Nosh Twin Cities

Premier Issue May/June2015

Sioux Chef

Sean Sherman

GYST

Fermentation Bar

10th St.

Farm & Market

Don’t Miss The Bus

Farm Tours The Nosh Tour Series is out every Thursday evening, bus leaves at 6:00 pm – sharp and in most cases we will have you back by 10:00 pm. We have designated four separate pickup and drop-off locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, one of them should be pretty close to your home.

Individual tickets are $30.00, go to www.NoshTC.com for the complete tour schedule.

Buy your ticket online and your seat is reserved… it’s that easy. With so much interest in our food and drink sources, we expect to sell out. Be sure to check the schedule and plan ahead.

Come out and join us, it’ll be fun!

See food grow. Meet the farmers who sow the seeds that grow the food, meet the goats and cows that produce the milk used in your favorite cheeses. As the local food movement gains momentum, it’s hard to resist the opportunity to learn where our food is raised and grown.

The Nosh Farm Tour Series showcases a constellation of farms near the Twin Cities in an effort to connect farmers and community.

Winery Tours

Walk the vineyard. Enjoy a glass of wine while learning from the wine maker. Walk the grounds, tour the facility, learn the process of converting Minnesota grown grapes into award winning cold climate wines. Who knows, maybe you’ll go home with a new case of wine.

Microdistillery Tours Brewery Tours

Craft brewing has become main stream. What is the difference between how you make beer at home and how master brewers craft large batches?

Have you ever had the opportunity to ask the brew master why this hop or that yeast? This is your chance to get up close and personal.

We think you get the idea from other descriptions – this one is a tour of the craft distilleries. Some of the best spirits made in the country are made right here in your backyard.

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BIG R I V ER F A R M S CSA! Fresh

Local

Certified Organic

What is a CSA?

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You'll receive a box of fresh, certified organic, local produce to enjoy either every week, or every other week.

Why Big River Farms CSA?

Big River Farms is a nonprofit program that provides land, tools and training for historically underserved farmers. By joining the Big River Farm CSA, you’re investing in your health, the planet, and the next generation of organic farmers.

What does it cost?

There are several plans to choose from. The every week box costs $620, while the every other week box costs $345. We also offer a Fall Share box, which is $110 and a Fruit Share box for $500.

Do you deliver?

Yes! We have 16 dropsites around the Twin Cities to choose from, so you'll be sure to find one near you!

How do I sign up?

Go to mnfoodassociation.org and click on Big River Farms CSA. Contact info@mnfoodassociation.org for more info.

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

BI G R IVER F ARMS CSA www.MnFoodAssociation.org

Departments 4

First Bites

By Devin Parker

Photo Essay

By Laurie Schneider

Shades of Green

By Beth Dooley

Nosh Capitol Beat

The Seeds of Local Food Policy

By Brian DeVore

24

Craft Brews Q&A

Pete Rifakes Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild

26 Extreme Entertainment for Kids

By Jill Colella

30

Mn Wine Q&A

Irv Geary Minnesota Grape Growers Association

32

Nosh DIY

Best Practices, Tips to Raising Chickens

By Janice Cole

34

Mn Spirits Q&A

Shanelle Montana

10th Street Farm & Market

Nosh Culture

22

36

Editor’s Note

8 20

Features

Minnesota Distillers Guild

54

Nosh Forum

Road to Recovery

Cover photo by Laurie Schneider, 10th Street Farm & Market

42

Beyond Frybread:

Sioux Chef Reclaims Native American Cuisine

By Laura French

46

Sustainable Advocates

Meet the Field Guide Duo

By Dan Heilman

GYST

Fermentation Bar

By Kelli Billstein

50 NoshTC.com 3

Editor’s Note

And We’re Off… Welcome to Nosh Twin Cities magazine. We love local foods. Our experience in publishing periodicals runs a few decades long and we’re excited to apply what we do to the local foods community. While our primary focus is this publication and the supporting website (www.NoshTC.com)—we also plan to offer coach tours of farms, wineries, breweries and distilleries that are within 90 minutes of the Twin Cities. We hope to bring you international and national pioneers in slow foods and local foods movements to better inform our local actions.

So many people and organizations comprise the local foods community that we couldn’t possibly cover all of them in a single issue or even a single year. We look forward to working with this inspiring community for years to come. In this, our first issue, we have some of the best food writers in the area contributing to this collective effort, and we’ve made room for your voice to be heard, too. Our editorial focus has five components; flavor, nutrition, environmental impact, and regional policy matters. The fifth being that we strive to work with socially conscious organizations.

For an appetizer, we offer our take on the local food scene with newsy tidbits in our First Bites section. The intrepid Devin Parker hit the streets and pulled together a sampling of what’s happening out there that might interest you. Cookbook author, educator and all around foodie Beth Dooley pens an ode to the epicurean delights of late spring, with a Scandinavian-inspired seasonal menu that is sure to please. Janice Cole offers advice on how to decide whether to keep back yard chickens, along with some unexpected benefits of doing so. (Did you know that chickens can be lovely companions?) The Minnesota Legislature had a healthy portion of food issues on its plate during the session that was scheduled to end May 31. Brian DeVore, brings us the session’s food-related highlights.

On the home front, you’ll gain an idea of how to solve the dilemma of the overblown birthday party with expert advice from children’s cookbook author Jill Colella. Chef Jill will tell you how baking with kids makes for a fun and memorable gathering. Just don’t tell the kids they’re learning. The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, Minnesota Grape Growers Association, 4 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

and the Minnesota Distillers Guild play an important roll in the local foods – and drink world. We invited each group to tell us a little about themselves and their missions through a trio of Q & As.

Last but certainly not least, reader Theresa McNiff tells of how moving into a Twin Cities house made her sick, and how local, organic foods aided her recovery – it wasn’t that simple, read on for the details.

In our Features section, we are not all about the written word. Laurie Schneider opens the feature section with a visual story told through her award-winning lens. Our friends at 10th Street Farm and Market look pretty good in this opening feature story.

Please let us know if we’ve hit the mark with our premiere issue by sending an email to feedback@NoshTC.com. We aim to offer a great reader experience – a little enjoyment, a pinch of education, a dose of enlightenment and perhaps most of all, a sense of the local food community right here in the urban core. We’ll be back in July for another round of loving local foods.

We learn about the complex cultural journey that led Twin Cities’ Sioux Chef Sean Sherman deeply into the history of Native American foods and adaptations for today’s diners.

Real Good Then, -Peter McNiff

A pair of St. Paul women who wanted to combine their interest in local food with sustainability and social consciousness formed a communications and marketing firm to serve like-minded food businesses. Writer Dan Heilman explains how.

Urban loving writer Kelli Billstein brings us to a Minneapolis fermentation bar for delicious drinks and small plates of foods you never knew were fermented. GYST doesn’t feel like it’s in Minneapolis, and Billstein assures us that’s okay.

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VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1 MAY/JUNE 2015 Premier Issue May/June2015

Sioux Chef Sean Sherman

GYST Fermentation Bar

10th St. Farm & Market

Publisher/Editor Peter McNiff Art Director/Design Julie Bourman Illustration/Design Sam B.K. Contributing Managing Editor Nancy Crotti Contributing Writers Kelli Billstein Janice Cole Jill Colella Nancy Crotti Brian DeVore Beth Dooley Dan Heilman Devin Parker

The perfect book for those who are crazy about eggs, chickens, or both, and for those eager to try their hand at backyard farming.

This is the story of how Janice learned to raise chickens in her backyard in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. From buying the coop to the miracle of the first, perfect egg, Chicken and Egg takes you through the first year of raising chickens with charming stories and delightful anecdotes – complete with helpful hints, inspirations, cautions, and “wish I’d knowns” for aspiring homesteaders.

chroniclebooks.com

Photography Laurie Schneider Photography Advertising Sales Jim Reynolds Event Coordinator Jill Shindler Circulation Jeff Baggott Administrative Assistant Nancy Boyo

Copyright 2015 All rights reserved. Spark Creative Group, LLC 1805 East 46th Street, Minnepolis, MN 55417 612-532-5876

6 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Contributors Kelli Billstein is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer.

Her writing has been featured in Saveur, Minnesota Monthly, Heavy Table, Edible Twin Cities, and others. She works full-time doing marketing and social media for Quarto Publishing Group, where she is surrounded by beautiful books. Kelli spends her free time cooking, eating out, running, and playing fiercely competitive games of Scrabble with her boyfriend. In preparation to write her feature on GYST, she did lots of research, which included drinking copious amounts of wine and eating piles of cured meats, cheeses, and fermented veggies.

Janice Cole is a food writer, recipe developer, food stylist and author of Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes. She has raised backyard chickens in her suburban St. Paul home for more than nine years and currently has six hens running through her yard. She fervently believes the taste of a fresh, free-range backyard egg should qualify as one of the great wonders of the world. Janice is a columnist for Backyard Poultry magazine and former food editor of the Cooking Club.

Having fun,sharing knowledge, and instilling self confidence are the reasons children’s cookbook author Jill Colella gives for teaching kids to cook. A self-admitted picky eater, Jill learned how to cook because she understood how important it was to expand her own food horizons beyond grilled cheese. Her work, including Jewish Holidays Cookbook (DK, 2008) and Grow It, Cook It (DK, 2008), now inspire children and adults to do the same. Jill launched Ingredient, a food magazine for

readers ages 6-12 in 2010. Butternut, a magazine emphasizing food and reading literacy for younger readers ages 3-6, will begin publication in August 2015.

Nancy Crotti is a veteran journalist who writes for the Star Tribune, the Pioneer Press and its Spaces design magazine, the New York Daily News, Twin Cities Business, Finance & Commerce, Minnesota Lawyer, Commercial Property Executive, medical technology news sites Qmed.com and Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry, and other publications. She had edited and proofread newspapers and books.

Nancy lives in St. Paul with her husband, daughter, and funny-looking dog.

Brian DeVore is the editor of the Land Stewardship Letter, published by the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project, and the producer/host of the Ear to the Ground podcast. He has written for Successful Farming, Sierra, Minnesota Conservation Volunteer, Conservation In Practice and the Utne Reader environmental blog.

DeVore was a contributor to the 2002 book, The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems with Ecosystems, and is currently working on a book about “wildly successful farmers.”

Beth Dooley has covered the local food scene in the Northern Heartland for 25 years: she writes for Mpls.

St.Paul Magazine, the Taste section of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, and Heavy Table. She is author of Minnesota’s Bounty: The Farmers Market Cookbook, The Northern Heartland Kitchen and coauthor with Lucia Watson of Savoring the Seasons of the Northern

Heartland. A collection of essays, In Winter’s Kitchen, is due out from Milkweed Editions this fall. Beth has presented to college students and community groups, and teaches cooking classes. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three sons.

Laura French is a freelance writer and communications consultant based in north Minneapolis. Her weekly column, “My Job,” appears in the Sunday Star Tribune. Raised in northern Minnesota, she can tell the difference between hand-harvested and cultivated wild rice at a distance of 20 feet. She teaches writing in the full-time MBA program at the University of St. Thomas.

Dan Heilman has been getting paid to write and edit since the first Reagan administration. He has written about everything from office construction to organic farming to celebrity impersonators and everything in between. His byline has appeared in Billboard, PC Today, the ABA Journal, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Super Lawyers the Village Voice and dozens of others. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, son, dog and two cats.

Devin Parker is an Iowa native and a recent transplant to the Twin Cities.

Fueled by academics, she spent several years on the east coast and is excited to return to the Midwest. Devin writes for local food and non-profit organizations as well as profile and marketing publications. She Devin spends time reading, gardening, crating, engaged in science, looking at butterflies, and running on local trails.

NoshTC.com 7

First Bites

By Devin Parker There’s nothing quite like the hunter-gatherer thrill of being a lucky morel beneficiary. Voila! Pure fungal gold. Spotting a morel can take hours and fortune anointed by only the spore gods. For a few weeks out of the year, morels spring up across most of the country, but, because they are such a treasure, few can regularly find them. Not anymore: Morels for all! The 1st Annual MN Morel Fest takes the foraging spirit to a new level. Top-tier chefs and bartenders will craft inventive dishes to showcase our favorite fungus.

The party gets groovier with sparkling tunes from Chester Bay (recently featured in Rolling Stone). Want to free-fall into morel bliss? Get your ticket.

May 30 $75 VIP: 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. $55 Mushroom Mogul: 4:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Free Entry (but no tasting) 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The Sample Room www.mnmorelfest.com

8 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

The Foodie 4 Mile Ready, set, nosh! The 3rd Annual Foodie 4 Mile Fun Run beckons you to lace up your sneaks for a fundraising good time. This event supports the Northeast Minneapolis Farmers Market and the Food Group’s “Harvest for the Hungry” program. The group is a mind-body-soul feeding organization that provides fresh, locally grown produce from CSA farms to Minnesota households facing hunger. Hit the pavement and soak up scenic views by the historic St. Anthony Falls, West Side wooded parks, the Stone Arch Bridge and more cityscapes.

A costume contest, finisher swag from Mill City Running, and a one-of-a-kind artisan serving board for all participants will round out the run. You can ice your legs knowing that you helped local food banks and local farmers.

May 30 8:00 a.m.

Registration: $35 www.northeastmarket.org

www.outinglodge.com • 651-439-9747 NoshTC.com 9

First Bites You say tomato, I say tomato – but which one? Tomatoes, like most fruits and vegetables, come in endless varieties and colors. Before “heirloom” became part of the common lexicon in gardening circles, there were seeds. These little kernels ferry a seemingly infinite number of varieties of tomatoes, beans, peppers, flowers and watermelons (among others) to gardens everywhere. The Seed Saving Workshop hosted by the 24th Street Community Urban Farm offers an opportunity to harness the power of the seed, season after season. Take advantage of seedsaving tricks of the trade. Food and refreshments will be served both days.

May 27, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

May 28, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Mashkiikii Gitigan (Medicine Garden) 1316 E. 24th St., Minneapolis 55404 Contact: 24thstfarm@gmail.com

10 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Single Source Searching Have you requested your copy of this year’s Minnesota Grown Directory? This handy directory contains listings of Minnesota grown products and services that are available directly from growers. You can search by region of the state as the directory divides Minnesota producers into five regions, with each region sorted alphabetically by city and then by farm or market name. If you know the name of a farm or market and just want to nail down the specifics of that single source you can search by that method too. If you are looking for a specific product you can find them in the index located in the back of the directory.

As the seasons pass you can locate what you need at that time of year. Currently CSA’s are what many of us are pursuing and the directly doesn’t disappoint. As fall approaches we can easily find the nearest apple orchard or pumpkin patch for a fall colors outing with the kids.

The good folks at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Minnesota Grown Program work long and hard to bring us a great comprehensive resource. You’ll find farms, farmers markets, berry patches, wineries, locally raised meats, CSA’s, Christmas trees, garden centers, orchards and more. www.minnesotagrown.com

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First Bites

Backyard Chicken Basics There’s nothing more local than your backyard.

Contemporary chicken ownership is an extension of an ethos that calls for local, sustainable agriculture.

Eggs from backyard chickens have more richly colored yolks and greater levels of omega-3 fatty acids than their commercially raised counterparts, according to backyardeggs.com. Whether you champion animal welfare, livestock as pets or the freshest eggs around, a simple reason for turning your personal plot into a micro farm is this: fun. Maplewood Nature Center will host “Backyard Chicken Basics� to cover all aspects of flock management, including permits, suitable varieties, coop essentials, raising chicks, managing flocks, and more.

June 16 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. $15/adult, $5/child with adult Register by June 12 online at maplewoodnaturecenter.com or call 651-249-2170

12 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

madhavi ~the beauty & the bee~

Honey Bee based. Natural. Wholesome. Fresh

www.madhavinatural.com

Market Talk: Landon Schoenefeld How to cook food? Ask an expert. In fact, why don’t you talk to Landon Schoenefeld, last year’s Minneapolis “Master of the Market” and the mad scientist behind not one, but two, restaurants, receiving accolades for his unique approach to a number of ingredients.

The Minneapolis Farmers Market will host the chef/ owner of Haute Dish and the newly opened Nighthawks for this week’s Market Talk. Schoenefeld will display his culinary sleight of hand in a cooking demo and discussion highlighting a featured ingredient, along with its benefits and uses. Expect to walk away with new inspiration for those local market provisions.

June 13 10:30 a.m.

Minneapolis Farmers Market www.minneapolisfarmersmarket.com 612.333.1718

www.w-e-i.org NoshTC.com 13

First Bites

Food Truck Fair On Hennepin Avenue between Lake St. and 31st, Uptown will host a whopping 60 curated food trucks in Minneapolis’ most luscious mobile event. Eager epicureans can indulge in an assortment of taste profiles and be awarded with sweet gluttony as far as the waistband can stretch. Take advantage of this decorated meals-on-wheels event with local brews from Lucid Brewery and ditties from local musicians.

June 28 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Music all day, plus headliner Brat Pack Radio 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. www.mnfoodtruckfair.com/

14 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Frogtown Farm Saturday May 30th, 11am-2pm SE side Frogtown Park & Farm off of Victoria & Lafond Aves

BACKYARD FARM FAIR

Come on down to our Backyard!

We have collected resources and ideas for you in a fun, entertaining event that is all about backyards & food.

A peek at the ‘Backyard Farm Fair’ activities and demonstrations:  Beekeeping with Pollinate Minnesota  Chicken keeping with Egg|Plant Urban Farm Store  Garden-in-a-box & container gardening  Composting with Eureka Recycling  Get your soil tested onsite at the Mobile Soil Lab

The ‘Backyard Farm Fair’ will also have bluegrass music, kid’s activities, plant giveaways and refreshments . Be sure to sample pizza from the debut firing of Frogtown Farm’s ‘Mobile Pizza Picnic’*, a wood fired pizza oven built to fuel conversations. *made possible with support from the Knight Green Line Challenge.

Bring your own soil for testing!

Bring a dry, composite sample from your prospective garden space in an open ziploc bag, and the UMN Dept. of Soil, Water and Climate will analyze it for nutrients. For further sampling details see frogtownfarm.org.

Grow Your Own Resources

Plant Giveaways Pallet Parklet From the Friendly Streets Initiative

Bluegrass Music Mobile Pizza Picnic*

First Bites

Taste of the Nation Hotlist Minneapolis’ Taste of the Nation Hotlist for Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign is back, with more sizzle and pop than ever before. More than 30 superstar chefs and mixologists will set up camp on the Nicollet Island Pavilion in a benefit to end childhood hunger. The culinary mavericks will portion up samples of their very best dishes, and bartenders will craft eccentric cocktails (and pour fine wine and beer). Toothsome in all degrees, the event will also feature live music, a one-of-a-kind silent auction, a wine ring toss, and more.

June 11 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. $75/ per person $100/ VIP http://ce.strength.org/events/minneapolis-taste-nation-hotlist

16 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

PHASING FROGTOWN PARK AND FARM, DECEMBER 10, 2013

YEAR 1

YEAR 2

• vehicle access and parking • public pathways • entry signs • lighting • crosswalks • begin soil building program

• build barn / toolshed / packing house • farm plaza / picnic area / bathrooms • on site nursery established • first fruit trees planted • play area • ampitheater • composting / soil building • field 1 in production • farm stand

YEAR 3

YEAR 4

• build high tunnels • establish path network • plant fruit tree orchard in SE • field 2 in production

• build farmhouse / community center • all fields in production

Frogtown Farm will be a hub for a healthy food system that fills gaps in food production, storage, manufacturing, and distribution. Learn more at www.frogtownfarm.org

First Bites

Spices of Life Workshop Unleash flavors of a different kind at the Spices of Life workshop in North Side Minneapolis’ nonprofit Appetite for Change. Showcasing Jewish flavors and aptitude to mix signature ingredients, the result is sure to be lipsmacking good. Bring your apron – the event includes the crafting of a shared meal to broaden your culinary repertoire. Michelle Horovitz from Appetite for Change and Danny Schwartzman from Common Roots Café will be at the helm during an afternoon of tastes, community, and food stewardship.

July 15 2:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Appetite for Change www.sabesjcc.org/summer-arts-workshop.php

18 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Seams To Me...

For all your sewing needs.

Custom Pillows From Vintage Fabrics send2patsy@gmail.com • (714)396-0902

Innovators with Tons of Experience

Festival of Farms SFA’s Festival of Farms™ is an opportunity to learn about sustainable agriculture, network within the community, and have fun at various farms across the state. The Festival is unique to each chapter, but the goal is the same—to build a unified sense of SFA’s presence in communities across Minnesota and tighten connections within the local food community.

Cherry Flowers and Tim Page

Last year at attendees found themselves taking a walking tour of many fields, they had a visit with the pastured pigs and laying hens, and a they took a peek at the 200-odd varieties that make local farms a food cornucopia.

Some SFA-MN chapters don’t run a festival each year, please consult the SFA-MN web site for updates on specific chapters.

July 11 www.sfa-mn.org/festival-of-farms

www.pageandflowers.com NoshTC.com 19

Nosh Culture

Shades of Green > By Beth Dooley

t’s almost summer! Think emerald spinach and tender lettuces, garlic scapes curling like question marks and pea tendrils tangled in sweet profusion.

Asparagus are fat, carrots sugary; pearly turnips and crimson radishes add a peppery snap. Here comes the rhubarb, advancing for tiny strawberries. Goodness abounds.

I

dressing and a sprinkling of dill. The menu also includes smoked fish (they have salmon, we have Lake Superior trout and whitefish), fresh artisan cheeses, hearty bread, a tossed salad of mâche, lambs ear, sorrel, and radishes in a lemony vinaigrette, blanched asparagus, and of course, rhubarb and strawberries, lightly sweetened, poached together, and served with freshly whipped cream.

Early summer is Earth’s gift to cooks. Most of our meals depend on what I’ve just found or pulled from the garden.

Weeknight dishes are sometimes born of inspired desperation, as in, what can I make for dinner tonight?

Take it easy. Toss freshly shucked spring peas with pasta and a little shredded Parmesan. Call it dinner with a thick slice of grilled bruschetta, a salad of sorrel and spring lettuces, and a glass of wine.

No Scandinavian celebration is complete without aquavit.

Like gin, this distilled liquor is flavored with a blend of spices and herbs – cardamom, fennel, dill, and most often, caraway. Local distilleries offer a varied selection. Gamle Ode Aquavit, made at 45th Parallel, New Richmond, Wisconsin, makes a very distinctive drink. Vikre Distillery, Duluth, and Death’s Door Gin, Washington Island, Wisconsin, make lovely botanical gins to sip, too.

With these longer evenings, weekends are made for simple gatherings. Given our latitude, I am inspired by that Scandinavian tradition of Midsommar – the solstice.

It’s a no-fuss, low-key kind of holiday to love, June 20 to 21. In Sweden, it’s all about friends, food, and schnapps and features fresh things from the garden – just-dug new potatoes, lightly steamed and tossed with a tangy

Spring, the return of light and warmth, is reason enough for celebration. On these long, lovely, soft nights, let’s toast the strengthening sun and warmer days ahead.

Cookbook author Beth Dooley has covered the local food scene in the Northern Heartland for twenty-five years.

20 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Recipes for Solstice

Dilled New Potatoes with Smoked Trout and Horseradish Sauce Serves 8 You can make the different components of this dish ahead of time and then assemble it right before serving.

3 pounds small new potatoes, scrubbed Zest and juice of ½ lemon 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons capers Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1/3 cup coarsely chopped dill (1 small bunch) 1 pound smoked trout, shredded 1/4 cup prepared mayonnaise 1/4 cup Greek yogurt 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish, or to taste Put the potatoes into a large pot. Cover with at least 2 inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Drain.

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, oil, and capers, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the potatoes (while still warm) to the dressing and toss to coat. Add the chopped dill.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt and horseradish.

Arrange the potatoes on a large platter, top with the fish, and the spoon the dressing on top.

Garnish with remaining dill and serve.

Lemony Dressing for Asparagus Makes 1 cup Make this easy dressing ahead and serve it on poached vegetables, grilled chicken, or a tossed salad. It will keep a week in the refrigerator.

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Seams To Me...

For all your sewing needs.

Home Furnishings send2patsy@gmail.com • (714)396-0902

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Put the lemon zest, juice, sugar, mustard, and oil into a jar with a screw cap. Shake vigorously.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Poached Rhubarb and Strawberries Serves 8 You can skip the whipped cream for a lighter version (but why bother?).

2 pounds rhubarb, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces 1/4 cup water 1/3 cup sugar, or more to taste 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced 1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint Put the rhubarb and water in a saucepan and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer, and cook until the rhubarb is tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Lift the rhubarb out of the pan with a slotted spoon into a large bowl and toss in the strawberries.

Add the sugar to the poaching liquid and stir to dissolve.

Simmer the liquid until it’s reduced by half and is slightly thickened. Toss in the mint and pour over the rhubarb and strawberries. Serve with lightly sweetened, vanilla whipped cream.

Register online Online: w-e-i.org or Call 651.583.0705

NoshTC.com 21

Nosh Capitol Beat

The Seeds of Local Food Policy Photo: Ben Ketaro

>By Brian DeVore

B

uried in legislation that addresses everything from farm chemicals to grain storage are a few words making legal “interpersonal sharing of seed for home, educational, charitable and personal, noncommercial use.” That text, plugged into an omnibus agriculture bill during the 2015 session of the Minnesota Legislature, does more than legalize seed sharing—it’s a modest sign that the informal local foods lobby is gaining clout.

“It really highlighted the power and potential of local food production and seed sharing,” said Jamie Harvie of the Institute for a Sustainable Future. “The conventional ag community really had its eyes opened.”

Public policy in Minnesota is far from embracing a local, sustainable food system whole-hog. However, no matter the outcome of the 2015 legislative session—at this writing it was scheduled to adjourn in mid-May—alternative food systems are gaining influence. Legislators are also considered bills that would ease direct farm-to-consumer sales, and a proposal recognizing consumers’ “right to know” when it comes to GMOs.

Such requirements, set up to regulate the commercial seed business, amount to a de facto ban on seed sharing for anyone who lacks test plots and the other trappings of a commercial seed or university research venture.

“Seed sharing is a practice that’s been done since the beginning of agriculture,” said Harvie. “These rules were egregious.”

Agriculture Department officials’ attempt to shut down the Duluth Seed Library unearthed a thriving subculture of seed sharing in the state. Many libraries—even the frontyard Little Free Libraries—have gotten in on the act, as well as community gardeners and some farmers.

The legislation that fixed the Minnesota seed law resulted from meetings and advocacy by a coalition that represented libraries, community gardening organizations and local food groups. It turns out that, besides gardening, seed sharing touches on regionalism, using community spaces, and even exercising control over the sources of our food.

“This issue galvanized groups,” said Harvie.

Seed Sharing Under the Duluth Public Library’s seed sharing program, people can borrow vegetable seeds in the spring and later return seeds they had grown themselves. In 2014, its first year of operation, 200 people borrowed 800 packets of seed. However, in September, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture informed the library it was violating state law, which requires seed distributors to test and propagate seeds to make sure they germinate properly.

Building a Local Food Infrastructure More than 400 Minnesota farms sell food directly to consumers, generating over $33 million in annual sales, according to the latest U.S. Census of Agriculture.

However, surveys show that direct-marketing farmers lack the time and resources to efficiently store and transport their products. Ironically, it can be cheaper to haul a semiload of August tomatoes from California to Minneapolis than to truck them in from Renville County.

22 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

The agriculture bill’s inclusion of language supporting the development of “food hubs” could help. A food hub is a centrally located facility that aggregates, stores, processes and distributes locally produced products, helping small- and mid-sized farms exploit efficiencies of scale in marketing and transportation while maintaining each farmer’s individual identity.

The USDA estimates there are more than 250 food hubs in the U.S., ranging in size from five to 2,000 producers.

Studies show that although food hubs have little problem finding customers, they have trouble balancing supply and demand. State and federal agencies are working to help hubs promote rural economic development while getting healthier food to consumers, particularly in rural and urban food deserts.

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The Legislature’s ag bill directs the state agriculture commissioner to “facilitate” the development of food hubs, but does not specify how. However, even mentioning the term “food hub” alongside mainstream agriculture endeavors is a step forward.

GMO Right to Know Legislation requiring labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients failed to become law in Minnesota for the third time. Still, Jim Riddle, a southeastern Minnesota farmer who has long been involved in the organic industry, sees a lot of momentum behind creating a national GMO label.

Thirty states have considered GMO “right to know” food labeling; 64 countries require such labels. The proposed Minnesota legislation is similar to a groundbreaking GMO labeling law passed by Vermont in 2014 and which was given the green light by the courts this spring.

Congress this summer may consider legislation that would pre-empt state rules and put the USDA in charge of certifying foods as non-GMO. “Those opposing state GMO labeling laws say we should use the example of organics, where it is a national labeling initiative,” said Riddle, the former chair of the National Organic Standards Board. “Well, we are using organics as an example, where states are moving forward on this and pushing for a national label.”

Brian DeVore is an author, editor and writer based in the Twin Cities.

www.pageandflowers.com NoshTC.com 23

Craft Brews

Q&A Pete Rifakes, founder and president, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery; Treasurer and legislative chairman, Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild

Q. Thanks for taking some time to sit down with us.

Please tell us about the Craft Brewers Guild.

A. Thank you for having me. The Craft Brewers Guild was started in 2001 with approximately 10 Minnesota brewers. We hoped to bring brewers together to share experiences and help each other through some difficult times in the craft beer movement. The industry at that time wasn’t the same as it is today, and camaraderie was necessary for small breweries to survive.

Over time, the guild has evolved. With the strength of membership, which includes 78 Minnesota brewers and over 30 allied trade members, we do much more.

The guild now, focuses on marketing, education, and improving the industry as a whole.

Today, we: 1. Organize and operate three craft beer festivals, the Autumn Brew Review, Winter Fest and All Pints North, each of which has an educational component.

2. Organize and operate the Land of 10,000 Beers exhibit at the State Fair.

3. Organize and promote events during Minnesota’s Craft Beer Week, “10,000 Minutes of Minnesota Craft Beer.”

4. Sponsor the Minnesota Craft Bar and Lounge at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

5. Organize and operate the Minnesota Craft Beer Business and Technical Conference.

24 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

6. Promote legislative change to allow Minnesota brewers to become more competitive.

We will continue to evolve, but our focus will always be to share our experience, teach best practices to new members, and strengthen the competitiveness of Minnesota brewers.

Q. Please give an example of how the guild educates new members and shares its existing members’ experience.

A. The best way to describe the interaction and relationships between our members is “competitive cooperation.” I stole that from someone who spoke at our last meeting, and feel it’s accurate in describing our industry. We all understand the difficulties in starting a brewery, and those members with more experience help others in need.

For example, Summit Brewery, which opened in 1985, makes it a regular practice to assist others by testing beer in Summit’s lab. I think that Mark Stutrud, Summit’s founder, understands that the Minnesota beer industry is better when Minnesota brewers make good beer.

In addition to the unique relationships between member brewers, the guild has begun to explore more ways to educate its members. In 2014, the guild established the Minnesota Craft Beer Business and Technical Conference in Duluth. Together with the Master

Brewers Association of America (MBAA), we organize classes and panel discussions that cover everything from business insurance to barrel-aging beer.

Recently, Tom Whisenand from Indeed Brewing spearheaded an effort to help members make their breweries safer. Last month, we hosted the first of our quarterly “safety socials.” More than 40 attended.

Q. How do you account for such an explosion of taprooms in Minnesota?

A. Until recently, operating a taproom and distributing beer was illegal in Minnesota. The Taproom Bill (or Surly Bill), which passed in May 2011, was the beginning of Minnesota’s craft beer explosion. In 2010, there were 18 breweries in Minnesota. Once the Taproom Bill passed, the number of Minnesota breweries increased to 34 in 2011, 48 in 2012, 58 in 2013 and 72 in 2014.

Most of the new breweries are licensed with taprooms.

Breweries are expensive to build. Before taprooms, many brewery owners or investors couldn’t earn a reasonable return on investment. To illustrate (and I know this is simplified), before taprooms, a brewery could only sell its beer at wholesale prices. Today, a keg of craft beer sells at wholesale for somewhere

in the neighborhood of $120 to $160. At retail (in a taproom), that same keg earns $400 to $700. Adding taprooms has helped business earn a better return and grow faster.

The passing of the Taproom Bill is an example where a very small legislative change has had a huge economic impact on an industry. There are still many inequities in Minnesota’s beer laws. Future changes will make the Minnesota craft beer industry even stronger.

Q. Why can’t I buy my favorite Minnesota beer at the liquor store near my cabin in Pequot Lakes?

A. I’m not sure what your favorite beer is, but most likely, the brewery simply doesn’t distribute its beer to Pequot Lakes. However, if your favorite beer is made by a Minnesota brewpub, it’s illegal for liquor stores to sell it. By state law, Minnesota brewpubs are the only ones in the world that can’t sell their beer through liquor stores; just like taprooms before 2011, it’s illegal. Here is another example in which outdated laws need to change. If we expect Minnesota brewers to compete with brewers across the country, our laws must evolve.

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Nosh Sprouts

The Simple Pleasure of Cooking Rivals Extreme Entertainment for Kids >By Jill Colella

I

happen to live in Saint Paul, Minnesota, so one of the closest local malls happens to be the shiny megalopolis called the Mall of America. Incredibly, there always seems to be a long line snaked around a particular store where children—many there are part of another child’s birthday celebration—gather around to stuff and dress a new plush animal friend. I happen to find this fascinating because once upon a time, long, long ago, I was also in the kids’ birthday party business.

spa parties, there are a dizzying number of experiences for kids. Most share several qualities: they are active, they are meant for children to interact and work together, they are fun, they are physical and hands-on, and there is often a final result or product. While cooking may not have extreme elements like costumed cartoon princesses or glow-in-the-dark laser tag vests, it offers a different kind of excitement that is more elemental: empowering kids with responsibility and inviting them to take part in an activity that happens in real life, as opposed to mere play.

While I now write cookbooks and edit two food magazines for children, called Ingredient and Butternut, the roots of this work began when I was Chef Jill from Picky Eaters Kids’ Cooking Parties, a mobile business offering hands-on cooking instruction for kids in my clients’ homes. What did “hands-on cooking instruction” really mean? Chef Jill hustled birthday parties for kids.

In any given weekend, I would be all over the greater Maryland-DC-Northern Virginia area, most likely helping kids between the ages of 3 and 12 make individual pizzas to enjoy at the party, and chocolate-covered marshmallow pops to package and take home as DIY favors.

As Chef Jill, I’ve been to hundreds of children’s birthday parties, some with party favor bags that rivaled Oscarparty swag, but the most excited I’ve seen a child at one of these gatherings was showing off a bread bear that he made at our party. Humble ingredients and a bit of attention became a point of pride and a memory for a lifetime. With each column in Nosh, I’ll provide recipes that can offer this same excitement for young cooks, and teach them (and maybe even the cooking-averse adults who love them) about the simple pleasures of cooking.

From building bears to bouncing in inflatable castles and trampoline parks to getting pedicures at preschooler

Jill Colella is a publisher, author, editor and writer based in St. Paul.

26 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Bake-A -Bear Bread This is a simple, basic, white bread recipe to use, as it eliminates eggs both in the dough and as a wash, which is convenient when working with younger children. Use your favorite bread dough recipe and follow instructions for shaping bears.

Makes about 10 servings, or about 4 medium-sized bears.

What you need: 1 package (.25 ounce each) active dry yeast 1 ½ cups water, warm (about 110° F) 3 tablespoons sugar ½ cup milk, warm (about 110° F) 3 tablespoons butter, softened 2 teaspoons salt 5 cups bread flour (plus up to 1 additional cup for kneading) 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 3 tablespoons butter, melted Optional: raisins or chocolate chips How you do it: In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk together yeast, water and sugar until dissolved.

Add milk, butter, salt and half of flour. Combine ingredients using a spatula or wooden spoon. Gradually add more flour until dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a solid surface dusted with flour and knead for 6-8 minutes.

Oil a bowl, place dough in bowl and coat dough with oil.

Cover with a clean dishtowel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for an hour. [This is an excellent opportunity to clean up and prepare work area for shaping dough. Individual pieces of parchment paper or small foil pans are ideal and can be labeled with names using permanent marker.]

Punch down risen dough and knead gently. Cut into four pieces.

To shape into bears: split each piece of dough in half.

Make a large oval to form the bear’s body. Split the other piece in two—one for the head, and one for arms and legs. Take the piece for the head and divide it into 4 pieces-one large, and three small to form ears and nose.

Take the piece for limbs and separate into 4 equal pieces, rolling them into logs.

Build bears directly on parchment paper or foil pan. Let rise for about 15 minutes.

Brush with melted butter.

Preheat oven and bake at 400° F for about 17-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Use chocolate chips or raisins as eyes and a nose. Slit openings for them after bread has cooled slightly.

LAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECT Working to Keep the Land & People Together Since 1982 www.landstewardshipproject.org • 612-722-6377 NoshTC.com 27

As Nosh Twin Cities magazine grows you can expect to find a few strategic additions to our offering.

• Comprehensive online resource directory of all things local foods.

• Farm to table restaurant guide.

• A smattering of items, available in our online catalogue that will make your life easier.

28 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

We view the local foods community as a cycle of mutually supportive pieces. Local farmers wouldn’t last without the consumer and vice versa.

Distribution, retailers, food purveyors, local source restaurants - whatever your role, please let us know about the unique happenings going on in the Twin Cities local foods community.

Drop us an email at feedback@NoshTC.com

NoshTC.com 29

Mn Wine

Q&A Irv Geary President Minnesota Grape Growers Association; Wild River Vineyards, Vineyard Owner; Wild Mountain Winery, Wine Maker

Q. Thanks for taking some time to sit down with us. Please tell us about the Minnesota Grape Growers Association.

Q. What happens to the grapes grown by non-winery growers?

A. The MGGA was formed in 1976 to help promote the art of viticulture, or grape growing. It was primarily an organization that focused on growing and education. We still focus on these today but have also added the science of wine (enology), legislative efforts and marketing. We have over 500 members and 38 winery members from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

A. We have many members who grow grapes for themselves or for wineries across the state. There are a few who grow for farmers market sales. Most, however, do sell to wineries. People get into this as a hobby, but it has a way of pulling you in. I’m not sure if it’s the romance of it, or the beauty of seeing your efforts going into awardwinning wines, but there is definitely an attraction.

Q. Are you still educating new members and sharing “best practices”? In what way?

Q. The new Minnesota Grown Directory mentions that your industry adds $59 million annually to the Minnesota economy. What does that entail?

A. The MGGA is the primary viticultural force behind many other efforts taking place in the Midwest. We helped create the University of Minnesota’s grape breeding program through our legislative efforts. We currently hold the largest conference on cold-climate viticulture and enology with our annual Cold Climate Conference held in February of each year. We are currently working on the creation of a viticultural best practices manual for coldclimate cultivars. The manual will be completed in the spring of 2016.

30 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

A. This is from an earlier economic impact study performed by the U of M. The last one I saw had us at nearly $70 million. This includes everything associated with the industry, including how much the vineyard owner puts into labor, fertilizers, and equipment. Then it adds in all of the winery costs, such as labor, bottling, and wine sales.

It also includes some indirect costs such as agro-tourism dollars, including lodging and restaurants that are linked to the country winery scene.

Q. What are some of the hurdles to the MN grape and wine industry?

A. Currently we have a very positive environment in terms of many good cold-climate grape varietals to choose from. Between the U of M and Elmer Swenson varietals, there are approximately 15 to 20 different grapes that can be successfully grown and sold in our state.

Anyone looking at getting into it grape growing or the winery business should definitely do their homework and talk to others who have done this before. Proper planning can make either of these undertakings a success.

As for the wineries, we have a lot of support from the legislatures in the states we serve. They’ve allowed us to make up to 75,000 gallons of wine that we can sell directly or wholesale, and to sell on Sundays, which is obviously a big issue lately.

As for hurdles, I would have to say financial backing and time are the biggest issues. When planting a vineyard, you can expect to spend anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000 per acre just to get it in the ground and trellised. Then you have to manage it for three more years, at a cost of about another $1,500 to $2,000 per year, with no crop.

Wineries are more difficult to start, when you consider you need to invest anywhere from $300,000 to several million dollars, years before you sell any wine.

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Nosh D I Y

Best Practices: Tips to Raising Chickens in Your Backyard >By Janice Cole

I

f you are into sustainable living, local foods, reducing food waste, and composting, you might consider raising backyard chickens. You would be in good company. The number of people who raise chickens in the Twin Cities metro area just keeps growing.

Mother Earth Gardens, and community education centers offer chicken-raising classes during the spring, early summer and fall. Egg|Plant’s annual Chicken Coop Tour, planned for September, will feature 20 to 25 metro-area coops. Check the store’s online calendar for dates.

What’s behind the growing interest? Audrey Matson of Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply in St. Paul shared a few reasons. Minneapolis and St. Paul have allowed backyard chickens for years, and more metro communities are following suit. Today, suburbs from Minnetonka to Maplewood, Anoka, Eagan, and beyond are giving their citizens the green light to keep hens.

If you think you’ll save money by raising your own chickens, think again. Many backyard chicken owners joke that the cost of their first eggs runs literally into the hundreds of dollars.

If you’re dreaming of a picturesque flock of chickens pecking in your backyard, and of heading out to collect fresh eggs for breakfast, I understand completely. I’ve been raising chickens in my backyard for over nine years, and it can be magical. I’ve learned a few things along the way that may help you decide whether backyard chickens are right for you.

First, consider your long-term plans. Pampered backyard chickens can live surprisingly long lives. Older chickens lay eggs less frequently or stop laying completely. Are you willing to continue to care for these animals or to have them slaughtered?

Visit local coops and chat with the chicken owners.

A Google Group, Twin Cities Chickens, offers lively discussions on topics of concern to metro chicken owners. Egg|Plant, Anoka Ramsey Farm and Garden, 32 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Raising chickens requires an initial investment just like any new venture or hobby. Unlike pets such as dogs and cats, chickens require special housing. It’s imperative you plan for a coop and attached run (an enclosed outside area) before you begin, as cute baby chicks grow quickly and soon demand their own space.

Coops may range from simple dwellings made from recycled materials to elaborate Pinterest-worthy chicken villas. Most coops cost at least $300 to buy or construct.

Given our climate, consider insulating your coop and wiring it with electricity. Electricity will allow you to heat the coop and extend the number of light hours in winter, increasing egg production.

Coops must also protect chickens from predators, including domestic dogs, foxes, weasels, raccoons, opossums, and hawks. Make sure your coops have tamperproof locks and entries (raccoons are wily and smart) and that your attached runs are made of hardware cloth, not chicken wire. Chicken wire gaps will allow opossums and

other small creatures inside. Extend your hardware cloth a foot or two underground to deter predators that dig. Don’t assume that city-dwelling chickens are safe. Some of the worst predator attacks have happened in the inner cities.

Chickens require little maintenance beyond daily fresh food and water, checking for eggs, securing the coop at night and cleaning it regularly. You will also need someone care for your birds while you’re away.

Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply and farm supply stores in the metro area sell chickens through the spring and early summer. Anoka Ramsey Farm and Garden sells them year ‘round. Call ahead for specific breeds. Baby chicks may also be purchased online, although hatcheries usually require a large order. My Pet Chicken online store sells chicks geared to the backyard owner.

Baby chicks are so cute, you’ll be tempted to take many home with you, but you should get used to taking care of a small group, like three chickens, before increasing your flock.

Chicken keeping is an investment and a commitment, but chickens provide great compost for the garden, eat bugs, and lay the best eggs you’ll ever taste. Chickens can also be fun to have around. Their personalities quickly become apparent - some are talkative, some are snugglers, others are independent, while the rest will follow you around the

garden. The more time and attention you give them, the friendlier they will be.

Enjoy the experience and have fun!

Janice Cole is an author, journalist and food writer based in the Twin Cities.

Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply 1771 Selby Ave. St. Paul, MN 55104 (651) 645 0818 http://eggplantsupply.com

Anoka Ramsey Farm and Garden 7435 Hwy 10 West Ramsey, Minnesota (763) 421-0223 Twin Cities Chickens http://groups.google.com/group/TwinCitiesChickens My Pet Chicken http://www.mypetchicken.com

NoshTC.com 33

Mn Spirits

Q&A Shanelle Montana President, Minnesota Distillers Guild; Owner, Du Nord Craft Spirits

Q. Hello, thanks for taking the time to visit with us. Please tell us a little about the Minnesota Distillers Guild.

A. Thanks for inviting us! We are excited to be here. The Minnesota Distillers Guild is made up of 20 microdistilleries throughout Minnesota. These microdistilleries vary in size and business model.

Microdistilleries are new in Minnesota. It wasn’t until the passing of the Surly bill in 2011, which reduced the license fee from $30,000 to $1,100 annually that microdistilleries started to pop up. The Guild has helped distillers and communities sort through many of the questions that arise as microdistilleries expand.

Q. What is the best way for us to define “craft” in the context of your industry?

industry overall. Many brands are marketing themselves as “craft,” while buying someone else’s alcohol and selling it as their own. It will be the Minnesota Distillers Guild’s responsibility to define the term for Minnesota, and we hope that that definition will support the grain-to-glass definition of craft.

Q. So, the Minnesota Legislature has made some changes to laws that govern how consumers can interact with your members. Can you break it down for us?

A. The Minnesota Distillers Guild has taken small steps over the last few years to update the state’s liquor laws and bring microdistilleries into parity with the brewers and the wineries. As of this session, microdistilleries can serve samples and cocktails, participate in neighborhood social events, and sell 375-ml bottles.

Q. Do you have a timeline for these changes to take effect?

A. The definition is up for discussion within the Guild.

Therefore, I will give you my answer as one of the owners of Du Nord Craft Spirits. At Du Nord, we believe that craft is the art of doing something yourself. Therefore, in the spirits context, it is starting with grain and ending with your spirits. You are “crafting” the product the entire way.

A. All of these changes are in effect at the state level.

However, municipalities have the final say. For example, the sale of 375-ml bottles is legal in Minnesota, but a city must issue a license for a microdistillery to sell a bottle.

There is a national debate happening now about what “craft” means. Visibility and transparency are lacking in the

Q. What should consumers expect of Minnesota craft distilleries in the near and distant future?

34 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

A. One thing is certain: Craft distillers will return to the Capitol to advocate for a better bottle sales law—the 375ml restriction hurts distillers, because it causes us to incur additional costs we may not be able to afford. It hurts consumers because they are only able to buy half-bottles of a legal product.

Aside from that, consumers should expect a wide variety of products made from a wide variety of grains and fruits.

That is the beauty of microdistilleries—we can make small batches, experiment, and create something new. We have yet to see the eau de vie distilleries or the brandy distilleries, but I’m sure they will be here soon. I would also expect that we would see many microdistilleries begin to roll out their aged products in the next one to two years, and to open cocktail rooms. (Minnesota has three cocktail rooms: Du Nord in Minneapolis; Vikre in Duluth; and Far North in Hallock).

NoshTC.com 35

36 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Mother and daughter duo, Lisa and Hallie Talbott work together full time on their extended season farm in Afton, growing vegetables and microgreens in their moveable unheated high tunnels to support a 3 season CSA, their on-farm stand and sell wholesale to restaurants and stores that support sustainable practices.10th St. Farm & Market is powered by solar array.

NoshTC.com 37

38 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Cutting microgreens for packaging.

Lettuce plugs ready for planting in the greenhouse.

From seed to plant.

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Hallie harvesting lettuce.

40 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Pollinator advocate, Hallie cares for two hives.

Lisa packaging pea shoots.

Buster the farm dog.

NoshTC.com 41

Beyond Frybread: Sioux Chef Reclaims Native American Cuisine

By Laura French Photos by Heidi Ehalt Photography

42 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

F

ood binds a culture together, according to Sean Sherman, aka Sioux Chef, who has been cooking in Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana for the last 27 years.

Most recently, Sherman has turned his culinary focus to his heritage: the foodways of Native Americans before they lived on reservations.

“Look at how the Anishinabeg used maple syrup. They added corncob ash for flavor. They were smoking fish, they were smoking the meats, they were creating their own sugar. They were making their own salts,” he explained. “For a lot of Native American people, the loss of food culture is a huge hit. Now food systems are just convenience—snack food and junk food—and 90 percent of it is not good for you.”

Sioux Chef’s mission is to reclaim the region’s Native American food culture and share its health and flavor benefits with a wider audience. To date, that includes presentations and catering services. Future projects include a food truck developed in association with the Little Earth community in Minneapolis, and a cookbook.

“I grew up on my grandfather’s ranchland, which was 20 miles out of Pine Ridge, South Dakota,” Sherman recalled. “We had lots of wild chokecherries. We had wild plums. There was not a lot of vegetation—it’s dry soil. We picked some stuff here and there. There was more in the Black Hills. We used to vacation there a lot in the summertime.”

Sherman grew up cooking, first at home and then in tourist-focused restaurants in the Black Hills. He started thinking about the food systems that sustained Native Americans before Europeans arrived.

Sherman is quick to point out that for his Oglala Lakota people, “pre-European” wasn’t all that long ago. His great-great-grandfather grew up with the Lakota, moving around. He never spoke English.

Sherman’s interest has led him in many directions. “I tried getting a really good grasp of Native plant species.

That’s ethnobotany—the study of plants and where they came from, what’s indigenous to the region. Then I started applying that information as a chef—finding out which plants were edibles. I wasn’t worrying about the medicinal side of it. I was just focused on edibility and flavor,” he said.

Having identified the Native foodstuffs, Sherman looked to history to find out how people processed and preserved foods. That led to a study of Native farming practices, and learning about Native trade routes that

connected the Lakota, Dakota and Ojibwe to the Maya and Aztec worlds. Unfortunately, most of the available written accounts of Native American cultures at the time of Europeans’ first contact with Native Americans came from non-Natives, often military.

“They focused on the males,” Sherman said. “They give accounts of the hunting and then say, ‘and then the women cleaned everything.’ But it was the women who were doing all the farming, sewing things, making beads. I wish there were more volumes about people in the middle of the country.”

Sherman has supplemented his reading by talking with people in the community. Reviving Native cuisine has proven easier in the Upper Midwest and the Southwest than the Far West.

“In this region and the Southwest, we’re closer to people who were living traditionally,” he explained. “When you get out to California, with the Gold Rush, a lot of people went extinct. Here, people were just kind of put on the reservations — out of sight, out of mind. There’s quite a bit of traditional culture around. It’s information that we can slowly bring back through practice.”

Sherman’s broad research eventually led to a narrow focus: Erasing European influences and using “superregional, indigenous foods” as the basis for a cuisine.

“Because I’m in Minnesota, I decided to focus just on food systems here—Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota,” said Sherman, whose catering business is based in Minneapolis.

Developing a cuisine that’s stripped of all outside influences has been a challenge. Sherman initially found it difficult to avoid binding everything together with egg, or adding sugar to make a recipe more palatable. “I just kept playing with it, learning more and more,” he recalled.

At this point, he said, “I find it pretty open, even though I boxed myself in with the ingredients. I’m stewing things, smoking things, drying things out. I’m using not only the traditional ingredients but also the traditional techniques. There’s so much to do with this stuff. I can make a lot of interesting plates and continue to grow. I think putting artistry into whatever you do helps out. I identify and use my foundation pieces, but I’m putting my own touch on plates.”

There is one box Sherman doesn’t want to get into just yet —opening a restaurant, which was his original plan.

Instead, he’s focusing on educational outreach. He is working on a cookbook that is at least a year from completion, and hopes to open a Native American culinary training center.

NoshTC.com 43

Sean Sherman, Sioux-Chef

Meanwhile, Sherman is consulting with the Little Earth community to develop Tatanka Truck, a Native American food truck scheduled to open for the 2015 season.

“It’s designed to showcase healthy Native food. We’ll use it around the community; take it to some of the reservations. It will be a presence to show that there is a Native cuisine and culture—a really super-healthy option.” The menu will include buffalo, rabbit, duck, wild rice and lots of corn products.

Sherman foresees a day when there are “a few smartly placed restaurants around,” but growth requires sustainable sources of ingredients. Currently, Sherman said, there are some “smart protein choices,” including bison, duck, turkey and quail produced in Minnesota. Red Lake has a Native-owned fishery that provides walleye and northern pike.

“In the 1980s, they almost overfished. They had to come to grips with how to keep it alive in a healthy way,” he added. As for Native crops, Sherman said, “There’s quite a bit of traditional culture around. It’s 44 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

information that we can slowly bring back through practice.

It will take a few years. There are so many projects working with Native communities. There will be some good models.”

Sherman calls Native American cuisine “a viable movement,” that has multiple points of entry. “I think that I’ve hit a lot of different genres,” he said, “people interested in different pieces of what we’re doing. There’s the Native American but also the historical, the anthropological, the use of wild foraging edibles. Some people are interested in Native farming and bringing back heirloom varieties. There are different points to the story that people pick up on for different reasons.”

Laura French is a Twin Cities writer, writing trainer and communications consultant.

Tatanka Food Truck

Sioux-Chef.com is Sean Sherman’s website, which includes links to articles and his interview on The Splendid Table, as well as an events calendar and a catering contact form.

Tatanka Truck, which will begin operating in the summer of 2015, has both a website (www.tatankatruck.com) and a Facebook page, where you can see the menu and find out where the truck will be from week to week.

Native Harvest.com, a project of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, has an online store that sells wild rice, hominy, jellies, fruit spreads, honey, fruit teas, and buffalo sausages. All products are produced by Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) in northern Minnesota.

Dream of Wild Health is a 10-acre organic farm in Hugo, Minnesota.

Its Indigenous Food Share provides subscribers with a weekly box of seasonal produce.

Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden, first published in 1917, is the best source of information on the traditional farming methods of Native Americans from the Upper Midwest. It is in print and available in various editions.

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46 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

L to R: Mary Quinn McCallum and Christine Weeks

Sustainable Advocates Meet the Field Guide Duo

By Dan Heilman Photos by Laurie Schneider

H

eidi Andermack had a very specific goal in mind: She wanted an award. Andermack, who co-owns Minneapolis-based Chowgirls Killer Catering with Amy Brown, had her eye on a Catersource Achievement in Catering Excellence award, a significant honor in that business.

For help in reaching that objective, Andermack and Brown enlisted Field Guide, a St. Paul-based communications and marketing firm that focuses on the food business–especially businesses that have an underlying sustainable or social mission.

Field Guide owners Christine Weeks and Mary Quinn McCallum wrote essays, curated photos, and compiled the statistics required for entry submissions, and the result was a Catersource award in Chowgirls’ geographic and revenue category.

“Applying for those awards is like writing a grant application,” said Andermack. “It’s a lot of work. Mary and Christine really helped us present our best selves.”

Field Guide’s menu of services includes writing press releases, speeches, and Power Point presentations; organizing staff training; Tweeting or Instagramming about a client. They have landed mentions for clients everywhere from the Highland Villager to the New York Times.

“In the world of food, sustainability and local sourcing, there’s a lot of competition,” Weeks said. “Getting heard and getting your voice out is an important part of succeeding.”

Field Guide has been incorporated since January 2014, but its roots go deeper. Weeks and McCallum, who both live in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood of St. Paul, got to know each other socially four years ago, and the more they talked, the more they found they had in common. Not only did both have a communications background, but they also shared values and interests.

“We saw that we had these skills we could use to promote businesses that have a sustainable or social mission,” said Weeks. “It was a way of feeling good about the work we were doing.”

The two saw enough overlap in food and sustainability to put up a trial balloon for their new venture. As a test project, they worked with Minneapolis beekeepers and organic honey merchants The Beez Kneez to produce a video and organize a fundraising campaign via Kickstarter. When client and consultants were both happy with the results, a company was born.

McCallum said Field Guide is open to any project that involves communication.

“We might just help a client organize their thoughts a bit,” said McCallum.

“Some of our smaller clients have realized that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to keep the business going and also do communications.

They want someone who they can trust to speak for them.”

NoshTC.com 47

McCallum and Weeks at Tiny Diner, Minneapolis

Field Guide usually begins its client relationships with an informal get-to-know-you session. After Weeks and McCallum learn the organization’s priorities and goals, they come back with a list of suggestions and services.

From there, consultant and client work together until the right results are realized.

“Sometimes they say, ‘Great, get to work,’” said Weeks.

“Other times they’ll decide to do some of the things on their own and have us sort of coach them through the process. We might meet weekly or monthly until it seems like things are going the way we want them to.”

Along with Chowgirls and The Beez Kneez, Field Guide’s food clients include Birchwood Café, Mademoiselle Miel, and Isadore Nut Company. Both women have worked in restaurants, and McCallum has worked on organizing efforts aimed at improving the quality of school lunches.

“The food industry is a very specific culture,” said Weeks.

“Their needs are based on the rhythms of their business: seasonality. Those are things we understand, and it gives us an advantage when we’re helping people. We get the challenges of having the right front-of-house staff in a community where there’s a ton of restaurants.”

Return on investment can be hard to measure in the marketing game, so results metrics vary from client to client. Sometimes the results are obvious: more Twitter followers, X number of media mentions.

48 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

Other clients see “soft” benefits, such as a feeling that their business is being talked about and noticed more.

Sometimes, a client will report that Field Guide’s help enabled them to add personnel.

“We might see benefits now from work we did a year ago for someone we only worked with sporadically,” said Weeks.

As Field Guide has grown, so has its scope. The firm has grown from a restaurant focus to helping numerous organizations and initiatives the owners feel strongly about.

Local electronics recycler TechDump hired Field Guide to get the word out in the run-up to Earth Day, earning the organization valuable media attention. The company also created a logo and made videos on behalf of a ballot initiative to overturn the so-called 70/30 law, which mandated a ratio of food-to-alcohol sales for restaurants.

Field Guide is researching and preparing a talk that a client will give to a state convention of institutional nutritionists, addressing the need for values-driven food choices in the food-service industry.

Weeks describes Field Guide’s rates as reasonable – less than those of most P.R. firms. Often, a client will come to them with an ironclad budget, and Weeks and McCallum will find a way to make it work, even if that means the occasional discounted or pro bono gig.

“Independently owned restaurants bring a community component”

“We understand the reality of doing business in that socially conscious sphere,” said McCallum. “The margins are slim. We try to keep our suggestions appropriate to each client and each situation.”

Nonetheless, the company has been profitable from day one, thanks in part to practically nonexistent overhead (both principals work from home).

Field Guide’s owners will continue to refine and expand their offerings, doing the things that small, socially responsible clients don’t have the time or the inclination to tackle. They’ll continue to get the word out about restaurants working toward sustainability, knowing that the success of such establishments creates great benefits for the neighborhoods in which they do business.

“Independently owned restaurants bring a community component,” said McCallum. “The people who care about where their food comes from are also the people who care about what’s happening in their neighborhood.

“That’s something we care deeply about, and we make that an essential part of anything we do for a restaurant,” she added. “We seek out clients who have that mission, too.”

Dan Heilman is a St. Paul based freelance writer.

The

Cottage House Twin Cities Largest Vintage Occasional Home & Garden Market Open 5 days a Month Visit our website or follow us on facebook for upcoming events, sales and great ideas!

www.thecottagehousempls.com 4304 Chicago Avenue • Mpls • 612-825-4934 NoshTC.com 49

the

GYST of it

By Kelli Billstein Photos by Laurie Schneider

L to R: Ky Guse, Jim Bovino, Mel Guse, Jill Mott

50 Nosh Twin Cities May 2015

“Food is the greatest community builder there is.

It invites people to sit and stay awhile…

It welcomes new neighbors and weary travelers and beloved old friends.”

–Sandor Katz, The Art of Fermentation

T

he woman behind the bar stands on a chair and pours a long, thin stream of rosé from a porrón, a communal drinking vessel native to Spain. From several feet up, the wine reaches its target, spattering translucent pink into a patron’s wine glass. Everyone perched on stools at the bar turns to watch the theatric pour. The consensus is, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Glasses are raised to the shout of “Salute!” and guests return to what they’ve been noshing: fresh cheeses, sauerkraut crackers, cured meats, and fermented veggies. Stacks of grilled cheese sandwiches, tiny bowls of crinkle-cut potato chips, glasses of beer, house-brewed kombucha, and wine cover every available surface. Through the din of conversation and laughter thumps the beat of Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop.” This bacchanal scene is a glimpse of an evening at GYST, a fermentation bar that opened last December one block off Eat Street in Minneapolis. If “fermentation bar” sounds like the most esoteric name for any food establishment you’ve ever heard, let us back up and say, fermentation is the culinary science experiment behind all of your favorite foods.

You probably knew that beer, wine, and sauerkraut were fermented products, but maybe you didn’t realize that cheese is made through fermentation, as are artisan bread, cured meats, coffee, chocolate, yogurt, and kombucha. In short, fermentation is the yeast-fueled process that binds food geeks’ favorite edibles. So, let’s meet the food geeks responsible for opening GYST.

Creating a Culture “The word ‘gyst’ is an old English term for yeast,” said Mel Guse, one of the two sisters who own GYST. “We liked the look and sound of the word, and it ties into everything we’re doing here.”

Kylene (Ky) Guse chimes in with her younger sister, “GYST is not a wine bar or a cheese bar, and we don’t consider ourselves a restaurant. We’re a small business with a mission to teach people about food and food systems. We want to connect our customers to the producer of this cheese or that wine.”

The abridged story of how the Guse sisters came to open not a restaurant, not a wine bar or cheese shop—but a fermentation bar with a mission—involves travel, food, and wine.

NoshTC.com 51

After stints at restaurants such as The Bachelor Farmer and Terzo Vino Bar in Minneapolis, the sisters met sommelier and now business partner, Jill Mott. Mott noticed that fermentation was the unifying characteristic of the foods the three women geeked out about, the magical process that yielded fabulous cheeses, opulent wines, and robust beers.

As it turns out, fermentation is also the perfect metaphor to describe what GYST is out to do in the Minneapolis community: Start a culture and feed it. Sandor Katz, author of the book The Art of Fermentation, wrote the following passage, which resonates with the mission of GYST: “One word that repeatedly comes to the fore in my exploration and thinking about fermentation is culture…We call the starters that we add to milk to make yogurt, or to initiate any fermentation, cultures. Simultaneously, culture constitutes the totality of all that humans seek to pass from generation to generation, including language, music, art, literature, scientific knowledge, and belief systems, as well as agriculture and culinary techniques (in both of which fermentation occupies a central role).”

At GYST, creating a culture means brewing kombucha and fermenting vegetables in the kitchen, but it also means creating an environment where the food-loving culture of Minneapolis can meet. Through working with local farmers and producers, hosting events, teaching classes, and doing pop-up dinners, GYST hopes to nurture a culture of people who care about food systems and have conversations about them.

Welcome to GYST The Guse sisters grew up near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where every Friday night was pizza night with the fam, no matter what.

Well, that was until the itch came to flee the Midwest. It happens to the best of us Minnesotans, too, and when it happened to Ky and Mel, they wound up in San Francisco.

“The food scene in California really influenced us,” Ky said. “I was going to grad school and working at Bi-Rite Market, which is known for its artisan organic products. I fell in love with the food and the people.”

Mel, who originally moved to San Francisco to work in public relations for Google and Sony, quit to work at Pizzeria Delfina, a popular place in sisters’ Mission District neighborhood. Every Friday night was pizza night again.

Mel became a certified sommelier and a co-wine buyer for BiRite Market. Ky moved to Rio de Janeiro on a Fulbright scholarship for a year, ate more delicious food, then moved back to San Francisco. Years passed, and the Guse sisters honed their skills in the vast and exceedingly delicious worlds of wine and cheese, eventually deciding to open a place of their own in Minneapolis, closer to family and in the midst of a burgeoning food scene.

52 Nosh Twin Cities May 2015

After a successful Kickstarter that raised $40,000 to renovate what used to be Blacklist Vintage, the lady trio added a fourth to the GYST team. Jim Bovino, who owns and operates California Street Farm in Northeast Minneapolis, has a knack for fermenting the organic vegetables he grows, and is co-owner of the upand-coming Keepsake Cidery in Dundas, Minnesota.

GYST has become a space that people describe as feeling very “unlike Minneapolis.” That’s a compliment.

“I get it all the time,” Jill said. “People come in and say this place reminds me of my favorite bar in Brooklyn. Or it reminds them of the West Coast. Or France. I’ve even gotten Denmark.”

Ky is happy that patrons respond this way. “Actually, one of our working slogans is ‘A getaway from the everyday,’” she said.

This segues well into the kind of establishment that GYST strives to be; that is, homey and casual, yet knowledgeable and refined.

GYST wants you to walk in and feel like you’re in someone’s cozy, contemporary kitchen, which includes a terrarium on the counter and beloved cookbooks on shelves. GYST wants you to sit at the bar, which is lower to facilitate an unintimidating flow of conversation, and learn about the Georgian red wine, Saperavi Pheasant’s Tears, that you are about to drink. This is a place you

come to chat about life with a friend over glasses of full-bodied rosé with a romantically ambiguous name like “Forlorn Hope.”

(Try a glass. It’s delicious.)

“We want people to just take their time here,” Ky said. “There’s nothing else you need to do. Just relax. Eat. Drink.”

Fermented Eats “Our menu is really focused,” Mel said. “We’re not trying to be everything to everybody; we don’t have the capability. We focus on what we know and what we do best instead of building a menu to service the cheeseburger crowd.”

The menu itself might startle any sturdy Minnesotan looking for “something that’ll fill me up,” i.e. a slab of meat and a pile of potatoes. On the GYST menu, you’ll find plenty of things to share with another person or a small group. Some of the boards include: The Mother (their gorgeously served flagship plate of six cheeses, three meats, pickled and fermented veggies, caramel popcorn, dried fruit, and nuts); the Meat Board (a selection of four charcuterie); and the GYST (a single cheese, a meat, fermented vegetable, and a chocolate)—which has been called “the Lunchable for grownups.”

You will also find a funky-delicious sandwich called The Sandor, which is reminiscent of Thai food—a focaccia smothered with peanut butter and topped with kimchi. Then, of course, there’s the grilled cheese, which Ky and Mel went to great lengths to perfect. They use three different cheeses, add tangy sauerkraut, and serve it with a dollop of mustard and a small kale salad.

The eatery works with local purveyors of fermented foods to flesh out its menu: Kiss My Cabbage kimchi, Gerhardt’s sauerkraut, Red Table Meat Co.’s cured meats, and local beers. Ky is excited to develop partnerships with other food and market organizations in the city, too.

As far as the wine and beer list goes, it’s as finely curated as an exhibit at The Walker Art Center. Having worked in the wine industry and developed relationships with distributors and growers, Mel and Jill have built an inventory that boasts unique bottles from all over the world—California, Germany, France, Spain, Chile, Portugal, Lebanon, Slovenia, Georgia, and Greece.

“When I see two people enjoying a glass of wine you can’t find anywhere else in the city, or a cheese that has been sourced directly from a farm, and people leave feeling so thankful, it’s great,” Jill said. “It’s an entire guest experience that’s focused on these products that are so carefully procured.”

Because GYST is a small space, it can operate smoothly with just four people running the show. Ky and Jim spend most of their time making, plating, and running food to tables, while Mel and Jill serve wine and beer.

“I love serving the foods we’re proud of and having conversations with new and regular customers,” said Ky, who is looking forward to summer when fresh vegetables will be abundant for fermenting.

“We want our atmosphere to always remain light and fun,” Mel said.

Keeping it light and fun sometimes means blasting Tina Turner while everyone sings along to “Proud Mary.” Sometimes, it means serving a happy hour “cavabucha”—cava and kombucha cocktails before attending a cider class. Other times, it’s just about sharing a laugh, a beer, and a grilled cheese with sauerkraut at the bar. On special occasions, it’s about standing on chairs and pouring rosé from Spanish drinking vessels into wine glasses. You’d hear, yet again, that someone feels like they’re not in Minneapolis anymore.

GYST Fermentation Bar 25 East 26th Street Minneapolis, MN 55

Kelli Billstein is a writer and editor specializing in food and anything related to the Twin Cities.

NoshTC.com 53

Nosh Forum

Editors Note: Nosh Twin Cities celebrates your love and lore of local foods. In this section, we will feature readers’ stories about their relationships with and insights about local delectables.

Please submit them to forum@NoshTC.com.

I

spent many years as a happy, healthy, stay-athome mom of eight, joining my family in bicycling, swimming, canoeing, waterskiing, croquet, volleyball, and downhill skiing.

Nothing surprised me more than becoming suddenly and inexplicably ill. I felt weak, had brain fog, diarrhea, constant female bleeding, and unexplained weight loss.

My symptoms started after we moved into a house near the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and began breathing plane exhaust. The furnace was emitting carbon monoxide. I replaced it, bought furniture covered with stain repellant, had insulation blown into the attic and walls, polished the woodwork, and painted the dining room chairs.

Stress exacerbated my symptoms. My four oldest sons were getting married within 13 months. Two family friends died, and other family issues cropped up.

My regular doctor, gynecologist, allergist, and endocrinologist could not figure out what was wrong with me. It was all in my head, they said. This was 21 years ago, when most physicians didn’t know about the cumulative effects of toxins on the human body.

I began my own research, and found Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by naturopathic physician Michael T. Murray, N.D., and Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by Phyllis A. and James F. Balch (both updated and available) at my local library.

These doctors described what I was going through – multiple chemical sensitivity, which is often brought on by toxins and stress. Mainstream physicians and insurance companies did not accept this diagnosis, so it was hard to find help. Many scientific, double-blind studies have since shown that chemical exposure can change our brains.

An acquaintance who had had similar symptoms referred me to her physician, “Dr. C.” He had grown up in an apartment above his family’s dry cleaning business, and had suffered similarly.

Dr. C and I developed a plan. I was to avoid the chemicals in city water systems, personal care products, toothpaste, prescription medicines, cleaning supplies, building products, carpeting, paint, air fresheners, insecticides, and the pesticides and preservatives in food. I also switched from synthetic hormones to bio-available hormones, and my bleeding stopped.

My friend had also referred me to a health food storeowner, who helped me research my symptoms and natural remedies. I ran those by Dr. C. and did my own research before buying any product.

I also began reading labels on all the processed food we ate and the chemicals we breathed. I switched to organic, local foods, reduced our consumption of processed foods, and bought a high-quality water purifier for drinking and cooking. I also changed my cooking methods. I don’t fry many foods because of the chemical change caused by frying. When grilling, I no longer allow brats to crust to black because that makes them become carcinogenic.

54 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015

I installed a simple shower filter to reduce our exposure to breathing the chlorine in our city water. I began to buy personal care products made with non-toxic ingredients.

I now use fluoride-free toothpaste, and my dentist uses mercury-free material for my fillings. Natural insect repellants and sunscreen protect my skin.

I now use fragrance-free dishwashing liquid and laundry products, as well as vinegar and baking soda instead of chemical cleaners. I bought a steam mop for the kitchen and bathroom floors, and found that steam also works beautifully for carpet cleaning.

I spray furniture and carpeting with one quart of purified water mixed with six drops of essential tea tree oil to kill dust mites. I have given up chemical air fresheners and furniture polish. I discovered that non-toxic markers hide scratches in wood furniture, and use non-toxic wood care products.

After making these and other changes, I felt much better, but still had some issues. Testing by Dr. C revealed that I was sensitive to dairy, gluten, and sugar, so I stopped consuming them. Because my joints felt sore, I cut out the inflammatory nightshade family of vegetables – tomatoes,

potatoes, peppers, and eggplant. It was hard to give all of those up, but the lack of pain made it worth it.

Prescription medications cause me gastrointestinal distress, so I did a lot of research on dietary supplements and submitted it to Dr. C. He helped me discern which ones were right for me.

I off-load daily stress through physical exercise, deep breathing, meditating on Jesus’ loving presence, and sleeping eight hours per night.

My health improved so much that I was able to return to college to finish my Bachelor of Science degree.

I now know that my health is my responsibility, not my doctors’ or anyone else’s. It took years of trial and error, but I have the tools that continue to help every day. I am so thankful to be healthy again.

- From Theresa McNiff

NoshTC.com 55

Nosh Perspective Happy, pastured duck eggs are coveted by pastry chefs. In this case these awesome eggs are helping to create the best rustic egg fettuccine known to humankind.

Pasta maker is Khaiti French of Living the Dream farm, photo by the incomparable Laurie Schneider.

56 Nosh Twin Cities May/June 2015