From the Good Earth

By Shawndra Miller Photography by Kelley Jordan Heneveld

The soil that supported the meal might be the last thing on most people’s minds when they sit down to dinner. But thanks to the burgeoning farm-to-table movement, a growing number of Indy residents are reconnecting with the land in a deeper way—through the food they eat.

Nowhere is this connection more accessible than at Zionsville’s Traders Point Creamery, the first organic dairy farm in the state specializing in grass-fed products.

“Farm-to-table is about reconnecting people who are not spending their day-to-day life on a farm with the source of their food,” says Todd Jameson of Slow Food Indy and Balanced Harvest Farm. The Creamery, he says, is a terrific place to experience firsthand what a family-owned, sustainably farmed operation looks like—and to taste the fruits of the land.

Given the pace of modern life, it can be a revelation when people first drive down the lane to Traders Point Creamery and step out of their cars to find a working farm just minutes from the traffic of the city.

At the creamery, the cows that give the milk are a stone’s throw from the restaurant serving the award-winning artisan cheeses made from that milk, as well as the farm’s grass-fed beef, pastured chicken and eggs. Not to mention the luscious ice cream and yogurt. The weekly yearround farmers’ market—the only one in the state—is in view of the working garden that provides much of the produce for the restaurant. Those hungry for more are invited to take a walking tour of the farm, watch the cows being milked, or schedule a guided nature hike on the 320-acre grounds.

The owners of the organic farm, Fritz and Jane Kunz, make summer guests welcome on the spacious deck during Friday night Green Markets, where there’s always a band playing and an enticing dinner of local fare on offer. In the shadow of the 1800s barns that make up the Creamery’s primary structures—all moved from sites in Bluffton and Geneva, Indiana—patrons leave the hustle of the week behind. Jane Kunz is likely to be found purchasing items for her own family’s table from the market’s many local farmers and artisans, in between greeting guests and old friends. Her husband is a gregarious sort, always eager to bend an ear about the perks of eating food originating from an actual farm instead of a factory.

“They say you are what you eat?” he might quip, looking out over the green pasture dotted with Brown Swiss cows, all intent on munching. “You are what they ate.”

And what they ate, he might say, is sunshine.

The Kunzes are deeply committed to nurturing the land. Though they have 220 cows, they milk less than half of them at any one time and let the remainder of the herd rest. The milk of new mothers is strictly off-limits; their calves stay with them much longer than is standard in the industry. Best of all, the herd lives much of the year on pasture, eating the way cows evolved to eat.

Fritz Kunz, a physician, was introduced to the nutritional value of grass-fed meats and dairy by a woman his wife calls “our first customer,” who sought them out while the enterprise was in its infancy. From that encounter, he became acquainted with the traditional foodways rediscovered by nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston A. Price, an advocate of nutrient-dense whole foods and animal fats.

Despite conventional wisdom about the supposed unhealthiness of the fat in whole milk and beef, Fritz Kunz found that grass-fed cattle actually produce meat and milk with health benefits on a par with a certain celebrated fish. The fat profile in whole milk from cows raised on pasture, he learned, closely mirrors the omega-3 levels in fresh wildcaught salmon.

Research has shown a host of protective health benefits from this type of fat, and its absence in the diet has been linked to diabetes, asthma and autoimmune disorders, he notes. “All of us are trying to achieve a balanced immune system to fight the problems of civilization, like heart disease,” he says, “and that balance is improved through ingesting 100% grass-fed products.”

When he says “grass,” he’s not talking about the kind of monoculture that graces the front lawns of America. The fields are actually planted with many different grasses and legumes, from alfalfa to various clovers to ryegrass. The fields are carefully protected. Every few weeks, the herd is rotated to new pasture to allow the grasses to recover. In colder months, the cattle shelter in the Red Hay Barn and are fed hay grown onsite.

Even as little as two coffee cans a day of grain in a cow’s stomach can tip the balance to a detrimental fat profile, and possibly lead to adverse effects for the cow as well. The farm staff is well-schooled in the kind of vigilance it takes to maintain a herd on pasture. Only 100% grass-fed will do.

This despite the fact that a grain-fed cow can produce twice as much milk as her grassfed sister. And cows given recombinant bovine growth hormone, a common additive in conventional milk, make up to three times more milk. “We get precious little milk from each animal, but that milk is incredibly valuable in terms of its nutritional profile,” says Fritz Kunz. “That’s why we go to all this trouble to get you this product, and why we believe we’re creating the healthiest product we can get.”

He compares this way of farming to buying a Mercedes with the intention to “drive it forever,” instead of running through cheaper models every few years. There’s a distinct longterm payoff. “Over the course of the cow’s lifetime, we get a lot of milk and we get a lot of calves from her.”

The complicated formulae involved in raising cattle were not even on the Kunzes’ radar before 1997, when they inherited her grandmother’s farm.

In the family since the 1950s, the land that was to become the Creamery had served as pastureland for a dairy a mile away, which was also owned by Jane Kunz’s family. It was her grandma’s last request that both plots stay in the family, and they did; a brother owns the farm down the road.

Jane Kunz recalls visiting her grandmother at least once a week throughout her childhood, and between the farm animals and the open land, it was an idyllic time. But she never envisioned herself taking on a farming enterprise. “We didn’t know we’d inherit this piece. But we’re happy to be able to carry the baton,” she says.

Though organic practices were not in force in the dairy back then, it was not a stretch for the Kunzes to make that commitment. Jane Kunz cites her great-aunt, who lived almost to the age of 110, as an inspiration. “She had the only organic farm I knew of in the 1970s. That impressed me that she was on it already, back then.”

With three young children, the Kunzes had already prioritized organic food on their table. But it was the surprise inheritance that spurred them to make organic practices their livelihood, and they soon began transitioning the farm to be a certified organic dairy.

A significant part of the creamery’s mission revolves around sharing the message of sustainably grown food and good nutrition with the community. A highlight of the impressive slate of educational programming? Day camps, where youngsters get a firsthand taste of farm life. For families, gardening workshops offer hands-on practice growing vegetables, with the working garden serving as a living example of what’s possible at home.

But the Kunzes take it a step further, realizing that many people are so divorced from their food that they may not know how to cook from scratch, let alone to buy or prepare fresh produce from a farmers’ market. A meal planning workshop can help demystify the process. On Friday nights throughout the early part of the summer, attendees can sample dishes like Gouda Vegetable Soup, then walk the Green Market with a nutrition expert, recipe in hand, shopping for the ingredients that make up a mouthwatering soup.

At the Kunzes’ own meals, the watchword is local. And it doesn’t get much more

local. “Many nights we sit down to our table,” says Jane Kunz, “and everything I’m looking at on our plate is from right here.”

Asked what people can do to bring the farm-to-table ethos into their own meals at home, she laughs. “Fritz would say I like color. And I do. I want a colorful plate,” she says. That’s not only for the visual appeal, but for optimum nutrition: All that variety translates to nutrients.

Aside from color, planning a meal around the freshest and most delicious-looking produce at the farmers’ market is one way to guarantee a fabulous dining experience. “Sometimes someone will offer to go to the market for me, and I say ‘No way!’ I’ve got to be able to look at the food and see what looks great,” she says.

Once home with that fat vine-ripened tomato or tender eggplant, cooks should resist the temptation to add a lot of bells and whistles, she says. When the ingredients are top notch, less is more in terms of seasonings and sauces.

The same applies to quality protein. Says Fritz Kunz, “When you go to a restaurant and they’ve put sauces and all kinds of fancy stuff on your entrée, it’s just an attempt to hide a sub-par protein. It’s making a silk purse from a sow’s ear.” Bottom line? Go for simplicity, and let the ingredients shine on their own merits.

To showcase the farm-to-table movement at its best, the couple recently sat down to a dinner of summer fare with their three children, Kamman, 16; Carey, 18; and Knubbe, 20. Conceived by culinary consultant Mark Shreve, the meal was inspired by tastes he encountered while traveling and living in Italy. Vibrant in color and contrasting in flavors, the menu offers flexibility to the summertime cook, says Shreve.

“If you have a CSA or a garden and you’re looking for a new way to use your produce, a lot of these dishes can be adapted to whatever you have,” he says. Grilled summer panzanella is particularly versatile, with its festive mix of high-season showstoppers—heirloom tomatoes, summer squash and peppers are standard, but any abundant vegetable at its peak of freshness will do.

Similarly, while the crostini appetizer calls for ripe peaches, and was adapted from an Italian version using melon, Shreve says cooks should choose whatever fruit is freshest and most tempting at the market. “Nothing’s very exact in these recipes. That’s the great thing about summertime, you can mix things up,” he says.

The fruit, marinated in red wine vinegar and thyme for a sweet/sour note, adds a surprising tang to the salty prosciutto and smooth creamery cheese spread on the toasted baguette.

The use of herbs throughout the meal, from starter to dessert, showcases the intense flavors of summer without overpowering the other ingredients.

“These recipes may seem complex, but they’re actually quite simple to make,” says Shreve. “Many of these things can be made ahead, because in summer the last thing you want to do is spend the day in the kitchen.”

Nor do you want to dine inside: The best meals are eaten under the summer sky, ideally at the farmstead, says Slow Food Indy’s Jameson. He agrees that simplicity is key. “Things do not have to be extravagant in order for you to have a gourmet meal.” In fact, beyond the clean flavors, a farm-to-table dinner’s appeal often lies in the story behind the food.

Farm-to-table proponents say that connecting with growers at a farmers’ market or even during the meal enriches it. People begin to understand of the challenges, rhythms and beauty of a life spent raising food. “For many farmers,” says Jameson, “the agricultural work is their form of art. They can share their experience and stories about the food you’re about to eat, and it almost becomes poetic.”

Telling those stories around the dinner table can raise a meal to new heights for guests and hosts alike.

Jameson is glad to see people rediscovering the joys of slower, quieter pastimes, with good food often central to these nourishing rituals. “In a down economy, all of a sudden, people are re-experiencing the benefits of a simpler life and spending more time with family and friends.” The simple pleasure of being together around the table, with food that was lovingly prepared and sustainably raised, can create an unforgettable experience.

For his part, Shreve lauds the fact that the culinary priority of convenience is slowly being replaced with an awareness of the health, social and economic benefits of eating real food from closer to home. “There’s an emotional benefit, too, as we support people who live nearby us,” he says.

A rustic setting, a meal of just-picked produce and locally produced artisan foods and friends around the table. That’s the recipe for a memorable summer evening.

Traders Point Creamery 9101 Moore Road, Zionsville, Indiana 46077 317.733.1700 • www.tpforganics.com

Serving a farm-to-table meal at home captures the best of Indiana-grown food. With the abundance of farmers’ markets and CSA programs, it’s never been easier to pull together a locally minded summer dinner.

The owners of Traders Point Creamery, Fritz and Jane Kunz, invited us to dinner at their farm for a bit of inspiration. Culinary consultant Mark Shreve put together quite a spread, and here he shares his recipes for readers to re-create at home: Summer crostini with peaches, prosciutto and fromage blanc; New York strip steaks served over a panzanella salad; and, for dessert, panna cotta, an Italian cream, topped with blackberries.

All recipes serve six people, and all of the cheeses, milk and honey called for are available at the creamery and at select retailers. To find a location, visit tpforganics.com.

2 medium peaches, cut into 12 slices 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 3 sprigs fresh thyme, approx ¼–½ teaspoon 1 baguette, sliced diagonally into 12 1-inch pieces 4 ounces Traders Point Creamery fromage blanc (goat cheese or ricotta can be substituted) 6 slices of prosciutto

1. Slice peaches and let marinate with red wine vinegar and fresh thyme leaves while preparing the rest of the ingredients. 2. Fold over each slice of prosciutto and place on nonstick cooking sheet. Bake at 350° for 10–12 minutes, until prosciutto renders some of its fat and becomes crispy.

Once cooled, break pieces in half to fit the baguette slices. 3. Increase temperature of the oven to 400° and toast baguette slices until toasted, but not brown. 4. To assemble, spread fromage blanc on each baguette slice, then top with prosciutto and peach slice.

Note: The peaches, prosciutto and toasted baguette slices can be prepared ahead of time.

For the panzanella: 1 zucchini 1 summer squash 1 orange pepper (or substitute red or yellow pepper) 1 red onion Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste Salt and pepper, to taste ½ small boule or round peasant bread, cubed, air dry or stale 2 heirloom tomatoes, seeds removed and roughly chopped (or substitute a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved) Arugula or other bitter greens

For the vinaigrette: 1 clove garlic 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar ½ lemon, juiced 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 sprig oregano (about 1 teaspoon chopped fresh) ¼ cup oil ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper

1. Cut zucchini, squash, pepper and onion in equal sizes, about ¼–½-inch thick. 2. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast in a 400° oven until slightly caramelized. Let cool to room temperature. 3. Toss the cubed bread with oil, salt and pepper. Brown the bread in a 400° oven for approximately 10 minutes. Allow to cool. 4. For the vinaigrette, chop garlic and add to all ingredients but the oil. Slowly whisk in the oil to emulsify the dressing. Set aside. 5. Assemble the panzanella salad by adding vinaigrette to the roasted vegetables, two or three large handfuls of arugula and the toasted bread cubes. Toss to mix just prior to serving. Serve at room temperature.

To assemble the steak dish, mound the panzanella on the center of a plate and top with slices of the grilled beef. Spoon the spicy herb pesto on top of the beef.

For steaks: 3 grass-fed New York strip steaks (or other cut of your choice) Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

1. Allow the steaks come to room temperature before grilling, then pat dry with a paper towel. Season generously with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. 2. Place steaks on hot grill and cook to desired internal temperature, turning once. 3. Remove steaks from grill and allow to rest before serving. Slice on the bias, against the grain.

For the Spicy Herb Pesto: 2 cups packed fresh parsley leaves 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves 3 cloves garlic ¼ cup red wine vinegar ½ jalapeño, white flesh and seeds removed 2 tablespoons pine nuts Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Add all ingredients in a food processor and blend while slowly pouring in oil to incorporate.

Note: Can be made up to one night in advance, but best if served freshly prepared.

This recipe calls for Traders Point yogurt, which is thinner than most yogurts found at the supermarket. Using this yogurt plus milk in place of heavy cream, a traditional ingredient in panna cotta, lightens up the dessert.

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin 4 tablespoons plus 1½ cups cold whole milk, divided ¼ cup of honey 1½ cups of Traders Point Creamery yogurt (plain or vanilla) Zest of 1 lemon 12 ounces fresh blackberries, or substitute any seasonal fruit Juice of ½ lemon 2 teaspoons cane sugar 5 large basil leaves, chiffonade

1. Add powdered gelatin to the 4 tablespoons of cold milk. Stir and allow to rest. 2. In a pot, heat the 1½ cups milk with the honey. Stir constantly until hot, but not boiling. 3. Pull the honey-milk mixture off the heat once it has simmered. Dissolve gelatin completely in the warm mixture. If solids remain, pour mixture through fine mesh sieve before continuing. Allow to cool. 4. In a bowl, mix yogurt and lemon zest.

Whisk the milk and honey into the mixture. 5. Pour mixture into six ramekins and refrigerate overnight. 6. In a bowl, combine blackberries, lemon juice, sugar and a fine chiffonade of basil.

Let the fruit macerate overnight, or prior to serving. 7. To serve, spoon blackberry mixture on top of the panna cotta in ramekins.

Note: Because the panna cotta must firm up in the ramekins, this dessert is best prepared the previous evening.