August 2012

At a gathering that celebrates deep fried SPAM curds and advertises 40 “new foods” in 2012, the Minnesota State Fair is culinary overload at its most base level. Ever since I was a boy it’s the fair food that draws me back just as much as climbing on the tractors, visiting the animal barns, or seeing the crop art in the Ag/Hort building. Going off to college I stayed in Minneapolis and attended the UofM, which was a short bike ride from the fairgrounds, and I came to the realization that now on my own I was free to eat as much food at the fair as I wanted without the supervision of a mindful parent. Awesome!

It’s during the hottest days of the summer when heating up the kitchen by firing up the stove seems like the last thing on my list. Firing up the bbq is a decent alternative, dinner salads made out of garden veggies, and cold sandwiches get us through the July/August season without having to turn the air conditioning on in our home. When I’m planning a dinner party during these months all too often I fall back to sucking down the clichéd ice-cold beer around the grill or the table. Maybe chilled white or rose wines? Sure, they’re great hot weather standbys, but I’m completely ignoring the garden when making those kind of drinks. Why not use the fresh herbs, fruits, and even vegetables when making cocktails? Last winter I received a cocktail recipe book that has prodded me along on this idea, and while initially following the recipes verbatim I’ve now moved on to making my own cocktail creations from what’s fresh in the yard.  

This is part 5 of a summer long series about our CSA boxes and what we do with them. Recipes for silky simmered cabbage, roasted baby potatoes, Mexican elote and Pasta with tomatoes and breadcrumbs follow.

I knew it was a bad week when the only thing getting me out of bed at 4:45 a.m. one morning was the promise of indulging in a fast food breakfast on the way to work. 

A fast food breakfast? I rarely eat fast food...let alone for breakfast.  

Well, we continue to bounce around the Twin Cities and hope that everyone out there is on board for more Latin eats! With no end in sight and continual support for our efforts from readers, we continue to pick off taquerias, restaurantes and pupuserias with a seemingly insatiable appetite. If you would have told me after our first article that we would potentially still be going when the Winter came back around, well...ok, I was hopeful, I might have believed you...and given you a hug because I love this stuff. As a matter of fact, I love it even more when I can share with others and this past week was all about sharing. My friend John told me about a place in Richfield that I had not been to yet: Andale Taqueria.