Martha and I celebrated our anniversary at Restaurant Alma last month. Alma is well-liked in Minneapolis and I’m not going to add my voice to the chorus by writing a review; suffice it to say that its reputation is deserved. Instead, I’ll just document our meal for your vicarious pleasure.

Course One: Parmesan Flan and Bison Tartare

I ordered the parmesan flan, which came with artichoke hearts, a kalamata spread, parmesan shavings and maple syrup. I have never had a savory flan before but I thought it was a great way to do flan–biting into the flan I got that perfect creamy texture and a cream flavor but without sweetness; then my mouth was suddenly flooded with the flavor of aged parmesan.  All of the garnishes on the plate are natural pairs with parmesan so I had a lot of fun constructing different bites. Martha’s bison tartare was very subtly flavored (at least from the bite I had) but was well completed by the salad of greens and radish matchsticks that came alongside, adding slight crunch and bite.

Course Two: Beet-Ricotta Ravioli and Black Bean Fritters

Each bite of beet-ricotta ravioli had a light beet flavor that wouldn’t be off putting even to beet-haters. Every other bite also featured the zing of horseradish; my coarse palate would’ve been happy with a much stronger presence for the horseradish but I’m sure the way it was prepared was much more refined. In any case, beets and horseradish is a great idea, as is adding prosciutto, which gave a burst of salt. And I’m just a sucker for ham. The black bean fritters were very reminiscent of falafel, maybe even southwestern falafel.

Course Three: Gently Cooked Trout

Normally I am reluctant to order the same dish as the people I am dining with but the description on the menu and our waitress’s hearty recommendation drew both Martha and me to the gently cooked trout. The trout was not only gently cooked, it was perfectly cooked–very moist and not flaky (when fish gets flaky it is overcooked, in this writer’s humble opinion). It came topped with a red wine reduction and a mushroom sauce that tasted strongly of ham hocks. I was at first a bit surprised by this combination because it seemed like such a hearty sauce would overpower the delicate fish, but as it turns out trout is remarkably earthy itself. The sauce, while definitely hammy, only butted up against the side of the fish without ever overwhelming it. I noticed this kind of restraint in all of the dishes–the cooks at Alma are real masters of subtlety.

Dessert: Marieke Super Aged Gouda

With the dregs of our bottle of cava to finish and no desire to move anywhere soon after such a delicious meal, we decided to order a cheese for dessert. Experience has led me to be skeptical about Wisconsin cheese, but the Marieke Super Aged Gouda was exceptional. It had deep flavor, reminding me more of an aged parmesan than the rubbery, milky gouda you tend to get around here (when your cheese budget is not what it should be).

We left with that feeling of perfect satisfaction that good restaurants are able to impart–not hungry, not full and already wistfully remembering each bite (several glasses of cava probably didn’t hurt our feelings of goodwill). Restaurant Alma is highly recommended.

We started the day with a big breakfast of toast, sausages, coffee, and strawberry banana smoothies. Yum. Tom and I don’t eat enough fruit… we talk about this a lot without doing much about it. On my last trip to the grocery store, I decided to take action. Bananas and frozen strawberries make a great addition to breakfast or an after dinner dessert, and all the while you feel like you’re eating an ice cream treat. The strawberries I bought were organic, and naturally the recipe on the side was for a hippy-smoothie: add banana, soy milk, ice, and wheat germ. This made me laugh. Growing up my mom was always sneaking wheat germ into our food whenever possible. Wheat germ went into waffle and pancake batter and got sprinkled atop our macaroni and cheese. Tom said we had a bag in the fridge, but I couldn’t locate it so we skipped the wheat germ this time. Instead of milk, I added plain yogurt. Plain strawberries and bananas will do the trick, though. The only bad part? Having to clean the blender!

This afternoon we also made a trip to Trader Joe’s to stock up on wine (six bottles), beer, cheese (two kinds), and olive oil (also two kinds). While there, I couldn’t resist a bunch of orange-pink tulips for just four bucks. I thought I’d share:

Tom says they’re too droopy… but I like them just the way they are. Later we’ll be getting together with friends South of Minneapolis to enjoy some time outside with our lawn chairs and a frisbee or two. How are you celebrating or remembering today?

The sight of the Midtown Farmers’ Market yesterday morning was a little disappointing; it seemed like there were even fewer vendors than the past two weeks and nary a fresh vegetable to be seen. At least there are always tamales. And then suddenly, as we were settling down with our coffee and tamales to listen to some acoustic guitar covers, Martha spied something out of the corner of her eye:

Asparagus! I left Martha to guard the tamales while I b-lined for the farmer, lest someone swoop in and scoop up the last precious spear while I was breakfasting. The price of foodism is constant vigilance!

The farmer in question really had no need to do any selling–he had the only asparagus in the whole market and I was definitely going to walk away with some, no matter what he said. But this farmer was a wily one and knew how to turn a one pound sale into a two pound sale. As I approached and revealed my interest in asparagus, without saying much he handed me a green, tender shoot and indicated that I should eat it. “Raw?” I asked. He just nodded and I decided that was good enough for me. Raw asparagus is not something I have ever eaten before, but I don’t know why–the flavor was so fresh it was like eating green peas right off of the vine. Ever since becoming more aware of seasonality I eagerly await the arrival of asparagus in the spring, but only after biting into this fresh, green-tasting spear of asparagus did I really get it. You can get asparagus all year round from various states and countries in the supermarket, and it’s generally fine for roasting, but its flavor is completely bland by comparison–an entirely different vegetable. Asparagus at its best–fresh and tender in late spring–is something to get excited about.

Our farmer friend tempered my enthusiasm for eating the stuff raw by warning me that my stomach’s flora probably wouldn’t be able to handle eating a lot of raw asparagus. I’m not sure why this would be true but I took his word for it and have been serving it cooked (in every meal since returning home). But with the thinnest spears in a mug of water  on the kitchen table the temptation to reach over and eat one is strong.

This was the first fresh vegetable I have gotten from the Farmers’ Market this season. I will be out of town the next two weekends, but when I get back in June I am excited for the region’s farms to be into full production.

Saturday morning I headed to the Midtown Farmer’s Market for the second time of the year. Unfortunately, last week’s prayers for asparagus went unanswered; still no fresh fruits or veggies anywhere to be seen. According to their website, I shouldn’t expect fresh vegetables until the end of May. 

But just because there aren’t any vegetables doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at the farmers’ market! For one thing, there are delicious tamales and excellent coffee from Fireroast Mountain Cafe. Tamales and coffee is one of my favorite breakfasts; the spice of a tamal seems to make the coffee taste even stronger. All so burny and delicious. As is my habit, I opted for pork.

With no fresh vegetables in sight I was pretty sure breakfast was going to be the only thing I got out of the trip to the market, but as we were leaving one of the vendors of pickled goods caught our attention with the promise of free samples. And that is how we got to know Martha’s (a different Martha) Joy homemade pickles–asparagus, beets and okra. A note to vendors: if you get me to try a free sample, I am pretty much guaranteed to buy something from you, possibly out of a sense of guilt or to avoid offense. In this case, I really thought the pickles were good and picked up a jar of hot pickled okra. And Martha got to meet Martha!

If you live in the Minneapolis area, you may have noticed Common Roots Café is starting a garden behind (and around) two houses just behind the café. Much work has already been done: the two homes are undergoing major renovations, plenty of asphalt and contaminated soil were removed, and new topsoil and compost were brought in. A pile of wood chips meant for pathways awaits. But how to get it all in place?

Volunteers! The first volunteer day was this Tuesday. We enjoyed great weather for hoeing, raking, and shoveling: cloudy, grey, and cool. Even though it wasn’t an official volunteer day, I was back on Wednesday, this time in bright sun, to help some more. The forecast for Saturday morning looks promising; planting time is from 9 am—2 pm and a late-afternoon rain is predicted. Since our friend Peter is coming to town, we’ll be heading first thing to the Midtown Farmers’ Market and then back home with plenty of time to do some gardening. The plans for the garden, masterminded by Cathy (from Nature’s Nest Farm), include fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, and flowering plants–all to be used in the café.

I feel very lucky to have had a little part in this and hope to be able to continue to help as the garden progresses. If you’d like to keep in the loop on how you can help, try Common Roots’ events page, their facebook page (with photo gallery), or following them on Twitter @commonroots.