A closer look at flyover land

5 Weeks, 5 Parks, 5Ks

Full disclosure: I work for the organization I'm about to tout. But I hope you''ll consider supporting this event anyway--the Sajai Foundation does great work on the critical issue of childhood obesity. I could bore you with statistics, but let's just look at this one: today's generation of children is the first in decades expected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents, and childhood obesity is at the root of that.

Anyhoo, the Foundation's spring event is 5K for Sajai. This is not your ordinary 5K; you have 5 weeks to design your own. You can walk, run, bike, jump rope, swim, unicycle, crab-crawl, whatever you want. You can do one 5K; you can do 1K per week for 5 weeks; or, as I'm doing, you can do one 5K per week for 5 weeks. I took advantage of the format to explore some of my other interests: hiking and state parks. So: 5 weeks, 5 different state parks, a 5K hike in each one.

Please feel free to support my endeavor here.

The event kicked off yesterday, and what a glorious day in Minnesota it was for being outdoors. I went to the closest state park to my home: Fort Snelling State Park.

The Visitors Center, which has a small but thoughtful interpretive display about the park and the Fort.

See, here's the thing about Fort Snelling. It has history, and it has natural beauty, and it also has controversy. This is the place where over 1600 Dakota people were imprisoned (many of whom were women and children) after the Dakota Conflict of 1862, a conflict which arose when the Dakota, who had been cheated out of things promised by governmental treaty and in starvation states, revolted against the pioneers who were encroaching. (I'm hugely simplifying here, but you get the point.) The Fort itself has been the site of Native American protests. Near the Visitors Center is this sculpture in memory of the Dakota and their incarceration:

But there were no protests going on at the Park itself. While there are a number of options for trails, including one that goes to Minnehaha Falls, I decided to take the loop around Pike Island. The far end of the island is where the Minnesota River converges into the Mississippi, and that just sounded like something I wanted to see.

That's the Minnesota River above. The island is uninhabited, except for critters. It's surprisingly peaceful, given its vicinity to Highway 494 and the airport.

There's a church steeple far away, across the river.

At times, I almost felt like I was in the South. I loved the groves of trees just budding out into green.

And finally, the point where the two rivers meet.

For some reason, the Mississippi was much calmer than the Minnesota side.

It looked like there was some kind of field trip going on across the river. What a perfect day for a trip to the beach.

Also across the river: where the big boats hang out.

On the Mississippi side--and not on the Minnesota side, I wonder why?--I saw lots of little, colorful butterflies frolicking all over the place. I and my camera were much too slow to catch up with them. But I did also see this little sign of early spring (again, only on the Mississippi side):

Near the Visitors Center is this tribute to "nature's engineer": the beaver.

Beautiful day, beautiful park, and there's much more to explore. Hike, bike, swim, picnic, and fish--a busy place, not far from the city.

 

Friday Food

A while ago, I read this blog post and was intrigued. Just what was this event called Clandesdine? According to the website, it's a simple idea: good food, at home. Just maybe not your home. Clandesdine coaxes local cooks into doing a home dinner for a small group of people. It's not a for-profit venture--diners are asked (not required, but come on, don't be cheap) to cover the cost of their meal. It's BYOB, so no pricy alcohol upcharges.

I was intrigued enough to sign up for the mailing list, and when I received an invite for the April dinner, I promptly RSVPd yes. A few days before the event, I got a call from someone with the address.

That's it. That's how it works.

Here's what we saw when we arrived.

I have to admit, between the name and the last-minute phone call, I did feel a bit sneaky. In a good way.

I wondered if it would be communal seating, and my second thought after that was, oh dear, what if DH and I are the oldest by a long shot, and we're the fuddy-duddies in the group? I often feel in peril of slipping into deep fuddy-duddydom. So I was relieved that, like at a restaurant, each reservation had its own table.

How charming, yes? Very bistro. Clandesdine supplied the flowers and water, we brought the wine. No corkage fee here--there's a wine opener in that jar.

The first course was a marinated crab salad with avocado, pickled ginger, tomato, and jalapeno vinaigrette.

Light, refreshing.

Then came the lobster ravioli.

Quite as decadent as it sounds, and there was a goodly amount of lobster in that ravioli.

At this point, I could smell something being fried. Here's the cool thing. It's a set menu--well, if you have dietary restrictions and request ahead of time, they'll work around it. But otherwise, everyone gets the same thing. So when you smell something delicious wafting out of the kitchen, guess what? That delicious thing will soon be set in front of you. Unlike a restaurant where there may be many delicious aromas competing for your attention, here the scent is just--well--foreplay.

The kitchen was hopping. Given that he was cooking for around 25 people, that was no surprise. Especially when this was all the stove power he had access to:

Not exactly a six-burner Viking professional range, but it worked.

And this was a clue towards the wonderful aroma I mentioned:

Big bowl of flour, or some kind of breading mix. Which made sense.

Because the entree was fried chicken and waffle, with gravy and a drizzle of maple syrup. Ooooooooooohhhh was it good. So good. In fact, while I appreciated the fact that the portions were moderately sized and not of the "let's get obese right here tonight" size, I would have gladly, if guiltily, eaten a second plate of this.

I don't have a photo of dessert, because it had gotten fairly dark and I didn't want to use my flash. But I can tantalize you by describing it: flourless chocolate torte with whipped cream, shelled kumquat, and a blood orange glaze. It was intensely rich (if anything, the portion on this was maybe a bit larger than necessary), and the blood orange glaze was a wonderful way to cut through that. I've never had that type of glaze, and found it to be much better than the traditional raspberry.

After dinner, the host went through the details of the cost with us. So: for four courses, the bouquet of flowers on the table, and beer for the kitchen crew (who were not earning anything), the price?

$15 per person.

We might have left extra. In case they wanted more beer.

Totally worth every penny.

Friday Food

Geez. It hasn't been that long since I said goodbye to one of my favorite restaurants, and now here I am doing that again.

Caribe Bistro is closing down 4/15, a victim of the massive disruption caused by the light rail construction along University Ave. The owners have said they're considering trying a Kickstarter campaign to move the restaurant somewhere that's easier for people to get to. I hope they do. Otherwise, where can we go to find such a cheerful place to eat?

I love the colors, and the sunlight pouring through the window, and the cheerful island music. Look at this wonderful mural:

Even better, look at this wonderful mofongo:

Mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish made of smashed plantains that are fried with garlic, salt pork, and olive oil, then stuffed and served with a daily special ingredient. Shrimp was on the menu the last time I was there.

This is so delicious--and comfort food-y, in a way. The plantains have a sweetness that's slightly offset by the sauteed peppers and onions. I added some of the housemade pique sauce, which is more sassy than spicy, and that was a perfect addition.

Here's hoping the Kickstarter plan comes to fruition. Because I'd really like some more mofongo. And conch fritters. And I never got to try the Jamaican rundown...

Disappeared

I really haven't. It may be quiet on this blog right now, but there's lots going on behind the scenes and some very fun plans in the works that will lead to goodly amounts of blog fodder later this spring.

Oh, you'd like a hint? Here you go.

And that's not all. But that's all you get to hear about right now.

Look!

Or, preferably, buy!

It's the updated edition of my first book, available at a fine bookseller near you! (Or online, of course.)

It's bigger (almost 130 pages longer than the first edition)! See?

The one on the left, that's the new one! More photos! More stuff to do! More things to see! More places to eat!

What are you waiting for? You have shopping to do. :-)

 

The Post Office Project

The front isn't much to look at--just your run-of-the-mill brick post office--but the side facing the parking lot in Pequot Lakes is a thing of joy.

At last.

For those of us who love snow, this has been a dismal winter in Minnesota. Finally, though, we got a respectable--and beautiful--amount.

But even as I took these pictures, I could hear the dripping of melting snow and ice. Temps are already above freezing, so this won't last long. So--another cup of coffee, and some time spent gazing outdoors before it all goes away.

Friday food

I mentioned earlier this week that I recently stopped in Nisswa. Besides the fact that I like Nisswa and its collection of fun shops, I had a specific purpose for taking a slight detour off Highway 371.

Adirondack Coffee. This is a sweet little coffee shop and cafe, nicely set up with its northwoods theme.

Cozy couch in front of the fireplace. Speaking of the fireplace...

It faces out onto a roomy deck. I can't help but wonder if this deck has been in use this winter, given the unseasonably warm temps we've had. Just think how cozy it would be to curl up by the fireplace, drinking a latte, while breathing some nice crisp (but not icy) fresh air.

I did have a latte, and it was lovely. But my primary purpose in stopping was this:

I am hopelessly addicted to their cinnamon coffee. Hopelessly. It's not sweet, not spicy, just fragrant and flavorful. I might have bought multiple packages this trip. Regular and decaf--covering all the bases.

Laurie once pointed out that I could simply sprinkle cinnamon onto my ground coffee before brewing, which I do when I'm out of the Lake Country Cinnamon. But with all due respect, Laurie, it's not the same. For that full cinnamon-y goodness, I need to frequent this fine Nisswa establishment. 

Woe is me if they ever discontinue this flavor.

Sad winter

It's a strange, strange winter when Nisswa tries to prepare for its winter festival and can barely scrape together enough snow for a few sculptures.

And dirty snow too. Sigh.

The Church Project

First Congregational Church, Anoka. Really, you have to love a church that devotes an outdoor sign spot to this: