Uncategorized

A little learning can go a long way. Dazzle your colleagues at the water cooler with insights gleaned from these quick reads from MHS Express, our new digital imprint of short-form e-books. Available through major e-book sellers.

Be they essays or excerpts from published works or forthcoming titles or original pieces, MHS Express e-books present relevant and compelling topics such as the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and what it means to be “a good Hmong girl” in America–both covered in our inaugural list.

Please click on the MHS Express link, above, for a full list of titles.

No Comments »

Last minute bar tending inspiration from North Star Cocktails by Johnny Michaels.

Check out these links for recipes:

“Handsome Devil” and “Parlez-Vous” on The Heavy Table

“Mogwai are the Stars”

Happy New Year and Be Safe!

No Comments »

One Frozen Lake by Deborah Jo Larson with paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Canoeing with the Cree Collector’s Edition by Eric Sevareid

The Minnesota Book of Skills by Chris Niskanen

No Comments »

An occasional series highlighting local authors and their favorite ways to spend a Minnesota weekend.

1. What is a typical weekend for you?

Weekend? What? For most writers I know, when things are going well with a new book, the weekend is a great annoyance. Just one more distraction perpetrated by the real world (Thomas Mann also said this of the telegraph).  But there’s a fine line between being in a writing groove and being a crabby stick-in-the mud husband or friend. Therefore, even if my writing is going never-better I try to take at least Sunday off and be cheerful and available even though my fabulous wife and fine friends know I’m faking it. And, if I have been suitably present and a good companion throughout a weekend, I often get back to my computer Sunday evening and position myself to start writing first thing Monday.

2. What are some of your favorite local Friday-night activities?

In the long days of summer, Friday night is a time to socialize and eat a piece of walleye somewhere. Come winter, I tend to stay home with my wife and kick back around the fireplace. My biorhythms are driven so much by the weather specifically and by seasons generally.  In the summer, northern Minnesotans get “light drunk” and manically social from the long days; in winter, the converse happens—it feels like a great chore to leave home and be forced to talk to people.  (Not a good sign–and time for more vitamin D and aerobic exercise.)

3. What/where do you eat on weekends? What’s a typical Sunday breakfast for you?

My small city of Bemidji has a limited number of good restaurants, so I get to know their menus well. I eat less meat these days not from ideological but more for digestive reasons (six ounces is a great plenty). I eat a fair amount of local fish, some of which I catch in the Mississippi River, which passes by my house (the Upper Mississippi, only twenty miles from the headwaters, and where the water is clear and clean). Sunday breakfast? Usually later and bigger, often with my wife’s made-from-scratch pancakes, bacon (rationed to once a week by my cheerful young physician), and maple syrup or jelly I’ve come by from friends or family.

4. What’s your weekend reading like?

Usually the newspapers and the New Yorker which I’ve gotten behind on during the week. I seldom read books when I’m writing one, and since I’m usually writing one . . . . Well, you see the irony here.

5. What is your top Minnesota getaway?

Duluth is always great, especially for the Bayfront Blues Festival in August, though I also greatly enjoy the bluff country around Red Wing.

Will Weaver is the author of four MHS Press books–Barns of Minnesota; Sweet Land; Red Earth, White Earth; The Last Hunter–and a contributor to the anthology Libraries of Minnesota. Will’s newest novel for young adults is The Survivors, a sequel to Memory Boy. To learn more about all his work for adults and young adults, visit willweaverbooks.com.

No Comments »

Around 1936, F. Scott Fitzgerald, the St. Paul-born author who wrote the American classic The Great Gatsby, penned a short piece called “Thank You for the Light,” which was rejected by editors at the time. The story is about a woman who steps into a Catholic church for a smoke break and, after she lights up, goes through a miraculous experience. Deemed a little strange by some readers, it may have been intended as part of a larger project. The story was finally accepted by the New Yorker when Fitzgerald’s grandchildren resubmitted it recently and is included in the August 6 issue.

Fitzgerald’s Minnesota connection is well documented here: see A Guide to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s St. Paul and The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, for example. As for his more famous work, keep an eye out for The Great Gatsby film, set for release next summer.

No Comments »

July is National Blueberry Month. This delicious fruit is at its tastiest during the month of July, and the berries are inextricably linked to Minnesota summers. Author Curtiss Anderson writes about the season in Blueberry Summers.

Now is the time to enjoy blueberries as much as you can. Why not try this perfect summer treat, courtesy Potluck Paradise?

***

Red, White, and Blueberry Buckle

1 pint fresh blueberries — washed and picked over to remove under ripe or over ripe berries and stems

Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter

Buckle Base
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
1/2 cup soft butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make topping by combining dry ingredients and then cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Set aside. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt (if using) and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, stir the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in half the flour mixture, then the milk, followed by the remaining flour. Spoon base into greased pan. Kerplunk berries on top; spread out evenly so they are only one berry deep. Sprinkle with topping. Bake until topping is just turning golden, berries are bubbly, and the base has pulled slightly away from the sides. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftover.

***

Try this recipe and many more as you celebrate blueberry month and Minnesota summer.

No Comments »

Because of Americans’ love for ice cream, in 1984 Ronald Reagan declared July to be National Ice Cream Month, with the third Sunday of the month designated National Ice Cream Day. Spend these hot summer days enjoying delicious ice cream and trying fun new flavors with friends and family.

Author Tricia Cornell shares a great recipe for ice cream in her cookbook, Eat More Vegetables.

***

Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Chili-Lime Salt

Corn has been bringing sweetness to side dishes for generations: I’m thinking of my grandmother’s custardy creamed corn, which always made me feel like I was getting away with something when I put a scoop next to my roast beef at Sunday dinner. So why not a corn dessert? This sweet corn ice cream is very rich, slightly tangy, and delicately corn flavored.

Cream cheese is a handy cheat when you want to make a creamy ice cream but don’t want the bother of boiling a custard. One blitz in the blender, and you’re ready to go. Don’t, however, be tempted to skip the overnight chilling step. You want the mixture to be very cold when it hits your ice cream maker.

If you can’t get very fresh, young corn, boil it for about five minutes before using. The Chili-Lime Salt is a bold, tangy touch, inspired by elote, a favorite Mexican preparation of corn with chili powder, lime, and crema. A light sprinkling of fresh lime zest is very tasty as well.

2 ears very fresh sweet corn
8 ounces cream cheese
1½ cups half-and-half
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
¾ cup sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
Chili-Lime Salt (recipe follows)

Cut kernels from cobs (you should have about 2 cups) and “milk” the ears, using a bowl to catch all the corn and liquid released. Place first 6 ingredients (corn through salt) in blender and puree. Chill mixture overnight (it will separate in the refrigerator; just stir it up). Place in your ice cream maker and freeze as directed. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, chill overnight and then freeze mixture in ice cube trays. Pulse cubes in bowl of food processor. The texture will be more like a flaky granita, but it will still be tasty. Sprinkle judiciously with Chili-Lime Salt before serving.

Chili-Lime Salt

2 tablespoons lime zest
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon chili powder

Mix ingredients well. Keep this combination on hand to spruce up store-bought vanilla ice cream as well.

***

Enjoy this recipe and other ice cream treats all month long. It’s your patriotic duty!

No Comments »

Founder and director Roxanne Givens celebrated the dedication and grand opening of the Minnesota African American Museum and Cultural Center (MAAM) this past weekend. Givens, her cofounders, and 200 guests all gathered at the Coe Mansion, just south of Downtown Minneapolis.

Givens’s dream of opening a museum celebrating the black community finally came true. The museum’s goal is to educate and enlighten all people about the contributions of African Americans in Minnesota and the Midwest. The founders were inspired to showcase all the efforts and accomplishments made by the black community in Minnesota over the last 200 years.

Three interactive and participant-friendly exhibits cover the first floor of the Coe Mansion: Minnesota North Star Pioneers, Africa Folktales, and Black Baseball. Two additional exhibits will launch on the remaining two stories of the mansion: Black Settlers in Minnesota and Blacks and Native Americans in Minnesota. The Black Baseball exhibit teaches guests about the history of Negro baseball in Minnesota and its role in the Civil Rights Movement. For more history on that subject in particular, check out Swinging for the Fences: Black Baseball in Minnesota.

In addition to interactive exhibits inside the museum, the MAAM also has “Trunk It” traveling exhibits featuring trained actors who travel to elementary and middle schools. The museum believes in reaching out to the community and teaching children in every way possible. Its staff partners with Minneapolis schools and hosts field trips and workshops.

This new museum will serve to educate and tell Minnesota’s story from a different perspective. Head down to the Minnesota African American Museum to learn more about Minnesota and those who helped build it.

1 Comment »

Stewart Woodman, author of Shefzilla, will soon debut his second restaurant in the Twin Cities. The chef-owner of Heidi’s Minneapolis is ready to launch Birdhouse in Uptown. Starting with a soft opening this week, Birdhouse will serve breakfast, lunch, and brunch inside the restaurant as well as on the patio. The official opening of the restaurant is scheduled for late June.

The new restaurant, in the former Duplex space, will have a healthy menu focusing on “a lot of vegetables” and “a lot of vegetarian and vegan offerings,” Woodman told Minnesota Monthly. The restaurant will feature Ben Mauk as executive chef as well as other Heidi’s employees who have joined the Birdhouse team.

Stewart and his wife, Heidi, are extremely excited for their new venture. Be sure to keep an eye out for the new healthy food spot next time you’re in Uptown.

Also visit Woodman’s blog for more news about his activities in the city.

No Comments »

Fulton Brewery, located in downtown Minneapolis, opened last fall in a 1950s warehouse converted into a brewery and tap room for everyone to enjoy.

This local beer was created in 2006 by four Minnesota men working out of a home-made brewery in their garage. They have turned their fun hobby into a thriving business, offering four custom Minnesota brews. The Fulton boys believe in bringing the community together. Their beers are now making their way into bars and restaurants around the city, including the stands at Target Field.

This summer, the brewery is taking advantage of its location and working with local food trucks to become a fun stop for fans on their way to and from Twins games. Every game day a different food truck will be parked outside the brewery. For a complete schedule, visit the Fulton website.

Additionally, the brewery tap room is open on Fridays from 3 pm to 10 pm and on Saturdays from noon until 10 pm. Enjoy the Minneapolis-made Fulton beer on their new deck. Visit on a food truck day and enjoy great local food with your beer.

Make your way to the brewery this weekend to enjoy good beer and food, a great atmosphere, and perhaps even a Twins game.

No Comments »