hope creamery

On Valentine's Day, my husband and I were guests of Chowgirls, best known for catering, at their inaugural fine-dining event, the Locavore Love Affair, held in the Rosalux Gallery next door to Chowgirls' kitchen and office in NE Minneapolis. I've enjoyed meals catered by Chowgirls before, so I was especially glad for the opportunity to check out their new venture and talk to founders Heidi Andermack and Amy Lynn Brown.

Onward and upward!  Are you ready for another dose of book club?  We sure are! 

As the Simple, Good, and Tasty club continues, we're looking forward to tonight's discussion about Real Food: What to Eat and Why. Where do you stand on full-fat or raw milk? Organic over local? Check out our proposed discussion questions, grab the book (or not -- you know, getting all the way through the reading isn't as important as checking in and participating), and swing on over.

Before I begin, I feel obligated to disclose that I’m writing this under the hypnotic effects of a deliriously delicious bratwurst dinner. Having said that, I’m here to proclaim that I am, once again, officially in love with The Black Forest Inn. I say “again” because I used to love The Black Forest Inn back in my twenties, when I had a gaggle of single friends and the thrust of a weekend day revolved around deciding where to go for a bleary-eyed brunch or an afternoon beer, or two or three. I have fond memories of wiling away the afternoon in the gorgeous beer garden at The Black Forest, drinking weiss beers and sharing crispy potato pancakes with my buddies, by turns immersed in the earnest debates, uproarious laughter or funky silences of post college life. And then I grew up. I moved away, got married, had some babies and moved back.

For a fortunate few, eating gluten-free is simply a choice. For others it's a difficult lifestyle change once they've been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, which can ranging from a mild sensitivity to full-blown celiac disease.

I can't remember an event I've been as excited about as the one I'm co-hosting with Lucia Watson this Sunday, 10/11. The Twin Cities' first official "Know Your Farmer" event, fittingly held at Lucia's, is a chance to meet - and eat with - some of the best, most interesting farmers in our state. Even better, Lucia has designed a menu entrely from the foods these farmers have produced.