@JDeRusha wants you to join Team Hunger, @France44Cheese revives the apple-honey-cheese sandwich (so good!), @TroutCaviar finds sheep sorrel at a new location, @AsherBMiller reminds of the last Open Field event this summer, @GrovelandTap welcomes its soon-to-be neighbor, Scusi, and @CTKitchenTable seeks volunteers to pick veggies this weekend for the next @TourdeFarm event.
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
When we first met Kathy Yerich, the semi-professional forager had turned up at the Corner Table restaurant at more or less the exact same moment that our group was raving about the nightly special, a fresh pasta served with an enigmatic mushroom called “chicken of the woods.” It was a happy accident — having the restaurant’s forager on hand turned a delicious meal into a highly educational (and even more entertaining) one.
The chicken of the woods is an orange, exotic-looking, coral reef-esque fungus that is one of Yerich’s favorite things to forage. Thinking back to her first experience with the mushroom, she reaches right back to childhood:
“It grew on the tree in my grandma’s yard that was standing until 2005,” she recalls. “My aunt remembers that when she was a kid in the ’40s, it was growing there. People would drive by, stop, and ask: ‘Oh, can we have that?’ My grandma would say sure, and chuckle at them, and say, ‘I guess it’s a delicacy!’”
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
With a texture and even a flavor that recalls good old-fashioned chicken, chicken of the woods is a good gateway mushroom — easy to forage and, when properly prepared, excellent to eat.
Late last month, we joined Yerich and Chef Scott Pampuch of Corner Table for a picnic on Minnehaha Creek. In between bites of Pampuch’s four-mushroom fresh pasta (prepared with chicken of the woods, lobster mushrooms, black trumpets, and chanterelles foraged by Yerich, plus a dash of fresh cream — see recipe at the end of this story), we sipped soda made by our hosts: an almost Hubba Bubba-tasting plum watermelon flavor, a rich wild grape, and a sophisticated maple syrup-sweetened ginger ale.
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
The soda was a perfect accent to the summer weather, as were the flavors of the mushroom pasta — each mushroom contributed a different distinct but harmonious note to the dish as a whole. The robust, meaty flavor of the chicken of the woods was accented by a mild seafood note from the lobster mushrooms, the earthy taste of the black trumpets, and the mildly peppery chanterelles.
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Pampuch is working with the guys from Fulton Beer to develop an in-house craft soda menu. But while you’re waiting for that gastronomic step forward, you can, in the meantime, savor the edible fruits of his restaurant’s collaboration with Yerich and Fred, her husband and co-forager.
HEAVY TABLE: How and when did you get started as a forager?
KATHY YERICH: Five or six years ago, [Fred and I] tried the Chicken of the Woods. It’s pretty easily identifiable and there’s nothing else that looks like it that could be poisonous. We tried it, although we were kind of scared to. Continue reading Forager Kathy Yerich »
by Ed Kohler on September 1, 2010
Kate NG Sommers / Heavy Table
Six days into her life as the 57th Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Katie Miron says that she’s been very busy at the Fair. Her official duties include: getting her head carved out of butter, answering questions about whether it’s cold in the carving booth, and talking to consumers about “this delicious and nutritious product.”
Miron grew up on a dairy farm in Hugo, MN, and attended Forest Lake High School. Though living much closer to the Fair than most farmers, Miron didn’t have a chance to attend very often while growing up. “Farm life is pretty busy at the end of August, so we didn’t get many chances to come, but it was always a treat when we did.” For example, her brother Paul (heir apparent to her family’s farm) is busy making hay this week so their cows will have something to eat over the winter months.
Throughout the Fair, Miron will be splitting her time between media appearances, riding in fair parades, answering questions in the dairy building and Moo Booth (milking demonstrations), and connecting with consumers to answer questions about life as a dairy farmer.
“We are the people behind the product.”
Miron explains that the Princess Kay of the Milky Way contestants come from all over the state, but connected with each other based on their similar backgrounds and values. “I knew some of the girls before the contest. We all have a common bond and common tie. We understand each other and share the same core values: hard work, dedication, and honesty. The judging can be a bit stressful. We try to support each other. We had a talk and reminded each other that whoever ends up as Princess Kay will be representing all of us.”
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
In her year-long role as Princess Kay, Miron will be representing not only her fellow contestants, but the entire dairy industry in the state of Minnesota. But according to Miron, this is a bit of a challenge: “The dairy industry is strong in Minnesota, and spread across all counties of the state. However, in relation to the population, it’s very small. Most Minnesotans are three generations or more removed from the farm. I hope that through my year, I can help people know what it’s like on the farm.”
The same applies to Washington County, where the Miron family farm is located. “There aren’t very many dairy farms left in Washington County. I see that as a chance to spread the good news of dairy even more. My friends didn’t always understand what it was like growing up on the farm, which gave me chances to explain to them what it was like. At lunch in school, looking around at milk cartons, mine was the one that was always empty.”
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
For Miron, growing up on a dairy farm wasn’t the easiest. “Our family has never gone on a family vacation for no reason. We’ve occasionally traveled for sports tournaments. There are no holidays. I haven’t had the opportunity to go anywhere, which was tough growing up. I understand the reason now that we didn’t do those things: passion and dedication to our livestock and land shapes our lifestyle. I appreciate that now, but sometimes it was tough lesson.”
Farm Life
Miron’s father and brother Paul get up daily between 5 and 6am to milk the cows, and they come in around 9:30am to eat and take a break. Then it’s back to work feeding the cows, making sure they have enough water, and maintaining equipment. “Something always breaks on the farm, so there’s always something to get fixed,” Miron says. They do a second milking around 5:30pm and head to bed early. This week, they’re also busy making hay, which is a “tough and hot job, but is very satisfying when you see the hay stacked up,” she says.
The Miron family farm focuses on milk production. “Every other day, the milk man comes to deliver our milk to the Ellsworth Creamery, which produces a lot of cheese. This is the closest creamery to us. We’re the producers and consumers as well, so it’s interesting to consume the product that we help produce.” The milk typically only travels around 100 miles, and takes two days to get to the store.
The family also maintains a large garden on their property, which Miron tends. She puts up vegetables in the fall so they can eat year long.
Cows vs. Land
But dairy farming isn’t all about the cows. “On the dairy farm, the cows are the stars, but the land is really important,” Miron says. “That’s what we can pass on to future generations. We care for our land and our livestock. For example, cows fertilize our land so we don’t have to use chemical fertilizers.”
Butterhead Plans
What does Miron plan to do with 90 pounds of butter in the shape of her head? “We plan on having a celebration with the community around us to let people come to the farm and thank people who’ve supported us by hosting corn feed. When my year as Princess Kay of the Milky Way is over, we’ll cut my butter head up and use it. Farmers don’t waste.”
Miron is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota studying Agricultural Education, and plans to teach. “My dad taught me that serving is important. By being a teacher, I know that I can continue to teach my students about life on the farm,” she says. “While there aren’t that many rural areas left, it’s important for people to realize how important dairy is to their daily life and the overall economy.”
Princess Kay’s final advice to dairy consumers: “Talk to a dairy farmer. They’re the experts and know what’s going on on their farm.”
Quick Hits
Whole, 2%, or skim?
I drink 1%. Don’t need chocolate in there.
Favorite cheese?
I like Muenster cheese. It’s my favorite dairy product.
For more information on the dairy industry in the Midwest, check out MidwestDairy.com and DairyMakesSense.com, as well as Midwest Dairy’s Facebook page.
Ed Kohler has attended Princess Kay of the Milky Way coronation ceremonies since before Katie Miron was born. He blogs about random stuff that interests him at TheDeets.com.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
At many small restaurants, often one key person stands between the perfect night and an absolute fiasco. And no, it’s not the obvious answer. Neither the genius of the cooks nor the charm of the waitstaff could shine without the self-effacing dedication of the dishwasher.
For one Minneapolis kitchen, that person is the Deuce. The vertically challenged Ecuadorian’s modest appearance hides the fact that he is a master of his craft. Though his nickname is of unceremonious origins — it regards the fact that he is the second Fred to work at the restaurant — it has become a term of endearment in the back of the house. “[My job] is fun, no bad,” says the Deuce, whose grasp of English is rickety at best. “Good hours, good pay. Nothing else I want to do.”
But when you get right down to it, being a dishwasher is wearying, somewhat mind-numbing, and generally unpleasant. Keeping the kitchen stocked with a full array of plates, pots, and pans during a busy service requires one to constantly lug around 20-pound dish racks and stacks of plates. Of course, occasionally falling down a flight of stairs and destroying a few things in the process is a given.
If the physical wear-and-tear doesn’t get you, the boredom will. The Deuce copes by listening to KDWB, a hit local music radio station, all day. “Sometimes busy, sometimes nothing,” he says. “I need music. I like the songs. No understand, but I like.” Every night, his solitary basement dishpit is illuminated by visions of California girls and Escalades. Every night, the Deuce dreams.
No one really aspires to be a dishwasher. Traditionally, it has only been an appealing job for unskilled workers who wanted to gain a foothold in the restaurant world. However, increased culinary school enrollment has rerouted many of those workers and allowed immigrants like the Deuce to fill the void.
Like many of his peers in the industry, the Deuce has no culinary passions, no desire to become the next Anthony Bourdain: He just wants to work hard and save money. “Saving, saving, saving, saving,” he chants. His plan is to stay in the United States for 6 to 8 more years, and then go back to Ecuador for a while. His dream? “I need a big truck. Get a big truck, get a lot of ladies.”
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
In addition to his big truck fund, the Deuce saves money to send to his family back home, though there aren’t many people left there. In Ecuador, he was a welder and did fairly well money-wise. But even his comfortable situation wasn’t enough to resist the gravitation pull of the United States. “It’s crazy,” he says. “All my friends here said to come out here, it’s good. I have no more friends in Ecuador; everyone came to the US. So I say, OK.”
According to a 2009 report on immigration [PDF] by the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Public Affairs, immigrants make up 6.5% of the state’s total population. Despite that relatively low ratio — nationally, they make up 13% — their visible presence in the Twin Cities and other metropolitan areas seems to have set off some alarm bells among the state’s political leaders. This month, Governor Tim Pawlenty suggested that Minnesota declare English to be its official language. Meanwhile, Lino Lakes, a Twin Cities suburb, has already passed its own English-only resolution.
Despite those developments, rudimentary Spanish is often a prerequisite to working in a kitchen. “All the restaurants in Minneapolis have at one Ecuadorian, maybe two,” says the Deuce, who has lived and worked with many of his countrymen here. If one listens closely, one may hear shouts of “¡Caliente!” and “¡Necesito placas!” in most, if not all, urban restaurants.
The Deuce recognizes the regional tension over immigration, but he doesn’t understand it. “Americans don’t like Latinos; I don’t know why. Latinos only work, no troubles. Well, I sometimes ride my bike on the sidewalk… otherwise, no troubles.”
No matter what happens on the national or local scene, restaurants need their dishwashers. Their demographics will, of course, remain steady or change in response to larger trends. However, the nature of the work will remain the same. The work will be hard; the hours, long; the book deal, purely imaginary. No one will become famous washing dishes. But for the Deuce and his peers, it doesn’t matter. All they want to focus on is getting your placas to you on time.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Eric Faust / Heavy Table
“The ’87 to ’92 Toyotas with the two-liter engine work the best,” says Dan Dresser. “They designed the car to cook on.” Dresser’s ’89 Toyota is known as “Ellen” — it’s named after the elderly lady who originally owned the car, and it’s the backbone of a filmmaking operation that has taken Dresser and his partner Jason Wussow across the country on two road trips. The result is Cooking on the Car, a website featuring videos of the two using their car to cook food.
Ellen sat for six years before Dresser bought the car. “It fired right up and since then I have put about a thousand of my own money into it,” says Dresser, who uses the car for day-to-day transportation. For the duo’s second road trip, Kari Toyota of Superior, WI, decided to sponsor them by fixing up their car with new tires, a new radiator, and a timing belt. “We baked them a banana bread,” says Wussow. The second road trip spanned 20 days and over 600 miles, and included 40 to 50 hours of lineal footage from three different angles. “We work on a very small budget, most of the food is stuff that is given to us along the way, and we do a lot of couch surfing,” says Wussow. Twenty different menu items came out of the trip, along with enough footage to begin work on a full-length film.
Eric Faust / Heavy Table
“It takes about 2 to 3 hours to cook a meal,” says Dresser. Everything is cooked in a standard bread pan covered with aluminum foil. That is, everything except for rice, which is cooked in the glove box that heats to approximately 200°F (since Dresser rerouted the antifreeze). Quiche, venison-wrapped bacon, pheasant, and northern pike are among the meals that Dresser and Wussow have attempted. “It is still one of the best quiches I have ever had,” says Dresser. Last November they cooked carrots and kale with beets over rice for Duluth Mayor Don Ness. “He showed up an hour early, which didn’t help, because it takes us so long to cook a meal,” says Dresser, but the duo claims the meal to be one of their best.
The third road trip is not yet planned, but Dresser and Wussow have hopes of one day being recognized by the Food Network. “They need more humor,” says Dresser, and “we could do a lot more with a bigger budget and a camera crew.” Ellen is still running great, and although there are no plans for another trip, they know that their idea and ability to cook on a car is one that Wussow says “is super silly, but something we are really serious about.”
Eric Faust / Heavy Table
Yellow Coconut Chicken Curry
“Originally attempted from the bottom 3rd of the Oregon Coast to the Gold Coast of California”
2 ½ tbsp olive oil, divided
1 ½ tsp salt, divided
¼ tsp black pepper
1 large chicken breast
1 c brown basmati rice
1 c water
1 medium shallot, minced
½ tbsp turmeric
½ tbsp cayenne
½ tbsp coriander
½ tbsp cumin
1 ¼ inch ginger root, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small white onion, diced
1 can coconut milk
1 apple, diced
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to first bread pan. Salt and pepper chicken breast. Roast in first bread pan for 30-45 minutes on the manifold.
2. Add ½ tbsp olive oil to second bread pan with rice, water, shallot, and a pinch of salt. Steam in the glove box for one hour.
3. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to third bread pan. Add equal parts of the following spices: turmeric, cayenne, coriander, and cumin. Add ginger root, garlic, and onion. Take first pan with chicken off of manifold and replace with third bread pan. Sauté (drive) approximately 30 minutes, stopping to stir once.
4. While curry (third pan) is sautéing, cube the chicken and leave in pan until spices and onion are tender.
5. When curry is done, add one can of coconut milk, one teaspoon of salt, one diced apple, and the chicken from first bread pan to the third bread pan. Stir and continue to cook for 30 minutes or more on the manifold.
6. Serve curry over rice with fresh basil.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
In May 2008, immigration officers raided Agriprocessors, a kosher meat processing plant in Postville, Iowa, detaining and deporting almost 400 illegal immigrants, about half the plant’s employees. In June of this year the former plant manager, Sholom Rubashkin, was acquitted of the child-labor charges brought against him, but sentenced to 27 years in prison for bank fraud.
The raid, which has become such a landmark that some refer to it simply as “Postville,” caused two things to happen: a temporary widespread shortage of kosher meat across the country and a nationwide conversation about the true meaning of kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
One of the leading voices in that conversation is Rabbi Morris Allen, leader of the Conservative congregation Beth Jacob in Mendota Heights. He wants to add a new hekhsher — a certification mark — right alongside the K, U, and OU symbols stamped on foods prepared under rabbinical certification and according to the laws of kashrut. This new mark is called the Magen Tzedek — the star of justice — because it will certify that the food is not only ritually correct but also ethically correct.
Rabbi Allen’s organization, the Hekhsher Tzedek Commission, has released more than 100 pages of ethical guidelines encompassing wages and benefits; health, safety, and training; corporate integrity; environmental impact; and product development, which includes animal welfare. Earlier this month, they announced that they will work with Social Accountability International to develop metrics for certification and they expect to see the first kosher food bearing the Magen Tzedek within a year.
Producers will pay an application fee to cover the costs of Hekhsher Tzedek’s and SAI’s work (both are nonprofits), just as they pay the traditional kosher certifiers now. Some have noted that this could raise the already elevated prices of kosher foods.
We talked with Rabbi Allen about Postville, kashrut, and the meaning of what we put in our mouths.
Postville brought meat-processing conditions into the national spotlight, but do the roots of the Magen Tzedek extend back before the raid?
Our work began long before the raid! Our work on Hekhsher Tzedek began in 2006 as a result of a story on Postville in The Forward [a Jewish Magazine] in May of 2006. I was part of a five-person crew that went down in August of 2006 and then went back to Agriprocessors in September 2006 with three recommendations: One, that the Iowa Department of Labor be invited in to do a scan of the plant which would have given Agriprocessors 18 months to respond to any of the findings. Two, that all trainings be done in the vernacular, which is, by and large, Spanish, and that all training materials be in Spanish. And three, that a series of meetings be organized between senior management of Agriprocessors, basically the Rubashkin family, and the workforce, with a letter signed by the Rubashkins stating that there be no intimidation or recriminations against people for whatever they said at those meetings. Continue reading Rabbi Morris Allen of Hekhsher Tzedek »
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
I stop by (and step into) the 128 Mobile Café to chat with Chef Ian Pierce about his latest venture. 128 Café, whose home base is near St. Thomas University in St. Paul, is now on the road, offering a mobile lunch service in downtown St. Paul on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
With music blaring and grill sizzling, Pierce and his two assistants are doing more than a few things at once. While talking to me, Pierce is taping up incoming orders and tossing a bowl of mixed greens in a lemon-tarragon vinaigrette. (The greens are part of a $7 grilled asparagus salad that also includes goat cheese, fennel, red onion, and shaved pickled carrots.)
“It’s so crazy,” Pierce admits about his first attempt to operate out of a truck. Since service began a few weeks ago, he’s been spending “14 hours a day rocking it out here.” That means — not only preparing and serving food but unloading, loading, and cleaning out the truck daily. In order to provide made-to-order entrees, the cramped quarters of the truck include a condiment station in between a grill station and salad station.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Pierce says that “coordination is way different” for truck service. If an ingredient is left back at the restaurant, someone has to get off the truck to retrieve it. Another potential obstacle? Parking. To combat possible pitfalls, one 128 employee arrives in downtown St. Paul early to stake out a parking spot for the truck. The spot is then posted on Twitter so potential customers can find the exact location.
Continue reading Chef Ian Pierce on the 128 Café Food Truck »
Loading ...
Recent Comments