Iowa Girl

Where I come from...

There are many important factors that make me who I am today.  One of the most significant is my upbringing in Iowa. It's one of those places that people in big cities have a hard time understanding. Especially since I didn't live on a farm.  I was a townie.  My hometown was Clinton until I went to high school.  In grade school, I would get on my bike and my bestie Barb and I would ride for hours.  And I mean like 6 hours.  All over town, no helmets, no bike trails, just us and our banana seat bikes.  We were just blocks from the Mississippi, and many times went to the water's edge, I have ice skated in the slough and we would wander the railroad tracks looking for these flat metal things that we would bend into a whistle.  We picked onions from the neighbors garden, ate mulberries until our hands were stained and climbed trees deep in the woods.  We would walk over the bridge crossing the Mississippi and go from Iowa to Illinois and back.  We chased fire trucks, bought penny candy at one of 2 little stores within walking distance and spent endless summer days swimming in the large public pool. There were about 16 of us in our grade.  We went to the same church, lived in the same neighborhood  our parents were friends, and we knew everyone's siblings.  Those friends are still a part of my life.  I still love driving those streets, and retracing those bike rides.

At this point in my life, I have lived in the South for over 20 years, and it would be tough to move back to the land of snow blowers and wind chills.  My children are complete Southerners.  They twang, drink sweet tea, hate shoes and socks, shoot guns, and love biscuits. And that's good.  You gotta love where you come from.

So where is all this going?  Why are there barn cookies?  Well a farm birthday party of course!  It was a fun cookie to make.  Made me a little nostalgic for Iowa, and I took you right along with me.  SO, what are you waiting for?  Get in there and bake!

You plowed under corn and planted what?

July trip to Iowa, part 2.
Remember that part of the movie? I'm sure more than a few seasoned farmers in the Waterloo area have driven down Patti's highway and thought, "What were they thinking?" You see, when Patti retired a few years back, she decided to plant a vineyard. There were no voices telling her to do this, but it was a fulfillment of a dream. She went to school and studied to be a viticulturist, she visited Iowa vineyards and researched the ideal grape for her area. She ordered the Marechal Foch, 700 plants, and put them in the earth by hand, right where that corn used to stand. And over time, she added 5 Corot Noir, 5 Delaware, 15 Geisenheim, 5 Traminette and Rovat and 5 Swenson Red. Did I mention the hundreds of rhubarb she planted? Funny, a working farm with thousands of dollars in tractors and machinery, and really the only way to plant grapes is by hand. As the grapes grew, they needed to be staked and they needed arbors for that day when they would wrap around them and the fruit would hang. Vito's Vineyard was established.

When tornado #2 hit last year, we were relieved that no one was injured. The house was destroyed, but that's just bricks and mortar. The one question everyone was so afraid to ask was the condition of the vineyard. It was more than plants...it was blood, sweat and tears. No insurance check could replace the growth of 2 years, no insurance check could make up for all the family members that have spent time out there pulling weeds, and staking vines. There was loss, but it was not a total loss. She replaced the plants that didn't make it, and nurtured the ones that did. Lori and I joined her in the vineyard for a morning and tied up the new growth, pinched off the Japanese Beetles, and cut away the old twine that was holding the vines when the tornado hit. It was a battered shredded reminder of an event no one wants to think about, bad karma, away with it! I wonder, as the vineyard grows to maturity, if old dead Italian relatives will come through the arbors for a meal much like the old dead ball players did to play in Field of Dreams? I hope I am around if they do!

One afternoon, we ventured into Cedar Falls, and at the U of Northern Iowa museum they had a display of Iowa Food. It was a history of the progression of food in the state, from the family farm to a corporation, pretty interesting. It's hard to believe there is very little canning left in the state. There were lots of antique kitchen gadgets, linens and even an ad from Eagle Food Stores from the 70's, with these crazy cheap prices. We all smiled, because my dad probably had to approve that ad, he would have been a VP of Operations back then.


We had so much fun doing the simple things in Iowa. We looked for barn quilts, letters in nature and pondered our artist cards. The barn quilts are world famous, and throughout the state you'll see large quilt squares painted or attached to barns. Barns are such a phenomenon. They are very costly to build and repair, and many of the barns are a more decorative feature of a farm. They are used for practical purposes, but with the advances of aluminum sheds, there are much cheaper ways to add storage to a farm. One of the original uses was to store hay, but unless a farmer has livestock or horses, it is unlikely he grows and stores it. It is wonderful to see these barns preserved and maintained, they really are a symbol of our state and its history.
More than once we made Patti u-turn on a highway so we could shoot a picture.

The artist cards were something new to all of us. At an art store the clerks were talking about how they make these cards and trade them with other artists. They are the size of a playing card and are more creative than say a business card. As cool as they were, we all decided we have enough projects without adding this one to the list.

And finally the letters in nature. At many of the charming stores we wandered through, we would see these 4x6 photos, some color, some black and white. They were of things we see everyday, but when they are shot up close, they appear as a letter. We looked at everything with new eyes. This letter "J" I found at the Amish farm from the earlier post. Perhaps someone I love whose name starts with a "J" has an idea of what I'm up to!

Perhaps of all the meals we enjoyed, the things we made and sampled, nothing is as wonderful as Patti's Concord Grape Pie. The recipe is old and not particularly secret, it came from the old Better Homes and Garden Cookbook that all of our grandmothers had. Concord grapes are not the easiest to find, and there is no substitute for this pie. The recipe is a little time consuming in the prep, but once the grapes are skinned and cooked, they can be frozen and baked into the pie later. I have my eye on the various markets here and am hoping to get my hands on the grapes this season. I hope someone gets the chance to bake one, you will not be disappointed. I never publish a crust recipe, it is as personal as it gets for me. Patti uses lard. Yes it is flakey and delicious, but we know where that stuff comes from, and I know where it will sit forever! Happy Baking!

Concord Grape Pie

Slip skins from 1½ pounds (4 cups) Concord grapes; set aside the skins. Bring pulp to boil; reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 5 minutes. Sieve to remove seeds. Add skins to pulp.
Mix into pulp: 1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tbls lemon juice
2 tbls melted butter
Pour into 9-inch unbaked pastry shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, sift ½ cup all-purpose flour with ½ cup sugar. Cut in ¼ cup butter till crumbly. Sprinkle atop pie and bake another 15 minutes.

Here is the quote that hangs in Patti's house, it is a reminder that with family friends, and faith in God, you can overcome anything.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa.

I love that famous line in that fabulous movie. I love to watch it because of those endless summer skies, especially at dusk. This month, I went home. Not to my childhood house, my home town, but home to Iowa. I love my state. It has so much to offer, such wonderful people, and we entertained ourselves for days without shopping malls, tourist attractions or chain restaurants. My sister Patti lives on a farm outside of Waterloo, IA, so my Los Angeles sister Lori and I flew in to Minneapolis and Patti came and got us. There is the first caveat of Iowa. It's not terribly easy or cheap to fly to the tiny little airports, but Minneapolis is just a 3 hour skip through God's country.

A little background, we grew up in Clinton, Iowa and I went to high school in Davenport, Iowa. Most of us graduated from University of Iowa, and my sister Patti, brother Paul and mother-in-law Darlene still live in Iowa, albeit very far from one another. Just over a year ago on Memorial Day, Patti lost her beautiful farm house, barn and shed to an F-5 tornado. Tragic on many levels. The house was just 8 years old, it had been rebuilt after the 1st tornado wiped it off the map just 4 years after she built it. So, third times a charm. The new and improved house is gorgeous. Much prettier than either of its former selves.

On our first morning, we went to an old rail trail for a little exercise and wild black berries. We picked about 4 cups of the little black caps as they call them. The have sharp thorns, and entwine themselves in all the brush, but they are delicious. Patti is planning on adding them to a batch of wine, but more about that in the next blog. The great thing about rail trails is that the foliage surrounding the old rail road tracks was never sprayed so it is loaded with wild black berries, wild grapes and unusual flowers. Lori and I were taken with the mulberries. We had a mulberry tree growing up, and those fat black mulberries brought back great memories. We walked everyday, but after this day, we walked the many gravel roads in the country.

In fine Petitti fashion, our days always melded into a fabulous dinner. One night we did an Iowa cookout. We went to Fareway Foods to buy steaks. This is the coolest grocery store ever (sorry Dad). The meat department had no less than 6 butchers in white coats and Fareway caps. Patti bought a huge ribeye and had it cut and wrapped right there. I don't know about where you shop, but most of the people that work in the meat department of my grocery don't know the difference between Prime and Choice, and here is a 2009 store with 6 trained butchers. Mind you, this isn't a mega market, in fact it is hardly bigger than a 7-11. People shop here because they know the meat is fresh. No pre-wrapped meat here. Need I tell you how wonderful they were on the grill?
Of course we grilled fresh Iowa corn, straight from Hesse farms, peaches and cream it's called. Grilled in the husks. It was so delicious it didn't need butter, but hey, it does make everything taste better!

We also had an Amish excursion. In central Iowa there is a large settlement of Amish and they have embraced the tourism there with shops and restaurants. However, a couple of miles down the rod from Patti is another settlement, no tourism, but interesting to see. We did venture into a few little stores but the real attraction is what goes on outside. Horse power and hard labor is all they use to get the job done. It was a cool day, and we spotted plowing and they were shocking oats. This is where they mound them up into little piles.


My brother in law pulled into a beautiful farm and we talked to the grandfather type man, and waved at the adorable little grandson. The farm was really beautiful and home to goats and horses. I shot some great pictures of the workshop and animals.



Perhaps the best shot of the day came as we were heading back home. We passed yet another beautiful farm. The vegetable gardens are bordered by brilliant flowers, and there were 2 adorable kids "mowing" the small strip of grass between the garden and the road. The little girl was pushing the old hand mower, and the little boy had a rope around his waist pulling. They were both barefoot and are the picture of innocence.
The adventure continues in the next blog. We went to an exhibit at the museum on Iowa food, we baked grape pie and we hunted out barn quilts! But most important, we worked in Vito's Vineyard. Stay tuned for pictures and recipes!