Susan Futrell has worked with food businesses, nonprofit organizations and farms in marketing and distribution for over 35 years, including over two decades in the natural and organic foods industry. She is a freelance writer, essayist, and consultant, and has an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa. Futrell is currently Director of Marketing for the nonprofit Red Tomato, which does marketing, logistics and market development for a network of fruit and vegetable farmers in the northeastern US. She helped develop the Eco Apple® program, a collaboration among fruit growers, researchers and scientists from land grant institutions and nonprofits, which supports advanced ecological orchard and pest management practices with a goal of sustaining local fruit production in the US. Futrell writes and speaks frequently on the challenges of bringing local foods to a broader segment of US eaters, sustaining family farms, and the history, science and joys of apples. She’s a fifth-generation Iowan and lives with her husband, Will Jennings, in Iowa City, Iowa.  She divides her time between Iowa City, Boston, and mid-coast Maine.

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White Flint Corn Grits wit LI Cheese Pumpkin
8 servings
1 cup Sea Island White Flint Corn Grits
½ LI Cheese Pumpkin, de-seeded, peel
removed & cut into 1” cubes
coconut oil
2-1/2 cups water
1 can coconut milk
1 t. salt
2 Carrots, small dice
1 onion, chopped
coconut oil
1 t. fresh minced ginger
1/8 t. cinnamon
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup
2 Tbs. chopped parsley
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds (optional)
1) In a small pot, bring water, coconut milk, and salt to a boil. Slowly stir grits into boiling mixture. Bring back to boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cinnamon and parsley when finished.
2) Meanwhile, lay out pumpkin cubes on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and greased with coconut oil. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with another piece of parchment paper and roast in 450* oven for 20-30 minutes until soft. Remove from oven.
3) In cast iron pan, saute the onions and carrots with a little salt until soft. Add the ginger and cook another 5 minutes. Add onions and carrots to cooked grits.
4) Wipe out pan and add apple cider vinegar and maple syrup. Add the cooked pumpkin to this and let simmer until the pumpkin absorbs the sauce.
5) Place grits in bowl, and spoon out pumpkin on top and in center. Garnish with more parsley. Add slivered almonds if desired