Taste of Duluth Superior » Duluth Superior Magazine Event
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Quick heads up on a new event this year. It’s called Taste of Duluth Superior and is being organized by Duluth-Superior Magazine. There will be four chefs involved: Tom Linderholm (the flaming cedar plank salmon king himself) of Odyssey Development/Larsmont Cottages, Scott Graden from the Scenic Cafe, Sean Lewis from Nokomis Restaurant & local legend… the one… the only… Chef Bob Bennett of Restaurant 301. We’ll be covering the event & shooting video. Stay tuned friends…
Taste of Duluth-Superior
Date: August 19, 2009
Time: 5:30-9pm
Location: Ferguson Enterprises
Tickets available by calling 888.525.1739, going to Duluth-Superior Magazine or at any of the participating restaurants mentioned above.
6/10 New Chester Creek Cafe Menu: Gulf Coast
Small plates
Southern Salad Sampler
Fingerling potato salad, creamy cole slaw, gazpacho aspic salad with blue cheese aioli….. 9
Bocadito Platter
Sampler of 3 daily bocaditos with garlic-lime olives, spiced pecans, pickled onions, and seasoned baguette….. 12
Daily Bocaditos….. Market Price
Key Crab Cakes with Lime Remoulade….. 12
Cornbread Basket with Honey Butter….. 4
Texas Gulf Shrimp Grill
Grilled marinated shrimp brushed with a jalapeno garlic basting sauce; served with avocado cream and fresh tortilla chips….. 13
House Sliders
Our own beef and pork mini burgers with caramelized onions and a tangy sauce….. 10
Sides- add to your entrée or mix & match
Copper glazed carrots….. 4
Green Beans with Tomato and Onion
Blanched fresh green beans with a tomato and onion confit….. 5
Summer Succotash
Black-eyed peas and summer vegetables….. 5
Cheese Grits Chili Rellenos….. 7
Poblano peppers stuffed with cheese grits and topped with a charred tomato salsa
Brabant Potatoes….. 4
Bourbon Sweet Potatoes….. 6
Brown Rice….. 3
Steamed Broccoli….. 3
Rice and Grains
Chicken and Ham Jambalaya….. 13
Veracruz Seafood and Rice
Mixed fish and shellfish simmered with vegetables and rice….. 15
Maverick Grits
Slow simmered grits topped with chorizo, ham and shrimp….. 13
Entrees
Pan-roasted Wild Alaskan Salmon
Served with a beurre orange sauce….. 13
Gulf Fish Tacos
Seasoned whitefish served in flour tortillas with spicy slaw, avocado cream, house salsa and Spanish rice….. 12
Cochinita Pibil
Achiote rubbed pork, slow roasted in banana leaves and served with tortillas and posole….. 13
South Texas Grilled Flank Steak
Marinated and grilled beef flank steak topped with Ancho-cumin butter….. 13
Oven-fried Pecan Crusted Chicken
Served with a vidalia honey mustard dressing….. 12
*We utlize local and humanely raised meats, including:
- Pastures A’ Plenty (Pork)
- Kadejan Farms (Chicken)
- 1000 Hills Farm (Beef)
As you can see we have changed our dinner specials and the way you order them. Please let us know what you think; all suggestions are welcome. Enjoy your meal and thanks for dining with us!
Cooking turns little wild animals into good (enough) children
Ah, summer vacation. Only two days in and I’m going bonkers. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids. But I can’t get any writing done, much less thinking.
One great strategy to keep those little rascals busy is to let them cook.
I use the term “cook” in the broadest sense. I have to; I have three kids.
For Nina, 5, cooking is spreading peanut butter and jelly on a tortilla and making her very own PBJ burrito. For Isaac, 10, cooking is figuring out the logistics of cooking a “real” package of ramen. No “for dummies” microwaveable ramen in a cup for him, no sir. It’s all about figuring out how much water to use, what size pan, what to do in what order, how do you tell its done — all foundational skills for any cook. For Sophie, 14, the vegetarian, it’s learning she can follow a recipe and make a good pasta in cream sauce from scratch — way better than the “Pasta Sides” in a bag she used to like (and later nicknamed “Pesticides”).
A few years ago, my family discovered Mollie Katzen’s book, “Pretend Soup,” a collection of easy, kid-tasty, kid-friendly recipes. More than that, it introduces kids to the joy of making their own food. It teaches them skills and invests them in the outcome, making them much more likely to try new foods. It broadens their world.
The point is, it has to start somewhere. It starts in a messy place where mistakes are made, eggshells are left in the dough and flour is sifted over every surface of the kitchen. For me it started with my mom letting me stir oatmeal, and later, scramble eggs.
I has led to me winning a job as a food writer and a role cooking most of my family’s meals all these years, along with kudos from church potluck ladies and dinner party guests. 
Cooking focuses the mind. It is something to do with our time on this Earth. It is a journey that imposes structure on the chaos of the universe and summer vacation. And it has a payoff: something to eat at the end.
Upstairs now, the journey includes cookie batter spattering on the kitchen walls (add more flour), some shouts, someone falling down giggling and someone else vowing to make his very own batch of cookies, no sharing a batch, no sir.
Then, cookie time. Silence, munching and in a few minutes, the giggling starts again.
Relationship Coffee: it’s not about you and your sweetie
by Ronnie Eastling
On April 8th, Amazing Grace hosted a talk on Relationship Coffee. It was fascinating, and I would like to share with you what we learned.
The talk was given by Nassim and Deborah Bohbot, owners of Alakef Coffee. (For those of you who don’t know, Alakef is our wonderful local coffee roaster.) The idea for the talk was born after Stephanie and I attended a seminar on Relationship Coffee at the Chicago Coffee Fest in February.
“Relationship Coffee” is a new term to hit the coffee realm. It speaks on the importance of the relationship between all of the businesses involved in the steps of getting the coffee bean from the plant to your cup. Let’s start at the beginning with a few amazing facts.
It takes an estimated 6 1/2 years to go from seed to cup. A coffee plant takes 5 years to mature enough to produce. Once the plant is ready, it yields only 1 1/2—2 lbs. of coffee per harvest! When the “cherries” (the cherry holds the bean) are ready to be harvested, it is a mad rush to get as much off of the plants as possible to ensure a successful season in the market.
This is when the coffee pickers come onto the scene. Coffee farmers usually need to hire extra help to harvest, as they tend to harvest 24 hours a day!
A Coffee Picker can pick up to 200 lbs. of cherries a day! (Which only equals approximately 35 lbs. of ground coffee). The conditions of picking coffee can be challenging to say the least. Coffee is grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates, so the plants (if grown sustainably) are in jungle-like conditions. If grown in steep hilled areas, the Pickers actually tie themselves to the plant and lean back, digging their heels into the ground in order to pick!
After harvest, the cherries are cleaned and coffee beans are dried. This can be done by machine, but is often done by the sun if the farm cannot afford the equipment needed, in which case, it takes 2-3 weeks to dry. After the coffee is processed, it is then bought by an Importer. From there, the Roasters buy the green beans and, well, roast them. It is then that it is sent to the grocery market or cafes, and finally to your cup.
This is how the coffee gets to you, the consumer. Now, take some time to think about all of the people involved in the process…and let’s not forget the environment. Are the farmers getting paid adequately? Are the pickers treated well by their employer? Is the land being taken care of with out use of harmful chemicals?
As we all probably know, the labels “Fair Trade” & “Certified Organic” are ways to ensure you that they are. Here’s the kicker, though…even though many coffee farmers follow fair trade/organic practices, many cannot afford to be certified under these labels! This is where Relationship Coffee comes in to play.
In the Relationship Coffee model, consumers trusts their café, which trusts their roaster to choose an Importer that has close relationship with their growers, and so forth. Importers that are environmentally and socially conscious make sure that the farmers are growing the coffee in an environmentally and socially conscious manner. The importers involved with Relationship Coffee often have representatives visit the farms and even put money back into them, including providing funding for new water filtration systems, and helping with funding of farm cooperative schools. This is a great alternative to other types of certification and it assures that everyone along the line is taken care of.
Alakef buys from Royal Coffee (importer), based in San Francisco. Royal Coffee is a company that is very committed to these sorts of practices. (to read about the farms they import from, visit www.royalcoffee.com)
Deborah and Nessim are also passionate about these practices, and have even visited farms that their beans come from in Panama and Costa Rica. Alakef donates regularly to “Coffee Kids,” an organization that helps coffee farming families to improve their lives by providing/creating education, health care, micro-credit, etc. Alakef also is involved with “Trees for Global Cooling” which helps offset their carbon footprint by planting trees in tropical and sub-tropical regions. For more information about Alakef and their commitment to sustainability, visit www.alakef.com.
Wow. Who knew what all goes in to a good cup o’ joe?! I hope that I have helped to raise some awareness to an issue that is SO important and close to the hearts of management and staff at Amazing Grace. Thanks for reading.
Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Amazing Grace Bakery & Cafe’s May newsletter. Ronnie Eastling is a manager and buyer for Amazing Grace in Duluth, MN.Organic? Sustainable? Biodynamic?
I’d make a bet that most people who buy “organic” do not know what they are really buying. I went to an agricultural college and people in my college classes were confused about what “organic” means. It gets even more complicated when talking about wine.
In most countries, other than the United States, “organic wine” is defined as wine that is made with organically grown grapes. To be grown organically means to be grown without the use of chemically formulated herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, growth hormones, and or antibiotics. However, there is a long list of natural fertilizers and pesticides that are allowed. Organic does not mean that the product is grown locally on a small family farm. There are large corporate organic farms that ship their products all over the world, just like corporate conventional farms. In the United States, for wines to be labeled as “organic wine” and be USDA certified orga
nic, they must not contain more than 100ppm of sulfites. Sulfites are preservatives that are often added to wine. However, sulfites are also found naturally in wine. Two of the largest USDA certified organic wine companies in the United States are Organic Wine Works, and Orleans Hill. The biggest seller in the United States is “Our Daily Red” by Orleans Hill.
Sustainable farming looks at all aspects of the farm. It focuses on three main goals which are; enivronmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. Hahn Vineyards in California are SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certified. Below is Hahn’s SIP statement. The Hahn Vineyards achieved this Certification through its dedication and farming practices in the following areas:
Biodiversity—In addition to cover crops and vines, Hahn encourages biodiversity by allowing a multitude of flora and fauna to thrive in the vineyards, providing wildlife habitat and encouraging residency.
Vineyard Management—Hahn Vineyards is continually improving farming practices to make them more enviro
nmentlly sound, socially just and economically viable.
Soil Conservation—At Hahn, we improve the soil by natural methods such as cover crops, including legumes which mulches into the soil and helps improve nitrogen.
Pest Management—Hahn promotes a wide range of natural pest controls including beneficial insects such as beetles, lady bugs and lace wings.
Water Quality and water and energy conservation—Hahn uses VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) pumps which control water and energy usage and uses UV light treatment to give pure clean water to the winery and vineyards.
Organic Approved and Reduced-risk synthetic pesticides—Hahn uses Stylet oil instead of sulfur when possible which controls mildew and suppresses mites.
Social Equity—Hahn considers quality of life issues for farm workers and neighbors in the community. The core group of farm workers at Hahn is provided with full benefits, and the winery stays involved with the farm-growing community.
Continuing Education—Hahn Vineyards is continually monitoring the latest in sustainable farming practices and making improvements to the vineyard program to meet those standards.
Fruit Quality—Fruit quality is of the utmost importance to us, and that is reflected in the quality of our wine.
Economic Viability—Hahn has been in business growing grapes and producing wine since 1980 and has expanded over the years to own over 1,000 acres in Monterey County.
Biodynamic farming is the most strict of all farming techniques. The farmer
looks at the farm in a very holistic and even spirtual way. The farm is a system in which the plants, soil, and animals are all related and interdependent. The soil helps produce healthy plants which feed and nourish the animals. The animals in turn fertilize the soil making it rich and full of nutrients. The nutrients in the soil go into the plants and the cycle repeats itself. Biodynamic farming is fully organic. The use of irrigation is discouraged. The use of tractors is not allowed; horses are used to plow the fields. Biodynamic farming requires a lot of labor. The pyramid was created by Mike Benziger of Benziger winery.
There are many ways to drink green. This article only covers regulations and certifications in The United States. There are many high quality organic vineyards all over the world. Many vineyards in Europe are organic and sustainable and have always been. There are also some great organic vineyards in Chile. As a wine consumer ask yourself why you are buying the wines you are. Are you buying organic because they do not have sulfites? Read labels! Many organically grown wines do contain sulfites. Are you buying organic becuase it is better for the environment? Again, read labels! Many vineyards are putting into place “green” business standards and are just as good if not better for the environment than organic wines.
Cheers!
