Hello friends. I’m feeling neglectful that the month of May is coming to an end and I’ve only dropped by to share a half-dozen times. Promise there’s hard work happening behind the scenes (follow what I’m up to on Facebook and Twitter in the meantime) that will be well worth it when we hit June. We’re talking giveaways, interviews, guest posts, and some good ‘ol summertime Minnesota-grown cookin’.

Tonight, I’m checking off one mighty item on the to-do list.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The garden is finally in.

.

Last May, I gave my dad Ameraucana chicks for his birthday as an addition to his growing coop back home. Before they were delivered, the chicks spent a few cozy nights as house guests under my careful watch. Let’s be honest…I was an obsessive mother hen. By the time they left, all 5 had names and their own personalities. How could you not fall in love with a cute little puff-ball like this?

Those gals are all grown up and producing gorgeous blue “Easter eggs”. When it came time for my parents to place their chick order again this year, they asked me to house sit for 5 more from Eggplant Urban Farm Supply in St. Paul. Yesterday I picked tiny golden Buff Orpington chicks and brought them home to cuddle and canoodle.

When it comes to local eggs, it doesn’t get any better than freshly snatched from the nest box. A growing number of Twin Cities households are recognizing the ease and enjoyment of keeping a backyard coop. Eggplant reported having orders for 150 chicks in the previous two weeks alone, suggesting that what started as a trend is growing into larger a backyard movement. Homegrown chickens not only offer the freshest eggs, but they also provide greater control over where food originates, insurance of humane care, and protection against large food borne illness outbreaks.

If you’re interested, Eggplant also offers regular Backyard Chicken classes for beginners learning about permit and coop requirements, cold-climate care, and special considerations for urban poultry. There’s also an annual Twin Cities coop tour in September if you’d like to check out how other owners are supporting backyard flocks.

Once you hear the quiet little chirping of a box of baby chicks, I’m willing to bet you’ll soon have some house guests of your own. Enjoy the long holiday weekend Minnesota. Summer’s officially here.

Have a kitchen skill you’d like to master? Wishing you had a “how-to” guide for a certain recipe? Send a comment for the how-to’s to help your local eating and we’ll get started!

One of my very first and most successful posts on 20Food.net was a May 2011 recipe  for rhubarb bread, famous in the kitchen partner’s family. We’ve already had a few loaves this year and a few opportunities to snap the kitchen partner’s hand away as he tries to grab a slice before it’s fully cooled. This bread is irresistible with a scoop of vanilla ice cream when the weather is hot and muggy. It’s perfect for springtime breakfasts with yogurt or a sweet late-night snack. In case you missed last year’s post, here’s a how to make an old-fashioned rhubarb bread–just like Grandma Sippl does.

How to Make Rhubarb Bread

1. Pre-heat oven to 325°F and prepare loaf pans with non-stick spray. To make large slices, use one 9 x 5″ loaf pan. To make a smaller slices, divide the batter equally into 2 pans. Slices will be shorter, but closer to a serving size.

2. Wash and chop 2 cups of rhubarb stalks into 1/2″ pieces (3 stalks will typically equal 2 cups) and roughly chop 1 cup of walnuts or pecans, if desired. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar and 2/3 cup room-temperature butter together until creamy.

4. Blend in 1 egg, 1 cup of sour milk or buttermilk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until well-combined. To make sour milk, pour 7 ounces of milk into a measuring cup, and add 1 ounce lemon juice. Allow to rest 1-3 minutes until milk separates. Gradually add in 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir in 1 teaspoon of  baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt until batter is smooth.

5. Gently fold in chopped nuts and rhubarb.

7. Pour into greased loaf pan and lightly sprinkle brown sugar over top of loaves.
8. Bake for 1 hour or until top is browned and a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

9. Remove from oven and cool completely before turning out of pan. If turned out before cooled, bottom will separate and remain stuck in the pan.

In the past few weeks Minnesotans have started to tip-toe into the best locavore season. Whether you use 50, 150 or statewide as your local food line, June through September are by far the easiest months to eat local in the North Star State. Minnesota’s growing local food network was recently measured against other states’, and our locavores measure up well.

When the 2012 Locavore Index was released last week, Minnesotans had something to celebrate. A brand new measure introduced by New England-based Strolling of the Heifers, the rankings use farmers’ markets and CSA’s per-capita data from 2010 and 2011 to generate composite “locavore” scores for each state. Minnesota has a whopping 528 farmers’ markets and CSAs statewide, ranking #17 in the country. Vermont blew away the rest of the nation, with over 40 markets and CSAs per 100,000 residents. It may be a small state, but they have come a long way in establishing a supportive local food community.

Not a perfect measure

While the 2012 Locavore Index is one of the first rankings of its kind, it is far from a comprehensive measure of local eating. Farmers’ markets and CSA statistics are easy to find and measure across time. Not so easy are the other ways locavores fill their refrigerators–growing and preserving their own food in a backyard garden; calling up a grower and buying direct; purchasing local produce at a neighborhood co-op or health food store; using directories like Minnesota Grown or Local Harvest.org. Estimating total dollars spent on local food is no easy task.

Likewise, the Locavore Index only measures the access to farmers’ markets and CSA’s. It doesn’t measure usage or the percentage of people who regularly buy local food in their area. To date, we don’t have a solid measure for the number of local meals that make it on the table each week.

Is it problematic that the Locavore Index falls short in these areas? Maybe. Maybe not. The index is capable of showing overall growth in farmers’ markets and CSA’s over time–preliminary indicators of the rate and strength of growth of locavore habits over time. It also shows what many locavores already know: there are gaping holes in access in certain areas of the United States. States like Florida, Arizona, and New Jersey struggle to provide residents with easy access to local food. Florida may seem like a produce-rich region, but with roughly 1 farmers’ market/CSA per 100,000 residents, availability is significantly lower than in other areas. It may also be that local food networks in these regions don’t utilize farmers’ markets or CSAs in the same way as other regions. Their distribution tools lie beyond the scope of the Locavore Index.

What it means for Minnesota

Although #17 is arguably in the middle of the locavore pack, Minnesota is well on it’s way to becoming a local food leader. Minnesota is home to more than 5 million people, a tremendous number of mouths to feed compared to Vermont’s 600,000. What works in urban population centers like the Twin Cities, likely wont translate to rural areas in the far outer regions of the state. Vermont is a tiny state in comparison to the distance food must travel around Minnesota.

Finding better ways to measure locavore habits is one way to better capture local food around the state, but innovation and commitments among stakeholders in the marketplace will also be key.  We need better mechanisms to connect local producers with Minnesota buyers–beyond farmers’ markets and the CSA model. It’s working for now, but is not enough to push Minnesota into the top 3 locavore states in the nation. Better conversations. Better tools. Better commitments to eating local. We’re on our way Minnesota, now let’s show the rest of the country how locavore is really done.

I have a song from preschool stuck in my head today:
“Today is someone’s birthday, this I know.
Today is someone’s birthday, we like her so.
Today is someone’s birthday, who could it be?
Today is Amy’s birthday-ee”

Yup. Today I turn the big whopping 25. That’s about as much as I want to talk about it too. Last year when I wrote my birthday post “24 Things to Happen in my 24th year”, I had the very same feelings about getting older as I do this year. You just have to add 1 to 24 and subtract another year from the time I have left to cram everything in. From my post last year:

Today I’m celebrating my 24th birthday. As far as birthdays go, this has been the toughest for me to face. So many of my friends and family have said ‘Oh, 24 is no big deal… You’re young yet!… Wait until you turn 30, then you’ll have something to worry about…’ Yet 24 still seems unfair to me. I’m old enough to be a bone fide adult with a career and a house payment, but so much of life (having a family, establishing a community, reaching goals) is unchartered territory. I also thought I’d have much more accomplished at 24; there’s still so much good work left to do! It’s a bit overwhelming to be old enough to go at it alone, but be young enough to not know the way.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a fantastic 24th year. Full of fresh and exciting challenges including some freelancing and some new non-profit work I’m anxious to continue with. Full of good food and good meals with friends. Full of a blog that continues to exceed all of my wild and crazy expectations. I even made a dent on my list from last year, especially finding more time to spend eating and growing the local food I love most. But as always, time passes way faster than I’d like. I still feel the pressure that there’s much left for me to accomplish and even less room for error.

So this year, I’m creating a different kind of birthday list. I’ve still written my 25 aspirations for this year; a tradition is a tradition. But instead of plastering them up to regularly remind me, I’ve tucked them away until Birthday #26. Less focus on what I have or haven’t finished yet, and more focus on the moment. Maybe this time next year I will have finished some or all. Maybe not. It’s hard to say. What I do know is my 25th year needs to be focused less on accomplishments and more on being comfortable in my own skin.

I cringe when people say “life is about the small things.” It’s completely revolting for a Type-A-Anal, Overly-Ambitious, Anxiety-Prone, Irrationally Perfectionist person like me. Not one bone in my body likes to relax and just “live in the moment.” I’m so focused on analyzing/reflecting/unpacking the previous moment, efficiently multi-tasking in the current one, and strategically planning for best outcomes in the future, there’s no time for relaxing. That is until I turned 25.

This year–in every practical sense–my birthday list looks like this:

1. Let it be.

2-25. Repeat #1.

We’ll see how it goes. I’m guessing there will be a some good stories worth sharing along the way. Many thanks to all of you for being a part of Year 24 and for staying with me through 25.

The kitchen partner and I received this postcard in the mail from a fellow Postcrossing.com user last week. It came all the way from The Netherlands just for us.

I love opening the mailbox to find postcard about food. Sometimes we even receive recipes or special suggestions for ingredients. Perhaps this is a hint about what I should be planting in the garden this weekend!

Will you be planting any special “salades” varieties this year? What local greens will be on your table this summer?

I’m back after an entire week away from the blog. The kitchen partner was in Israel for the past 7 days which meant my world had “Out Of Order” sign all week. His trip helped me appreciate how much hard work and effort he puts into making our little household run. Without someone to eat my experiments, do my spell-checking, and help with the dishes, I was just lost. Every time I sat down at the computer or picked up the camera, I’d think about how much I was missing him. Moral of the story? Hug the people who motivate you to get out of bed in the morning. Tell them thank you for the little things. And most of all…make them breakfast. At our house, nothing says “You mean the world to me” more than breakfast.

Morels and green onions were the star of my “You mean the world” breakfast when he got home. Two fresh eggs from my parents’ coop, well-beaten and cooked until light and fluffy. Topped with fresh spring morel mushrooms from the Minneapolis Farmers’ Market gently sautéed in butter and chopped green onions. The word splendid comes to mind…

Morel mushrooms hold a special place in a locavore’s heart. Yup. You heard it. Those foamy little fungi are epitome of local food–for three main reasons: they are rarely grown commercially, they’re only found in specific climates and forests, and they are limited to a brief spring season. Here and gone in a few short weeks. Harvesting morels takes special knowledge, careful observation and patience. Sometimes you’ll trek out on a hunt and come home empty-handed, other times you’ll return with an overflowing bucket of little brown gems. Families keep harvesting spots secret, passing them down through generations of foragers. Others feel morel season is a ritual, a rite of spring passage, a tradition that once started will stay with you forever.

What better way to make a “You mean the world” breakfast than a meal that took special care and understanding to get to the table. Hunt out the mighty morel this week before the season ends. You and your someone special will appreciate it.

Springtime Omelet for Two with Morels and Green Onions 

Ingredients 

1/4 pound morel mushrooms
4 eggs
2 green onions with tops, washed and roughly chopped
4 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Soak the morel mushrooms in a bowl of cool water for 10-15 minutes to remove any dirt or insects. Remove from water, gently remove any remaining soil by gently rubbing with a paper towel. Rinse and pat dry. Roughly chop or leave the mushrooms whole depending on the size. I like 2-3″ pieces best.
2. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet for eggs and melt the other 2 Tbsp. of butter in a small skillet for the mushrooms. Tilt the pan to evenly coat with butter.
3. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat well with a wire whisk. Gently pour eggs into heated skillet and tilt until bottom of pan is evenly coated. Cook the omelet (4-5 minutes) until the bottom is lightly browned before flipping over.
4. Add morel mushrooms and onions to other skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, reduce heat and sauté for 3-5 minutes until mushrooms are just tender. Remove from heat.
5. Fold the sides of the omelet into the center, remove from skillet and top with mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Taking a break from spinach today to help announce the release of the 2012 Minnesota Grown Directory. It’s one of my favorite days of the year and a terrific way to kick of the summer growing season.

Why is the Minnesota Grown Directory worth a Find it Local Friday of its own? It’s a one-stop shop for answers to all your locavore questions:

• How can I be a Minnesota Locavore? Listings for 945 sources for locally-grown food and products around the state. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s comprehensive list can help you find whatever your locavore heart desires.

• How do I eat local on the road? The guidebook is divided by the 5 major regions around the state (Northwest, Arrowhead/Northeast, Twin Cities Metro, Southeast, and Southwest) and sorted by county. If you’re visiting Great-Grandma this summer or taking a trip to the cabin, check out the local producers in other parts of the state.
• Is 2012 is the year I should join a CSA? The guidebook has listings for more than 60 CSA’s around the state including contact info and delivery locations.

• I want to pick strawberries and check out a farm stay. How do I find those? The guidebook is indexed by product or service to quickly help you find producers in your area that carry whatever your locavore heart desires. There’s a section to find organic products, compost and landscaping materials, and specific vegetables. There’s even a section for beefalo if you’re feeling adventurous.
• I’m going on a vacation this summer, where can I find a farmers’ market on the way? 156 farmers’ markets around the state are listed, including locations, dates, and times of operation.

The only question left to answer is, ‘where do I find a copy of the directory?’ If you’re headed out to a farmers’ market this weekend, check the vendor tables. Many producers that use the Minnesota Grown label will have guidebooks available. Contact your local co-op or natural food store to see if they have copies on hand.  You can also order free copies of the directory online from the MinnesotaGrown.com website. 

Today’s Spinach Week recipe comes from the one cookbook I can’t live without. I am especially fond of my St. Paul Farmers’ Market cookbook. It is full of the best traits: lots of pencil notes and lots of possibility. I’m sharing a Spinach Cheese Muffin that has me saying “oooh…that sounds good” every time I flip through the pages.

I’ve adapted the heck out of the recipe, but think they’re better off in the end. Adaptations are why this cookbook rocks my world. 9 out of 10 times my gentle suggestions or crazy ideas turn out. I get to strut around with my apron strings puffed and claim, “Hah. Two points for me. I’m a kitchen genius.” This only works with the St. Paul Farmers’ Market Cookbook. Anytime I vary from the recipes in Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” I get a burned/dried/nasty pot of yuck. Thunked on the head with an invisible wooden spoon: “Where in the ingredients list did it call for your opinion? These recipes are tested to perfection. Follow the directions you twit.”

Allow me to illustrate what happens to the muffin recipe when I “adapt” it to make it my own:

• READ: 1 egg. Open the fridge and guess what? No eggs. THINK: I’ll just Google “egg substitutes” and make something up. 1 egg becomes 1 1/2 Tbsp. oil + 1 Tbsp. baking powder +1 1/2 Tbsp. water. That’s got to be right?
• READ: Steam the spinach before adding it to the muffin batter. THINK: Too much work. Too many dishes. Takes too long. I’ll just chop it and throw it in raw. What could it hurt?
• READ:  1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. THINK:  Nutmeg is my least favorite spice. It tastes like old lady and Christmas. Let’s try Italian Seasoning instead. You can’t go wrong with Italian Seasoning. Right?
• READ:  Add 1/4 cups of Parmesan and Swiss. THINK: If you know anything about this blog–1/4 cup of cheese is just NOT going to cut it. Ever. Let’s try a full cup and make it cheddar instead. I vaguely remember someone saying “Cheddar is better.” Then again, maybe that someone was me?

25 minutes later and out come fluffy, cheesy muffins full of deep green spinach. Out come the puffed up apron strings. Thanks St. Paul Farmers’ Market cookbook. You sure know how to make a gal feel like she can accomplish anything.

Cheddar Spinach Muffins 

Adapted from the St. Paul Farmers’ Market Cookbook 

Ingredients 

Dry Ingredients
2 C. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp. raw cane sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Spinach Mix
1/2 pound fresh spinach, washed and stems removed
1 egg replacer (1 1/2 Tbsp. water, 1 1/2 Tbsp. oil, 1/2 tsp. baking powder)
2 Tbsp. melted butter
3/4 C. milk
1/4 C. heavy cream
1 C. cheddar cheese, plus more for topping

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a muffin tin with 12 liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside.
3. Finely chop the spinach (pieces about 1/4″ wide) and place in a separate bowl. Add egg replacer, butter, milk and cheese. Stir to evenly coat.
4. Add spinach mixture to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Batter will be thick and sticky.
5. Spoon into muffin tins (fill until level with the top of the muffin cup). Top each muffin cup with additional cheese if desired. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and cheese on top is melted. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire baking rack before removing from muffin tin. Serve warm.

Someday I’d like to host the “Great Minnesota Lasagna Competition” at the state fair. It’s a dish we all know and love. It’s one of the few leftover dishes I’ll eat.  And we all have our own go-to recipe for the World’s Best Lasagna. Seriously. A Great Minnesota Lasagna Competition is the answer to all the planet’s troubles.

If I could enter my own Minnesota Lasagna Competition, today’s Spinach Week recipe would be my blue-ribbon winner. I start with a simple ricotta and parmesan filling and my homemade tomato sauce. Add in a box of Dakota Grower’s lasagna noodles, cooked until just al dente.  Then hit it with my favorite, thick layers of fresh green spinach and rich, earthy portobello. mushrooms. If there was a dating website for lasagna ingredients, spinach and portabellas would be the couple living happily ever after on the billboard. They’re the best hook-up any lasagna dish could ask for.

Oh, before I run off for the day…have to give you my dirt on spinach:

• Most experts consider spinach to be a superfood. It’s dark green leaves are high in Vitamins A, C, and fiber. They’re also packed full of phytochemicals (a fancy word for foods that kick butt in the good-for-you department).
• The USDA nutritional info for spinach indicates that a serving of boiled spinach has more iron than a hamburger patty. But Popeye and his big muscles already taught you that, didn’t he?
• Freezing spring spinach is a cinch. Wash throughly and remove any tough stems. Blanch for 2 minutes, cool in ice water for 2 minutes, dry thoroughly and place in a freezer-safe container.

Spinach and Portobello Lasagna

Ingredients 

1 box of lasagna noodles, prepared to package directions
1 pound of spinach leaves, washed and stems removed
24 oz. of your favorite tomato pasta sauce

For the Filling
1 pound portobello mushrooms, washed and sliced
24 oz. low-fat skim ricotta
1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C. shredded parmesan cheese
1 egg

Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9 x 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Drain lasagna noodles and wash spinach. Set aside while heating pasta sauce on stove until just warm.
3. Mix all filling ingredients in a large bowl until just combined.
4. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of sauce on the bottom of the dish and spread evenly with a spoon.
5. Begin the layers in this way: A layer of lasagna noodles 3-4 across the bottom of the dish, topped with spinach leaves 1-2 leaves thick. Evenly spread 1/4 of the cheese filling over the spinach leaves (easiest to do with the back of a spoon). Top with 1/4 of the sauce.
6. Repeat the layers 4 more times until all noodles have been used. End with sauce. You may also sprinkle shredded parmesan and mozzarella over top for added cheesy goodness.
7. Bake for 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve warm and then enjoy the leftovers from the refrigerator!

Last growing season, two of the biggest weeks on Minnesota Locavore were dedications rhubarb and pumpkin. This year I’m planning to continue these week-long tributes to local produce, starting with spinach. I’m giving it the first nod mostly by default. It’s the only green veggie I saw at the farmers’ market this past weekend and it’s the only thing that’s really cropped up in our patio garden so far. With all the frost and temperature swings we’ve had recently it should tell you one thing about spinach: it’s REALLY easy to grow. Green thumb or not, any locavore can add spinach to their garden plans. Here’s how:

How to Grow Spinach

1. Select a growing spot.  Spinach needs two basic things: well-worked fertile soil and cooler weather. In the spring it’s best to start it when temperatures are between 60-65° F and the danger of hard frost has gone. We’ve had ours in the ground for a few weeks now and it’s doing well despite some cooler nighttime temperatures. A second crop can be added for fall if started in August or September when temperatures begin to cool again. No garden space? No worries. Spinach’s short roots do well in small shallow containers with good drainage. Easy to grow in small spaces.

2. Select a seed. Spinach can be found on nearly every seed rack and most varieties will thrive in Minnesota weather. I choose heat-tolerant and long-producing varieties with large, sweet leaves. Most have a 30-45 day to harvest range, well within the growing season here. The U of M extension recommends Indian Summer, Malabar, Tyee, Bloomsdale Longstanding, and Correnta for Minnesota gardens. I’d check Renee’s Garden and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds as well.

3. Start Planting.  Don’t bother starting spinach seeds indoors. Like me, they don’t like to be disturbed while enjoying the sunshine. Transplanting will likely cause more harm than good. When sowing direct, the best plan for spinach is to use your index finger or garden tool to dig a trench 1/4- 1/2″ deep and space seeds 3/4″-1″ apart in the row.  Pinch the sides of the row to cover the seeds being careful not to pack the dirt tightly. I’ve also seen spinach seed broadcast out over a container or raised bed that grows well. Water and wait.

4. Harvest. Spinach can be picked at whatever point seems to make your taste buds happy. Some camps say baby spinach is the best–plants harvested when the leaves are only 3-4 inches long. Others wait until the spinach plant is fully grown (4-5 inches tall with broad, full leaves) and cut off the entire plant at the base. A third group allows the plant to continue growing and picks only the outer leaves first.  The inner 4 or 5 leaves are then allowed to grow, cut and repeated until the plant begins to bolt. Spinach can also be successively planted over the spring for a harvest every few weeks.

6. Now eat it!  Stay tuned all week for recipes and tips on how to make spinach.

It’s that time of year again. Farmers’ market season is upon us!!

The soft opening of the Minneapolis Farmers’ Market is this weekend with the Thursday Nicollet Avenue market opening on Thursday. The downtown Saint Paul Farmers’ Market where the kitchen partner and I do most of our shopping starts the summer market season one week from tomorrow. Vendors will be ready to go at 6 AM, hopefully with some springtime finds. Anyone else ready for rhubarb and asparagus?

The downtown market is helping to support an urban revival in Lowertown St. Paul. It’s a vibrant look at the thriving local food economy in our area. The Pioneer Press reported this week that more than 20,000 visitors come to downtown each summer weekend for the market. Enough that developers are considering expanding the market to 7 days a week. I get goosebumps just thinking about it!

Are you ready this year? This is the season you’ll add more fresh produce to your diet. This is the season you’ll start buying local. This is the season you’ll visit your farmers’ market and shake the hands of your local growers. This is the season.

Where to find your Local Farmers’ Market

1. Minnesota Grown: Visiting the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s searchable map is the fastest way to find a farmers’ market in your area. Right now they have 158 listings around the state.

2. Local Harvest: If you don’t live in Minnesota, LocalHarvest.org is a one-stop shop for all things local food. From the homepage you can search by zip code for farms and farmers’ markets in your area. Their handy directory is a publicly maintained (farmers/producers sign themselves up for listings), nationwide source for local organic and sustainable products. Spend some time here, there’s lots to offer.

3. The Locavore App for iPhone and Android: If you’d like farmers’ market information on the go, download the free Locavore app from localdirt.com. It has searchable maps, what’s in season and a way to share the tasty local food you’re eating with friends on Facebook.

4. Lastly, the USDA maintains a searchable list of farmers’ markets around the country. If you want the nitty-gritty on your market (market coordinator info, how many vendors accept WIC or other food assistance programs, what percentage of the produce is organic, etc.) this is the place to go.

April 17, 2012

Dear Crock-Pot,

I know you and I have led a checkered past. Your broken lid and my tendency to leave you in the cupboard for months on end is proof enough of that. Let’s be honest. I’ve been downright neglectful in choosing the other kitchen gadgets over you. You’ve been the last one picked to join the dinner team far too many times. It happens. But in my defense Crock-Pot, you haven’t always played fair either. Food so burnt it took three days to scrub you clean. The way you make every inch of the house smell the same for days. (How do you even make the upstairs carpet stink?) I won’t even mention how you turn my gorgeous vegetables mushy and grayed. It hasn’t been any easy road for us my slow-cooker friend.

But today we’re putting that all behind us. You see, I need your help. Tonight I have a work meeting and it’s my turn to make dinner. The kitchen partner has a big presentation tomorrow and the downstairs toilet needs a new flapper. No time for fancy tricks or two-hour prep. We need hot dinner on the table at 6 p.m. and we’re calling on you Crock-Pot. Think you’re up to the task?

Here’s my plan:  I’ve got four local bone-in pork chops from Grass Run Farms in Dorchester, Iowa. Toss that with 6 cups of last year’s homemade sauerkraut and some frozen potato dumplings I snuck from a church basement dinner this month. Add in some salt and pepper and that’s it. 5 minutes of prep work between the two of us and that’s all it should take. Then I’ll hand it over to you for 6-7 hours and check back in when I get home. Completely painless as far as I can see.

So what do you think crock-pot? Should we let bygones be bygones and try this one more time? I think so too. An old-fashioned sauerkraut pork and dumplings dinner is on tap for tonight. Thanks Crock-Pot. I think we just might be friends.

Sincerely,

Amy

P.S. If this goes well, maybe we could even take a look at fixing that lid…

In my Easter basket this month was a 1960′s copy of Better Homes and Garden’s New Cookbook. (Thanks Grandma!) I love looking through older cookbooks to find local possibilities. We’ve been using fresh local ingredients for ages and the good recipes are out there if we’re willing to look. The inside cover features an article of “why more than 2,000,000 women cherish this cook book.” It made me wonder how many women since then have used a copy.  The images are definitely from a by-gone era; I don’t know anyone that makes a 3 tiered gelatin mold anymore. This one made me laugh. Really hard. Pretty sure we could put her in the 2013 edition dressed in a power suit with an iPad. 

Take look at this family barbecue and try to remember the last time you saw someone in dress slacks at the grill! Really?!?!

When I flipped through the book this week I found a few recipes for locavore adaptation. One of these was for Classic Chicken Divan, a recipe with a little history. The “divan” comes from Divan Parisien, a famous 1950′s New York City restaurant who served the casserole as one its signature dishes. The restaurant no longer exists, but chicken divan became a favorite of American family cooks. It’s always made with chicken or turkey with broccoli, covered in a parmesan cheese sauce. If there’s anything generation after generation can agree on, it’s that everything is better covered in cheese.
For my own modifications, I used leftover turkey from a Ferndale Market bird we roasted the day before, skim milk instead of heavy whipping cream (it is bikini-prep time after all!) and a few tablespoons of local dry white wine (Try St. Pepin from Cannon River Winery in Cannon Falls, MN). Still using the frozen broccoli from our stash last summer. Baked in 20 minutes. Boom. Easy local dinner.

Local Turkey Divan 

Adapted from Chicken Divan in BH&G New Cookbook, 1963

Ingredients

6 cups frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons of dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups of cooked turkey, cut into 1 1/2″ or larger pieces

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 9 x 13″ casserole dish with non-stick spray. Spread broccoli in an even layer in bottom of baking dish.
2. Melt the butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Using a whisk, blend in flour until golden and bubbly. Gradually stir in chicken broth and continue stirring until mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat to low and add in milk, wine and salt.
3. Remove from heat and pour half the sauce over the broccoli. Return saucepan to the stove and add parmesan cheese to remaining sauce. Stir until melted.
4. Spread turkey pieces over broccoli and sauce in an even layer. Top with remaining parmesan sauce. Sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese if desired.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until sauce is bubbly.

Last month I was threw a baby shower for some close friends and their new arrival. Wanting to have some locavore flair to it, I chose a honeybee theme. Yellow and black ribbons everywhere and these cute favors I made with local honey sticks from Wolf Honey Farm in Baldwin, Wisconsin. The thank you favors each said “Honey and Babies are Two of Life’s Sweetest Things.” Wolf Honey was one of the first local products we started buying when we began our locavore journey 2 years ago. They sell honey and other bee products year-round at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market.

Since the shower and the leftover favors we had, I’ve experimented with adding honey in our meals. Ice cream, cookies, spaghetti sauce, fish, my morning green tea. Whatever needs an extra touch of sweet. I’ve also been reading “The Beekeeper’s Lament” by Hannah Nordhaus, an alarming look at the state of honeybees in the US. If you are looking for a quick and informative read, add this to your summer beach bag and prepare to be blown away by how important these little guys are to our agricultural system.

Minnesota and Wisconsin typically rank in the top 10 for honey production states (Minnesota is currently 6th). We are also the early summer home to many of the migratory colonies that are transported around the country for pollination. They are packed up for the almond, citrus, and vegetable seasons in Florida and California and then brought back to the Upper Midwest for alfalfa and prairie wildflowers. How’s that for a local life?

This month two new pieces of information were published about honey production in Minnesota and around the region. The 2011 USDA Honey Statistics report indicated that nationally, honey production was down 16%. In Minnesota production was down 25% from the previous year. Although Minnesota produced a whopping 6.4 million pounds of honey last year, the price has increased nationwide due to increasing demand and decreasing supply. Our bees are in trouble and honey prices are starting to show it.

The second report released added more controversy to the growing debate about the failing bee populations in the United States. The latest research indicated that colony collapse disorder may be related to the use of common pesticides in the neonicotinoids.  The findings were met with immediate pushback from inside and outside the ag industry, only adding to the confusion about what’s really causing dramatic decreases (up to 30% of colonies in some recent years). I’m only just learning about the unique nature and science of beekeeping so I won’t claim to know what the past and future holds for Minnesota bees.

What I do know is that purchasing local honey instead of large national or store brands plays an important part. With a strong local market for their product, Minnesota beekeepers have more resources to maintain and support healthy hives. They can better weather the financial ups and downs that come with maintaining apiaries in distress. Most important, healthy bees means healthy crops all summer long. We locavores love our veggies and can’t have them without a pollinator.  Stop and think for a few minutes today: Just how different would the garden world look without the honeybee?

Minnesota Honey Hot Spots

More than 50 honey producers are listed in the Minnesota Grown guide. Here are 5 located within a few miles of the Twin Cities as well as a unique opportunity if you’re interested in a more regular delivery!

Bare Honey in St. Paul, MN

The Elm Tree Farm in Afton, MN

Ames Farm in Delano, MN

Honey-Pine Apiary in Stillwater, MN

Whistling Well Farm in Hastings, MN

The Beez Kneez is a Minneapolis based business that specializes in honey deliveries by bicycle. Yup. You read that right. Bees by Bike. Order light or dark honey from Bar Bell Bee Ranch in Squaw Lake, MN online and then owner, beekeeper and bicyclist Kristy Lynn Allen pedals it all the way to your door. How cool is that?!? Her company also works with many Metro community gardens to provide community hives in a program called Community Bees on Bikes.