November | 2014 | Minnesota Prairie Roots

Oh, give thanks… November 27, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: faith, gratitude, holiday, Thanksgiving, thoughts

DEAR READERS:

I hope today, in between food and football and family, you will pause to focus on all for which you are thankful.

And I’m not just talking the obvious like a roof over your head and food on your table and good health.

The turkey's head was flopping down, so I used my left hand to hold the head in place and then snap this photo.

Artwork photographed last Thanksgiving in a hallway at Faribault Lutheran School shows those things for which one student was thankful. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2013.

Think deep. Think emotional. Think specific.

I am grateful to God for giving me strength to endure the many challenges I’ve faced this year. Often I’ve wondered if/how/when I will make it to the other side. I’m sure you’ve all been there in some way at some time in your life.

What carries you through those tough times? Those are the things for which I am especially grateful this year: The love and support of my husband; the love of my children and son-in-law; the care and encouragement of friends; my heavenly Father; the comfort and hope of Scripture; prayer…

Dancing around the maypole with a sun ball, from an earlier game, resting nearby.

No matter what happens in life, the sun still rises each morning. Here dancers celebrate the Summer Solstice during a Midsommar fest in Northfield, MN., in June 2012.

Twin Cities Christian radio station KTIS also makes my “I am truly thankful for” list. Songs like “You’re Not Alone” by Marie Miller and “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman, on the station’s playlist, have uplifted me many a day:

The sun comes up
It’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes

–Lyrics from “10,000 Reasons”

Candles at the Saint Paul Cathedral, St. Paul, MN. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

My faith in God sustains me. Those are not simply trite words written without a belief that runs deep and wide through my soul.

I am also thankful this year for the recovery of my 82-year-old mom who suffered severe injuries in a fall that landed her in a trauma unit several months ago.

What are you giving heartfelt thanks for this Thanksgiving?

Have a blessed and wonderful day contemplating that for which you are grateful, in the company of those you love.

Audrey

Comments (12)

Is this even legal? November 26, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: Cadillac, Interstate 35, Minneapolis, Minnesota, monster car, travel

A monster Caddy.

THREE QUESTIONS:

Why?

Is this street legal in Minnesota, or anywhere?

How do you get in and out of this Cadillac?

(Photographed early Saturday afternoon along Interstate 35 northbound toward downtown Minneapolis.)

Comments (17)

On the road metro Minnesota photography November 25, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: Dan Traun, metro traffic, Minneapolis, Minnesota, photography, travel, Twin Cities

I’M NO FAN OF METRO TRAFFIC. But then who is, I suppose?

A view of downtown Minneapolis on a foggy Saturday from Interstate 35.

A view of downtown Minneapolis on a foggy Saturday afternoon from Interstate 35.

I try to make the best of it, though, to focus on details of my surroundings rather than on the crazy drivers weaving in and out of traffic or the tailgater or the road construction or the sudden flash of brake lights.

As you can tell from that second paragraph, my attempts at distracting myself are not all that effective.

My primary distraction tool is my camera, typically at the ready to photograph whatever unfolds before me from the front passenger seat.

Why are the interstates around downtown Minneapolis so curvy?

On Saturday, while traveling Interstate 35 into Minneapolis, I missed two photo ops because my Canon DSLR sat at my feet, zippered inside the camera bag. What was I thinking?

After my husband noticed a dog with his head hanging out a truck window (why do dogs do that?) and after I spotted a woman texting while driving, I snatched my camera from the bag. I wasn’t about to miss more such photo opportunities.

One of the few scenes I shot while traveling Interstate 35 into Minneapolis.

As Red Wing, Minnesota photo blogger Dan Traun advises, “You always have to be ready.” And Dan is. Among his photographic specialties are shooting streetscapes and everyday slices of mostly metropolitan Minnesota life. He’s good, no great, at what he does. His timing is uncanny as is his ability to notice a scene worth documenting. Most shots are taken from his vehicle.

Approaching yet another curve, this one under a railroad overpass.

Dan shows you buildings and everyday life and streets and alleys and all those subjects folks see daily, but perhaps don’t notice like they should.

We should all slow down and appreciate life. Even those crazy drivers in the metro.

PLEASE CHECK BACK to see the craziest subject I photographed along Interstate 35.

Comments (15)

Tell DeLores to bring lots of grape salad November 24, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: food, grape salad, grapes, Minnesota, New York Times, recipe, recipes, salad, Thanksgiving dinner

Vintage plastic grapes on a vintage food tray, used here for illustration purposes only.

ALRIGHT, MINNESOTANS, it’s time to tell the other side of the story, to balance the “I’ve never heard of Grape Salad” to the “I have and I prepare it for my family and they love it.”

Just a little background for those who are unaware: The New York Times recently published an article listing Thanksgiving dinner foods that best represent each state. Grape Salad was selected for Minnesota, evoking the wrath of many a native. Most of us have never heard of the salad and don’t consider it at all representative of our state.

But then along come several Minnesota Prairie Roots readers, including DeLores Johnson from Belview in my native Redwood County, MN., who have, indeed, heard of Grape Salad and prepared it.

The salad is so popular with DeLores’ extended family that they ask for it every Thanksgiving and Christmas. The request is the same each holiday: “Tell DeLores to bring lots of Grape Salad.”

She first made the salad about 10 years ago after discovering the recipe in a newspaper (but not the local The Redwood Falls Gazette). Having never heard of Grape Salad until then, DeLores thought it worth a try although she hesitated to reveal sour cream as one of the four ingredients.

But her family loved the salad. Her grandchildren even argue over who gets the last little bit in the bowl, claims DeLores. She doubles the recipe. It’s apparently that good.

DeLores terms Grape Salad as “delicious” and says people from all over have called her for the recipe. “I never knew it would be such a hit,” she says.

One year, when grapes were especially expensive, DeLores nearly didn’t prepare Grape Salad. But because she knew the kids would be disappointed, she bought what she needed and the grapes cost more than the meat.

No wonder she tells her grandkids Grape Salad is special because it’s made with lots of love.

So there you have it. That’s DeLores’ Grape Salad story and she’s sticking to it.

HERE’S THE RECIPE for Grape Salad, direct from DeLores:

Red or green seedless grapes (DeLores emphasizes seedless; one year she bought the wrong grapes and spent a lot of time cutting grapes in half to remove seeds.)
1 cup brown sugar
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces Cool Whip

Mix the dressing and then add the grapes. Enjoy.

TIPS: For Christmas, DeLores sometimes buys red and green grapes to make a more colorful holiday salad. Grape Salad can be prepared a day in advance, refrigerated and stirred just prior to serving.

FACT: When DeLores was growing up, the only grapes she had available to her were wild grapes like those used to make jelly.

Comments (32)

Offering my two cents, as a Redwood County native, on the Great Grape Salad Controversy November 20, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 11:36 AM
Tags: David Tanis, food, grape salad, grapes, Minnesota, New York Times, opinion, recipes, Redwood County, Thanksgiving dinner, The Redwood Falls Gazette

NOW THAT THE LUTHERANS and my native Redwood County, MN., have been drawn into the New York Times Great Grape Salad Controversy, I feel obliged to also join the discussion.

Thanksgiving Day dinner at my house with family several years ago included these foods. To the left you’ll see a nearly empty bowl of a lettuce salad. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

Here’s the background, just in case you’ve had your head stuck in a snowbank the past several days and are unaware of the Times article. Writer David Tanis chose a food to represent each of the 50 states (plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico) on the Thanksgiving dinner table. For Minnesota, he selected Grape Salad. That choice has resulted in a backlash from Minnesotans unhappy, and that’s putting it mildly, with the selection.

The only grapes you will find sitting out at my house for Thanksgiving are these grapes in a bowl of vintage fake fruit I got from my mom in September. I’d guess they are vintage 1950s or 1960s.

If you have lived in Minnesota your entire life, like me, your immediate reaction probably mimicked mine: “What is Grape Salad?”

It is, according to the Times published recipe, a combination of grapes, sour cream and brown sugar.

A selected page of salad recipes published in The Cook's Special, published in 1973 by St. John's Lutheran Church, Vesta, MN. That's my mom's

A selected page of salad recipes in The Cook’s Special, published in 1973 by St. John’s Lutheran Church, Vesta, MN. That’s my mom’s Orange JELLO Salad

Tanis shares on his Facebook page that the recipe was a staple in 1950s and 1960s Minnesota Lutheran cookbooks and was even published in the Redwood Falls Gazette. Hmmm. But I’ve never heard of Grape Salad, let alone tasted it and I grew up in the 50s and 60s on a crop and dairy farm 20 miles west of Redwood Falls near Vesta, where I attended St. John’s Lutheran Church. The Gazette arrived in our rural mailbox each week.

My friend Kristin made peach Jell-O in a pan.

Several years ago my friend Kristin prepared peach-filled Jell-O for Family Game Night at the Lutheran church I attend in Faribault. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

The go-to salad during my youth was Jell-O, specifically red strawberry Jell-O laced with bananas and maybe topped with whipped topping, but not usually. Jell-O was served only on special occasions, like a holiday or on the midnight lunch table at extended family birthday and anniversary celebrations. The last time I ate Jell-O was a few weeks ago while on a pre-colonoscopy diet. Otherwise it’s been years since gelatin touched my lips.

As for grapes, they were a rare treat in my childhood home due to lack of availability and cost. And when Mom did buy grapes for her six children and farmer husband, the fruit was devoured in an instant. I remember stuffing grapes into my mouth so fast that I would nearly choke. But if I didn’t, I wouldn’t get many and I loved grapes. Still do.

A few of the salad bar choices, including a tangy rhubarb square in the upper right of this photo.

A few of the salad bar options at a 2011 soup and salad luncheon at St. John’s United Church of Christ, Wheeling Township, rural Faribault, MN. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

So for Tanis to choose Grape Salad as representative of Minnesota for Thanksgiving dinner 2014, or even Thanksgiving dinner 1960, seems, well, not at all Minnesotan.

What food would you select to represent Minnesota?

Even though (most) Minnesotans believe the Times writer got it totally wrong with his Grape Salad choice, this whole controversy serves some good, too. The spotlight is shining on our state. What a great time to showcase Minnesota foods and our uniqueness. Specifically, I hope tourism folks in my native Redwood County realize this opportunity and run with it in a creative and humorous way.

Comments (39)

A quick tour of the impressive Pierce County, Wisconsin, courthouse

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: architecture, courthouses, Ellsworth, historic buildings, National Register of Historic Places, Pierce County, Pierce County courthouse, travel, Wisconsin

The stately Pierce County Courthouse in Ellsworth, Wisconsin.

IT’S AN IMPRESSIVE BUILDING defining a hilltop in the center of Ellsworth, The Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin.

This beautiful stone sculpture rises above the front courthouse entry. Anyone know anything about the sculpture?

Stately columns, a dome, stone sculptures and a certain sense of strength mark the Pierce County Courthouse constructed in 1905 at a cost of $85,000.

After picking up coveted cheese curds at Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, my husband and I returned to the courthouse we’d passed along Main Street en route to the creamery during an early October visit. We both appreciate old architecture and the courthouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, seemed a must-see.

Up close details of the upper exterior.

Designed in the Beaux Arts Style of architecture by St. Paul architects Buecher & Orth, this massive structure presents a powerful presence, seemingly fitting for a place that serves as the center of county government and houses the courts. A jail was built adjacent to the courthouse and completed in 1968.

Rotunda murals depict the area’s natural beauty.

Public space along the impressive stairway.

Public seating along the stairway landing.

Details on the stairs credit the source of the work.

Look at that beautiful floor.

The law, in the form of a deputy sheriff, showed up when we self-toured the public space of the courthouse. I don’t know if he was dispatched to check out “the woman with the camera” and her companion or he simply happened upon us. But I sensed that we were being watched. And I suppose that’s OK in today’s world.

Looking down from the rotunda.

Our tour proved brief given the public space is small and I wasn’t about to enter the courtroom, although I was tempted.

Beautiful railings, although my husband questioned whether this was meant to be the color.

Beautiful railings, although my husband questioned whether the color is original or mimics the original.

Interestingly enough, the Pierce County, Wisconsin, courthouse has a twin courthouse in Rugby in Pierce County, North Dakota. Same architect. Same style. Built in 1908 and also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Comments (17)

Let’s stop tolerating bad behavior by pro football players & more November 19, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: Adrian Peterson, crime, domestic violence, football, NFL, opinion, Ray Rice, sports

Minnesota Vikings mascot photographed on a mug belonging to my husband.

BEFORE I GET INTO THE HEART of this post, you need to know that I don’t care about sports. Not one iota. Never have. Never will.

In my opinion, sports have overrun our society, sucking away family time, assuming a pedestal of importance above all else, and more.

Yes, I recognize the value of athletics in teaching teamwork, building confidence, providing an outlet to exercise and serving as entertainment. But there needs to be a balance. Sports should not run our lives.

I don’t understand, either, the high value and adulation bestowed upon athletes, especially professionals and specifically football players.

Why do (did) people admire guys like Minnesota Vikings player Adrian Peterson, who beat his son?

That the National Football League has now suspended Peterson without pay for the rest of the season was the right thing to do. Absolutely. This sends a strong message that criminal behavior will no longer be tolerated. Or at least I hope that’s the intent. Maybe it’s more about public relations or sponsors or appearances.

I never felt that Peterson was truly sorry for beating his four-year-old, especially given his no contest plea to the misdemeanor charge of reckless assault. Maybe sorry he was caught and sorry he couldn’t play football. But not truly repentant. He didn’t appear genuinely remorseful.

Then there’s Ray Rice, the former Baltimore Ravens player who knocked his then fiancee’ (now wife) unconscious in an elevator. The domestic assault was captured on videotape. He’s appealing his indefinite suspension from the NFL. Really?

Domestic violence should not be tolerated, no matter the perpetrator or victim. Never. Ever. Perpetrators must be held accountable. On their first offense. Why are there second offenses and third and…? Why?

We as a society need to recognize domestic violence for what it is—a crime. No football player, no anybody should get away with attacking a woman. (I’m using the word “woman” here because most victims of domestic abuse are women.)

My stomach churns when I read stories about men like Rice and NFL codes of silence on domestic violence.

Enough, people. Enough. No sport is worth excusing and/or overlooking the crime of assaulting a man, woman or child.

What are your thoughts?

Comments (29)

My impressions of East Ellsworth, Wisconsin November 18, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: bars, businesses, Ellsworth, first impressions, Green Bay Packers, main street, small towns, travel, Wisconsin

A section of East Ellsworth’s compact business district.

I DON’T KNOW QUITE HOW to describe East Ellsworth. It’s not a separate town of its own, as far as I can determine, but the eastern side of Ellsworth, Wisconsin.

Love the original bar name and signage.

Jasper’s Eastender Bar & Grill.

East Ellsworth is heavy on the drinking establishments with at least four bars within a stone’s throw of each other. My husband and I didn’t venture inside any of them on the October weekday afternoon we visited this community. But plenty of vehicles lined the streets, causing us to wonder where all those folks might be. Inside the bars?

Wisconsinites love their Packers as evidenced by this sign on the corner Packers bar, painted green and gold.

Wisconsinites love their Packers as evidenced by this sign on a corner bar, painted green and gold.

Packers’ colors prevail even on the exterior of this corner bar.

Not that that’s good or bad. I’m just saying that as outsiders viewing East Ellsworth for the first time, we got the sense that this could be a pretty wild place on a weekend evening or during a Sunday afternoon Packers game.

Another shot of the East Ellsworth business district.

Words like rugged and hardscrabble pop into my thoughts.

Businesses besides bars exist in East Ellsworth.

How’s this for an exterior bar attraction.

This sign in a storefront window grabbed my attention. So small townish…

We observed a business district that appeared rough around the edges. Grass wedged between spaces in the cracked and uneven sidewalk. Orange traffic barrels leaning. Pavement that looked more jigsaw puzzle than street. Aged buildings, some in need of paint touch-ups. The whole area appeared tired and worn.

I should clarify that this assessment should not be taken as harshly critical, simply as an honest reaction. First impressions can be powerful.

The Big Cheezy seems a fitting name for a business in cheese-producing Wisconsin.

Even though my eyes noted the roughness, my spirit appreciates East Ellsworth. This place possesses small town Americana character. Strength of individuality, not found in cookie cutter chain businesses, exists here. I will take an East Ellsworth any day over a strip mall along a four-lane in Most Anywhere, USA.

What's not to love about this business sign?

Simple signage like this possesses a certain charm.

How about you?

FYI: Click here to read my previous post about Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery and its famous cheese curds.

Comments (10)

It’s true: Ellsworth cheese curds really are the best November 17, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: cheese curds, creamery, dairy products, Ellsworth, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, food, travel, Wisconsin

Western Wisconsin based Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery.

BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATION of a dear friend, whose sons have worked in a Faribault area based festival concession stand that serves cheese curds, I tried cheese curds from Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery. Deb is right. This Wisconsin co-op’s cheese curds are the best I’ve ever eaten.

These cheese curds sell fast.

Now I’m no cheese expert. But these curds are less salty than most, making them a win-win for my taste buds.

Apparently lots of others agree. The creamery’s retail store proved one busy place when my husband and I stopped on an early October weekday afternoon while vacationing in western Wisconsin.

Customers can watch employees bagging cheese curds.

Through a window, I watched employees package cheese curds before selecting two small bags of regular and cajun curds and two other Wisconsin cheeses to bring back across the border to Minnesota. Family dairy farms in Minnesota and Wisconsin supply the creamery with its milk.

Trucks line up to deliver milk to the creamery.

Much to my grew-up-on-a-dairy-farm delight, I spotted bulk milk trucks lined up outside the plant.

The sign makes it official.

Whatever this co-op’s recipe, their cheese curds have become a national success, titling Ellsworth as “The Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin.”

Someone really ought to tell that to the local who gave us directions to the creamery. He seemed less than enthused when we asked about the creamery and other attractions in town. “It’s Ellsworth,” he sighed. I wondered in that moment why he hadn’t moved elsewhere given his clear discontent with his hometown.

No thanks to this unwelcome welcome, we found two additional places of interest—east Ellsworth and the stunning Pierce County courthouse—after stopping at the creamery for those famous cheese curds.

You can sample selected varieties of cheese curds at the retail store before purchasing.

Now I realize most of you likely are not going to drive to Ellsworth. So you can either search your local grocery store dairy department for these tasty curds. Or you can shop online by clicking here.

You can buy butter at the retail store, too, although I don’t believe it’s actually made in Ellsworth.

I wasn’t paid to write this. I didn’t get free cheese curds. I simply love Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery cheese curds. Plus, I possess a deep affection for cows and dairy farmers and dairy products. I am, after all, a dairy farmer’s daughter who worked side by side with her father in the barn.

Comments (23)

A letter to my daughter on her birthday November 16, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: birthday, daughter, family, letter, mother, thoughts

Miranda, celebrating her birthday today. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo September 2014.

Dearest Miranda,

I never imagined, before I had children—before you or your sister or your brother were born—how deeply I could love a child.

But the day you were born, my heart opened wider, my love deepened to depths unimaginable. There was room in my heart for you and your sister and then, six years later, your brother.

Some day, when you become a mom, you will understand the fierceness with which a mother loves—how she hurts and cries and rejoices and desires nothing more than the best for her children.

I think of you every single day. Some days my heart aches at your absence. And I wish I could wrap my arms around you and hug you and feel the softness of your beautiful curls.

You are a beautiful, strong, caring and compassionate young woman with a mind of her own. Remember how, as a preschooler, you shut yourself in the toy room and played alone for hours? When I’d check on you, you’d ask me to leave. And even though I did, it wasn’t easy to walk away, to feel like you didn’t need me.

But I’d like to think we always need each other, that our love for one another runs deep through our veins, that no matter the distance between us, we remain connected.

I consider how strong you’ve been. At age four you clutched your Big Bird, took a nurse’s hand and walked toward the operating room while I dissolved into tears in your father’s arms. You never cried.

And years later, when you had to wear a back brace 23/7 for a year, you didn’t complain. I cried. But you soldiered on and did what you had to do.

Miranda in Valles Calchaquies, near the town of Cafayate in the Salta province of Argentina. File photo 2013.

You’ve always seemed fearless to me, ready for any new adventure. You flew solo to Argentina to study abroad and then back twice thereafter, fighting off a mugger once. I don’t like to think about that attack even now because the thought of anyone ever remotely coming close to harming you scares me. I love you so much and want you always to be safe.

You give of yourself with selfless compassion from a faith-filled heart. Not once, but twice, you helped with clean-up after Hurricane Katrina. Even in your life’s chosen profession as a Spanish medical interpreter, you continue to give.

I am proud of you. Your name means “admirable.” That seems fitting for you, my precious daughter.

I love you now and forever. Happy birthday!

With love,
Mom

Comments (20)

Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Oh, give thanks… November 27, 2014

Is this even legal? November 26, 2014

On the road metro Minnesota photography November 25, 2014

Tell DeLores to bring lots of grape salad November 24, 2014

Offering my two cents, as a Redwood County native, on the Great Grape Salad Controversy November 20, 2014

A quick tour of the impressive Pierce County, Wisconsin, courthouse

Let’s stop tolerating bad behavior by pro football players & more November 19, 2014

My impressions of East Ellsworth, Wisconsin November 18, 2014

It’s true: Ellsworth cheese curds really are the best November 17, 2014

A letter to my daughter on her birthday November 16, 2014

Follow Minnesota Prairie Roots via Email

An essay of barn photos & memories; In praise of preserving country churches; & Testing the track during a Soap Box Derby trial run in Faribault

Search

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Calendar

Subscribe with RSS