2013 CornQuest Was A Success

With the 2013 CornQuest in the memory books, now is a chance to look back at the events we packed into 2 short days in Iowa.

1. None of bloggers had stopped in Iowa before. Annalise of Completely Delicious had driven through and we were so glad she took a few days to see what we have to offer.

2. Not many knew we had so many wineries in Iowa. Megan of Country Cleaver even warmed her toes near the fire pit at Madison County Winery.


3. Sandy of Reluctant Entertainer has worked with Better Homes and Gardens before we toured Meredith. She also has really cute shoes!

4. GMO's, organic food, antibiotics, gluten free, and obesity were a few of the things discussed with Dr. Ruth MacDonald. Nikki of Seeded At The Table asked if a special diet may have helped her father-in-law with cancer.

5.  Lauren of Climbing Grier Mountain enjoyed meeting farmer and regular guy, Dick Gallagher over appetizers at Des Moines crazy Zombie Burger restaurant.

6.  When the AgriBusiness Report for WHO TV showed up, Jessica of The Novice Chef took a few minutes to make sure she talked about how she was so glad to hear how farming was still so much about the family. Plus, we were all happy to find out what mascara she uses!

7. Farmer Bill Couser and his wife, Nancy, spent time talking to the ladies about their family, their cattle, and their focus on being good stewards of the land. Elaine, a nearby cattle farmer shared the Umami experiment and her recent tornado clean up. Chung-Ah of Damn Delicious our California girl brought flip flops to the farm, but she was smart and brought her tennis shoes too.

8. It turns out that food bloggers can REALLY cook. Heidi of Foodie Crush covered their great corn recipes as they cooked together before heading back home. The bacon, truffle popcorn was AMAIZING- pun intended.

9. Sheila of Eat 2Gather was a little nervous about a fast ride on pure ethanol power at the Iowa Speedway, but she couldn't stop smiling when the ride was over.

10. Winery, breakfast at Gateway Market with farmers, time with farmer Bill Couser, riding around a race track, dinner over looking Des Moines with more farmers, open discussion with Dr. MacDonald a food scientist, touring Meredith, and cooking our favorite corn recipes: in only 2 days (we missed you Sommer of A Spicy Perspective but were glad we got to see you!) we packed in a lot of corny memories.

*Note: Blogger travel, hotel, and meal expenses were paid, but their blogs are all their own.

For a listing of past blogger tour attendees:
2012
Carrian (Oh Sweet Basil)
Carrie (Fields of Cake)
Janelle (Talk of Tomatoes)
Julie (Table for Two)
Kelley (Mountain Mama Cooks)
Lisa (Snappy Gourmet)
Rebecca (Foodie with Family)
Tina (My Life As A Mrs)
Sheri (Tickled Red)
Ali (Gimme Some Oven)

2011
Brenda (A Farmgirl’s Dabbles)
Christina (Mele Cotte)
Emily (Busy Mommy)
Heather (Farmgirl Gourmet)
Jyl (The Post-It Place)
Kelly (Once A Month Mom)
Kristy (The Wicked Noodle)
Leslie (The Hungry Housewife)

2010
Allison (Finding Inspiration In Food)
Laurie (Double Bugs)
Lisa (Jersey Girl Cooks)
Shanda (The Parents With Style)
Susan (Dough Messtic)
Tanya (Mommy Goggles)
Vanessa (Chef Druck)
Sheena Chihak