The Rake Magazine

how i feel, courtesy of Voodoo Donut.

I feel like I've been offered a jelly donut, only to find a puff of stale air in place of promised jelliness.

There in the pages of the glossy Lake Minnetonks Magazine, ran a snippet that proclaimed the existence of a new Good Day Cafe, right in Wayzata! As I was out and about this morning, I thought a right-nicely turned caramel roll would do the trick on an icky Monday. But no, there is no additional outpost and no plans for one either, it turned out to be a rumor printed as fact. Sad in the short-term, but glad in the long run, I think it would have been too early to expand as the original might have suffered.

And then it got worse ... Coastal Seafoods in Wayzata has closed their doors. I am more than bummed about it. A call into the other stores found them open, and the official word is that they could never do the amount of business that they thought they would in Wayzata. I could always count on them for great stuff like Monkfish and Opah which you can't always find in the Lund's/Byerly's bin. I was on the lookout for some Barramundi for a lift to my Monday but now I am lost.

Maybe I'll drown my sorrows in sushi.

When it's as hot as it's been, those of us with pools must be resigned to the impromptu gathering. And so it goes that last Wednesday we had a few families over for some swimming and noshing with a little late-birthday celebration thrown into the mix.

But I've been hungry, despite the heat (shock) and I wasn't looking for the hot dog/quick pasta option. But I had no desire to whip up the grand feast, just as no one else had the hunger for formality and over-indulgence during the mid-week.

So I ripped through the monthly rags to find something honest and easy. I came up with two winners: grilled pork chops with a sharp garlic-lime vinaigrette and a quinoa dish with black beans. Winners both, the quinoa earned top honors from the eaters. It was the lime juice that kept it zesty and fresh and gave our whole meal a nice summery lilt.

I was planning on an easy chocolate mousse with strawberries for dessert, but alas, the power went out in the middle of dinner and no way was I whipping cream by hand in the suddenly air-conditionless house. Take it outside, strawberries and dark chocolate poolside don't suck.

Today I'm heading to the Arboretum's Summer House to see what kind of fresh goodies they have. Even though we have no plans for entertaining this weekend, it doesn't mean it won't happen.

I finally made it to the Sur La Table that opened on 50th and France in Edina, mere steps down from Cooks of Crocus Hill. Of course I did a little comparative secret shopping.

I've enjoyed Sur La Table in many places before, the Seattle Pike's Place market location being my favorite. The store has always held a cozy accessability to me as a cook, with kitchen tables piled high with rubber spatulas and whisks a-go-go (I've always felt the same about Chef's Gallery). There were high-buck pots and pans, as well as fun and less expensive gadgetry which seem to suck me in, and everything was merchandized smartly. Though I meandered for over half an hour, I wasn't chatted-up until I got to the register, and there were plenty of employees around. Maybe they're upgrading as a company, but this outpost seemed a little more Williams-Sonoma and little less kitchen table.

Heading down to Cooks, the first thing I noticed was the word LOCAL on their kiosk. Inside, it was business as usual, if not a little more solicitous. There were plenty of people, merchandizing is just as good as the new neighbors, and the staff seems unworried.

Overall, I'd say they could work well together: each had a strength that parried the other's weakness. Sur had more cutting edge gadgets (nifty silicone pan holders) while Cook's had a huge selection of food books. Sur had more appliances, Cook's had more cool ingredients. Sur, being larger, has more stuff, but Cook's has the demo kitchen and a killer line-up of chef's who teach. After all the perusing, I left Sur with some funky drinking straws and garbage disposal cleaners. At Cook's I bought two paper toques for Jake and his cousin.

Quite inspired to cook something, I headed to Trader Joe's to pick up some ingredients, but ended up wandering over to the small and virtuous Bellaria Bakery Cafe. Anyone should be in awe of their wedding cakes, but I sit in amazement over their pain au chocolat, which I have never been able to produce to satisfaction. I must not have the right gadgets.

FRIDAY
Are you one of the obsessed? Will you be waiting in line at the stroke of midnight when the final Harry Potter is released? My geekish clan will be decked out and hotly debating our picks for the dead pool while we wait in line. Before we don our capes (yes, we have three), the Madame Rosmerta in me will most likely brew up some Butterbeer for me and the kids. I might whip up a batch of Mrs. Weasley's rock cakes or some Hogwarts Express cauldron cakes for in-line noshing. If only I had a house-elf.

SATURDAY
The husband plays on a team in the AHA which is known around here as Old Guy Hockey. They've struck up a friendship with another team in Eau Claire who call themselves The Mighty Docs and have scheduled an off-season summer game. Oh, and then both teams are COMING TO MY HOUSE FOR DINNER.

At first, there was a casual "hey let's have everyone bring something to grill and we'll play it by ear" thing. Sorry, I'm WAY too much of a control freak for that. What if someone brings frozen burger patties and someone else brings steak? What if someone brings potato salad and someone else brings potato salad? No no no. I'd rather handle it all and make sure that needs are met and flavors mingle. So it's a pizza party, because it's easy, popular, and I didn't put a wood-burning oven in my house for decor reasons.

Clearly we'll headline with all-time-faves pepperoni/sausage and four cheese. Big winners have included bbq shrimp, buffalo chicken, goat cheese/pesto and salami/red pepper. When I think people are winding down, I'll sneak in one of my favorites: prosciutto and brie with capers and truffle oil or arugula, red onion and large curls of parm with a fried egg on top.

SUNDAY
Brunch with the girls. Looking for somewhere not too stuffy, somewhere that has honest, delicious, high-quality food (given the real potential for pizza overdose the night before), somewhere I can cackle loudly over copious amounts of strong coffee...in short, Cafe Twenty-Eight in Linden Hills.

A Day For Eaters? ... count me in.

This weekend the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota is hosting Grazefest: an event aimed at promoting the health benefits, positive environmental impact, and economic possibilities of pasture-raised foods. And hey, there's a band!

The first half of Saturday is devoted to hot discussion among professional Graziers, but the second half has been declared "A Day for Eaters". Head out to Cedar Summit Farm in New Prague from 1pm - 6pm and sample tasty foods (Philip Dorwart doing demos!), listen to the musical stylings of the Roe Family Singers and be converted by the prophets of grass-fed.