The Good Stuff

"The Good Stuff". It was good enough for Al Capone, and it's good enough for me!

Way out here in western Iowa is a piece of history that's pretty darn cool. Sure, we have Jesse James' train robbery, Bonnie and Clyde robbed a bank, John Wayne was born not too far away, but can you imagine a small town in rural Iowa turning "outlaw" and distilling whiskey? Ohhhh, but it's the truth. In 1920 Prohibition forbid the making and sale of alcoholic beverages. Templeton Rye was known to be the drink of choice of Al Capone, and if he didn't care about the law, well.......

What is rye whiskey? Well if you know anything about distilled spirits, they usually are made from grains. In Templeton Rye's case, the "mash" contains 90% rye grains, more than any other rye whiskey on the market and contributes to it's special flavors. The mash is a mixture of grain, malt and water, also contains a small amount of spent or used mash from a prior batch that contains some active yeasts. This mixture is fermented and distilled in a complicated process involved some pretty technical equipment these days. After distillation, Templeton is aged in charred oak barrels before bottling. A generation or so after Al Capone's era, the popularity of Templeton Rye waned, owners changed, and production began to slip. But eventually the Kerkhoff family became involved again and they were off to the races. Even today, the whiskey is made using the original recipe created by Merlyn Kerkhoff.

An entire case of The Good Stuff

Fun fact learned talking to Keith Kerkhoff from Templeton Rye: During barrel aging a small amount of volume is lost due to evaporation. This is called "the angels share."

Barrel lid, indicating which barrel and batch. Bottles are labeled
with barrel, batch and bottle number.

Ok, so back to Templeton. The distillery still remains in the Carroll County town. The distillery is open for tours twice daily, Monday through Friday. One Saturday a month, Keith conducts the tour himself. The tour includes the distillery, bottling room, the barrel area, and tasting area. Guests on the tour get to help label a few bottles and can sample Templeton Rye right there! Now that is my kind of tour!

A couple years ago in Iowa, Templeton Rye was extremely hard to find. Stores would be sold out before the bottles even hit the shelves. You literally had to know someone who worked in a liquor store to even stand a chance OR....... if you were lucky and lived out in the rural areas, like our Little Lake House, Templeton was easy to find. What's so special about rye whiskey? It's just..... different. If you are familiar with different types of whiskey you will notice the not-at-all subtle flavors in Templeton Rye. This is the whiskey you want to make a good classic whiskey cocktail like an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan. Modern mixologists are hard at work concocting new cocktails like The Gangster's Martini and the Shirley Templeton (see Templeton's website for recipes).

Next time you are visiting western Iowa, think about stopping at this unique piece of history.

Apple Cranberry Galette

Also known as How To Bake a Pie Like a Cheater But Look Like a Pastry Chef. Seriously the easiest pie you will EVER bake !!!

The ingredients are so ridiculously easy- in this case I'm using apples and cranberries, some flour, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and pastry.

Start prepping the fruit- cut up the apples (I used enough apples to get about 2 1/2 cups cut up apples). You can chop into chunks or small slices, whatever you prefer. I used about a cup of fresh cranberries, cut in half. A bit labor intensive but not too bad. Place fruit in a large bowl, toss with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice, a good dash of cinnamon or apple pie spice, about 1/3 cup flour and 3/4 cup sugar (use brown sugar for a caramel apple flavor). Set aside.

Prepare and roll out into a large circle a single crust pastry recipe. You can also cheat and use the store bought rolled up pastry if you want. Place pastry on greased rimmed baking sheet (sometimes a little juice leaks out and you don't want THAT mess in the oven). Pile the fruit in the middle, spreading out a little but leave a few inches of pastry open. 

Fold the edges up and pinch and ruffle as needed to get a nice rustic edge to the pie. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar if desired. Dot the fruit with butter (NO MARGARINE!!!) and bake at 375 degrees for about about 45 minutes. The crust will be deep golden brown and the fruit nice and tender.

Serve warm or cool.

You can use any kind of fruit to make this galette, but canned pie fillings don't work. Use fresh fruit. It's very versatile, quick and even easy to make up a bunch and freeze unbaked. Just pop a frozen one in the oven and bake about an hour.

Believe me, it will look like you fussed all day when it takes just minutes!!

The Perfect Roast Chicken

Once in a while The Chef and I will agree on a recipe. This time it happens to be roast chicken. Arguably one of the EASIEST things to prepare on the planet, as well as one of the most delicious, a perfectly roasted chicken will be moist and juicy with the crunchiest, crispy brown skin as an extra treat. 

I have found that the key to a really moist bird is to stuff it. Not with "stuffing" made of bread and herbs and something you're going to eat as a side dish. I like to pack the bird full of chunked apples, onions, garlic cloves. The apples and onions cook and steam and basically baste the bird from the inside. The garlic adds an aromatic touch that's subtle but delicious. We have tons of chunks of apples in the freezer and bags of cranberries too, so The Chef threw a handful of cranberries in there as well- why not? The skin needs to brown to be really good- no one wants flabby, pale, yucky chicken skin. I used to go through all the hassle of loosening the breast skin and packing butter in there- not anymore. The fruit stuffed inside eliminated that need for extra moisture. Instead, now I, well, WE actually, season the skin liberally with just about everything imaginable. A dribble of lemon juice to moisten the skin, then sprinkle on herbs and spices of your liking. The Chef used crumbled dried oregano, a tiny pinch of mint leaves, a pinch of crushed red pepper, then a few hits of some Penzey's favorites- jerk seasoning, pork chop seasoning, seasoned salt and celery seed, then finished it off with a couple grinds of black pepper. Put big chunks of butter on top and inside the bird, throw it in a 375 degree oven and roast until chicken is done (meat thermometer registers 165 degrees). I also like to baste my bird periodically to crisp up that skin and really kick up the flavor. Generally it takes about an hour and a half or so to roast.

When it comes out of the oven it's going to smell like heaven! If you let it rest just a few minutes the juices will stabilize and the meat will be tender and succulent. And don't forget that delicious skin. It should be browned and crispy all over and sooooo delicious- don't fight over it! Share!

Roast chicken is one of my favorite things to cook. You can pair it with almost any sides- potatoes (we had baked with butter and sour cream) or mashed- if you're up to it, the juices make amazing pan gravy. You can make stuffing. Any kind of veggie goes well too. If you're feeling festive and you have it around, break out the cranberry sauce! It goes deliciously with roast chicken. Have a mini Thanksgiving anytime you want to. I can't guarantee you will have many leftovers but if you DO they make great chicken salad or chicken and noodles, and don't forget to make chicken stock out of that tasty chicken carcass. 

Meatloaf- childhood nightmare or happy comfort food memory?

I know when I was growing up I LOVED meatloaf. My mother was not an excellent cook but she made good, hearty homestyle food- nothing fancy, and meatloaf happened to be one of her better dishes. She always made a monstrous behemoth of a meatloaf too. We always had plenty leftover for hot meatloaf sandwiches the next night and maybe a cold meatloaf sandwich with ketchup for lunch or a snack. 

Some people just cannot stand the idea of meatloaf. I am NOT one of them, and since I like to play with my food, I am always playing around with different tastes and textures. Taco meatloaf. Classic meatloaf. Turkey meatloaf with stuffing instead of breadcrumbs. Stuffed  meatloaf. You can imagine. So as I was thinking today about some of the better alternatives to ground beef, which is really jumping up in price, ground chicken is becoming a more affordable option. But what should I do to it to make it special? It just won't be the same in a regular meatloaf like Mom's- chicken and ketchup? Yuck!

Chicken........chicken dishes........chicken with all these tomatoes I have canned in the cabinets........wait !!!! OMGosh- Chicken Parmigiana !!!! Surely there is a meatloaf waiting to happen there, right? I have a well-stocked Italian influenced kitchen (oh who am I kidding- I have ingredients, herbs and spices from ALL cuisines.....) so I went to work and this is the delicious result.

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

2 lb ground chicken

2 eggs

1/2 cup breadcrumbs *

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tsp each minced fresh basil, thyme, oregano

3-4 cloves garlic finely minced

1 small onion, very finely minced

1/4 cup celery, very finely minced

small palmful minced sun dried tomatoes **

salt and pepper

1 cup marinara sauce

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Combine all ingredients except marinara sauce and mozzarella in a big mixing bowl. Use your hands to get in there and really mix it thoroughly.  Transfer mixture to a large baking pan like a 9x13 pan or roasting pan. Shape into a loaf. You can also choose to make two smaller loaves if desired. Bake in 350 degree oven until completely cooked (tests at 180 degrees).  Remove from oven and spread marinara sauce over. Sprinkle liberally with mozzarella and return to oven to melt cheese and let it brown slightly. Allow to rest about 5-10 minutes before cutting. Delicious served with a side of pasta and sauce, mashed potatoes or even just a salad. Some sauteed zucchini would be delicious as well. 

* Note- Breadcrumbs- I always use the leftover bread butts, the last hamburger bun, the last dinner roll, etc- throw them in the freezer and when my breadcrumb container is empty I take some out, buzz them in the food processor, dry in the oven and have "free" breadcrumbs. It's perfectly ok to use store bought, or if you don't have any, make fresh ones- tear bread into chunks and give a few pulses in the food processor, or tear into very small pieces by hand.

** Note- You can use sun dried tomatoes with or without oil, dehydrated tomatoes, or if you prefer, red bell pepper. They are mostly for interesting color and texture in what tends to be a pretty "pale" meatloaf and accentuates the green of the minced herbs.

You can also substitute ground turkey if you like. I prefer chicken for this dish though.

A Day in the Danish Countryside

It was a fabulous spring day in Iowa! Of course any day that you get to spend some time in a winery is a good day. Iowa has become a very productive wine region in the US, with over 70 operating wineries and many more vineyards just growing grapes a farmers. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love visiting wineries. Rather than standing in the aisle at a mega grocery store liquor department looking at shelf after shelf of unfamiliar bottles with flavors and questionable quality you can taste the wine right there and know exactly what you're taking home!

In west central Iowa there are several wineries and yes, I have been to just about all of them. At each winery I purchase a glass with their logo on it and have acquired quite a collection. 

Today I visited the Danish Countryside Vines and Wines, outside of Exira, in Audubon County in western Iowa. The winery and tasting room are located in an updated barn built in 1913. The barn is BEAUTIFUL! The tasting room features a central bar made from wine barrels and gift shop loaded with wine-themed gifts. Step up to the bar and try some of nearly 30 different wines, all made from grapes grown on the farm. They are all outstanding. Shelves around the room display the many awards the wines have won at competitions. Well deserved awards I might add!

At the winery today I sampled several wines. Sugar and Spice, which is a dessert-style wine made with St. Pepin grapes, was sweet and delicious. Maid of the Harbor, named after the Hans Christian Andersen story of the mermaid, made with Edelweiss grapes- it's so much like a Riesling I just fell in love. Next up was Pretty Belle Peach wine, made from fresh peaches, it's a great companion to a cheese plate (as a dessert course, European style!) or just as a nice sipping wine to enjoy in the summer. Crimson and Clover came next, a red blend of several Iowa grapes and a touch of clover flower. This wine goes great with cheese and it equally good chilled or at room temperature. Mill House Cranberry was tart and sweet at the same time with an undeniable cranberry flavor- perfect for the holidays! My brain immediately thought "hmmm........I could make cranberry sauce or jam with this.....". Berryessa wrapped up the tasting for me with bright blackberry flavor and desserty sweetness. Loren, who was pouring in the tasting room, handed me a chocolate Kiss and joked that now I can tell everyone I got a kiss at the winery.

And speaking of Loren, not only is he the sales manager, he also pours in the tasting room, works with the vines, AND performs live every last Thursday of each month during the winery's season. Today he showed us the entire winemaking area- from the fermenting tanks to the bottling process. And to cap off the visit, he demonstrated how to prune the vines.

It was a great visit and I brought a couple bottles home to enjoy, and that, my friends, is exactly what I am doing!!

Peas, please!!

People with the same hobbies tend to stick together. Clubs and groups are formed, friendships made, partnerships and agreements worked out. This practice is alive and well when it comes to home canners. We love sharing recipes, comparing techniques, helping a canning buddy figure out a failed recipe and we take loads of photos. Loads. 

It's not unusual for canning friends to share harvests. Some of us are extra lucky and have friends that don't can and happen to have fruit trees or many extra tomatoes and pass them along. We have friends who "retire" from canning and give away cases of jars they no longer need.

This year I am on a quest. A quest for peas. Incredibly, NO ONE ever has extra peas to share! Sure, I can plant some in my garden, but I've done that- I ended up with enough for a meal or two, not anywhere near what I was hoping for. A lady I met in a canning group last summer told me she has a deal worked out with a farmer friend- she buys the seed, he grows a few rows of peas and harvests them and she buys them back by the bushel as payment to her friend. I need a farmer friend !!!!!

Seriously! Shelling peas are one of the hardest vegetables to find! I don't have enough garden space to grow enough for a couple dozen jars. Finding them at farmers markets is TOUGH!! I spent most of last spring on the hunt and ended up empty handed. I have a ton of pea seeds- now I just need a farmer!!

Family traditions in a bowl of soup

One day at work, while reading through the local small town newspapers, I came across an awesome story about a new local product and was immediately captivated. A little investigating and I found only one place to find this delightful homemade soup, the little market in a nearby small town, the Nodaway Valley Market. So off I set on a lovely Friday afternoon to acquire a couple jars.

Once I had my soup in hand I made my way home so I could check it out! But before we get to soup tasting, I'd like to share the family's story with you, and the history of the farming community they have lived in for generations.

The community of Avondale is a rural area in Southwest Adair County, Iowa. Over the years it was a crossroads of frontier commerce and of the last century a church, one room school, and a church cemetery. The Mormon Trail passed through this area with one significant landmark being a very small cemetery plot containing the graves of those that failed to make it through one winter's lodging on the banks of the Nodaway River. The school, Washington Number 6, once standing across the parking lot of the Church, was removed in the early 1960s.

The focal point of the Avondale Community was the Avondale United Methodist Church, which lives on into its second century of service to its parishioners. Still an active church,the Avondale Church conducts Sunday services as well as Sunday school classes. In years past the church was very active with youth fellowship gatherings, vacation Bible school, church bazaars, as well as many other church community socials. An annual bazaar remains the church's most significant annual event and fund raiser.

The community of Avondale, while anchored by the church, is populated by farming families that, through the years, provided grain and livestock to the markets in Iowa and Nebraska. The sense of community was fostered through community gatherings for the ladies, the Sunshine Club, and for the youth, the township 4H Club. Family gatherings to play ball, picnic, and have a weiner roast were common in the yards of the Avondale Church and school.

The Avondale Church still stands tall on a small rise above the road bed running just below it. The Avondale Cemetery rests at the top of the hill behind the church. Both stand as reverent symbols of the community and its people that they have served for nearly two centuries and will continue to do so in the years ahead.

Ruth's kids celebrate a great Avondale's Best Vegetable Soup Launch Day with 
Nodaway ValleyMarket store managers, Cindy and Al Baldago in Fontanelle, Iowa.

Ruth's daughter, Marilyn Ford, ladles up some delicious Avondale's
Best Vegetable Soup for a customer at Nodaway Valley Market.

For over 60 years Ruth Menefee worked in the kitchen of her home creating delightful meals and treats for her husband Bob, their five children, fourteen grandchildren, and a quickly expanding brood of great grandchildren. Her recipes for soups,pies,cakes,cookies and other goodies were a compilation of her mother, sisters in law, and the ladies of the Avondale Church community.

So what is the verdict ?? 

This is a very family friendly soup. Not spicy, so it's great for kids. The tomato broth was a little sweet for me but a splash of hot sauce and couple grinds of black pepper, bit of fresh herbs brings out the homemade flavor. This is NOTHING like canned soup. I was blown away by the freshness of the vegetables! They were not overcooked and mushy like canned soups. Out of the jar they tasted like I made this from homemade myself. Even the pasta was still pretty firm. I loved the texture of those veggies! That made the soup a winner for me. I'd definitely make it again, maybe add some cooked hamburger or leftover roast beef chunks and just kick up the heat a little since we don't have little palates to worry about here.

I'd like to thank the folks at Avondale's Best Soups. When I contacted them for permission to use pictures and information from their website they were VERY accommodating and helpful. Just what you'd expect from Iowa families' values. Without their generosity with pictures and information, this post would have been a whole lot less interesting.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."