Winter weekend in Grand Marais

     One terrific way to keep the creative juices flowing is to take a cooking class. Whether novice or experienced cook, you’ll come away with new ideas and greater understanding of what constitutes good eating.

     We did just that this weekend, traveling up to Grand Marais for a French cooking class (see photos below) with second generation French chef Judi Barsness of Chez Jude. We stayed at the MacArthur House B&B, took in some of the north shore night life and spent five delight-filled hours with Judi.
     Judi planned the menu and prepped ingredients for our private class, a Christmas gift from our daughter and her husband who shared the weekend with us. We arrived at 9:00 in the Chez Jude dining room which is right across the road from Lake Superior, the fish market and the North House Folk School. Judi invited us into her kitchen with an immediate tempting treat of fresh scones with lemon curd, cranberry confit and whipped butter. While we indulged in this “second breakfast” (we’d enjoyed poppy seed muffins, vegetable frittata, fresh fruit and juice at the MacArthur) we reviewed the day’s menu and cooking instructions with Judi:
• Roasted butternut squash salad with cider vinaigrette

• Braised short ribs of beef (Bouef Bourguinonne)

• Potato Root Vegetable Gratin

• Molten bittersweet chocolate cake with Tawny Port and raspberries

     Judi grew up in her mother’s French restaurant (Frenchy’s and later Fleur de Lies) in Milwaukee. She learned her mother’s techniques and then sailed off to expand her cooking repertoire as sous chef in a 16th century manor house in England, studied at the Culinary Institute of America and the National Baking Center, interned with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse (California), and became the chef at Bluefin Bay resort on Minnesota’s North Shore. Eight years ago, Judi struck out on her own, purchased the building that had been a bakery and opened her own restaurant and cooking school. Judi’s husband Peter, who was instrumental in establishing North House Folk School helps out in the kitchen and delights guests with tales of his sailing adventures on the lake.
     After introductions, we jumped right into chopping, slicing and dicing. We coated the short ribs with herbs de Provence rub, browned diced bacon in a Dutch oven and then seared the meat on both sides. Adding a host of delicious ingredients to the pot, the meat went into the oven as did the cubed butternut squash which was destined for the salad.
     We combined apple cider, cider vinegar, and shallots, cooking them until the liquid was reduced by half. Then we whisked olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper into the liquid to finish the vinaigrette. Of course, we were thinking how Leatherwood Vinegars could be used in place of the cider vinegar and how they would influence the final flavor.
     Potatoes, rutabagas and parsnips were diced, cooked in water, lightly mashed with milk and butter and then spread in a baking pan. Topped with cheese and additional butter, this gratin baked in the oven until golden brown.
     The chocolate dessert of bittersweet chocolate, butter, sugar, tawny port, vanilla and a small amount of flour was baked in generously buttered ramekins placed in a pan half-filled with water.
     We began eating our four course dinner, each paired with wine, at about 12:30. We savored both food and conversation (Peter joined us) while Judi continued to flit in and out of the kitchen, attending to the final details of our meal while prepping and taking reservations for later in the day.
     Judi is excited about trying some of our vinegars in her menu. As her website says, “Chez Jude's menus reflect her commitment to the freshest offerings of the Minnesota seasons, organic, locally grown, harvested, wild caught, handcrafted ingredients.” That philosophy fits right in with ours. We also discussed how we might pair our cooking skills with hers in class offerings at the North House School.

     Friday night, our B&B host Max Bichel joined Pete Kavanaugh down at the Gunflint Tavern. With Max on the violin and Pete on guitar, they played a sampler of country music featuring the music of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and others. Max coaxed a great variety of delightful sounds out of his violin, pleasing his audience and one little dog snuggled on his master’s lap.
     We returned to the Tavern Saturday night and joined a table of diners only later to learn they were members of the Bluegrass band The Moss Piglets who then played from 9:00 to midnight. We were back in our cozy beds at the B&B long before midnight.
     Saturday evening we also sampled the food at the Crooked Spoon. We were so full from the good food at the MacArthur House and Chez Jude that we simply nipped into the appetizers, salads and the puff pastry topped onion soup. They were all delectable and judging by the full tables, it’s top of the list for the locals and visitors alike.

     We’re back into the work week, now, refreshed, rejuvenated, and excited about trying new cooking techniques in our kitchen. We’ve had a call from Bon Appetite Management ordering a good amount of vinegar for their catering service and one from a community planning their summer festival and inviting us to bring vinegar. We’ve also had a call from daughter number five saying a semi’s actions put her in a spinout on the snowy freeway causing a three car pile-up. She was on her way to interview for a summer internship at an organic farm. The front of her car has taken on a new shape and her right front signal light is dangling. She’s OK and will still try to make it to the interview.

Chez Jude: www.chezjude.com

MacArthur House: www.macarthurhouse.net

Gunflint Tavern: www.gunflinttavern.com

The Crooked Spoon: www.crookedspooncafe.com



Ron expertly slices and dices at his work station in the kitchen of Chez Jude.



Nancy and Judi add the short ribs to the Dutch oven.



Photos courtesy of Dawn Tanner.

January 2, 2012

     Ron has been so busily bottling vinegar that he broke the corker. Our vinegars are all made in small batches and we haven’t gone the route of using a huge mechanized process for bottling. Each cork is inserted into a bottle by the use of a corker that holds the bottle and positions the cork correctly. Then it’s Ron’s muscles and the leverage of a handle that squeezes the cork into the bottle. He’s just bottled strawberry, cherry, and Serrano pepper.
     Strawberry was one of our first vinegars back eight years ago. It’s nice to have a good supply again. Cherry is always in demand. Serrano pepper, while not our hottest vinegar, is a zippy one and a good seller.
     This afternoon, I handled the waxing duties on seven (twenty-four bottle) cases. While it might be good for a wine to breathe through a natural cork, air can stimulate continuing mother formation in the bottles. It’s perfectly harmless, even desirable as a sign of natural vinegar. That's fine but we'd rather not have too much develop between the time we bottle and someone uses it. A layer of beeswax fully seals the bottles, deterring any additional “mothering.” Each bottle is hand dipped in melted beeswax. It’s a pleasant job with the sweet honey scent of the beeswax and the satisfaction that comes with producing our distinctive Leatherwood Vinegars.
     I’ve updated our products page with a current inventory of flavors. For those of you waiting for raspberry: Ron checked the acidity this morning. It’s up to 4.7% so we’ll give it a couple more weeks to reach full potency.

Harvesting grapes 2011

Hilary picked the white grapes two weeks ago. They were at peak sweetness and ready to roll. Last night, Ron picked half of the Concords. Frost nipped the upper leaves of the vines clinging to the trellis and recent winds have cleared them out. Exposed to the dry air, some of the grapes were beginning to move toward raisins. That’s not a problem for our process since raisins are actually sweeter than grapes. But, hornets seek out the liquid in grapes, especially when there’s a lack of rain. They’ll suck out the juice and leave empty skins. Now that is a problem.


Ron clipped the grape clusters from the vines just as the sun set. All of the daytime bugs had already clocked out and gone home. We sat down to watch “Big Bang Theory” and while Sheldon rolled the dice to make decisions in his daily life, to free up brain space for loftier thoughts, we hand de-stemmed 21 pounds of grapes.

A larger enterprise would use a mechanized de-stemmer but our small operation allows for hand separation of inferior grapes, sticks and stems. I’ve heard that winery standards allow one Asian beetle per bushel of fruit. I guarantee, there are no orange dotted beetles in our grapes.

I just finished harvesting the other half of the Concords. Neither a less than gentle breeze nor a sudden burst of rain could lessen my pleasure in this moment all of those early spring days of pruning and summer days of weeding and wondering work to produce. The entire growing season stretches to this day of physical exertion in breaking of the grape clusters’ natural joints of separation or using my favorite old clippers to cut then drop the clusters on the growing pile in a five-gallon bucket. My senses are tuned to the job. I even notice the glimmer of a multitude of grapes simultaneously reflecting my hand in their individual highlights.

I can’t help but plan for next year’s harvest. We’ll move the Frontenacs that have spent the summer in the soft ground of the garden. They’ll fill the newly landscaped south-facing slope in front of the vinegary. Perhaps we’ll add even more. And then there are those new sweet cherries to try. And maybe a few more apple trees.

Hawk!

I let the chickens out of the coop when I went out to clip the spent daylilies this morning. The 18 pullets have begun to lay eggs while only a couple of the original flock, now reduced to only six, lay an egg now and then. We can’t predict the number of daily eggs, yet, but we hope they’ll settle into a nice production routine.


Moments ago, I heard the shriek of a red tail hawk and went out to check the hens. We think a young hawk has dive-bombed the flock unsuccessfully a few times. While it hasn’t taken any, it’s trained them to be extremely watchful for daytime predators from above.

On Friday, while Savannah was mowing the lawn, she saw the flock happily pecking at whatever chickens peck at in the grass near the raspberry patch. I went out later for a turn at mowing and saw one lone white and black speckled hen cowering in the raspberries. Eight more were hiding in the coop and one was in a dark back corner of the barn. That meant 14 were missing and, try as I might, I couldn’t find them. Later, all of them came out of hiding, from the densest part of the herb garden. The mint and marshmallow, oregano, and a stray squash vine shielded them from preying eyes.

Just now, when I walked out to check, Charles the resident woodchuck made a dash for his hole at the base of the basswood tree. Two yellow shafted flickers flew in opposite directions across the yard and a blue jay swooped into the oak at the far end of the lawn. I couldn’t see a hawk but sixteen of the hens were still in the coop, taking their dust baths in the shelter of the doorway. Eight have apparently scrambled for parts unknown. I hope they’re safe. I really can’t act as a daily chicken shepherd.

August 2011 update

What a lush wet summer! The rains just keep coming and that's both good and bad. Spring rains during plum, cherry and apple blossom time led to poor pollination and little fruit production. I harvested the cherries, picking a few as I rode the lawn mower between the trees. I enjoyed this year's crop but no one else will. I know, that sounds selfish but the birds got a few, too. And that was it. We will eat the plums and perhaps the apples, too.

The grapes have loved the heat and rain and it looks like we'll have the biggest grape harvest in years. The Frontenacs that were planted last fall won't produce much. It was an important year for them to get their roots established. One vine has a few and we're looking forward to tasting them although they're right at the height for my little flock of roving hens to get to them first.

The garlic is ready for harvest. Yesterday was a dry day and I should have started the dig. Instead I weeded, dead-headed flowers, tied up tomato and grape vines and prepared for a tour. The rain has returned today, so will look to the first of next week to dig the garlic.

The hollyhocks are producing an outstanding bloom, as are the daylilies. Though we're into August, which can often be a dry month with grass turning brown and leaves dropping, everything is as lush as a tropical jungle (and we know what a tropical jungle looks like after visiting the Amazon in Peru and Bolivia this last March).

  The vinegar maker is busy waxing newly bottled vinegars this morning. He has plums and apricots beginning the fermentation process, rhubarb finishing in air-locked carboys, and a variety of vinegars nearly ready for infusing or bottling. We've also harvested herbs when they were at their peak. They're in the freezer for use later in the year. The basil is tall and lush; ready for pesto, infusion or freezing. Next month we'll dig horseradish and maybe start some tomato wine.



Hollyhocks 2011





The buildings are almost obscured by the height of the plants
 in the herb garden.



May

When I drove out of the driveway this morning I noticed plum blossom petals drifting downward. It seems they just opened their buds and already the peak of bloom is past. We've had so much rain, and hard rain, that we wonder if the pollen got washed away. Ron said the bees were really humming on the trees the first day the flowers opened so we can hope that their efforts will result in plums later in the summer.

Next come the cherry blossoms. With a sunnier forecast for the rest of the week, they'll have a good chance of attracting the bees.

I pruned the grape vines in the orchard a week ago today. They're budding for leaves as are the new Frontenacs we planted as starters in the garden last fall. I planted garlic between the grape vines, making good use of the available space, and it has a healthy start.

We're trying straw bale gardening for our tomatoes and peppers this year. I interviewed Joel Karsten, originator of the process who is in his 8th season of gardening this way, for an article for Farm Show. Joel is so enthusiastic about this method and says it works great. Check out his website for the details. Our bales are ready to plant and its on my schedule for later in the day. If Joel is right, we'll have our own hot peppers for vinegar infusions this fall. Maybe enough extra tomatoes that Ron can make more of his famous tomato vinegar, too.

Tours are picking up. Plan ahead for your summer fun and give us a call to schedule a tour. You'll learn about the wine and vinegar making process, sample about 20 varieties, and wander through the orchard and herb garden. Tours are free. Ask about Leatherwood Vinegar; a Winery Gone Sour, the book about life here at the vinegary. You can find it at Amazon.com or ask your local book store.

Lake Country TV visits the vinegary

Last summer, Steve Henning and his camera crew of one visited the vinegary. His special project brings the arts and specialty items to viewers in central Minnesota via Lake Country TV. Steve was generous in also uploading his work to YouTube. This is our first appearance on YouTube. Thanks Steve! We hope you enjoy the vinegary tour.