This year, I’m hosting Thanksgiving for the first time in a very long time. Despite my years of planning menus for events and my extensive culinary...
Recipes
Turn up the Heat With This Thai Mango Salad Recipe
Fresno peppers (2,500–10,000 SHU) resemble red jalapeños. Though they can be hotter than jalapeños, they are often sweeter and have a pronounced...
Neighbors Share Their Top Tastes for Summer
Try recipes from your neighbors this grilling season. As much as the summer sun brings us all together, so does the food. True Midwesterners know...
Easy Tricks for a Delicious Fish Fry
Long before my family became the fish fanatics they are today, the only fish I could get any of them to eat was Beer-Battered Cod. All fish lovers...
Cottage Baker Starts New Chapter of Her Business
One local turns love of baking into a business. If Elouise Suoja could choose a magical power; it would be for frosting to make itself. The...
Start the New Year With Flavors That Fuel
White Bear Lake area nutritionist suggests foods to soothe the winter blues. Stepping into the new year in Minnesota can be a struggle. The days are...
Pro Chef Shares Home Cooking Secrets
Local chef talks family, flavors and finding joy in home cooking. When Birchwood Village chef Matt Ellison lost his restaurant job during the...
How to Create Your Own Festive Hot Chocolate Board
Heat up your festivities this season with a hot chocolate board. What’s not to love about grazing boards? The modern entertaining essential has...
Bring a New Side Dish to the Thanksgiving Table
Not that we aren’t thankful for the meaty bird, but why is turkey the cynosure of Thanksgiving meals when side dishes are the real reason we pass...
Local Beekeeper Tastes Sweet Success
Neighbors share their passion for beekeeping just in time for National Honey Month. Andy Sorenson didn’t know much about bees when he decided to...
Make the Most Out of Your Local Farmers’ Market with These Tips
Local garden expert shares tips for your next farmers market excursion. While we humans often care a lot about living a healthy lifestyle and taking...
Best of Summer Gardens
It’s mid-summer in Minnesota, and that means two things: 1. Produce farms and home gardens are ready to drop an abundance of fresh produce; and 2....
Homemade Pizza Ideas for Summer
I think pizza is by far one of the best things you can make on an outdoor grill. During the summer, I grill pizza at least once a week. Our bakery...
Local Hmong Farm Mhonpaj’s Garden Breaks Down Benefits of Greens
Garden expert weighs in on the benefits of leafy greens. Sick of romaine? Take your daily portion of greens up a notch with some of Lee’s favorite...
Bootleg: Minnesota’s Take on Mint Julep
Memorial Day weekend is the official kickoff of the bootleg season. Bootlegs are Minnesota’s version of a Mint Julep/Mojito (favored by the Kentucky...
Going Green with Buddha Bowls
A few months ago, I happened across a 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report stating that only one in 10 adults meet the...
Grain Elevators
Add a touch of history and new flavor profiles to your menu. Why does pasta get so much of the culinary glory? Granted, it transforms dishes, comes...
When it Comes to Holiday Meals, I’m Just Here for the Sides
I don’t mind turkey, ham, etc., but these traditional holiday offerings are just never as exciting to me as practically anything else on the table....
Let’s Talk Turkey
Dig into some turkey trivia this Thanksgiving. You know it’s coming. Grocery stores are already battling to offer the lowest price per pound on...
The Most Important Oatmeal of the Day
Back to school means back to a good, healthy breakfast. For many of us, some form of cereal is a staple in the morning meal rotation. Boxed cold...
