Bluestem Prairie

Because some press releases are just too delish: Walz Turkey Trot Tater Tot Hotdish FTW!

S ome recipes for news are too good to rewrite.  Here's one such press release:

Today, Minnesota's Congressional Delegation came together for U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s (D-Minn.) fourth annual hotdish competition. Sen. Franken started the friendly “Hotdish Off” as a way to bring the delegation together and celebrate a Minnesota culinary tradition. Rep. Tim Walz’s (D-Minn) “Turkey Trot Tater Tot Hotdish” took first place, and tying for second was Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s “’It’s So Cold My Hotdish Froze’ Dessert Hotdish” and Rep. John Kline’s (R-Minn.) “Morning ‘Hot Chow’ Hotdish.” Participants' recipes can be found here.

“It’s a great day when the Minnesota delegation is able to put our differences aside and enjoy some great hotdishes,” said Sen. Franken. “I want to thank all my colleagues for participating in today’s competition, and a huge congratulations to Tim for his winning Turkey Trot Tater Tot Hotdish. It was delicious.”

“Thank you to Senator Franken and his staff for putting this annual, bipartisan event on and for allowing us all to share our hotdish recipes. I’m honored that our Turkey Trot Tater Tot Hotdish won this year, making southern Minnesota back-to-back hotdish champions. The good folks in Worthington who celebrate King Turkey Days should know that, at least for today, turkey reigns supreme in Washington as well,” said winner Rep. Tim Walz.

“This Minnesota winter has been so cold that even my hotdish couldn’t escape the freezing temperatures,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “The dish has a virtual polar vortex of flavor that sent a shiver down the spine of the competition and gave the judges goosebumps. While it ultimately got iced out of first place, I want to wish a very warm congratulations to Rep. Walz for his delicious (and hot!) dish.”

"The Hunter's Hotdish is a perfect way to use up that venison in the freezer as you're thinking about next fall's hunt," said Rep. Collin Peterson. "This crunchy tater tot topping is something everyone can agree on." 

“Hotdish is a Minnesota tradition and coming together to share food, recipes and companionship is a great way to honor the neighborly spirit that makes Minnesota such a great place to live,” said Rep. Betty McCollum   

“I enjoy the chance to take a brief moment to come together with my fellow Minnesotans, especially over something as uniquely Minnesotan as hotdish,” said Rep. John Kline. “Equally as enjoyable were the dishes today and I want to congratulate Rep. Walz on a well-deserved victory.”

“I look forward to the hot dish competition each year. Our recipes are as diverse as our politics, but we can all agree that a good hot dish is a staple on kitchen tables across Minnesota. Not only do we get to enjoy a little taste of home, it is a bipartisan opportunity to celebrate the community and traditions that make Minnesota the greatest state,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann.

“I want to thank Senator Franken and the whole Minnesota congressional delegation for putting on the 4th Annual Hotdish Competition,” said Rep. Keith Ellison. “There are a lot of great Minnesota traditions, few more delicious than the Pride of the 5th Hotdish.”

“We demonstrated today that of Minnesota’s four essential food groups – coffee, bars, jello, and hotdish – hotdish once again reigns supreme,” said Rep. Rick Nolan.

“Minnesotans have long gathered around the kitchen table to enjoy a Hotdish,” said Rep. Erik Paulsen. “I always enjoy how this friendly competition makes it possible for each of us in the delegation to bring some of that home-cooking with us to Washington. While I don’t know how the judges can ever pick just one winner, I congratulate Rep. Walz on taking home the prize with his Hotdish this year.”

After blind taste testing each member's hotdish, former Congressmen Vin Weber (R-Minn.) and Gerry Sikorski (D-Minn.), named Rep. Tim Walz’ "Turkey Trot Tater Tot Hotdish" the winner of the 2014 Hotdish off. Minnesota native Dan Meyer acted as the Master of Ceremonies for the event.

The other members prepared the following hotdishes: Sen. Klobuchar made ‘It’s So Cold My Hotdish Froze’ Dessert Hotdish; Sen. Franken made Grandma Phoebe’s Sunday Supper Hotdish; Rep. Peterson made Hunter’s Hotdish; Rep. McCollum made Minnesota Wild Rice and Chicken Hotdish; Rep. Kline made Morning ‘Hot Chow’ Hotdish; Rep. Bachmann made Polar Vortex-Mex Hotdish; Rep. Ellison made Pride of the 5th Hotdish; Rep. Walz made Turkey Trot Tator Tot Hotdish; Rep. Nolan made Ranger’s Hunting Camp Hotdish; and Rep. Paulsen made Grandma’s Minnesota Nice Mock Lasagna. 

Last year, Rep. Walz’s “Hermann the German Hotdish” took first place. In 2012, Sen. Franken’s “Mom's Mahnomin Madness Hotdish” and former Rep. Chip Cravaack’s (R-Minn.) “Minnesota Wild Strata Hotdish” tied for first place. Sen. Klobuchar took top honors in 2011 with her “Taconite Tater-Tot Hotdish.”

Photo: Tim Walz's Turkey Trot Tator Tot Hotdish.  

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MNCD1 candidate Hagedorn politicizes egg nog

On his Facebook page today, First Congressional District congressional candidate Jim Hagedorn politicized homemade eggnog and toffee, claiming both as solely Republican treats.

Yes, really.

Hagedorn posted the following caption for a photo of lovely young girls singing:

Thanks to Houston County Republicans for the fun meeting this morning. I bet the Dems never offer up homemade eggnog and toffee and perform excellent entertainment at their meetings. Thanks to the young ladies for singing a beautiful rendition of Away In A Manger. Merry Christmas

Take that Democrats!

Alas for Hagedorn, his observation is just silly.  Via MSNBC, Abby Borovitz reports in Senate Secret Santa brings bipartisan cheer:

Holiday miracles do exist!

Congress is showing some bipartisanship this holiday season – both in their budget dealings and holiday cheer.

For the third straight year, Minnesota Democratic Senator Al Franken is reprising the role of “elf” and organizing a “Secret Santa” gift exchange with 42 Democrats and 23 Republicans signed up to take part.

The bipartisan group of 65 will pick names in advance and buy gifts under $15. Of course, keeping their identify secret until they deliver their presents at a gathering Tuesday evening, complete with eggnog and seasonal treats.

Media reports from earlier years include eggnog on Senator Franken's menu.

In December 2012, the Douglas County DFL held its DFL Happy Holidays Party!, featuring eggnog:

Come have some fun with everyone at Nelson Gables in Alexandria this Thursday, December 6th from 5-9pm. 1220 Nokomis Street. We're going to have some laughs and eggnog to celebrate the holiday season. Bring a dish to share if you want to at this light hearted social.

Then, after an eat and talk fest, we will play “Donkey Draw” a game brought to us from Wisconsin Democrats by Esther Mehrer. To participate, bring a wrapped gift of questionable value. This should be fun!

Whether you're planning on a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Winter Solstice, the Kwanzaa Festival of Lights, or anything else, or just want to ring in the upcoming New Year, you are welcome. Santa Hats or other costumes are welcome.

Not long after that party, Mother Jones reporter Tim Murphy reported in WATCH: Obama Asks Congress To Drink Egg Nog, Not Tank Economy:

President Barack Obama's message to Congress on Friday was straightforward. "Pour some egg nog, have some Christmas cookies, sing some Christmas carols, enjoy the company of loved ones," he said at a press conference at the White House . . .

Seriously, claiming eggnog for one party or the other is just peculiar.  To all of Bluestem's friends, regardless of party, we offer a homemade eggnog recipe.  Please use very fresh eggs, and only serve to adults.  Not a tippler?  Leave out the bourbon.

Via the Food Network:

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pint whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 ounces bourbon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 egg whites*

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.

Cook's Note: For cooked eggnog, follow procedure below.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Photo: Franken Santa image in Politico, 2012.

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Hagedorn to announce CD1 bid at farm in GOP treasurer Scherer's Protein Sources system

On August 30, Bluestem noted that Southern Minnesota's political quirk drought broken as Jim Hagedorn campaigns in CD1.  A kindly tipster let us know about Fox News-wannabe Mankato Times' story Jim Hagedorn to Formally Announce Run for Congress this Wednesday which describes the down home pastoral setting for the Blue Earth man's announcement:

Jim Hagedorn will be officially announcing his campaign as a Republican candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 1^st Congressional District on Wednesday afternoon, September 4 at the FitzSimmons Farm in Rural Good Thunder, MN. 

Mr. Hadedorn [sic] will be seeking the Republican endorsement to take on DFL incumbent Representative Tim Walz who has been in office since 2007. . . .

Even though he lived in the east coast for most of his adult life, the small town rural values and life lessons that he learned were woven into his fabric.  . . .

During the summers, Jim helped work the land, walk the bean fields, feed the hogs, maintain the property, and developed a firsthand understanding of farming and the business side of agriculture. . . .

“Living on the farm and being part of our rural communities ingrained in me the small town values that have sustained me throughout life,” Hagedorn said. “That is why I chose the FitzSimmons Farm.  It is much like the farm I grew up on outside Truman and the location is central to the district, right in the heart of agriculture.”

It's enough to make you want to quit your city job in Rochester or Mankato, stop at Mills Fleet Farm for pair of bib overalls and head to Truman to volunteer.

However, the Mankato Times reporter has little curiosity beyond the press release (which seems only slightly updated from 2010) and misses the insider baseball (or football, since we're talking pigskins here).  For as Republican activists know, that family farm is part of  Protein Systems.

Bron Scherer, treasurer of the Republican Party of Minnesota, is a partner of Protein Systems with members of the FitzSimmons family.

In Wright County, Protein Systems partner Pat FitzSimmons is state representative David FitzSimmons' father.

We're curious where this one will go with sitting state representative Mike Benson and veteran Aaron Miller seeking endorsement as well.  Will the involvement of the business partners of the RPM's state treasurer create questions about the party bagman's neutrality, ala RPM chair Ron Carey's piloting of the Minnesota campaign of GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee in 2008 or the early spurning of Dick Day that same cycle in favor of Brian Davis to challenge Walz in his freshman year.

The latter activity provoked Day to skip the endorsement process and launch a primary bid, allowing Walz to raise money while the two Republicans fought--and Southern Miinesotans learned enough to reject primary-winner Davis soundly. 

Pop some corn.

Image:  This is not the FitzSimmons Farm. It's a still from The Wizard of Oz, and Bluestem suspects that the Southern Minnesota GOP is definitely off to see something.We're curious about Hagedorn's notion of what should be in the next Farm Bill.

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Since Day One, Madelia nine-year-old has thought Michele Obama way cooler than her husband

The four-year-old mayor of Dorset, Minnesota--a champion of ice cream and his unincorporation hamlet's restaurants--is running for re-election by urging voters to stuff the ballot box. The Associated Press investigates here in a story that's as viral as it is adorable.

He's not alone in the youth takeover of political news today.  The Mankato Free Press reports in Madelia girl lunches with Obamas that the nine-year-old, whose recipe for garden stir-fry earned her lunch at the White House, favored one host over the other:

Kaitlyn Kirchner didn't miss a beat — didn't hesitate even a second — when asked who was cooler: Barack Obama or Michelle Obama.

“Michelle,” she said, then let go of a giggle that gave away her age.

The 9-year-old from Madelia got the chance to meet them both Tuesday in the White House. Mom went along, too, but it was Kaitlyn who got them there. Her recipe for garden stir-fry was among the winners of a national contest. . . .

For Kaitlyn, the highlight was meeting the first lady (she met both Obamas). She got to meet Michelle Obama face to face when they arrived, as each junior gourmet got to shake the first lady's hand and ask her a few questions. .  . .

It didn't surprise [Lea Kirchner] that her daughter thought Michelle was the cool one in the Obama house.

“She has thought that from day one when he was inaugurated and she was in preschool,” Kirchner said.

Out of the mouth of babes, as they say. Huffington Post also reports that the too-cool First Lady Michelle Obama Dances During Kids' State Dinner:

 

Dancing after gathering recipes beats collecting metadata any day, so Bluestem concurs with Kaitlyn.

Here's the Madelia girl's recipe for Garden Stir-Fry. Kaitlyn writes:

"This is my favorite recipe because it tastes great and it is fun to make! My mom, sisters, and I grow all the vegetables in our garden," says Kaitlyn. "We pick the vegetables in the morning, wash and cut them, and have them ready for our dad to stir-fry when he arrives home for lunch. We serve the recipe with cooked quinoa and a glass of soy milk."

Dad is a chiropractor in Madelia. Here's a charming video from the University of Minnesota's Institute of Advanced Study featuring, Kaitlyn's mom and Bryce Wolle, talking about gardening together on Wolle's property. Kirchner talks about her ambition as a mother trying to introduce more locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables into children's diets, while Wolle shares his joy in supplying fresh watermelons and other produce to senior citizens.

A small city of 2,308 in Watonwan County, Madelia is situated beside the Watonwan River.

Photo: Kaitlyn Kirchner.

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Secret ingredient in Walz first place "Hermann the German" hotdish was bottle of Schell's beer

It's no secret any longer: the secret ingredient in Congressman Tim Walz's first place "Hermann the German" hotdish is  Schell's beer, brewed in New Ulm, Minnesota. Walz's hearty meal won Senator Franken's annual Hot Dish-off today.

The Duluth News Tribune reported in Eh? Franken holds 3rd annual Hot Dish-Off:

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, the Minnesota Democrat and former comedian, will host his third annual Capitol casserole contest today in (appropriately) the Senate Agricultural Committee Hearing Room in Washington.

Casserole? As the late Jared Stene would say, that's just wrong. It's hotdish, people. The news continues:

Franken will be joined by Democrats Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Reps. Rick Nolan, Collin Peterson, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and Tim Walz and Republicans Eric Paulsen and Michele Bachmann.

Franken started the friendly competition in 2011 as a way to bring the delegation together to put partisanship aside and celebrate a Minnesota culinary tradition. This year’s event will be judged by former Minnesota congressmen Vin Weber and Gerry Sikorski.

Just as the contest began, Walz press secretary Tony Ufkin tweeted:

Tony Ufkin ‏@ufkina 1h

Walz's "Hermann the German" hotdish is in place. Secret ingredient from New Ulm... pic.twitter.com/fQ8Y4h1rAc

We guessed beer and Ufkin confirmed. The secret's also out on Franken's website:

Walz's Hermann the German Hotdish

Ingredients:
1 package of brats
1 bottle Schell's beer
1 onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup of chopped celery
1 can cream of cheddar soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1 package tater tots.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add beer, onions and garlic powder. Submerge the brats into the pot and reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 min. Remove and let cool. Butter the casserole dish. Combine remaining ingredients into a separate bowl, minus the tots. Chop up the brats into bite sized pieces and add to the other ingredients. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish, top with tater tots and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with cheese for the last 10-15 mins of baking.

Photo: The hotdish prior to judging. Twitpic by Tony Ufkin.

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Carly Melin: "what's good for the Range is good for the whole state"

Via Outstate Politics, Carly Melin is interviewed in a Youtube released by the Minnesota House Information Service yesterday.

Melin won a special election last month and is now the youngest woman serving in the Minnesota House. But watching her, I realize her rookie status is the least interesting thing about Melin. She's personable, unpretentious, and smart.

Squirrel: the tastiest rodent you've never eaten

With only five weeks of this winter's small game season remaining in Minnesota, Bluestem readers might be wondering what to do with all the extra squirrel in the freezer.

A recipe from my native Blue Earth County can help: squirrel stroganoff.

This dish, fine comfort food (not comfortable for the squirrels of course), comes my way via "Tastes of Amboy" cookbook and was contributed to the cookbook celebrating the town's 125th anniversary by Lisa Durkee, who runs the Amboy Cottage Cafe.

First, you'll need to get some squirrels; they are fairly abundant in local woods and attics, but we recommend chasing them out of your attic before taking aim. Then cook up this recipe.

2 dressed and cut up grey or fox squirrels
2 sliced onions
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 1/2 c. flour
8 oz sliced mushrooms, sauted
2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. oil
Salt and pepper to taste
6 servings egg noodles

Combine flour, salt and pepper. Dredge squirrel pieces in the flour. Brown the squirrel in oil. Add onion to brown slightly. Add garlic and turn pieces. Add 3 cups of water. Cover and simmer until tender (about two hours). Add mushrooms and sour cream to gravy. Salt and pepper to taste. Return to pot and serve over noodles with plenty of napkins.

Bluestem recommend putting the napkins on the side. Squirrel is quite tasty, and like nearly all wild game, lean, local and antibiotic-free. Some cooks prefer to make their squirrel stroganoff with bacon and other additional ingredients, but this recipes is both simple and elegant. Squirrel meat is sweet and nutty, as one might expect from their diet of acorns and the like.

Photo:  A grey squirrel.

Southern Minnesota Shocker! Larson goes from chili champ to chump

Claiming a need to spend more time with his family, chili cook-off kingpin Merle Larson has withdrawn from Saturday night's Senate District 29/30 Chili Cook-off at the IBEW Hall south of Rochester.

The revelation rocked the hyper-competitive world of rural Democratic chili contests. Spouse of DNC member Nancy Larson, the gruff cook dominates chili cook-off in his adopted home of Meeker County. Last spring he extended his holdings to the Rochester area by stealing all-around champ honors from local chefs.

"I simply can't believe it," one chef and progressive activist  from Central Minnesota said, declining to be named. "It's always been a gas watching Merle smoke his rivals, year after year, and so to see him go quietly just leaves a weird aftertaste in my  mouth."

Reaction among Rochester area cooks was mixed.

"The Askelin clan has been perfecting chili recipes for the last year," Rochester labor activist Laura Askelin said.  "It's obvious to me that he knows when he's been beat. But we want our rematch!!!"

Other contestants didn't regret Larson's cowardice. Liz McLoone Dybvig demonstrated why she rules the mild table.

"As the reigning champion of the Mild category in the SD 29 & 30 Chili cook-off, I  would like to commend fellow chili champion Merle Larson for choosing family first," McLoone said.

Insiders speculated that Larson's absence will increase participation in the contest. "Look at what Governor Pawlenty's decision not to run for a third term did to the gubernatorial race," Culinary Arts professor Merkin Muffley said. "With a level cooking surface, there's no telling how many more will jump in to stir the crockpot."

Muffley noted that with Larson's withdrawal from the contest, rumors had sprung up that a local Republican cook planned to infiltrate the competition (see artist sketch above).

The detail of the fundraiser:

The time is here again to whip up your most famous Chili, Chocolate Desert or both...

We bringing back the Chocolate Event this year also. So I'm thinking strongly of a great Chocolate item. I won that a couple of years ago so I'm sending out a challenge to all of you to try to claim the titles for one or both categories.

A new addition this year is a DISPLAY YOUR TALENTS. If you have items that you have created please bring them to display at Cook Off. Our own Mary Jones has agreed to display her award winning Quilt. (and it isn't for sale). So bring your creations and let us all admire your talents.

Our famous silent auction is also part of the evening. Your welcome to bring items for the auction.

Invite your family and friends to join this special, fun evening.

Questions please contact Mary Petersson, 507-286-1061, or myself.

For those of you perfecting your chili and chocolate recipes, here are the categories:

Candidates choice for best chili

Candidates choice for best chocolate dessert

Best mild chili

Best medium chili

Best hot chili

Best vegetarian chili

Best chili overall

Best tasting chocolate dessert

Best looking chocolate dessert

Looking forward to your challenges and a great fun filled evening as we judge the entries and visit with governor hopefuls

Related post:

SD 29/30 DFLers: it's our business to stir it up (and defeat chili boss Merle Larson)

How about a bowl of hearty soup?

If this rain ever stops--as it is predicted to do by tomorrow morning--I'll be able to harvest the last of the vegetables in my community garden plot before the city's clean-up deadline. In the meantime, I'm probably pick some of the swiss chard or kale in the rain and warm myself by making soup.

It's a soup-making sort of day. Call it a homeopathic ritual: days of rain have turned the lawn and field beyond into a soup. Is a good bowl of soup the cure? A stopgap measure while waiting for health care reform?

Here are some good soup recipes for fall greens:

Russian Chard Soup

1 lb. cleaned Swiss chard (i'll pick just one color from my rainbow chard patch)
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 c. chicken broth (store bought or freshly made)
1/2 c. milk or sour cream

Melt butter in a wide, heavy pan.

Add chopped or thinly sliced stems and cook, covered, for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in chopped leaves and cook for 3-4 minutes more.

Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour and stir until blended. Gradually blend in chicken broth and milk or sour cream.

Cook and stir until slightly thickened. If a smooth soup is preferred, whirl mixture in a blender until it has the consistency desired.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 4-6 servings.

adapted from Cooks.com

No transparency: chili boss Larson continues to dominate Meeker County cookoff

Central Minnesota failed to break the iron-fisted rule of chili cookoff boss Merle Larson, as his chili once more dominated the Meeker County Chili-off. Larson won the Grand Champion category with a Black Bean, Green Chili and Pork concoction.

A traveling "Chili Champion" trophy was added to the mix, along with the traditional certificate suitable for framing. Bluestem Prairie believes this prize exists solely to shake the confidence of DFL chefs at the CD 29 & 30 Chili Cook Off on November 7. Last spring, Larson swept the competition in Rochester as well.

When the 50 or so guests (not counting the many DFL gubernatorial campaigns and their staff) called for recipe transparenc at the Darwin Rod and Gun Club, Larson refused to release his recipe.

Repeated cries for transparency were met with stony silence.

Perhaps Bluestem will try fundraising by issuing t-shirts: "I entered the Meeker County Cookoff and all I got was this lousy heartburn."  

Hal Kimball has more from the event at Blue Man in a Red District.

Update: The Pine County DFL held its Donkey Chili feed on Sunday, I as mentioned in my first post about the chili rivalry.  In a note to Red Rock on Air, Senate District Chair Barbara Peterson notes the outcome of a "bean poll":

As for the Bean Poll that was conducted, it was a 2-way tie for first place, between State Sen. Tom Bakk,who also attended and spoke, and Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Second place also showed a tie between Sen. Mark Dayton and State Sen. John Marty. Third place went to Matt Entenza.

Photo: Merle Larson accepting the prize at the last CD 29 & 30 Chili Cookoff. Can no one stop this tyrant?

Heartburn in the heartland: DFL chili rivalry heats up rural Minnesota

Ask Meeker County DFL Treasurer Merle Larson--the reigning chili champion in several party units scattered across rural Minnesota--for a recipe, and you're lucky to get any answer.

"It's a state secret," Nancy Larson said, "You know how he is." Despite years developing her persuasive powers as an advocate for rural Minnesota, Nancy Larson remains unable to convince her husband to release any of his recipes.

Perhaps Merle Larson fears getting burned by his own concoction at Saturday's Meeker County DFL Chili Cookoff  from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Darwin Rod and Gun Club.

According to the Litchfield Independent:

Meeker County DFLers have a chili cooking contest every year, an event that helps raise money for the party. Apparently, it also serves as a training ground for some in the party to export their culinary talents to other parts of the state.

Last spring, Larson captured the SD 29 and 30 grand champion title in Rochester (photo). Now, as the temperatures plunge and the crockpots bubble, central Minnesota DFL activists look forward to a fiery fundraiser.

Will the category winners who lost out to Larson's pork and green chili dish venture up to Meeker County on Saturday (perhaps making a pit stop at the McLeod County DFL Fall  Festival earlier in the after at the Biscay Bar and Grill)?

Is the DFL ready for yet another gut-wrenching internal battle? Isn't having most of the many gubernatorial candidates on hand at both events enough to stir the pot?

Bluestem Prairie isn't sure, though last spring's mild category winner, Liz McLoone Dybvig, has agreed to release her award-winning recipe*, unlike chef Larson.

Dybvig's skill as a regional labor organizer is clear in her chili strategy: she accommodates traditional Minnesotan's reluctance to try anything too spicy with the drive to unite traditional Northeast DFL strongholds with new gains in Southern Minnesota.

She writes:

"I have only pride in my Minnesota Home-towns Chili recipe, so of course I want to share it with others, so that they too can enjoy the love this Chili brings to people's stomachs and hearts. The two key ingredients come from my husband's hometown of Sandstone and my parents' hometown of Waseca."

Larson's response was a low growl. As it was over the phone, Bluestem wasn't so sure about that.

Should a chili carpetbagger--or beanbaggers as they are sometimes called by oldtimers--defeat repeat champion LArson, he can seek revenge at the next CD 29 & 30 Chili Cook Off on November 7.

The Meeker fundraiser isn't the only chili feed heating up progressive rural Minnesota's political landscape this fall. DFLers in Brown County are tossing their hats into the circles of competitive chili with a cookoff tonight at the Hermann Heights Park Shelter beginning at 5:30 p.m.

One day after the Meeker cookoff, the Pine County DFL will host a Donkey Chili Feed (probably made by donkeys, rather than with them). The Mower County DFL Chili Feed follows next on Saturday, October 24.

*The recipe will be posted here when BSP receives it.

Another rhubarb recipe: Rhubarb Blueberry Pie

by Debra Hogenson

Rhubarb-Blueberry Pie

2 9-inch pie crusts
2 cups cut up rhubarb
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 - 4 tablespoons blueberry syrup (I used Knott's)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (I use freshly ground)
2 tablespoons instant tapioca
dash of salt
2 teaspoons milk
1 tablespoon coarse sugar

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place one crust in 9-inch pie pan, cutting off any overhanging pastry.

 In a large bowl combine fruit pour syrup over fruit and gently stir to coat.

 In a small bowl combine sugar, flour, nutmeg, tapioca, and salt.

Pour flour mixture over fruit. Again, gently stir to mix.

Spoon fruit into crust-lined pie pan.

Cut second crust into rectangles.

Arrange in a chess board pattern across the pie.

Use remaining rectangles around edge, overlapping to fit (you may have some remaining dough).

Gently crimp crust edges.

Brush crust with milk then sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Cover edge of crust with strips of foil to prevent burning and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Cool on rack for a minimum of 1 hour before serving.

Progressive activist Debra Hogenson and her husband on a farm in the prairie lands of southwest Minnesota. She has a private social work practice serving persons with intellectual impairment and related development disabilities. Bluestem spotted this pie on her Facebook page and had to have the recipe.

The case for savory baby beet pickles

However tardy our tomatoes may be this mild summer, there's no shortage of beets in Minnesota's home gardens. This surplus, along with the reasonable temperatures, made yesterday an ideal day for canning beet pickles.

Pickled beets are a noted Midwestern favorite, an immigrant good that is a favorite from Scandinavian countries. It's no surprise that with our Norwegian and Danish heritages, Michael and I are pickled beet fanatics.

Most beet pickles include more sugar than the recipe Michael and I used to can baby beet pickles at his weekend home in Kandiyohi County, but he thought the more savor concoction would incorporate the root vegetable's natural sweetness.

Savory pickled baby beets

1 pound beets
1 white onion, sliced
1 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar (or quantity to taste)
1 tablespoon cardamom
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice

Follow standard instructions to prepare two quart jars or four wide-mouth pint jars, lids and screw bands for canning (we used wide mouth pints). You'll also need a boiling water canner and a jar lifter.

1. Trim off the leaves and tap roots of the beets, leaving 1/2 inche of tap root and leaf stalk to prevent too much "bleed out."  (Beet leaves work well in any Swiss chard recipe).

2. Place your beets in a large saucepan, adding enough water to cover them two inches. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to medium low. Simmer the beets for 10-15 minutes.

3. When the beets are tender but still firm, drain, reserving two cups of the liquid for the pickling brine.

4. Cool the beets in cold water.

5. While you're waiting for the beets to cool, combine the two cups of reserved beet cooking water, vinegar, sugar, cardamom, cloves, allspice and salt in a saucepan and warm using medium heat. Stirred until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to low.

6. When the beets are cool enough to handle--and while the pickling brine  slip their skins off. This is done easily while the beet is in the cooling water. Trim off the remaining stem, tap root, and any skin or blemishes that remain. Quarter any baby beets which are extra large.

7. Place a slice of onion in each jar, then pack the beets in. We put the larger baby beets in the bottom of the jars (wide-mouth jars allow home canners to pack in the whole baby beet).

8. Pour enough of the pickling brine in each jar to cover the beets totally, leaving  1/4 inch at the top of each jar.

9. Using a hot, damp towel, wipe the rim of the jars clean. Seal each jar with a lid and screw band.

10. Using the jar lifter, place the jars in the hot water canner for 15 minutes.

11. Using the lifter, remove the jars and place them on a cooling rack or a thick towel spread on a sturdy table or counter.

12. After the jars cool, check for a good seal. (You'll hear the soft popping sound as the jars cool and a seal is made). Refrigerator any jars which didn't take a seal.

13. The pickles should be ready in a week of so, though most people wait a bit longer. Consume the beets within three months.

Use the pickled beets as a garnish, a side dish, or as an ingredient in salads.

Photo: Beets, from the National Garden Bureau.

Need a dish to pass? Vampire issues? Garlic dipping sauce solves both dilemmas

There's nothing more Minnesotan than a good potluck or cookout. Lately, the members of the South Fork Secret Supper Club^ in Hutchinson have been roasting meat over wood fires.

More on that in a later post. One of the SFSSC hit side dishes is provided by a Moldovan-American member of the eating club, Yuriy Gritsenko. His mother's garlic dipping sauce, served with French bread, disappears faster than ice cubes on a hot summer evening. 

Here's his mom's recipe, written down for the first time. According to Yuriy, most of the traditional recipes the family brought from Moldova when they immigrated during his childhood are still part of an oral tradition.

For the recipe below, you'll need these ingredients:

One dozen eggs
One dozen cloves of garlic
Three pinches of salt
Six teaspoons of cider or red wine vinegar
Sunflower oil
Paprika

Note that the one-to-one ratio of eggs to garlic cloves make the recipe easy to expand or contract with your guest list.

Yuriy notes:

Here is the recipe pretty much how I wrote it as my mom made it. 

Garlic Dipping Sauce:

1. Hard-boil a dozen eggs and peel them.

2. Take egg yolks only and mash them up in a bowl. Use whites for something else (deviled eggs? potato salad?)

3. Add 3 fingers-pinch of salt to the bowl and some paprika.

4. Add 1 clove of minced garlic for each egg. (12)

5. Mix!!!

6. Add apple cider (or red wine vinegar) - ½ teaspoon for each yolk so 6 teaspoons.

7. Mix!!!

8. Add sunflower oil (or olive oil) – oil must be absorbed by yolks, so this will take some pouring and some mixing. Continue until a thick liquid (not paste) consistency is obtained.

9. Add salt and paprika (and vinegar) as necessary, to taste.

10. Stir prior to serving as the sunflower oil and the yolk/garlic will separate after standing for only a few minutes..

The resulting amount disappeared in a few minutes along with two loaves of bread when served to six.

*Secret supper clubs are far less mysterious than the traditional Southern institution suggests. Friends in the Hutchinson area have adopted it to pin a name on flash dinners we have every week or so.

A recipe for your strategic dilly bean reserves

I frequently tease a friend who cans that in the event of a national emergency, I'm heading to his weekend home to guard his shelves of dilly beans. They're that good.

The pole beans in my garden are sporting tiny beanlets under their drying flowers, and those who grow bush beans already have green beans for the table. That's the trade off in picking bean varieties: bush beans start producing a week or two before pole beans, but the harvest only lasts a week or two. Keep picking pole beans, which require poles or a trellis for support, and you'll have beans until the frost.

If it's a good year for beans, as it looks to be, I'll be canning my own dilly beans, which will be ready around Christmas time.  Those shop at farmers markets or have shares in CSAs might also want to give this recipe a try.

's one recipe (some home canners might want to tweak the salt down a bit):

INGREDIENTS
* 6 cups water
* 1 cup pickling salt
* 6 cups distilled white vinegar
* 8 heads fresh dill weed
* 1/2 cup pickling spice
* 1/2 cup mustard seed
* 8 dried red chile peppers
* 16 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1 teaspoon alum
* 5 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed (I pick the straightest unblemished beans)

DIRECTIONS

1. Sterilize 8 (1 pint) jars in boiling water for at least 5 minutes.

2. Combine the water, pickling salt and vinegar in a large pot, and bring to a boil. When it begins to boil, reduce heat to low, and keep at a simmer while you pack the jars.

3. In each jar place the following: 1 head of dill, 1 tablespoon of pickling spice, 1 tablespoon of mustard seed, 1 dried chile pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon of alum. Pack beans into the spiced jars in a standing position (why selecting straight beans matters).

4. Ladle the hot brine into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. Screw the lids onto the jars, and process in a hot water bath for 6 minutes to seal. Store for at least 2 weeks before eating.

These are great in Bloody Marys, as well as a pickle for the table. 

Enjoy the weekend. Bluestem will post again Monday afternoon.

Arugula: the new zucchini? A note on culinary change

Working in my community garden plot yesterday, I was pleased to look up and see John, the county DFL chair, weeding his own piece of paradise on the other end of the lot.

I nonchalantly sauntered over.

"Say, John," I said casually. "Your garden is looking great."

"Thank you," the genial retired psychologist said, hacking as his crabgrass.

"Yep," I said, easing into my pitch. "This rain has done wonders to my greens. Do you like arugula?"

"Funny that you asked," the mild-mannered gentleman replied. "I never tried it until today. But [a friend] gave my wife and I a full bag of it" --his hand sketched out a large grocery bag in the humid June air--"and we had it for dinner. Wow! It's delicious."

We exchanged pleasantries, then I sauntered back to my own garden. Foiled again, even by a man with impeccable progressive credentials.

Today, I still have a lot of arugula, a green much maligned in last year's Presidential election as somehow Not The Iowa, an exotic taste that never graced traditional Midwestern landscapes. Back then, I was puzzled at the reaction to a vegetable my ultra-conservative, lifelong-member-of-the NRA father taught me to grow and appreciate.

This year, though, I'm struck with the green's abundance. Yep, the stuff grows like the dickens. Like zucchini. Indeed, in these new days of the Obama administration, arugula may be The New Zucchini. Indeed, few Americans probably remember that zucchini--perhaps the most fecund garden vegetable--was itself little known in this country two generations ago.

Local food: aiming for the soul, reaching our stomachs

Yesterday, I took advantage of a break in the rain to weed my plot in the local community garden. I'd broadcast lettuce, kale and quick-growing greens between my tomato plants, and it's time to separate the domestic edible from the unwanted.

An older fellow gardener stopped by and furrowed his brow.

"Your weeds look sick," he said, then paused as he got a closer look at the pale plants dotting the ground between the tomato cages. "Oh, that's lettuce."

I took a moment from rooting out ragweed, crab grass, and lambs quarters to explain the method in my madness. The green crops provide cover for the loose soil, as well as being mostly played out by the time the tomato plants elbow out everything near them. In community garden, it's an effective strategy for boosting yields and variety on the small plot.

My neighbor considered this. "Well," he finally concluded, "I don't know how you tell the weeds from the seeds you planted."  We said our good-byes, leaving me to make that distinction as I continued my garden chore.

I'm pretty sure he's been gardening longer than I have; that he knew little of the weeds nor the small space gardening technique wasn't surprising. It's not just urban dwellers who lack knowledge about raising food. A former colleague once related the sad tale of outreach education she conducted in public schools in nearby Kandiyohi County for the Soybean Growers Association. Over half the students in each class didn't know what soybean plants looked like, though the town was surrounded by thousands of acres of bean fields.

Earlier in May, I had good reason to be happy that I'd secured the soil in my little piece of heaven. For the first time in my life--most of which has been set in the Midwest--I saw dust storms rip through town and field. Taking the photograph below the fold left my face and eyes gritty, while my next shower helped create micro-mud puddles in my ears that took four Qtips to remove. I'm all for getting close to the soil, but it was a bit much.

Both the dust storms and my garden conservation were underscored by a recent re-reading of 1980s exploration of the ethics and spirituality of land stewardship, as well as more recent news from the Land Stewardship Project and The Minnesota Farmers Union. Both organizations' commentary hit my inbox as I was taking a look back at "Soil and Survival," a book by the late Carol Bly and local (for me at least) writers Joe and Nancy Paddock.

Making it wonderful: a tale of rhubarb bars

 by Kris Fultz

I worked at St. Peter Herald for many years and always enjoyed the close-knit family feeling I had there with my co-workers. We used to say that we could write a great sitcom from our adventures and escapades there, putting together the St. Peter Herald, LeSueur News Herald and the LeCenter Leader.

I think about Ceil Headlee the front office person and writer of her own column, who always wore her flowered dresses with the rolled down nylon knee-hi's. The many publishers and a few editors we went through were all such colorful characters; and my friends and co-workers Susan, Bill, Jeremy, Kirsten, Tom, Lynn, Sara and all the others made working there more of a playdate than a job.

But the one person who in my mind will always embody St. Peter and the St. Peter Herald is Marilyn Witty. Marilyn was married to George Witty, who was the local sheriff. They were two people so much in love that George brought a red rose to Marilyn at work every Friday of his life.

 Marilyn kept us all on our toes, and entertained. If you needed to know where something was, or who somebody was, or anything else about the St. Peter Herald, (or the St. Peter area), you didn't check the archives, you checked with Marilyn. Marilyn Witty worked as one of the salespeople, and I worked in the production department doing ad design.

 Marilyn used to bring in home baked treats and my favorite was her Rhubarb Bars. I liked them so much that Marilyn used to make them for me every year on my birthday. I called them the "Make it Wonderful Rhubarb Bars" because whenever Marilyn brought me back an ad to do she would always tell me to "make it wonderful." I never saw Marilyn eat a piece of those bars, she would put them on the break room table and stop back for "just a sliver" every now and then. Marilyn said there were no calories in a sliver.

 When I moved on from the Herald and worked at another business in downtown St. Peter, Marilyn surprised me on my birthday that year, marching down the street from the Herald office and followed by some of my old co-workers like a pied piper, she bore a single piece of that wonderful rhubarb dessert on a plate out front.

Click on the image for the recipe for "Make It Wonderful Rhubarb Bars."

A 1976 graduate of St. Peter High School, Kris Fultz now lives in Wisconsin. She dug out the recipe and her memories of the Herald at the request of Bluestem's editor and posted a version of this post as a note on Facebook. We reposted it here with her permission.

Editor's note: This recipe marks a new feature on Bluestem Prairie. We'll be presenting recipes using local, seasonal ingredients, along with the stories behind them. Food is culture, after all.