert has mastered the skill of cheesemaking!  I wish I would have been able to hear more about the production, however, I had 3 rambunctious kids to catch!

Pierce’s Pumpkin Patch

Pierce’s Pumpkin Patch is a beautiful farm.  They had a great haybale maze for the kids to go through and had all of their animals set up in different parts of the maze.  The kids LOVED it!  At the end of the maze we were able to visit their pumpkin patch and see their thousands of gourds!

Blue Gate Farm

I had the best time at Blue Gate Farm.  Jill Beebout and Sean Skeehan have an amazing “beyond organic” farm.  I was impressed by the knowledge and commitment they make to not only grow organic but in their methods of sustainability and bio-diversity.  Jill focuses on growing vegetables for their CSA while Sean focuses on livestock. (Jill, if you read this and I’m mistaken, please feel free to comment   As I took a tour with Jill, I was so taken by the every detail that she takes in growing her vegetables.  She stated that they grow “beyond organic,” meaning they don’t utilize chemicals with an organic label.  They have a specific way of growing utilizing crop rotation, grass between rows to reap the benefits of beneficial insects and worms to aerate the soil creating better growing environments.  They have many beehives located in different places throughout their farms for pollination and to decrease their risks of overhead chemicals from neighboring farms.  Jill also has two high tunnels that I was taken by.  She is able to grow earlier and later into the season.  With the help of Practical Farmers of Iowa they are currently doing research comparing vegetables being grown outdoors versus in the high tunnels.  Amazing!  Their chickens are spoiled babies as they pasture on grass, being moved every two days to ensure new pasture and eats!  I can go on about Jill!  The greatest thing about Blue Gate is their passion for what they are doing!  It is definitely contagious and makes me yearn for my own hobby farm!  Thank you Jill and Sean for an amazing tour and all that you do to serve our community!

If you live in Iowa and missed the farm crawl this year, make sure to mark it on your calendar for next year!

It’s Sunday evening and I had such a great day.  My family and I spent our Sunday afternoon visiting local farms at an event called farmcrawl and needless to say, the kids are out for the night!  I took many great pics that I’ll be sure to share this week!

I wanted to take some time and thank some foodie friends for various blog awards!  Thank you so much for visiting, commenting, and befriending me on the blogosphere

I’ve received foodie awards in the past that I’ve failed to mention, and for that I’m so sorry!  Life get’s the better of me, but I wanted to thank you for thinking of me.  Blog awards always make me smile

In the past week, I’ve received two blog awards!

Simply Life left me a Kreativ Blogger Award!  Thank you!  I just love visiting Simply Life.  She’s also a locavore (a person that eats local from family farmers) and has amazing recipes!  Seriously, check out her latest…. Pumpkin Spice Pancakes!

I’m supposed to share 7 things you might not know of me, so here goes…

1. I really like McDonald’s happy meals, EEEK, I know!  I try to limit myself to two a month.
2. I have two sisters that are my best friends in the whole wide world!
3. My husband and I are praying about living on an acreage one day and he’s given me the okay to buy my very own Jersey Cow!
4. I enjoy grocery shopping!  Any store that sells food, I love!
5. I’m very much like my mother’s side of the family, we talk to ourselves, lol!
6. I wish I could keep my house clean. Unfortunately, I would rather spend my free time, gardening!
7. To me, gardening is therapy.  Yes, I enjoy pulling weeds.

My next award came from Roz, from La Bella Vita!

I am so happy to have met Roz.  Roz is Italian and lives in South Carolina.  She’s originally from Ames, Iowa!  She has a love for the Lord and lives on a beautiful acreage with horses.  She has great recipes and a genuine love for life!  Thank you Roz for the Nice Matters Award, I’d like to send it right back to you   Un Besote Amiga!

1. Jenny from Hummingbird Appetite – Jenny is such a sweetie!  She’s currently visiting her parents and grandparents in Korea with her husband.  She’s an amazing cook and takes amazing pictures!

2. Erica from My Colombian Recipes – Erica rocks!  Her authentic Colombian recipes should be staples in every kitchen.  I’ve learned so much from her recipes.
3. Alta from Tasty Eats at Home – Alta is amazing at creating recipes gluten free.  She has a great weekly post that focuses on teaching her family about cooking foods from other countries.  Each child takes a turn picking a place and with her help they come up with a dish!  Such a great way to teach diversity and opening up ones palate!
4. Amber at Native Food and Wine – One of my new favorite blogs.  Amber writes about visiting local farms, eating local and recipes.  A beautiful blog with great pictures!
5. Andrea at Wellness Notes - I love Andrea’s blog!  She really interacts with her readers and teaches us about living simply and enjoying life. 
6. Heather from Girlichef – Heather, WOW, what can I say about Heather….. She’s AWESOME!!  Her recipes are amazing and she has a true knowledge of food!  Her step by step pictures are mouth watering and you will never leave uninspired!
7. Rebecca from Chow and Chatter – Rebecca is a dietician and writer.  She has a love for her family and always encourages me!  I think most people can agree with me that Rebecca is genuine and such a nice person!  Thank you Rebecca for your friendship, Un beso Amiga!
8. Ruth from I Love Flavour Me – Ruth is portuguese and English.  I LOVE her recipes!  We definitely love the same kinds of foods!  She has lived in Spain as well   Ruth is a mother and teacher and unfortunately, has been having some problems with her internet, bah!  Besos Ruth!
9. Miriam from The Winter Guest – Miriam has a beautiful blog!  She lives in Madrid Spain and knows her way around the kitchen.  She has some of the best bread recipes that I’ve seen.  She bakes her bread the old fashioned way, making her own sourdough yeast and doing everything by hand!  She’s a gem and her pictures are out of this world!
10. Kristy from My Little Space – Kristy is one of the sweetest people around!  So happy and eager to lift ones spirits!  She has amazing recipes as well!  Kristy is from Malaysia.
11. Natasha from 5 Star Foodie – Natasha is a creative in the kitchen.  Her recipes are well… unbelievable.  She has a tendency to make food look like art.  She has been on a mission to visit all 5 star restaurants and review them.  She has an amazing writing voice and sophisticated approach to her reviews.
12. Kristen from Flexy Fare – Kristen is such a great person to follow.  She is a grad student and also loves to grow her own veggies and make up recipes using them.  She makes a killer larabar!!
13. Liz from La cuisine, quelle aventure !  Liz is my foodie friend from Spain.  She writes her blog in three languages; French, Spanish, and English.  She’s in her first year of college and has a love of cooking.  She’s such a sweet and kind hearted person and I hope to sit with her over a tapita one day in Spain!!

These are just a short list of some of the blogs I enjoy keeping up with.  I keep running into great blogs by the day and do plan on sharing more!  Until next time!!

Real Milk?  Isn’t all milk real milk?  For the past 3 years, my family has made the concious decision to buy locally produced milk.  For most of these 3 years our milk came from Picket Fence Creamery.  The milk is non-homogenized/vat pasteurized from Jersey Cows pasturing on grass.  Over the past 3 months, we’ve moved to raw milk from Jersey cows pastured on grass.

Many people ask me, “Why do you go to the trouble to buy milk from these sources when you can buy it at the grocery store.  This is the reason why.

My boys! After having my firstborn son, Nehemiah, the organic/local foods movement really started to take off. Knowing that our health is so dependent on what we eat, I started to research milk since I knew it was so important and something I’d have to start feeding my child at one. What I found out, well… made me angry, sad, and at the same time appreciative that local family farmers were providing my community with something better for my child.

So here’s what I’ve found that I’d like to share with you. Please remember that I’m not an expert, but would only like to share because in numbers we can make a difference. The consumer and only the consumer can drive our nation to make changes for the well being of our people.

In the United States, unfortunately, the dollar is held highly and many times above what’s best for our people.  First I would like to point out that there are three types of milk. Traditional Milk, Commerical Organic Milk and Industrial Milk.

Traditional Milk is:

• Free of synthetic growth hormones
• Fed mostly on fresh grass and hay
• Raw and Unpasteurized
• Unhomogenized (Homogenization blends the milk and cream, so they never seperate. This process is unnecessary and ruins the flavor and texture of the milk, also causes the milk to sour more quickly.)

Commercial Organic Milk:

• Free of synthetic growth hormones
• Usually grainfed, some have small amounts of room to pasture, supplemented with grains.
• Sometimes homogenized
• Pasteurized

Industrial Milk is:

• Treated with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone called rBGH (or rBST) to boost milk production.
• grainfed
• homogenized
• pasteurized

So why should I care if the Industrial milk I buy at the supermarket is treated with growth hormones?

The bovine growth hormone rBGH or rBST was created to boost milk production in cows.  Sounds like a great deal, right?  Industrial factory farms get more milk and inevitably more money. The genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) produced by Monsanto in milk increases cancer risks.  Milk from cows treated with rBGH contains higher levels of IGF-1, a naturally occuring growth hormone that is identical in cows and humans.  When you drink a glass of milk from a cow treated with rBGH, you get a dose of IGF-1, one of the most powerful of many insulinlike hormones that prompt cells to grow and proliferate.  IGF-1 is linked to cancers of the reproductive system, including breast cancer. (Click here for more information from the Cancer Prevention Coalition)  Besides the cancer risks, cows treated with rBGH are literally exhausted.  Usually milked three times a day and prevalent to mastitis (If you’ve ever breastfed, you know this is NOT fun but painful!).  Of course this means more antibiotics for the animal which ends up in your milk.

But we’ve always drank milk from the supermarket and we’ve been fine.

I’m currently 31, and our system is no where near what it used to be.  The industrialization of farmlands is driving family farmers out of the fields and deteriorating our environment and health.  The rampant use of hormones and antibiotics is at an all time high.

For me, it opened my eyes that this is a real problem in the US when I found out that…

With all the health benefits of grapes, it’s really no wonder red wine makes its way to tables across the world.  According to Worlds Healthiest Foods:

Grapes and products made from grapes, such as wine and grape juice, may protect the French from their high-fat diets. Yet, French people with these habits have a lower risk of heart attack than Americans do. One clue that may help explain this “French paradox” is their frequent consumption of grapes and red wines.

 To learn more about all of the health benefits in grapes, make sure to check out Worlds Healthiest Foods.

I was so blessed to have been given a cooler filled with freshly picked Concord Grapes.  As you can see in the image above, the color is a dark blue/purple and the smell is unbelievable.  Sweet as candy!  As soon as I smelled the grapes, I knew right away that I wanted to enjoy the grapes as naturally as I could.  Unfortunately, concord grapes, have very large seeds making them difficult to eat raw.  So the next best thing was to make grape juice to drink and preserve.

Homemade Grape Juice from Concord Grapes

Ingredients:

• Concord Grapes

Method:

1. Fill a large pot 2/3 full with concord grapes.
2. Add water to barely cover the grapes.
3. When the water comes to a boil, start mashing the grapes in the pot with a potato masher.
   
4. Lower the heat and let the grapes simmer for five minutes.
5. After 5 minutes, mash the grapes again.
6. Continue to simmer for an additonal 5 minutes.
7. Transfer the grape juice and all of it’s pulp into a jelly bag.
   
8. Let the juice seperate from the pulp for 20- 30 minutes.  Once this time has passed, with a spoon, mix the pulp in the jellybag in order to squeeze out any remaining juice.
9. Fill quart jars with the juice and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

At this point you can discard the remaining pulp by compost or backyard chickens, however, seeing that the pulp was still a bright purple and smelled so sweet, I decided to be frugal and give it another round to make juice for jelly!  The juice for the jelly is not as sweet as the first round for juice.  However, with an added sweetener, it will turn out perfect

Juice for Grape Jelly

1. Return it to the pot and add 6 cups of water.  Bring the water and pulp to a boil and thoroughly mix through.  Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Return pulp to the jelly bag and let the juice seperate from the pulp for 20-30 minutes.
3. You can either use this juice to make jelly now or freeze the juice to make jelly another day.
   

   I had originally made juice in two batches.  I saved all of the pulp and added 12 cups of water, enough for 2 batches of grape jelly.  I froze my juice to make on a rainy day

Before I start on my post, I want to take you back to my childhood, a place called California!  My sisters and I were raised in beautiful Southern California.  We moved around and finally set roots in Rancho Cucamonga.  My mother as most of my readers know is from Sevilla, Spain.  At the time, California was the perfect place for my mother to settle in the United States.  To live in California, you don’t need to speak English.  Latino’s, mostly Mexican, make up the majority of the population.  It was a place where she could slowly learn the American culture while still being able to communicate with people.

Fast forward to 1995 and a complete shock to my entire family as we were told that my father’s job was placing us to a distant land, called Des Moines, Iowa.  I was 16 years old.  It was the the middle of my junior year in high school. I was involved in soccer and band and remember vividly the day my Papi broke the news.  Papi picked me up from soccer practice and asked me, “What do you think about Iowa?”  I laughed and replied, “What do you mean, what do I think about Iowa?  Isn’t that where they grow potatoes?”  He looked at me and said, “I”m sorry mija, that’s where we’re moving.”  I cried on the way home.

When we first drove into Iowa in February of 1995, it was cold… no, freezing!  We were able to witness our first snow.  As exciting as that was, feelings of isolation also started to set in.  After being immersed in diversity our entire lives, it was a feeling of being… different.  It was difficult as we weren’t able to find tortilla’s, chorizo, or evoo that we were used to. I can remember my mother and I feeling wandering eyes as we spoke Spanish.  I think for my mom, it became a reality that she now had to learn to speak English.

As my family spent year after year getting accustomed to Iowa and all that it had to offer, something was happening.  Something was changing.  That something was diversity, culture, food, and people.

My family has lived in Iowa for fourteen years and I can now say that Des Moines is one of the most rich, diverse, and accepting communities in the nation.  I am proud to live in Des Moines and so happy to call it home.  Within the 14 years that we have lived here, Latinos now make up the largest ethnic population.  We are also filled with the beautiful cultures of people from Europe, Sudan, Bosnia, Asia, India and other Arabic countries.  Our metropolis of just over 500,000 people has many ethnic markets such as Mexican, Asian, Indian, African and European.  All offering specialty foods of meats, sausages, spices and pastries.  With these changes and the increase in cultures comes food and festival celebrations!  Our small metro is home to the largest Latino festival in the midwest!

Iowa’s Latino Heritage festival!  This festival is now in it’s 7th year and year after year grows larger as people from all over the midwest come to celebrate 21 different countries.  This festival is about showcasing the differences within the Latino community and sharing how our cultures also enrich the communities in which we currently live.  What better way to do this, than to do as Latinos do best, eat, dance and be LOUD!  CARAZA style baby, yeah!!

Come celebrate with me as I take you through Iowa’s Latino Heritage Festival!

Besides, the great dancing and cultural exhibits, my favorite part about the festival is of course the FOOD!!

What I don’t have pictured is the evening dance where thousands gather for a true night of Latino heritage and pride!  I am so proud to be Latina.  To have cultures within me from different sides of the world.  50% Mexican… 50% Spanish… 100% Latina!

Iowa… Corn and Pigs?  Not Anymore!