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FACETS

September 2017

The magazine for women.

White is on the cutting edge of metallurgy Warner uses experiences to mentor women in STEM Hasper's career combines love of ag, biology

FACETS

The magazine for women.

Editor MARGO NIEMEYER

Publisher SCOTT ANDERSON

Contributors AUSTIN CANNON AUSTIN HARRINGTON RONNA LAWLESS DAN MIKA GRAYSON SCHMIDT

Tribune Editor MICHAEL CRUMB

Photographs AUSTIN HARRINGTON RONNA LAWLESS DAN MIKA GRAYSON SCHMIDT FACETS IS A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF GATEHOUSE MEDIA IOWA HOLDINGS.

W

omen in STEM are impressive.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, mathematics. They have a different sort of drive to solve a problem than those of us in the arts. Women in STEM careers are curious, they want to figure out how things work and why they work that way.

Tracy Warner, the city of Ames municipal engineer and a women profiled in this issue, said when she graduated in 1997 from Iowa State University there were only a handful women. Warner also said of her field, "Sometimes being a female in a male-dominated career, you have to get your own confidence."

My mom is a civil engineer. She graduated from South Dakota State University in the fall of 1985. When she graduated, there weren't many women in her class. In the four years it took her to finish her degree, she says there were 12 women in the field of civil engineering at SDSU. Warner makes a good point — as women we sometimes have to get our own confidence. Fake it 'til you make it, if you will.

Once we get through high school and have that first self-confidence to say, "I am going to be a (insert STEM career here) when I grow up," we feel we can take whatever the

ADVERTISERS To advertise in Facets magazine, contact Tiffany Hilfiker at (515) 663-6973 PHONE (515) 663-6923 ADDRESS 317 Fifth St. Ames, IA, 50010 EMAIL mniemeyer@amestrib.com ONLINE www.amestrib.com/sections/ special-sections/facets

world throws at us — and we can.

Then we walk into that first math class in college, or whatever it may be, and almost all 150-300 chairs in the auditorium are filled with men. There are a few women, but as my mom and Warner know, there aren't many.

That's when you have to 'get your own confidence.' You can do this. Curiosity and numbers are your thing. You have a special talent. Take a deep breath, if needed, and show the world that you are female and you CAN take the heat of your chosen male-dominated career field.

Always remember that there are women who came before you in situations similar to yours. Find those women. And when you are struggling or just need that extra little piece of encouragement take them out for a hot beverage and learn about their past and how they pulled through in their tough times.

One of my favorite phrases is 'it takes a village.' I am a women who went into the arts, but I was raised by a women who went into STEM and told me stories about the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated career. Don't be afraid to reach out and create your own village and be your impressive self.

Rock the STEM fields ladies!

On the cover: Ames Laboratory scientist Emma White in a work station. Photo by Dan Mika/GateHouse Iowa

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FACETS • Table of contents STEM careers 4

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Emma White

From NASA to Ames Lab: White on the cutting edge of metallurgy

Courtney Davis

Agronomy with an iPad: Davis on ag scouting with new tech

Beth DeVries

STEM skills translate to successful business ownership

12 Rachel McClung

Visual designer finds welcoming environment at Workiva

14 Tracy Warner

Warner uses experiences to mentor women in STEM

18 Kayla Hasper

Hasper's career combines love of ag and biology

22 Amanda Fisher

Science helps Fisher find good fit with technology

24 Laurie Twitchell

Twitchell trying to reach younger engineers

25 Jennifer Ruddy

Ruddy comes 'full circle' at Fox

savor 26 Slow cooker caponata

You'll want to put this Sicilian vegetable salad on everything

28 Basil-grilled tuna

Tuna steak makes a great summer meal

28 You say tomato, I say delicious

Four mouth-watering recipes

FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017 | 3

STEM careers: Emma White

Ames Laboratory scientist Emma White in a work station. Photo by Dan Mika/GateHouse Iowa 4 | FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017

Emma White: STEM careers

From NASA to Ames Lab: Emma White on the cutting edge of metallurgy

E

mma White likes to break stuff.

As a metallurgist at the Ames Laboratory, the Iowa State University grad spends her days superheating, powdering and altering metals to find new alloys and new properties yet to be found in modern science.

White grew up surrounded by science-minded girls like her. Her twin sister became an engineer, while their best friends, also a pair of twin girls, grew up to become a physician and an architect.

She grew up in Des Moines and became interested in science classes as a middle schooler and later participated in the Ames Laboratory Science Bowl as a high school junior and senior.

As she neared her final year in high school, White applied to colleges across the country, but decided to go half an hour north to ISU after visiting one of its engineering days. “(An ISU professor) did all these demonstrations of freezing a racquetball in liquid nitrogen and throwing it against the wall and it shattered, different polymers with properties, heat treating of metal right in front of us,” she said. “All of these things were really fascinating, and I thought to myself, okay, I’d like to break things and burn things for my job and my career, so I signed up to be a materials science and engineering major.”

White specialized in metals, ceramics and polymer engineering, but she found metals the most interesting because of the extremes those materials need to break down.

“Plastics are kind of weak, they fall apart in melters,” she said with a laugh. “That wasn’t as interesting to me as heat-treating something at 1,250 degrees Celsius and get some sort of amazing properties out of that.”

Her experience as an intern for heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar made her realize she didn’t want to spend her career working on the production floor. Instead, she applied to go to graduate school and work on the cutting edge of materials science.

She got into five other schools and was planning to go to Georgia Tech, but Steve White (no relation to Emma), a professor at ISU’s materials engineering department, called her into his office one day and explained an upcoming project on lithium-ion batteries that he was preparing to give a student. She didn’t initially apply to ISU for

BY DAN MIKA GateHouse Iowa

“(An ISU professor) did all these demonstrations of freezing a racquetball in liquid nitrogen and throwing it against the wall and it shattered, different polymers with properties, heat treating of metal right in front of us. All of these things were really fascinating, and I thought to myself, okay, I’d like to break things and burn things for my job and my career, so I signed up to be a materials science and engineering major.” a graduate program, but the project intrigued her and she decided to get her graduate degrees in Ames.

She also worked at NASA for two summers, and the space agency funded the last few years of her doctoral degree.

She graduated with her doctorate in 2009. Right before then, she was offered a post-doctoral research position in the Ames Laboratory under Iver Anderson, a materials scientist at the Ames Laboratory and a recent inductee to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Two of his post-doctoral researchers had launched a startup focusing on atomizing titanium, which was bought up by industrial supply company Praxair.

“Iver had two projects essentially that had no one to manage them right when I was getting ready to graduate,” she said.

WHITE, page 6

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STEM careers: Emma White WHITE continued from page 5

One week after her graduation, she took those projects on.

After finishing those projects, White continued to work under Anderson’s team of materials engineers and eventually landed a full-time position as an associate scientist at the Laboratory last October working on micron-level powder metallurgy with particles roughly the size of a strand of human hair.

White doesn’t intend to leave Ames Laboratory as long as Anderson is around, saying the ongoing office joke is making him recommit to staying another 10 years every few months. She’s been making that joke for three years now.

In the meantime, she said working on contracts to provide novel solutions to manufacturing problems is something she’s happy doing for a while.

“I just see myself here and working hard on powder metallurgy,” she said.

White said her journey into the STEM field was marked with some oddities, but was ultimately positive and filled with people who wanted her to succeed.

“You notice it as a female that you’re definitely in the minority,” she said. “There are occasional standout circumstances or situations that were specific to being a woman that were sometimes uncomfortable, but I would

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“You just don’t let any of those extra things stop you.

It’s going to be a little more difficult, you notice you’re only 10 percent of the gender in the class, but really, the guys don’t care.” say those were very far and in between.”

She specifically noted Anderson and Steve White as some of her most supportive mentors as a student, helping her stay afloat during some medical issues during her graduate studies and through her time at the Laboratory.

White said any young women interested in STEM fields can succeed as long as they love what they do and be assertive in chasing what they want.

“You just don’t let any of those extra things stop you,” she said. “It’s going to be a little more difficult, you notice you’re only 10 percent of the gender in the class, but really, the guys don’t care.”

Courtney Davis: STEM careers

Courtney Davis using her iPad in a field of soybeans. Contributed photo

Agronomy with an iPad: Courtney Davis on ag scouting with new tech

C

ourtney Davis spent most of her summer internship out in crop fields. But the most important tool she carried throughout wasn’t a soil sampler or a pH meter.

It was an iPad. Davis, a sophomore at Iowa State University and recent Nevada High School graduate, spent most of her summer in the fields surrounding Le Grand, 42 miles east of Ames. As an agronomy intern at Key Cooperative, she scouted crops for clients, looking for potential issues.

Davis spent most of her days with an iPad in her hand with an app called Sirrus pulled up. The app allows users to bring up GPS maps of a client’s field and mark areas of concern.

“You can drop a pin and say, ‘right here is a weedy spot,’ and the height of the weed, what the weed is, how heavy the weed is,” she said.

The app is then shared among the farmer and other agronomists, allowing them to have the latest information

about what’s happening among the crops.

“You know where your field’s at, you know you are in the right field and not in the neighbor’s field, but for growers, I think it’s helpful because I can show my boss, the head agronomist, where exactly it’s at and all of the pinpoints in the field,” she said. “You can pinpoint exactly what you need.”

Davis said the use of farming-specific apps has become widespread, describing how farmers gathered at the

BY DAN MIKA GateHouse Iowa

local co-op in Le Grand will often have a few different apps up tracking all sorts of data that used to be recorded with a pen and paper.

“Lots of farmers used to have a binder of all their years, telling them this year I planted soybeans, this is the hybrid I planted, this is where I sprayed, when I sprayed it,” she said.

“The app can put that all online.”

Davis’ goal upon graduation is to get into agronomy sales. Although she expects the use of agricultural technology to become near-ubiquitous as younger farmers take over more fields, there will always be a place for faceto-face relationships in agriculture.

“Everyone in ag wants that relationship with their salesmen,” she said.

“Pretty much any farmer I’ve met with always wanted to be face-to-face or a phone call. They don’t necessarily mind having an email report, but it’s nice having that face-to-face connection and you’re never going to want to lose that.”

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STEM careers: Beth DeVries

At a Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa fundraiser, Beth DeVries offered sponsorship and donation while she also had fun volunteering in 2017. Contributed photo

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Beth DeVries: STEM careers

DeVries’ STEM skills translate to successful business ownership I

t might be a surprise to learn that Beth DeVries, the owner of Della Viti wine bar on Main Street in Ames, has a long history as a research scientist. But the oenophile/businesswoman sees it as an organic step in her career path.

DeVries earned her degree in genetics from Iowa State University in 1996. In 1997, she got a job working for an antibody research firm in Boone, where she was employed for three years.

From 2000 to 2013, DeVries was a research scientist for a bulk

BY RONNA LAWLESS GateHouse Iowa

pharmaceutical company, where she worked in the lab doing research and chemistry.

“I did just about everything from new product development to lab machine maintenance,” she said.

Research is something that DeVries always knew she wanted to do, and that aspiration became even stronger after witnessing the cancer battle of a beloved teacher at her high school, in Elkader, in northeast Iowa.

DeVries, page 10

DeVries

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STEM careers: Beth DeVries

Beth DeVries, the owner of Della Viti in Ames, donates and volunteers at the MGMC Bliss Cancer Center Gala Wine tasting in 2017. Contributed photo

DEVRIES continued from page 9

“I had a super fabulous teacher for my advanced biology class in high school, and she came down with cancer — non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma — in the middle of the year when she was teaching,” DeVries said.

She underwent chemotherapy and continued teaching during her treatment.

“We were all just blown away, and more than half of us in her class went into a scientific or teaching field,” DeVries said. “She was so open about everything she was going through. She’s still alive, by the way, and doing great.

“I always knew I wanted to be a scientist. I always knew I wanted to go into research and find out the reason things happen the way they did.”

During her 13 years of research with the pharmaceutical company, DeVries helped make several advances for the business.

“When I started with the company in 2000, there was one product. When I left there were 12, and all 11 of them I had my hand in, in one way or another,” she said.

While at that firm, DeVries had the opportunity to travel the world. She met with representatives from companies such as Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson, coming up with new products for their systems.

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“Some drugs are made by 'bugs' in great big vats of liquid,” DeVries said. “The company I worked for purified the proteins that went into those big vats of liquid that housed all those little bugs that made the drugs.”

During a corporate restructuring in 2013, she got laid off and found it challenging to find a similar-paying job in her related field. But then an unexpected business opportunity arose.

DeVries, her husband Paul, and J.J. Caligiuri, the previous owner of Della Viti in Ames, all met as freshmen when they were living in the Willow dorms at ISU. Caligiuri wanted to open a Della Viti location in Des Moines and wanted to sell the Ames location, so he asked DeVries if she would like to buy. And that’s how Beth DeVries came to own a wine bar in downtown Ames.

“I’m still very, very curious about how things work.

And about why things are the way they are,” she said.

That curiosity has been focused on her business and has caused it to grow in product offering and customer base.

“Wine is incredibly interesting to me because you can take the same grape and grow it in two different hemispheres, and it tastes and smells completely different,” DeVries said. “But you’re starting with the same genetic and molecular material. And to me, that’s vastly interesting.”

Beth DeVries: STEM careers DeVries would love to learn how to make wine. She thinks that is one of the next steps for her.

She likes figuring out the differences between wines, but also between products like whiskey and gin. She’s held tastings at Della Viti for all of these things so she can pass her knowledge and curiosity on to her customers.

“It’s another way to channel my natural curiosity. Some people are curious and some people are not,” DeVries said. “The people who go into STEM tend to have a crazy curiosity about things. They just want to know how something works. … That to me has been great because it keeps me going and trying to find something new.”

Researching wines is an interesting subject for DeVries. The soil and the water and the air all contribute to the final taste and aroma of the wine or other alcohol.

“To me it’s just amazing because that molecule — the esters that are released from the alcohol — that’s what is changed,” she said. “The earth that it grows in or the water that it uses changes the chemical makeup of that ester that’s released but you don’t really know what it’s going to be until it’s released.”

DeVries always had 15 to 20 projects in various states on the lab bench, and now she has 15 to 20 business irons in the fire at any given time.

She’s increased the products at Della Viti to extend beyond wines to beers and spirits. Customers can enjoy a Moscow mule or a martini, a microbrew, a plate of cheese or charcuterie. She brings in bands, like the Indigo Monks, to perform occasionally.

DeVries also offers catering for outside parties and hosts parties at Della Viti. She has an online store for merchandise and wine, a wine club and sells tickets to

“The people who go into STEM tend to have a crazy curiosity about things. They just want to know how something works. … That to me has been great because it keeps me going and trying to find something new.” special events, like a rosé wine tasting that was held in July.

DeVries volunteers with the Main Street Cultural District, donates and volunteers to the Octagon gala and the William R Bliss Cancer Center gala each year, and volunteers at Oktoberfest and other events.

She thinks her experience in new product development in the lab has helped her as a business owner.

“I know for a fact that helped me because this is just a different way to channel creativity,” she said. “What I do now isn’t terribly scientific but I research wines, I research taste profiles, I research food profiles. I’m still a researcher, but I just do it differently and for different reasons.”

DeVries believes that people in STEM get to the end of what they’ve learned, and they don’t want to stop there. They want to learn something more.

“Scientists make excellent bartenders, excellent cooks. I think they make excellent business owners, as well. I think it makes for a good combination,” DeVries said. “They use their skills but just in a different way.”

Beth DeVries (right) poses with her husband Paul and friends at the Octagon Gala in 2017, where DeVries offered a sponsorship, donation and volunteered her time. Contributed photo

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STEM careers: Rachel McClung

Rachel McClung stands at her workstation at Workiva where she works as a visual designer. Photo by Austin Harrington/Ames Tribune

BY AUSTIN HARRINGTON GateHouse Iowa

Visual designer finds welcoming environment at Workiva

G

ood visual design is hard to find, or rather hard to see, according to Rachel McClung, senior visual designer for the user experience team at Workiva.

It’s not hard to see because it doesn’t exist, but simply because good visual design is often overlooked since it only leads to a better experience for the user.

“Visual design is part of user experience and what we tend to think about is consistency throughout our product ecosystem,” McClung said. “We also think about our iconography, the different icons that the users click on, make sure they’re communicating effectively.”

When working with the goal of creating products that 12 | FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017

look similar and provide a smooth user experience, it’s likely to be the poorly designed systems that gain more attention from general users. That attention is likely what McClung tries to avoid.

McClung said that her love of creating better user experiences through technology started at a young age.

“I’ve always enjoyed learning about technology, (I) always was drawn to electronic things. As a kid, growing up, the library played a big part in having access to computers and things like that. So, I think it felt natural to want to work in the technology field,” McClung said.

At the library, McClung had a chance to work with

Rachel McClung: STEM careers different Microsoft products that ignited her passion for visual design.

“I had the opportunity to kind of create some art and early things in Microsoft Paint and kind of get a feel for what it is to design things for the web. Having opportunities to think more holistically about different careers in technology and communications helped me, I guess, make some decisions when I was a high school student,” McClung said.

She also received some encouragement from her parents who both have worked to help people communicate more efficiently, only in a different field.

“So growing up, my dad worked with people who had either physical challenges or mental handicaps,” McClung said. “My mom had a degree in social work, so for a time she was a social worker for people with challenges.”

Those parental examples may have led McClung to see helping people in a different light.

“I would say that it certainly gave me a lot of empathy for others and their needs. So, I think anytime you can understand those around you better, that certainly contributes to your user experience skill sets,” McClung said.

That desire to help people on several levels has turned into a successful career at the Ames-based tech leader Workiva.

McClung said that she has found working with Workiva to be exceptionally rewarding, in part because it offers new challenges everyday.

“One thing I do like to say is that there’s no typical day at Workiva. We do so much and have the opportunity to be exposed to so many different ideas that there isn’t always a set routine,” McClung said.

She added that it helps to be working with people that work well together.

“Everyone is so smart and so talented and brings so much to the table in terms of complementary skills, things that I don’t necessarily know about but they can fill in the gaps on and certainly just being inspired by the work that everyone else is doing here,” McClung said.

However, McClung said that just because

people have complementary skills, that doesn’t mean there’s a specific school of thought in the industry.

“I would say I’ve seen a lot of very divergent thinking but the one trait that would maybe underscore everyone is sort of a thirst for knowledge and a hunger to always be learning more,” McClung said.

According to McClung, women have historically been underrepresented in the tech industry. She said there could be several reasons why that fact remains true today.

“I think there is a perception that technology careers are for men. In particular, that is promoted by society but I think it’s also important that we don’t necessarily have to listen to the messages that we see in pop culture or subscribe to what’s shown on the internet or television,” McClung said.

She said that working for a company like Workiva, there is a lot being done to make sure that trend does not continue.

“I think there’s a lot of efforts coming from many different corners to kind of promote the idea that technology careers are accessible and that it’s something you can do regardless of gender,” McClung said.

She also said that there is currently a lot of support in the tech industry for women and there is a big push to help women join, as well as succeed in their careers.

“We do have different affinity groups to kind of help engage those who may not be as well represented in the field. So we have like a women in tech group that meets here and they help to contribute, as far as meeting topics and different things,” McClung said. “So that’s kind of been maybe one thing that has helped to grow women at the company and me personally.”

She said that she believes Workiva is a leader in this push. But in the end, McClung said that women who want to be in the tech industry will be able to find a place where they can succeed. When asked if she had any advice for women looking to join the tech field, she said, “I would say always to believe in yourself and to be confident of your skills.”

“I think there’s a lot of efforts coming from many different corners to kind of promote the idea that technology careers are accessible and that it’s something you can do regardless of gender.”

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STEM careers: Tracy Warner coaching: Molly Geise

City of Ames Municipal Engineer Tracy Warner reads over project plans in an office at Ames City Hall. Photo by Grayson Schmidt/GateHouse Iowa

BY GRAYSON SCHMIDT GateHouse Iowa

Warner uses experiences to mentor women in STEM T

racy Warner received an introduction to engineering earlier than most, growing up with a civil engineer as a father. Though the city of Ames municipal engineer said that she contemplated a career in accounting initially, she made her way back to engineering, despite knowing the challenges that many women in the STEM field face.

“Sometimes being a female in a male-dominated career, you have to get your own confidence,” Warner said. “From a technical standpoint, we’re all the same and we all continue to grow.”

As an undergraduate at Iowa State University, majoring in civil engineering, Warner said that her major only 14 | FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017

had a handful of women when she graduated in 1997. She said that having a mix of confidence, and willingness to learn helped prepare her for the male-dominated field after school.

“I think it was the challenge to finish something I decided to pursue,” Warner said. “I went into civil engineering because of the diversity of types of projects that I could be involved with, and that’s where I found more comfort.”

After graduation, Warner moved to the Washington D.C. area and worked in the private sector consulting on land development projects. Once she entered the working world, Warner said that she noticed a slight difference in

Tracy Warner: STEM career her treatment as the young female engineer fresh out of college.

“I’ve noticed it more from a generational thing. You have the senior project managers who were pretty set in their ways, and I was the young college student coming in asking why we did it that way,” Warner said. “I don’t know if their reaction was because I was female or if it was because I was asking questions and wanting to do things my own way.”

From a young age, Warner said that engineering was on her radar, as her father worked for an engineering firm near Fairfield. She said that her father would point out parts of town and analyze them each day, which she said got her thinking like an engineer.

“I was kind of exposed to it at a younger age than some people,” Warner said.

But it was not until Warner began working for the city of Ames in 2003, that she started applying what she had learned to the public sector.

“My mind didn’t event go towards being in public sector (when I left school),” Warner said. “(I learned) I really liked making a difference in a community, and making a difference with the infrastructure projects that we do.”

Since she has been at the city, Warner said that she has completed countless projects in Ames, and has been heavily involved with mentoring ISU engineering students, and encourage both men and women to gain as much experience as possible, and hopefully stay within the

community.

“I’m so glad we’re continuing to increase “I think I had (female engito admit that I didn’t neers),” Warner said. “This is know everything, and that it for anybody, but respectwas okay to ask questions so I ing the could continue to grow. It’s kind knowledge of people that of a professional maturity when have that you realize you’re never going experience and knowledge to know everything, because is key.” there’s always going to be And for anyone currently in, or changes.” planning to enter the engineering field, Warner said that she just encourages students to walk that line between confidence in what they are capable of, and willingness to learn more.

“I think I had to admit that I didn’t know, everything, and that it was okay to ask questions so I could continue to grow,” Warner said. “It’s kind of a professional maturity when you realize you’re never going to know everything, because there’s always going to be changes.”

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STEM careers: Kayla Hasper

Watershed coordinator Kayla Hasper poses near a sign outside the Prairie Rivers of Iowa office. The signs were designed to educate residents about the importance of watersheds. Photo by Ronna Lawless/GateHouse Iowa 18 | FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017

Kayla Hasper: STEM careers

Hasper’s career combines love of ag and biology K ayla Hasper’s job involves two of her lifelong passions: farming and biology.

Hasper has been working with Prairie Rivers of Iowa for four years. She started as an intern while she was in college, but her responsibilities with the organization have grown over time, and for the past year she has been PRI’s watershed coordinator.

Some of Hasper’s success in her role at Prairie Rivers can be attributed to her lifestyle and experiences growing up on her family’s farm in Lee County, in southeast Iowa.

“I really had an interest in agriculture and then I saw a need for the mix between agriculture and natural resources,” she said. “So I went to Iowa State for degrees in animal ecology and environmental studies.”

The family farm had corn and soybean crops, hay, a cow-calf herd and niche animals — pigs, chickens, sheep and many others.

“We’ve had a few of a lot of different animals for the reasons of utilizing for our own needs but also for my interest in animals,” Hasper said with a chuckle. “I’ve always had an interest in animals, and I’ve always been pretty good at getting my father to support my interest in animals.”

She has a goat named Gracie that still resides at the family farm. “We got her when she was just a little kid, and she is just full of personality,” Hasper said. “That is really where my hobby and interest lies. I’ve gone elsewhere in my career, but I still have a place to go back to and experience that.

“I’m very fortunate that I grew up on a farm.”

That experience with farm life helps Hasper relate to rural residents in her position as watershed coordinator with Prairie Rivers of Iowa, an Ames-based not-for-profit organization “committed to strengthening Iowa’s communities and small businesses through the responsible stewardship of our natural and historical resources.”

Hasper has a genuine love and appreciation for the rural areas she’s trying to help.

“I’m so envious of the cool, hideaway places in Story County — and Boone and Hamilton too,” she said. “I would love to just spend hours in those places, like just down in a little meadow area.”

Hasper is quick to tell rural landowners about her

BY RONNA LAWLESS GateHouse Iowa

Kayla Hasper poses for a photo in the new Water Treatment Plant for the city of Ames during the Prairie Rivers of Iowa tour with board and staff in April. Contributed photo

farm background, to let them know she understands their points of view. Prairie Rivers of Iowa educates the public about watershed issues and encourages practices such as no till, cover crops, buffer strips and denitrifying bioreactors. Suggested changes like that can be met with suspicion or resistance, though.

“I’m not an extremist on either side, I’m just trying to bring people together at the same table,” she said.

Hasper has always had a love of science and has always excelled in it.

“From sixth grade to 12th grade, I participated in the HASPER, page 20 FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017 | 19

STEM careers: Kayla Hasper Kayla Hasper meets with Jim McHugh, a farmer in Hamilton County, in November 2016 to discuss incorporating conservation practices on his land. Contributed photo

HASPER continued from page 19

science fair every year,” she said. “I did my own research project and created a binder and a display board. I took it to the local, the district and the area fairs.”

From there, participants are selected to move on the State Science and Engineering Fair in Ames. Hasper was asked all seven years to attend the state fair, and two years was selected to also attend the National Agri-Science Fair, which was then held in Indianapolis, Ind. “I’ve always had interest in doing those individual science projects that related to my life and my interests,” Hasper said. “I did a lot of energy projects and animal projects.”

She had great opportunities to meet people from across the nation at those national fairs. The first year Hasper attended nationals, her project dealt with using ultraviolet rays to treat well water.

“I had an interest because our farm — not our house, but our farm — was well driven,” she said. “And I had an interest in knowing how that all worked and finding out what systems were cheap and available.”

The second year of nationals, she had a project about planaria, which are organisms that can regenerate parts of their bodies that are amputated.

“Biology is my science that I really love,” Hasper said.

“And really where it started was with science fair. And then with 4-H and FFA.” Those organizations gave Hasper a chance to work with the ag-sciences and to hone her leadership skills.

“Believe it or not, I was shy,” she said. “Science fair, 4-H and FFA really brought me out of my shell because I would force myself into leadership positions. That caused me to do public speaking and there were also career development events every year in FFA that I was involved with.”

Forcing herself outside her comfort zone helped Hasper 20 | FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017

develop an outgoing personality, she said, which is something that she benefits from in both her career and her personal life.

As a watershed coordinator, Hasper describes her position in four categories.

“One is farmer/landowner service, where I’m providing the resources and the financial assistance for farmers to adopt conservation practices,” Hasper said. “Whether that’s in-field with cover crops or things that are edge-offield practices like denitrifying bioreactors — there’s a lot of research that has been done out there. It’s just a matter of me connecting them with the resources that are available to them.”

The second of Hasper’s categories is education and outreach. She helps develop materials, writes press releases, prepares quarterly newsletters and generally communicates with the watershed partners.

“The third category is partner collaboration,” Hasper said. Partners include soil and water districts, cities, counties, ag retailers, Prairie Rivers board members and staff members.

Long-term funding and grant reporting fall into the fourth of Hasper’s categories.

“As a watershed coordinator, I am bringing together the watershed citizens to come together and talk about soil health and water quality,” she said.

Sometimes a person in concerned about the watershed for recreational purposes.

“They might say, ‘I’m a paddler and I really see some things in the creek that I don’t like,’” Hasper said.

Or maybe it’s a farmer who is interested in a buffer project. Or the Board of Supervisors who are interested in a watershed assessment.

“A lot of people have interests in the watershed for their own personal goals,” Hasper said. “And we can go with education from there.”

Kayla Hasper: STEM careers

“I had an interest because our farm — not our house, but our farm — was well driven. And I had an interest in knowing how that all worked and finding out what systems were cheap and available.”

Kayla Hasper works with a group of homeschooled students during her presentation at the Iowa Childrens Water Festival at DMACC in Ankeny in May of 2016. Contributed photo FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017 | 21

STEM careers: Amanda Fisher

Amanda Fisher sits in the atrium at Workiva where she works as a group delivery manager. Photo by Austin Harrington/ Ames Tribune

BY AUSTIN HARRINGTON GateHouse Iowa

Science helps Fisher find good fit with technology W hen Amanda Fisher started working on a degree in Biology and Chemistry with plans to go to medical school, she never thought

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that she would end up working as a group delivery manager in the tech industry. However, after spending some time working as a chemist, she was ready for something new.

“Most boring jobs I’ve ever had in my life,” Fisher said.

As she began to look for a different direction to take her life, she went back to school to be a

Amanda Fisher: STEM careers “It takes a little bit more bravery to enter a field in which it’s not the norm but as more and more women are entering this field it’s definitely going to help make … those fields a better place for women.” chiropractor, which oddly enough led to a career in technology.

“The owner of the clinic that I worked for also owned a software company that made software for chiropractors,” Fisher said.

After a conversation about finding a job on the software side of the company, Fisher quickly moved her way up to being a product manager, where she began rewriting software.

“So kind of a natural evolution started in science and ended up in tech and tech was a much better fit,” Fisher said.

“But it utilizes a lot of the same skill sets of critical thinking and problem solving and day to day interactions with people.”

Now that Fisher has moved out of the science realm and works within the tech industry at Workiva, she said that she has several responsibilities under the title group delivery manager.

“I wear kind of three hats currently. One is I’m a delivery manager for a team, I’m also a product line delivery manager, which is essentially a collection of teams that is all kind of striving toward the same end goals,” Fisher said.

“Then my third hat is that I’m a manager of the other delivery managers.”

To be successful in those roles she said she needs to be able to be flexible and communicate well with others, while also providing some mentorship to others that she works with.

“Because it’s not one of those things you go to school for,” Fisher said. “You learn by practice.”

Fisher said that she made the switch from science, she has never looked back because in the tech industry she has the ability to make everyday different.

“Every single day was the same,” Fisher said. “You felt like a cog in a wheel and I’ve never, one day of my life here at Workiva, ever felt that way.

Everyday’s a new challenge.”

Even though this isn’t the career choice that Fisher envisioned when she was younger, she said looking back she’s always had a love of tech.

“As a kid, I never thought that oh, I’m going to grow up to be in technology or I really like technology. We had an Atari as I was growing up and we had Nintendo and technology was really still pretty new,” Fisher said.

She said that she got her first computer at an early age, but only because her mother required it for her job. Without that early exposure, Fisher said she doubts that she would be working in tech now.

“I grew up in a really small town in Indiana and so I could see that there was this huge world beyond me and beyond that small town which really interested me,” Fisher said.

Fisher said that she knows women tend to be less represented in the tech industry, but she believes there are other women out there growing up

with the same thoughts that she had, the same desire to find something larger than the world just outside their front door.

Tech may be the answer they’re looking for too.

“We have a women in tech group here at Workiva, which is great. Lots of women getting together and talking about, not only the challenges of being a woman in tech but also the advantage we bring,” Fisher said.

Fisher said that she believes women should start focusing

on the differences in perspective that they can bring to the table and how that can benefit companies individually or the industry as a whole.

“I do think it’s important to have that perspective and to have that diversity of thought,” Fisher said. “It takes a little bit more bravery to enter a field in which it’s not the norm but as more and more women are entering this field it’s definitely going to help make … those fields a better place for women.”

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STEM careers: Laurie Twitchell

BY AUSTIN CANNON GateHouse Iowa

Twitchell trying to reach younger engineers

L

aurie Twitchell’s career in engineering started the way a lot of people’s do: early interest during school.

“In school I just loved math and science, knew I wanted to do something in a field that used math and science and engineering seemed like a good choice,” she said.

These days, she’s an environmental engineer at Fox Engineering, where she’s also a principal owner.

She has more than 20 years of experience in her field, and when she’s not designing water treatment facilities, she spends time trying to find the engineers of tomorrow.

If you’re a high school student who likes math, science and problem-solving, then you might want to talk with Twitchell.

“I think challenges are really rewarding,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons I like it. There’s always a problem that has to be solved and you’ve just got to go about finding a way. There’s never a perfect project.”

The projects are long, too. Twitchell’s spent a decade working on designing a new water plant for the city of Shenandoah. Problems plagued the project — most notably, the original contractor going bankrupt — but soon it’ll be sending out high-quality water 10 years after parts of the plant were being held together by vice grips.

“Nothing is ever straightforward.

Everything has its own unique challenges, and that’s what makes it really fun,” she said.

As a former president of the Iowa Water Environment Association, water quality is also close to Twitchell’s heart.

The issues has taken a larger spotlight in Iowa politics over recent years, and she said that local governments and the 24 | FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017

state can’t look for cheap fixes when it comes to water treatment.

“The value of water over here is just taken for granted so much, and I think we should be so appreciative, but it takes money and infrastructure to keep it up,” she said.

That focus on water is another way Twitchell reaches future environmental engineers. She helps judge the regional Stockholm Water Prize competition at Hilton Coliseum, sending the winner to the national contest.

“We’re trying to promote the field to a younger generation because I think a lot of people don’t realize all the opportunities that there are in all of the water-related sciences,” she said.

So the North Scott High School and Iowa State University graduate

will go into high school science fairs too look for not only those interested in engineering, but young women who might enter the field as well.

She said that while women aren’t necessarily against in the engineering field, men make up the majority in the field. As she said, “there’s no reason for it to be that way.”

If young women are talented and hardworking and are following a STEM academic path, then they might be a good fit for the field.

“They just need to be confident,” Twitchell said. “If they like problem-solving, if they like math and science, if they’re detail-oriented, there’s definitely a place for women in engineering. And they can be a huge asset to the field.”

Jennifer Ruddy: STEM careers

Ruddy comes ‘full circle’ at Fox

BY AUSTIN CANNON GateHouse Iowa

W

ithin the coming weeks, Ames residents will be drinking water that was processed in the new $70 million water treatment plant that Jennifer Ruddy, a project manager at Fox Engineering, helped design.

The completion provides a sense of satisfaction for the Iowa State University graduate.

“That definitely is a huge feeling of accomplishment when you get to see water flowing through something you designed for the first time and knowing that it all worked correctly,” she said.

Ruddy, who lives in Ankeny, has worked at Fox full-time for more than seven years after interning there off and on during her time at Iowa State. Before college, she was good at math and science, and with the encouragement of her parents and guidance counselors, she decided to look at engineering. When she was trying to learn more, she even spoke with some of the engineers at Fox — years before she would work there.

“It’s kind of funny how it makes a full circle,” she said.

As a project manager, she helps examine water and wastewater facilities to see if they’re operating efficiently. If not, she and her colleagues at Fox will design the improvements and then act as the “middleman” between the client and the construction contractor.

Fox does work all over Iowa and some in surrounding states, and Ruddy said the new Ames plant is probably one of the bigger, brandnew facilities her company has designed in Iowa.

Part of the middleman work in her job gets Ruddy out of the office to talk with contractors and clients. The fact that it’s more than just sitting in an office all day with her nose to the grindstone is part of what drew her to the job — along with the required aptitude

for math and science.

“There’s that part of being at your desk and working through and solving problems, but I’m on the phone quite a bit of my day working with other people, other engineers or consultants or clients to come up with solutions,” she said.

Ruddy learned early on in college that most of her engineering colleagues would be men. In civil engineering, though, more women are joining the ranks than in the other engineering fields, she said.

For her, it was just something to get used to. She compared it to a man joining a women-dominated field like nursing. But that shouldn’t stop young women from entering the field, she said.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to problem-solve and solve something if you’re a natural problem solver, and then just the advantage of being able to work with other people and bounce ideas off of each other,” she said.

FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017 | 25

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Slow Cooker Caponata. Photo by Deb Lindsey/Washington Post

BY ELLIE KRIEGER Special to the Washington Post

You'll want to put this Sicilian vegetable salad on everything I don't use my slow cooker often, but I am most likely to break it out in the summer when my overall culinary mission, besides getting to my nearby farmers market each week, is to avoid standing over a stove or firing up my oven. Based on the popularity of the Slow-Cooker Ratatouille I did for this column last summer, I am guessing many of you feel the same way. So this year I looked toward a different region of the Mediterranean for another

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summer vegetable dish that lends itself to that appliance and landed in Sicily, with this caponata.

It is an "agrodolce" (sour-sweet) tomato and eggplant stew that is studded with the textures and tastes from celery, raisins, olives, capers and pine nuts. This version is as simple to make as could be. You just toss together everything (except the pine nuts) in the slow cooker and turn it on. Using small eggplants eliminates the prospect

savor of bitter seeds, so you don't need to salt the vegetable or fry it ahead as most recipes call for, and I was happy to discover that there is no need to peel the tomatoes, either.

After 2 1/2 hours when the vegetables are soft and beginning to lose their shape and the flavors have melded, you allow it to cool to room temperature and then stir in the toasted pine nuts.

I enjoyed the batch I made several different ways throughout the week. I served it in a small bowl to spoon onto crostini for my guests who popped in for a glass of wine. I spread it generously onto crusty bread and topped it with slices of fresh mozzarella and basil leaves for an open-face sandwich for lunch (I did put that in my toaster oven to melt the cheese. Does that count as turning on the oven?) And I served it as part of a large antipasti spread for dinner one night. I still had some left over, which I froze to enjoy again sometime down the road - no heat required.

Slow Cooker Caponata

then thinly sliced crosswise 1/3 cup golden raisins 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped green olives 3 tablespoons pine nuts Fresh basil leaves, for garnish Steps Whisk together the vinegar, oil, tomato paste, honey, salt and pepper in a liquid measuring cup.

Combine the eggplant, tomatoes, onion, celery, raisins, capers and olives in the slow cooker. Pour the vinegar mixture over the vegetables and toss to coat. Cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 hours. Transfer to a bowl or storage container and allow to cool completely.

Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant. Cool completely, then stir the pine nuts into the cooled caponata.

Serve garnished with basil leaves.

Nutrition | Per serving: 150 calories, 3 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 230 mg sodium, 4 g dietary fiber, 13 g sugar

8 servings (makes about 4 cups) This version of the classic Sicilian sweet and sour eggplant and tomato stew, is as simple to make as it gets. Just toss everything (except the pine nuts, which are stirred in later) together in the slow cooker.

You'll need a slow cooker with a capacity of at least 4 quarts.

Serve it at room temperature with crostini as an appetizer, spooned onto sandwiches, tossed into pasta or as part of an antipasti spread.

MAKE AHEAD: The caponata can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several weeks.

From nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger.

Ingredients 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 tablespoons honey 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3 Asian or small Italian eggplants (1 1/2 pounds total), unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 5 medium Roma or plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), seeded and cut into small dice 1 small onion, cut into small dice 2 medium ribs celery, halved lengthwise and FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017 | 27

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BY BONNIE S. BENWICK Washington Post

Summer is coming to a close and you haven't grilled a tuna steak? Here you go.

Y

ou can forget how meaty and moist a half-inchthick tuna steak can be — right up until you bite into one. It makes a fine summer meal. Here, a 20-minute marinade of garlic, basil, lemon juice and olive oil brings out just enough sweetness in the fish to pair it brilliantly with ribbons of radicchio and Belgian endive and chopped dandelion greens.

The salad prep doesn't take that long, so I recommend boiling some new potatoes to complete the meal while the tuna bathes in flavor. And while a composed platter looks nice, I like to tear the medium-rare, grill-marked fish into chunks and toss it in a big heap with the greens and pile the mess on everyone's plates. They'll be licked clean soon enough.

Basil-grilled tuna with bitter greens

4 servings, Healthy The tuna steaks can be done over direct high heat on an outdoor grill as well.

Serve with new potatoes or over couscous.

Adapted from "Bold and Healthy Flavors: 450 Recipes From Around the World," by Steven Raichlen (Black Dog and Leventhal, 2010).

Ingredients 2 cloves garlic 12 basil leaves 2 lemons Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/2 pounds fresh tuna (2 or 3 pieces) 1 bunch dandelion greens (about 7 ounces total; may substitute arugula) 1 head radicchio (about 12 ounces total) 2 Belgian endive (about 8 ounces total) Steps Combine the garlic and basil in a mini food processor or chop up/prep for a mortar and pestle. Cut 1 lemon in half and squeeze 3 tablespoons of its juice over them. Add a pinch each of salt and pepper, then 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil. Grind or pound to a finely chopped consistency.

Trim any blood spots or sinew from the tuna, then cut the flesh horizontally into 4 steaks of equal thickness, arranging them in a shallow baking dish as you work.

Spread the garlic mixture evenly over each piece of tuna.

Marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes, turning the fish over a few times to coat evenly.

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Meanwhile, cut the dandelion leaves away from the stems. Discard any wilted exterior leaves of radicchio, then cut the head first into quarters and then into thin slices.

Cut the Belgian endive crosswise into thin slices, coring it and discarding its outer leaves, as needed. Combine in a mixing bowl, then add the remaining tablespoon of oil and a small pinch each of salt and pepper. Do not toss yet.

Preheat a grill pan over high heat. Once it's quite hot, transfer the tuna steaks to the pan; cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side (medium-rare), basting with marinade from the baking dish, until grill marks form. Transfer to a platter.

Toss the bitter greens to coat with their dressing, then arrange the salad around or atop the tuna steaks.

Cut the remaining lemon into wedges or slices and place around the platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You say tomato, I say delicious Even if you got a late start on planting, you should have some homegrown tomatoes by now. You’ve been waiting a long time for this. The first ripe ones you probably popped in your mouth right there in the garden or bit into over the sink.

Here are a few recipes to use some of the others in. Be sure to hum a bit of Guy Clark’s ditty “Homegrown Tomatoes” while you’re fixing them.

Marinated toy box tomatoes

Serves 4 These are served as a starter at Hazel in D.C., but they can be enjoyed at almost any time of day. They are especially good with a scoop of cottage cheese.

Umeboshi (salted plum) paste, Korean chili powder and furikake, a Japanese rice seasoning blend, are available at Whole Foods Markets as well as Asian supermarkets and specialty stores. To make the furikake used at Hazel, see the note below.

Make ahead: The tomatoes need to marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature and can be refrigerated for up to 1 day in advance. Sprinkle with the furikake just before serving. If you make the furikake seasoning blend, refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Adapted from Rob Rubba, chef at Hazel.

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime 1/2 medium shallot, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 5 basil leaves, torn or coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon umeboshi paste (salted plum; see headnote) 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut as you like 4 tablespoons furikake (see notes) Combine the lime zest and juice, shallot, garlic, basil and umeboshi paste in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the oil, whisking constantly to form an emulsified dressing.

Add the tomatoes and toss to coat.

Divide among individual plates; top each portion with some of the furikake. Serve right away.

NOTE: To make Hazel’s furikake blend, whisk together 4 tablespoons of chopped toasted nori, 1 tablespoon of white or roasted sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon of flax seeds, 1 tablespoon of puffed sorghum or puffed rice (crushed), 11/2 teaspoons of dehydrated onion flakes and 1 tablespoon of Korean red chili powder. Season lightly with kosher salt.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Caprese strata Serves 6 to 8 Components of a classic Caprese salad flavor this moist, layered casserole. Make sure your tomatoes are ripe and flavorful.

Note: The chopped tomatoes need to drain for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The assembled strata needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight. It needs to sit at room

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BY KATHY MORRISON Tribune News Service

temperature for about 30 minutes before baking.

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, seeded and cut into roughly 1/2inch pieces 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 8 ounces sliced hearty white Italian bread (about 8 slices), including crusts, toasted to a light golden brown, then cut or torn into roughly 1-inch pieces 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 1 cup (8 ounces) whole-milk ricotta cheese 5 tablespoons prepared pesto 1/4 cup loosely packed thinly sliced fresh basil leaves Freshly ground black pepper 4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella, preferably fresh, cut into slices about 1/8 inch thick 8 large eggs 1 cup whole milk Place the tomatoes in a colander set over a bowl; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt and stir to combine. Let the tomatoes drain for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring them occasionally, then place a small plate over the tomatoes and press down firmly several times to remove more liquid.

Grease the inside of a 2-quart baking dish with cooking oil spray. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a single layer of about half of the bread, breaking up some pieces and using them to fill in gaps as needed. Top with a little less than half of the tomatoes, first giving them a good final squeeze to get rid of more liquid.

Stir together the Parmigiano-Reggiano and ricotta cheeses in a bowl, until well combined, then drop dollops of the mixture over the tomatoes. Use the back of a spoon to spread it into an even layer. Drizzle evenly with 3 tablespoons of the pesto. Scatter about half of the basil over the pesto. Sprinkle with a few grinds of pepper.

Add a second layer of bread. (You might not need all of it.) Top with the remaining tomatoes (squeezing them first), drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of pesto and evenly scatter over the remaining basil. Top evenly with the mozzarella slices.

Combine the eggs, milk and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large liquid measuring cup with a pour spout; use an egg beater or immersion (stick) blender to thoroughly incorporate. Pour the mixture down the inside of the baking dish to fill it to within 1/2 inch of the top, pressing down lightly on the assembled strata to make sure all the bread is moistened.

You will probably have some of the mixture left over; cover the measuring cup with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

Remove the plastic wrap from the strata and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. The level of liquid should have lowered; give the reserved egg-milk mixture a good stir and pour some or all of it into the baking dish, TOMATO, page 31 FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017 | 29

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Tomatoes Provencal is an ideal use for end-of-summer tomatoes. The whole-wheat breadcrumb stuffing is flavored with garlic, fresh basil and thyme and stuffed into a ripe, juicy tomato. Photo by Tammy Ljungblad/ Kansas City Star/ Tribune News Service 30 | FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017

TOMATO continued from page 29

keeping it below 1/2 inch from the top.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees.

Bake the strata for 45 minutes to an hour or until it has puffed and browned.

If the edges begin to get too dark before the middle is puffed and set, tent the baking dish loosely with aluminum foil.

(You can cut a piece from the middle of the foil to expose the center of the strata and promote browning there.)

Transfer the strata to a wire cooling rack; let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Tomatoes with capers, almonds and herbs Serves 4 to 6 This starter or salad is no muss, no fuss, big flavors, with the savory crunch of smoked almonds and saltiness of capers.

Adapted from “The Naked Cookbook,� by Tess Ward (Ten Speed Press, 2016).

1 pound 2 ounces mixed-variety small tomatoes 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon hot Spanish smoked paprika (pimenton) 1 small shallot, finely chopped 2 tablespoons small capers, rinsed, drained and coarsely chopped 1/3 cup smoked almonds, coarsely chopped Small handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Cut the tomatoes into a mixture of disks and wedges; different shapes and sizes are nice for variation.

Whisk together the oil, maple syrup, lemon juice and Spanish smoked paprika in a mixing bowl.

Add the shallot, capers, tomatoes, half of the almonds and three-quarters of the parsley; toss to incorporate.

Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, sprinkle the remaining almonds and parsley on top.

Tomato-corn wraps with chicken

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Grill 2 ears unshucked corn over medium heat until done, 30 minutes.

Remove husks; cut kernels from cobs.

Meanwhile, season 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves with salt and pepper. Grill, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, add 3 green onions, coarsely chopped; 2 tomatoes, diced; the juice of 1 lime; 1 small jalapeno, seeded, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon cumin; the reserved corn; and salt to taste; stir to combine. Slice or shred the chicken; divide among 4 flatbreads.

Top with salsa; roll flatbreads into wraps. Makes: 4 servings Recipe by Renee Enna Tomatoes with capers, almonds and herbs offer a no-fuss delight with big flavors. For a Caprese strata, make sure your tomatoes are ripe and flavorful.

Tomatoes with capers, almonds and herbs offer a no-fuss delight with big flavors.

FACETS | SEPTEMBER 2017 | 31

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