I’ve been shopping at La Tapatia in Des Moines for years, and almost every time I go there, I walk by the butcher counter, which runs almost the whole length of the…

I started growing beans years ago, after trying some amazing  haricots vert that my friend and first garden mentor John grew in his plot at Buckeye Village, family housing at…

If you’re in Iowa, you can grow almost any herb imaginable. It’s easy, and the soil here grows some of the nicest basil, dill, cilantro, thyme, sage, mint, parsley, chives,…

Every summer I travel to Montana to see my family–and to fish for trout. We have some good spots, and this year we had tremendous luck. In the smaller streams,…

This is a recipe that I’ve developed over the past few years. I was first inspired by a trip to Arizona, where I first tried fish tacos, and by a…

Avocados have become increasingly available in Iowa, at a pretty decent price. I think the haas from Mexico or California are the best for making guacamole. I’ve experimented with all…

I recently decided to pitch in with my friends John and Joe on the equipment needed to make real sausage. We bought the real deal, a professional grade meat grinder,…