Category Archives: Desserts

Have a “Ball” during May Beef Month

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Joy & Dave Bonin

Warm weather means Joy Bonin can look through the patio window and take in her favorite view, watching black cattle grazing in the green pasture. Her husband, Dave, jokingly calls their cows and calves “lawn ornaments” because she comments so often about what a pretty picture the cattle make.

The Bonins raise Angus and Black Baldies bred to an Angus bull near Belmond in Wright County, Iowa. Their farm includes 40 acres of creek pasture where the cattle graze in the summer months. They also grow corn, and they’ve been contract Latham® soybean growers for approximately 30 years.

Dave and Joy began farming 39 years ago. For the past 37 years, they’ve lived on a farm that Joy’s grandparents purchased in 1950. Joy’s father purchased the farm in 1986, and ever since then she and Dave have farmed it. It’s also where they raised their two children, Michelle and David.

“The farm is a great place to raise a family because there are so many things to do and so many wide open spaces to roam,” says Joy. “Both of our children have a very good work ethic and we believe it’s because they learned to work alongside their parents.”

The Bonin’s daughter, Michelle, earned a bachelor’s degree from Drake University and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. She works as a financial services consultant for Deloitte. Her husband, Mike, recently started his own business. They also stay busy with their two children, Madilyn, age 4½, and Matthew, age 1½.

Dave & David

The Bonin’s son, David, plays an active role in the family’s farming operation. He does cattle chores daily, as well as helps with spring planting and fall harvest. David earned his Master Electrician license this winter and works full-time as an industrial electrician. His wife, Rachel, works part-time as a radiologist/lab tech and stays busy keeping up with their five active children: Mike, 15; Zach, 14; Colton, 13; Liberty, 10 and Cole, 8. All boys are active in sports. Meanwhile, Liberty takes lessons in dance, gymnastics and piano.

With seven grandchildren, Dave and Joy have a busy calendar! They enjoy attending as many sporting events and recitals as possible. They also enjoy weekend visits to Glen Carbon, Illinois. In addition, they’re active in their community. Dave just completed a three-year term on the church board. He also serves on the Belmond Community Housing board and the Art Council. He enjoys pencil drawing and riding motorcycle in his spare time. Joy serves and their church’s bookkeeper plus teaches Vacation Bible School each summer. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening and baking.

Because Joy has worked off-farm at Latham Hi-Tech Seeds for nearly 36 years, she values meals that are quick, easy and flavorful. Joy often relies on beef when she prepares supper and takes it to the field during planting and harvest.

Today Joy is sharing a couple of her favorite seasonal recipes with us, one for Rhubarb Crunch Cake and another for Sour Cream Meatballs. “Have a ball” with this beef recipe in celebration of May Beef Month!

Sour Cream Meatballs by Joy Bonin

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds ground chuck or round
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 package Lipton dry onion soup mix
  • 1½ cups dry bread crumbs
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten

Directions:

Mix all ingredients. Form meatballs and brown in butter or margarine.

In a Dutch oven, mix:

  • 1 can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup
  • 1 can Campbell’s Beef Broth
  • 1 can water

Add meatballs to liquid. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Yields about 36 meatballs. Serve over rice or noodles.

Cherry Rhubarb Crunch by Joy Bonin

Crust:

  • 2 ½ cups oatmeal
  • ¾ cup flour
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup margarine

Filling:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 T. cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 can cherry pie filling
  • 4 cups diced rhubarb
  • 1 t. almond extract

Crust: Combine ingredients and cut together to make crumbs. Save ¾ c. crumbs for top; put rest of crumbs in a 9X13 in. pan

Filling: In sauce pan, combine sugar, cornstarch and water and cook until thick. Remove from heat and add pie filling, rhubarb, and almond extract. Pour over crumbs and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350° F. for 40 minutes.

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Food & FamilyCelebrate Soy Foods Month with Key Lime Pie

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Vanessa Kummer, Chairman United Soybean Board (USB)/Soy Checkoff , Blaine & Paul (Photo credit from Farm and Ranch Guide.)

Increasing the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, maintaining farmers’ freedom to operate, as well as meeting customers’ needs for high-quality soy products are strategic objectives of the United Soybean Board (USB). They’ve also been a personal mission for North Dakota farmer Vanessa Kummer, who has served on the USB board for the past decade.

“I really hope my involvement opens the door for more women and helps empower them to believe they deserve to have a seat at the table,” says Vanessa, who was the first woman to be elected as USB chairperson and the first North Dakotan elected to this position.

Thirty percent of U.S. farms are operated by women, and an even higher percentage of farming operations involve women along with other family members. Women’s roles in farming are changing as more women are earning business degrees and even MBAs before returning to their family farms. That’s why Vanessa believes it’s important for women to be active in the industry and represented in leadership positions.

When asked how more women can become involved in agricultural organizations, Vanessa said, “Show up to meetings regularly, ask questions and participate.” As one of three female panelists at the Top Producers Executive Women in Agriculture event last December in Chicago, she said the amount of misinformation being spread about farming is a real concern. She also said that more and more consumers are being misled by media.

Consumer outreach was one of Vanessa’s main focuses while serving as USB chair. She worked with leadership within the National Corn Growers Association to launch the CommonGroundTM program aimed at addressing consumers’ food concerns by sharing facts about farming and dispelling food myths. CommonGround focuses on women-to-women communications to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas. It involves a group of volunteer farmer participants, representing all sectors of agriculture.

“Food safety concerns can affect our freedom to farm,” says Vanessa. “That’s why U.S. farmers must connect with consumers. It’s important to share our stories and promote understanding. If we don’t give consumers the facts about U.S. agriculture, then who will?”

Vanessa recently finished serving her term as USB chair, but she remains active within the industry and in her community. But being active is nothing new to Vanessa. She’s held leadership positions within several organizations during the past 35 years that’s she’s been farming.

Vanessa has been active on the United Soybean Board for the past decade. Her service included four years on the USB executive committee including two as chair for the Communications Program. As USB Vice-Chair, she also served as chair for the Global Opportunities Program and as team lead for the USB Strategic Planning Team. She has termed off USB, but continues to serve as a director for the United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC), the international marketing arm for USB and the American Soybean Association (ASA).

On the state level, Vanessa has served the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association as a board member, treasurer and past president. She also has been active with the North Dakota Corn Growers. She served as a 4-H leader and as softball coach, plus she’s a member of the North Dakota State college of Science’s Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition, Vanessa is active in her local church.

Vanessa and her husband, Paul, continue to operate their family farm. Their daughter, Rachael, is a math teacher in Colorado. Their son and daughter-in-law, Blaine and Megan, farm with them south of Fargo where they raise sugar beets, corn and soybeans.

As a soybean grower, Vanessa sings agriculture’s praises by advocating for America’s soybean farmers. That’s why, in celebration of April Soyfoods Month, Vanessa is sharing with us one of her favorite recipes for Key Lime Pie.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

  • 1- graham cracker pie shell
  • 1- 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1- box Silken firm lite Tofu (12 oz)
  • 1/2 cup Key Lime juice
Directions:
  1. Combine sweetened condensed milk and tofu in blender, add lime juice and blend until smooth.
  2. Pour filling into pie shell and bake 12-15 min. at 350°. Allow to cool 10 minutes and refrigerate.
  3. Can be garnished with whipped cream and lime slices when serving.
  4. This recipe does not require baking as the tofu substitutes for the eggs, and will set up in the refrigerator.
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Food & Family“Dish This” Contest Promises to Serve Up Fun

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Franklin County 4-H members who earned top awards in 2012 for promoting Iowa-grown foods include Collin Meints, in the Junior division, as well as Kendra Vanness and Ben Fahrmann in the Senior divisions.

Not everyone understands how food is grown. Even those who buy fresh produce at the Farmer’s Market or try their hand at gardening aren’t always familiar with how to fix it. Thanks to a revamped program being offered July 18 at the 2013 Franklin County Fair, however, fairgoers can learn a thing or two from 4-H members. After all, these recipes will be simple enough for a fourth grader to fix!

An updated version of the Promote Your Commodities contest, Dish This!, features the use of Iowa-grown products in food dishes. New contest categories include: Appetizer / Snack, Salad / Side Dish, Main Dish, Bread and Desserts.

The 2013 Franklin County Fair will be the fourth time Collin Meints of the West Fork Winners 4-H Club in Sheffield, Iowa, has participated in this contest. When school gets out for the summer, he’ll be busy conducting research on websites and paging through cooking magazines to gain ideas for this year’s entries. Of course, trying new recipes means he and his family get to “taste test” new recipes throughout the summer.

“My favorite part of this contest is getting to taste everyone’s entries once the judging is complete at the fair,” said Collin. “My older brother participated in this contest before I was old enough to join 4-H. He had fun, so I knew that I wanted to enter this contest once I became a 4-H member.”

Not only has he entered this contest, he’s conquered it! Last year he took top honors in the Soy, Dairy, Beef and Pork categories. Collin is sharing two award-winning recipes with us on TheFieldPosition. His recipe for Pork and Bean Bars, promoting soybeans, earned him a purple ribbon in 2012. Collin also received a purple ribbon in 2010 for promoting dairy with a Morning Orange Drink.

Pork and Bean Bars

Ingredients:

  • 1, 15-oz can pork and beans (do not drain)
  • 1 small (8 oz.) can (undrained) crushed pineapple
  • 2 c. sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 c. vegetable oil (I use soy oil)
  • 1½ cups all all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup soy flour
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 can cream cheese frosting

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350°. Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a blender, puree beans and pineapple; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and oil. Mix well.
  2. Add flour and soy flour, baking soda, and cinnamon to egg mixture and mix.
  3. Add beans and pineapple; mix well.
  4. Pour into a sprayed jelly roll pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.
  5. Cool completely and frost.
  6. Makes 24 servings.

COOK’S NOTE: I found this recipe in the “Generations of Caring” cookbook from the Sheffield Care Center and Deerfield Place Assisted Living.

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