Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Earlier this year we attended a presentation by a young man to the gathering that was sponsored by the Manchester Master Gardeners. This very well spoken young man was speaking on the attractions at Reiman Gardens this spring and summer. His stories and descriptions put a visit on our spring/summer agenda. We had been there years before for the sole purpose of visiting the Butterfly House and thoroughly enjoyed that visit and fully expected to enjoy this one as well.

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History: from the Reiman Gardens website at http://www.reimangardens.iastate.edu/index.cfm
“Iowa State University has had a horticulture garden since 1914. Reiman Gardens is the third location for the gardens. The first location was north of the Farm House at the Hort. Research Station in 1914. In the early 1960’s, the Gardens were moved to a ¾ acre site on the northeast corner of the Iowa State University campus north of the power plant. This particular site offered little room for expansion and was surrounded by the campus’s industrial zone.
In the early 1990’s, faculty in the Horticulture department and university administrators discussed the possibility of moving the gardens to a larger, more visible location to beautify the entrance to the city of Ames and Iowa State University. In 1993, alumnus, Roy Reiman and his wife Bobbi generously gave $1.3 million to initiate phase one of the new gardens. Construction began on Reiman Gardens in 1994 and was officially dedicated in 1995. At its opening, Reiman Gardens covered just five acres, which included the entry court, the herb garden, rose garden, the campanile garden, Mahlstede Horticulture Learning Center and a maintenance building. The Gardens have continued to grow over the last eight years to cover 14-acres. The most recent addition is the Conservatory Complex and Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, which opened in November 2002.
Rodney Robinson Landscape Architects, a landscape architecture firm in Wilmington, DE, designed the Gardens. Robinson was selected because of his experience at other public gardens like Longwood Gardens and the Washington Mall. ISU faculty and staff were also active in the development of the Gardens’ master and planting plans.
Daryl Metzger, of Architects Smith Metzger in Des Moines, designed the buildings within the Gardens. The architecture reflects a Midwestern style, inspired by the state’s agricultural traditions. “
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We again negotiated without traveling Shih Tzu, Buddy, to stay at home. It would be too warm for him to safely wait in the car as we did our sightseeing. He was champ about it as he really doesn't like the heat. You try wearing a double coat everyday and see if the heat doesn't bother you as well. Breakfast was a “catch and run” from the Manchester Hardees and we were off on our adventure.
What a beautiful day. We thought when we headed out this morning that it was going to rain, but we never saw a drop. The sky just kept getting bluer all morning.
One of the things that this young man told everyone about was the dinosaur exhibit all through the gardens this spring until the end of July. There they were, all hiding in the flora and fauna. I don't think the fence would have been much protection, do you?
We both wanted to see the Buck Roses but found that we were about 2-3 weeks too early as most of them were just in the tight bud stage. So if you are thinking of the roses, plan your visit around mid-June. However, the irises were in full bloom.
Of course Den couldn't help hamming it up with the “dino”s. They even had one that was named after Bambi from the Walt Disney movies. I think they called it a Bambiasarus. Cute little guy with wings..................
One of the gardens that we especially enjoyed was the eatable garden. They even had recipes for what they were growing. As the weather heats up you might like to try this one at home.
Gazpacho (soup served cold)
8 lrg. tomatoes, peeled
1 lrg. cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2-4 Tbsp. white vinegar
In a blender. Blend garlic, cucumber, pepper and then add the tomatoes. Mix in the EVOO and vinegar with salt and pepper to taste. Serve chilled garnished with chopped cucumber, pepper and green onion. I am going to try it as soon as my tomatoes get ripe. Well, maybe I will have to buy what I need.

There have been a few changes since our last visit that you should know as you plan your visit. They no longer have a canteen or cafeteria. We kind of missed that but it didn't hurt too much.

I always love the butterfly house. There are reputed to be 800 butterflies in it but we couldn't figure out how they could count them. Some are so huge that they would make a bat seem small in comparison and other so tiny you really had to watch closely to see them before they took wing and moved on. They do hitch-hike so if you go plan on checking yourself in a large mirror to be sure that one of the wee things isn't making a break for it disguised as a piece of jewelry.

On the way back to Manchester we treated ourselves to one of our favorite eat out places. There are some micro breweries in Iowa and some of them offer really tasty beer as well as some really fine eating. Our evening sustenance was at Granite City Brewery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (http://www.gcfb.net/). I can't seem to pull myself away from the cheeseburger done my way and my way is bloody rare (I know I live dangerously) topped with lettuce, tomato and red onion with Dijon mustard and a fat dill pickle wedge on the side. I love the waffle fries but they are no included in the price and the skinny fries that come with the sandwich are great. With this I always have an "Admiral" (A blend of two different lagers and served with a wedge of orange). The service is great, the meat tastes like it was freshly ground just of my sandwich (now, be real, who would go to that much trouble just for me?). We were seated right away which doesn't always happen as Granite City Brewery is a very popular spot. Don't expect Hardees’s prices but without dessert and including my "Admiral" the bill was just over $25.00. Den had some kind of chicken popper where the chicken strips were seasoned with among other things, Tabasco, wrapped in pastry dough and deep fried. This came with a blue cheese sauce (Den has never met a blue cheese he doesn't like) and a salad of matchstick cut fresh pea pods (I ate these as Den is allergic to legumes), crisp lettuce and some red cabbage for color. He also enjoyed a cup of their Cheddar Cheese w/stout soup which he allowed me to taste. OH, Margie, we have to learn to make that one as well.
OK, to the above remarks, you will find that I will give you my take on any eating out that we do. I love to cook and even started my own blog at my cousin's request. The address for the blog is http://whatscookingwithlinda.blogspot.com/. If by chance you want to see the pieces that I have sent in to the Manchester Press, those can be viewed on blog http://iowa44.blogspot.com/.
Hope to see you out around the next corner enjoying yourself in this great state of Iowa and maybe a bit beyond.
God Bless,
Linda

Amana and "Always.......Patsy Cline

I guess it has stopped raining for a little while. Now if it would warm up just a touch. The frost the other night had me chasing around trying to make sure everything was covered. How did your new plants survive? Mine looked OK and none the worse for wear.

I am old enough to remember Patsy Cline and to be able to say that I have always enjoyed her music. My husband, Denny, surprised me with tickets to "Always....Patsy Cline" at the "The Old Creamery Theatre Company outside of Amana. We decided to make a day of it and explained to Buddy, our traveling Shih Tzu, that he was going to have to sit this one out. He didn't like it but took it fairly well.

Amana HISTORY:
Looking for religious freedom in Germany back in the 1700's a group known as the "Community of True Inspiration", founded by German Lutheran clergy and their followers, emigrated to an area near Ebenezer, New York. The group flourished and soon needed to find a larger area. They found what they were looking for in the what we now know as the Amana Colonies.
The style of living was communal with no one drawing a wage but each full filling a need for the good of the greater community as directed by the church clergy and the community leaders. The community was very nearly a completely self sufficient society, requiring very little contact with the outside world. (The Ronneburg Restaurant was the original communal kitchen and dining hall.)This communal set up, over time, of course, has changed as society has changed and each home now has it's own kitchen.
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I have been to the Amana's several times over the years and eaten at a couple of the eateries in town there but never eaten at The Ronneburg Restaurant, http://www.ronneburgrestaurant.com/. What a pleasant experience. We were shown to the German Room (don't know why the name as the whole place is German) and seated at table near the window. Choosing what to order was kind of a struggle. I have lived in Germany many years ago and the dishes that were offered were good German fare.
We decided that we would make this our big meal for the day and did the family style full meal. I went for the Wiener Schnitzel with spaetzle and Den went for the Bavarian Chicken with mashed potatoes and veggie. Of course we shared and of course we brought part of it home with us.
It has been an age since I have had Wiener Schnitzel and "No, Margie, this isn't a hot dog". A tender veal cutlet, breaded and fried is a true Wiener Schnitzel. The spaetzle, a kind of noodle but crossed with a dumpling, was wonderful. I have got to learn how to make these. They came buttered and crowned with toasted bread crumbs.
Den enjoyed his Bavarian Chicken and wanted to know if I can make it at home. This is a skinless/boneless chicken breast, sautéed and then baked with a thin slices of smoke ham and Swiss cheese. Yummy.

We then had to take a walk and check out the shops. Of course, I had to do The Kitchen Sink, a shop filled with all things food prep and dining. I did well and we moved on to take in the clock and furniture store. It is always so satisfying to see furniture that has a beautiful finish on it. You just want to touch it to be sure it is as smooth as it looks. I fell in love with the $4,000 grandfathers clock with a crystal pendulum. Lastly was the Quilt shop and Den thought I was lost at that point. I am making tea cozies lately and ...... well you know.

The Old Creamery was our destination, let's not forget. The Old Creamery Theatre Company is a not-for profit professional theatre. It started in Garrison in 1977 and moved to Amana in 1988. This production of "Always.....Patsy Cline" is in it's 5th run and stars Molly Hammer (Kansas City, MO.) as Patsy Cline and the story is told on stage by her friend Louise, played by Marquetta Senters (now of South Amana). Molly really nailed the tonations and tempo of one of my favorite singers from my younger years. May 24th is the last performance of this production.

You can check out what is coming and when online at http://www.oldcreamery.com. The prices are reasonable and there isn't a bad seat in the house.

Next weekend we are headed to Nelson Dewey State Park (that is in South East Wisconsin, Margie) for some canoeing and camping and Linda, with the help of Julie McGovern, will be preparing the Saturday night meal for 20 hungry camper. Not sure which river will see the paddles yet as that is someone else's to plan but I am sure that a great time will be had by all. So, maybe next week we will be "and Maybe A Bit Beyond".

Oh, I have to tell you. At the Ronneburg the couple sitting at the next table engaged us in conversation about where we were from and what we thought of the strawberry/rhubarb pie. They are from the Chicago area and were there seeing their new grand-child. They hadn't heard of the theater and one thing lead to another and I think they are coming back to see Manchester, Mt. Pleasant and Old Threshers, and The Villages Of Van Buren County. Oh, on the pie, I told her to used 2 cups of strawberries, 2 cups of chopped rhubarb, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of corn starch,1 teaspoon of real vanilla and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I think that they will be back to Iowa a couple of times this summer and fall. She was writing it all down. So, keep the front porch swept and the windows washed, companies coming.

God Bless,
Linda

Dutchman's Store, Cantril, Iowa

My mother is in her 80's and will freely admit that her middle name is "GO". Flowers are great and so are fancy meals out but Mom would rather have an adventure. I am from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa the county seat of Henry County and that is where Mom lives today. It is about 2.5 hours drive time south of Manchester and is a town of a bit over 7,000. Let me start by saying that the Midwest and Iowa is right in the heart of it, offers some of the best day trips and treasure hunts. My husband and I love to camp, canoe and take in local fairs and events. There is so much to learn and experience within a short distance from our door steps here in Manchester. Would you like to take this weekends adventure with me? South of Mt. Pleasant, toward the Missouri boarder you will find Van Buren County. There are no large cities in the entire county but all through the spring, summer and fall there are activities planned and are mapped out for you if you got to http://www.villagesofvanburen.com/. My personal favorites are Bonaparte, Bentonsport and Cantril. Cantril was our adventure with Mom. Friday we took off in the middle of the afternoon and headed south. Mom knew the agenda and was already siked up for the adventure. Saturday morning we were doing to make a brief stop at my cousin's just out side of town and share hugs with her and her family as well as another cousin that had arrived the day before from the Omaha area. Coffee cake, coffee and "remember when's" were great but we had an adventure planned. So, from Martha's farm we continued west on hwy 34 to hwy 1 and followed that to hwy 2 and on to Cantril, Iowa. We were headed for the Dutchman's Store in Cantril. History:Cantril, Iowa was established in 1872 and is home to Old Order Amish and Mennonite communities. Several of the businesses in town are owned by Mennonite families. Amish families have businesses at their homes. These can be found along Highway 2 and on V64 and J40 near Lebanon. Watch for homemade signs along the roadway. They are very friendly and will be glad to visit with you on week days and Saturdays. You will find buggies sharing the roadways, and horse drawn equipment in the fields. Although their homesteads and transportation are picturesque, please respect their privacy by not photographing the Amish families.A Mennonite, Clair Zimmerman and his young wife opened the Dutchman's Store back in 1985 and has operated it and has added on to it on a seemingly regular basis every few years to the point that the store that exists today is a full block long. The long front porch of the store was loaded with gardening materials, seedling plants, flowering baskets and lovely homemade bent willow rocking chairs that you could purchase for just over $100.00. You have to kind of be observant to tell for sure which door is the entrance but once we found it it was hard to decide where to start. Mom and I went one way and my husband went another. Den likes his vittles and Mom and I love to create whether it is in the kitchen or the sewing room so that is the directions that we started. I was prepared to see prices a bit higher than your local Wal-Mart or Fareway but that is not what we found. There are 4 long isles of sewing fabric and notions as sell as snaps, hooks and eyes and safety pins in bulk. The fleece fabric that I found there was really beautiful and of go

Nelson Dewey State Park Memorial Day

About 30 years ago Brick, Craig, Harold, Jeff and my husband Denny thought that camping sounded like fun. Around that time most if not all of them worked for Motorola out of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Iowa is a great place to meet really fantastic people. In those early days one or two of them owned canoes and tents and others became interested and began to acquire what they needed to make these camping and canoeing trips more enjoyable. The guys got married and others joined the fun, families were started and then there was a splinter group that formed. The original group called themselves “The Delirious Drifters” and the splinter group “The Dubuque Sipping Society”. The Drifter paddled and the Sippers peddled (bicycles). Denny married me in 1990 and while Den peddled some I get no joy out of hours of peddling. About five or ten minutes in my bum goes numb and then it becomes and endurance thing. But, hey, we can’t be great at everything, can we?
Over the years we have camped and canoed in south east Minnesota, south west Wisconsin and lots of north east Iowa. Somehow Illinois was a place we went through. Before Denny and I were transferred to Phoenix back in 1995 when the Drifters got together you could count 20 craft in the water. Some of them were rented aluminum canoes, some were homemade cedar strip canoes (as beautiful as any fine made furniture), some were sea kayaks, but the majority was Royalex canoes (either Mad River or Old Town). The off spring of this group learned very young about paddling techniques and strokes, how to pitch a tent so it didn’t swamp and how lemonade when Mother Nature gave you lemons for weather.
Folks have moved on or out of the area but the basic group is still there and this Memorial Day is bringing some of both the Drifters and the Sippers together at Nelson Dewey State Park in south west Wisconsin. Some of us have aged a bit and have traded the tents for pop-ups, fifth wheels and van campers, while others have remained the purist that they are. This year three of the kids that we watched grow into wonderful responsible adults have back to join the group for Memorial Day. We have families coming from north east Wisconsin, north central Illinois and north east Iowa.
Nelson Dewey State Park offers electric hookups for some of their group sites. There will be 20 of us, so I think we are a group. Nelson Dewey was the first governor of Wisconsin and the 756 acre park used to be a part of Stonefield Estate, his home. It is right on the Mississippi Rivers and not far south of its big sister, Wyalusing State Park, at 2,628 acres. You will find lots of hiking trails as well as access to the Grant River or further north the lower portion of the Wisconsin River. The Wisconsin River at this point is a broad flat river with sand bars for picnicking. A great gentle paddle and the first river I ever paddled.
If you are thinking that you might like to try it, I would plan to get off the river before it empties into the Mississippi as the “Big Muddy” can be a bit intimidating with the other water craft out there that are so much larger than a canoe is. The wake caused by these larger crafts can make handling a canoe tricky. The Grant River is closer to the park and is a bit more technical. Have some seasoned paddlers with you on this river as it has lots of sharp turns in it but the scenery is wonderful. Not as many sand bars for picnicking so when you find one that looks good, go for it.
Nelson Dewey State Park as all state parts in Wisconsin do requires a Wisconsin Admission sticker. For 2009 the price is $35.00 for an annual and $10.00 for a day in addition to the camping fees of the campground or park that you are using. There are shower and restroom facilities available with pit toilets closer to the camping sites themselves. There are scenic vistas of the Mississippi and places to just sit and take in the view. You are close to Beetown that offers some really great cheeses at the cheese house there. Potosi isn’t far and offers a tour of the old brewery and even a good dining spot if you don’t feel like camp grub. There is a car ferry across the Mississippi at Cassville.
As with many camping areas this time of year, take along your insect repellent and foggers. There are fire rings but leave your firewood at home. Due to the invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer in many of the surrounding states, Wisconsin is doing “due diligence” in keeping firewood from outside of Wisconsin out of Wisconsin.
Other favorite camping sites a bit closer to home are Bailey’s Ford,
Pikes Peak State Park, Coffin Grove, Backbone State Park; Decorah has some parks as does Elkader and let’s not forget Monticello with Walnut Acres. We haven’t been to all of them and but will be making a few more this camping season. Last year’s flooding wreaked havoc on many of them and reconstruction efforts have been underway since to bring them back to service. Check out http://www.parksandcampgrounds.com/campgrounds/usa/iowa/northeast.html for phone listing and locations for some close to you.
See you around the corner. Get out and enjoy all that Iowa offers. You are right in the heart of it all.

Linda

Have You Ever Been To a DOG?

Have you ever been to a DOG or to a demo for a DO? Wait, maybe I should explain what I am talking about and tell you that my husband and I like to camp and have a popup that we have used for years. While it has many great qualities it doesn’t have my double oven from home inside and I find that I miss that method of preparing our meal more than I thought I would. There are ways around this but most of them involve electricity and a few counter top appliances. Power isn’t always available so I have been thinking about alternatives. Back in January, I decided to do some research on Dutch Oven Camp Ovens. My middle brother is a great outdoor cook. He has a “Big Green Egg”, a smoker and two or three Dutch Oven Camp Ovens. So, after doing my due diligence on the computer, I decided to tap Vic’s knowledge. I had way too many questions for him, though he was very helpful and we will likely get into this together at some point. Then in February my husband, Denny, got me a 12” deep Lodge for my birthday.
The snow is gone now and I can get the old Weber kettle out of storage and season my new DO properly and that will likely happen on Monday as I am not working at the tea room. In the mean time I have heard from some of the other folks that I have been plaguing with my questions and found out that there was a DOG and Demo at the Hurstville Interpretive Center in Maquoketa on May 3, 2009.
To begin with a DOG is a Dutch Oven Gathering and of course a Demo is a Demo. Doug Gonner from Maquoketa was the speaker and he was assisted by a son or two and a good friend. I was by far the person with the most questions and Doug was faithful to never make me feel any of them were stupid and he thoroughly answered each on.
A Dutch Oven Camp Oven is a pot, usually cast iron, that has three short legs and a flat lid that has a raised ring around the outside. It also has a bale (handle). Not to be confused with Dutch Oven that came with the set of pans that you received for Christmas. First let’s do a bit of history.
HISTORY
These pots originated in Holland back in the 1800’s and migrated into the US with the immigrants from there. Our patriot, Paul Revere, standardize them and gave them the distinctive ring around the lid. One of the earlier versions was called a “spider” and was used in the fireplace. It had legs that were longer than the ones you see today and the bales were longer as well. This versatile pot was a major player in the wagons traveling west and are still used today and manufactured in many countries. Mine was made in Pennsylvania, I believe but Campchef is made in China and there are Texport, Stansford and many more. Some of them have dimpled bottoms and are called “Chicken Pots”, but I was unsuccessful in finding this item online.
I have long used my Weber kettle as an oven using “in-direct” heat and even bake pies on my Weber Genisis grill ( this one never leaves the deck) so I was happy to find a possible solutions to my camp oven needs. We attended a DOG (Dutch Oven Gathering) and Demo and I learned so much. I learned;
· The do’s and don’t’s of seasoning
· That you can turn the whole thing upside down and use the top as the bottom and make pizza
· That you should grease the inside of the DO to make cornbread
· The making of biscuits in a DO and the way you place them to make them bake the best without burning or coming out gummy in the middle
· What kinds of tools I still needed beyond the pot, the lid lifter and lid rack (who knew I needed a chimney)
· That you need to place coals under and on the top to use the oven as such
· The number of coals determines the baking temp and there is a ratio top and bottom that works best
· That you can stack them and have a multi-course meal, depending on how may pots you have
· That there are different sizes of charcoal and that there is a lump kind and each produces a different degree of heat and for a different length of time, did you know that Kingford reduces the briquette size that they make a few years ago and that throws the whole thing off
We left with a shopping list and an itch to get started. I love to cook and I am really looking forward to getting started.
Our next adventure will take us to Southeast Iowa to share the Villages of Van Buren County with my Mom for Mother’s Day. This will include a trip to Cantril, Iowa and the “Dutchman’s Store” there. Would you like to come along?