Several months ago, I attended a media preview for a new bakery. The pastry case was filled with over-the-top, whimsical creations: towering layer cakes, center-only sticky buns, macarons covered with sprinkles. Someone asked the pastry chef about his favorite item, and I think we were all expecting him to highlight one of the more unique treats.
Fargo-Moorhead's craft beer scene garners plenty of well-deserved attention: the area is home to several breweries, and there's even a Crafts and Drafts pass that will earn you a free t-shirt if you collect stamps at 6 of the 12 participating locations. However, what if you're not in the mood for a pint of beer but you still want to drink local? You're in luck! Besides breweries, Fargo is home to Wild Terra Cider and Brewing, which serves...
I am baffled by Williams Sonoma. I like kitchen gadgets as much as the next person, and I enjoy browsing through specialty food stores. But the thing about Williams Sonoma is that it feels more like...
"Driving across North Dakota" is shorthand for the most boring sort of road trip: the state is flat and sparsely populated, with vast distances and unchanging scenery. "Driving across North Dakota solo" is pretty much the opposite of my idea of a good time—I'm more of a plane person than a road tripper.
For some people, summer is a season of weekend trips to the cabin. For others, it's a whirlwind of kids' soccer and baseball games. There are people who love camping and avid fans of fishing or boating. We're all about grilling.
I approach my weekly grocery shopping trip with the seriousness of a competitive sport. I start at Aldi because it's the cheapest and try to purchase as much of my list there as possible. Next, I go...
CBD products are becoming increasingly mainstream, and I'm excited to be working with Barlean's this month to promote their Seriously Delicious CBD Chocolate Mint and Extra Strength Ideal CBD Hemp Oil. I've been using Barlean's CBD products for the past several months, and they've helped alleviate some of my longstanding insomnia issues.
I'm a big fan of local producers: I subscribe to a CSA, patronize farmers markets, and imbibe at local distilleries. My love of local flavor also includes wine—yes, even though I live in Minnesota. Thanks to in large part to the University of Minnesota's grape breeding program, the state has a robust wine industry with dozens of grape growers and wineries.
This chocolate chia pudding recipe is the latest addition to my "should've been on the blog by now" series of posts, along with sweet potato mushroom barley bowls. I've been making a batch nearly every week for the past few years, starting back when chia seeds were having a moment and I had gotten very tired of eating fruit and nut oatmeal bars.
My favorite thing to do when I'm traveling is to visit grocery stores. They're a peek into the home kitchens of another culture, a way to get an appreciation for what's similar to and what's different...
Some of the recipes on my blog have a story behind them, like Banoo's baklava cake or miso ginger sweet potato soup. Others are family recipes: my mom's chocolate chip cookies, my great-grandmother's...
As I mentioned in my post about Fargo, many people have preconceived notions about the Midwest. Since I'm a travel writer who primarily covers the region, my perspective is likely a bit more informed. But I'm not immune to stereotypes. When I was planning my trip to Fargo and Bismarck last fall, I wasn't expecting North Dakota to surprise me.
One of the more vivid food memories of my childhood took place at a wedding. We were eating pieces of sheet cake, the white kind with whipped frosting that gets a little bit crunchy on top. The woman sitting next to me carefully scraped the frosting off her piece, leaving it in a heap on her paper plate. I don't know why—maybe she genuinely didn't like frosting, maybe it was some sort of calorie-saving measure...
When you mention distilleries, Iowa is not the first state that springs to mind as a craft spirits destination. However, the state has a burgeoning craft distilling scene with a local focus. After all, what does Iowa have in abundance? Corn, which can be distilled into a variety of spirits.
This month, I'm collaborating with Barlean's to celebrate their 30th anniversary by highlighting their very product: flax! As someone who follows a mostly-vegetarian diet, I'm a big fan of flax because it's a vegetarian source of Omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fats that are also found in fish. You can use flax oil in salad dressings and dips, add it to smoothies, and drizzle it over cooked meats and vegetables.
Phoenix, Arizona has never been on my must-see list. I've always associated it with retirement and blazing hot temperatures, which probably says more about my Minnesota roots than Phoenix itself. But as I've mentioned before, I struggle with seasonal affective disorder, and the trip Mike and I took to Disney World a couple years ago in early February really helped me get through the rest of the winter.
In Minnesota, bars are part of the social glue that holds people together. I don't mean drinking establishments, although those have their place too. What I'm talking about are desserts made in metal...
We wound up in Sedona for a few days in February because of Mike. He grew up in Maine, so much of his childhood travel was focused on the East Coast: Acadia National Park, Boston, New York City. He is familiar with some parts of the West—his extended family lives in Colorado, within sight of what they call foothills but what look like mountains to a lifelong Minnesotan. But he's never experienced anything like the red rock...
For the past several years, I've been working towards eating healthier, and my CSA share from Untiedt's Vegetable Farm is one of the things that's helped me. What's a CSA? It stands for Community Supported Agriculture. At the beginning of the growing season, you can purchase a CSA share from a local farmer. Throughout the growing season (typically weekly) the...
It's been a while since I've written about life as a full-time freelance writer—since quitting my paralegal position last February, I've touched on some of the initial challenges and the ups and downs. Now that I've passed the one year mark, I wanted to look back and reflect on how my life has changed since making the leap.
