Wednesday, July 29, 2009

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Direct from farm to table

yumImage by bfistermn via Flickr

Listening to a recording of a July 18 conversation between one of my favorite food thinkers, Nicole De Beaufort and one of my favorite food growers, Bonnie Dehn.
Critical to have them at the same table; the thinker hears directly from the farmers; what they're thinking, experiencing, feeling, doing. Unfiltered. Organic. Unadulterated.

Direct from farm to table.



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Friday, July 17, 2009

Am Profood

RaspberriesImage via Wikipedia

Went to the Market this morning in search of my new favorite vegetable, Gai lan.
Searched. And Searched. And searched.
In vain. It's gone. The season's over.

A sigh of sadness and I moved on to what's in season.
Raspberries. Sweet fruit rubies.
And since the season is short, I bought 4 pints.

Which should last a day or two.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Continuing education continues

organic purple garlic at the farmers marketImage by jesssloss via Flickr

To paraphrase Richard Nixon, I am not a cook.

It was just a few years ago that I first tasted the difference fresh herbs make.

So having absorbed the "most garlic comes from China" lesson, I picked up fresh garlic from Nao Tang at the Minneapolis Farmers Market.

Chopped it, threw it in the frying bang and BingBangBoom! Garlic explosion! I was enveloped in fruity fresh garlic. I felt like I was deep inside garlic itself.

And the taste? That same distance I'd traversed when I moved from garlic powder to dried bulbs? Same quantum leap using fresh, local garlic. Maybe greater.




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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Continuing Education

NEW YORK - APRIL 23: Host of "Bizarre Foo...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

My on-the-job education at the Minneapolis Farmers Market continues.

Today Andrew Zimmern, host of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods, was our guest on a live broadcast of Fresh and Local. What makes a food bizarre? When it is unfamiliar and unexpected. It reflects our environment and our culture; as well as war and peace; love and loss; famine and prosperity.

The most interesting food tells stories, said Zimmern, who cruised the aisles of the Minneapolis Farmers Market and brought back these story-tellers:

- Gai Lan, Chinese broccoli. This, said, Zimmern, was the original broccoli. That the Minneapolis Farmers Market has growers who sell it and shoppers who buy it speaks volumes about how local culture has changed.

-Wild Rice. How rare; how exquisite is hand-harvested wild rice, Zimmern said. Yet in many parts of the world, it is unknown and bizarre. We Minnesotans take it for granted and walk right by.

-Fava beans and Pigeon peas. Zimmern was intrigued by an African farmer selling these lentils. Marinated fava beans are on every table in Italy, he explained. Pigeon peas are integral to African cuisine. And here they are in formerly-Nordic Minnesota.

I took home fava beans, pigeon peas, wild rice, kai lan; a healthy serving of humility and a new way of looking at the market.









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Thursday, July 9, 2009

reBlog from altitudebranding.com: What Happened To Accountability?

I found this fascinating quote today:



So this post by Whitney Hoffman on the power of “no” stopped me in my tracks. And it made me reflect on the fact that our expectations have changed for what we’re entitled to have and get for free. There’s a fine line between asking for someone’s input or sharing in someone’s valuable content, and taking advantage of someone’s expertise and livelihood. Where’s the line? I’m not sure I can define it (maybe you can?), but I can sure feel it when I see it or experience it.altitudebranding.com, What Happened To Accountability?, Jul 2009



You should read the whole article.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

MulberryImage by 囧-WQ-囧 via Flickr

As part of my journey to the new (new ways of thinking, eating, living, communicating), I gathered the new knowledge I'd gleaned about mulberries and gathered.

Mulberries. I gathered the mulberries growing wild outside.

Waiting for the third consecutive sunny day, I set a sheet underneath the most heavy-laden branches of the mulberry tree.
Then I shook them.

Now I have a bowl of just-picked, home-grown, 100% organic berries. And I'm going to eat them....................


The fruits of my labors? They're delicious.

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