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Author Archives: Marty Ryan
Going to Kansas City
Occasionally, I will check local newspapers’ obituaries from around the part of Iowa where I grew up. Unfortunately, I read an obituary in the Denison, Iowa, newspaper about a friend from the time we both worked at Farmland Foods in … Continue reading
Posted in Food
Tagged Farmland Foods, Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium, St. Joseph
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Guns and Butter
A version of this blog was previously published in the November 2024 issue of the Prairie Progressive Campaign strategist Jim Carville coined the phrase “[It’s] the economy, stupid” back in 1992 when he worked on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. “His … Continue reading
Blue-ribbon Caramels
After my mother passed away, my brother-in-law created a flipped-page collection of some of mom’s best/favorite recipes that she often made. I noticed a mistake in the recipe for caramels (Mom’s mistake, not Ron’s). I realized that instead of 325º … Continue reading
Posted in Food
Tagged Better Homes & Gardens, Iowa State Fair, Land O' Lakes, Mise en place, Suzette's Candies
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Every Thirty-two Years
Traveling back to Des Moines from an event in Coon Rapids in late September, we came upon a deputy sheriff’s car sitting along side the road as we popped over a hill. I wasn’t worried. I had the cruise control … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Bayard, Coon Rapids, Deputy Sheriff, fixit ticket, License plates
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Satan’s in the Details
On July 26 of this year, the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS)[1] adopted a new policy in which anyone requesting a venue for an event in the Capitol or on the Capitol grounds may do so for only one … Continue reading
Hot stuff!
This year, we planted several varieties of hot peppers: habaneros; ghost peppers; super chili; Thai peppers; serrano; and Carolina reapers. We’re not going to mess around with those mild ones like jalapenos. Several of the pepper plants are beginning to … Continue reading
Posted in Food, General
Tagged AR-WE-VA School District, Carolina reaper, Chili, lettuce sandwich, Potato soup
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