Month: March 2012

A Rustic Vacation shouldn’t mean rustic wine!

/ Kelly Jo McDonnell / Leave a comment

HERLIFE | wine

A Rustic Vacation Shouldn’t Mean Rustic Wine

by kelly jo mcdonnell

My family’s annual trek in early summer is north. Until the road ends…literally. Voyageurs National Park, specifically Voyageire Lodge and Houseboats on Crane Lake, is the desti- nation. It’s located between Minnesota’s beautiful boundary water canoe area and Superior National Forest. And as one might guess, it’s a tad on the rustic side. There’s a sign right when you drive in that says “End of the Road.” I’ve learned from this subtle reminder–don’t wait until you’ve come to the end of your road to start purchasing your wine.

While the liquor stores are plentiful in the city, they are far and fewer between on the way up to Voyageurs National Park. The towns get tinier and while you see more bait shops on the side of the road, it’s tough to find a liquor store that’s going to have the selection one may be looking for.

“My advice on this,” said Elizabeth Schneider, certified Sommelier and writer of Wine for Normal People, “is before you leave civilization and head for your rustic paradise, buy the wine in a major city or bring it with you. Wine selection varies widely from state to state and place to place. Normally, when you head to a lake house or a more rustic, rural area, the wine selection caters to the LCD…lowest common denomina- tor. If you want good stuff, you’ve got to bring it with you or you’ll be drinking swill! These places usually have a great beer selection, but if you want to drink well, don’t leave it to chance…bring all the wine you’re going to drink with you.”

Our crew finds that pre-planning and pre-packing meals help make the wine selection much easier. Before we hook up the canoe, we verify which family “section” is in charge of cooking what night. The first evening could be a hearty chili and a Cabernet Sauvignon for those cold Voyageurs’ nights. Second night, if the fishing is cooperating, fresh fish

can be on the menu along with Pinot Noir. We buy the wine from our favorite liquor store in the cities before we head north.

The fishing usually cooperates in this area of the country. Voya- geurs National Park is a mosaic of land and water, a place of intercon- nected waterways. Every year our family catches walleye, northern pike and pan fish. And as Jim Janssen, owner of Voyagaire Lodge reminded us, “My family likes to pair our fish with a white wine; Pinot Grigio with walleye is perfect!” It’s well-known that fish is usually best with white wine. Some wines can overpower the delicate flavors to be found in the fish group, so try to aim for anything light and fresh that will let the flavor of the fish shine through. Schneider agrees that white is best, but pairing is always best done by the sauce, topping and preparations. “Spices, citrus, cream, butter, wine, oil, salsa–each will go with differ- ent things even on top of the same exact fish,” she explained. “For in- stance, halibut with lemon butter will be a hit with Sauvignon Blanc, but if you put mango salsa on the top, you may want a Chardonnay that has more tropical flavors as a complement. If you blacken the fish, a red like Merlot may be best.”

Summer vacations are about getting in touch with family, and in our case, nature as well. Keeping things simple is a good rule of thumb. Schneider shares some classic wine “tips” that are easy to remember when fish is on the menu:

26 HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM“If you want good stuff, you’ve got to bring it with you or you’ll be drinking swill! These places usually have a great beer selection, but if you want to drink well, don’t leave it to chance…bring all the wine you’re going to drink with you.”

With simple grilled fish with lemon, a Sauvignon Blanc is ideal. The citrus flavors of the wine are complementary to the fish. For a cream- ier sauce, think about Sancerre, which is 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc, but is chalky, minerally, grassy and lemony. A lightly oaked Chardonnay is awesome with fish, but warning–too oaky and it kills the fish dish!

Fishing for something a bit different? How about cooking with fruit or doing a fruit salsa to go on the fish. Viognier is amazing with fish. It’s floral, fruity and still has some great acid to keep everything light.

When eating blackened fish–you can go with a red here, but be careful about the iron levels of the wine. The ones that have higher iron pair horribly with fish. Terra Rosa or red soil is a fish disaster! Pinot Noir or Merlot goes well with a white fish that’s blackened.

Fishing not cooperating? Italian wines define rustic, so if you’re doing some Italian-inspired pasta salads or simple salads with bread, look

no further than reds like Barbera from the Piedmont region or Chianti Classico. And don’t forget the Rosé, so sippable, so dry and refreshing. Go French on this and you won’t be sorry.

The old-fashioned bonfire grill is a staple of the Voyagaire experi- ence. (Although we do cheat and bring a fish fryer that sits out in the three-season porch.) And the fish that’s usually on the menu is walleye. For grilling out, it’s best to stick with old standbys: Zinfandel and Merlot. Schneider reminds to keep the Zin anywhere in California (the primary stomping grounds of Zin), but that Merlot from France; St-Emilion in Bordeaux is a favorite area. It’s great with charred flavor from the grill, as is Shiraz from Australia. “For the grill, hands down, Zinfandel from Mendocino County,” she exclaimed. “It’s fruity but not over-the-top and has a smoky, earthy character that I don’t find in other Zins.”

And let’s not forget the dessert of choice in our rustic pine setting–S’mores. While the young boys in our family love to pair it with milk, what else could the adults pair with it?

“S’mores are tough!” said Schneider. “The rule is that the wine has be to sweeter than food for a dessert pairing to sing. I’ve got to go with a ruby Port or a Zinfandel Port-type wine for that. Amazing with chocolate! If you want to get really crazy…and it’s not available every- where, Banyuls from the south of France is a red dessert wine made from Grenache and is INSANE with chocolate and wouldn’t overpower the other goodies in the mix, either.”

Roughing it has never tasted so good. Cheers to the end of this road! ␣

Tapping into Spring

/ Kelly Jo McDonnell / Leave a comment

Tapping into spring at Wargo Nature Center

  • Article by: KELLY JO McDONNELL , Special to the Star Tribune
  • Updated: March 13, 2012 – 4:20 PM

Wargo Nature Center will celebrate one of the rites of the season with a maple syrup-making event.

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It’s a sweet sign of spring.

The sap is running, and the Wargo Nature Center in Lino Lakes is ready to tap into it during Sunday’s Maple Syrup Madness festival.

“It started 13 years ago, actually as a maple full moon event,” said Deb Gallop, program supervisor at Wargo. “In 2004 we switched it to a day festival, and it’s been a wonderful family event.”

The event attracts an average of 100 participants, and it happens rain or shine.

But the conditions have to be perfect for maple syrup making.

“It has to be above 40 [degrees] during the day, and under 30 at night,” said Jennifer Fink, marketing and visitor services manager at Anoka County Parks and Recreation. “That’s what causes the sap to run. Some years are better than others, but it’s always fun to teach folks about it.”

All stages of the maple syrup process will be shown and demonstrated by the Nature Center’s naturalists. The history of maple syrup making will be covered, dating to the 19th century.

The actual process itself hasn’t changed much over the years. In the spirit of the old tradition, the sap will be collected from the maple trees, then cooked down over an open fire. But there also is an evaporator for use on-site, so participants can take in the modern-day maple syrup processes as well.

The Nature Center event incorporates many other activities along with the maple syrup making. Visitors can participate in a hike where they see tapped trees, learn about the process of making sap into syrup, as well as craft making.

“It’s a lot of families, from parents with young kids all the way up to empty nesters,” said Fink. “It really varies, and it’s a free-flowing event where people get to choose what they want to listen to, what interests them.”

Everyone’s favorite, especially the kids’, seems to be the taste-testing, Fink said.

All sorts of maple syrup treats are available, from maple syrup baked beans to log cabin sundaes, which are topped with maple syrup made at the center.

The syrup tasting is an education in itself, Fink said, with many people not believing the difference when they taste the product for the first time.

Fink and Gallop said it’s a treat to see the kids stick a finger under the spout and taste the sap.

“What they think is maple syrup from the store, and what true maple syrup is that gets made right in front of their eyes. … There’s definitely different grades of maple syrup,” said Fink. “Most of the stuff in the store is flavored with additives, to make it taste like maple. The actual stuff you’ll taste at our event is lighter in color, and it’s a much softer taste. … It’s just more subtle.”

Empty Nest? Prime Magazine

/ Kelly Jo McDonnell / Leave a comment

GRACE
BY KELLY JO MCDONNELL
My son had training wheels on his bike for a long time. Longer than most, I would say. The reasons vary—perhaps I was too soft, and would keep my hand on the back of his bike too often. I’m a single Mother, and on occasion I carry the “mother Hen” role a bit far. Or that he just seemed to be perfectly happy with them on, so I left them on, long after the neighborhood boys took theirs off. He would adamantly deny that he was ready to take them off, even when I raised them up so they weren’t really even touching the pavement. When I tried to take them off, he insisted that I hold onto the back of the bike. He didn’t think he could ride it without my hand holding it up.
But on Mother’s Day in 2008, that all changed. It’s a very specific memory, since something in my heart “dinged.” A ding that meant I’d be feeling this again, but in a different circumstance. We were heading out on a bike ride, myself, my son Hayden, and my long-time partner Cy. Cy announced to Hayden that he would be riding his bike without the training wheels; he proclaimed this as he was taking them off his little bike. I still remember Hayden looking at me with complete fear and uncertainty in his eyes. “You hold onto me, Mommy?” he pleaded. I figured perhaps it was time for me to release my grip. But I really didn’t want to. “You can do it,” I reassured, and climbed onto my bike next to him.
My baby climbed onto his bike, and stared down the driveway. I expected a wipe-out, or at least a stagger getting started and trying to turn out of the driveway, so I braced myself. Without looking back at me, he started pumping his pedals and away he rolled…successfully. Down the driveway, then he turned and continued down the road. It was there he stopped and put his foot down, looked back and exclaimed to
me, “Did you see me! I did it all by myself!” And away he went down the road, not waiting for his mother to catch up. As I watched him go, I couldn’t help but get a glimpse of things ten plus years down the road. My little Hayden was well on his way to growing up, and when he leaves for college and leaves me with my empty nest, he probably won’t look back then either. And deep down, I don’t want him to. But it makes the heart sting just the same. I knew I would have to accept that Hayden would someday ride off into his own future. Then what? How would I handle that? With grace and composure? Not sure.
Other friends of mine, most of them baby boomers, are dealing with this issue currently, the dreaded “empty nest.” I notice that some have euphoria, like a newfound freedom. And some seem completely lost and are downright lonesome. And of course, I gleaned the most from my parental birds, who
According to research by Del Webb, 26 percent of baby boomers say they felt like newlyweds when their kids were gone.
seemed to soar after me and my siblings left the nest back in the 1980s. According to research by Del Webb, 26 percent of baby boomers say they felt like newlyweds when their kids were gone. 58 percent said they are or were ready for the kids to head out of the nest. The older the boomers become, the more ready they are to clear the nest. After researching both

books and friends, I’ve come up with a few gems that I’m going to keep in mind when my time comes.
First, and the most important in my book, is to keep the magic of “Challenge” in your life. Keep doing your routine in your nest as nothing happened will reveal parenting holes. What the heck else would you like to do? Learn Yoga? Learn how to make sushi? Get a tattoo? There are a lot of opportunities out there, and you only have to hop out of the nest to find them. I was confused when my 70-something mother decided to take up kayaking just last summer. “You have a bad back!” I blurted out. “Gotta have a challenge, honey,” was her answer.
Second, keep things interesting, especially yourself. I’m amazed at my mother and father who are always trying new things, including kayaking and fly fishing. Whether it’s a hip new TV show, the latest news, or a weird fashion fad, they keep up on it. While they have lifelong friends, they also keep “younger” friends. She and my father are interesting to talk to, and everyone likes their company, no matter the age. They don’t hole themselves up in the house I grew up in. Far from it. Seems like I can never catch them at the nest…they’re always on the road looking for a new adventure. And keeping it interesting.
Third, don’t let the technology at your fingertips allow you to “hover”over your birds once they’re out of the nest. There are many options today for staying in touch with our kids—texting, email, chat, Skype or just calling them on their
cell phones. I have one baby boomer friend who seems to keep constant dibs on her daughter while she’s in college. I think it’s her full-time job. While we’ll always worry about our kids, it will send the wrong message if we seem to be nagging them all the time…via technology. Use it here and there, as it used to be “in the old days.” Being a hovering parent isn’t good in the nest, or out of it.
And lastly, just like when your children were small, remem

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ber the little things. It’s those tiny moments that keep us going. It doesn’t have to be, “Now let’s sell the house, shave our heads bald and join the circus!” Take a look back and see what really mattered once. Look good enough and you’ll see it. What adventures do you want to have? They can be little adventures, not huge ones. Were you once an inspiring writer before family life got too busy? What were you passionate about at one time? Perhaps that flame never extinguished…it’s still there waiting for you. A small, tiny gem, but a gem just the same.
It will be interesting to see if I will handle myself grace- fully with my own empty nest. I hope to. Until then, I continue to watch my growing son head out on his bike, spending more and more time with his friends. His training wheels still hang in my garage, but he doesn’t need them anymore. On occasion he’ll wave to me as I watch from the door, but mostly he rides away full throttle without a single look back.
Grace.␣