1. Baby Ben slept for eight hours straight for the first time EVER! And if that wasn't blissful enough...
2. Then Baby Ben slept most of the afternoon, waking up just in time to go to grandma and grandpa's house because...
3. Grandma and grandpa called earlier, begging to babysit. Twist my arm, OK! Which means that...
4. I got a date night with my husband, going out for dinner despite the massive thunderstorm that rolled in and then stopping by the dollar store for sophomoric entertainment that basically entailed throwing stuff at each other.
And if that weren't enough...
5. I discovered my localvore Eden in the form of John's Meat Market.
Don't you love the fact that you can shop at a place here called John's Meat Market? It could be a butcher shop or a San Francisco dance club.
Bismarck has lots of great little butcher shops. I love how I always feel like I'm walking into a Brady Bunch episode when I go to the butcher -so retro and quaint. I was looking for a Brady Bunch clip with Sam (Alice's boyfriend, remember?) in his butcher shop, but no luck. However, this little number is adorably awkward:
Since we mostly eat game at our house, I typically only go to the butcher to buy sausage seasonings for our annual sausage party. I mean annual sausage-making party. But I heard that John's carries free-range eggs from a local farm, so I had to check it out.
It's in an older part of town over on 18th Street off Broadway. My dad grew up in this part of town. He worked in the now-closed grocery store a block over as a kid. The neighborhood is a little run down now, but John's is a beacon of light in the 'hood, the big plate-glass window displaying a bright clean logo...and apparently a reflection of me standing by our truck to take this picture.
Inside it's spotless, with coolers lining the walls and a friendly guy behind the counter. And those coolers are filled with local beef, buffalo, lamb, eggs, even kuchen, that German dessert we all know and love.
The eggs have a picture of the chickens on the label! I love that!
So I'm on a mission to spread the word about John's Meat Market. Locals here adore Butcher Block Meats in Mandan, and I share the BBM love, but I'm spreading the wealth. For those not in the Bis-Man area, instead of picking up your usual chicken breasts at the supermarket, stroll down to your local butcher shop. You may be surprised at what you find there.
I am now on a Mission from God: to find NoDak-worthy kuchen down here in the Cities, even if I have to make it myself. Say, got a recipe handy, Beth?
ReplyDeleteConfession time: I have never made kuchen! It seems like you have to be old enough to pull Social Security to make a decent one. This may be a cop-out, but I would totally recommend ordering it out of Hebron, ND. Check out www.lappskuchen.com. Get the peach one!
ReplyDeleteI bought a new cookbook and thought of you. It's an Ayurvedic cookbook called Eat, Taste, Heal by Thomas Yarema, Daniel Rhoda, and chef Johnny Brannigan. Loving every bit of it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beth! Collect your props at http://oncearoundthekitchen.blogspot.com/2009/06/care-packages.html
ReplyDeleteSoooo excited for kuchen!!!!
Beth, great blog, as summer is coming take little Ben and hubby out to Lake Isabell south of Dawson and there is a pick your own raspberry patch, which is wonderful, I made homemade raspberry jam and the boys loved it, along with the best photos ever of red stained faces from eating too many raspberries. We only made it once last year but plan on going more often this year.
ReplyDeleteBeth, I love you even more. Hebron is my kind-of hometown, and my grandpa is a Lapp's kuchen enthusiast. That stuff is pretty heavenly.
ReplyDelete