A closer look at flyover land

June festivals

And the fun begins in earnest. Keep in mind that the good folks at the Minnesota Historical Society have a pretty full calendar at its various sites too.

Richmond
Minnesota Homegrown Kickoff
June 3-5
One of four annual festivals run by the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association, the Homegrown Kickoff offers live music, jam sessions, music classes, camping, and crafts and food.

Cloquet
Chmielewski International Polka Festival
June 3-5
Dozens of musicians will contribute their talents to this three-day extravaganza. Think you know everything about polka? Think again—this festival will introduce you to all kinds of ethnic variations, including Polish and Slovenian.

St. Paul
Grand Old Day
June 5
St. Paul’s Grand Avenue welcomes the entire family for entertainment, kids’ activities, food, drink, art fair, parade—pretty much everything you need.

Worthington
Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival
June 10-12
A windsurfing championship combined with an indie music festival. Makes sense. See the website for this year’s musicians.

Minneapolis
Famous Dave’s BBQ and Blues Festival
June 11
BBQ, all day, and blues. How can you go wrong with the Minnesota Barking Ducks?

Cass Lake
Chippewa Triathlon
June 11
Why swim when you can portage and canoe?

St. Joseph
The Caramel Roll
June 11
Go on a beautiful bike ride—and eat caramel rolls along the way. Could it get any better?

Grand Rapids
Judy Garland Festival
June 16-18
The birthplace of Judy Garland will host its 36th annual festival in 2011, and this year there’s a very special guest: Andy Williams. Events include a stage production of Meet Me in St. Louis, Judy Jeopardy game, an exhibit focused on gowns Garland wore throughout her career, musical entertainment, “Mingle with a Munchkin”, The Wizard of Oz on the big screen, and kids’ activities.

Roseau
Scandinavian Festival
June 17-18
Visit the maypole, listen to music, enjoy a Scandinavian smorgasbord (including fresh lefse!). Take a slight detour out of town to visit the Pioneer Village, a beautiful recreated village of original pioneer buildings.

Rochester
Rochesterfest
June 17-26
A celebration of all things Rochester, this is a busy week: lumberjack championships; volleyball and fishing tournaments; cemetery walks; music and dancing; treasure hunt; historic walking tours; parade; and even a hot air balloon race.

Minneapolis
Stone Arch Festival
June 18-19
It’s hard to imagine a more scenic location for this jack-of-all-trades festival: juried art show, Art of the Car display, kids Lego Creation Station, and live music.

Virginia
Land of the Loon Festival
June 18-19
A celebration of the various ethnic groups that settled into northeastern Minnesota. Food, music, arts and crafts from around the world.

Winona
Great River Shakespeare Festival
June 22-July 31
The sixth annual Shakespeare Festival offers three of the Bard’s plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Henry IV, Part I, and The Fantasticks. OK, just kidding--that last one's not by Shakespeare. See website for schedule and ticket information.

St. Paul
Twin Cities Jazz Festival
June 23-25
Enjoy a (hopefully) beautiful visit to Mears Park while soaking in the musical stylings of Sue Orfield, the New Gary Burton Quartet, and Deodato, among others.

St. Cloud
Granite City Days
June 23-26
Celebrate the Granite City’s heritage at this annual festival, complete with fly-in pancake breakfast, tours of historic homes, and bike races.

Moorhead
Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival
Jun 24-25
A joint Scandinavian festival presented by local Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Swedish groups, this annual celebration includes a LEGO art show, Scandinavian music groups, puppet shows, and of course—lots of Scandinavian food.

Henderson
Sauerkraut Days
June 24-26
Parades, tournaments, food and music—and a sauerkraut eating contest. Are you up to the challenge?

Scandia
Midsommar Dag
June 25
Held at the lovely Gammelgarden Museum, this festival offers Swedish music, a pig roast smorgasbord, Swedish Hambo dancers, and all manner of crafts and activities (butter making, hoop rolling). Or just enjoy a beautiful summer day at this living history site which features several original immigrant homes and buildings.

Minneapolis
Twin Cities Pride
June 25-26
Parade, boat cruise, concerts, picnic, art show—this is one packed weekend.

Book week, part 3/Friday food

Cooking Up the Good Life by Jenny Breen and Susan Thurston.

This is the anti-dumbed-down-for-kids cookbook. When you first glance at it, in no way does it scream "Cook with and for kids!" Recipes include Curried Squash Soup, Mediterranean Succotash with Edamame and Lime, Pizza with Arugula, Potatoes, Caramelized Spring Onions, and Gouda or Gorgonzola, and Tempeh (or Chicken) Fajitas. I know my eyebrows went up a bit, having two teenaged boys in the house who are capable of--but not always necessarily willing to--try new foods. Not just that, but a cookbook geared towards family cooking that includes some fairly lengthy ingredient lists and, at times, complex cooking instructions, seems at cross purposes.

But as Breen explains in an essay titled "The Family Kitchen," "If you have kids, the kitchen can become one of the best living classrooms they will ever enter, and everyone has the opportunity to have fun while learning about food chemistry (this is what happens when you add yeast), applied math (two tablespoons is the same as one-eighth of a cup), and even color theory (see how your eye is drawn to the orange of the yam in the greens). Our favorite part of what happens in the family kitchen, though, is the stories, whether folk tales such as that found in the Three Sisters Salad recipe, sharing something that happened during your day as you chop herbs for the sauce, or retelling a family legend about crazy Uncle Billy while spreading cream cheese frosting over carrot cake."

It's an ambitious and persuasive book, divided into traditional cookbook categories like Starters and Salads. But within each of those sections, the recipes are grouped according to season, highlighting what's likely to be available locally, so a spring soup might be the Spring Greens Soup with Caramelized Ramps, while a winter soup would be a Creamy Wild Rice Soup.

Most of the recipes come with "Family Kitchen" tips and tales, which explain and encourage parents to involve their children in the choosing and preparing of meals. But this cookbook, unlike many other kids' cookbooks, actually has food the adults will want to eat too.

Such as this.

A muffin. But--not a treacly sweet store-bought muffin. They're on the edge of savory, with just a touch of sweetness that made them both great for breakfast and served as a dinner accompaniment. Doing my best to honor Breen's local commitment, I used whole wheat flour and cornmeal from the Home Hearth Grains stand at Mill City Farmers Market which I'd show you a picture of, but it's an Amish family and they aren't supposed to pose for photos. But take my word for it, they sell the best grains ever. Also with the "best ever" theme, the recipe calls for 1 cup of "sweetener," which I divided between maple syrup and honey from Sapsucker Farms. Enjoy!

Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins

Make 12 muffins

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup softened butter or oil
2 eggs
1 cup sweetener (honey, maple syrup, fruit jam, applesauce, sugar, or a mixture)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 cups apple juice or milk of your choice
1 cup sliced strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin.

Place the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl and stir with a fork or whisk to combine. In another bowl, stir together the butter, eggs, sweetener, and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir just until blended. Add as much of the apple juice or milk as needed to make the batter creamy, slightly sticky, and wet, but not too thin. Gently stir in the strawberries.

Spoon the batter into the oiled muffin pans and bake for 15-20 minutes.

My thanks to the University of Minnesota Press for both sending me a review copy of this book and for giving me permission to post the recipe.

Book week, part 2

I've heard about Sarah Stonich's other books, and they sounded like they'd be right up my alley, but you know how it is--so many books, so little time. Then Borealis Books sent me a review copy of her new memoir Shelter, which I read, and then kicked myself for not having read her novels. I'll remedy that very soon.

Shelter is the story of Stonich's return to her roots--or, literally, to a summer cabin lifestyle she grew up with and missed as an adult. She becomes haunted with the idea of owning her own little piece of heaven, and finally, with friends, buys a piece of land somewhere near Ely, wild and untamed and overlooking a lake.

Stonich must have the patience of Job. She put years into this project which, though heavenly, was far from perfect. As she pieced together funds, she slowly but surely carved her own space, first with a dirt road, then a teeny-tiny custom-made cabin ("smaller than Thoreau's") and outhouse.

She doesn't romanticize the work, either, or her motives for undertaking such an venture, or her own skill set: "My camping experience is nil and my outdoor skills are lacking, which seems to surprise many, the assumption being that growing up in northern Minnesota entails snowshoeing to school or skijoring through the bush to the trading post. I was never a girl scout, don't own a buck knife, and cannot fashion a tourniquet. What I'm really best at in the woods is sitting."

That admission early on is what really hooked me into this book. I understand exactly what she's saying--I grew up in northern Minnesota, but I lack all those experiences too (although I became very familiar with snow days). Sometimes I think it would be great to have a cabin, but the work involved is intimidating, especially finding one's own patch of land and starting from scratch.

To Stonich's credit, she worries about the impact humans have on the lakeshore environment and sets out to avoid the mistakes made by generations of McMansion/Cabin builders, keeping her cabin far from the actual shoreline and letting the wild ecosystems be.

Over the years it takes for her to finance and realize her dream, Stonich also revisits life in small northern towns, and the types of personalities you can meet there. She raises uncomfortable and difficult-to-answer questions about the benefits of tourism to these kinds of communities, and drolly writes about the ecologically sound options available for her outhouse.

After years of work, she also faces the possible intrusion of a MNDOT road project that would suddenly make her wilderness retreat a lot less wild.By that point, the reader is so invested in the cabin and the land that it doesn't take much on Stonich's part to make us see what a tragedy that would be.

Shelter is a fine read, funny and moving, and perfect for people who have been tempted by the cabin lifestyle as well as for those who have no idea what the attraction is.

 

Do a local cookbook author a solid

Marie, of Celebration Generation, is among the many people whose homes were horribly damaged in last Sunday's tornadoes. Do her--and yourself--a favor today, and order one of her cookbooks. I mean, c'mon, how can you go wrong ordering a book called The Spirited Baker (and no, "spirited" here doesn't mean cheery. Although by the time you bake these goods full of adult beverages, you might feel very cheery indeed). Or, if you prefer a more nefarious title, check out her latest: Evil Cake Overlord.

Oh, heck--get 'em both. You'll help Marie, and you'll improve the lives of everyone you bake for.

Book week, part 1

But first, my heart goes out to all who suffered damage and injury during yesterday's horrible tornadoes. The Red Cross is already hard at work and is accepting donations here.

I have lots of Minnesota-related books to tell you about, so I decided to highlight a few this week, randomly selected as Book Week.

First up:

Through No Fault of My Own is the diary kept by 13-year-old Coco (short for Clothilde) Irvine, who lived on St. Paul's Summit Avenue in the 1920s. In fact, she grew up in what is now the Governor's Mansion. A typescript of the diary was found in Minnesota Historical Society's archives by Peg Meier, who describes the experience: "I remember sitting in the somber library, trying not to guffaw as I read about Coco's exploits."

Exploits indeed--Coco seems to have had a wicked adventurous streak that repeatedly got her into trouble, although always, as she says time and time again, "Through no fault of my own." Headstrong, impatient, not terribly good at considering the consequences of her actions, Coco's diary is a hoot to read, a mixture of adolescent irritations, boy-craziness, and a longing for adventure. It's a short read (84 pages), and Coco's lively, vocabulary-aware narration flies by (you could start a drinking game with the number of times she uses the word "derogatory," apparently a big favorite of hers). Just like Peg Meier, I found myself guffawing out loud many times, although fortunately not in a library.

In fact, as I was paging through the book looking for a little snippet to share here, I found myself chortling and giggling again, and how hard to choose one short example!

"Helen and Sissy and I often walk home from school together. I like to stop at the drugstore and have a soda. Helen and Sissy never have any money, though, and I hate to eat mine in front of them when they can't have any. So I buy them each one, too. This is very expensive for me, coming to 45 cents a day. As I get only $5.00 a month I naturally become bankrupt. I felt it was unfair for me to have to forgo the one pleasure in my day because of them so I started charging our sodas to Daddy. I am not allowed to do this. It is now getting toward the first of the month and I am getting worried. I will probably get killed."

How did Coco get out of this situation, the one she got into "through no fault of her own"? Buy the book and find out. I promise--you'll be mightily entertained.

My thanks to the University of Minnesota Press for a review copy of this darling book.

Friday food

In my previous post about Nisswa, I mentioned that I didn't list every single store. But one absence may have stood out.

The Chocolate Ox. You might guess from the name that it's not a healthy food store.

Maybe good for mental health, though.

Look at those buckets of vintage candies, mix and match per pound! And candy necklaces! And baby bottle pops and sour things!

The licorice gallery, full of gourmet licorices, sweet and salty.

Salt water taffy....mmmmmmmmmm........

Oh--and the truffle selection. They also carry B.T. McElrath.

I'd like to show you pictures of the luscious salted chocolate caramels I brought home. But, um...they no longer exist. Except in my dream world.

Pretty good shopping

While gallivanting around central Minnesota last week, I made it a point to stop at a wonderful little shopping spot.

If you've been up to the Brainerd Lakes area, you probably know about Nisswa, a small town just a few miles north of Brainerd on Highway 371. Besides being surrounded by lakes, Nisswa has--well, I hate to call it a strip mall, because that's pretty boring, and what Nisswa has is, indeed, pretty good shopping. in a pretty cute environment.

Never hurts to start with gifts and coffee, right? This building is home to both: Carriage House Gallery and Adirondack Coffee. The latter has an especially tasty cinnamon coffee.

Next door is Rainy Days Bookstore.

It doesn't look so big, but it's very deep, chock full of a wide variety of books and an extensive kid's section--perfect for vacationers. Also: the best "no food in store" sign ever:

Speaking of kids, there's a fun kid's store (Tumbleroos), right next to a shoe shop (Sandals).

Located perfectly:

The sidewalks are full of these:

See, Nisswa is known for its summer turtle races. In fact, 2011 marks the 48th year of such shenanigans.

Another fun gift shop is Simpler Thymes.

Lundrigans Clothing not only sells tourist wear, but solid outdoors clothing too.

More gifts can be found at Courtyard Gifts and Boutique.

Zaiser's was a gift store, until it was hit by fire last fall. However, it sure looks like it's on the verge of a comeback. Go, Zaiser's!

On the other end of Nisswa Square is another coffee shop, this one with a cheeky attitude.

Finally, why am I never going through Nisswa when this place is open??

I've by no means covered every store in this little retail square. (Knitting friends, take note--there's a shop called UTrinkets, which sells a nice variety of yarn and has a friendly staff.) If you're heading that direction, allow some time for a visit. There are a few cafes here too, if coffee isn't enough to sustain you for shopping.

And those of you who have been here, you might be wondering about one shop I didn't list. Patience! Friday Food is coming!

The Church Project

St. Thomas of the Pines, Madden's Resort, Brainerd.

Cirque du Soleil winner!

It's time for the Big Drawing, for the two tickets to Cirque du Soleil! But before I announce the winner, remember: if you didn't win, you can still get a 15% discount to any of the upcoming performances by clicking here.

All righty then--drumroll please:

I asked the deities at Random.org to choose the winner, and here's what they had to say:

The fourth commenter is: Lisa! Congrats, Lisa, and enjoy the show!

Friday food

Yesterday I wrote about a trip to Madden's Resort near Brainerd. (Go read that post. You'll be jealous.) The folks at Madden's were not only kind enough to invite me to be their guest at the resort, but they decided to feed me too.

Well. As if staying at the resort wasn't lovely enough, I enjoyed dinner at the Classic Grill. While the resort itself is open April-October, the Classic Grill is open year-round for dinner. It's located a short drive from the main resort area, but Madden's makes it easy on its guests and offers complimentary transportation between the resort and the restaurant.

That's a good thing, if you'd like to enjoy some of these:

The Perfect Martini, composed of Bombay Sapphire gin, Grey Goose vodka, and orange curacao. Pretty darn perfect.

I may have had more than one.

It was a great way to sit back, relax, and enjoy the view:

The Classic overlooks a golf course with a beautiful patio, complete with firepit. My understanding is that in the winter, diners have a s'mores option.

I should interrupt myself here and mention the post I wrote last fall about being a solo diner. I'm here to tell you that Madden's passed my solo-diner scrutiny with flying colors. I didn't have a reservation, no one knew my name, but I was greeted warmly, given a choice table by the window, and treated like every other party in the restaurant, including a large group of male golfing doctors.

I'll also mention that one of the joys of dining alone is eavesdropping. I learned a lot about the resort while at dinner. Namely, that some visitors came back year after year after year, as do many staff members, to the point where servers were greeting diners by name and asking how their winter was. Now that's good service.

First I had bread, then salad.

There were several tempting entrees, but I went with one of the night's specials:

Risotto with sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, beef tenderloin marinated in garlic and rosemary, and a merlot sauce.

Really, need I say more? I could (should) have stopped there, but the server tempted me with dessert.

Tres leches chocolate cake. Milky and moist and chocolatey.

This is how a vacation should be, people. Full of clear skies, friendly people, and delicious food.