DonnaLonna Kitchen Show

Donna and Lonna visit the Dot Cafe for lunch. Farmer Rob Faux shares some good turkey tales and talks about raising birds organically on pasture.

Recipes and inspiration from food book authors: Jennifer McLagan, Camilla Wynne, and Nigel Slater.

Very small things and very big things. The KHOI Science Bytes guys, Mike Meetz and Sam Wormley join us to talk about microbes, pandemics, food safety, asteriods, the moons of Jupiter, comets, and daylight saving time.

We talk about the many joys of potatoes and onions. Varieties and recipes. We talk about cooking fat, an Onion Rabbit recipe, Leek and Apple Salad, Onion jam, and Sauerkraut Tart. 

Lockwood Cafe is a local treasure on the northwest edge of Ames, Iowa - located in a repurposed grain elevator. We talk to Sharon Stewart about the Cafe's startup, how she keeps it running and the application of kindness, courtesy, and patience as a successful business model.

We talk with farmer Nick Wallace about making the most out of a small acreage. Beef, honey and more.

Michael Perry is an accidental New York Times bestselling author, humorist, musician and amateur snowplow driver from New Auburn, Wisconsin. His work includes Population 485, Truck: A Love Story, Coop, Montaigne in Barn Boots, and The Jesus Cow. We talk with Michael about community, food, regional humor, French philosophy and blaze orange hunting caps. 

Lead found in cinnamon. Donna talks about the latest news. And we talk about  apples, an applesauce poem by Ted Kooser, we consider the many kitchen variations on fruit jam, pumpkin peel research, an apple limerick, and five reasons to consider paying more for your food. 

Jacob Travesette shares his food adventures from growing up in Ames, Iowa to attending the Hoffman Institute - a highly acclaimed, Michelin starred culinary school in Barcelona, Spain. Donna and Jacob compare notes about knives, professional kitchens, Spanish ice cream flavors, shopping, and plums.  

Donna shares thoughts of work and household chores. Lonna makes a strange but tasty recipe: Okra Marshmallow Delights. How do we chew, taste, and digest our food? We explore mastication and the wide world of bitters.

All things beans with Steven Cannon, geneticist and researcher for USDA and Associate Professor in the ISU department of Agronomy. Steven talks about the wide range of plants in the legume family and shares the joy of gardening and cooking with beans.

Celebrate summer and fresh food. Donna and Lonna talk about farmer's markets, ice cream, tomatillos, eggplant. okra and lovage. Donna talks about Dicamba on our farm fields. Lonna reviews a good book: The Whole Okra by Chris Smith. And a good lovage sauce recipe to go with all your summer veggies.

We taste a homemade Nocino (a black walnut liqueur). Tomatoes: so much to celebrate, so many varieties... seed saving, growing, harvesting, eating and processing for later. We talk about oven-candied tomatoes, gazpacho, green beans and an easy pickle recipe. Donna shares some news about PFA's. And we have fun with the list of new foods coming up at the Iowa State Fair.

Hydrate! Donna talks about herbal drinks, watermelon, infusions, syrups, and mocktails. Lonna talks about carrot cake and the history of the carrot and the color orange. And we consider the elderberry.

Who is taking care of our water? Carolyn Raffensperger joins us to talk about the quality, quantity, and the speed with which water moves through our state. Nitrate levels are at an all time high in our rivers. Agriculture and industry are putting extreme demands on our water resources. Is anyone keeping track of the common good?

We take a light hearted look at backyard poultry with Cynthia McClure. Cynthia reports on her visit to the first ever Murray McMurray Chicken Festival, held in Webster City, Iowa. We talk about chickens, ducks, guinea hens and eggs. Cynthia shares her recipe for salt-preserved egg yolks.

Kim Anderson has a way with blueberries. We talk about growing, managing and marketing at the organic, U-pick - Blueberry Bottom Farm in Brighton, Iowa. Kim talks about the challenges of local wildlife, her enthusiastic customers and the growing demand for her berries. We also talk about recipes and her PFI field day in July. 

Knowing what to eat is a tricky business. How do we learn to eat healthy food? Donna and Lonna are joined by Kamyar Enshayan, Director of the Center for Energy & Environmental Education at University of Northern Iowa. We explore the latest cancer study data for Iowa. We discuss Ultra Processed Food and health consequences of being able to access good food.   Kamyar talks about the positive dev...

A review of a Rhubarb Upsidedown Cake recipe, thoughts on banjos, groundhogs, gardens and Lime Pie. Donna reviews Kismet, a new recipe book... and we explore edible wild spring greens.

How did humans figure out how to cook with fire? We talk to historian and grass fed meat marketer, Nick Land about the evolution of cooking, human development, the open hearth, the invention of matches, Henry Ford and charcoal briquets. And Nick talks about grilling techniques for grass fed meat.

A celebration of summer: garlic and other good things from the allium family, some thoughts on garage sales, and a good brownie recipe. Donna also reviews a cookbook for kids.

Donna and Lonna talk to Willa Colville and Maegan Bird about the Reliable Street Farmers Market in Ames, Iowa. Reliable Street is the site of many exciting community building activities: Lockwood coffee shop, a community garden, a thrift store, a community refrigerator, green space and playground.   The new Farmers Market will host vendors and a free meal once a month during the summer. And Donna...

We talk about spring lawn care, basil, and mint. Donna gives us the history of switchel. Lonna talks about harvesting and drying golden oyster mushrooms and we explore nettle soup recipes from Alan Bergo's book Flora.

We start the show with Lonna's review of food and festivities at the 33rd Annual Central Iowa Scottish Spring Ball: kilts, tartans, haggis and Scotch Eggs.    Jacqueline Venner Senske joins Donna and Lonna to talk about Practical Farmers of Iowa and horticultural highlights of the upcoming Field Day season.