A fairly amazing-sounding Better Beer Society brown bag series event at Butcher & the Boar, some revised menus at local restaurants, a local foodie’s epic Mother’s Day feast, tasting notes for Summit Pilsner and Steel Toe’s Provider, the Star Tribune’s Taste 50, and a new urban farm in Minneapolis.
by sponsored on May 18, 2012
Owners Natalie and Josh Kelly; My Minnesota Farmer peppers & cucumbers; Bossy Acres Sunflower Shoots
An online farmers market makes access to local foods easier for Twin Cities’ customers
Serious locavores make a lot of effort to buy from their favorite farmers and discover those uniquely regional specialties that make eating locally so enjoyable. While it is easier to procure your weekly farm rations in Minnesota compared to many parts of the country, Minnesotans endure long winter months without fresh local vegetables. The limited number of winter markets, however, doesn’t mean farmers in the area aren’t working. There are still cows, sheep, and goats to milk, and chickens that lay eggs.
Natalie and Josh Kelly started Twin Cities Local Food to help make sourcing food from local farms a little bit easier. Twin Cities Local Food is in an online farmer’s market that lets local farms using sustainable agricultural practices market their products directly to customers in the Twin Cities, all year. The business was born out of the couple’s desire for access to more local food in the winter months and the challenge of coordinating on-farm purchases. Even though locally grown foods are becoming more abundant in markets and coops, there’s a growing segment of the community that gets a lot of satisfaction in buying directly from the farm.
While the internet limits personal connection of buying at a market, the Twin Cities Local Food web site allows farmers to describe their farm and explain their practices, so conscientious customers can make informed decisions about the food they purchase. The web site offers a variety of fresh, seasonal produce, grass fed meats, dairy, eggs, honey and some unique Minnesota finds like camelina and sunflower oils. Twin Cities Local Food even has fresh milled, whole grains that are grown and milled on the same organic farm. Try figuring out what farm grew your flour in a bag at the supermarket.
Twin Cities Local Food offers the convenience of shopping online. Customers are able to shop from Friday through Wednesday morning, and pick up purchases on Thursday afternoon. There are currently pickup locations in South Minneapolis and in Savage. Twin Cities Local Food plans to serve areas throughout the Twin Cities as the business grows.
According to Natalie Kelly, co-owner of Twin Cities Local Food, “We think Minnesota farmers are doing some great things for the local food community, and we’re excited to be able to offer them another venue to show off.” Natalie and her business partner / husband, Josh, also think the service can benefit the community by providing more economic sustainability for local farms, and giving customers access to healthier, tastier, and minimally processed foods.
For more information, visit the web site at www.twincitieslocalfood.com.
by sponsored on May 14, 2012
Win 2 free seats at a 6-course lamb sampler dinner at Zelo, May 20!*
Lamb is a unique and delicately flavored meat, featured by cuisines around the world with a myriad array of seasonings and accompaniments. Whether lamb is your favorite food, or you are simply curious about its many possibilities, we invite you to join us for a panoramic evening of flavors and enjoyment at Zelo, in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. Make reservations by calling us at 612.333.7000. But don’t hesitate — there are only 36 seats available.
*If you want a bit of added adventure, sign up for a drawing for 2 free seats at the event by “liking” Shepherd Song Farm at facebook.com/ShepherdSongFarm by May 16.
On Sunday, May 20 at 6pm, Zelo and Shepherd Song Farm of Downing, WI, are teaming up to offer a 6-course tasting menu, which will feature Shepherd Song’s grass-fed lamb in all dishes except dessert. The price is $55 per seat (optional $25 each for wine pairings is offered, too). The evening will be held in an intimate private dining room at Zelo that seats 36 people. Both the chefs and Judy Moses and Larry Jacoby, the head shepherds at Shepherd Song Farm, will be present to share in the enjoyment, as well as provide their unique perspectives about the meal, its histories, and the possibilities for healthful, delicious food.
Zelo is a large, bustling restaurant, beautifully decorated and situated on downtown Minneapolis’ central retail thoroughfare, Nicollet Mall. It greets the diner with a focus on ingenious recipes and passionate preparation, and a commitment to make customers feel like they were dining in a 16-seat family-owned cafe. Every meal is a celebration of the restaurant’s collaboration with local, original-source, and sustainable producers, which Zelo and Bacio executive chef Jason Gibbons has quietly carried on for the 13 years Zelo has been in business.
May 20 will be his and his staff’s special celebration of Shepherd Song’s exceptional, pasture-fed and humanely raised lamb, the taste and quality of which he describes as “subtle,” “so clean-flavored,” “second to none,” and “probably the best lamb chops I’ve ever eaten.”
Gibbons, for whom lamb has been a lifelong favorite, will be joined in the kitchen by his two younger and very creative chefs, Peter Hoff from Zelo and Michael Zinser from their other Minnetonka restaurant, Bacio. They will create a boundary-crossing, continent-hopping New American Cuisine festival of lamb, borrowing flavors from Italy, the Middle East, and beyond. All three chefs will contribute a recipe or two, and different cuts from the whole lambs Zelo purchased will be featured in each of the six dishes.
We’d love to share this meal with you, and we hope you’ll “like” us on Facebook, earning a chance to experience the meal for free!
—Judy Moses and Larry Jacoby
by sponsored on May 11, 2012
Join us as we celebrate the return of the patio and grilling season at GrillFest May 19-20 at 5th Avenue South and 6th Street South downtown Minneapolis, produced by Minnesota Monthly, the same people behind the successful Food & Wine Experience. Purchase your $30 ticket online ($35 at the door) and join other grilling enthusiasts as you taste your way through a variety of flavorful grilled foods, sample summer wines and specialty beers, see the latest grilling products on the market (with special discounts available), gather recipes, and learn to barbecue like a pro.
There will be educational grilling demos, a grilling competition — sponsored by the Minnesota Pork Board — cooking presentations by Ray “Dr. BBQ” Lampe, and nationally recognized and self-proclaimed “grillologists” Mad Dog and Merrill on hand to entertain the crowd.
Feature areas include Girls “Man” the Grill, Ultimate Man Cave Tailgating, the HCMC picnic pavilion, demonstration stages, and performances by local bands — Western Fifth and High on Stress on Saturday, and The Boys N’ The Barrels and Sans Souci Quartet on Sunday.
A GrillFest ticket covers food, wine and beer samplings at many of the booths and feature areas, with larger food items also available for purchase. For more information, please visit www.grillfestival.com.
Photo by Mette Nielsen
“I adore Brenda Langton for her commitment, her principled unwavering vision, her social agenda, and most of all her scrumptious food.” — Andrew Zimmern
“Langton embraces the way real people live, eat, and cook. Though it is called The Spoonriver Cookbook, it’s really an ode to the bounty of our local food scene.” — Mpls.St. Paul Magazine
For nearly 40 years, Brenda Langton has been one of the most recognizable guiding lights of Twin Cities organic dining. The Spoonriver Cookbook serves as a tribute to her acclaimed Spoonriver Restaurant and the Mill City Farmers Market and presents the vision and philosophy of the remarkable chef behind Spoonriver’s delicious creations. Below are three recipes from The Spoonriver Cookbook:
Melon Mint Soup (page 27)
Photo by Mette Nielsen
There is nothing like the taste sensation of a really good cantaloupe or honeydew. When melon is at its peak, everyone at the market is searching for the perfect melon. As we all know, it’s a real bummer to come home with a bland one. Choose a melon that has an aroma and is slightly soft at the bottom. This soup blends that wonderful melon flavor with a hint of mint, a great combination. This is a good first course for a summer brunch. // Serves 4 to 6
1 large (about 3 pounds) cantaloupe
½ cup apple juice
1½ tablespoons lime juice
1½ tablespoons chopped fresh mint
½ cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon honey, if needed
Pinch of salt
Cut the melon into chunks, reserving the juices. Put the melon and its juice in a blender along with the apple juice and lime juice, and blend until smooth. Add the mint for just a few seconds at the end. Pour the soup into a bowl and whisk in the yogurt. Taste the soup and correct the seasonings. You may want to add more mint or perhaps a little honey.
Soba Noodles with Vegetables (page 137)
Photo by Mette Nielsen
Soba noodles are a traditional Japanese buckwheat noodle. They have an earthy flavor and a soft texture and are high in protein. We like soba noodles that are 60 percent buckwheat and 40 percent wheat. Toasted sesame oil and a high-quality soy sauce are essential for finishing this dish. // Serves 4
1 (8.8-ounce) package soba noodles
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 pound firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 to 2 carrots, sliced
1 cup cauliflower florets or chopped cabbage
1 to 2 cups broccoli florets (or another green vegetable)
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1½ tablespoons maple syrup or mirin (optional, but delicious)
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Toasted sesame seed oil
Soba noodles cook quickly, so make sure to prepare all the vegetables before you start cooking. If you start cooking the noodles and the vegetables at the same time, they will be ready to serve at the same time.
Cook the noodles in boiling water as directed on package.
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or wok over high heat. Add the onion, tofu, and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce and cook, covered, for 2 minutes.
Stir in the carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, ginger, maple syrup, and red pepper flakes (if using), and about ¾ cup water. Continue cooking, covered, for about 5 minutes or just until the vegetables are done but not soft. You want the broccoli to be bright green and firm. Do not overcook.
Add the last tablespoon of soy sauce to the pan or at the table.
Serve the vegetables and tofu over the soba noodles and drizzle with toasted sesame oil.
Almond Cake with Whipped Cream and Berries (page 221)
Photo by Mette Nielsen
This is a very delicious and versatile cake. We serve it layered with a variety of different fillings: berries and whipped cream, raspberry preserves, chocolate ganache, or orange marmalade lightened with whipped cream, to name just a few. This cake is also a delightful base for strawberry shortcake. // Serves 10 to 12
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated, plus 1 additional egg white
½ cup plain yogurt
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups ground almonds
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans or one 9 x 13-inch pan.
Cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until creamy. Add the egg yolks, yogurt, and almond extract. Beat until well blended.
Whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
Whip the egg whites until they are stiff. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes. The cake is done when a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cakes made in a single large pan will take longer to bake. If you are making a layer cake, cool the cake in the pans for about 10 minutes; then invert and remove the pans. Cool the cake completely before frosting it.
For more information on The Spoonriver Cookbook and for a list of Brenda’s upcoming events around the Twin Cities, click here.
Aaron Landry, producer of the Heavy Table, here. I want to introduce you to Tod Foley, a local designer and friend you should know. I worked with him at a design agency years ago where we worked with both smaller local businesses as well as Fortune 500 clients. I subsequently chose him for design work on small companies and campaigns I was involved with later on.
When Jim and I were starting The Heavy Table, Tod was the first and last person we talked with to get advice on our visual identity. For example, he took our logo ideas and turned around with what’s now the iconic Heavy Table logo – something completely different than what we were thinking but fell in love with. He’s also done a lot of other visual work for us — our Atlas of Ethical Eating and our printed rate cards, for instance.
If you have a great project, brand, or campaign that you need visually represented as great as (or better than!) it is, Tod is someone you’ll want to start talking with sooner than later. Send him a note.
Chris Bohnhoff
Urbanites searching for the freshest local produce, dairy, and meat produced by local farmers can find it at Seward Co-op Grocery & Deli’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Fair on Saturday, April 21.
From 11am to 3pm, Twin Cities residents are invited to stop by Seward Co-op, located at 2823 E. Franklin Ave., to meet farmers, learn about CSA options, and select a CSA share. CSA members commit to buying a share of a farm’s harvest by paying up front for produce or other products throughout the growing season. Shares are usually delivered weekly to locations around the city — including Seward Co-op — where members may pick them up easily. Many farmers include the option for shareholders to buy shares of eggs, homemade bread, meat, cheese, fruit, flowers, or other farm products along with their veggies. Each grower offers a different package depending on the farm’s length of season, goods offered, labor costs, and drop-off locations.
“For the past 11 years, the Seward Co-op CSA Fair has brought thousands of community members a step closer to those who grow and produce their food,” Sean Doyle, Seward Co-op’s general manager, says. “Our co-op is committed to supporting a thriving local food economy and local farmers who produce food in an environmentally friendly way. By purchasing CSA shares, we help create our region’s agricultural sustainability. The connections these relationships forge are important to our way of doing business.”
Philip Fuller
As an increasing number of people nationwide discover the better taste and nutritional benefits of local food, CSAs are fast becoming a popular way for people to directly connect with local farmers.
While a typical CSA share costs $550 to $650, half shares and short-season shares are often available. Most typical shares include servings for a family of four each week throughout Minnesota’s growing season (June through October). Share purchases help cover a farm’s yearly operating expenses.
In addition to the local food provided, many CSA farmers work to connect shareholders to the farm and to one another. Most farms send newsletters that include recipe ideas and suggestions for using share ingredients. Others host events, such as berry pickings and potlucks, or encourage members to visit and work on the farm.
This year’s fair will take place, rain or shine, in Seward Co-op’s parking lot, 2823 E. Franklin Ave. in Minneapolis, under a tent in the store’s parking lot. For more information and a list of participating farms, visit here.
About Seward Co-op
Seward Co-op Grocery & Deli is a natural foods cooperative that has provided the community with the highest-quality products and services since 1972. We are committed to offering healthful, locally grown or raised organic foods and wellness products. This year, Seward Co-op celebrates 40 years as a community-owned business in the Seward neighborhood. More at www.seward.coop.
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