Locally grown

I grew up in rural Minnesota, where my parents have a big back yard with an abundant vegetable garden, and where every summer brings a plethora of tomatoes, peppers, and onions. My mom is a canner, and she taught me there's really only one way to deal with all of these summer foods: canning. My mom spends plenty of time in the kitchen in August and September, peeling, chopping, and stewing the season's bounty. After all is said and done, several clean, hot jars of salsa sit on towels on the kitchen counter. My mom waits in the other room, listening for the sealing “pop,” counting to be sure each jar has properly sealed itself.

I'm extremely happy to let you know that we've got an ideal location for our June Simple, Good, and Tasty meal: St. Paul's Heartland Restaurant. Here's what the City Pages said about Heartland, naming it St. Paul's best restaurant for 2009:

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.

Corner Table is consistently rated one of the top restaurants in Minneapolis. Nestled in a mostly non-descript corner in South Minneapolis (save for Anodyne Coffee Shop, and Roadrunner Records), Corner Table (43rd and Nicollet, 612.823.0011) has served delicious food made from local and sustainable ingredients since 2004.

Although it's just over a year old, I finally had a chance to visit Northeast Minneapolis' Red Stag Supper Club. Sometime between the flatbread appetizer (local butter, farm raised pork, greens) and the special chocolate dessert (4 kinds of chocolate in the cake, house-made mint ice cream), Red Stag became my favorite restaurant in the city. Here's what came in between:

The French Meadow Cafe has long been one of Minneapolis' best stops for locally grown, organic food. Here's their "mission statement", from their website:

French Meadow Bakery & Café believes that meals prepared with the highest quality fresh, local & organic ingredients are the building blocks for a healthy & happy life.

An amazing bakery with a host of grocery store products to boot, the restaurant makes some of the best breakfasts in town. The pancakes (blueberry corn or strawberry almond) are a sure-fire hit, even with my kids, and my wife was especially liking the oatmeal last time we ate there, with apples, dried, fruit, and nuts.