AgriMissouri

Friday Fixin's

This week's Friday Fixin's comes from The Slabs LLC, an award winning barbecue company. The weather is so nice here today that I was dreaming how good BBQ would taste. Enjoy!

Pork Ribs - Baby Back or Spare

Glue
1 part mustard
1 part steak sauce
1 part honey

Rub
1/8 cup black pepper
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1/8 cup chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Take the membrane off of the back of the ribs. To achieve this, get a screwdriver and go underneath the white looking part on the back of the ribs (next to the bone). Loosen the membrane with a screwdriver and carefully pull to have a "flapping" piece. Get a paper towel, grab hold and pull it to the opposite end of the slab. Glue and rub with 1/8 - 1/4 cup of rub. Spray with apple juice every 45 minutes to 1 hour during smoking. Smoke at approximately 225-250 degrees with charcoal, apple and hickory wood for approximately four hours. Remove ribs from smoker. Lightly honey, then lightly sauce the ribs, wrap in heavy-duty foil until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

Weston Red Barn Farm Marketer of the Year

Congratulations to Steve and Cindy Frey of Weston Red Barn Farm in Weston, Missouri! They were named the Direct Farm Marketers of the Year last week at the NAFDMA Convention. This award is very prestigious because it is voted on by peers who are members of NAFDMA.

Steve and Cindy have done an outstanding job creating an educational farm experience for kids of all ages. They offer school farm tours during the week where they teach the kids about agriculture by visiting the different areas of the farm. The barnyard, pumpkin patch, apple orchard, bee hive, tractor drawn hayrides, and the garden station are all pieces of curriculum that a teach can select for their class. In addition to the farm tours, they have a Country Store and Fall Festival.

The Frey's started Weston Red Barn Farm in 1990 and have built their business through hard work and a winning team of farmhands. Steve and Cindy presented information about their farm during the NAFDMA Convention, they describe their employees or farmhands as part of their family and a reason for their success.

Again, congratulations to Steve and Cindy on their tremendous accomplishment!

Flickr photo courtesy of d_russell.

Episode 13: Comfort food

If you're like most of us, chances are pretty good you've felt lousy with a cold or case of the flu sometime in the past couple of months. So we decided to take a look at the kind of food that makes us feel better when we're laid up in bed.  Julie Harker talked to two people who can get you a nice, piping hot bowl of soup, without going to a lot of trouble.  One is Lisa Stewart, with Old World Spices & Seasonings in Kansas City.  And the other is Jessi Thomas, with Merry Mixers in Lee's Summit and Marshall.

Download audio (MP3, approx 4 megabytes)

flickr photo courtesy Lottery Monkey

Friday Fixin's....on Sunday

I'm sorry! I didn't get the Friday Fixin's posted on Friday like I was supposed to. Here's a great recipe from Laurie's Kitchen to warm you up during these cold winter days.

Chile Rojo Ribeye Steaks

Ingredients:
1 (1.9 oz) package Laurie’s Kitchen Chile Rojo Sauce Mix
1 cup water
4 ribeye steaks (or other quality cut)
1 large yellow onion (sliced thin)
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chilies
1 Tbsp. butter or spread
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

Preheat broiler, gas grill or light charcoal. Season steaks with salt and pepper 30 minutes before grilling and allow steaks to reach room temperature. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add sliced onions. Cook onions until tender, stirring often. Stir in green chilies, water and Laurie’s Kitchen Chili Rojo Sauce Mix. Let mixture simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Grill or broil steaks to desired doneness. Spoon Chile Rojo onion mixture over steaks and top with cheese. Place under broiler until cheese has melted.

For more recipes like this one, visit Laurie’s Kitchen.

AgriMissouri Products in Wisconsin

I cannot believe all the snow up here in Wisconsin! The news says that they have set a record for snow fall in a season. The NAFDMA Conference is in full swing and it's really been a great experience. Starting last Friday, I toured a variety of different agritourism businesses in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. I'll be sharing pictures over the next few weeks.

Almost all of the businesses we visited offered their visitors the opportunity to purchase food and farm-related items. I am happy to report that I saw a couple different AgriMissouri products in the retail areas. The first was Laurie's Kitchen, this was just the display because Jonamac Orchards had sold out of the product during their season, and the second was Gibbons Bee Farm's creamed honey at Kuipers Family Farm.

It's so cool to see these products while out of Missouri. It's a little piece of home away from home.

Friday Fixin's

Greetings from snowy Wisconsin! I'm up here for the NAFDMA Bus Tour & Convention. The Bus Tour started today and we toured some really cool agritourism farms. I took several pictures and I'll get them posted here when I return. One of the things all of the farms we visited today had was a large kitchen area. Each of the farms served multiple food items and said that was one of the largest profit centers on their farms.

Now for the Friday Fixin's. This week's Friday Fixin's is from Persimmon Hill Berry Farm. This farm is located in Lampe, Missouri. They offer u-pick blueberries and an on-farm bakery plus a line of gourmet foods made from their berries. I encourage anyone who visits Persimmon Hill to have a Thunder Muffin. These are the biggest and best blueberry muffins I have ever had. Enjoy this week's recipe courtesy of Persimmon Hill Berry Farm.

Mix-in-the-Pan Berry Cobbler

This recipe, while not a traditional type of cobbler, is very quick and easy to prepare. It is mixed and cooked in one dish, and the batter rises to the top to form a cake-like crust. Let your pre-schooler mix this one up!

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups fresh or frozen berries
(or a combination of berries)
1/4 stick butter or margarine

In a two-quart baking dish or pan, sift together the flour, baking powder and sugar. Stir with a spoon to mix. Add the milk and vanilla and stir to make a thin batter. Pour the berries evenly on top of the batter, and then slice the margarine thinly and distribute it over the top of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees until the batter is golden brown and done in the center.

Local Growers & Producer Meeting at Whole Foods

The Whole Foods Market in Kansas City is hosting a Local Growers & Producer Seminar on February 28 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Attendees will learn:

• How to become a Whole Foods Market vendor
• Understanding Whole Foods Market's quality standards
• New products Whole Foods Market is looking for
• Whole Foods Market's Local Producer Loan program
• Breakout sessions with Category Buyers & Coordinators

Attendance is limited and you must submit an application in order to attend. The deadline for submission is February 15. If you are interested in attending this seminar contact Brendan Kline at Whole Foods Market.

AgriMissouri Happenings

February is a crazy month for workshops, trade shows and conferences. February 2 & 3 I was at Lake Ozark exhibiting at the Midwest Grape & Wine Conference. I displayed and sampled products from five different members: The Smashed Chefs, Free-Range Cookies, Davis Meat Processing, Grandma's Cool & Zesty Salad Dressing and Mama Jo's Mustards. I was surprised at how many new wineries will be opening up this summer and fall throughout the Midwest.

After the Grape & Wine Show, I traveled to the Farmers' Market Workshop in Fredericktown with my colleague, Lane McConnell. Lane did a great job organizing these workshops. This is the first in a series of workshops that will occur throughout the state in February and early March. Over 20 farmers' market vendors and managers attended this first workshop to learn about starting a market, regulations for weights and measures, AgriMissouri and Missouri Farmers' Market Association membership and marketing tips.

Friday I was in class all day, as I'm trying to finish my masters, and that's last week for you. This week I'm catching up from being out of the office last week, getting ready for the Missouri Meat Processors Trade Show and getting excited about the North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association Bus Tour & Convention that I will leave for this Thursday. I'll spend the week in Wisconsin touring a variety of agritourism businesses and meeting agritourism and farmers' market operators from all over the country. I'm going to take lots of pictures and blog about the trip while I'm gone. So stay tuned!

Friday Fixin's

This Friday's Fixin's is brought to you by Blessing Times Jams and Jellies from Kansas City, MO. Blessing Times makes some yummy sauces, jams and jellies, one of these jellies is a pepper jelly. A frequent question they receive is "What else can you do with pepper jelly?" So here is a recipe using their pepper jelly. Enjoy a spicy treat!

Thai Honey Peanut Dip

Combine:
              1/2 cup honey
              1/4 cup peanut butter
              2 tablespoons soy sauce
              1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
              2 oz. of red pepper jelly

Mix until well blended. Serve with grilled or broiled chicken.

Don't forget to check the Buyer's Guide for makers of Missouri honey and peanut butter.

Farmers' Market Workshop Reminder

This is just a quick note to remind everyone that the farmers' market workshop series kicks off this Thursday in Fredericktown. My colleague, Lane McConnell, has the brochure and registration materials linked from the farmers' market blog. I'll be there to talk about the benefits of AgriMissouri membership for farmers' markets and individual businesses.