March 2012 | Simple, Good and Tasty, page 2

Soupapalooza! Week Three with a Creamy Elegant Cauliflower Soup

Posted in Recipes on Fri, 03/09/2012 - 8:00am by Gabriela Lambert -

For week three of Soupapalooza, I was inspired by one of the few measly snowfalls we've gotten here in Minnesota to make something white and creamy. Given its availability this time of year, cauliflower seemed like the most natural choice, notwithstanding the fact that I spent most of my youth vehemently opposed to it both in theory and in practice. I didn't trust anything so stinky and frankly, so pale. But I've grown up now, and stinky and pale is alright by me.

Discovering My Roots

Posted in on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 8:00am by Leigh Ahmad -

February has arrived. I had dreaded the month’s arrival, certain that I would be sick and tired of eating "winter" foods by this point in the journey. My end of summer self told my future winter self that there was only so much joy to be had in eating my homemade canned goods, frozen vegetables, and the root vegetables and squash squirreled away in the garage. I had resolved that my taste buds would suffer and I had prepared myself for the worst. Turns out root vegetables proved me wrong.

A Brief Guide to Five Flavorful Asian Greens. Recipe: Kangkong in Spicy Coconut Sauce.

Posted in Health, Recipes on Tue, 03/06/2012 - 8:00am by Tracey Paska -

Perusing the array of exotic vegetables available at farmers’ markets and Asian groceries is a bit like meeting distant relatives at a family gathering – they look vaguely familiar, but you don’t know their names and aren’t quite sure if you’ll get along. With proper introductions, however, you just might end up bringing them home for dinner.

While Asian products like oyster sauce and rice noodles have become as familiar to non-Asian shoppers as tomato sauce and pasta, others such as the vegetables in the produce section are still a mystery. Leafy greens, for instance, are common in Far Eastern cookery, but the typical varieties differ from those found in Western cuisines and leave even the most adventurous cooks occasionally wondering how they are used.

If you’re left limp by iceberg lettuce but still baffled by bok choy, let this quick market guide help you get acquainted with some tasty Asian greens:

The Latin Tongue Special Late Night Edition: Taco Taxi

Posted in Mexican Restaurant Reviews, Out & About on Mon, 03/05/2012 - 8:00am by Lawrence -

Special late night edition you ask? I suppose it was bound to happen. Almost every week I hop on my bicycle and tour around Minneapolis with a few friends, sharing stories from the weeks events, having a few drinks and eating late night fare. All too often when searching for late night eats, you are left feeling stuck with few options. Usually, it is pizza or bar food. Then we discovered the habit of the Mexican restauranteur to keep their doors open until the odd hours of the night. And what a discovery it was.

Instead of consuming questionable greasy burgers and pizza as a night comes to a close, my friends and I now have much more to consider. Tacos, sopes, burritos, quesadillas and the hangover killing bowl of menudo have broadened our horizons. One of these gifts to the late night gut is Taco Taxi on Lake street.

Fermentation: Living With Wild Things, Part 2. Dairy Ferments

Posted in Health, Recipes on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 8:00am by Bernadette Miller -

This is part-two in a three-part series about fermentation. Part-one contains information related to the nutritional value of fermented foods. It also touches upon the role that fermentation might play in personal, societal, and ecological renewal. It concludes with recipes for fermented vegetables. This section deals with dairy products and their non-dairy counterparts. Part-three will be devoted to fermented grain products.

The Latin Tongue: La Mixteca

Posted in Mexican Restaurant Reviews, Out & About on Thu, 03/01/2012 - 8:00am by Lawrence -

UPDATE: As of April, 2013 we have noticed that La Mixteca is CLOSED.

Another week, another new Latin eatery. This time, the location was a glorious old strip mall, just off of 494 on Portland Avenue. It is fascinating how eating at new and different restaurants has us going to places that were previously off of our personal "maps". It also forces you to consider the old adage, "don't judge a book by its cover." After all, strip malls are notorious for their ability to lend anonymity to anything and character to nothing.