Vendor Features

Drink Direct Coffee-Spiced Salmon wild run salmon

Bringing the Pacific to Minnesota

Originally published in The Journal on January 25, 2018. Community-supported agriculture, or CSA, is a term now ubiquitous with foodies and local food enthusiasts, but many may be unaware of its cousin — the CSF. Community-supported fisheries take the guesswork and uncertainty out of buying sustainable fish, arguably one of the most confusing food markets,…  Read More

Dressing up your oats

Originally published in The Journal on December 28, 2017. Steel cut oat breakfast bowls are one of the most popular trends for foodies and Instagramers right now, and it’s clear why. Flavorful combinations of seasonal ingredients are also packed with nutrients from the colorful topping down to the base: oats. Steel cut oats (often called…  Read More

Farm Visit: The Abbey Alpaca Farm

A fall trip to learn about a true cottage business November 16, 2017 Nestled behind fields and away from highway 71 in Hutchinson, MN, you’ll find Ruth Kinkade’s alpaca farm, The Abbey Alpaca. Ruth and her farm manager Todd Fries currently manage a herd of 13 Huacaya alpaca, 4 “brothers” and 9 “sisters,” which they…  Read More

Organic Field Grant Program

How the market community extends beyond Saturday shopping If you’ve ever walked through the Mill City Farmers Market on a Saturday morning, you may notice there is something that distinguishes it from other shopping experiences. Not only do over 120 local farmers and artisans transform the historic train shed overlooking the Mighty Mississippi into a…  Read More

Spring Greens with Miso Maple Dressing

Minnesota Grown Spring Greens

Originally published in The Downtown Journal on April 18, 2017. It is springtime in Minnesota, and even though it was snowing last week, farmers across the state have lots of greens and other vegetables to bring to the city! Many farmers beat the weather by planting crops in greenhouses as early as February to harvest…  Read More

Ghee: One food trend not to miss!

Originally published in the Downtown Journal on April 4, 2017. Quinoa, spirulina, kombucha–with all the super foods and food fads floating around these days you may or may not have noticed ghee on the shelves. Ghee (rhymes with “we”) is a type of clarified butter and is not a fad, but rather a food with…  Read More

Juicing Made Easy with Zula Juice

Originally published in The Journal on March 21, 2017. When you think about a juice cleanse you think about lots of grocery shopping, lots of prep work and lots of dishes, right? Enter Zula Juice, owned by Twin Cities’ couple Renee and Tim Peters. Zula Juice was created four years ago after Renee discovered the…  Read More

Creamy Vegetable Soup

Red Table Meat Pancetta

Originally published in The Journal on March 14, 2017. Learn all about this locally produced artisan pancetta–bacon’s Italian cousin. Mike Philips started Red Table Meat Co. three years ago, after lots of time traveling the world studying and tasting cured meats from famous salumieres. Where do I sign up, right? Mike, who grew up in…  Read More

Flax

Eat more flax!

Originally published in The Journal on February 23, 2017 Ellie Theobald, self-proclaimed farm girl, created Ellie’s Whole Grains over ten years ago as a way to bring local and highly nutritious grains to the Minneapolis food community. Ellie grew up on a farm in the prairies of North Dakota, where her father farmed many grains…  Read More

Cafe Palmira

Drink Direct: The Story of Cafe Palmira

For the past four generations Carlos Palacio’s family has been growing and harvesting coffee in Huehuetenango, Guatemala—a region renowned for growing some of the world’s finest Arabica coffee. In 2000 and 2001, coffee prices crashed because of issues in the larger supply chain. This had an enormous impact on the livelihoods of coffee farmers throughout…  Read More