It’s exciting to see the local food movement gaining strength and numbers in Minneapolis. Last night, at the Riverview Theater, a screening of the new film Food Fight! brought together a full house and updated me on what’s happening with food culture around town. The most exciting news is that Erika Allen of Growing Power, Inc. — an amazing urban food growing enterprise started by her father in Milwaukee– will be speaking at next week’s Women’s Environmental Institute Mother Earth Banquet and Auction at St. Kate’s. I can’t go, but I’m going to donate a silent auction item.

Other interesting bits:

Homegrown Minneapolis is a new initiative  out of the Mayor’s office. Heavy Table has written about it here. It’s a little confusing, to say the least, but also exciting.

Gardening Matters is dedicated to supporting, connecting and promoting community gardens and gardeners in the Twin Cities. Great website which includes a directory of area gardens.

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Tonight I was treated to a demo and tasting of homemade kimchi and raspberry homebrew in a what felt almost like country revival for Lactobacillus. “You’ve changed my life!” exclaimed one  lady as she sampled the cabbage, bok choy, garlic-ginger-horseradish concoction offered from Jar 1. Jars 2 & 3 offered even more exotic combos of garden veggies–carrots, chard, burdock…

The seminar, held at Mother Earth Gardens in South MPLS, was put on by Russ Henry of Giving Tree Gardens. I was stunned to learn that making kraut and kimchi is not only easy, it’s delicious and excellent for your health.

Referring to his own Bible of wild fermentation, Russ showed us how, in just a few minutes, to reduce a head of cabbage to a tightly packed, lightly salted jar unit that could be “cooked” on top of the fridge in under a week.

Kimchi/kraut basic recipe

Chop your veg up (5 lbs cabbage, peppers, any other veg plus minced garlic/ginger/horseradish) and put it in a big bowl

Squish it a good with the bottom of a jar or your hands to break up the cell walls a bit, and then mix in 3 TBSP sea salt

Fill several clean glass or ceramic pint jars and then pack it down with your hands until it juices

When there’s a layer of juice on top to cover all the veg, put the lid on and put on top of fridge

Check daily for taste and to make sure the liquid covers the veg. Squish down more if needed to make more juice

Ready to eat in 3 days — or let it hang out longer for other flavors. Put in fridge when you like the way it tastes. It’ll keep there for a good long time.

The possible combinations are endless. But, simple as it was to learn, I recommend checking out the book yourself to make sure you understand the specifics. Then get thee to the altar of wild fermentation and enjoy!

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I’m excited to join the ranks of local designers at i like you in NE MPLS. Check out the in-store swing and faux grass floor. Enjoy perusing the largest selection of Rectangle stuff east of the Mississippi. I dropped off the new boatneck blouse (right) and deep v-neck tops in lots of colors today.

Owners Sarah Sweet and Angela Lessman bring a playful vibe to the growing NE shopping and dining district. They plan to offer craft classes in their spacious back-of-store studio starting this fall, so stay tuned for updates!

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I’m pulling the stock for Bird x Bird today: scarves, 3/4 boatneck tops, canvas clutches and totes… We’ll have a wide selection on hand in the BxB gift shop, so come by and check us out.

In its 7th year, BxB supports one of my favorite places in the Twin Cities, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary. It took me far to long to discover this unique garden, a place where you can pretend you are far from the city even while you are in the middle of it.

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Mark your calendars for some excellent holiday shopping… We just finished up a show benefiting Nest, who has a brand new website where you can buy Rectangle stuff and lots of other things while supporting craftswomen around the world.

Next up we’re delivering a bunch of shirts, baby hats and bags to the first ever MN Fashion holiday store. If you work downtown, skyway your way to this new venue for buying locally made fashion.

Then we’ll be at the Midtown Global Exchange Dec 5-6 for the No Coast Craft-o-rama again this year! Details here. Bombastic is an understatement for this show.

Finally, we are also participating in Finch’s holiday-time boutique. An intimate little open house of Minneapolis designers.

Now…back to work. We hope to see you at one of these events!

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