11 minute read
A Tapestry of Flavors, Textures and Gatherings
By Ann Thelen | Photo courtesy of The Gingham Apron.
Three Iowa food bloggers marry culinary creations with storytelling
Treasured recipes are a tapestry of flavors and textures, woven together with threads of memories, nostalgia and the bonds between friends and families. Sharing the stories of creating delightful recipes, embracing the joy that comes from congregating around a dining table or chronicling daily farm life has created an outlet for many creative cooks and writers.
Food blogging, which became popular in the early 2000s, marries the science of blending the perfect ingredients for delectable foods with the captivating art of storytelling. Numerous food bloggers call Iowa home, and it’s a fitting locale with the fertile soils that sprout robust crops and gardens and farmers who cultivate a culture of raising high-quality, healthy livestock.
Meet the ladies and families from The Gingham Apron, Ally’s Sweet and Savory Eats, and Zestful Kitchen – three popular Iowa food blogs.
The Gingham Apron: The Herrick Family
The Gingham Apron creators pictured from left, Jenny Herrick, Annie Boyd, Denise Herrick, Molly Herrick and Shelby Herrick.
Photo courtesy of The Gingham Apron.
The Gingham Apron is created by five women from one Iowa farm family who love to find new ways to cherish everyday life together while celebrating their faith, family and farm life in rural Greenfield in Adair County.
Denise Herrick, her daughters Annie and Jenny, and daughters-in-law Shelby and Molly, offer a glimpse into Iowa farm life throughout every season and the joy of coming together over food. Each blogger brings something different to the table with their own unique passion for food preparation and perspective on being part of a multigenerational farm family.
“Our blog started in 2014 when we decided to develop a family cookbook,” Annie says. “Every month, for an entire year, the five of us would share a meal created from our recipes and work on the project.” While we were already a close-knit family, it deepened our connections. There is enormous power in gathering and its role in strengthening families.”
The blog highlights family activities throughout the different seasons of life and farming on their soybean, corn and cattle farm. Whether it’s reading about the trials and joys of the spring calving season or preparing a fall meal during harvest with a truck tailgate serving as the family table, everyone is invited to
experience an authentic slice of farm life through the family’s stories. Each post includes a recipe from a vast collection of everything from soups and casseroles to slow cooker and kid-friendly meals, along with an inspirational message.
While the farm and faith connection runs deep in the women, each one cooks in different ways. Annie grew up on the Herrick farm and married her high school sweetheart. As a mom who home-schools, she enjoys learning alongside her kids and making quick and easy meals. With a degree in corporate wellness, Shelby loves creating healthy meals using her educational background. Denise is active in women’s and children’s ministries at her local church, Molly has a background in art and design, and Jenny’s niche is making recipes that are trending on social media.
This fall, the gingham-clad apron ladies are releasing a book, “The Gathering Table,” which follows this Iowa family through their year of gatherings. With complete menus, mouthwatering recipes, devotional readings, prayers and ideas for gatherings, the family hopes their book will become a go-to resource for entertaining and enjoying life together.
“We are all hungry for meaningful connections, but most of us don’t have the time to cook complicated meals or plan big festivities,” Annie explains. “What we need are simple, delicious recipes and easy, doable ideas for making memories with those we love.”
Beef Bourguignon
Photo courtesy of The Gingham Apron.
• 5slices bacon, finely chopped •
3pounds stew meat
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup red cooking wine
• 1-2 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 3garlic cloves, minced
• 1tablespoon dried thyme leaves
• 5 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4 potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• Parsley for garnish
• Salt and pepper
In large stockpot, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside. Salt and pepper beef and add to pot. Sear beef on each side, about 2-3 minutes. Add red wine to skillet, scraping down the brown bits on the side. Allow it to simmer and reduce. Slowly add chicken broth and tomato sauce. Slowly whisk in flour. Add garlic, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms to pot. Stir and cook on low until beef is tender, about 8-10 hours or on high for 6-8 hours. Garnish with parsley, and serve with rolls or bread.
Serves: 6
Source: The Gingham Apron
Ally's Sweet & Savory Eats: Ally Billhorn
Ally Billhorn chats with her daughter Taylor during a visit to the Iowa River Landing in Coralville.
Photo by Joseph L. Murphy.
A decade ago, when Ally Billhorn’s firstborn son was three months old, she read a magazine article about food bloggers. It was a Saturday, and by Sunday, she had her first blog online. Today, Ally’s Sweet and Savory Eats is her full-time passion, aside from joyfully being a busy wife and mom to three kids. With her blog, Ally happily says she uses her love of writing and journalism degree to serve up Midwestern food with a side of humor. Raised in a small Iowa community, her husband’s job transfer brought them to Muscatine County in 2008. Ever since, they’ve fondly called Wilton home. “My blog is for the average cook – anyone who is busy, wants to learn how to cook or simply wants easy recipes,” Ally explains. “My recipes aren’t complicated; they are filled with ingredients you either already have at home or can easily find on store shelves.”
The storytelling aspect of blogging is what got Ally hooked on this creative outlet, and the fact she’s been a self-proclaimed cookbook collector since college. Back then, she was first attracted to Taste of Home magazine, because of the simple, affordable recipes that included a pinch or two of facts about the recipe creator.
She even recalls subscribing to a cookbook club, where she could glance inside the pages before choosing the ones to keep. The cookbooks that stayed on her shelf fueled her curiosity with the nostalgia that wafted through the pages just as strongly as the cinnamon, sugar and fruit scents of an apple pie drift through the kitchen.
“I love a good story and connecting with people. When I read a blog that includes a recipe, I want to know about the family, what was going on in the kitchen when the recipe was being created and how it made the family feel,” she says. “Anyone can write about strawberry shortcake, but I want to know what makes ‘that’ particular shortcake recipe special.” It’s not a coincidence that Ally uses desserts in her example; after all, they are her favorite thing to make and a flagship of the blog’s name. “Homestyle, comforting foods really speak to me,” she says. “When I’m featuring a recipe on my blog, I want people to go on a journey with me and to know they’ve found a place that feels like home.”
Pumpkin Pie Cream Cheese Bars
Photo courtesy of Ally’s Sweet and Savory Eats.
Crust
• 1package yellow cake mix
• 1 stick cold butter, cubed
Pumpkin Pie Filling
• 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 12-ounce can evaporated milk (leave out 2 ounces)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Cheesecake Filling
• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Remaining 2 ounces evaporated milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 9x13-inch baking dish. Combine cake mix with cubed butter, cutting in with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Press mixture into bottom of pan. In a stand mixer, combine pumpkin pie filling ingredients until incorporated. Pour over cake mix crust. In the same stand mixer (cleaned out), combine cheesecake filling ingredients. First, whipping the cream cheese until smooth, then adding the remaining ingredients. Place heaping spoonfuls of the cheesecake filling onto the pumpkin layer. Cut through cream cheese mixture with a knife to swirl into pumpkin mixture.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until set in the middle and lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool completely. Chill at least 1-2 hours before cutting into bars. Keep refrigerated.
Source: Ally’s Sweet and Savory Eats
Zestful Kitchen: Lauren Grant
Photo by Joseph L. Murphy.
Entrusted with a paring knife at the age of three, Lauren Grant’s love for cooking has always been strong. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t want to be in the kitchen. Drawing on her Midwestern roots, Lauren thrives on bringing people together through food.
“For me, that means gathering around a table and sharing delicious, wholesome food that everyone will enjoy,” Lauren says. “Food fosters community and a reason to sit around the table and talk. When you have an excuse to enjoy conversation and be present with the food you're eating, it creates an unparalleled experience.”
Throughout high school and college, Lauren worked at The Café in Ames, where she gained a deeper appreciation for the way chefs created masterful dishes and pairings. While she loved food, she knew that the restaurant business wasn’t for her. Armed with degrees from Iowa State University in culinary food science and journalism, she charted along a different course to embody her talent and skills.
Before deciding in 2016 to solely focus on her blog, Zestful Kitchen, she interned at The Soyfoods Council and worked for several food magazines and in America’s Test Kitchen, Cuisine at Home’s test kitchen and Better Homes and Gardens’ test kitchen. Today, her career focuses solely on creating exceptional recipes and taking breathtaking photos for numerous national brands while generating ad revenue by attracting quality traffic to her blog.
“My goal is to create recipes that I enjoy eating and to teach people how to eat seasonally by highlighting an ingredient they wouldn't typically use that way,” Lauren explains. “I strive to use accessible, high-quality ingredients that I’m going to treat respectfully. By that I mean, really letting the food shine.”
Because she wants the flavors and the cooking procedure to enhance the food and not cover it up, Lauren draws a lot of inspiration from how chefs pair ingredients – and often unexpected ones.
“I’m always thinking of food in different ways, such as how to create a new recipe with vegetables that still feels fresh and new in the dead of winter,” she explains.
For cooks who want to add their own customization to a traditional recipe, Lauren shares her secret.
“Make the recipe a few times as it’s written to become really comfortable with the ingredients and process,” she says. “Then, start exploring with changing an ingredient, such as an herb, to add different flavors and textures. It’s amazing what subtle changes can do to a recipe.”
Chipotle Tempeh Tacos
Photo courtesy of Zestful Kitchen.
Tempeh
• 8 ounces tempeh
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
• 2tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons honey or pure maple syrup
• 1teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Slaw
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon honey or pure maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon fresh garlic, grated
• 3 cups napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 cup Granny Smith apple, julienned
• ¾ cup red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• ¼ cup jalapeño, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
• ¼ cup parsley, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
To Serve
• Tortillas
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• Greek yogurt, sour cream or cashew cream
• Lime wedges
Making Tempeh
Fill a skillet with 1-inch of water and add tempeh. Bring water to a simmer over medium heat and cook tempeh 12 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Remove tempeh, pat dry, then transfer to a cutting board. Slice tempeh lengthwise (into two thin halves), then cut each rectangle into 16 bite-sized pieces.
Whisk oil, chipotle, adobo, lime juice, honey, garlic and salt together; add tempeh pieces and toss to coat. Cover tempeh and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or up to 24, stirring occasionally. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange tempeh on sheet in an even layer, and bake until tempeh is caramelized and deep golden brown, about 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
Making Slaw
Whisk together 2 tablespoons lime juice, vinegar, oil, honey, 1 teaspoon lime zest and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage, apple, onion, jalapeño, parsley and cilantro; toss to coat. Chill until ready to serve. To serve: Lightly toast tortillas over an open flame on stove top or under broiler just until warm and charred on both sides. Scoop slaw into tortilla, arrange 4–5 tempeh pieces over slaw and top with avocado slices, Greek yogurt or cashew cream, and additional herbs. Serve with lime wedges.
Serves: 4
Source: Zestful Kitchen
