The southeast side Cedar Rapids Moms Club drinks in the morning.
Well, not really. For this crowd, the morning Bloody Mary is a treat we enjoy infrequently. Possibly because we have so many kids to chase around and there’s rarely a moment where they all leave us alone long enough to finish a sentence, much less have a long luxurious discussion about the merits of raising your own heirloom tomatoes. This particular morning, though, the Cedar Rapids southeast side Moms Club got together to talk about what grows in Mollie’s yard. The kids played in the hammock and we wandered through the tomatoes, peas, brussels sprouts, raspberries and garlic asking questions and pawing around in the dirt.
Mollie was kind enough to dig up a patch of beautiful royal purple potatoes for us. She bought the potato starts at Earl May, which stands as proof that the heirloom revolution is upon us. Three years ago, I was having purple and blue potato varieties shipped from Seed Savers in Decorah. Now you can get them just across town.
There are benefits to tending, harvesting, and juicing your way to Bloody Mary Heaven. The mix is so good that I dare to declare; Vodka is Optional. Giving you all the exact recipe is not. It is prohibited. I’ll give you a hint, though. It involves lots of fresh horseradish, garlic from Mollie Schlue’s garden, and a mix of tender Iowa grown heirloom tomatoes that you just can not buy at the grocery store.
It wasn’t only about the Marys yesterday morning. We finally got to sample the newest use for all the Kale you get from your CSA. Andrea Lewerenz-Norris has come up with a quick, easy, tasty, and addictive way to get your greens and she’s not afraid to spread the love.
1. Wash, trim, and de-vein one large bunch of fresh curly Kale.
2. Cut into 2″ square pieces and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, drizzle the Kale with 1/4 cup of malt vinegar and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Grind sea salt and black pepper over the mixture and stir to coat.
3. Spread the Kale out on a large baking sheet so that it doesn’t overlap.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the Kale gets crispy. Turn the Kale pieces once during cooking. Let cool and eat immediately.
– RACHEL MOREY FLYNN 
Disclaimer: MOMS Club members are not encouraged to drink in the morning by other members, much less by MOMS Club International. In fact, MOMS Club International has no knowledge of the goings on of yesterday morning’s event and they certainly wouldn’t approve of it if they did, even though none of the Moms in attendance could really consume alcohol because they all had to take their kids to swimming lessons and gymnastics and Chinese classes. So please, don’t think negative things about MOMS Club. Think them about me. Because this particular get together was my idea.
