Larry Litzau of Glencoe, Minnesota, drives the countryside in style.  Sports cars have been his passion since high school, and his newest sweetheart is a 2012 Camaro ZL1.  He has good reason to feel especially proud of this one as it took “Best in Class” on Aug. 5 at the Inver Grove Heights car show.

Given his penchant for sports cars, it’s only natural for Larry to participate in a “field day on wheels.”  He’s planning to drive this Camaro on Saturday, Aug. 25, when Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds hosts its 4^th Annual Freedom of Independence Ride in North Central Iowa.

“There are field days, and then there is Latham’s Freedom of Independence Ride,” says Larry.  “Looking at plots is just so much more fun when you’re cruisin’ the countryside.”

While participating in this year’s ride, Larry is especially looking forward to learning more about Latham’s new Gladiator hybrids and Ironclad soybeans.  “With more acres going to corn-on-corn, it will be helpful to have the Gladiator designation to help farmers select the best products for their situations.  I also like the way Latham’s true one-bag system for Refuge in Bag makes it simple for farmers to handle refuge requirements.  Latham’s new Ironclad designation will also help with product selection.  We’ve experienced more problems with Iron Deficiency Chlorosis, Soybean Cyst Nematode and Phytophthora Root Rot in recent years.  Because Latham is headquartered where these challenges are most prevalent, Latham® brand soybeans are bred to handle these situations better.”

Larry is especially excited about Latham’s 2013 soybean lineup.  “I made the switch to Latham because I wanted to work with a regional seed company that offers corn hybrids and soybean brands specifically bred for our geography.  Latham’s Roundup Ready 2 Yield® out-yielded the competition 5 to 6 bushels in 2011. It’s the real deal!”

Such an endorsement means a lot, coming from someone who has so much experience in the business.  Larry has represented other seed companies over the past 20 years, as well as farmed his own acres.  He had a farrow-to-finish hog operation for 30 years and was active in farm organizations including serving on the board for the McLeod County Corn and Soybean Growers.  In addition he served for eight years in the Naval Air Reserve, worked two years for 3M and 42 years for Telex as a tool and die maker.

“I’ve learned to never take anything for granted,” says Larry, who suffered a stroke on May 4, 2010.  “While there is never a good time to be struck by illness or injury, my stroke happened at the absolute worst time for a farmer and seed salesman.  With customers scheduled to take delivery of seed that morning, I was on my way to the emergency room in Glencoe.”  Less than an hour later, Larry was being transported by helicopter to St. Paul. He spent three days in the hospital and then another month doing intensive therapy.  His son, Brian, with the help of Regional Sales Manager Greg Brandt, got all of the seed in the hands of customers.

“You realize just how precious and fragile life is,” adds Larry’s wife, Eleanor, who has been battling cancer for nine years and is currently undergoing treatment.  “It really helps you put your priorities in order.”

Family takes first priority for Larry and Eleanor, who have been married for 42 years.  They were married May 9, 1970, and moved to their farm on June 1.  It’s also where they raised their three children: oldest daughter, Jennifer, works as a psychologist in the Glencoe Silver Lake school district; son Brian is a tool and die maker at Eaton Corporation; and youngest daughter, Rebecca, is an elementary music teacher I n the Minnetonka school district.  The Litzaus are also proud of their very active grandchildren: Paige, 12, enjoys music; Nathan, 10, plays baseball; Miranda, 8, loves soccer and softball; Owen, 7, plays hockey, golf and baseball; and Ava, 5, is a gymnast.

The one thing all five grandchildren enjoy is Grandma Ellie’s cooking!  Now that she’s recently retired after serving for 40 years as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at a long-term care facility in town, Eleanor has more time to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.  The Food Channel is one of her favorite channels, and Eleanor enjoys trying new recipes.  Today she’s sharing one of her favorite easy-to-make recipes for apple pie.  With harvest just around the corner, you’ll want to give this one a try!  I taste-tested it last fall and agree this recipe is a keeper!

I’m a dreamer and a reader.  No wonder I became somewhat obsessed with cake pops after reading Wilton’s Sweets on a Stick how-to guide for making and decorating cake pops!  If you can dream it, you can bake it.  Designs range from princesses and pirates to Easter chicks and candy canes.  Certainly anything that looks so adorable must be equally as fun to make, right?

Cake pops are fun to make but, in my opinion, they’re even more fun to eat!  This past Wednesday, about 30 ladies and I gathered for a two-hour cake ball workshop.  Each of us decorated 12 cake balls.  Those bite-sized balls of bliss were so tempting that only 9 remained in my box when I left the class.  There were 6 in the box when I reached my car, and there were only 3 in the box by the time I got home.  (Seriously, you can pop them in your mouth like popcorn.)  By bedtime, none remained!

I’ll share with you a few tricks we learned this week in case you’d like to make your own cake balls:

• Dough must chill at least two hours before cake balls are dipped.  Dough at room temperature literally falls off the stick.  If the dough is too cold, the dipping chocolate will crack.
• Set your frosting in a water bath to dipping ease.  Our “baking coach” put the frosting in two, small loaf pans surrounded by warm water in a roaster on low heat.  It kept our frosting at the perfect temperature for long periods of time without the worry of overheating, which makes it stiff and unusable.
• Dip a wooden skewer in melted chocolate or melted almond bark before placing the stick in the cake pop.  This way the frosting asks like “glue.”
• Be sure to poke the blunt end of the skewer into the cake pop, so the pointed end can be used to hold the pops in place.
• Styrofoam is a simple way to keep the cake pops in place while they dry.
• Chocolate hardens quickly, so have sprinkles and candy toppings at the ready.  To make fancier designs, you can shape the cake mixture and decorate with royal icing.

My first experience with making cake balls was so much fun that I’m considering hosting a Bake Once for a Bunch (fashioned after my Cook Once for a Bunch party).  If time permits this autumn – in between combine rides and football games – it would be fun to try my hand at making pumpkin pops.  (I’m sticking to “round designs” for now after discovering how difficult it can be to make shapes like footballs.  Maybe I’ll get more daring with more practice.)

Should you decide to make cake pops at home, following are a few more tips and frosting recipes.

Many people think of the hot, sultry days of July and August as “the Dog Days of Summer.”  Who knew that June calls for the “Dairy Days of Summer”?

The refreshingly fun website by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board is “the ultimate how-to guide” for celebrating June Dairy Month.  The month-long list of events just might inspire you to pack your bags, load your family into the car and head out on the highway for a getaway.  (A Farm Breakfast sounds especially good to me!)  The beautiful food photography on this site will likely inspire you to head to the kitchen.  (I’m speaking from experience on this one.)

With temperatures hovering around 90 for the next three days, I’m planning to beat the heat with ice cream!  I was originally planning make an Oreo® and Ice Cream Sandwich Cake this weekend.  I’ve had this particular recipe bookmarked since March 6, when America’s favorite cookie turned 100 years old.  I thought this might be the weekend that I could get around to trying it.  Now that I’ve discovered a whole new passel of ice cream recipes, however, I’m having second thoughts.  An internal battle is brewing: Oreo and Ice Cream Sandwich Cake or Ice Cream Cupcakes.  Which one gets your vote?

No matter what’s on your weekend menu, I hope you’ll join me in showing appreciation to America’s dairy farmers.  Today I’d like to give a shout-out to a few dairy producers in Latham Country:

• Paulsen Dairy, featuring Double Chocolate Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Meier Dairy, featuring Strawberry Pizza with cream cheese
• Bailie Dairy, featuring Ritz® Cracker Ice Cream Dessert

P.S.  You can also join in the “Dairy Days of Summer” celebration online via Facebook and Twitter.  Here’s an example of a cooking tip gleaned from the Dairy Days of Summer Facebook page:

When cooking with sour cream, make sure not to overheat or boil it as this can cause it to break down and give it a thin, curdled appearance. Whenever possible, let sour cream be the last ingredient you add when cooking.

When the Iowa Beef Industry Council announced its Top 10 Finalists for the 2012 Best Burger Contest, I decided to take a “burger tour.”  I’m making a point to visit as many of these small town eateries as possible while traveling statewide to visit Latham® dealers and customers.

Recently I had the pleasure of joining a Latham customer for lunch at The Farmer’s Kitchen in Atlantic.  From the time I parked in front of the restaurant, I got a feeling that I was going to enjoy my lunch.  The flags waving on the building front are so welcoming, and there is one for every major collegiate team in the area including Cornhuskers, Cyclones and Hawkeyes.

Since collegiate flags are flying on the outside, it’s fitting that the signature burger is the Cy-Hawk Burger.  It’s more than a five-napkin burger – It’s served with your own roll of paper towels.  I have no idea how many calories are in this burger, but it’s worth every one!  I justified it to myself by saying, “It’s not like I eat like this every day.”

But if I did eat like this daily, I could choose a different burger from the menu.  The Farmer’s Kitchen makes so many intriguing burgers including one with Coca-Cola Barbecue Sauce, which is especially fitting given that Atlantic is the Coca-Cola Capital of Iowa.  The menu also includes tried and true favorites like the Wisconsin Butter Burger and the Bleu’s Burger.

It’s more than worth the drive to Atlantic for a meal at The Farmer’s Kitchen for award-winning chili, award-winning pie and award-winning burgers.  But, don’t just take my word for it.  Read this feature from the March 14, 2012, issue of Gourmet magazine:

Let’s get right to the point: peanut butter chocolate explosion pie. Blue-ribbon winner in Crisco’s National Pie Championship, this multilevel marvel demarcates its layers of smooth peanut butter cream and chocolate cream with a stripe of dark, devilish fudge. The Farmer’s Kitchen baker Charlene Johnson is also renowned for sour cream raisin pie—a fave in Iowa dairy country—as well as for crumb-topped apple pie that is guaranteed to have a whole apple in every slice. Pre-pie, don’t miss Charlene’s son Mark’s chili, also a blue-ribbon winner—of the People’s Choice Award in the 2007 World Chili Championship. (319 Walnut St., Atlantic, IA; 712-243-2898)

In addition to the menu, I love that The Farmer’s Kitchen is a mother-son partnership.  Charlene bakes award-winning pies; Mark makes award-winning chili.  Together they’ve created award-winning burgers.  So, of course, I just had to try one of everything!  The Peanut Butter Explosion is a wonderful mixture of peanut butter, chocolate and cream.  It’s rich, but oh so smooth.  I’d definitely recommend splitting it with someone, but it’s a great finale to a truly wonderful dining experience.

Today Charlene has agreed to share one of her top-selling, award-wining pie recipes with us.

Growing seed has been a family tradition for the Coombs family of Latimer for five generations, spanning 65 years.  Clara Coombs, along with her son Ralph, began raising seed oats for Willard Latham in 1947.  A few years later, Ralph’s son, Harold, began working with him.  And walking in their shadows, from the time he was old enough to toddle, was Harold’s son John.  Today the legacy lives on as John’s son, Andy, joins the operation.

“My grandfather traded work with Willard,” said John Coombs, who’s been farming since 1973.  “They both had a nose for business:  Willard liked wholesale/retail end of the business.  My grandfather liked the details of production and getting a premium for his crop, so the partnership between the two really worked well.  I have lots of good memories.”

John remembers how the two gentlemen’s relationship ran so deep that Willard even borrowed Ralph’s new 1949 Chevy pickup to Des Moines to pick up seed treatment.  That pickup could pull a wagon holding 100 bushels of oats, which is quite a contrast to the 950 bushels of soybeans they can haul today with their semi.

“We still enjoy driving Grandpa’s Chevy and enter it in a couple of local parades each summer,” says John.  “While we’ve had lots of fun over the years, I appreciate how new technology helps us do our jobs better.  Soybean yields have doubled since I started raising seed.  And new harvesting equipment makes it much easier to combine whole beans in the fall.  Whole beans are key for quality seed; we pay particular attention to avoid splits.”

“We’re fussy in what we do,” adds John.  “We like to get clearance before we go to the field in the spring.  We try to groom the crop through the summer and keep the weeds out.  We realize when we contract with Latham that “quality” is stamped on the bag, so we want to do all that we can to raise the highest quality beans.”

As spring planting gets underway, John and Andy are looking forward to working together.  Andy graduated in 2007 from Iowa State University, where he majored in Ag Studies.  Upon graduation, he went on the wheat harvest with a crew of four ISU students.  They started in Frederick, Okla., on the Texas border, and combined their way through Kansas and Nebraska before heading to North Dakota.  In North Dakota, they would cut wheat by day and canola by night.  Andy says that he got more experience fixing equipment over the course of a few months than he ever would’ve imagined!

Andy, the middle of the Coombs children, is engaged to be married on July 28 to Emily Carr.  John and his wife, Beverly, are also the proud parents of four daughters:

1. Jennifer, their firstborn, works in human resources at Principle in Des Moines.  Her husband, Brian, is an architect and they have a daughter, Annabelle.
2. Jill serves as activities director for Walnut Ridge Senior Living community in Des Moines, and her husband, Derek, works for Wells Fargo mortgage. They have a son, Elias.
3. Amy lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She is Program Coordinator with the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of Utah.  Amy’s husband, Kyle, is attending the University of Utah where he is studying in computer science.
4. Youngest daughter, Laura, is enrolled in the master’s program in higher education / student services at University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She is engaged to Nick, a business student at Iowa State University.

With so many children to feed, John jokes that Beverly has had much practice honing her cooking skills.  The family’s favorite is home-grown sweet corn.  Another favorite is Almond Bars, so today Beverly is sharing her recipe with us.

Easter has always been a special holiday for me.  From the time I was a small child, I’ve enjoyed attending Sunrise Service and then feasting on a big breakfast or brunch.  The Easter Bunny visited our house while we were at church, and I couldn’t wait to get home and see what he had left in my basket.  I also looked forward to late afternoon when my five cousins and I (plus our parents, too) would gather at my grandparents’ farm for our annual egg hunt.  In addition to searching for candy-filled eggs, there was a bag of candy with each of our names on it.

It’s been nearly 50 years since the first Bruns family egg hunt was held, and our tradition is still growing strong!  Literally.  Now there are four generations – and 36 people – searching for plastic eggs in a two-acre yard.  It’s not usual for cousins to play tricks on one another, finding and then re-hiding someone’s bag of candy in a tree, a flower box or even an old John Deere planter box.  We’ve searched for eggs in all sorts of weather from wet and soggy conditions to snow banks.  It looks like this year we could be in for a real treat with warm, dry spring weather.

Throughout the years, my crafty mom has done many things to make the season extra special for us.  Nearly every year we blew out and colored eggs for our egg tree.  (I finally did this last year with my kids.  Then I saved it in the basement, so we could use it again this year.  Somehow I feel guilty about this.)  We also colored hard-boiled eggs that were then turned into my mom’s infamous potato salad.  (Since I can’t make potato salad like Mom, I don’t see any need to boil the eggs!)  Another year Mom made Easter baskets, in the shape of a rabbit, for each grandkid. (I had fun doing this last year with my Girl Scout troop, too.)  I also remember, as a small child standing on a kitchen hair, helping her mix up a cake that we then decorated as a bunny.

Perhaps this will be the year that my kids and I bake a Peter Rabbit Cake.  It definitely fits my main criteria for a recipe: quick, easy and delicious!  These criteria are also why I plan to try my hand at making Mosaic Jell-O for our family potluck this Sunday.  Chances are, I’ll put my “Jell-O Salad” in a bowl instead of making bars.  (I honestly can’t bear thinking of Jell-O as a bar.  Bars, in my humble opinion, should be thick, rich and chocolaty!)

In case you’re interested in a new recipe for your own Easter brunch, I’m including recipes for some of my favorite breakfast casseroles below.  I’m also including some cute ideas for Easter crafts to keep little hands and minds occupied.

Easter brunch ideas:

• Blueberry French Toast
• Baked Apple French Toast
• Egg & Hash Brown Casserole

Easter basket ideas:

• Thirty-One Woman
• Family Fun
• Making Learning Fun

With a love for the land and of the great outdoors, John Fedeler feels fortunate that his father provided him with an opportunity to start farming 32 years ago when he was a senior in high school.  In 1984, he moved to the farm where he and his wife of 22 years are raising their family.

“Jackie is a great partner,” says John.  “She worked the first 10 years of our marriage at Rockwell Collins, and her off-farm job really helped us with the family living expenses.”

As their family grew, however, Jackie was needed more at home.  Since 2001, she has worked different part-time jobs but farming and family definitely takes priority.  The family raises corn and soybeans.  They also sell small, square bales of high-quality hay.  In addition, they calve between 60 and 80 cows that they then finish to market weight.

“Farming is a way of life for us,” says Jackie.  “By helping with chores, our kids have learned to be responsible.  They’ve learned to work hard.  They even ask their friends to pitch in and help.  When the work is done, we feed them well and John usually makes a batch of malts.”  The promise of pizza or grilled burgers plus John’s malts are key to rounding up a group of willing workers.  (NOTE TO SELF:  Remember to stop by the Fedeler farm place when black raspberries are in season.  Even if you have to help unload hay, it will be worth it for a taste of John’s homemade black raspberry or chocolate malts!)

John and Jackie are the proud parents of six, active children:  Jacob, 20, is  a freshman at Kirkwood Community College, majoring in Ag Business.  Daughter Kristine is a high school senior, and this fall she will attend the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) for nursing.  Danielle, 15, is a freshman, who loves sports, music and drawing.  Noah, 13, loves all sports, music and video games.  Ten-year-old Alex loves farming, and as a first-year 4-H member, he’s looking forward to showing two steers at the county fair.  Youngest daughter, Jerilyn, is eight.  She’s a little socialite, who likes just about anything.

It goes without saying that family gatherings are big for the Fedelers.  Jackie comes from a family of eight children and John from a family of nine.  John’s parents have 32 grandchildren, yet everyone makes it a priority to come home for the holidays.  John and Jackie hosted Christmas 2011 in their home for both sides of their family.  They said it’s not unusual to feed 45 or more, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

In addition to spending time with family, John is also a volunteer fireman and EMT.  He plays on a men’s softball league and really enjoys riding his Harley.  He enjoyed Latham’s Freedom of Independence Ride around eastern Iowa and western Wisconsin last year and is looking forward to the company’s annual ride in 2012.

Jackie has joined a women’s golf league and is looking forward to the start of the new season.  She and the children are very involved with church activities, plus she enjoys spending time in the kitchen.  Jackie is such a good baker that she’s been winning contests since high school.

“During my senior year, I needed a project for my Home Ec class,” says  Jackie with a smile.   “I saw this recipe for Candy Cane Coffee Cake in an old Betty Crocker cookbook, and it was voted Best of Class.  Since it was such a good recipe, a few years later, I entered a holiday baking contest sponsored by the newspaper.  I won that contest, too!  This recipe has become a family tradition ever since.  My  mom, some of my kids and I enjoy making these coffee cakes and sharing them with neighbors and others in the community during the holidays.”

After years of the same New Year’s Resolutions making American’s Top 10 List, Parade magazine is offering 55 ideas to switch up things for 2021. Idea number one is to “focus on a passion not your looks” followed by “workout to feel good not to become thinner.”

Other Top 10 Resolutions for your consideration include:

• Start each day with gratitude. (Latham’s Marketing Team members begin its weekly meeting by expressing something for which they are grateful. It helps set the tone for a great meeting!)
• Give one compliment a day. (Learn how to graciously accept a compliment.)
• Do a random act of kindness weekly.
• Read one book each month.
• Go someplace you’ve never been.
• Travel on a small budget.
• Drink more water.

Ten resolutions sounds lofty, doesn’t it? Perhaps that’s why only 50% of people who make resolutions are successful after six months. Sometimes less is more; fewer is better.

There are a few, simple practices you can put into place to increase the likelihood of achieving success.  University of Scranton psychology Professor John Norcross, in a special story to CNN, offered these evidence-based tips for making and keeping your New Year’s resolutions:

• Make short, attainable goals.
• Develop a specific action plan.
• Publicly declare your resolutions to hold yourself accountable.

To hold herself accountable, one of my friends reviews her resolutions daily. She prints her annual goals on an interesting piece of paper and places them in a cute frame beside her bathroom sink.  Then each morning she reflects upon her list and decides what she needs to do to continue to work toward achieving her goals.  She is truly one of the most productive and successful people I know.

In the short term, my holiday weekend goals are to “Eat. Drink. Be Merry.”  That’s why today I’m sharing with you two of my favorite recipes from my mom’s recipe box. Cranberry Slush has been a holiday tradition for more than 30 years. The Fire Hot Crackers are always a hit.  Try topping these crackers with summer sausage and cheese.

Happy New Year!

Related posts:

• 5 Secrets to Becoming the Best YOU in the New Year
• Set Goals, Not Resolutions
• Resolution #1: Get Organized

Fire Crackers

Ingredients:

• 1¼ c. oil
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 16 oz. box of Keebler® Club Crackers
• 1 T. red pepper flakes (double the flakes for a little more “fire”)
• ½ T. onion powder
• 1 pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix

Directions:

1. Mix oil garlic and onion powder, crushed pepper, and dressing mix.  Pour into a 2-gallon bag.  Add crackers and carefully shake bag so that crackers get coated.  Let the bag set for 15 minutes and then shake it again.  Pour onto paper towels and let dry.  (COOK’S TIP:  Top with paper towels, as well, to remove excess oil.)  Store in airtight container.