There are some things we can agree on that we don't like about summers in Iowa: mosquitos, humidity, road construction.  But all are quickly forgotten once we catch the waft of juicy meat sizzling on the grill or pork ribs slowly smoking in the Cookshack.

Neighbors who were previously only seen waving from their cars in winter magically appear in our backyard to debate the finer points of meat rub recipes and barbeque sauces.  "Do you make your own rub? Do you sear the meat first? What's the internal temperature?"  Such conversations are done in the same serious tones of nuclear physicists measuring alpha particles.  These are the Mensa's of Meat.

Mensa's of Meat congregate and compete each year at the Iowa Farm Bureau Cookout Contest (www.iowafarmbureau.com) at the Iowa State Fair.  This year will be the 50^th Cookout Contest and I'm sure competition will be stiff as county Farm Bureaus begin their contests.   It's intense, but it's just as fun to stand on the sidelines and watch; hundreds of State Fair-goers do that (and get free samples in the meantime).

I, and other women in my neighborhood, have surrendered the whole meat grilling/smoking endeavor to our husbands.   Some of these men, who admittedly can't seem to do a single load of laundry without turning everything gray, are transformed into subject matter Experts on Everything, simply by standing at their backyard smoker/grills.  They gather to debate every culinary detail and nuance of spice rubs and sauces: "You've added one teaspoon of cayenne, right? I use two, and a touch of cumin."

It's refreshing to surrender the evening meal to the Mensa's of Meat.  No challenge is offered, no criticisms leveled.  None dare; although I heard one year, one spouse got tired of waiting for dinner to start, so she went on the patio, lifted the lid of the smoker and complained loudly.  She hasn't been seen since.

But seriously, I don't  interrupt the bliss, the adventure, or traditional domain of the Mensa's of Meat gathering.  Any attempt to enter the backyard and I get waved away by my husband, who is gamely armed with a rather ominous-looking stainless steel seasoning injector.  Our two small dogs hover nearby, sniffing the air, respected ancestral members of the same carnivorous pack, bound by a mutual pursuit of the perfect steak.

Tonight, we're having smoked pork ribs.  Or, so I'm told.  Don't ask me how they're done, or when they'll be done, but the men and dogs are gathering.  The way I look at it; what better tribute to Father's Day than to patiently pay homage to the Mensa's of Meat?

DES MOINES, IA (06/12/2013)(readMedia)-- It's sure to be the "Grandest Show Around," as the Blue Ribbon Foundation plays host to the seventeenth annual Corndog Kickoff Benefit Auction and Fair Food Grazing Party on Saturday, July 13 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Doors to the William C. Knapp Varied Industries Building will open at 6:30 p.m. for a night filled with exciting auction packages, entertainment and all of your favorite Fair foods; all while helping raise funds to restore the historic Iowa State Fairgrounds!

Nearly 200 enticing auction packages fill the live and silent auctions. See the finest in sprint car racing with four passes to the Knoxville Nationals, August 7-10. Experience a private tour for eight of the Quilted Gardens, an elaborate nursery filled with unique plantings, while sampling a selection of craft beers and hors d'oeuvres. Or, take home a beautiful heirloom quality grandfather's clock handmade from native Iowa red oak.

The Corndog Kickoff has been a pre-fair tradition since it began in 1997. First held in Pioneer Hall, 480 people were in attendance. Since then, the event has grown to raise more than $2.7 million for the restoration and preservation of the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The 2012 event brought in a crowd of 1,400 and raised a record high of $350,000!

"We are excited to grow our event each year and get more people involved in our pre-Fair tradition," said John Putney, executive director of the Blue Ribbon Foundation. "The Kickoff is the Foundation's largest annual fundraising event and we are grateful for the support to continue our mission of restoring and preserving our historic Fairgrounds."

Take advantage of the advance ticket price by ordering now. All inclusive Corndog Kickoff tickets are $75 each until June 30. After that date, tickets will be $100. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Blue Ribbon Foundation at (800) 450-3732, online at www.blueribbonfoundation.org or at the door the night of the event.

The Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Since its inception in 1993, the Foundation has generated more than $95 million for renovations and improvements to the Iowa State Fairgrounds. For more information on the Corndog Kickoff, please contact the Foundation at (800) 450-3732 or bluerf@blueribbonfoundation.org.

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Improvements in container gardening equipment and techniques have cleared the way for even the most "brown thumb" city dwellers, and anyone without a yard, to grow their own groceries.

"There's nothing to stop anyone who wants a garden from having one," says Roy Joulus, CEO of Greenbo, www.greenbo.co, a company that designs award-winning innovative products for urban gardening including the new Greenbo XL flowerbox.

"Plants add a great deal to our quality of life - from cleaning the air we breathe to keeping us in touch with nature. Fresh, home-grown herbs and vegetables not only taste so much better than supermarket produce, they're convenient, and you know exactly where they came from and what was used, or not used, on them."

While hydroponic and vertical gardening systems have been developed to maximize the yield in small spaces, Joulus says starting a balcony garden needn't cost much. Start with the right materials and choose plants that are right for your conditions, and you'll soon be eating from the pots on your porch.

He offers these tips especially for balcony gardeners:

Plant the right plants for the amount of sunlight you have:

Most herbs and vegetables require six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. So what do you do if you have just one balcony and it doesn't get that much sun?

• Choose edibles that can take partial sun/shade (three to six hours of sun in the morning or early afternoon) or light shade (two to three hours of direct sun or lightly shaded all day.)

Some partial shade herbs: cilantro and parsley (both prefer cooler weather); dill, bee balm, spearmint chamomile.
Some light shade herbs: garlic chives, peppermint, rosemary.
Some partial or light shade veggies: lettuce, broccoli, green onion, collards, cabbage, peas, carrots, strawberries, beans, sweet potatoes.

• Remember, pale-colored surfaces increase the light your plants receive. Plants in regions with short growing seasons usually need the full six to eight hours of light per day.

Choose the right pots:

• Bigger pots require less water and are less likely to blow over on high-rise balconies where the winds can be fierce. Terra cotta allows moisture to escape fairly quickly, which is helpful for people who like to water a lot. Non-porous plastic or glazed pots hold water longer and are better for windy balconies, where soil dries out quickly. Use brightly colored containers to add style and visual interest to your garden.

• Most vegetable plants require even watering - don't let them dry out completely and don't keep them soggy. Apply water directly to the soil.

• Make sure your containers have drainage holes or a drainage system. If they have an attached tray to catch excess water, don't allow the plants' roots to sit in the water, which promotes rot and fungus. Either empty the tray regularly, or use a design that holds the water away from the roots.

Use the right dirt:

• It's important to use dirt that allows for good drainage. Most edible plants don't like to sit in wet dirt, and soil without good drainage tends to become compacted - a difficult medium for plants that like to stretch their roots out. You can buy a sterile soilless potting mix, a soil-based potting mix, or mix up your own batch using 1 part compost, 1 part perlite and 1 part potting soil.

• Don't use garden soil or top soil, which won't allow adequate drainage.

• On windy balconies, top-dress your container with small rocks to keep the soil from drying out so quickly.

Joulus offers one more tip for high-rise dwellers: Rely on self-pollinating plants, or plants that don't need pollination by insects, unless you're willing to hand-pollinate.

"You likely won't see many bees buzzing around the 40th story," he says.

Don't worry about pollination for root vegetables, like carrots and potatoes. Some self-pollinators include beans, peas, tomatoes and peppers.

About Roy Joulus

Roy Joulus is CEO of Greenbo, which was founded in 2012 in Florida with a focus on simplicity, efficiency and innovation in creating urban agricultural products. Its Greenbo XL flowerbox, designed to hang securely on any balcony railing up to 6 inches wide, won the prestigious 2012 Red Dot Design Award. Greenbo products are manufactured in a multi-cultural Israeli-Arab setting using sustainable and recyclable materials, and with safety the No. 1 priority. Find Greenbo products at garden centers and independent nurseries in the United States and Europe, and online at amazon.com.

Andy Puzder Hears Your Beef

CKE Restaurants CEO comforts angry McDonald's customers; reassures Angus beef fans that Carl's Jr. and Hardee's remain committed to quality Black Angus burgers

CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., parent company of Hardee's^® and Carl's Jr.^®, is offering understanding as well as continued, premium-quality Black Angus beef burgers to fast food fans feeling mcburned by McDonald's' recent discontinuation of their Angus Third Pounder burger line. Sympathizing with disgruntled McDonald's diners, today CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder offers coupons and feedback to customers via personal video messages posted to the brands' YouTube pages (www.youtube.com/carlsjr and www.youtube.com/hardees). In the video messages, Puzder guides Angus lovers through the premium burger competitive landscape and explains how Carl's Jr. and Hardee's were the first and now only major fast food brands to offer 100 percent Black Angus beef.

"To burger fans who care about quality - I hear you," said Puzder. "Our competitor has made a choice to drop its Angus burgers, but for customers focused on premium quality and taste, and not on less for less, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's welcome your grieving stomachs. We were the first to offer Black Angus in our Six Dollar Burger and Thickburger lines. Following McDonald's' decision, our bigger, better Black Angus burgers are not only the only Angus burgers available at any major fast food chain, but I can assure you that they are here to stay."

In addition to Puzder's video messages, the CKE CEO is reaching disappointed McDonald's customers via a full-page USA Today ad and a limited-time offer to enjoy Carl's Jr.'s and Hardee's' 100% Black Angus Six Dollar Burger^TM for less than McDonald's' axed Angus beef burger. The $1 off coupon is available for download at ReclaimYourAngus.com and comes with an implied virtual hug from Happy Star.

About CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.

CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of fiscal 2013, the Company, through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,318 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and 28 foreign countries and U.S. territories worldwide, including 1,369 Carl's Jr.^® restaurants and 1,944 Hardee's^® restaurants. For more information about CKE Restaurants, please visit www.ckr.com or its brand sites at www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com.