Strawberry Short Stack
INGREDIENTS:
Pancakes: 1.5 cups all purpose flour 1.5 Tbl sugar Pinch of salt 1 tea baking soda 2 tea baking powder 2 eggs 3 Tbl melted butter 1.5 cups milk 2 tea lemon Stuffing: 2 cups sour cream 1/2 cup goat or blue cheese Topping: 1 lb strawberries 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup hot water DIRECTIONS: Pancakes: 1. Combine dry and wet ingredients separately and then mix together just until incorporated. 2. Pour roughly 3 Tbl of batter on a hot skillet and allow to cook until bubbles form, then flip. 3. These are savory pancakes, so try the first one to see if you would prefer more sugar. You can easily double the sugar if you like a sweeter cake. Stuffing: 1. Mix together 2 cups sour cream and 1/2 cup goat or blue cheese. Depending on the cheese, you may want to add a touch of salt or sugar. A little squeeze of lemon is a nice touch here too! Let your taste buds go wild! Topping: Slice 1lb of strawberries and toss with 1/4 cup sugar. Allow to marinate for about 2 hours. OR Make a simple syrup. Combine 1/4 cup hot water and 1/4 cup sugar. Add syrup and 1/2 cup sliced strawberries into blender. Pour sauce over remaining sliced strawberries and toss to coat. Assemble: Cake, filling, topping and repeat. Go as high as you dare! This recipe is courtesy of Craig Sharp, Chef/Owner of Terra Waconia in Waconi, MN.
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Dried Strawberries
INGREDIENTS:
Strawberries, cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size. pinch of salt & pepper (optional) DIRECTIONS: 1. Lay strawberries on flat on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper (if desired). 2. Dry in oven for about 3 hours at 210 degrees.  This recipe is courtesy of http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com
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The 7th annual Minnesota Garlic Festival will be held on Sat, Aug 11th, 2012. Mark your calendars for a day full of local foods, music, area artisans, games and of course GARLIC!
The Garlic Festival will take place at the McLeod County fairgrounds in Hutchinson from 10a-6p. The cost is only $5 for adults, $3 for kids under 12 and stroller/carried babies are FREE!
There are over 100 varieties of the country's finest garlic grown here in Minnesota. The garlic is planted in October and harvested in July. Growers cure the garlic to perfection so the first of the garlic is ready for the festival!
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2012-2013 Minnesota Grown Directory - it's HERE!
Find your local farmers markets, PYO orchards and more in the 2012-13 Minnesota Grown Directory. Make sure you get your FREE copy today! Order online at MinnesotaGrown.com or by phone at 1-800-657-3878. |
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Minnesota Grown Facebook
Facebook is a great way to have two-way conversations with our supporters. Please suggest our page to your friends and let's keep the dialog going. We look forward to hearing more thoughts and ideas as well as sharing what's new and local with you!
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THANK YOU!! We appreciate every person who reads this newsletter and supports Minnesota Grown. If you have something related to Minnesota Grown foods that you'd like to know more about- please tell us! :)
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Yummmm strawberries!
 There is plenty of good news for strawberry lovers this year. Minnesota strawberries are ripening early and many farms are open for picking! Most growers are reporting an excellent crop. The strawberry season normally lasts about 3-4 weeks, so make sure you buy/pick enough local strawberries to last all year long!
To make your strawberries last longer, always store them in the refrigerator. One great way to store them is in a colander since it allows cool air to circulate around the berries. Otherwise a few small bowls are just fine. The less strawberries you have piled on top of each other, the less bruising and mushiness you'll see. Leave the top of the bowl open or cover lightly with a cloth/paper towel. Leave the hull on the strawberries through storage and washing to protect the texture of the inside. Try not to wash the strawberries until just before you use them.
You can also freeze your strawberries to have them all year long. Freezing fresh, ripe strawberries is the best. Unripe or over ripen fruit will be the same after freezing. Not only will freezing allow you to use Minnesota Grown strawberries all year round, but it will also help out your pocket book! Purchasing larger quantities of local, in-season strawberries is lower in cost than purchasing strawberries from the grocery store all year-long.
We recommend freezing in small meal or cooking sized batches. That way you can thaw just what you need for that local strawberry pie in Dec! It's best to wash and completely dry the strawberries before freezing them. You can dry them gently with a cloth/paper towel or by laying them flat with a low fan on them. After washing, carefully remove the hull and slice the berries if desired. Then lie them flat on a baking sheet or wax paper and freeze for a couple hours or until firm. This will help the strawberries keep their shape and prevent them from sticking together. After they are frozen to firm, you can portion them into freezer bags. Make sure you remember to date the bags before tossing them into your freezer!
You can find a strawberry patch near you by searching the Minnesota Grown Directory online. This year's Directory has over 95 strawberry farms across Minnesota! Remember to call your farm before you head out to the farm. Picking conditions can change day to day and vary from farm to farm. |
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Raspberries & blueberries early too?
Consumers can expect to see summer raspberries and blueberries ripen ahead of schedule early as well. While those crops typically ripen at the very end of strawberry season, it's possible that summer raspberries may ripen even farther ahead of schedule than strawberries, resulting in more overlap between the two seasons. Blueberries may come early too! Keep an eye out on the news and announcements section of the Minnesota Grown website for opening dates!
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Grilling season is HERE!
With Spring in full force, grilling season has officially arrived! Most people know Minnesota is full of fruits and veggies that are great on the grill, but have you thought about Minnesota meat? There are nearly 200 meat and poultry producers in the Minnesota Grown Directory! Find a producer near you and try some beef, bison, chicken, deer, elk, emu, fish, game birds, goat, lamb, pork, rabbit, turkey, wild boar or even yak meat! Visit the Minnesota Grown Directory online and find a producer near you.
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St Paul Saints - Minnesota Grown or groan?
Minnesota Grown is excited to announce a brand new promotional campaign in association with the St Paul Saints baseball team. At every home game, one person will get the chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the St Paul Farmers Market! They will be given the choice between three videos, one video is Carrie congratulating the contestant on winning and the other two videos are typical Minnesota "groan" moments that only Minnesotans can relate to. An example of this moment is you have just finished shoveling your whole driveway just in time for the snowplow to drive by and close you back in! Oh Minnesota! Win or loose, everyone in the contestants rows will get a Minnesota Grown Directory! Looking for another reason to get out and see the St Paul Saints? How about joining Minnesota Grown there on Sunday July 8th? Minnesota Grown is the lead sponsor for the 1:05p game. Our spokeswoman, Carrie Tollefson, will throw out the first pitch and every person at the game will receive a Minnesota Grown Directory! 
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'In the Kitchen' with Minnesota Grown and MN CooksDid read the featured recipe for Strawberry Short Stack? Want to see the chef who created it demonstrate it live on TV? Tune into Fox 9 Friday morning! Minnesota Grown is partnering with Minnesota Cooks to provide chefs for three "In The Kitchen" segments on Fox 9, the first of which will air live Friday (June 8) at 8:45a. It will feature Chef Craig Sharp of Terra Waconia located in Waconia, MN. Terra Waconia is a small, home-town rustic feeling restaurant serving casual-fine dining. Chef Craig Sharp along with his business partner Tracy LeTournea have co-owned Terra Waconia for just over two years. The pair has quickly made it into a very popular, respected and sustainable dinner choice in and around the Waconia area. Tracy started working in the service industry when she was just 14 and says owning a restaurant has always been a dream. "I love food and wine, so surrounding myself with it makes sense! The point of Terra Waconia is to serve good food and be the connection between the farm to the consumers," said Tracy. Terra Waconia sources from about 20-25 local growers. Their menu is created daily based on what fresh food is delivered that day. It's the truest definition of farm-to-table service. "All of our credit goes to the ingredients," said Craig. "Good ingredients must be fresh and nothing is fresher than local." There is a high amount of responsibility and pressure that comes with producing your neighbor's food. Craig and Tracy realize the amount of time, heart and soul that farmers put into growing food and want their customers to feel the connection and taste that difference. Terra Waconia strives to encourage, educate and show people about local food. The always have a stack of cards, flyers, names and phone numbers of the farmers to hand out to customers. When you talk to Craig, you can feel the passion and drive in his voice and taste it in the dishes he creates. "When I first walked into the kitchen and picked up a knife, I truly felt at home. It's like I can hear the pepper telling me exactly what needs to be done." Craig started in cooking career later in life while living in New Mexico. Since his move back to Minnesota, he has found a rewarding and humbling career sourcing locally. Sourcing locally not only changed Tracy & Craig, but also their small staff. When a farmer walks in the back door, they describe it as similar to Christmas morning. All the workers gather around and dig into the box, tasting the food even with dirt on it. Minnesota Grown is proud to be sponsoring Chef Craig Sharp on Fox 9. Tune in to hear more about his delicious Strawberry Short Stack recipe!
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Sponsors
Minnesota Cooks was started by Minnesota Farmers Union in 2003. The organization puts out a yearly calendar showcasing Minnesota farms and chefs, in addition to year-round promotion including a cooking demonstration at the Minnesota State Fair! The calendar is a testament to the superb growers in Minnesota and the talented sustainably-minded chefs and restaurant owners who work relentlessly to highlight farm-fresh foods.
The first 15 people to forward this e-newsletter to friends or family will receive a FREE Minnesota Cooks calendar! Don't delay, forward this now!
Minnesota Farmers Union is the lead sponsor for the Minnesota grown Directory. They work to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life for family farmers and ranchers and rural communities. They are a nonprofit membership-based organization. Did you know you don't have to be a farmers to be a member of the Minnesota Farmers Union? Check it out!
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