March 2010

Common Roots Cafe in Minneapolis has made a big impression in a short time. A business committed to knowing its farmers and connecting with the larger community, Common Roots had a big 2009, starting a community garden, creating 8 new full-time living wage jobs, and making 88% of its purchases from local, organic, or fair-trade sources.

The sheep were looking quite sheepish.

Last Saturday was Shearing Day Gale Woods Farm and though the animals in question were none too pleased, the children watching intently were delighted as the shearer wielded his clippers with gentle efficiency while piles of wool gathered at his feet. Later, the young visitors moved from the barn to the activity room, where staff and volunteers demonstrated how wool that just a short time before adorned the sheep was spun into yarn and woven into fabric. As parents and kids practiced "carding" (brushing the wool fibers) and made felted crafts to take home, others enjoyed a delicious sampling of farm-grown lamb, served on warm pita and topped with tomatoes and a refreshing yogurt sauce.

Bacon and eggs are my kind of salad. This simple, hearty, bistro toss up is perfect for Easter lunch or brunch. It makes a lively light spring dinner, too (but you’ll need lots of good crusty bread and perhaps some Shepherd’s Way Frisago as well). The sunny presentation is stunningly simple as frying bacon and poaching eggs. The fun is in poking the yolk and making a joyful mess of it all.

Though frisee is the classic green, I prefer peppery watercress (and with luck we may have some clinging to the edges of those burbling streams very soon). Toss in field greens or baby spinach if you like, a little sorrel and arugula as well. Some recipes call for lardoons, the fancy name for thick cut bacon bits (I prefer the thinner rashers, cooked crisp.) That said, the bacon makes this meal. Find the best from any of these local sources, and pick up some heritage pork, too.

There is a steady wet drizzle and a thick coat of fog covering the road as I drive southwest from Minneapolis to Cedar Summit Creamery just outside of New Prague. It is, in other words, the perfect, sloppy, late-winter day to visit a farm.