Local Food Mn

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

You might think, on the heels of the recent Minneapolis debut of the documentaries "Fresh" by ana Sofia joanes, and "Food Inc," (expertly reviewed by Kristen at Food Renegade this week), that we've had our fill of food at the cinema this summer. Even James Bond only releases one movie each year, right? Wrong! Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the most intelligent movie-going summer in recorded history.

This is an excerpt from the full article “Local D’lish aims to be the cream of the crop” published by Live Green Twin Cities on June 30, 2009.

Local D’lish is a grocery and gourmet-food store near downtown Minneapolis that focuses almost exclusively on local foods. The care and planning that has gone into making the place both beautiful and inviting is immediately evident: Tomato plants greet visitors, and the warm, sunny walls make the little shop feel like a celebratory outdoor market; and the selection of foods and food products is vast and unique, made up almost exclusively of good, local, real foods made in Minnesota and surrounding states (Obsession Chocolates, made with fresh local ingredients in Wisconsin, are a particularly tempting find).

I got to meet Carter from Simple Provisions a few weeks back, when he delivered fresh, local milk, ice cream, hot dogs, and bread to my house. Carter is a nice man, gentle and unassuming, and I had to pry the following basic information from him:

I’ve mentioned it before, and I’ll say it again - I’m a big fan of Les Petites Images, a terrific food and photography blog by my new friend Kate Sommers. I was lucky to have Kate in attendance at our last Simple, Good, and Tasty dinner at Heartland for 2 reasons: first, because she’s lots of fun, a total pleasure to hang out with; second, because she takes - and shares - amazing photos like the ones you see here.

I had a fun and educational time at the Mill City Farmers Market on Saturday, chatting it up with Marjorie Hegstrom, the Director of the Market. Arriving at the Market at 6:30 am - just before the first of several rain showers - I was able to watch as farmers and food artisans (who had arrived as early as 5:30 am) set up their shops in anticipation of the crowd. I was lucky to be there with Mette Nielsen, expert photographer and local food enthusiast, who took the pictures you see here.

The Strip Club's JD Fratzke and me

I was totally surprised by how much fun I had at Toast and Taste at the U of M Landscape Arboretum last night. My friend Jon and I were glad to have changed into clean clothes before we arrived - the place was absolutely beautiful, and everyone looked great. We were greeted by a tuba duet and the gracious Arboretum staff who sent us on our merry way, armed with a map and a couple of wine glasses.

Chef Lenny Russo

What a fun time we had at Heartland last night! The St. Paul, MN restaurant, packed with (nearly 50) local food lovers and friends, was a beautiful setting for a memorable meal.

Just a quick reminder for those of you who responded early enough to get one of this month’s coveted spots at the Simple, Good, and Tasty dinner at Heartland - tonight’s the night! Here are the details:

Before last week, I didn’t know what garlic scapes were. I’d never seen them, smelled them, or touched them, and I most certainly did not know where they came from. But our Harmony Valley farm share delivered local, organic scapes to Minneapolis last week - and oh, how far my family has come in one short week.

According to Mother Earth News: