Hazelnuts for Minnesota’s Masses

CLEAN ENERGY RESOURCE TEAMS

When most of us think of hazelnuts (or filberts), we think of those round nuts in holiday nut mixes. Historically, hazelnuts have hailed from Europe or Oregon, and have made their way into beloved products like hazelnut liqueur (think Frangelico), or sweet spreads like Nutella. So you might be surprised to find smaller, bulk batches of locally grown hazelnuts popping up at local markets around the Twin Cities. As it turns out, there are two wild species of hazelnuts that are hardy in the cold north woods, and clever Midwestern farmers have figured out how to grow and market them.

Hazelnut Valley Farm is owned and operated by Norm and Mary Erickson in Lake City, Minn. They grow, harvest, and process hazelnuts with a little help from a nifty solar-heated greenhouse. Now, you can purchase their Minnesota-grown Hazelnut Valley Farm hazelnuts at Seward Co-op. 

Hazelnuts have a buttery, slightly sweet flavor and are said to be a good source of protein, unsaturated fat, thiamine, and vitamin B6. They can be stored for three months in your cupboard, or up to a year in your freezer. I’m eager to try my hand at a homemade version of Nutella. But if you’re interested in enjoying the nut in a simpler fashion, here’s a foolproof method for roasting them.

Roasted Hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Coat the hazelnuts with a thin, even coating of olive oil.
Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking pan.
Let them roast for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove them from the oven.
Rub with a towel to remove the skin.
Lightly sprinkle them with sea salt, and allow them to cool.

Cross-posted from: Hazelnuts for Minnesota’s Masses - Twin Cities Taste - January 2013 - Minnesota

[where: Minnesota, Food, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, 55418]

Lindquist Family Christmas Sausage

At a holiday potluck this week, I snagged a slice of sausage that has a unique history in the Twin Cities─Lindquist Family Christmas Sausage. It’s a seasonal sausage link made in St. Paul, and its secret recipe is a Twin Cities legend.

The story goes that the sausage recipe was handed through generations of family members of Harry Lindquist, who was a butcher in north Minneapolis from the 1920s to the 1960s. I had an opportunity to speak with Dave Hansen, Harry Lindquist’s grandson (Hansen is a prolific photographer with the University of Minnesota’s Experiment Station and also operates the Hansen Family Tree Farm). According to Hansen, Harry Lindquist made and sold the Swedish-style sausage at his butcher shop during the holiday season. The Christmas sausage links he created became a yuletide tradition for his family, so much so that he continued making sausage for his family even after he retired.

Years went by, and Harry’s sons and grandsons were brought into the sausage-making fold, learning the recipe and techniques from Harry himself. By the mid-1990s, however, the family’s sausage makers could no longer keep up with the expanding family’s demand for the holiday sausage. So they consulted with a nearby sausage maker at Tim & Tom’s Speedy Market─Tim and Tom agreed not only to take on the task of making the family’s treasured sausage recipe, they also agreed to keep the secret recipe safe.

The sausage is so popular among family members that Hansen’s cousin in Reno, Nev. receives an express shipment every year. Hansen lovingly told the tale of his daughter, Britta, who requested Christmas Sausage for her only Christmas gift when she was serving in the Peace Corps in Bolivia. The family obliged, carefully packing and transporting some Christmas Sausage to Bolivia, where they cheerfully dined on it for three days.

These days, family members and the public can purchase the yuletide sausage links at just one market in the Twin Cities: Tim & Tom’s Speedy Market in St. Paul, where they’re making a mere 2,000 pounds of the Lindquist Family Christmas Sausage this year. It’s available for a limited time, and die-hard fans know that it sells fast, since it's so cherished by many in and outside the family.

Lindquist Family Christmas Sausage is a lean Swedish-style sausage made with pork and a bit of beef. It’s sparsely flavored with salt and allspice and wrapped in hog casing. Dave Hansen served it to me as his mother served it to him─baked at 350 degrees for an hour in the oven, and sliced on a plate without condiments. Hansen says it can be served on a bun, but he never─NEVER!─ate it that way at home.
 

Photo: Christmas dinner at David Hansen’s house, 1986. The family gathers around a pan of The Lindquist Family Christmas Sausage. From Left to right: Alice (Lindquist) Lundblad, Charlotte (Lindquist) Hansen, Janet (Lundblad) VanFossan, Trygg Hansen, Henry Hansen, Britta Hansen. Photo by David Hansen.
 

Tim & Tom’s Speedy Market
2310 Como Avenue, St. Paul
timandtomsspeedymarket.com

Cross post from: Lindquist Family Christmas Sausage - Twin Cities Taste - December 2012 - Minnesota

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

Mother Earth Gardens to Add Second, Nordeast Location

MARIE FLANAGAN

Residents in Northeast Minneapolis might notice some action this winter on the corner of Lowry and Stinson. Mother Earth Gardens, a popular South Minneapolis garden center specializing in organic gardening, sustainably-grown plants, and earth-friendly products, is working on the variance procedures to add a second store in the Windom Park neighborhood.

Paige Pelini and Karen O'Connor own and operate Mother Earth Gardens. They purchased the South Minneapolis business in 2007 and hope to open their Northeast location in April 2013, “even if it’s just a soft opening,” according to O’Connor. The Northeast location will have two buildings (a two-story building with retail and residential space and a single-story building with multiple retail spaces), currently occupying 2358 Stinson Parkway and 2314-2318 Lowry Avenue.

“I actually used to live in Northeast," said O’Connor. “We have a lot of existing customers who live in Northeast. It’s a similar demographic to our customer base in South─it’s an active community that supports the arts, gardening, and local businesses.”

So what can Northeast green thumbs expect from Mother Earth Gardens? O’Connor says their philosophy of sourcing and selling plants and products that have been grown, produced, and delivered in a sustainable manner will carry through to the new store. During the planting season, they’ll have as many as 50 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, extensive options of unusual edible and medicinal herbs, native plants, and rain garden plants. Their selection of annual and perennials will be sourced from local growers like Rush Creek Growers, Green Earth Growers, and Glacial Ridge Growers.

The indoor retail space at the Northeast location will be larger than the indoor space at their South location─on top of traditional garden center supplies and gifts, O’Connor says they hope to fill that extra indoor space with more supplies for urban farmers, from beekeeping supplies to backyard chicken supplies. And just in case you thought garden centers were only good for visiting in warm months, Mother Earth Gardens also hopes to offer free winter seminars, possibly partnering with theEastside Food Co-op.

Pictured above: Honey Grape organic heirloom cherry tomato (plant purchased at Mother Earth Gardens).

 Mother Earth Gardens, South Minneapolis location.
 Photos courtesy of Mother Earth Gardens, by Karen O'Connor

Cross posted from Mother Earth Gardens to Add Second, Nordeast Location - Twin Cities Taste - November 2012 - Minnesota

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

Upcoming Event Salutes Lake Superior's Sustainable Fisheries

An upcoming event, "A SALUTE TO LAKE SUPERIOR'S SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES," hosted by the University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program, spotlights the state's seasonal abundance of lake herring from Lake Superior and celebrates the people involved in managing, harvesting, studying, and preparing this sustainably harvested fish.

The second annual event will take place on Tues., Nov. 13 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis. A cook-off and tasting event, the “Salute” celebrates the people involved in the success of Lake Superior’s fisheries. Some local Duluth chefs are making the journey to the Twin Cities to compete. Local chefs include Avery Cassar from At Sara’s Table Chester Creek Café and Scott Graden from the New Scenic Café. Admission for this event is $20. For Northland guests, Minnesota Sea Grant is providing a bus for transport at $10 per seat.

For more information about the “Salute,” visit the Minnesota Sea Grant events page here.

A New PastureLand

Remember PastureLand’s award-winning gourmet butter and artisanal cheeses produced from the milk of family operated, organically certified, grass-based dairy farms in Minnesota? They had been a Flanagan household favorite for years. But the PastureLand we knew—the organic, Minnesota-based grass dairy cooperative—is no more. 

As reported in May 2011, PastureLand was having some problems, and their butter and cheese began disappearing from market shelves. In winter 2012, Edelweiss Graziers Cooperative purchased the naming and brand rights to PastureLand, which means the PastureLand brand (previously made in Minn.) will now be used to market dairy products made by five Wisconsin farm families. 

Bert Paris has been dairy farming in Wisconsin since 1983, and started grazing his herd on pasture in 1993. Today, his family is one of the five families that make up the new PastureLand cooperative. 

“We really liked the name, and we wanted to carry on some of the beliefs about grass-based dairies, family farms, and sustainability,” said Paris. “We are so proud to carry on the PastureLand name to continue to promote grass-based dairy products.” 

So what are the differences between the old PastureLand and the new PastureLand? Well, the product line will be totally different, for starters. Whereas the former PastureLand label was organic, the new PastureLand is not. And the former PastureLand products were 100% grass-based dairy products, but the new PastureLand products will be at least 60% grass-based. 

 

In addition to working on a grass-based gouda cheese with the new PastureLand label, called “Peace of Pasture,” they’re developing a Greek-style yogurt with the help of Bert’s brother, Ron Paris, ofWisconsin’s Sugar River Dairy yogurt fame. As Bert puts it, he and his brother were sharing a beer one evening, and decided they’d like to try making a grass-fed based Greek-style yogurt. After experimenting for about three months, the PastureLand cooperative has just about finalized their new non-homogenized, Greek-style yogurt. PastureLand hopes its yogurt will be available starting next April during the grazing season in select natural food co-ops and grocery stores, along with the gouda cheese.

Cross-posted from: A New PastureLand - Twin Cities Taste - November 2012 - Minnesota

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

You can Help Shape the Future of Urban Ag in Minneapolis

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is developing a plan for urban ag in Minneapolis, and they want your input. If you're interested and/or engaged in urban ag in Minneapolis, consider attending one of these public meetings. You can also share your thoughts about urban ag in Minneapolis using an online form.
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From the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board website...

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) has begun a process to develop a plan to support urban agriculture. This plan will guide the MPRB in defining and prioritizing community needs, recommending service delivery goals, and guiding allocation of funds to support urban agriculture within the park system.
                              
Increasing numbers of Minneapolis residents are actively engaged in various urban agriculture activities, and interest in community gardens, farmers markets, community supported agriculture (CSA), and local food production has steadily increased in this decade.  The Board of Commissioners recognizes the many benefits of a sustainable, local food system and has supported community gardens since 2002 by resolution. 

Supporting urban agriculture aligns with the MPRB’s mission, values, and vision for the future.  The MRPB Comprehensive Plan states that park facility renewal and development is to respect history and focus on sustainability, accessibility, flexibility, and beauty.  Sustainability is a core value of the MPRB, and supporting urban agriculture is one component of improved sustainability.  The MPRB seeks to develop a plan that explores opportunities to partner with others, efficiently utilize MPRB resources, and align service delivery of services with the needs of Minneapolis residents and park users.

Share your thoughts at an upcoming public meeting:

            

November 13, 3-4:30 pm	Logan Rec Center	690 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis
November 15, 6-7:30 pm	Linden Hills Rec Center	3100 43rd St. W., Minneapolis
November 17, 10-11:30 am	MPRB Headquarters	2117 W. River Road, Minneapolis
December 3, 6-7:30 pm	Farview Rec Center	621 29th Ave. N, Minneapolis
December 4, 6-7:30 pm	Nokomis Rec Center	2401 E. Minnehaha Pkwy., Minneapolis

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

Wisconsin Rush Creek Reserve From Uplands Cheese Released

SLEEPYNEKO

Cheese lovers, the time is nigh. This week, Uplands Cheese
released their first batches of Rush Creek Reserve for the 2012 season.

You might know Upland’s for their award-winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve (it won “best in class” from the American Cheese Society for the past three years, and won the Best Cheese in America in 2010). Uplands makes Pleasant Ridge Reserve on their farm in Wisconsin from spring until fall using fresh, grass-fed milk. This aged, Beaufort-style cheese is pale gold with a firm texture (Beaufort is an Alpine cheese produced in the French Alps). Like a Beaufort, Pleasant Ridge Reserve is rich, smooth, and melts beautifully.

But now autumn is upon us, and as the cows’ diets rotate from fresh summer pasture to drier winter hay, Uplands makes their seasonal Rush Creek Reserve. Whereas Pleasant Ridge is an aged, hard cheese, Rush Creek is a soft, young cheese in the style of Vacherin Mont d'Or (a washed-rind soft cheese made in Switzerland and France). Made from September - November, the 12-ounce wheels of hand-made cheese are wrapped in boiled spruce bark and are aged just two months. Rush Creek is best served slightly warm with the top of the wheel sliced off to expose the luscious, slightly pungent cheese in the center of the wheel. Spoon the creamy cheese onto a bit of baguette, take a bite, and smile. Rush Creek is just hitting the markets, so watch for it to start popping up at local cheese markets—Surdyks has it now.

If you have the time, consider checking out this episode of Wisconsin Foodie, which features Uplands Cheesemaker Andy Hatch as he makes Rush Creek Reserve. Hatch shows you how he makes it, and demonstrates his recommended serving technique.

Cross-posted from TC Taste: Wisconsin Rush Creek Reserve From Uplands Cheese Released - Twin Cities Taste - October 2012 - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota

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