Joining the nation in 1846, the 29th state is also known as the Hawkeye State.
With corn fields and farming often getting top billing, Iowa has much more to offer.
Its oldest city is Dubuque, founded in 1788 as one of the first settlements in the entire Midwest. Dubuque is also home to Iowa’s oldest standing church… the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, built in 1833.
With the wild rose as its state flower and the eastern goldfinch as its state bird, Iowa’s motto is “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.”
With its population of 3.2 million people, Iowa has 400 bowling alleys, giving it the highest number per capita in the US, along with more golf courses per capita than any other state.
The National Hobo Convention is held annually in the town of Britt, complete with a hobo parade, hobo queen coronation, and a hobo museum.
The Iowa 80 Truckstop is the world’s largest and hosts the Trucking Museum in Walcott, dedicated to the history of trucking and vintage trucks.
Iowa also claims the 3rd highest motorcycle ownership in the nation.
Museums don’t stop there. Indianola is home to the National Balloon Museum, which offers hot-air balloon rides.
Noted as the safest state in the US, Iowa also leads the US in wind energy, producing the highest percentage of electricity powered by wind, at over 57% of its electrical power. Iowa also has the highest literacy rate in the US, setting a nationwide literacy and academic excellence standard.
In 1869, Arabella Mansfield (1846-1911) became the first female lawyer in the United States.
Known for friendly communities and farmers’ markets, Iowa holds the first Caucus in every Presidential primary election.
Iowa has also produced nearly 20 Olympic athletes in multiple disciplines. In swimming, the butterfly stroke was invented by David Armbruster, head coach of the University of Iowa Swimming in 1935.
Also developed here in Davenport was the first single-loaf bread-slicing machine in 1912.
The Red Delicious Apple variety originated here in the 1870s as a chance seedling growing on Jessee Hiatt’s farm in Peru, Iowa. Thinking of it as a nuisance, he tried to chop the tree down several times, but it repeatedly grew back.
Iowa is also the only state bordered by two navigable rivers… the Missouri and the Mississippi.
In the Native American tongue, “Iowa” means beautiful.
Maquoketa Caves State Park welcomes visitors to tour one of the highest concentrations of Iowa’s hundreds of prehistoric underground caverns.
Another attraction is the Effigy Mounds National Monument, home to ancient Native American earthworks in the shapes of animals, including bears, birds, and deer.
As the nation’s largest producer of corn, eggs, and pork, it’s little surprise to note that hogs outnumber people 7 to 1.
On the yummy side, Le Mars, Iowa was officially designated as “The Ice Cream Capital of the World” in 1994 by the makers of Blue Bunny® brand ice cream.
Little-known facts include that Snake Alley, between Washington Street and Columbia Street in Burlington, Iowa was named the Crookedest Street in the World by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Iowa is also home to the world’s largest Strawberry Shortcake. Created in 2009 as part of the annual Strawberry Fest in Strawberry Point, the cake measured more than 10 feet in diameter and featured more than 5,000 servings of berries, cake, and cream.
Wearing red on Fridays can signify various things, including paying tribute to all military veterans. However, the first Friday of February is also National Wear Red Day for a very different reason. This date signifies the annual campaign to raise awareness about heart disease in women. Even one century ago, little was known about heart disease and even less about how it affected women. Considered a man’s disease, even the American Heart Association hosted a conference in the 1960s theme, “How Can I Help My Husband Cope with Heart Disease?” Women were mistakenly believed to have some natural protection from heart disease until their hormone levels dropped during menopause.
“Under democracy, one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule – and both commonly succeed, and are right.”
KISS Tip: This is great served with some crusty, cheesy garlic bread.
The Winter Dance Party Tour scheduled 24 concerts in 24 days visiting 24 mid-western cities. Though it started on January 23rd, it ended abruptly on February 3, 1959, when wintery weather caused a plane to crash shortly after take-off into a cornfield outside Clear Lake, Iowa.
“Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself and forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others.”
“History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.”
If you are of a certain age, you may well recall tuna casseroles topped with potato chips. For National Corn Chip Day, we suggest topping your dish with Fritos… regular or scoop-style, or any other chip made from corn meal, such as tortilla chips.
Super Simple Taco Pie
Meanwhile, spread 4 c Fritos in bottom of olive oil-sprayed 13×9” baking dish, turning open sides of scoops to face upwards. Sprinkle 1½ c cheese over the chips before spreading evenly with meat mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top, sprinkle with green onions, and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, crumble 1 c of remaining Frito chips. Sprinkle them over the melted cheese and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve with your choice of garnishes & toppings on the side. Makes 4-6 servings.
“It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.”
Super Simple New England Clam Chowder
Want to use fresh clams to replace some or all the canned ones? Scrub 7-8 lbs fresh cherrystone or littleneck clams. Bring 5 cups water and 1 cup white wine to a boil in Dutch oven. Add clams, cover and let cook 5 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove opened clams. Cover and let cook another 2-4 minutes. Remove remaining opened clams and discard any that failed to open. Pour remaining clam juice through fine mesh sieve to remove any shell bits or sand. (Add bottled clam juice or water if you don’t have a total of 4 cups of broth.) When clams have cooled, remove from shells and finely chop.
For National Peach Melba Day, let’s whip up a batch of this delectable Victorian-era dessert, originally made from peaches, raspberries, and ice cream. (Hmmm… rather like a frozen Bellini.) The dish was created by French Chef Auguste Escoffier in 1893 at London’s Savoy Hotel and named after the opera singer Nellie Melba. (Yes, the Melba Toast was also named after her.)
Super Simple Peach Melba
The deep-fried cakes we know as doughnuts or donuts enjoy a long European history and an even longer Middle Eastern legacy. Arab cooks fried up small portions of dough and drenched them in surgary syrup. In Ancient Rome and Greece the fried pastry strips were coated with honey. Called oily cakes or fried cakes, they were introduced to the Western hemisphere by Dutch immigrants in New AmsterdamThe deep-fried cakes we know as donuts enjoy a long European history and an even longer Middle Eastern legacy. Arab cooks fried up small portions of dough and drenched them in surgary syrup. In Ancient Rome and Greece the fried pastry strips were coated with honey. Called oily cakes or fried cakes, they were introduced to the Western hemisphere by Dutch immigrants in New Amsterdam, now called Manhattan.
“An effective technique in developing a peaceful mind is the daily practice of silence. Begin to listen for the deeper sounds of harmony and beauty that are to be found in the essence of silence.”
For National Shortbread Day, I thought I toss in a twist on the standard, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie. With Potato Chip Cookies, you get all that sweet decadence with a balanced touch of saltiness tossed in and a touch of crispiness, too.
I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.
I enjoy sharing recipes on my website and social media articles. In 2024, I am pleased to note that I shared some 4 dozen recipes with you. Some have been previously published in my various cookbooks; others are new. They ranged from appetizers and beverages to entrees and desserts. Here is the full list of my recipes shared via my website & social media in 2024.
1970s Cheese Fondue
“The biggest seller is cookbooks and the second is diet books – how not to eat what you’ve just learned how to cook.”
