Every Day I'm Brusselin'

Yesterday was my first ever " Oinktoberfest ," courtesy of our friends at Trusted Earth Farm and Forage in Mineral Point, WI. As a new but very interested follower of the local food movement in the Tri -State area, I was overwhelmed by our trip out to the farm. From the glorious heaping platefuls of freshly harvested pork to the spiked tea, potato salad, and slaw, the meal was one I'll never forget. Pre -gorging, Jeff and I wrestled with a tiny black and white kitten, petted the snouts of Rodolfo the pig's surviving pig family, and watched rabbits nibble on muffins and greens. Getting to know your farmers (while savoring some delicious food!) is one of the coolest things I can imagine doing on a Sunday afternoon. It's getting harder and harder to ignore the irreparable damage being caused by factory farming and industrial agriculture, and the more accessible local food is the more the movement will continue to grow. My genuine thanks and appreciation go out to t...

Hello readers...all one of you! This post will be quick, I promise. It's more of a question than a complete blog post anyway. I've recently been somewhat bothered by a certain fast food pizza chain claiming to serve "Artisan Pizza." These artisan pies seem to be just like any other fast food pizza chain pizza, only square shaped. Has anyone tried an artisan pizza and found it to be better than a regular pizza?

Mmm. So. Good. And a great dinner on a chilly fall evening. 1 lb ground chicken 1 package soba noodles 4 c low sodium chicken broth grated ginger (a couple tablespoons) bunch of scallions, chopped 1 lime sriricha low sodium soy sauce handful bread crumbs 1 clove garlic, minced 1 c snow peas bean sprouts for garnish Preheat oven to 400. Bring broth, 1/2 bunch scallions, and 1/2 of the ginger to a low boil. Add a few dashes of soy sauce and sriricha. In the meantime, mix chicken, breadcrumbs, garlic, dash of soy sauce, and remaining ginger and scallions and roll into small meatballs. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Three minutes out, add soba and snow peas to boiling broth. Ladle noodles into bowls, top with broth and meatballs. Sprinkle with bean sprouts and serve with lime wedges and sriricha. Serves 4

I've been in Dubuque nearly six months without an official pizza joint. In Lincoln it was Isles (the Mona Lisa Pizza) and in Milwaukee I loved Lisa's (sausage, mushroom all the way!). In Northern Virginia I sank so low as to order Pizza Hut. But this week I've found and chowed at not one, but TWO great pizza joints in the DBQ area. Uno's Pizzeria in Plattville, WI is the place for deep dish. Jeff and I ordered our pizzas "a la mode." This included the customary cheese on the bottom of the deep dish as well as a hefty layer of mozz on top. Awesome! Today for lunch the ladies at work introduced me to Dubuque's favoite pizza-- Happy Joe's . With an interior that resembled a circus and an insanely gooey 6" personal pizza for $5, this may become my new spot! I can't wait to share it with Jeff. I'm a huge fan of black and green olives and mushrooms on my 'za. Anyone decidely anti-shroom or olive? I know you're out there!

Have you ever had a really awful meal? Like a "I could literally puke right now" kind of meal? As most of you know, Jeff and I moved to Dubuque just a few months ago and have been having a great time trying out new restaurants. We happen to love big weekend breakfasts and were hoping to find a great diner-type restaurant where we could fill our bellies after a long Saturday night. We'd driven past an old-timey looking place downtown that had some definite greasy spoon potential, and they advertised a breakfast buffet--with corned beef hash--for just $5.99! We were sold. As we entered "The Bridge," we were somewhat alarmed by the lack of light in the dining room. There didn't seem to be any windows and the lights were quite dim. A distinct smell of old cigarettes and drunk rednecks hit my nose. Still, we were intrigued. The decor was certainly straight out of the 70s, right down to the floral carpet and boxy brown furniture. And, of course, THERE WAS CORNED B...

Recipe of the Day: Quiet Walker Butternut Squash and Mushroom Pasta As you may or may not know, Jeff has been working as a forest steward at the Quiet Walker Lodge just outside of Dubuque . It's a lovely little bed and breakfast set on several beautifully forested acres in Durango , Iowa. In addition to the idyllic forest setting, the Inn is also home to several gardens and greenhouses. Upon my first visit to the lodge last week, the owner, Linda, was kind enough to give me several butternut squash and zucchini. This recipe arose from that visit. I put it together on the fly, but it ended up being pretty darn tasty. 1 pound whole wheat pasta (I like penne or rigatoni!) 1 butternut squash, roasted, peeled, and diced 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup chicken stock olive oil good parmesan cheese red pepper flakes S&P Boil pasta, meanwhile sauteing mushrooms, garlic, chili flakes, and squash in oil. Once mushrooms are browned, add chicken stock a...

As a loyal and die hard Milwaukee Brewers fan, I had a rather rough night last night as the Crew lost to the Cardinals 12-6, dashing all hope of a World Series. This tragic end to the post-season brought with it some beer drinking, and I awoke with a dry mouth and rumbling tummy. Today was a Jimmy John's kind of a day. Is there anyone out there that DOESN'T love Jimmy John's? Their bread is killer, they're incredibly fast, and everything is always super-fresh. My fave is a number six, no mayo. That's a vegetarian for those of you who don't know the menu by heart, and it includes double provolone cheese, lettuce, sprouts, tomato, and the ultimate: JJ's Avocado Spread. Yes, I capitalized "Avocado Spread." It's that good. When I'm not drooling over the number six (and when calories don't count) I go for a #5, the Vito. Salami. Cappicola. Provolone. Italian vinaigrette. Lettuce, tomato, hold the onion. And cherry peppers. Gotta have cherry ...

Hola, friends. As an aspiring cook and accomplished eater, Thanksgiving is, obviously, my favorite holiday of all time. That's Jeff and me last Thanksgiving--our first and only Thanksgiving spent in Northern Virgina. We packed all four of our parents into our tiny apartment for an unforgettable meal that included a giant organic turkey from Wegmans (man do I miss Wegmans!), bread stuffing, baked mashed potatoes with Parmesan cheese (ala Giada DeLaurentis), and roasted Brussels sprouts. I tried my hand at my first ever pumpkin cheesecake, too. (Due to a crappy, old oven, this was not too successful. But everyone was very nice and lied, telling me it was great. Thanks, guys!) This year we head to Milwaukee for my Mom's traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I've ordered a free-range heritage breed turkey from Trusted Earth Farms in Mineral Point, Wisconsin (they're my fave vendor at the Dubuque Farmer's Market), and we'll have traditional mashed potatoes, stuffing, ...