Susan Berkson

Susan Berkson, going Homegrown for the HolidaysWe go home for the holidays. Why not go homegrown?

I spent Thanksgiving in Tyler, Texas, where I feasted on Tyler's own Greenberg smoked turkey and Scenic Waters Wild Rice I brought from Minnesota.

Minneapolis Farmers Market Manager Larry Cermak is a serious man.  He's been managing the market for 25 years, he tells me, and "this is the most miserable October we've had." The weather has been damp and cold, making it challenging for the farmers to harvest their crops - corn and soy beans are still not ready - and the sun hasn't shown its smiley face in what seems like ages. Larry is realistic, but not necessarily optimistic. "We need people to come out this week and next weekend," he tells me, "we need a big Halloween weekend."

I recently spent a day at the MN State Fair with my friend and cohort Tracy Morgan, and we did our best to eat as much local food we can could cram into our eager bellies. Here are a few of our favorites.

I started with a big ole turkey drumstick, the kind I've watched people carry around for ages at all sorts of festivals and fairs (Tracy passed on this). I had to admit to Tracy that I'm not much of a food "toucher" - I'm kind of a knife and fork guy - but the drumstick was tender and delicious, with a bit of sweet sauce on top. I didn't do too much gnawing on the bone, partly because it's not my thing, and partly beause I was saving room for more food.

The biggest kohlrabi I've ever seenMy family and I had a great time at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market this past weekend, and not just because my son got to try grabbing green beans with his teeth during the "Aunty Oxident" show. We sampled all sorts of tasty foods from old favorites like Dehn's and Ames Farm, but also got to try a bunch of new things.

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.

Every Saturday at 8:00 am, the Central Minnesota Vegetable Growers Association presents Fresh & Local, a fun, local MN food show on AM950. Here's what it says on their webpage (located on the Minneapolis Farmers Market website):