POTW

This weekend my mom, aunt, future mom-in-law and future sister-in-law came up for my first wedding dress fitting. Here is a picture of all of us after the happy event:

Sierra Club Foodies Committee

I recently joined the North Star Chapter (aka the Minnesota Chapter) Foodies Committee. Not only that but I was asked to do a short review / write up for our meetings and I just completed my first one and I wanted to share it here:

September's Foodies Committee Meet-up:

A few weeks ago I read the description of the North Star Chapter’s Food Committee: “Celebrate local and/or organic food and restaurants with the Food Committee on the first Wednesday of every month. Bring great ideas, great conversation, and if you're hungry, buy yourself some dinner!” Based on that, I was in, and ready for my first meet up.

On September 3, I entered the French Meadow Café hungry and a little nervous as to how it would all play out. Much to my pleasure, the evening was filled with fantastic local food, wonderful people, and thought provoking discussion.

There were nine of us gathered around the table of French Meadow that night. The group was diverse, with a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and careers. The conversation reflected this mix, and the topics varied from nuclear energy to home brewing beer and baking. The common ground of our interests, however, a main point of conversation, and the reason we were all there that night, was our love of food.

As I mentioned, the restaurant that we visited in September was the French Meadow Café which is a restaurant created by the French Meadow Bakery. The first statement under the “Heritage” section the French Meadow Bakery’s website site says it all, “French Meadow Bakery began with a purpose, to introduce the world to flavourful, nutritionally beneficial foods using only what's necessary from the planet's most natural and abundant sources.”

Since 1985, creator Lynn Gordon and French Meadow has been doing exactly that, earning it the prestige of being the longest continuously-running certified organic bakery in the U.S. The Café’s is located on Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis. French Meadow also has locations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Air Port and on the State Fair Grounds. French Meadow serves a wide range of food that will please both meat lovers and vegans alike, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Our group was there for dinner, and to start, we had a plethora of options to choose from for beverages. The beer and wine list is very good and features many organic and local options. As for food, three of us (including myself) chose the fish special, which was a river trout served with a fennel cream sauce over roasted vegetables. The fish was cooked perfectly with the sauce and melted as soon as it hit your tongue.

The second most popular dish, chosen by two people, was the grilled tempeh rueben, which is vegan due to the substitution of tempeh for corn beef and spiced tomato-soy aioli for thousand island dressing. This sandwich and the Thai tempeh which was ordered by another group member looked delicious and were huge: plenty for dinner, especially since the plate included a pile of organic greens with a wonderful vinaigrette.

Unfortunately, because all the food was so yummy, we all filled up, and no one had room to try some of the tantalizing deserts that were offered. The next time I visit French Meadow I will be sure to save room.

After our meal, I was happy to see that local doesn’t mean outrageously expensive; my meal, a beer, tax and tip cost me around $25.00. Not bad.

Joining this club was a great idea and I look forward to our next meeting, October 1, 2009 at Brasa’s St. Paul location. Hope to see you there!

Links of Interest:

Foodie Committee Blog

Foodie Committee Team Page

North Star Chapter Website

Autumn Brew Review

The tasting guide is out for this weekend's Autumn Brew Review and I just thought I would post it here: http://www.mncraftbrew.org/downloads/ABR09TastingGuide.pdf

If you are going to be there, look for me and say hi, I will be hanging out drinking with my tasting glass holder and a great group of friends.

Mixology -- Amaretto Edition

After hours of research and trials (aka finishing off a bottle of Disaronno) I am ready for my first installment of Mixology. Amaretto is a liqueur that got its start in northern Italy. The liqueur gets its name because of its distinct flavor. The name is a diminutive of "amaro" which in Italian means bitter, which is from the mandorla amara or bitter almond. However, don't let the bitter name fool you, Amaretto base is bitter almond but then the sweetness factor is kicked up with the use of sweet almonds and sugars, although it isn't overly sweetened and has a nice smooth balance.

If you don't think you have heard of Amaretto before, you can thank the branding skills of liqueurs like Disaronno and Lazzaroni. I think it is impossible to hear Disaronno and not think of the bar tender in the cheesy commercials saying Disaronno on the rocks.

There are plenty of classic cocktails that highlight this drink such as:

The God Father

1 part Amaretto

1 part Scotch

Pour all ingredients into an old fashion glass filled with ice.

French Connection

1 part Amaretto
1 part Cognac
Pour all ingredients into an old fashion glass filled with ice.

The Lady Finger

1 part Amaretto

1 part grapefruit juice

Pour all ingredients into an old fashion glass filled with ice.

My two favorite classics that I tried were:

Amaretto Sour (leave that sour mix crap to the children):

2 oz Amaretto

1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

1/4 oz Egg white (optional)

Pour all into a shaker filled with ice and shake well and then strain over a sour glass.

Amaretto and Cream

2 oz Amaretto

1 oz Cream

Pour into a shaker filled with ice and shake well. Strain over crushed ice in a low ball

A drink I came up with is also super tasty, it is kind of like Dr. Pepper:

2 oz Amaretto

4 oz Club Soda

1/2 oz Rose's Lime

Pour into a shake filled with ice and shake well. Pour the whole thing into a low ball.

So pick up a bottle of this liqueur, it is a classic with a lot of fantastic drink options. Or you could always just have a Disaronno on the rocks.

POTW

This week's picture is my kitchen table. Ahhh the bounty of summer:

Stuff I Hate

The new "yoga" American Apparel ads. For a description of my hate, you can pretty much read this post by my buddy Blaine in his blog: American Apparel Yoga Porn Ad – Seriously?

Now I like American Apparel, I love that they are a non sweat shop option for shopping, however this ad campaign is too much. What is up with advertising these days? (I must be an old lady.)

Thanks for pointing this out to me Blaine, I needed something to be disappointed in today.

Wonderful Cookbook

There is nothing better than finding an excellent cookbook. I am one of those nerdy people who loves to read cookbooks even when I am not looking for something to make that instant. Because of this, I have fallen in love with the cook book The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook. The book profiles different culinary regions throughout Minnesota and highlights restaurants, farms and their favorite recipes. The recipes are very diverse and include all sorts different meals and occasions. The farm and restaurant stories are probably the most interesting part for me, the stories also feature some beautiful photography. A bonus is that the forward of the book is written by Garrison Keillor which you might know from A Prairie Home Companion. An excerpt follows:

I can never be a boy again standing barefoot in a garden on a sunny day and hold a ripe tomato in my hand... but this lovely book gives me hope that something beautiful that I thought had passed away has actually come full circle and that other people in Minnesota share this same longing for fresh food.

I usually try to make a soup every week to have for lunch at the office and this week's came from this book and I would like to share it. It comes from Chef Joan Foster of the Brewed Awakening Coffeehouse.

Potato Spinach Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients:

3 cups potatoes, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 lb. fresh spinach, chopped
2 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

Put 5 cups hot water in a large saucepan. Add the first seven ingredients. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add water if needed. Add the rest of the ingredients. Heat and stir until cheese is melted. Salt and pepper to taste.

I added some extra grated cheddar cheese and some green onions to the top of mine: