Recipes | Grist

Spice up that lantern, Jacko

This Halloween, have your pumpkin—and eat it, too 5
Posted 1 week, 2 days ago April McGreger did not begin to fully appreciate pumpkin until she began to think outside the box -- or, more accurately the orange globe. If you are looking only for round, bright orange ones that we most readily identify as pumpkins you are missing out on a myriad of beautiful colors and shapes and the best pumpkin eating. And don't miss out on April McGreger's White Bean and Pumpkin Chili recipe.
core values

Apples with a sense of place 10
Posted 1 month ago In my personal experience the single most rewarding aspect of eating locally has been exploring my own region in depth. I think of it as seeking the wisdom of Wendell Berry who says repeatedly, "You've got to know where you are. You've got to consult the genius of the place."
The real dill

Home pickles made easy—and delicious 6
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago For centuries, traditional cultures all over the world have preserved food through the simple, magical process of lactic acid fermentation. Now, you can too!
Shell game

UPDATED: The cruelty of industrial egg-riculture—plus a tasty recipe for your local pastured eggs 10
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
Kurt Michael Friese cooks in Iowa, the state that produces more eggs than any other in the nation. So believe him when he says to avoid flavorless, ecologically troubling industrially produced eggs--and listen to his ideas for cooking with pastured eggs from small farmers.
Consider the fritter

Beat the August heat with an easy veggie supper 4
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Sure, August is hotter than hell. But what month offers better fresh veggies? April McGreger serves up a fresh take on what to do with 'em. Prepare to fritter some time away.
Fork in the road

Let’s (re)do school lunch 18
Posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago
It's time to get active in the campaign to improve school lunches, says Chef Kurt Michael Friese.
If you can't stand the heat...

Simple summer salads for staying cool and well-nourished 3
Posted 3 months ago
Sometimes, it's just too damned hot to cook. But that doesn't mean you have to submit to convenience foods. April McGreger delivers the dish on easy, filling summer salads.
Andalucia in a bowl

From southern Spain, the king of summer soups 2
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
When high summer comes, it's time to turn off the oven and reach for the blender. Kurt Michael Friese delivers the goods on gazpacho, a recipe imported from Spain but best made with your local summer bounty.
Jewels of summer

Reveling in the season’s tomato bounty, from pasta sauce to easy preserving 16
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Some folks equate summer with baseball; others with the beach. For April McGreger, summer means tomatoes--in fantastic, amazingly simple pasta sauces, and slowly roasted to preserve them for less blessed seasons.
Catch my drift?

With a gust of wind, an Iowa crop duster can squash an organic farm 18
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Usually, small-scale organic farmers avoid interacting with GMO seed giant Monsanto simply by avoiding its seeds. But one such grower in Iowa got a nasty blast of Monsanto's power anyway, literally from the sky.
Berry delightful

Cobbling together a delicious and easy summer dessert 3
Posted 4 months ago
April McGreger loves good chocolate; but it's summer, people! That means it's time for simple fruit desserts, like cobblers and crisps.
Jam session

I find my thrill in blueberry preserves—and so can you 2
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
It's getting hot out there. For April McGreger, high summer is canning season--time to put up the season's bounty for the cold months. In this edition of Farmer's Daughter, she tells how to make a delicious batch of blueberry preserves--and cornmeal pancakes to go with them.
Little feast on the prairie

From grass to grill, a Midwestern farm struts its stuff—and dishes up delicious lamb chops 4
Posted 5 months ago
Chef Kurt Michael Friese recently joined the members of Slow Food St. Louis for their fourth annual "Lambstravaganza" at Prairie Grass Farms just outside of New Florence, MO. Get a taste of the event yourself with a recipe for grilled lamp chops.
Pizza party!

How to turn your backyard into the best pizzeria in town 7
Posted 5 months ago
Want to improve on a warm summer evening outside? Throw an outdoor pizza party.
Slicing and dicing reality

From “local” Lays to Oprah’s KFC promo, hypocrisy abounds in the food world 2
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
Everyone's a little bit of a hypocrite, but the food industry takes the cake, says Kurt Michael Friese. The recent declaration that megabrand Lay's potato chips are "local" send him to his kitchen to whip up some real local chips--plus an easy recipe.
Also, Can We Come Over?

Have a happy (and green) Memorial Day weekend 2
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Whether you're grilling, gardening, or sinking your teeth into a big, juicy watermelon, we've got some choice advice.
Bread winners

Against the grain of industrial agriculture, truly local bread stages a comeback 1
Posted 5 months, 4 weeks ago
Most bread sold in the United States relies on pre-fab flour from a few varieties of wheat grown on large Midwestern fields. But a new wave of bakers is seeking out old grain varieties and grinding their own. April McGreger spells out why that's good for our taste buds and the food system alike--and delivers a delicious recipe for quick bread from heirloom grain flour.
Farm team

In the lush dirt of Iowa, community grows alongside veggies 4
Posted 6 months ago
Think of Iowa farms, and most folks get images of vast cornfields devoid of people. Things couldn't be more different at ZJ Farms, near Iowa City.
Sorrel of the story

From a zingy spring herb, a soup for sipping on the porch 2
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Gardeners and gastronomes fawn over sorrel -- and almost everyone else ignores it. That's a shame; it's is a powerful addition to soups and sauces, and tasty in salads when picked young.
Mama always said

Eating your veggies doesn’t have to be scary 4
Posted 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Save some moolah (and Ma Earth) by snarfing beans instead of burgers once a week.