Joel Salatin Coming to Fergus Falls

Renowned sustainable farmer Joel Salatin will speak during afternoon and evening events at Minnesota State Community and Technical College - Fergus Falls on Thursday, March 3. The events, which are open to the public, are sponsored by the college’s Sustainable Food Production program and Communicating for Agriculture.

Salatin is the proprietor of Polyface Farm, a family-run beyond organic, local-market farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. His
farming practices are featured in “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” “Food Inc.” and “Fresh” and have earned him world-wide recognition as a leader in the local foods movement.

Salatin now shares his farming philosophy and methods through outreach events, presentations and publications. He is the author several celebrated books on food production, including “You Can Farm,” “Salad Bar Beef,” “Pastured Poultry Profits” and “Holy Cows and Hog Heaven.”

The March 3 program on the Fergus Falls campus includes:

1:30-3 p.m.: Salatin will explain the grass-based polyculture system he stewards at Polyface farm to produce high quality beef, pork, poultry, rabbit, eggs and lumber.

3 - 4:30 p.m.: A panel of farmers will discuss sustainable,nutrient-dense vegetable production.

6:30 p.m.: Salatin’s keynote address will the necessary components of a durable, local food system.

The presentations are open to the public for a $15 suggested donation. Proceeds will be used to fund scholarships for students in M State’s
Sustainable Food Production diploma program.

For more information on the March 3 events, contact Marci King at
218-736-1625 or marci.king@minnesota.edu.

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

Valentine’s Chocolates Done Right

Valentine’s Chocolates Done Right - Dara & Co. - February 2011 - Minnesota

I’m not a chocolate connoisseur, but I do like to nibble on a bit of chocolate, especially when it’s from my sweetheart on St. Valentine’s Day. Of course, I’d enjoy a bar from Rogue Chocolate, but I go bonkers for the intensely flavored and mind-blowingly rich truffles from Legacy Chocolates, made nearby in Menomonie, WI.

The owners of Legacy Chocolates, Mike and Cathy Roberts, are passionate about ingredients. You’ll find high quality local ingredients in their chocolate products, including cultured butter from Hope Creamery and fresh cream from Pride of Main Street Dairy in Sauk Centre. And the cocoa? Legacy uses chocolate made from the Criollo cacao bean produced by small-scale, sustainable farmers in South America.

Their truffles come in boxes of 6, 12, 24, or 48, and you can specify one cocoa intensity (41%, 68%, 85% or 99%), or create an assortment with a few of each. You can go for flavors if you want, such as raspberry or mint, which vary by season. My favorite is the smooth and singular cocoa flavor of their 99% double-chocolate truffle.

You might recognize the name Legacy Chocolates. They used to have a shop in Merriam Park, but that location closed. Their current shop is located in Menomonie, along Chippewa River in western Wisconsin, where they run a small farm complete with Scottish highland beef cattle. If you stop in their shop in Menomonie, you might even be able to order a sandwich made with beef from their farm.

Since there are no preservatives in Legacy Truffles, consume immediately, or refrigerate. And please, if you do refrigerate, allow them to come to room temperature before you dig in—like cheese, they’re better that way.

Legacy Chocolates
632 Broadway St. S.
Menomonie, WI 54751-2456
715-231-2580

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

Twin Cities Sustainability Film Series 2011

Sustainability Film Series 2011 is a collaborative series of films and panel discussions designed to generate awareness, conversation and debate around current issues in sustainability. The Series features local premieres of visionary documentary films that explore sustainability, followed by panel discussions comprised of leading academics, community leaders, and proactive citizens who present and exchange ideas and views on current and local trends in sustainability.

Sustainability Film Series 2011 is a collaborative, multi-venue project that represents a partnership between The Film Society of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the Bell Museum, the Institute on the Environment (IonE), with support from the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) and Take-Up Productions.

The first film, Milking the Rhino, is Thursday, February 17 at 7pm at the Bell Museum.  

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

Strip Club Steak—Still Sizzling?

Crossposted: Strip Club Steak—Still Sizzling? - Dara & Co. - January 2011 - Minnesota

There’s a lot of talk around town about The Inn, the newest project from Tim Niver, Strip Club Meat and Fish’s principal, and the former Town Talk Diner’s partner. The Inn is receiving respectable reviews for a reason—it’s serving up good food and drinks. Town Talk Diner, on the other hand, changed hands and eventually closed its doors in January, so I was curious about the Strip Club and whether it was continuing to charm its patrons in the small dining room on a hill in St Paul.

A recent visit on a Saturday night squelched my curiosity. We had guests in town who wanted to try some grass-fed steaks, and who loved the Town Talk Diner back in the day, so I suggested the Strip Club. The restaurant serves up grass-fed, family farmed steaks in a brick storefront building with glass windows that offer a sparkling view of downtown St Paul.

They open for dinner service at 5 p.m. on Saturdays. We arrived for our reservation shortly after 5, and the dining room was already 30% full. We were greeted warmly by Nivers and award-winning bartender Dan Oskey, and by the time we ordered our drinks, the bar was full. By 6 p.m., the dining room was full and lively.

As for our cocktails and food, we were pleased. The brandy old fashioned sweet was sweet, spicy, and a bit fruity. The bacon bourbon Manhattan was made with bacon-infused bourbon, offering a subtle smoky flavor to the cocktail. The duck confit was meltingly tender inside, the skin was crisp and well seasoned, and it was served with greens, red onion, and tangy vinaigrette—it’s one of my favorite small plates in the Twin Cities. And the steaks? Why they’re still the beefy, peppery, juicy, grass-fed steaks they’ve been serving all along. They were seared on the outside and medium rare on the inside, as ordered, and were delivered with a large portion of tender, sautéed carrots on the side. And for dessert, French silk pie was on the menu and ordered—creamy, buttery, silky chocolate topped with whipped cream, perched on a layer of flaky pie crust.

Questions were answered, palettes were pleased, appetites were sated, and out-of-town guests were happy. The end.

The Strip Club Meat & Fish
378 Maria Ave., St. Paul
651-793-6247

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

Cheese Tested, Blogger Approved!

Cheese Tested, Blogger Approved! - Dara & Co. - January 2011 - Minnesota

The golden hue of PastureLand’s Summer Gold™ butter is well known in the Twin Cities, as it offers an incomparable sweet flavor imparted from the wildflowers and grasses of the pasture. PastureLand produces its butter and cheese with milk from their 100% grass-fed cows raised in Millville, Mantorville, Goodhue, and New Prague, MN, and each of the farms are double certified for both organic and sustainable practices.

PastureLand’s Summer Gold butter is cultured using a fermentation process, just like the butter my dad used to eat when he was a kid. That fermentation process used produces the aroma compounds that I like in good butter. I use Pastureland Butter in my kitchen, because I appreciate the extra effort they devote to making their practices more sustainable—and I like the complex flavor, aroma, higher burn point, greater plasticity, and the brilliant golden color.

Yes, I like the butter, but what about PastureLand’s cheese? In the spirit of National Cheese Day (tomorrow!), I purchased a couple of chunks of Pastureland’s cheese at Surdyk’s earlier this week, and I was pleased that it was on par with their butter in terms of quality and flavor.

Farmdog Raw Milk Blue (Above)
PastureLand’s Farmdog Raw Milk Blue is aged for 75 days in the caves in Faribault, WI. It’s pungent, slightly yellow, creamy, and chock full of blue veining. I let the Farmdog warm to room temperature, and it became smooth and easy to spread on a piece of fresh baguette with a dollop of honey. Pair it with a glass of Riesling for an after-dinner treat.

Meadowlark Clothbound Cheddar (below)
PastureLand’s Meadowlark Cheddar is unpasteurized and also aged in the caves at Faribault. The fact that it’s clothbound means the cheese releases more moisture and develops a different concentration of flavor than other cheddars wrapped in wax or plastic. It’s slightly sweet, a bit tangy, and has an earthiness to it. It’s dense and fares well on a cheese board with crisp apple slices.

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

Yakity Yak. Let’s Talk Yak.

Yakity Yak. Let’s Talk Yak. - Dara & Co. - January 2011 - Minnesota

A couple of years ago, I was dining at the Himalayan in South Minneapolis, and I asked about some traditional yak momos that were on the appetizer menu. The server explained to me that the momo was a type of dumpling that originated in Tibet. Dumplings are my favorite savory food group, so I couldn’t pass them up, and I was glad I didn’t. They were great. Then, about three weeks ago, I stumbled upon yak momos again at Gorkha Palace in NE Minneapolis. Once again, delicious.

In both cases, I asked the servers where they sourced their yak meat, and both indicated that they got them from “the Yak man” in St. Cloud. Yaks? In St. Cloud? Yep.

Hooper’s Yak and Christmas tree farm in St Cloud, MN boasts about 60 head of yak, which turns out to be the largest herd in the Eastern half of North America. And it turns out, the animal is not only tasty, but also more efficient than cattle. You can raise three to four times as many yak per acre as you could beef cattle. Additionally, there are some serious health advantages to Yak. Hooper’s yaks are grazers, raised free from hormones and steroids, and with no antibiotics in their feed. Plus, yak is naturally low in fat and cholesterol. Check out the nutritional analysis* below:

4 Oz. Meat	Yak	Beef	Buffalo	Pork	Chicken
Calories	154	300.71	212.53	195.58	220.09
Cholesterol	49mg	89.31mg	65.57mg	89.31mg	93.84mg
Fats	6.1g	19.42g	7.14g	6.84g	8.69g
Protein	24.7g	29.3g	34.6g	31.4g	33.2g

Yak meat is red meat, but it’s more delicate than beef or buffalo, and slightly sweeter. It’s not gamey, but it’s lean, so cooking it requires a bit more care than beef.

Ready to give yak a taste? I’ve seen it on menus at The Himalayan, Gorkha Palace, and Everest On Grand. The Himalayan also recently opened a second location called Himalayan Restaurant II in Fridley.

* Yak nutrition analysis provided by Midwest Laboratories, Inc., a USDA-Accredited Lab.

Capsaicinoid Cookery (Hot Food!)

Capsaicinoid Cookery (Hot Food!) - Dara & Co. - December 2010 - Minnesota

Sure warm libations do the trick when winter is nipping at your nose, but sometimes booze isn’t enough. There's food to consider as well; it’s the food that comforts and sustains us when the cold comes creeping under the door.

Comfort food like stews, chowders, and pot roasts often work, but if I’m really interested in something that will practically burn my soul, then I’m looking for food laden with heat, specifically chili peppers. Chilis come in lots of forms—from jalapeño to scotch bonnets—and each contain the magical capsaicinoids responsible for sending a message to your brain along the lines of “this food is HOT!”

There's no shortage of spots to find truly hot and spicy food in the Twin Cities, but today, I’ll pick some of my favorite capsaicinoid cookery to highlight, and I hope you’ll do the same. All of these restaurants are committed to sustainable practices, freshness, good service, and big-time flavor, which is why their spicy dish ranks highly with me:

• Chicken Paalak at Gorhka Palace: Comfort in a bowl—tender, boneless chunks of chicken and chopped spinach cooked with garlic and ginger in tomato-based sauce. Order the dish hot with a cup of their Masala chai tea to warm your fingers.

• Phở at Ngon Vietnamese Bistro (pictured): A big bowl of traditional Vietnamese noodle soup made with oxtail and beef bone broth, served with basil, lime, bean sprouts, and sliced jalapeño peppers on the side.

• Garlic Ginger Chicken at ChinDian: These tender nuggets of breaded chicken with onions and a tomato-garlic-ginger sauce are better than any boneless “wings” I’ve tried. Order the dish hot with extra ginger and a cup of their ginger tea to warm your fingers. If you want to balance it out with some veggies, try the green beans.

• Som Tum at Sen Yai Sen Lek: A cold, tart green papaya salad with beans, garlic, Thai chilies, tomatoes, and tiny dried shrimp served with a lime dressing. Want extra spice? Just ask.

What are some of your favorite spicy dishes in the Twin Cities, and what makes them so darn good?