Raptor of the Week: Sharp-Shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter striatus


This exciting accipiter is a common migrant, seen in Iowa from mid March
to mid May. It is an uncommon winter resident and apparently a very rare
nester, with newly fledged young being seen in western Iowa and in Hardin
and Lucas counties in recent years. It may have been a fairly common nester
prior to the twentieth century.

The Raptors of Iowa , paintings by James F. Landenberger

Midwest Nature Quote of the Week

I have spent forty years in the basin of the Upper Iowa, a stream that winds from the flat farm fields of southern Minnesota through the wooded valleys of northeastern Iowa to the Mississippi. As a child I fished and swam in the river. As an adult I cross the river every day. My office overlooks the river, winding out of sight in two directions; with my windows open on warm days, I hear the raspy crowing of pheasant cocks in tall grasses along the river’s bank. On the map, the Upper Iowa is a blue line that, together with the crossing of two state highways, explains the position of the town I call home.

David S. Faldet, Oneota Flow: The Upper Iowa River and Its People

4th of July Dinner Recipe Ideas #3

Peach Shortcake

2 cups flour                                            2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt                                    fruit or berries (for filling)
4 teaspoons baking power                     whipping cream (for topping)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar                 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut in pieces

Sift all dry ingredients, including sugar, together and put into a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk all at once and stir with a pastry fork until dough just follows fork around the bowl. Pat the dough firmly into a buttered 8-inch round cake pan. Bake in a hot oven (425 to 450 degrees) for 15-18 minutes or until dough is a lovely golden brown on top. Turn out on rack to cool. While still a little warm, split shortcake in half, lengthwise, spread between the layers fresh, sweetened peaches (or raspberries, strawberries, etc.) and top each serving liberally with freshly whipped cream that has been sweetened with a little sugar and vanilla.
Serves 6.

Banana Bread

4 medium bananas, mashed (2 cups)                   1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil                                            2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar                                    1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar                                      1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs                                                                   1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

Combine bananas, oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer until smooth. Sift dry ingredients together and add, mixing well with a spoon. Add nuts. Pour batter into two approximately 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch well-buttered loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out dry. (If baking in glass, lower heat to 325 degrees.) Turn out on racks to cool and serve sliced, with plenty of soft butter.
Makes 2 loaves.

Prairie Cooks, by Carrie Young with Felicia Young

4th of July Dinner Recipe Ideas #2

Annette's Zucchini Casserole

1/2 large or 1 medium zucchini, chopped or cubed (unpeeled)
2 cups whole-wheat bread cubes                               Dash garlic powder
1 stick butter or margarine                                         1 1/2 teaspoons dill weed
1 large onion, chopped                                               1 cup cubed cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons parsley                                                 1 cup cubed mozzarella or Colby cheese
Salt and pepper

Brown bread cubes and onion in butter until bread is toasted. Mix all ingredients together. Put in casserole and top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until all cheese melts.

Oven-Fried Chicken with Honey Butter Sauce

1 frying chicken, cut up                          1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup flour                                               2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt                                      1/2 cup butter or margarine

Honey Butter Sauce
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey

Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a shallow baking pan. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika; dip chicken into flour mix and then in the butter, turning each piece. Arrange, skin side down, in a single layer; bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn and pour honey butter sauce over all; bake another 30 minutes at 350 degrees until chicken is tender. To make sauce, melt the 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan; blend in honey and lemon juice. Do not boil.

Neighboring on the Air: Cooking with the KMA Radio Homemakers, by Evelyn Birkby

4th of July Dinner Recipes #1

Tomato Salad
Erna Pitz, High Amana

6 tomatoes, chopped or quartered                          3 tablespoons sugar
1 large onion, cut into rings                                   3 tablespoons vinegar
1 green or red pepper, coarsely chopped               1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Combine vegetables. Stir together sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper and pour over vegetables. Toss vegetables. Chill well before serving.
Serves six.

Coleslaw

1 2- to 3-pound head white or red cabbage      1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt                                                  1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup vinegar                                                 1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
3/4 cup sugar

Remove the cabbage's outer leaves. Cut head into quarters, remove core, and shred. Place in large mixing bowl and add salt. Pound cabbage with a potato masher or mallet until it seems less stiff. Pour off any liquid.

In saucepan mix vinegar, sugar, and oil until sugar is dissolved and bring to boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When cool, pour over cabbage and leave standing about 15 minutes. Then add onion and caraway seed and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Serves six.

Seasons of Plenty, by Emilie Hoppe

Practical Farmers of Iowa, Part 3

Interview with Luke Gran, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Part 3

Founded in 1985, Practical Farmers of Iowa includes a diverse group of 2,000 farmers and friends of farmers. The organization’s mission is to advance profitable, ecologically sound, and community-enhancing approaches to agriculture through farmer-led investigation and information sharing. Below is part 3 of acquisitions editor Catherine Cocks’s interview with Luke Gran, the coordinator of PFI’s Next Generation program. The first two posts appeared on June 12 and June 19.

Catherine: Who are the people who want to become farmers today?

Luke: Many are the children of farmers, but a growing number are people with no family background in farming. In terms of age (again drawing on that March 2012 survey), about 30 percent are between 19 and 28, another 30 percent are between 29 and 38, about 16 percent are between 39 and 48, and about 15 percent are between 49 and 58, with the remainder older than that. It’s about 50-50 men and women, although in 2012 only 40 percent of the beginning farmers who responded to the survey were female. They bring all levels of skill and experience to farming, and many still have off-farm jobs. Some are immigrants or refugees from other countries, such as Sudan. They are looking for advice on adapting to the Iowa climate and gaining access to markets.

Catherine: What are two or three things ordinary consumers (who are not farmers or planning to become farmers) can do to help establish a new generation of farmers?

Luke: Landowners are instrumental in determining who gets access to land and how it’s farmed. In some parts of Iowa (such as many of the counties in the northwestern part of the state), 75 percent of the farmland is owned by nonresidents, people who don’t live in the county. If you own a farm but are not farming it yourself, take a look at who your tenant is and ask about his or her plans for the next generation. Think about ways you or your tenant could help a beginning farmer get started.

If you don’t own land, you can still help by buying products from beginning farmers—meat, eggs, vegetables, small grains, flowers, you name it—at farmers’ markets and cooperative grocery stores. Spend your food dollar locally; talk to the managers at your favorite restaurants, cooperatives, or grocery stores. Ask for locally grown foods and ask about the farmers who are producing them.

            You can also work with producer cooperatives to buy directly from farmers, or become a member of a CSA (a community-supported agriculture association).

            Another way you can help is by joining PFI—25 percent of our members are “friends of farmers,” not farmers—they are people who support farmers learning from each other.

Catherine: Where can people learn more about farm succession and how to get started in farming?

 Luke: The PFI website (www.practicalfarmers.org) is a good resource. Folks who want to see full details about our beginning farmer network should check out: http://practicalfarmers.org/blog/2012/pfi-beginning-farmer-annual-survey-results.

Also, through PFI or local organizations you can find other farmers and develop a network, whether you’re a new farmer or an established one. Attending PFI events is a good way to build connections.

Some good books include Atina Diffley’s Turn Here Sweet Corn (University of Minnesota Press, 2012). This is a memoir of establishing organic vegetable farm near Twin Cities over the past thirty years.

I also recommend Wes Jackson’s Consulting the Genius of the Place (Counterpoint, 2011). This is a book of philosophy as well a memoir of Jackson’s life and ideas and his vision for the future of agriculture.

If you want to know more about PFI, you might take a look at Michael Bell’s Farming for Us All (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004).







More information: Farming's New Faces

Excerpt from Esther's Town

Lewis Paulson would long remember the miserable journey he made as postman in February 1861 when during a raging blizzard it took him five days to make the forty-five mile trip from Estherville to Algona. The public rewarded him with a $9 contribution for the trip he made on snowshoes. At one point he was temporarily blinded by the snow, lost his way, and wandered in virtually a circle for one whole night. He didn't stop to rest for fear of freezing to death. Stumbling accidentally near a cabin when he thought he heard someone calling hogs, he found hospitality that saved his life.

Esther's Town, by Deemer Lee