Fabulous baking sisters

In the last three years, sisters Laura and Dani Strabala have seen their summer job blossom into a full-time gig.

Laura, 20, and Dani, 18, had always helped with the gardens and baking at their family's acreage on Cedar-Jones Road near Lisbon. In 2006, they created “Wild Prairie Acres,” a baking and fresh produce business.

“The business is growing so fast, we don't quite know what to do with it,” Dani said.

They bake hamburger buns for Looney's Family Dining and Catering in Mechanicsville and sell vegetables to Lincoln Cafe in Mount Vernon. They also sell produce and baked goods at the Noelridge and Greene Square farmers markets in Cedar Rapids and well as markets in Springville and Mount Vernon. After being on a waiting list, they will sell at the downtown Cedar Rapids market Aug. 15.

They sell at a few winter markets, but most of the winter months are spent planning for the next season's market.

Their planting season begins in February under heat lamps inside. In March, they begin to plant seeds and by April and May, their planting and tilling is in full swing.

During the summer months, there is intensive weeding and replanting to be done. Produce that can be replanted in the summer includes carrots, beets, kohlrabi and greens.

In the morning they pick the harvest - sweet corn, potatoes, peppers, onions, waxed beans and kohlrabi.

Herbs, including rosemary, basil, tarragon, oregano and sage, are grown in the backyard. According to Dani, savory is the “herb to end all herbs.”

“It tastes like everything but not just one thing,” she said.

Between tending the gardens and marketing the business, they fit in time for baking.

“If we're not out gardening, we're inside baking,” Laura said.

Dani describes their food as “down home - what you would get at grandma's.”

The sisters test their recipes on their parents, Russ and Joyce, their brother, Chris, and other friends and family.

“They're our guinea pigs,” Dani said. “Normally we get it to a point and then we ask them to try it.”

Among their favorite baked goods is artisan bread - bread that is crafted rather than mass-produced. They try different combinations such as focaccia with rosemary, asiago and Cheddar.

They have their own recipes but like to see what other people are baking to come up with new ideas. “We are always learning,” Dani said. “This is about the customers and giving the best bang for their buck.”