Yesterday a friend said to me, “It seems okay that spring is a crazy busy time, there is so much beauty and life coming up all around that it makes it bearable”.  I would have to agree. Bustling is the word that comes to mind, all the project planning during winter is ramping up into the physical manifestations of those preparations and you just have to ride the wave and try not to fall off.   That’s when pink blossoms,

  Cute and colorful crepes to use as wraps or tacos, these hold together well and give great flavor to a wrap. As the heat of summer approaches these are something to keep in mind for light dinners, like tacos filled with fresh bounty from the garden or farmers market. Bánh Xèo is the name for the real deal Vietnamese Pancake, these are an altered version that are more crepe-like but still a handy little treat. They are best eaten

  Looking out my window at the mid-April snow drifts it seems hard to believe that within a few weeks we might be seeing local radishes here in the upper midwest. Thank goodness for hoop houses and determined farmers! We seem to be in a perpetual time loop stuck in late February, but for me without the fun parts of being in a location with ski trails.   Radishes and vinegar together—this is not for the faint of heart! Actually I

  Tapioca ranks right up there in the Cute and Curious Food category. People may have vague memories (good or bad) of tapioca pudding, but if you’re in the Special Diet camp you probably are quite familiar with tapioca being in the ingredient list of gluten free products.   Tapioca pearls are made from the cassava root, a tropical plant native to Brazil but is widely used throughout the world. Its sticky quality works well for thickening sauces and is a common ingredient in

  How many times have we eaten from street food carts or food trucks, utterly wowed, then spent numerous attempts to re-enact the scrumptious experience? Usually it involves frying and serving with a greasy dip, and is never quite the same as the edible encounters on the boulevard. At a business anniversary party in Minneapolis a few years ago we munched fried cauliflower with a curry dip from a food truck they had hired for the event. We couldn’t stop talking about it and

  Making hominy gets to the core of slow food cooking.  It’s a process that takes forethought and time, and though the concept is understandable the Complexities of Simplicity emerge.  Simple is not necessarily simple.   Pre-Columbian cultures began the practice of ‘nixtamalization’ in Mesoamerica.  It involes soaking the kernels of maize in alkaline wood ash to release protein, calcium, niacin and other micro-nutients, and removes fungal-mycotoxins from stored corn.  They then rinsed and slow-cooked the soaked corn in clay pots and

    The final leg of our North Woods journey was unexpected but really fun.  We headed deep into Yooper and Husky Territory of Michigan Tech University to ski the final marathon of the season: The Great Bear Chase.  We drove for hours into the Upper Peninsula with only woods and rivers for company, then finally entered the canal valley and home to the thriving communities of Houghton and Hancock, the copper country of the Keweenah Peninsula of Lake Superior.  Native Americans had mined copper in that

  Do you need more ways to use your big batch of kimchi?  A surprisingly savory and cute appetizer?  A snack for your next road trip?  Here is an easy savory treat that makes me happy. Kimchi is the traditional Korean side dish of fermented vegetables—many veggies can be used but often napa cabbage, green onions, radishes, ginger, chiles and garlic are the stars.  The fermentation means it’s loaded with healthy bacteria (lactobacilli) to keep you healthy, aid digestion, and make your

    Skis without skiers and skis with skiers at the North End Classic. It’s a small but sweet classic-only race organized by the North End Ski club, complete with the Cookie Classic for shorter people.   And while we’re on the subject of ski racing… I’m sure you already know, but this week Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) and Jesse Diggins (Stillwater, Minnesota) won the first-ever Olympic medal for the U.S. women, and not just a medal but a GOLD medal, in

  The Upper Peninsula sunsets have been spectacular here in the sub-zero air.  This is the view from just outside our cabin, right next to the outhouse that I did not include in the photo—you’ve already seen numerous scenic outhouse photos over the years.  These views, along with the blindingly bright Super Moon or glittering falling snow, make the outhouse treks fairly memorable.  Sub-zero air can be pretty memorable too…     A Skiers Little Helper at the end of