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Fall means harvest, moving cattle & pheasant season in South Dakota

October is a busy month for all Midwest farmers, but it’s an especially eventful time for the Eich family of Canova, South Dakota.

The Eichs graciously made time for my visit on Saturday, Oct. 15, although they were in the midst of corn harvest and had a yard full of guests – all of whom were eagerly awaiting the noon opening of pheasant season. (NOTE: It didn’t take me long to realize that the opening of pheasant hunting season is virtually a state holiday in South Dakota. Combines shut down and harvest practically comes to a halt statwide. Until I witnessed it first hand, I thought such tales were only tall.)

When I pulled into the yard that morning, everyone was busy. The husband-wife team of Cory and Leanne run the combine and the grain cart respectively. Their nephew, Kelly Endorf, hauls the crop. All three play a role in the family’s cattle operation, as well.

In addition to growing row crops and selling Latham® Hi-Tech Seeds, the Eichs run a cow-calf operation that keeps them busy year round. The summer months are spent stock piling feed for the feedlot and winter months. After harvest, the calves are weaned and fed-to-finish for 7 months; the cows are moved to cornstalks for winter forage, weather permitting.

It’s no wonder that the Eichs are so passionate about promoting the product they produce. Cory serves as President of the McCook-Miner-Lake-County Cattlemen’s Association and is 2nd Vice President of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association.

“We never have to worry about what we’re going to do because there’s always something that needs to be done,” says Leanne. “We enjoy working together and charting our course. We enjoy operating our own business and the independence that comes along with farming and raising cattle.”

“Beef, it’s what’s for dinner!” isn’t just a slogan, it’s a way of life for the Eichs.

“Our main meal for the day is dinner (at noon),” says Leanne, who keeps her freezer stocked with beef and homemade bars and cookies. “Home-raised beef is our favorite, so most of our sit-down meals consist of roast beef, grilled steaks or hamburger.

A family favorite of the Eich’s two grown daughters, Rachel and Leslie, is Country Beef Roll-Up. Give the Eich’s recipe a try and complement your meal with one of my favorite autumn dessert recipes for Pumpkin Tarts.

Recipe Details: Fall means harvest, moving cattle & pheasant season in South Dakota

Prep Time: 
Total Time: -
Yield: 
Ingredients: 2 beaten eggs
1/3 c. tomato sauce
½ c. chopped onion
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1/3 c. crushed saltine crackers
1½ pound lean ground beef
2 c. Mozzarella cheese (do not mix in)
Directions: Mix the above ingredients (except the cheese). On a piece of wax paper, pat meat mixture into an 11×8-inch rectangle that’s about 3/4” thick. Sprinkle with 1 3/4 c. Mozzarella cheese. Starting from a long side, use the waxed paper to help roll up the meat into a spiral. Pinch edges and ends to seal.

Bake uncovered in a loaf pan seam side down, for 50 minutes. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Then bake for an additional 10 minutes.

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Serve Up Soup for Supper This Season

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Crock pot meals are a favorite this time a year: they offer flexibility at meal time since you don’t have to worry about the pot roast burning or the soup boiling dry; you can make hearty meals that will help fuel a hardworking body for hours; and crock pot recipes usually require minimal prep time.

Minimizing time in the kitchen is key for busy farm wives, who drive the combine or haul grain carts during harvest and work in town. They’re also perfect for non-farming mamas like me, who are busy chauffeuring kids between football practice and gymnastics lessons, 4-H meetings and Scout activities.

So, you can imagine how delighted I was when I visited the Nelsen family last week in southern Minnesota last week and came home with two easy-to-make, nutrition-packed recipes. Pasta Fazula Soup is a Nelsen family favorite. Shirley Nelsen got the recipe a few winters ago while visiting her sister in Texas, and it’s become a go-to meal. This meal is such a hit that her son, Patrick, requested she “teach” his fiancée, Jody, how to make it.

“There isn’t much to teaching someone how to make Pasta Fazula Soup,” says Shirley with a smile. “All you really do is dump a bunch of canned items – plus a few fresh ingredients – into a crock pot. It’s a great harvest-time recipe and also freezes well.”

Shirley, who has worked for 27 years at the Hy-Vee food store in Austin, Minn., also told me about a recipe that the store’s nutritionist recently shared with her for Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Salad. It doesn’t sound like something a Midwest family would traditionally serve at mealtime, but it certainly sounds like a great way to (1) get out of a food rut and (2) provide a satisfying last-minute supper. For those two reasons alone, I believe it’s worth having a few sweet potatoes on hand.

“The fragrant filling of beans and tomatoes adds protein,” writes Jen Haugen, registered dietitian at the Hy-Vee store in Austin, Minn., in The Austin Daily Herald’s food column. “Be sure to eat the potato skin, which is full of fiber, as well.”

Pasta Fazula Soup

All you need:

  • 1 to 2 pounds hamburger, browned
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1, 16-oz can of peeled tomatoes
  • 1 or 2 cans of diced Rotel® (two makes it spicer, the way the Nelsen’s like it)
  • 1 or 2 cans of pinto or ranch beans
  • 3 cans of minestrone soup

All you do:
Rinse each can with ¼ can of water and add that liquid to your pot. Simmer for 2 or 3 hours.

COOK’S TIP: This is a great harvest-time recipe. All you have to do is put it in the crock pot and then take it out to the field. It also freezes well.

Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad
Serves 4 (1 potato each)
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

All you need:

  • 4 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1, 15-oz. can black beans (rinsed)
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
  • ¾ tsp. salt
  • ¼ c. reduced-fat sour cream
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

All you do:

  1. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Microwave on high until tender all the way to the center, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, bake at 425º for about 1 hour.)
  2. Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt; microwave on high until just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat.)
  3. When cool enough to handle, slash each potato lengthwise. Press open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Celebrating German Roots & Fall Harvest with Oktoberfest

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For a few days each year, folks in southern Minnesota toot their own horns. They’ve also been known to play the concertina, sing volkslieder (folk songs) and dance a polka. In fact, they’re so good at carrying on these German traditions that USA Today has named New Ulm one of the “10 Great Places to Celebrate Oktoberfest.” You can experience New Ulm’s 30th annual Oktoberfest from Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 and Oct. 7-8, 2011.

“Oktoberfest is definitely a great time. However, because it coincides with harvest in our area, we aren’t always able to attend. But when we go, we have fun!” says Tom Maiers (pronounced “Meyers”). “If you enjoy or think you’d enjoy the experience of a German festival, you’ll want to check this one out. It’s a great opportunity to meet new friends, visit with old friends, taste some wonderful German food and enjoy the local ethnic entertainment.”

Tom and his wife of 38 years, La Mae, farm about 40 miles north of New Ulm in Stewart. They also have a Latham® seed dealership. Tom is the primary salesman. La Mae handles the details of entering the customers’ orders into an online system that also tracks inventory and prints customer invoices.

“I’ve always enjoyed helping people select the best products for their farm,” says Tom, who started making sales calls in the late 1960s with his father, who later became a district sales manager for a seed company. In the early 1970s, Tom became a dealer himself. As seed companies sold or brands changed hands throughout the years, the Maiers have stayed with family-owned, independent seed companies.

“One of the reasons La Mae and I are so excited about our new partnership with Latham is because we believe we can offer superior products to our customers,” says Tom. “Latham offers a diverse lineup with access to all of the industry’s latest traits and technologies.”

Tom is putting those technologies to the test this season with his own on-farm research. He and La Mae live on the Maiers’ home place, which was originally purchased in 1919 by Tom’s grandfather. “We feel so blessed that my grandfather settled where he did,” says Tom. “Our land is very productive and it’s adjacent to a gravel pit where our family likes to fish and hunt. Wildlife is abundant. It’s common to look out the window and see deer or turkeys in our yard. Plus, there is lots of room for kids to play and explore.”

If all goes according to plan, this beautiful farm place will stay in the Maiers family well after it becomes a Century Farm. All three of the Maiers’ sons live within a 10-mile radius and assist with the planting and harvest. Their oldest son, Nathan, is also the materials coordinator at Impressions, a printing company located in Hutchinson. He and his fiancée, Tammy, are busy planning their wedding for early 2012. Tammy is a speech therapist and also works in the Hutchinson area.

Matthew, the youngest of their four children, is the maintenance supervisor for the City of Stewart. Matt’s wife, Melissa, is employed with the State Farm Agency in Hector, Minn. They’re also the proud parents of a five-month-old son, Mason.

Jonathan has farmed full-time beside his parents for the past eight years. He and his wife, Kate, recently purchased an acreage within two miles of the home farm. They’re hoping they and their three children (10-year-old Dylan, 7-year-old Alexandra and 3-year-old Jack) are moved into the newly remodeled farm house well before it’s time to carve the jack-o-lanterns. Jon has been burning the candle at both ends, trying to finish up the carpentry work while preparing for fall harvest. When Kate isn’t working as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Hutchinson Area Health Care, she’s busy painting walls and staining woodwork as the family works together to finish this extensive project.

The Maiers’ oldest child, Kimberly, lives in Nashville. She and her husband, John Shaw III, released their first self- titled CD Drobac and Shaw in July. It’s a country album, but it includes the Personal Polka. This single is available as a download for just $.99 on Amazon.com, or the whole physical album at CDBaby.com. (I’m betting Drobac and Shaw’s version of the polka is distinctly different from the polkas that will be played at New Ulm’s Oktoberfest. Give it a listen and let me know what you think!)

In honor of their German heritage and the upcoming 30th Oktoberfest celebration, La Mae graciously treated me to a delicious homemade lunch including the Maiers’ family recipe for German Potato Salad. Her side dish was so delicious that I’m happy to add this recipe to my own collection! I’m also glad to have La Mae’s bread pudding recipe. There’s bread pudding – and then there’s La Mae’s bread pudding. Seriously, it’s that good. I’m guessing the secret is in the sauce. Try it and tell me if you agree!

Recipe: German Potato Salad (La Mae Maiers)

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs red potatoes
• 6-8 strips of bacon
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 ½ cups water
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 ¼ cups vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Wash and cook potatoes until tender, yet firm. Cool slightly. Peel and slice. Brown bacon with the onion. Drain some of the bacon grease (retaining some adds flavor to the salad). Break up the bacon into smaller pieces.

In a large pan, boil together: water, sugar, vinegar and salt until clear, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Mix cornstarch with an additional amount of cold water to make thickening (as you would for gravy). Slowly stir into the water/sugar mixture, stirring constantly until smooth and slightly thickened.

Add bacon/onions and potatoes to dressing. Simmer until potatoes are heated through. Mixture should be “soupy” but will thicken as potatoes soak up the dressing. This dish is much more flavorful if made a day ahead and then reheated on low in a crock pot.

Recipe: Bread Pudding with Butter Rum Sauce(La Mae Maiers)

Ingredients:

• 6 slices day-old bread
• 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ cup seedless raisins
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 cups Almond milk (or regular milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Break bread into small pieces in a 1½ quart baking dish. Sprinkle cinnamon and raisins over bread. Drizzle with butter. Combine eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla. Add to bread mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until firm. Best served warm with Rum Sauce.

Butter Rum Sauce(Makes 2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Rum/Captain Morgan Spiced Rum to taste

Directions

Place milk, butter and sugar in saucepan and bring to boil. Heat oil in small skillet and stir in flour to make a smooth paste. Add some of the milk mixture to flour mixture and blend well. Return flour mixture to milk mixture in pan. Cook and stir until thickened and smooth. Add nutmeg, vanilla and rum to taste. Serve over pudding. Add a dollop of whipped cream when serving.

(Original recipe found in Recipes from Minnesota…with love by Betty Malisow)