Blog

In Defense of the Minneapolis Farmers Market

Posted in News & Views on Tue, 07/14/2009 - 7:26am by lee -

I received this letter from Susan Berkson, longtime environmental health advocate and co-host of "Fresh & Local" (on AM950, Saturdays, 8 am), in response to my question regarding her role at the Minneapolis Farmers Market, and whether the market is misunderstood within the local community. I liked the letter so much I decided to publish it, with Susan’s permission, of course.

My role is busybody. Not really. Bless the market, they asked me to host their new radio show and I said, Yes, and. Yes, I will host and I want to do social media and help with x, y, and z. So here I am.

More at the Mill City Farmers Market

Posted in Out & About on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 4:06pm by lee -

Mill City Farmers Market is always overflowing with fresh food, families, and foodies. On a recent visit there, director Marjorie Hegstrom talked to Live Green Twin Cities about the market's mission, its growth, and its waiting list that’s a mile long. I met Marjorie at the Market at 6:30 am, ensuring there was plenty of time to watch local farmers and food producers (who had arrived as early as 5:30 am) set up their stands beside the mighty Mississippi River before the market opened at 8:00.

My CSA Day at Riverbend Farm

Posted in Farms & Gardens on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 7:14am by lee -

I recently had a chance to help the great team at Riverbend Farm in Delano, MN pick and pack their weekly CSA/farmshare harvest (they produce 80 shares each week). Riverbend is a terrific, well-respected farm, which provides foods to many local Twin Cities restaurants, including the Birchwood Cafe, Common Roots, Corner Table, and many others. Here are the photos I took, along with a few notes from the day.

This Week's Farmshare Box

Posted in Farms & Gardens on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 7:09am by lee -

Here's what my family is getting from our CSA this week. The picture and the text below come directly from Harmony Valley Farm's weekly email.

August SGT Dinner Scheduled!

Posted in Out & About on Thu, 07/09/2009 - 11:38am by lee -

I'm very glad to let you know that we've locked in a date, time, and location for our August Simple, Good, and Tasty local food meal. Here are the details:

When: August 19, 8:00 pmWhere: The Strip Club, 378 Maria Ave, St. Paul, MN 55106Cost: $35 for 3 course meal, not including tax, tip, or boozeContact: 651-793-6247 (restaurant), lee@simplegoodandtasty.com (me)

The Strip Club is a cleverly named steakhouse, widely loved since it opened last year in St. Paul. It's in a beautiful space, and I've talked with Executive Chef JD Fratzke several times - he's not only a great chef, but also a superstar of a guy.

Nature’s Harmony Farm Keeps it Real

Posted in News & Views, Out & About on Thu, 07/09/2009 - 7:51am by lee -

I read an excellent article in a recent New York Times Magazine about Tim and Liz Young of Nature's Harmony Farm in Elberton, GA. The whole thing is a good, quick read, describing the story of how Tim (a marketing service entrepreneur) and Liz (a special ed teacher) discovered beauty, balance, and justice on their 76 acre farm. Rather than raise animals to compete with those sold at Walmart, the Youngs are committed to the preservation of rare breeds, such as Ossabaw and Berkshire hogs and Murray Grey cattle. Here's an excerpt from the article:

SGT Feels the Hot Dish Love

Posted in Books & Media on Wed, 07/08/2009 - 10:55pm by lee -

What a great feeling to get some good press, especially from Rachel Hutton at the City Pages, whose Hot Dish blog I visit on a regular basis. Here's what she wrote:

The local food website Simple, Good, and Tasty relaunched this weekend to include a couple of very useful features: a local foods-related events calendar (Troutfest at Mill City Farmers Market this Saturday, etc.) and a directory of local food producers and retailers (farms, co-ops, restaurants).

The blog says loads of other nice things too, which you can read here. Thanks Rachel!

Healing With Local Foods: Tracy Singleton of the Birchwood Cafe

Posted in Out & About on Wed, 07/08/2009 - 7:46am by lee -

This is an excerpt of an article I wrote for Live Green Twin Cities. To read the entire article, click here.