Around Des Moines

Neither rain nor seasonly-limited produce kept people from the first downtown farmers’ market of the year in Des Moines on May 10, 2008. Rhubarb, a few leaves of spinach, some young garlic, greenhouse tomatoes, and a bit of asparagus from Polk City were the local fruits and vegetables for sale. One vendor clearly labeled out-of-state produce. There were plenty of bakeries, a few wineries, meat producers, and value-added agricultural businesses with booths. Most of the people I saw making purchases were waiting for warm food prepared for immediate consumption.

There are several residents of Des Moines who believe the best economic plan for the city would include no zoning laws. Seeing several signs with rules scattered around the market this year, I kept thinking about the idea that too much legal restriction leads to economic contraction. On the public side of the market, there are instructions on how dogs should behave and times when vendors must start and stop selling. On the business side of the market, there is a new application process that requires vendors to apply online and submit photographs of every type of item to be included with instructions that they cannot depart from that list at all. There may be good reasons for all of these attempts at control; nevertheless, they threaten to squeeze the vitality of experimentation out of the market.

One of the new cottage industries that made it onto this year’s vendor list is Beaverdale Confections Co. You can buy blocks of gourmet marshmallow, lollipops (marshmallows on a stick), and hot cocoa gift boxes. The Kahlua marshmallow was a well-balanced taste but there was competition between the smooth creaminess of the Kahlua and the granular chewiness of the marshmallow. The coconut and marshmallow combination offered uniformity in textures and sweetness. These are not the air-puffed marshmallows sold in most grocery stores.

Often what I find most useful about the downtown market is learning about the many non-profit and political events happening around the city. At the May 10th market, I picked up literature for Walk Now for Autism, talked with Rep. Leonard Boswell’s (D-3rd District) primary challenger, and learned more about Bike to Work Week.

Autism Speaks was founded in 2005 by the grandparents of a child with autism. The organization informs about, funds research into, and advocates on issues related to autism. The Iowa Walk Now for Autism fundraiser will take place June 7, 2008 in Gray’s Lake Park.

Ed Fallon was shaking hands and talking with voters so I took the opportunity for an impromptu interview. I asked him how the campaign was going. He replied, “good,” then talked about Boswell’s refusal to debate and linked that to democratic injustice. I asked Fallon if he thought Boswell’s campaign mailings and his own personal appearances did not satisfy democracy. The challenger said people want to see the two candidates side-by-side, answering the same issues.

Bike to Work Week Project Coordinator Tina Hadden said over 1600 people have registered, which is nearly 300 more than last year. Approximately 70% of the registrants are in the greater Des Moines area. Most of the remaining 30% are in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids corridor. There are several events being held in Des Moines during the week, which officially runs from May 10th through the 16th. Hadden said the new Johnston trail allowed a bicyclist to miss beating a motorist by only a couple minutes on an annual race from Johnston to downtown Des Moines. Registering helps bicyclist activists to demonstrate support to elected officials for bicycle-friendly polices.

M.R. Field covers local events for AroundDesMoines.com.

Valley Junction’s first farmers’ market of 2008 was held on a humid afternoon. Fortunately, the rain and thunderstorms forecast for May 1st held off until the next morning. Fresh produce was scant but not absent. There was a handful of new rhubarb, greenhouse cucumbers, and hydroponic tomatoes. Other Iowa food was available as prepared items. These included preserved meat, jams and jellies, cheese, and wine. Someone was even selling aged garlic. There were also plenty of bakery products, from breads to cakes. Entertainment was provided by musical groups at two different locations. There was a band and a drinking tent at the depot and a more intimate group of musicians north of the community center. Many people seemed satisfied to spend their time admiring the numerous puppies that were being walked around the market. I chatted with a few of the vendors.

Kirk Sloan, owner of Sloan Brothers Iowa Organic Produce, wants to bring Fairfield’s riches to central Iowa. He had cucumbers from the Maharashi Vedic City Organic Farm and clarified organic butter from Spring Sunrise. Next week he expects to have basil and bell peppers, too. Sloan used to live in Fairfield but now resides in West Des Moines. He will be at the Ankeny and downtown Des Moines farmers markets, too.

Maria Burham and her husband, John, started a Knead to Treat about three years ago. Although the idea was John’s, Maria is the one who does the baking and selling. They supply bakery items to Fareway stores in Osceolo and Winterset. I asked Burham to describe her product. She said it is basic homemade, “the kind of bread you would buy that reminds you of your grandmother.” They have scones, breads, sweets, and croutons. Customers can call ahead to order breads and cookie baskets to be picked up at the farmers’ market.

The Harvest Barn, an Osceolo business that opened in 2001, sells naturally raised meats. The meat is packaged in a variety of styles from dried beef to cooked shaved brisket to raw pork loin. There is also homemade fudge. In addition, you can find Milton Farms cheese at the booth. If there is a particular product you would like, you can call Harvest Barn and then pick up your order at the market.

Gino’s sauces were on sale. There was marinara, garlic cream, and Italian. The person marketing the product described Gino’s as an Italian steakhouse. It is located at 2809 Sixth Avenue in Des Moines.

The Brain Injury Association of Iowa, based in Waterloo, was selling helmets for bicyclists and extreme sports enthusiasts. The group holds a walk around Gray’s Lake the first Saturday of October as an annual fundraiser. It also offers a monthly support group and hosts activities for survivors. The Family Help Line number is 800-475-4442.

The Valley Junction Farmers’ Market is held every Thursday (except July 3rd) through October 2nd. It is located in West Des Moines at approximately Fifth and Elm Streets. Hours are 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

M.R. Field writes about local issues for AroundDesMoines.com. 

If your image of a store-bought cake is a flat rectangle with floral decorations, Hy-Vee wants you to take another look. The grocery store chain hosted a cake decorating competition for members of its bakery departments with the final contest taking place at Merle Hay Mall on April 3, 2008.

R. Jonathan Armistead, of the Columbia, Missouri, Hy-Vee was the only male among the 12 competitors. He has worked in the store’s bakery for 3-1/2 years but said he has been in the business for 12 years. The idea for the dragon scaling a tier cake and assorted other treats started when Armistead’s son loaned his father his dragons for the table setting. It did not take long for the legendary creatures to be everywhere.

Donna Basener of the Mason City #2 Hy-Vee was dressed in a gingham check apron as she created item after item based on the Wizard of Oz. There were ruby slippers, sunflower cookies, and an interesting tornado cake. Toto was featured on one of those ubiqutous rectangular cakes so I asked Basener if the store baked treats that were edible by dogs. She said the bakery has done that. At a customer’s request, the bakery found a recipe for dog treats and baked some. The day of the contest came the day after Basener’s 7-year anniversary with the company. She has been baking cakes for 32 years.

This was the third year for the competition, but it is not an annual event. It was started by Don Wilkens, assistant vice president of bakery operations for Hy-Vee after he saw the number of people who turned out to watch a hotel chain’s bed-making challenge. He aid the company wanted a way “to showcase and…reward our decorators.” There were 6 regional competitions for the 7 states where Hy-Vee operates. Two from each district were represented at the finals. There were winners from Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota. However, the Illinois winner was unable to attend due to a personal matter so the alternate selected at the regional competition participated instead. Judges came from the industry and included suppliers, technical decorators, and Hy-Vee’s executive chef. The winner was to receive a trip for two to one of several pre-selected locations. The second- and third-place decorators were awarded cash and everyone else received a $100 gift certificate to Hy-Vee. Wilkens said there were no rules. The purpose of the finals was for the decorators to “let their creativity go.” They were to be judged on items such as creativity, technical skills, and producing an edible product.

Melissa W. said, “this has been a really fun experience.” She said she was able to pick up stuff to take back to her store from talking with the other competitors. She has a culinary degree and has worked at the Iowa City #1 store for 4 years. Her table theme was a seaside resort.

M.R. Field writes about local events for AroundDesMoines.com. 

What a treasure!

It seemed like a good day to visit the State Historical Museum, and was it ever! Not only were the major and smaller exhibits up and running, but the Irish Fest was in full swing in the afternoon.

Thanks to Drake University President David Maxwell I took the bus. As part of a commitment to civic and global responsibility Drake University under Maxwell’s leadership has signed on to help support DART and in doing so to provide access to free rides to all members of the Drake community. The bus ride was not door to door but definitely close enough - a one and a half block walk to the bus stop and at the end of the ride across the street to the museum, definitely closer than I could have parked.

Did you know that the State Historical Museum is free? Take your friends from out out town. Tell them, “My treat.”

Once inside I looked at a couple of antique autos with Iowa connections including a Mason built in Des Moines by Fred and August Duesenberg and financed by Edward Mason. F. L. Maytag later built Mason-Maytags in Waterloo. The Duesenbergs went on to build the Duesenberg (It’s a Doozy.), the Cord, and Auburn. I loved the electric car driven by former Governor George Clarke’s wife Arletta. Patten’s Neighborhood: Memories of the Center Street Community is a fascinating 40-year history of one African-American neighborhood in Des Moines. Take some time, soak it in, and don’t miss it.

I had a nice lunch at Cafe Barrata’s at the top of the museum overlooking the city. (Baratta’s on South Union has always been one of my favorites.)

After lunch came the Irish Fest, a special event at the Historical Museum. And suddenly the Museum got very busy. I listened to the talented Bay area duo named Four Shillings Short as they played flutes and strings and sang their original interpretations of Irish folk music. You can hear them on their website.

One talented local group was the Des Moines branch of the Foy School of Traditional Irish Dance, young people who performed energetic, colorful, and precise Irish dances to the delight of family and friends. The small stage was a perfect setting for them.

The MacKenzie Highlanders played bagpipes and drum in the main hall. Have a listen and you will understand how impressive it is when you are standing just feet away.

And there was a lot more to the Irish Fest, but that is all I saw.

The exhibit Portrait of a Governor: A Life, A Legacy traces the history of Iowa’s Governors from Territorial Governor Robert Lucas to current Governor Chet Culver - lots of pictures, short bios, videos, significant facts about each period in Iowa history. Read what you like and leave the rest. You’ll enjoy it.

That is just the shortest introduction to the State Historical Museum. There is so much to see and do - a coal mine, airplanes, natural history, Ding Darling, education, special events. It is very well done. The docents are plentiful. Everyone feels welcome. Check out the special events calendar.

Waiting at the bus stop for the ride home I struck up a conversation with a worker going home. By the time we got on, we were friends. By the time he got off we knew we were neighbors. It turns out that he lives just a few blocks from me. Ride the bus; meet your neighbors. See ya.

Guest Writer: James G. Lindberg (Jim) is the Purple Wren’s sweetie and is a visiting chemistry professor at Grinnell College and retired from Drake University.

Technorati Tags: Iowa, Des Moines, Central Iowa News, State Historical Museum, Drake University, DART, Irish Fest

March 1 marks the start of Spring in terms of meteorology. The weather in Des Moines will help make it seem like the season is coming. Get outside and clean off the sidewalks, take an inventory of work that needs done, and then go eat.

The Friends of the Forest Avenue Library (1326 Forest Avenue) will hold its annual soul food fundraiser at the library on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Bus: #5, #3 couple blocks walk)

If a relaxing coffee is more your speed, Mars Cafe (2318 University Avenue) will celebrate its two years of business on Saturday with free coffee throughout the day. There will be drink specials starting at 8:00 p.m. (Bus: #3)

Get ready for spring cleaning at the third annual Living Naturally Expo. It will be held on Saturday, March 1, 2008, at the Animal Learning Center at the Fairgrounds from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Over 60 vendors will offer information and products for such items as cars, food, pet care, child care, and general living. (Bus: #1)

With this being the first weekend of the month, there is a flea market in the 4H building of the fairgrounds. I’ve found hours for Saturday (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) but not for Sunday.

Young professionals interested in keeping up their literacy habit can participate in a book discussion at the North Side Library (on East 5th Street) at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. The book scheduled for discussion is A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. (Bus: #3, #5 and a few blocks walk)

The state’s girls high school basketball championships are being played through Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena. (Bus: #3 closest, any downtown bus plus a walk)

For all the activities on my calendar for Saturday, there is scant happening on Sunday. Botanical Blues features Saylor Hillsliders. Adult tickets are $4.00 and the performance is from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The Botanical Center also will have an exhibit of copper garden art sculpture by Ann Allison scattered throughout the conservatory.

A fundraiser for AMOS will be the Stage West performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. The show will be performed in Des Moines this weekend, Friday, February 29th through Sunday, March 2nd. It will be presented in Ames next Thursday and Friday, March 7th and 8th. The Des Moines performance will be held at the First Unitarian Church at 1800 Bell Avenue. The Ames performances will be at the Actors Theater, 120 Abraham Drive. Shows are at 8:00 p.m. Tickets ($20) may be purchased by phone at (515) 279-3658 or at www.iowatix.com.An e-mail was received from a reader with another activity.

Check out the nascent Des Moines Rehabbers Club. It is a group of people who gather once a month for the purpose of preservation, restoration, and maintenance of Des Moines’ “unique built environment.” This month’s meeting will be on Saturday from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at 1711 East 8th Street. The topic will be renovation for profit. M.R. Field encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com. 

If you’ve been around Des Moines you’ll notice there’s a new restaurant in West Des Moines (next to Jimmy’s American Cafe) where Garcia’s used to be.

I recently attended a lunch meeting there and enjoyed the 1/2 salad, 1/2 sandwich. It was great! Try the fried meatballs for a special treat. The service was outstanding. The decor was pleasant and we enjoyed a table next to the fireplace - perfect for a cold winter day.

I talked to Todd Bordenaro, one of the owners. Guess they have been there for about six months. Where have I been? Give this restaurant a try if you are looking for Italian, and let me know what you think. I hear the pizza is sensational.

Bordo’s Eatery & Sauce
1250 8th Street
West Des Moines, IA 50265
515.221.2312
tbordo@hotmail.com

Technorati Tags: Iowa, Des Moines, Central Iowa News, Bordo’s

Have you been tasting and smelling chlorine when you shower or run water for your coffee this week? Blame it on the weather and the government. Due to work related to the new Center Street pedestrian bridge, water flow out of Saylorville Lake had been reduced. In turn, that meant Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) had to pull water from the Raccoon River to meet demand within the city of Des Moines. The 54 degrees (Fahrenheit) temperature of Monday quickly melted snow and ice. This rapid runoff could create a musty odor and taste. To counter that, DMWW increased the chlorine content in the water.

Chris Jones, the laboratory supervisor at DMWW, answered some questions for this post. Chlorine is added to the water supply as the last step before it is sent running through pipes to flow from household faucets. Usually there is 1 part per million (ppm), which dissipates the farther the water travels. On a typical day, the chlorine content for a customer in Des Moines is between 0.3 and 1 ppm. On Wednesday and Thursday, the amount being added was increased to 2 ppm. Powdered activated carbon, which absorbs odors, also was increased.

DMWW monitors the amount of bacteria in the river. When there is a snow melt, the amount of coliform bacteria can increase, but no such increase was noted this week. Thus, the chlorine was needed only to neutralize the musky characteristics of the river water. As the ice began to break up on the Raccoon River, DMWW was able to switch back to drawing water from the Des Moines River. Some ice had formed on the Des Moines but it disappeared once the Corps of Engineers increased the amount of water released from Saylorville.

The average daily demand for water from DMWW is 46 million gallons. It is rare to have a chlorine demand above 1 ppm. In addition to a rapid snow melt, more chlorine may be added during very hot weather when the molecules dissipate at a faster rate than normal. The current aroma of chlorine should work its way through the system in about another day.

The Army Corps of Engineers received a request from the City of Des Moines to reduce water flow from January 22nd through the 24th for the bridge-related work. The water flow had been 1120 cubic feet per second (cfs). It was reduced to 750 cfs. This week it was increased to 1200 cfs and reduced again today (February 1, 2008) to 960 cfs.

Jon Fussell in the city’s engineering department answered questions about the bridge work. The bridge abutments are going in close to the abutments of the dam, which required water to be routed around the dam for an inspection. In addition, Cramer & Associates, the bridge contractor, wanted to drive pilings instead of putting in caissons. Fussell said that was approved with some restrictions on vibrations. He also said the dam looked good, especially since it is over 100 years old.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 

The Chicago Tribune’s January 13th edition included an article that featured an Iowan dairy farmer who cloned a prized cow. The story was tied to the January 15th announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that meat and milk from cloned animals is safe for humans to consume.

The FDA found cattle, swine, and goats that are cloned to be safe for consumption. In addition, the offspring of cloned traditional food animals are acceptable to the FDA. However, cloned sheep and other animals that are not cattle, swine, or goat are not recommended to be consumed directly.  Labeling of products from cloned animals, or their offspring, is not being required by the FDA.

Ben & Jerry’s web site includes an animated cow singing about cloning, which I have not heard. The ice cream company’s site also expresses concern about possible limitations on labeling by companies who want to stress that their products do not include ingredients from cloned animals.

Practical cloning of farm animals has been experimented with since at least the early 1980’s. The FDA’s January 15th statement notes that U.S. producers voluntarily agreed to withhold cloned products from the marketplace until after the FDA made its evaluation. It is not clear at this time how quickly such products will begin to appear in grocery stores or in restaurants.

Frank Reagan of Waukon, Iowa, the farmer featured in the Chicago Tribune story, uses milk from Debra, a six-year-old clone, and four other cloned cows to feed to calves. In the article, Regan is noted as saying that using the milk is cheaper than buying milk supplements. Animals who consume milk from cloned animals, are the offspring of cloned animals, or are otherwise not the original clone are considered by the industry to be no different from any other animal.

The Seattle Times reported on January 12, 2008, that the European Food Safety Authority issued a draft opinion that stated risk for consumers from meat and milk of cloned animals is “very unlikely.” The article goes on to note that the European Union may not approve sales of the products, however. In Europe social and ethical factors must be considered and many Europeans support the concept of the precautionary principal.

A 2004 paper by D.C. Faber, L.B. Ferre, et al., published by Mary Ann Leibert, Inc. identifies several potential uses for cloned animals. These include the production of pharmaceuticals in transgenic cattle and the use of clones for research. The summary of the paper opines, “[t]he ultimate goal of cloning has often been envisioned as a system for producing quantity and uniformity of the perfect dairy cow.”

Denise O’Brien reacted to the FDA’s rule in a telephone interview I conducted with her by saying, “I think it is a dangerous thing.” She said the decision “is an indication of how closely connected our FDA is with the industrial…culture of agriculture.” O’Brien is coordinator of the Women, Food & Agriculture Network and ran or Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture in 2006.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 

I am one of the lucky ones who registered and will be with the Des Moines Raw Food Meetup Group tonight at East Village Books. If you missed out this time you can sign up to be on the wait list for the second meeting to be held February 4. Send an e-mail to Sheree Clark at sheree@saylesdesign.com if you’d like to go. And there’s still room to sign up for the Mar 3 meetup.

Sheree is the founder of Living Raw, her raw food consulting group. You might have seen the nice article in the Des Moines Register bringing us up to speed on Sheree’s many activities.

Jim, usually an old stick-in-the mud, tells me it’s also crunch time for Ohio State and LSU who will be playing for the national championship in football tonight. But he is coming too. Good choice, Jim.

Writer: Sandy Renshaw is a self-employed communications consultant. You will also find her blogging at Purple Wren.

Technorati Tags: Iowa, Des Moines, Des Moines News, Meetup, Raw Food Meetup Group

What would Christmas dinner be if it were prepared from locally-grown food? What would your neighborhood look like if land were protected to provide a varied locally-sustainable diet? What would your larder look like if you could order locally-grown food online? The first question is one I have been pondering over the past week. The third question is one that Practical Farmers of Iowa is hoping to answer. They all return to the main question of what is locally grown food?

In terms of distance, 100 miles is the number often used to define local. However, does that mean grown, raised, and processed within those hundred miles, or is it sufficient merely to be grown, raised, or processed locally? In addition, how far should component parts travel, such as fertilizer for crops or fuel for tractors?

Applying the hundred-miles rule to Des Moines, food would need to come from no farther than Clear Lake; Denison; Maryville, Missouri; Fairfield; the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids corridor; or Waverly. This includes many good choices. There are goat cheeses, the Maytag Dairy Farm, the Barilla pasta plant, Grady’s hydroponic tomatoes, and cattle and hog operations. There are vineyards and farms offering a variety of tubers and squash. Soybeans, the vegan protein staple, are plentiful but peanut oil is not. Blue Bunny ice cream, located in Le Mars, is not within the hundred miles, either. As a child, peaches bought from a nearby orchard in summer and then frozen were a tradition at breakfast on Christmas morning. That, too, is a possibility in Des Moines.

In a sustainable local diet, how much food is allowed to be brought in from greater distances? How is that food measured? Is it counted by calories or by tonnage or by nutritional value? Iowa is not wheat or rice country. Would we need to give up bread and crackers? From where should we get salt and how many bananas or how much chocolate can we allow ourselves?

Transporting delicacies great distances is not new. The trade in Asian spices is but one examples. There was also trade among American Indian tribes. In Victorian England ice shipped from the Hudson River in New York state was praised for its purity of taste. Cheap fuel and private automobiles merely made the movement of food easier.

For some people, local purchasing is simply about how it can help sustain family farmers or the taste of truly fresh food. Practical Farmers of Iowa is looking at launching an Iowa Food Cooperative based on programs in Oklahoma and in Nebraska. Consumers would place orders online and then collect the food at a central location. This would occur monthly or at other regular intervals. For an extra charge, the products could be delivered directly to your home. Before the cooperative is launched in 2008, Practical Farmers is soliciting input from potential users of the service through an online survey as to what they might purchase and what type of pick-up location they would prefer.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa and went with a traditional theme for this year’s holiday dining.