May 2013 – Yoga Mama in Minneapolis

Future Foodies Friday- Saved by Sardine

May 31, 2013May 31, 2013 yogamamampls

For Memorial Weekend, we decided to take a last minute trip to Madison, WI. We have good friends that live there with children of similar ages. It is far enough for the kids to feel like they went on a “road trip” but close enough that we could get there and back easily. We had one full day in Madison and it was filled with good conversation, the smelling of lilacs and tree climbing at the Arboretum and the ever popular hotel swimming!

After swimming, we were HUNGRY!!!! Thankfully, our hotel was right near the Capitol so our Madison hosts said that there would be lots of options within walking distance. Unfortunately, we kept striking out! The restaurants we were finding were either closed for the holiday, closed for a wedding, or not optimal for four hungry, tired kidlets. Desperation and crankiness were beginning to take hold, and it was beginning to rain. We see a restaurant that looks okay and is open… we start to turn in, when our friend (who are even more foodie minded than ourselves) says… “You know, Sardine is only another few blocks…” It is where he works and I was a little skeptical knowing how he rolls foodie wise, I KNEW that it would be delicious, responsibly raised food, doled out by super skilled waitstaff. My fears were the kids in this place and what kind of reception would 8 weary, and soggy diners with no reservations get… He called ahead and excitedly informed us that the Harvest Table would be waiting for us. His son was clearly happy about the decision, so we started off!

I have to say, it was a little slice of crazy pie getting settled, but we were greeted with smiles and a few crayons. One of the waitstaff brought over a large sheet of butcher paper for the kidlets to color on and after three trips to the restroom, we were able to finally look at the menu! YUM! Such delicious options, it was very hard to choose but I finally went with the Sardine burger which had carmelized onions, fig jam, arugula and gorgonzola (I subbed gruyere due to allergies) on a ciabatta bun. Sardine does NOT have a menu dedicated to kids, but they do have bar and appetizer menus with great options. All of the kids chose to have the bistro hot dog… it is a hot dog served on a toasted roll with melted gruyere cheese, the hot dog also comes with both a side of fries and greens. TONS of delicious food… we definitely didn’t eat all of the sides but the hot dogs and burgers were demolished quickly. One of our hosts also ordered the mussels… heavenly! I was very happy that he was willing to share and so was June.

You know, as far as kid friendliness goes… I am not sure if we experienced more because we were with an employee, but this is definitely a place that I would feel comfortable bringing them to again. It was lovely, and delicious. My only suggestion would be to add a children’s menu with smaller portions so there is less waste. Both Elliot and June gave two thumbs up!

By the time we were done with our meal, it had stopped raining and we able to enjoy a much less frenzied walk back to the hotel. The kids even got to play on the Capitol grounds for a bit. It was a wonderful weekend!

Thanks to Sardine for being friendly to even the smallest foodie and to our friends for being amazing hosts!

Life, Meditation, Minneapolis, minnesota, Music, Yoga, Yoga Playlists

Playlist from 5/25/13- Core Class

May 29, 2013 yogamamampls

Awesome class last week! Thanks as always for making it great… remember that on the 8th of June, my 9:30 class will be a slow flowing, restorative, back to basics class. Maybe make it a twofer and come for both vinyasa and the basics!

See you next Saturday!

Enjoy!

Hair, Life, Minneapolis, minnesota

The Final Closing of a Chapter

May 12, 2013 yogamamampls

This is where I worked for a little over 8 years. They are closing their doors this coming week because the property managers would prefer to put in ANOTHER chain restaurant. Dinkytown used to be about small business and now it is beginning to look like someone picked up a dinky suburb and plopped it next to campus! I am sad about this turn of events for many reasons but on a more personal note… it feels like the final end of my hair industry days. An industry that I loved very much and always wondered if I would someday go back to.

When you are a hair stylist, you get to know people in a very personal and unique way. After doing hair for almost 15 years, I had a very full and amazing clientele. I got to know them through their college years, I was honored to be a small part of their weddings, and towards the end I started seeing my clients with beautiful pregnant bellies, even giving their little ones their first haircuts. People put so much trust in you when you are a stylist… secrets to keep, knowledge of their true selves and helping them show to the world who they are. I used to tell people that when you see someone for a long time, it is like a never ending conversation. It gets picked up where we left off at the end of the last haircut. I loved having the opportunity to meet and know so many awesome people.

When you are a hair stylist, if you are lucky, you get to join a “hair family”. This family changes through the years like any other, but you know that you can cross any of those bridges that you have built and be greeted with a welcoming smile and maybe a hug. It is a very fun and creative profession that typically draws open, imaginative and loving caretakers to it. I was blessed to have had two wonderful hair families in my career.

Often a salon is filled with very strong personalities…. if you are lucky, as I was, you will find yourself in a salon home where those strong personalities are cohesive and celebrated. I loved my time at HCX, I loved the people that I had the opportunity to work with. We celebrated weddings, babies, new beginnings and mourned together loss and frustration. I met some of my best friends in this industry. I have known many people that I look forward to greeting again with a smile and a hug. Goodbye HCX… thanks for the memories!

Life, Meditation, Minneapolis, minnesota, Music, Yoga, Yoga Playlists

Yoga Playlist-5/4/13

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013 yogamamampls

We spent last Saturday trying to find our Tranverse Abdominis. It was fun to spend a class working on one pair of muscles, and interesting to me to discover what else needed to be worked to get to the target region!

So important and so hidden.

Here is the music that was playing, thanks for a great class!

The Greatest Cat Power
Coldest Days The Rural Alberta Advantage
Clara Punch Brothers
Time to Move On Tom Petty
Grace Jeff Buckley
Fire it Up Modest Mouse
Cursed Diamond The Black Crowes
Bouncing Around the Room Phish (studio version from Lawn Boy)
747 Kent
Try to Sleep Low
The Fireside Yo La Tengo

Join us this Saturday for our celebration of Mother’s Day! Last year, we celebrated with Kali…. this year, I think we will explore Saraswati.

Food, Life, Minneapolis, minnesota, Parenting

As promised…

May 4, 2013 yogamamampls

Here is a picture of the Corn Chowder we made today. Both June and Elliot gave it thumbs up, hooray!

Food, Life, Minneapolis, minnesota, Parenting

Whew, it has been awhile! Future Foodies Friday-Corn Chowder

May 3, 2013May 3, 2013 yogamamampls

I have to be honest, with the dreariness of MN these days… I have been feeling uninspired. So instead of forcing myself to do a post, I decided to wait until I was ready to post something worthwhile.

It is May 3rd, and yes, it is snowing… again. So we are making soup this afternoon. Turning to my favorite soup book for a recipe we decided that Corn Chowder would be tasty on this cold day.

We just finished prepping the corn and in a bit I will start rendering the salt pork. I will try to get a decent picture of it after it is done!

For this recipe, we like to add crab meat. Get the good stuff, it is worth it. Stir it in with the reserved kernels. We also used frozen organic corn unless it is corn season in MN. I do NOT want to be feeding the kidlets pesticide soup. Tonight we will be eating it with a crusty rosemary olive oil boule.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

10	ears corn (medium), husks and silks removed
3	ounces salt pork , trimmed of rind and cut into two 1-inch cubes (note: I used regular bacon, which worked out fine)
1	tablespoon unsalted butter
1	large onion , preferably Spanish, chopped fine
2	medium cloves garlic , minced (about 2 teaspoons)
3	tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3	cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2	medium red potatoes (about 12 ounces), scrubbed and cut into ¼-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1	small red bell pepper (optional, my adaption)
1	bay leaf
1	teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (or ¼ teaspoon dried)
2	cups whole milk
1	cup heavy cream
2	tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1½	teaspoons table salt
	Ground black pepper

Directions

1. Stand corn on end. Using chef’s knife, cut kernels from 4 ears corn (you should have about 3 cups); transfer to medium bowl and set aside. Following illustrations below, grate kernels from remaining 6 ears on large holes of box grater, then firmly scrape any pulp remaining on cobs with back of knife (you should have 2 generous cups kernels and pulp). Transfer to separate bowl and set aside.

2. Sauté salt pork (or quality thick-cut bacon) in Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, turning with tongs and pressing down on pieces to render fat, until cubes are crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, stir in butter and onions, cover pot, and cook until softened, about 12 minutes. If using, add the chopped red bell pepper in the last five minutes of cooking the onion.

Remove salt pork and reserve.

Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.

Whisking constantly, gradually add stock. Add potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, milk, grated corn and pulp, and reserved salt pork; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add reserved corn kernels and heavy cream and return to simmer; simmer until corn kernels are tender yet still slightly crunchy, about 5 minutes longer. Discard bay leaf and salt pork. Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper to taste and serve immediately.