However, this is a food blog. Not a missions blog. Not a travel blog. Not a charity blog. You read it because you want to see food posts. Thus, I can’t in good conscience go off about the condition of Haiti or the people. Despite the fact that it’s also my blog, which gives me the prerogative to talk about whatever I want, this is a food blog and I’d like to share with you the Haitian food I experienced while there. If you are interested in finding out more about the trip, you can view my photos.

Because we stayed at the World Wide Village guest house, most of what we ate was American food. We went out for lunch after church Sunday and I ordered Haitian Chicken and Rice. The dish was pretty good. It had a tomato-based sauce that included onions and peppers.

Haiti used to be lush and green. It was called the “Pearl of the Caribbean” at one point and you can still see a hint of that former beauty in the mountains and shorelines. Unfortunately, due to corruption, deforestation and the subsequent erosion, the earthquake and now the poverty, most of that beauty is gone. There remains some of the agricultural gems that Haiti naturally produces – plantain, sugar cane, mangos and coconuts. I was able to sample all of this (except the coconut).

The produce of the land was certainly enjoyable. BUT – Haiti is a land full of ironies. A tent city of poverty flying the nation’s flags across the street from the collapsed palace. Dry cleaners, car washes and shoe-shiners on the street that is lined with dust, pollution and garbage. A symbol of national pride – the Eternal Flame – no longer burning. Perhaps the irony that struck me most was the kitchens. Despite being a land with all this great produce, the kitchens the women cooked in were sad. Below are two photos that show the state of Haitian kitchens. They are outdoors because they still cook over fire. The first photo is the woman who cooks for the children’s home. The second photo is the kitchen of a school World Wide Village supports.

Diets in Haiti consist of rice and whatever is in season at that time – mangos, plantain, melons, etc. The fuel for cooking is charcoal and some bio fuel. The people eat once or twice a day, at most.

American’s are a blessed people. We have kitchens stocked with pots, pans and appliances to cook with. We have refrigerators full of food. We know our next meal is only a few hours away. This is not the case in Haiti. Be thankful for what you have to eat and remember that in America, we may get hungry, but we never starve.

SodaStream is an at-home soda maker. The machine carbonates regular tap water and you mix in the flavored syrup you want. Of course, the syrups are all knock-offs of the brand names. Sorry, no Mountain Dew….but you can enjoy a bubbling Fountain Mist!

SodaStream’s benefits are (according to their website)

1. Convenience – no more having to go to the store to buy soda
2. Eco-friendly – think of all those bottles and cans you’re not throwing away!
3. Value – cheaper than buying soda. $99.95 for the kit, $15 for a CO2 refill (makes 61 liters), and $9.99 for flavored syrups (each one makes 6 liters).
4. Health – most 8 oz. servings have only 35 calories and less than 10 grams of sugar!

So, how did I like it? Well, we made a few flavors – Fountain Mist and Dr. Pete (bet you can’t guess what Dr. Pete is supposed to taste like!). SodaStream was really easy and quick to make. It took about 3 minutes to make a liter of soda. The carbonation was great – plenty of it. The look and smell were adequate….about what you would expect. The taste was pretty good. Actually, it was better than I expected. It wasn’t as good as the real thing – Mt. Dew and Dr. Pepper – but close. Since most of the flavors use Splenda for a sweetener, the taste is somewhere in-between diet soda and regular.

Overall, I’d give SodaStream a 7 out of 10. The real question is, would I recommend it. This is a tough question to answer. It comes down to two things: Do you drink a lot of soda and are you OK with the taste. If you drink a lot, the value will be worth it. If you don’t drink much, you’re better off buying your soda. With the taste, I’d see if you could find a sample somewhere first. Maybe a friend has one. Maybe a store is giving samples. I drink a fair amount of soda and I would be OK with the taste.

Here are a couple of photos I took of us making Dr. Pete:

So there you have it. SodaStream made one dream come true. Will it make more? Only time will tell.

Top 10 Restaurants near Carlson School of Management

(I’ve linked each restaurant to their respective Google Places page for a map and directions). My criteria for this list is simple: proximity to Carlson, food quality and price (in no particular order).

10. Mesa Pizza in Dinktown off 4th Street – Actually, this is an “avoid at all costs” restaurant. They have truly bad pizza. I tried the Mac’n'cheese and some other version. Both were really terrible. This one was the worst place I ate at in my 4 years getting dinner.

9. Subway – The only reason a popular chain restaurant made this list is because of its convenience. It is actually in the basement of Blegan Hall. Blegan Hall is right next to Carlson. If you’re looking for a quick, cheap meal – head here.

8. 5 Guys in Dinkytown off 4th Street – Great food and great quantity of food. Price is a bit high for a fast food burger and fries.

7. Town Hall Brewery at 7 Corners – Decent bar food and relatively close to Carlson.

6. Raising Cane’s off Washington on the East Bank – great chicken fingers and sweet tea. It’s further away than most places which is why it’s #6 instead of 3 or 4.

5. Acadia Cafe on Cedar and Riverside – Awesome food, great beer selection (tons of drafts) and really close to Carlson. Easy walking. Their live music is a bit sketchy, but hey – this isn’t Nashville.

4. Republic at 7 Corners – One of my more recent discoveries. Actually, a friend of mine who I often eat with found it and we both enjoyed it. The have a great happy hour on burgers – $5, but not positive this is every day. They also have a good beer selection. Only down side is it’s in that grey area of too far to walk and too close to drive and park.

3. Bona Vietnamese off Washington on the East Bank – Excellent authentic Vietnamese food. Huge menu selection. This would be my number 1 if it weren’t on the East Bank….you have to drive and park.

2. Wienery off Cedar – Remember when I found this hot dog hole-in-the-wall? Great menu of creative hot dogs. Walking distance from Carlson. Great place to grab a Coke, dog and fries before class!

1. And the best place to eat near Carlson School of Management is……..

Afro Deli on Riverside – The Afro Deli is the bright green building right across Riverside from Hanson Hall. It’s literally across the street which plays a big factor in its rankings. But, the menu is great. I would describe it as African food for the American taste. It uses African influence in its spices but isn’t too risky. The Chicken Fantastic and Chicken Curry are both superb. Tons of food for cheap. I usually get the small ($5) and have more than enough to eat. Then I walk directly across Riverside to go to class. Try it!

There you have it. I hope this list serves as a guide to current and future students as they seek nourishment before or after classes. May no one go through two years of having to eat at Jimmy John’s, like I did, just because you didn’t know where else to go.

FYI: THIS IS NOT CRANBERRY SAUCE! Our pilgrim ancestors would be ashamed if they saw what Thanksgiving has become. Cranberry sauce, in my opinion, is one of the most important features of the Thanksgiving plate.  Let me defend my stance by stating that the cranberry sauce provides one of the only contrasts on the plate. Everything else on Thanksgiving is warm and a bit on the salty side. Turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cooked veggies, sweet potatoes, bread. Cranberries provides a sweet/tart and cool contrast that makes the Thanksgiving plate much more interesting. UNLESS, of course, you have the cranberries pictured above.

Contrast is one of the most important culinary characteristics in my opinion. Contrasting flavors (sweet or salty), temperatures (cool to hot), textures (crunchy or mushy), and even color (think fruit salad) provide depth and intrigue to a meal. To illustrate my point, let me introduce one of the most interesting dishes from a contrast perspective, and one of my favorite desserts: Creme Brûlée. Creme Brûlée has multiple contrasts. First, there is the crunchy, hard sugar crust on top that once broken through, reveals the soft cream below. The coolness of the cream contrasts beautifully (if done right) with the warm sugar. The dish itself is often served after a hearty, meat-filled meal where you want a sweet finish. Lastly, the burnt sugar crust is bathed in various dark colors that contrast well with the off-white pudding. For these reasons, creme brûlée is the masterpiece of any table where it is served.

Back to Thanksgiving…

A couple of years ago, I found a great cranberry sauce recipe on the WCCO food blog written by Crystal Grobe: A Bite of Minnesota. Crystal usually covers local and seasonal foods, like cranberries for Thanksgiving. Anyway, WCCO had taken down that post so I had to tweet Crystal for the recipe. She replied immediately with the recipe. Here it is (parenthesis mine):

Ruby Ratafia Cranberry Sauce (makes 2 cups – I doubled this recipe for 10 people)

1 ½ cups Alexis Bailly Ratafia (I used port from a local liquor store)
¾ cup sugar
3 cloves
½ stick cinnamon
3 allspice berries (you can substitute ground allspice as well. Just a pinch is plenty)
4 black peppercorns
2-inch-by- ½  -inch strip of orange peel
1 12-ounce package cranberries, washed

In a medium saucepan, combine the Ratafia and sugar. Tie the cloves, cinnamon stick, allspice and black peppercorns in a small piece of cheesecloth (if you don’t have cheesecloth, use a tea ball – see picture below). Add the spice bundle to the saucepan. Add the orange peel. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the wine is reduced to 1 cup, about 4 minutes.

Add the cranberries to the wine. Return to a simmer over medium-high heat then lower the heat and simmer until the cranberries pop, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Let cool to warm then remove the spice bundle and orange peel. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The cranberries actually do “pop” when you cook them. It takes a little while, but you’ll hear it!

The cranberry sauce will thicken and reduce in volume a bit as it cools so if it seems a little runny, don’t worry. You can prepare this a day ahead and refrigerate it for days.

To say the tour was interesting would be an overstatement. It was pretty dull. We first had to schedule a tour 3 months in advance, which made me think the tour was awesome. We got there and found that the tour guides were volunteers  - and it showed. Our guide read from a printout and really didn’t have much actual knowledge of the process other than what he was reading to us. The funny thing was, in our group was a man wearing a Surly Brewing shirt (another local brewery) and answered most of the harder questions about the process for the group!

Summit has little history to speak of, at least compared to Leinenkugel’s which has been around well over 100 years. The tour was short and as our friends put it (who were on the tour with us), seemed like an excuse to get free beer samples at the end.

Here’s a few tips for you breweries thinking of having tours

1. Invest in quality tour guides  - maybe some actual employees who know the process and have worked in various areas of the brewery.

2. If you have a rich history, tell the story. If not, stick to the process of how you make the beer.

3. Smaller groups are better. Our group was around 25-30 and we couldn’t hear the guide nor did anyone want to engage in questions.

Here are some photos I snapped for your viewing pleasure:

Fermentation Tanks

Bottling Line

Original Summit Sign

Kegs

Summit's Flagship Brew: the EPA

Beer Samples

Summit Pilsner

The free tour was certainly worth the price, but no more. I enjoyed the time with Molly and friends but probably won’t be back.

Ten Essential Techniques
Marge Porter
Professional chefs agree that mastering the ten culinary techniques featured in this class will guarantee recipe success. Learn the proper technique for dicing and mincing onions, caramelizing onions, segmenting citrus fruits, making a vinaigrette, browning or searing meat, preparing a pan sauce, rolling pastry dough, melting chocolate and tempering egg mixtures, and proper folding techniques. Class members will work in small groups and practice as we prepare a menu that includes all of the techniques: Caramelized Onion Tart, Spinach and Orange Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts, Chicken with Wild Mushroom and White Wine Sauce, and Molten Chocolate Cakes.

You have to be careful when signing up for classes because some are demonstration and some are participation. I wanted to participate and this one was great as it covered many cooking techniques in a hands-on way.

We spent 4 hours cooking the dishes mentioned in the description while learning the proper techniques and socializing with other students. It was a ton of fun and the food was great!

Here is what we made. Sorry about the photos – all I had was my iPhone and the lighting wasn’t too good for photos.

Caramelized Onion TartSpinach and Orange Salad with Toasted Pine NutsChicken with Wild Mushroom and White Wine Sauce

Spinach Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette

Pan-seared Chicken with mushroom sauce

Molten Chocolate Cake

Another great outcome of the night was the connection I made with a fellow blogger. The class was about 15 people and we broke into groups of 4 to cook with. Molly and I joined two other women, who were delightful to get to know and cook with. One of them was alone because her friend was sick and had to back out at the last minute. I found out that this cooking class dropout is the author of two neat blogs: A Closer Look at Flyover Land (her personal travel blog focused on what’s so great about Minnesota) and Wander Minnesota (which is an official WCCO blog).