Happy CSA Week! There might still be snow on the ground, but I've already started planning for warmer days ahead by subscribing to a CSA from Untiedt's Vegetable Farm. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture: you purchase a share from a local farmer, and in return you get a portion of the harvest every week for the duration of the growing season.

As a freelance writer who focuses on food and travel, the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially devastating. Here are my takeaways from my tumultuous third year of full-time freelance life.

When Mike and I started planning our winter getaway to Bluefin Bay, I knew that it would have to include a cocktail kit. Since our route from our home in the Twin Cities metro to the North Shore took us through Duluth, we placed a curbside pickup order with Vikre Distillery.

Obviously, far-flung travel was off the table this year. So instead of flying south, we drove north for a mid-week getaway to Bluefin Bay, a resort on Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior. Bluefin Bay is in Tofte, a small community that's a 1.5 hour drive north from Duluth and a 3.75 hour drive north from Minneapolis (or in the other direction, a 1.25 hour drive south from the Canadian border).

Several years ago, there was a story on NPR that really resonated with me about how tuna noodle casserole is the ultimate lazy comfort food. I'm not a fan of cream of mushroom soup, so my version skips the casserole part—yes, that means I just call it tuna noodle.

A couple of years ago, I wrote about how one of my favorite things to do when I travel is visiting grocery stores. Obviously, the past ten months haven't involved much travel (thanks, COVID) but I have been able to assuage my grocery store wanderlust with regular trips to United Noodles.