Why I Love Cooking With Dog

Crosspost from Reetsyburger's Refuge:

When I was a kid, I watched the Frugal Gourmet and Yan Can Cook on Saturday mornings instead of cartoons. (I actually wrote a letter to Jeff Smith asking him why he used granite instead of marble for his pastry board - I'll find it and post it).

I wasn't allowed to cook much, but I was always underfoot in the kitchen observing. As my mom and dad lugged their instruments out of the house to head to band practice, I plotted and raided the kitchen, fixing silly recipes based on what my mom had in the pantry and refrigerator.

When my best friend's mom married a chef I was so pumped...until I learned that by the time he got home, he was burned out, and kept to cooking simple recipes. Still, I learned a lot from him about the magic of tomato paste.

Finally, in 2nd grade, I decided I was going to be a chef.

This decision was firm until my junior year of high school, when I met a chef who gave me some advice, "If you want a family, and you want to live a normal life, save cooking for a hobby. I work every night, every weekend, every holiday. I never see my kid." My stomach knotted. Yes, I loved cooking, but was I willing to sacrifice my other dreams to become a chef?

I talked it over with my mom, and we agreed that I would pursue my other interest - writing. That worked out, in the long run. I write for a living, and most of what I write about is related to agriculture and food. I consider that a win.

My enthusiasm for cooking remains. My kitchen is my other refuge, and I have a real passion for learning about ingredients, from who grew this tomato to how a handle bone-in short rib.

And while I watch cooking programs, I still mainly watch the PBS programs - America's Test Kitchen, Mexico - One Plate at a Time, and Avec Eric are among my favorites.

I was recently introduced to this YouTube cooking program, which reminds me of the shows I watched as a kid on PBS. It's simple, straight-forward, and focuses on showing a home cook how to prepare something special.

Plus, the dog is hilarious.



[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Land Stewardship Project Hog Roast

Crosspost of my weekly post on Dara&Co:

The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) has its family friendly summer gathering and fundraising event this month on Sunday, August 15. The potluck hog roast will be hosted by Heaven’s Valley/Turtle Farms at Jim and Cheri Crigler’s farm in Winona, MN. Keeping food, family, and cultural diversity in mind, guests are encouraged to bring a dish that reflects their own cultural heritage. Lunch begins at noon, with farm tours, a silent auction, and workshops following until 4:30 p.m.

For sustainability sake, remember to bring your own plates and silverware—plus blankets if you’d like, though some tables and chair will be available.

Tickets are $10 per person or $30 per family for LSP members ($20 per person and $50 per family for non-members). Kids 6-12 are $5; 5 and under are free. To reserve a spot, call 507-523-3366 or e-mail lspse@landstewardshipproject.org. Visit landstewardshipproject.com for more information.

The farm is located on Wildwood Drive, south of St. Mary’s University in Winona: travel 0.8 mile west of Highways 14 & 61 in Winona, turn south on Gilmore Valley Rd., and follow the Land Stewardship Project signs.

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Swiss Valley Farms acquires Faribault Dairy Co., Inc.

Davenport, IA - Swiss Valley Farms Cooperative has acquired Faribault Dairy Co., Inc., located in Faribault, MN. The sale includes the ownership of Faribault’s Blue cheese manufacturing facility as well as Faribault’s line of branded cheeses, the most popular of which is Amablu. Amablu, along with its premium version, Amablu St. Pete’s Select, is a cave-aged Blue cheese with a strong retail presence in the U.S.

“This acquisition marks a significant step in our efforts to grow in the Blue cheese category,” said Don Boelens, CEO of Swiss Valley Farms. The opportunity will provide Swiss Valley with yet another safe and secure market for its members’ milk supply while simultaneously increasing Blue cheese manufacturing capacity. Boelens says the Faribault facility will allow for an immediate increase in production and serve as an excellent companion operation to Swiss Valley’s other Blue cheese plant in Mindoro, WI.

The sale brings together the history, talent and resources of two of America’s most experienced blue cheesemakers. “It promises to be a good marriage,” said Jeff Jirik, one of the owners of Faribault Dairy Co. Jirik, who will take on his new role as Vice President, Blue Cheese Division, believes becoming part of the Swiss Valley Farms family is the best way to continue the legacy of the Amablu brand, known as America’s First Blue Cheese. “This is great for the Faribault community, our employees and our long-term stability,” said Jirik, noting all former employees will be retained.

Using the resources of Faribault, there are now new opportunities for Swiss Valley to age and distribute cheeses. The first is the use of sandstone caves, currently used by Faribault to age its Amablu brand cheeses. The second is the capability for online orders and shipment of cheeses via cheesecave.net, an online store developed by Faribault to distribute cheeses and cheese gift packages nationwide. The online store also has a brick and mortar retail counterpart in Faribault, MN.

The acquisition is part of a long-term plan to expand the focus on retail branded cheeses, including Swiss Valley’s Mindoro brand. “This decision confirms both organizations’ commitment to the growing artisanal blue cheese market,” said Boelens. Jirik agrees. “Working together to build brand equity in these quality products is the ultimate goal,” he said.

About Faribault Dairy: Faribault Dairy Co., Inc. was founded in 2001 to manufacture and market award-winning artisanal cheese from the Caves of Faribault. The company is best known for its Amablu brand, which has been the recipient of many national and international awards since its creation in 2002. The Cheese Cave, which serves as Faribault’s retail store, has both a physical and online presence and carries over 40 premium cheese labels, as well as non-cheese items including dry goods, meats and spreads. Faribault Dairy Co., Inc. is now a subsidiary of Swiss Valley Farms.

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Farm Tour Program for Minnesota Schools

Source: MN Institute for Sustainable Agriculture

Do your students know where their lunch comes from?
The Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota is now offering farm tours for urban and suburban school groups.

Let us know:

- Where you are located
- The grade and subject of the class
- What kind of farm you are interested in touring (vegetable growers, dairies, pasture raised meat, orchards…etc.)
- When you would like to take the tour
- What size your group is

We will match you with the ideal sustainable farmer in your area and then arrange for a tour of the farm

Your students:
- Will be better informed in how to make healthy and sustainable food choices
- Will gain a greater understanding of sustainable agriculture
- Will better understand their role in our complex food system

Interested? … please contact SFA-MN Events and Youth
Outreach Committee, Jerry Ford, at kreitlow@cmgate.com
or (320) 543-3394

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

'Tis the Season for Camembert Cheese

This is my weekly post to Dear Dara...Should I crosspost it here? The content is always relevant to this blog, and that's why I would crosspost - to share something that I wrote that is relevant to this blog.

Soft-ripened cheese. Is there anything more decadent, more palatable, more abating?

Brie, I adore thee. Triple-crème, you are tried and true. But this summer has been all about the Camembert. Specifically, a domestic Camembert-style cheese called Bent River by Alemar Cheese.

Alemar Cheese Company is located about 70 miles southwest of the Twin Cities in Mankato, MN. There, Keith Adams is using organic whole milk from Cedar Summit Farm to produce some of the most soft, smooth, delicate Camembert-style cheese produced in the U.S.

You can find Bent River at local co-ops and cheese shops around the Twin Cities. I’ve purchased it at Surdyk’s and Seward Co-op, but they also sell it by the wheel online, and will ship it directly to your house. I’ve been tempted to order a couple of wheels for a covey of camembert lovers.

I enjoy my Bent River fresh, at room temperature, and spread on a slice of baguette. It pairs well with Frontenac Rosé for a sweet treat.

Why do I call it a Camembert-style cheese?

I’ll try to make a long story short: True Camembert is made with unpasteurized milk and is aged only about two-to-three weeks. However, any cheese made with raw milk (i.e. unpasteurized milk) must be aged at least 60 days in the U.S. Sixty-day-old Camembert would be, well….not very good. Therefore, Alemar, like most domestic producers of soft-ripened cheese, pasteurizes the milk used to make their fresh Bent River. The upside? Pregnant women who love Camembert can eat Bent River.

'Tis the Season for Camembert Cheese - Dara & Co. - July 2010 - Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Mark Your Calendars: Festival of Farms

Festival of Farms™ on July 10, 2010 is an opportunity to learn about sustainable agriculture, network within the community, and have fun at various farms across the state. The Festival will be unique to each chapter, but the goal is the same—to build a unified sense of the Sustainable Farming Association’s presence in communities across Minnesota and tighten connections within the local food community.

Cannon River Chapter:

Please join with us on Saturday July 10 for the Festival of Farms, a tour of sustainable farming operations and a mid‐summer hoe‐down! A bus is scheduled to leave from Just Food Co‐op, Northfield at 1 pm (returning at 5pm) and will stop at three area farms dedicated to practicing planet‐friendly food production.

If you would like to join the farm tour with your own vehicle, specific tour times are noted. Across the state farmers are participating in this free event organized by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.

The first stop is Simple Harvest Farms Organics. Kathy and Nick Zeman run an omnivore food farm with fruit and vegetables, poultry, pigs, goats, sheep, and bees. The animals’ special role on the farm will be highlighted: some are raised for food, some for eggs, some for milk, some for wool. The tour will include their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) veggie fields, which host a growing crop of perennial foods alongside the usual Minnesota suspects of annuals (1:15‐2:15 pm).

Next the tour will gather at Big Woods Farm, around the corner and down the road from Nerstrand. One of Minnesota’s longest running CSA operations, Big Woods Farm is a shining example of what sustainable farming looks like. Laurie and David Hougen‐Eitzman maintain thirteen acres of vegetable production, with the help of able field hands using a long‐crop rotation, and bordered by areas of prairie and Big Woods habitat restoration. During a tour of the fields Laurie and David will briefly address the history and growth of the CSA food movement (2:30‐3:30 pm).

The tour’s final destination is Shepherd’s Way, home of award‐winning cheeses and the Ohlsen‐Read family. Steve, Jodi and the Read boys have work tirelessly to provide us and many others across the nation with noteworthy sheep cheese and information on cheese production through classes and seminars. Their farm features fields of sheep, a dairy production center, an interesting barn story, and cheese samples to die for. We know you’ve heard of Shepherd’s Way, now is an opportunity to see it. (3:45‐4:45)

This day of celebrating our local farmers will culminate with a mid‐summer dinner and hoe‐down at Callister Farm in West Concord. Lori and Alan Callister will begin with a farm tour of their own operations which includes an E‐2 processing plant (Minnesota equivalent of USDA inspected.) Next a dinner of Callister chicken drumsticks, Open Hands Farm fresh salad greens, Cedar Summit milk and ice cream. The cost of the meal is $30/family, $12/adults, $8/ages 5‐12, free for those of us under 5. Family friendly food raised and served on a local farm at family friendly prices!

Then into the barn for a hoe‐down dance with music provided by Depot Creek, a band imported from Le Seuer County specializing in traditional folk and jug‐bands music. This barn dance will be the perfect ending to a day of local food celebrating. For more information, or to purchase dinner tickets, please contact www.sfa‐mn.org, or Angel Dobrow at 612‐216‐1206.

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

My garden, my love.

We haven't been dining out as much lately. The fact is, dining out has been temporarily replaced by dining in.

Why? Mostly because we've been hitting the markets hard and buying lots of seasonal produce. It's hard to resist a great deal on fresh produce! Ramps, asparagus, strawberries, sweet peas, and lots of herbs have been making regular appearances, and we're loving it.

Also, evenings and weekends are best spent in the garden, where so far we've planted tons of perennials in our new flowerbeds, plus edibles: 10+ varieties of heirloom tomatoes, heirloom peppers, heirloom onions, asparagus, heirloom green beans, heirloom dill, heirloom basil, strawberries, blueberries, and rosemary.

Daily, I wander through the yard, checking out the growth of the plants. I'm constantly monitoring growth rates, soil dampness, weeds, and bugs. I think about my garden about once every 5 minutes when I'm not actually in the garden. It is my seasonal infatuation.

This year, I've fallen for the colorful tomato cages they're selling at Fratallones Ace Hardware in the Twin Cities. They're SO adorably adorable!




[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]