Truly Organic

For a few years now our family has been a member of a CSA. What is interesting about this CSA is that the farmer and owner Norm doesn't use any chemicals, pesticides, or chemical sprays. Sometimes being truly organic can pay it's toll. When a blight or the Colorado Potato Beetle strike it can destroy that crop for the entire year. Norm is committed to not using any kind of pesticide or chemical when he is dealing with a species of unwanted bugs. Here is an article that explains what Norm is dealing with and how he is taking action against the army of unwanted pests.

"Colorado Potato Beetle 

The Colorado Potato Beetle is a yearly resident here on the farm. It very much likes both eggplant and potatoes. We find them in all stages from eggs underneath the leaves, to tiny black dots, to big fat slimies ready to pop. The adults are the size of a pinto bean with a hard black and yellow shell.

Our method of control has always been to walk the rows and pinch them. This can take a couple hours for five of us 2x per week for a month or so to keep them in check.   This year I have about a full acre in potatoes and the beetles are out in force. The recommended organically approved insecticide is Entrust at $459 a qt. This would be enough for several applications on my field and would provide quick knockdown from both contact and ingestion. I try to stay away from even organic chemicals if I possibly can.

My latest strategy is to lower my tractor loader and angle it so that as I drive quickly over a row, the potato plants are whipped by the loader and some of the beetles are thrown into the bucket. After a few rounds I proceed to put my foot into the tractor bucket/loader and squish a hundred or so. In ½ an hour I am through the field and I dump a gallon or two of bugs in front of my chickens to enjoy.   I need to do this every couple of days, but it seems to be faster, cheaper, and cleaner than the alternatives."

Good Eats on Road Trip

One great way to enjoy a vacation is to have some quality meals with your family. Home-cooked or at a restaurant, fabulous meals make any trip more enjoyable. Last week, my family took a trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior. The North Shore is not covered with exceptional restaurants. There are two places that I would like to highlight, however.

One of our favorite places to stop is the New Scenic Cafe on Route 61. One of my favorite items on their menu is the Pork Banh Mi. Every great sandwich starts with great bread, and this one is no exception. Their Banh Mi is on a soft and airy baguette. The bread surrounded beautifully seasoned roasted pork, a great pork pate, fresh cilantro, siracha mayo, and wonderfully pickled daikon. It was heavenly. And of course, every great sandwich requires a great drink to wash it down. With my Banh Mi, I had a wonderful creamy root beer, made by Henry Weinhard's Gourmet Sodas.

Another great stop on the North Shore is the Angry Trout Cafe in Grand Marais, Minnesota. The Angry Trout uses fresh fish caught from Lake Superior every morning by local fisherman. One of my favorite dishes at the Angry Trout was the Fish & Chips. The perfectly fried fish--usually whitefish, herring, or lake trout at this time of year--is accompanied by fresh coleslaw and french fries. And when we were there, the daily soup was smoked whitefish and trout chowder. A cup of this soup with their Fish & Chips was a very special meal.

We had a number of meals that were more average than these, but I recommend both restaurants if you ever find yourself on the North Shore of Lake Superior.


New Scenic Cafe: http://www.sceniccafe.com/welcome/
Angry Trout Cafe: http://www.angrytroutcafe.com

Farmers Market Treasure

A favorite tradition for my family this summer is going to the Mill City Farmers Market every Saturday morning. We always go to one very special stand, Very Prairie. Susan Dietrich has a plethora of food options. From Marshmallows to Wild Sorrel Bandanas. We have found that the Wild Sorrel Bandanas tossed with Olive Oil and sprinkled with a Goat Cheese Chèvre is a fabulous side to any grilled steak. 
Susan Dietrich also makes these amazing Strawberry-Rhubarb Pies. I was lucky enough to try one of her pies. When I added a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream to the slice of pie I was overloaded with heavenly flavors.
If you are ever at the market make sure to make a stop at Very Prairie and try some of Susan's delicacies. 

The Wild Sorrel Bandanas

4th of July Eats

This years 4th of July Holiday weekend brought many good meals. We started the great celebration with a fabulous dinner on Friday evening. We had Honey-Ginger Chicken with Lime and a side of Ramen. The oven-roasted chicken made all of the flavors in the chicken stand out. The Ramen was just an exceptional addition. The Bok Choy from our CSA farm added a really nice crunch. Every part of this meal was amazing. It was a perfect energy booster before a great firework show over the Mississippi River.
We ended the holiday weekend with another meal that just hit the spot. Pan-Fried Cod with Grilled Bacon wrapped tomatoes and mushrooms and a fresh corn salad. The kabobs were inspired by a local restaurant called the Bachelor Farmer. 



The reipes for both will be below. Both recipe's where found in this months Food and Wine magazine.

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                                                          Honey-Ginger Chicken with Lime

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/3 cup minced fresh ginger
• 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 3 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 4 chicken legs, cut into drumsticks and thighs
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Lime wedges, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a bowl, whisk the vinegar, honey, ginger, jalapeño, garam masala, coriander, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper and 3 teaspoons of the lime zest. Prick the chicken with a fork, add it to the bowl and toss. In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the remaining lime zest.
2. In a large ovenproof skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the oil over moderately high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning, until golden, 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the lime sugar and roast for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.
3. Add the lime juice and the remaining butter to the skillet. Serve the chicken with the pan juices and lime wedges.

                       Bacon-Wrapped Mushrooms and Tomato Skewers with Dill Pickle Relish                                                        

1. 3/4 cup minced dill pickles (from 2 large pickles)
2. 3/4 cup minced parsley
3. 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
4. Kosher salt
5. 3/4 pound oyster mushrooms, sliced and arranged in 2-inch clusters
6. 20 large cherry tomatoes
7. 20 thin strips of bacon (1 pound), halved crosswise

1. In a bowl, toss the pickles, parsley and the 3/4 cup of olive oil. Season the relish with salt.
2. Light a grill. Wrap each mushroom cluster and cherry tomato in a bacon slice. Thread the bacon-wrapped vegetables onto skewers. Brush with olive oil and season lightly with salt.
3. Grill the skewers over moderate heat, turning, until the bacon is cooked and the vegetables are tender, 8 minutes; brush with a little pickle relish during the last minute of grilling. Transfer to a platter and serve with lemon wedges and the remaining pickle relish.

MAKE AHEAD The skewers can be refrigerated for 2 hours before grilling.

Father's Day 2014

     Father's Day 2014 was a day to remember. The day started with a splendid breakfast, then a walk along the Mississippi River which is at record level height. We ended the day with a beautiful dinner to celebrate The Greatest Dad!!! In honor of my father we prepared Quinoa Croquettes with a Roasted Tomato Coulis, and Pan Fried Alaskan Cod served over a bed of Sautéed Spring Greens.

     This meal met all expectations. The Quinoa Croquettes made a great side dish. They were prepared with a mix of  zucchini, carrots, and shallots. The Coulis added an extra special flavor.
    The Pan Fried Alaskan Cod from Wild Run Salmon (http://www.wildrunsalmon.com/index.html) was divine. The bed of sautéed greens accompanied the fish and croquettes perfectly.

    The Alaskan Cod was seasoned  with salt, pepper, butter, and rosemary. A very simple way to cook Cod or any kind of fish. Cooking the Cod this way really brought out the flavor of the fish. 

    I would like to give a shout out to the Wild Run Salmon fishing company, they provided great Fresh Alaskan Cod for this special dinner. So happy we met the Captain of The Blue Ox down at the Mill City Farmer's Market.

The Quinoa Croquet Mixture

The Fish in stage 1  

The fish bathing in Rosemary, Thyme, and Butter

                                                                                             

    

 A perfect plate 

Mother's Day 2014

This year for Mother's Day my dad, brother, and I made my mom a very delicious meal to celebrate her. A sausage and onion frittata accompanied by fresh fruit, croissants, and sautéed broccolini. This was a very special meal for a very special person.

I want to wish all of the moms a very special Mother's Day!!!

Back to Blogging

     Spring is here which indicates that school will be ending soon and the time to cook, garden, and blog will greatly expand. This school year has been very busy. I apologize to all of my followers that have been wondering why I haven't been posting at all. I really want to start blogging again. It is so fun.
     This spring I hope to post a lot about gardening and how to grow healthy plants that you can enjoy. Gardening is a skill that you cannot learn over night. I want to give you my knowledge on how to start seedlings or how to properly take a sprouted plant and put it in the ground.
       I also want to post more food recipes that are perfect for spring picnics or family meals. I want the majority of these recipes to be ones that you can use garden vegetables in so you don't have to run to the food store and buy an over priced container of herbs when you can harvest your own herbs. I think that not enough people have small vegetable gardens. People don't realize how much healthier and cleaner it is to grow most of the food you eat. It can be very challenging to grow vegetables in Minnesota. We don't have a very long growing season. I hope to give you strategies and ideas that will help you improve your vegetable garden or to motivate you to start growing one.

Korean Ribs and Daikon

        Here in Minnesota we have had a week of temperatures that were well below 0 . In some parts of Minnesota it is has been -61 including the windchill. On one day the temperature in Minneapolis was colder than in Antarctica. My brother and I had both Monday and Tuesday off from school. Monday school was cancelled statewide. This was our 17th day of Winter Break.
       On the coldest day of the year my mom and I went straight to the cookbooks to find a hearty dish to make. I recently got a cookbook that had some incredible recipes. That cookbook was the I Love My Slow Cooker by Beverly LeBlanc. With the temperatures WELL below zero this cookbook had to have something inside that would warm our bones. We found the perfect dish -  the Korean Ribs and Daikon served over Coconut Rice and sprinkled with Pickled Bean Sprouts.
      This meal was so easy to make and prepare. All my mom and I had to do was put the ingredients in the pot and push the high cook button and set the timer to 5 hours. After only 2 hours the house was starting to fill with heavenly aroma's.
I think this is the beginning of many dinners made using the slow cooker.