twin cities food

Would you laugh if I told you the key to human potential is a bowl of vegetable soup? Or a plate of meat loaf? A chocolate chip cookie? If the food is part of a delivery from Open Arms of Minnesota, then it is indeed key to someone’s independent and meaningful life.

Since 1986, Open Arms of Minnesota has run a meal delivery program for Twin Cities residents living with, and affected by, chronic progressive illnesses. (Full disclosure: I’ve volunteered in their kitchen for close to twelve years.) Its largest and original client population is people living with HIV and AIDS. Open Arms also serves people with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), MS, breast cancer, and similar illnesses. The meals can be the difference between staying healthy and spiraling into disability. For many, this means living at home instead of going to a hospital or nursing home.

"Sometimes all people should get is a big bunch of blueberries," Everett Myers tells me. "Sometimes the blueberries are so good that everyone should just get those. Twelve pints at a time." I laugh a little bit, letting on that I might not be all that thrilled with such a shipment. "With recipes and information about how to use them, how to store them, things like that," Everett continues. His point is that when blueberries are at their peak, when they exhibit their most complete blueberry-ness, they should be consumed like crazy. Get your fill of blueberries when they're good! What are you waiting for?

The next Simple, Good, and Tasty local food dinner, on July 29 at the Red Stag Supper Club (that's head chef Brian Hauke in the above picture, left) in northeast Minneapolis, is completely full. For the lucky 50 people who signed up first, here are the details:

The Mill City Farmers Market is one of my favorites in the Twin Cities. Smaller and more manageable than the Minneapolis and St. Paul farmers markets, the Mill City Farmers Market features a terrific variety of artisans, farmers, demonstrations, and amazing local, sustainable foods.

Spring in the Twin Cities, and the events keep on coming. This one looks especially simple, good and tasty. Eat Yourself Healthy is a workshop that comes just in time to enjoy spring's first fresh, local (Minnesota) produce. Its focus will be on not just purchasing, preparing, and eating local foods, but also on what these foods can do for our health, our environment, and our community. The events featured speakers are:

This is a big local, sustainable, and organic food weekend in the Twin Cities, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to a few of the events I'm most likely to try and make it to this Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26: