A Very Smelly Story

 All objects, including the food we eat and clothes we wear, even the most inanimate or simple of objects, has a story to it —  a unique history of how it came into being. These stories follow an object around with it, and part of the art of life is to discover and share those unique stories with each other. So, I hope you’ll enjoy this glimpse into a particularly powerful and pungent variety of hard-necked garlic, nicknamed “brought-from-Russia-in-the-lining-of-a-coat garlic.”  To discover just why it’s called that…read on:


This summer I was given the task of harvesting most of the organic garlic on DFCF. It was one of my cousin’s favorite activities, so it was quite an honor to do it and got to experience firsthand, why he loved it so.

However, it wasn’t easy! Mother Nature had one of her most brutally humid summers in the Midwest/east coast. I developed a system of getting up at dawn, and working until about 10:30am, when the amount of sweat pouring down my face had washed away all sunblock, then I fled inside to cool down and avoid burning. Additionally, the ground was tough, and the bulbs wouldn’t just come out without a good fight. If the earth wasn’t loosened first around them, the rooted “beards” beneath the bulb would cling on tightly and the green necks would rip off from the bulb as you pulled on it. In order to do a good job and preserve as many whole bulbs and stems as possible, I had to carefully dig them out one by one. But even that proved to be a challenge. Put the shovel blade too close and it could slice right into the bulb, too far and it wouldn’t loosen enough so the neck would rip when pulled.

The process required care, attention – and patience. It became a kind of meditation and focus practice for me. I noticed that whenever my mind got caught up in thinking about other things than the task at hand, I’d end up with a damaged bulb. I was determined to do a good job! So I took my time, but not too much, as the job needed to get done in a somewhat timely manner!

By the end of the process, I unearthed over 1000 gorgeous bulbs of garlic from two different varieties – one hardneck and the other softneck. The hardneck bulbs tended to yield a larger, more gorgeous looking bulb that received a lot of attention from admiring buyers at the farmer’s market. I felt quite pleased to be the guy who harvested most of the garlic, but I was curious to know more of the story behind the bulb and the people who put all the hard work in before I receive the credit (we know Mother Nature ultimately deserves all of it).

Each precious bulb emerged from a single clove, which was planted in October the year before. After approximately nine-ten months of growing time within the soil and sunlight, as the green stalks started to brown, it became time to pluck them out of the Earth, where they would then be “cured” so they could store for a long time.

The history of cultivated garlic goes back 6,000 years to ancient China, but this beloved variety of hard-neck garlic was gifted to DFCF by a local organic farming guru, Jeanette, who began organic farming long before it caught much attention. I attended a dinner party at her farm, where she told me where she got the variety (at least this is my version of the story). Seems a friend of hers had some of the bulbs lying around that were left over from his deceased grandmother belongings.

He didn’t know what to do with them and he thought they were just dried up onions (they are in the same genus). But he did know that his grandmother, a Russian immigrant who fled her country originally brought the garlic and a few other items over to America with her so that she would have something familiar with her to plant and comfort her when she arrived in a foreign land. To keep them close to her she sewed the garlic cloves into the lining of her coat. Jeanette asked her friend if she could have some cloves herself to cultivate, and over time help develop the big bulb. From there the garlic variety has spread to various farms across Iowa, producing their beautiful big bulbs. I asked Jeanette what she called the variety and she responded “brought-from-Russia-in-the-lining-of-a-coat garlic.” A long title, but an appropriate one!

Oh and one last tidbit, I also learned that garlic produces a little clone of itself that flowers up from it’s stem known as a scape. These remarkable airborn-mini-garlic bulbs have a flavor and smell very similar to the garlic below the earth, and are considered a delicacy among those who know how to cook with them. However, their growth drains energy away from the development of the bulb beneath the soil, and so are plucked off as early as possible. They look quite cute however!

And so that, is some of the story behind the garlic! What stories do the items in your cupboards, your closets, your drawers have? What does it take to find out? How could you share them?

Farmers & Markets

After seeing firsthand the amount of care and respect that organic farmers within the Iowa community have for the food they make, for their fellow farmer, and the Earth in general – it becomes even more important for me to attempt having a more personal connection to the food I eat. For me that also means knowing more about how the food was raised, where it comes from, and who the people are involved – sometimes challenging information to gather. All the more reason I am making more of an effort to gather a larger percentage of organic food from farmer’s markets and ask more questions about the food being sold.

I was thrilled to witness this summer how the Iowa City Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings had grown from the scant booths while I attended college in 90’s, into a real “happening” community event, with music and festivities.

It’s more than just a place to buy things, but a social gathering, a place to mix and mingle with like-minded people, and a way to deepen the story of connection to the food and goods for sale. It’s fostered a Wednesday night spin-off and there are now numerous farmer markets spread out across town on different evenings. It’s a good sign that the organic farming community has grown in the region that there are people who recognize the importance of local, healthy eating!

As I looked at what prices various farmers were selling vegetables, I realized as a nation we really don’t pay the full price for our food. I’ve heard people complain and gripe about the rising cost of food or how expensive organics are, but in truth we pay so little of the actual cost that raising and preparing food requires. Much of the conventional food grown is subsidized by the government, so we’re not paying the correct price on non-organic food, which just makes it seem that organic is that much pricier. When you factor in the amount of environmental toxins that get pumped into the ground and wash into the water supply and the amount of energy, gas, and other resources required to get conventional food into our hands – we certainly aren’t paying the full price for it in cash, but in environmental damage and health problems. We know this, right? And yet it continues...

I found some disturbing “intel” during my time in Iowa. It begins though with some good news: a lot of conventional farmers in the region are doing well financially. I am genuinely glad to know they are making good money in such a challenging occupation. But this boon is thanks, in part, thanks to growing corn used for Ethanol fuel – not food. You may have heard, though, that Ethanol is proven to offer very little real environmental returns when you consider all the energy it takes to grow the corn. When I hear that more and more small farms have been bought out by giant agribusinesses…when I discover more farmers are growing corn year after year for the profit margin, thereby ignoring the wisdom of rotating crops for soil health and conservation…when I hear a lot more chemicals and GMOs are involved in making sure there are big yields for the big financial gains…my head starts to spin.

I’m so proud to be from Iowa and the rich history of farming it has, but I am deeply, deeply saddened by the modern industry to which it has been tainted. I do not blame the farmers – many of them I call family!  I know they are doing what they can to make a good living. I am concerned by our society, so caught up in growth, progress, comfort, convenience and advancements in technology that it ignores conscious care of our environment – unless being “green” can turn a profit too, which we know it can. It seems that nothing motivates our nation more than economic concerns. Which means it’s going to require a lot of re-educating and re-considering how things are done, and there are some good people at work doing just that.

It's my sincere wish that family farms make a fortune through organic farming - they deserve it. The re-evolution of the farm industry is underway, but it needs our support! We can grumble all we like about the cost of food, but in a capitalistic driven market, we vote with our dollars. Place more of our money into the hands of a friendly organic farmer at a market than the unseen faces of corporate food production.  We get delicious, conscientiously produced food out of it too. It’s time to truly know and be what we eat!

Oxford Part 2 : The Bike-ish Invasion

Oxford: population 800 + 15,000 international cyclists throughout the day...

On July 29th, Oxford, Iowa hosted it’s first ever ride-through visit by RAGBRAI, The Des Moines “Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. My mother served as co-chair for the planning committee. It meant a lot of organizing work for her and she was quite excited by the event, so I planned my 5 week long trip to coincide so I could be a good son and help out. She asked me to act as a sort of Master of Ceremonies / Glorified Barker, who made announcements, cracked jokes, introduced the special entertainment acts, and welcomed bikers as they arrived into the city and announcing the various food booths and activities the participants could engage on their ride through. I was happy to oblige.

Your MC Jason blending in

Silly headgear & bike helmets are common attire for RAGBRAI riders, so I was asked to wear a wild hat that my aunt gifted me. To keep things moving along in a fun manner, I compiled a list of mostly bike themed jokes and threw in a few “just-dirty-enough-to-make-adults-laugh-but-over-kids-heads” for good measure. I even solicited jokes from various riders, who came through with some true knee-slappers.

I especially enjoyed one given about the guy who spent hours upon hours contemplating where the sun went when it set…and then it dawned on him!

I elicited a lot of groans throughout the day, especially with ones like: Why can't bikes stay up without a kick stand? Because they're two-tired. Just like these bikers must have been after 60 miles of their 75 mile ride that day!

City hall at 9:45am

Throughout the course of the day from early in the morning until about 6pm, an estimated 15,000+ bike riders from all over the world rode through the town of 800+ residents. It was fascinating to watch how the city streets transformed over the course of the day.

The morning was rather tranquil and sleepy, primarily with the hardcore biking types who liked to zip right through the various locations to make it to their destination city.

City Hall at 3:30pm

Enjoying a cold plunge through the Studebaker sprinkler

 Other bikers like to take their time and sample what the various towns along the way have to offer.  By early afternoon the town was bustling with new arrivals constantly streaming in. Oxford was the second to last stop for the day, which is often considered "the party town". So a majority of the riders  stopped to check out what the town had to offer by way of food and drink. I had to try many of the various offerings myself to confirm that the town was indeed serving up some tasty treats.




The planning committee went all out to make it a special stop along the RAGBRAI route. They even printed up themed souvenir t-shirts with the logo “Fired Up for Oxford”.  The City of Oxford Fire Department was raising money for the purchase of new fire equipment, so they were the focus of the city festivities. I encouraged riders throughout the day to cool off from the heat by visiting the 1929 Studebaker fire engine, which was converted, via modern ingenuity, into a fancy sprinkler system.
It was a highlight of many riders experience, and made for many photo ops.

My Mom between some biker fans

Several people throughout the day made comments that it was one of their favorite stops during the entire week. Additionally the town of Oxford received many accolades from ride officials who were impressed by how much effort the town put into making it a memorable day. I’m proud of my mother and the many other volunteers for the hard work they put in so that it could be a great experience for all.



Enjoy the following other pictures from that day! Click to enlarge.

Another wild helmet

Massage tents for the needy

The Clear Creek Amana Cheerleaders entertain

One example of a group of theme costumed riders

A view of the town's main street, Augusta Ave.

Midday was quite crowded!

Bikers filling up their water bottles

Once more the Studebaker Sprinkler does its job

The Polka-Dots Tuba player

Oxford Part 1: “The Bikers Are Coming”

My mother works as City Clerk for the town of Oxford…Iowa that is, not England. Although I have visited that most prestigious city of Oxford, England several times and been charmed by its gorgeous spires and most fabulous history, the quaint little town of Oxford, Iowa is pretty swell too in its own unique way. The town is actually  well-known across the world thanks to a photographic art book called "The Oxford Project" by Peter Feldstein and Stephen G. Bloom.

One view of downtown Oxford as it currently is

In addition to her regular civic duties, my mother choose to volunteer as the co-chair of the town’s planning committee in preparation for it being a ride-through stop during “RAGBRAI”, The Des Moines “Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa”, on July 29th. It would be the first time Oxford officially participated. In preparation for that event my mother got the idea it would be nice to have postcards for the town to sell as souvenirs. This idea came with just few days to create and order them so they would ship on time, so I quickly went to work designing, not just one, but two postcards that displayed an “Oxford: Then & Now” theme.

One card features old photographs of the city from the early part of last century on one side, and the other half with recent pictures I took from around the town. Additionally, since Oxford was highlighting the fire department during RAGBRAI’s visit, I made the other postcard feature photographs of all the various fire-fighting equipment through the ages from their 1918 Chemical Cart which held 45 gallons all the way to their brand new Freightliner Truck which holds 1000 gallons.

The back of the postcards include information about the front and I thought it would be cool to include a map of Iowa in lieu of the traditional box where you put the stamp. I think it adds a nice touch. The star represents Oxford’s location in the state.

I’m pleased with the way they turned out and apparently they hold the honor of being the city’s first official souvenir postcards!