common roots

Minnesota's Living Green Expo, taking place this weekend, May 7 and 8, celebrates ways to live and eat while supporting the sustainability and health of our planet. According to the email I received from the Living Green Expo:

The Living Green Expo is quickly becoming the place for Minnesotans to learn more about healthy and local foods. By eating locally grown products, we often get fresher, better tasting food, and we help stimulate economic development in our state. A sampling of Living Green Expo Local Food offerings include (more information follows):

Award winner Tracy Singleton from the Birchwood Cafe and Danny Schwartzman from Common RootsLast night's Common Roots event combined many of my favorite things: delicious local, seasonal fare; presentations from some of the Twin Cities most forward thinking food experts; and the chance to connect with old and new friends in our community who share a commitment to good food that comes directly from the farmer.

Savory waffle from the top kid-friendly restaurant in the Twin Cities

Spring is such an exciting time! Although it's too early to start planting right now (apparently, winter might not be over yet), it's not too early to start thinking about the work that needs to get done to make this summer our most productive and fun ever. For me, that means warming the soil for our backyard farm, experimenting with different homemade mustard recipes, joining a CSA, and looking for ways to help my kids understand where our food comes from.

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.

"Take these," Greg Reynolds says, handing me a handful of rubber bands and a clipper. 

"Ah, uh, mmm…," I stammer.

"They’re for the arugula," he offers. Pull 'em out and clip 'em just below the crown. Then rubber band 'em two times around." Maybe Greg doesn’t realize who he’s talking to, or maybe, more likely, he's having fun at my expense.

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.

With apologies to Pete Townsend, I was very happy to check in on the onions we planted in May with the Birchwood Cafe and Common Roots at Riverbend Farm recently. Greg Reynolds told me that the hoe had just come through, and things were looking good. I agree.

It was just over 6 weeks ago when I joined my first CSA, bought Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and started hunting down restaurants serving local, sustainable foods.

I've been excited to write about Minneapolis' Common Roots Cafe for a while. I love so many things about the place, including their swanky logo, the building facade, the fact that they compost, the vegetarian options, the delectable pastries (from mostly - if not entirely - local, sustainable ingredients), and the fact that they are so involved in the neighborhood. Last week they provided free bagels, muffins, and scones to nearly 50 families at my boy's elementary school. All of the food was locally grown and made.