February 2013

DIY Craft Cocktails: Infused (Flavored) Liquors

I maintain that there's a ridiculous secret lurking underneath the craft cocktail movement: as complicated as some of these cocktails can get, it's actually almost impossible to make a bad drink. As my instructor said on day one of bar-tending school: the most important ingredient is ice; you can never have enough. (This instructor was a guru and mentor to me years ago, a person who had devoted his adult life to making drinks. Actually, he's now more of a cautionary tale than anything, but I'll keep the practical knowledge he imparted.) My experience has proved that all you need to do is get some liquor cold, mix in complementary flavors, serve immediately, and a decent drink is inevitable.

 

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The Culinary School Chronicles: Wine Tasting Class

Now that it’s a few weeks into my second semester of culinary school (you can read the introduction to the series here), I’ve got a few wine classes under my belt. Class is truly an introduction to wine, and a non-pretentionous one, at that. There are no wine snobs in our class. Only students like myself, who enjoy drinking wine but admit to knowing nothing about it. When I introduced myself to the class, I included the fact that the first adult beverage I bought and consumed upon turning 21 was a bottle of Boone’s Farm, in the Blue Hawaiian flavor to be exact.

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Behind the CSA Box: Crop Planning

This is the third post in a new SGT series that looks at CSA — community supported agriculture — from the farmer's perspective. Also check out the the first post, Adventures in Farming, and the second post, Managing Expectations.

 

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The Latin Tongue: El Mercado Central

After more than a year of writing the Latin Tongue series, we are still finding surprises and learning lessons valuable and true. Let me start off by saying that when this whole Latin eating adventure comes to an end, I will look back upon it with much fondness and I hope to say that it has made me a better, more understanding person. A window to another world is open to anyone willing to sit down and have a meal with someone from another culture. There is possibly no better place to put yourself if you want a glimpse of the Latin world in the Twin Cities then El Mercado Central. Located on Bloomington and Lake, this small indoor market is packed with food, merchandise and plenty of good folks.

 

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Hunting for Dinner: Making Your Own Sausages

This is the fifth post in a series about hunting for food -- truly meeting your meat.

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Co-op on a Budget: Winter Eating for Locavores

This is the fifth post in our Co-op on a Budget series, which explores the different ways that we can shop co-op effectively and affordably. Also check out posts on shopping bulk, the Wedge Co-op vs. Cub Foods, Eastside Food Co-op vs.

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Behind the CSA Box: Managing Expectations

This is the second post in a new SGT series that looks at CSA — community supported agriculture — from the farmer's perspective. Also check out the first post, Adventures in Farming.

 

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SGT Book Club Recap: Wendell Berry's Bringing it to the Table

It was a cold night, but a hearty group came out to Linden Hills Co-op last week to discuss Wendell Berry's Bringing it to the Table for the latest meeting of the SGT Book Club. The book, an anthology of some of Berry's best-known and best-loved essays, was a winner, to say the least. The book is divided into three parts -- Farming, Farmers, and Food -- and the discussion ranged over all of these aspects, as we looked at Berry's writing and ideas specifically and also talked more generally about our own experiences with local food and farming and our own ideas and concerns for the future.

 

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The Culinary School Chronicles: An Introduction

It’s hard to believe that four months ago, I traded I-9’s and benefits enrollment packets for recipes and knives. Last fall, I left my full time job to be a full-time culinary student at Minnesota State Technical and Community College in the sleepy town of Moorhead, MN. The culinary program takes approximately four semesters to complete and I just began my second semester in January. I hope to graduate in Spring of 2014.

 

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Hunting for Dinner: Ice Fishing (and Salt Fish Brandade)

This is the fifth post in a series about hunting for food -- truly meeting your meat.

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