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I suppose I won't hold it against him. Maybe we'd all secretly like to have the chance to "sell out". SB (still NOT an Oprah fan though)

Weather-wise, I'm located about half way between our blog hosts in Minneapolis and Winnipeg. Right now, at 2:20 in the afternoon, we've probably reached our high for today of -13 (feels like -35), and are looking forward to an overnight low near -30 (feels like, well, it doesn't matter, because you'll be too numb to feel!). Here at my shop, in an older building, the poor furnace has only managed to raise the indoor temperature from 62 to 65 today, and to make matters worse, my car's heater is malfunctioning! One nice thing an extended cold spell does is foster a spirit of "we're all in this together", which is pretty much impossible to come by otherwise these days. Dealing with the cold is so overwhelming, both physically and emotionally, that all distinctions and differences become secondary. You know you're a Northern Native when you can say, "It's supposed to get up to three below zero Tuesday", and make it sound like you're going to add, "so let's figure to grab a case of beer and head for the beach!" SB (finally on-topic) is (heading home to bake bread and use up some broken grain "soup rice" and chicken broth....

To which my Not-Really-My-Uncle Earl used to append, "as well as ornamental." SB (would prefer to serve as a decorative centerpiece in this regard)

Xanthan A good thickener SB (did we forget Y?)

I used to be able to get Fraboni's bacon custom sliced by Dave, my Butcher, before my local market closed last year. (I still haven't fully recovered from this tragedy ) I thought it was pretty good. Fraboni's products are widely distributed throughout Northern MN, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're available somewhere in the Twin Cities. I'll find out. If you were heading North towards your cabin via Hibbing it would be about 10-15 minutes quicker to catch Hwy 73 in Moose Lake than to get on 53. Besides, 73 has lots of scenery and sharp curves. Somebody who enjoys driving a car like an SHO could have and make pretty good time. Another interesting route is to take 37 out of Cloquet, to Cnty 7, to 37, to Hibbing. 7 follows the railroad tracks the trains use to haul the taconite from the Range to Duluth, and it has a couple very long straight stretches and no cops. I've made my best time on this route, even though it's a couple miles longer than 73. In a modified Mustang I got from my shop in Chisholm (5 miles east of Hibbing) to 45th & France in Edina in exactly 3 hours. SB (does not advocate violation of speed limits) (even for bacon)

Any modern vehicle should start in temperatures down to -30 if it turns over. A six year-old battery is nearing the end of its useful life though. Using synthetic oil will help the engine turn over in very cold weather. And, don't worry about the wind chill. Cars, being inanimate objects, can't "feel" cold. The wind will cool them off faster, but they can never get any colder than the ambient air temperature. I used to have to call all the local tv weather people every winter and correct them. SB (lots of experience with cars and cold) (and physics)

I'm picking up bacon next week for my Sister from Fraboni's in Hibbing. Have you ever tried theirs? Four Seasons in Coleraine is where she usually gets bacon when she comes to visit, but it's closed for highway construction. Speaking of highway construction, Richard P Braun, PE, was the Commissioner of MnDOT for many years. Dick went to the U of M at the same time as my Dad, and they were professional friends. SB (hows that for working the Off-Topic On-Topic?)

I heard somewhere that the "original" Russ Kendall's, on the west side of the road, and "Smoky" Kendall's Bar, across the road, are rivals. A sort of family feud; father v son, brother v brother or something. Then again, that might just be a clever marketing ploy to get people to buy something at both places? Or an excuse to buy twice as much smoked fish! I have a sign that says "Will Be Back" above a clock face with ajustable hands. The trick is, it's really a clock, and I have it permanently set at five minutes from "now". SB (will be back .....

Gimme a C C Gimme some rust rust What's that spell? Crust! What's that spell? CRUST!! SB (likes the crust)(and cheerleaders)

I know people around here who pickle fish, Northern Pike in particular. It's easy to catch 2-3 pounders, but they have lots of small bones. Pickling softens the bones, making the whole chunks edible. SB (doesn't care for it himself )

I've enjoyed Russ Kendall's smoked fish for over thirty years. Their motto is "We Smoke Our Own", which we used to get a good laugh out of thirty years ago. I wish they had a web site for ordering, or even an eBay store, but I suppose you could call them (218-834-5995) and see if they'll ship their products. SB (hasn't been up the Shore for quite a few years)(likes the smoked salmon best)

According to Land O'Lakes, the sticks sold on the west coast are know as "western stubbie size" in butter makers parlance. SB

Urban folks moving into farm areas is a real problem just as really smelly or dirty operations moving into one. Many of the farm zoning regulations we written prior to any of these super-size facilities. They did not comprehend the enormous volume that they would be putting out in a relativily small acreage. California requires purchasers near agricultural areas to sign a statement stating that they are aware that they do not have the right to stop an exhisting operation from doing what they have already been doing. I bring up the "stink" factor because that is the major reason these facilities are getting flack. Surely a hungry country town welcomes the economic impact. ← In other words, perhaps Rolling Stone, with its crack investigative journalists, has "discovered" a problem that industry and government agencies are not only aware of, but working on, with the cooperation of most in the rural communites affected? There are problems to be addressed, to be sure, and hopefully technology will alleviate if not solve them, while paying due attention to all of the economic and social implications. Maybe making pigs, (like making sausage, and laws), is one of those things that's best when not observed up close? SB

I think I would be pickled beets, because they have a hearty, robust visage. SB (like me!)

I think you answered your own question within your quote (emphasis added): I grew up in ND and it's 'eastern' butter there too. ← I suppose if you keep heading west long enough you'll eventually get to New Jersey! SB (bets eater.com never covered this topic!)

RE: Rachel: "And those same churches sheltered and sustained many a proud cook whose receipts were coveted by every lady in the countryside." And those little old church ladies could be quite competitive. Remember the plot of The Andy Griffith Show episode, "The Pickle Story"? Aunt Bea's best friend, Clara, was gunning for her 12th straight Blue Ribbon in the Mayberry Fair Best Pickle Competition. Aunt Bea wanted to enter her "Kerosene Pickles", as they were generally known, unbeknownst to her. Andy, trying to avoid embarrassing her, substituted store bought pickles, which ended up winning First Place! SB (loved the way Aunt Bea said, "Oh, Andy!")( added via edit)

I'm no defender of the factory "farms", but have you ever seen what hogs do to the landscape if left to their own devices? Hogs were used in colonial times to clear land. It's unbelievable what they can do. The land ends up bearing more resemblance to a WWI battlefield than a pastoral farm setting. SB The expression "knee deep in pig shit" is just the way they like it!

I've emailed Land O' Lakes with this question, and I'll let you all know what they have to say. SB (used to be an investigator)

Obviously I don't have a Western stick of butter here as I type, but I have to say that Wikipedia is wrong on the dimensions. No way is it only 3.125" long (the math doesn't even come out right). And Eastern butter is not packed side-by-side; it's also packed two-by-two. And maybe the difference is not so great that butter dishes can't handle both, but I know that butter dishes in the West fit the Western sticks. ← That's what I thought. Maybe the western stick is supposed to be 4.125"? While I've always seen butter sticks packed in 2x2 pounds, (or 1x2 half pounds), margarine comes in 1x4's. SB (still wondering)

Wikipedia says: "In the United States, butter sticks are usually produced and sold in eight-tablespoon (approximately 74 ml) sticks, wrapped in wax paper and sold four to a carton. This practice is believed to have originated in 1907 when Swift and Company began packaging butter in this manner for mass distribution.[15] Due to historical variances in butter printers, these sticks are commonly produced in two differing shapes. The dominant shape east of the Rocky Mountains is the Elgin, or Eastern-pack shape. This shape was originally developed by the Elgin Butter Tub Company, founded in 1882 in Elgin, Illinois and Rock Falls, Illinois. The sticks are 4.75" long and 1.25" wide, and are usually sold in flat, rectangular boxes packed side-by-side.[16] Among the early butter printers to use this shape was the Elgin Butter Cutter. West of the Rocky Mountains, butter printers standardized on a different shape that is now referred to as the Western-Pack shape.[16]. These butter sticks are 3.125" long and 1.5" wide and are typically sold stacked 2x2 in a taller, boxy container. Both sticks contain the same amount of butter, although most butter dishes are designed for Elgin-style butter sticks" So, I guess that means Minnesota is in the East, butterstickwise? SB (where does the butterstick West begin then?)

Are the Eastern sticks about 5 3/8 long by chance? SB (developing a theory)

Do you have the exact measurements? Here in MN, (neither East nor West), the sticks measure approx 4.625x1.125x1.125. Vegetable oil sticks, (aka Margarine), are the same size. SB (intrigued)

My PBS station doesn't carry the show. Although I'm not a real big fan of Chris Kimball, I'd watch anyway. SB (Just wait until their next fund drive! )

And here's Dara Moskowitz take on the matter in City Pages. I know woefully little about fine dining in the Twin Cities, but the situation with the downtown bar and club scene is quite similar. I suspect there is an underlying problem having to do with property values? SB

Pardon me for asking, but is eGullet supposed to be New Yorkcentric? Some might say I'm guilty of not paying the city deference, but I haven't noticed any change in the coverage. Nor would I care. The great thing about the internet is that communities don't have to be geographically limited. SB (nor do they always have to be "full of energy and activity")