Cupcakes, Camping, and a Rattlesnake

Just prior to our wedding, and in celebration of my 31st birthday, we went camping with John and Jennifer in southern Minnesota. We got a great campsite in Whitewater State Park, only a couple hours from the Twin Cities. Jennifer (an excellent baker) made us delicious mocha cupcakes. In true car-camping style, we spent the majority of our 'camping' time eating.

But we did get in a couple lovely hikes. As you can see, even in late July, it's still not too warm.



On one hike along the river, posted signs suggested we watch out for the "protected", and extremely rare, Timber Rattler. The last rattler had been seen in the park about seven years ago, but we were too lucky!

We weren't actually sure if it was a rattler, because part of the snake's tail had been damaged at some point. But oh, yes, it was!



Watch how the snake JUMPS BACK OUT OF THE BOX as the rangers catch him! (Try to ignore my terrified commentary.)





If you can't see the videos above, you can watch a video of the Whitewater State Park rangers catching the snake here.

A Lunar Eclipse, the Night Before the Wedding!

The eclipse won't be visible in the US, but it's cool to know about.

Excalibur: A Food Preservation Love Story

Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain.

"Excalibur" is also the name of a fabulously sexy love song by the singer-songwriter-artist Danya River.

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Anyway...
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I was first introduced to food dehydrating in my hippie-house in Portland. A guy we lived with owned both a food dehydrator and a juicer, which I thought was very grown-up and resourceful. I had so much fun drying all kinds of things: cherry tomatoes from our garden (which I later soaked in olive oil and kept in the fridge), apples, bananas, carrots, grapes, etc. I juiced lots of stuff that I picked from the yards of friends and neighbors. Delicious and nutritious!

So I always planned that, once I grew up and stopped volunteering for a living, I would get a food dehydrator and juicer of my very own. And now I'm half-way to my goal!

At my Minnesota wedding shower, hosted by Jennifer, several of the women came together and gifted me with the ultimate fighting champion of food dehydrators: the Excalibur! (And what a great name! Seriously.) The gift was a total surprise:


What is it?


Oooooo! I went berry-picking here in Minnesota and gathered some lovely stuff:

Strawberries (The strawberries were perfectly ripe last weekend, and I had a wonderful time picking these jewels in the sunshine.)

Black Currants (I think they're kindof gross tasting, actually. First they taste really tart and exciting, but then this strange beefy-taste comes up and I have to spit it out. Nick says I'm a crazy vegetarian, and it doesn't taste like beef at all. Needless to say, I didn't get many of the black currants, but they are pretty.)

Red Currants (These are so delicious and easy to pick and very very pretty in salads! Nutritionally, red currants are a good source of Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin K.

Gooseberries (These little globes look something like red grapes, and taste something like blueberries or tart grapes. Gooseberries are my favorite new berry discovery! They were really difficult to pick off the spiny branches, but totally worth the effort. Next time I'll bring gloves. I hear that they are an excellent source of antioxidants, and also nutritionally they are a good source of Vitamin A, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.)


Tonight I had the pleasure of getting some of those berries into the Excalibur. Hooray!

The Holy Trinity (of Grocery Stores)

Life is grand on Grand Avenue! St. Paul is so great with a homey atmosphere, neighborhood festivals and walkable, pretty streets. And four farmer's markets within a ten minute drive (just that I know of!)

I live two blocks from a lover-ly little local grocery store called Kowalski's, with beautiful local organic produce and a nice mix of organic and non-organic/cheapo foods. And they sell this organic local butter called "Hope". How great is that!?

I love six blocks from a small-sized Whole Foods, with an excellent vitamin/natural body department and delicious cheese.

I live 20 blocks from the BRAND-SPANKIN NEW Trader Joe's. Today we visited TJ's for the first time, and left giddy with our bounty.

I love our neighborhood! I love food!