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Fair-Trade KitKats in the U.K.

Photo Credit: Wall Street JournalPhoto Credit: Wall Street JournalInteresting piece in the Wall Street Journal this week about the Nestle company using fair-trade chocolate in its U.K. KitKats starting in January 2010. Here's an excerpt from the article by Deborah Ball:

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This Week’s Box of Farmshare Goodies

csa1116/18 UPDATE: I just got an email from Terri Kromenaker at Harmony Valley. She points out that “the fruit share is NOT necessarily local – try as we might, there just aren’t a lot of Midwest organic growers, so much of the fruit comes from the west coast. We’ll get WI cranberries in the late fall, hopefully some WI/MN apples in the fall and maybe some blueberries from MI this summer,  but this week’s box is all Cali, I’m afraid.” Thanks for the clarification, Terri. I’m sorry for the error!

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Ode to a Radish

organicradishesOf all the foods I've experienced in my quest to eat local Minnesota foods this summer, none has surprised me more than the radish. Oh, I've eaten loads of overwintered parsnips, and was surprised by how sweet they were. I've enjoyed the salty twig taste of fried burdock. I've fallen in love with ramps over and over again - for all 3 weeks we could get them - and when they stopped coming back I felt a pang in my heart, as though jilted by a former lover. But radishes - I didn't even like radishes until a few weeks ago! And now? Well, now I do.

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Awesome Onion Planting Day at Riverbend Farm!

gregandmary2Organic certification is a substitute for knowing who's growing your food and how they're growing it.

- Greg Reynolds, May 24, 2009

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This Week's Farmshare Bounty

csa33A quick look at what's coming in my CSA box this week, along with ideas from Harmony Valley Farm on what to do with it all. This content comes directly from the Harmony Valley newsletter:

  • Asparagus - Make a quick and delicious cream of asparagus soup by boiling asparagus until bright green and tender, pureeing in a blender along with its cooking water, and stirring in shredded Swiss cheese, cooked bacon crumbles, salt and pepper. Cook just until heated through and serve immediately.
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Michael Pollan at the Edina Galleria Tonight 5/19

michael-pollanLocal, sustainable food man Michael Pollan will be at the Edina, MN Barnes and Noble (at the Galleria) tonight, Tuesday May 19 at 7:00. Here are the details, from the Barnes and Noble website (spare as they are):

Author Event: Michael Pollan - In Defense of food
Tuesday May 19, 2009 7:00 PM
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Birchwood Dinner as Good as it Sounds

birchwood dinnerThank you so much to those who came to last night's Simple, Good, and Tasty dinner at Minneapolis' Birchwood Cafe. For the second month in a row, more than 30 friends and foodies filled one of the Twin Cities finest local, sustainable, organic restaurants. The Birchwood was beautifully decked out, the food was terrific, the beer and wine pairings were exceptional, and the sense of community in the room was palpable.

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Sustainable Birchwood Dinner Tonight

birchwood_logo_withtagIf you were one of the first 36 people to sign up for the local, sustainable meal in Minneapolis, I'm very excited to see you tonight at 7:00 at the Birchwood Cafe. If you weren't, hope to see you at next month's event! I did finally get a copy of the menu, which looks fantastic. I'm not going to spill the beans, but I will give you one word: nettles. See you later.

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Just BARE Chicken, Part 3: The Wrap-up

justbarechickenThis is my third post about Gold'n Plump's Just BARE Chicken, and boy am I hungry! Just in time to try some, I might add.

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IATP Event Tonight: A New Urban Strategy for Health and Wealth

Quick post, with thanks to Tracy from the Birchwood. growingpower The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) is hosting an event about local food and farming in Minneapolis tonight. Here's the information from their website: Be part of an important conversation about urban agriculture, food policy, city planning and food access. Learn from national experts about how urban food systems can improve health, strengthen communities and grow local economies. Speakers:

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In a Bad Economy, People Eat Less Crappy Food

[caption id="attachment_1212" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Doesn't this soup look tasty?"]Doesn't this soup look tasty?[/caption] With the help of Zachary Cohen's Farm to Table blog, I recently found an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about how big food companies are going after the current sales slump.

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Hey New York Foodies! Brooklyn Restaurant Week is Extended!

While we all love our local and sustainable upscale dining establishments in New York City, it's sometimes hard to afford eating at them as often as we'd like.

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Local and Organic Beer: the Time Has Come

crudor2Local beer is easy to find these days, especially if you have a tendency to drink microbrews, as I do, and live in a decent sized city (like Minneapolis or St. Paul, as the case may be).

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Awesome Local Dinner at the Craftsman

Craftsman Chef Mike Phillips"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." -Unknown, possibly Frank Zappa or Elvis Costello

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Simple, Good, and Tasty Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

jewtradBy popular demand (2 requests qualify, IMHO), here's my matzo ball soup recipe. It comes from In the Jewish Tradition: A Year of Festivities and Foods, a terrific cookbook by Judith B. Fellner that I got from my friend Anne a few years ago.

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Whole Foods Up Close: Breaking Into the Chain (Part 3 of 3)

whole-foods-3 My recent tour of Whole Foods has got me thinking about how true the company has stayed to its core values despite its size. Sure, there are problems.

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Michael Pollan is a Rolling Stone Agent of Change

rs-agents-of-change Rolling Stone magazine, which I'm proud (enough) to let everyone know I've subscribed to for the last 20 years, has published a list of 100 "Agents of Change" in its latest issue.

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Lucia's: a Twin Cities Treasure

lucias1It would be hard to overstate what Lucia's - and it's owner/founder Lucia Watson - have meant to the Twin Cities food and dining landscape for the past 20-plus years. Since it's inception, Lucia's has been not only one of the city's finest restaurants, but also one of it's most active members of the local, sustainable food community.

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Photos from the Birchwood Cafe

birchwood-watermark1The Birchwood Cafe, located at 3311 East 25th Street in Minneapolis (612.722.4474), serves terrific food that is local, sustainable, organic, and fair-trade. It's got a terrific neighborhood feel, a solid wine list, an amazing breakfast, and the best vegetarian Juicy Lucy well, ever. The many people who sing the Birchwood's praises include an amazing number of regulars, including my friend, Photographer Chris Bohnhoff.

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Dorset Cereals: "Honest, Tasty, and Real"

dorset-cerealHonest, tasty, and real. That's the claim Dorset Cereals makes on their website, and it's hard to refute. Dorset cereals, including the Berries and Cherries muesli I picked up at the Wedge a few weeks back, are made from whole, natural, terrific ingredients. Lots of dried fruits, all sorts of meusli and flakes.

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"The Good Life" (aka "Good Neighbors")

I've recently been turned on to the show The Good Life, a British television series that aired from 1975 - 1978 (available in the US as Good Neighbors). The show features Tom and Barbara, a British couple who, on Tom's 40th birthday, decide to try a more self-sufficient lifestyle. They turn their garden into a farm and raise pigs and chickens, among other things. Of course, silliness and buffoonery ensues.

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