MN Mondays: Minneapolis rules.

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I first saw this list on a fantastic Minneapolis tourism website and could barely contain my excitement for our trip home in a few weeks. Everything on this list is perfect, and I want to do every single one at some point in my life. I'm pretty sure we've checked off many already, but I wouldn't mind revisiting some favorites, including sidewalk dining down Nicollet Mall, everything involving St. Anthony Main and Lake Harriet, and, a true city gem, the Mill City Farmer's Market. I also love that Kramarczuk's made the list - a childhood tradition that is now making a real name for itself! 

If you're looking for things to do in the City of Lakes this summer (hint hint, dear friends and family who are coming in for the wedding!), check out this list. Even if you're a homemade Minneapolitan, challenge yourself to explore some of the neighborhood treasures you may not have yet seen. Sometimes the best things to do are truly in your own backyard! 

I think this post marks an unofficial countdown to summer...who's with me?!? 

A pink escape.

I'm craving warmth, summertime, and bright pink flowers. If I had it my way we'd be walking down the Stone Arch Bridge, iced coffees in hand, and ready to check out the Mill City Farmer's Market across the Mississippi.  Oh, springtime, you can't get here fast enough! 

Have a lovely start to your weekend, friends! 

MN Mondays: Stone Arch and St. Anthony Main.

Walking down St. Anthony Main and across the Stone Arch Bridge was a daily ritual for us in Minneapolis. This area has been one of my favorite spots in the city for a long time, and it continues to be a place we like to come back to on our visits home. 

From fireworks on the 4th of July and birthday parties to happy hours and late night strolls, St. Anthony Main and the Stone Arch Bridge are the source of many happy memories for us. I feel like the area is growing, too; with the addition of Wilde Roast in the summer of 2011 and Aster Cafe's renovation soon after that, the riverfront is only improving. I love that the city holds festivals, races, and art fairs down the cobbled streets, really taking advantage of the gorgeous skyline views and wooded trails along the Mississippi River. This last summer, a favorite event of ours was Northern Spark, an all-night art collaboration throughout Minneapolis. St. Anthony Main was overflowing with visitors, and it was so energetic and inspiring to see that many people enjoying one of the best parts of the city all night long! 

I'm sure the views from the bridge are just lovely right now, especially as the trees along the river are changing colors. The bridge was our backyard for several years, and we really do feel like it'll always be home.

MN Mondays: a visit home.

This weekend, we decided to head back to the Twin Cities to see our families. One of the beauties of this move is that we actually didn't move that far away. Driving time from Milwaukee to the Cities is about five and a half hours (or five, thanks to our new WI plates that allow us to blend in with the other WI drivers...). 

It was a weekend filled with family. Lots of cooking, eating, drinking, walks on the bridge (that skyline view will get me every time), and time spent with those we miss most. It was too short of a trip, because there is no way to do everything or see everyone we wanted to. 

On Friday night, we had our parents over to dinner at my mom's house. It was starting to look and feel like fall, much more so than in Shorewood, but we wanted to do one more summer cookout session before the seasons really turn. We grilled brats and vegetables outside and had homemade potato salad and char-grilled green beans on the side. All simple, fresh, and so summery. 

For dessert, we made another recipe out of the Sussman brothers' cookbook - the s'mores! The original recipe called for bourbon, but we made them with rum instead. Considering neither Andrew nor I really love marshmallows, we were both pretty impressed by these! We had a good time making them (I was really excited to use my mom's stand mixer; we don't have one, but want one badly!). The recipe was easy to follow, and it was so fun to see how the marshmallows, which started out as pure liquid, puffed up to become these lovely, pillowy, gooey squares!  

 I'm posting the recipe we used below, as adapted from the Sussmans' This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life. 

S'mores with maple-rum marshmallows.

From This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life (available at Williams-Sonoma - check it out!) 

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Powdered sugar for dusting

2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup rum, plus 3 Tbsp

1/4 cup maple syrup (get the good kind - trust me!) 

1 1/2 cups extra-fine sugar

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy  cream 

Graham crackers, halved. 

Line the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Coat lightly with cooking spray and dust with some powdered sugar. 

Pour 1/2 cup warm water into a small bowl; sprinkle in the gelatin and stir to dissolve.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the rum, maple syrup, and sugar; bring to a boil. Continue to cook and stir often, until the temperature reads 240 degrees F on a candy or frying thermometer. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer, and add the dissolved gelatin and remaining rum. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 10-13 minutes. Note - it will take much longer if you use a hand mixer! 

Scrape the marshmallows into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. Let cool at room temperature until firm, about 4 hours.

Once the mixture has hardened, remove the marshmallow from the pan and take off the parchment lining. Cut into even squares, and toss with powdered sugar in a bowl to coat. 

Put the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. 

Assemble the s'mores: graham cracker + marshmallow + chocolate + graham cracker. Serve and enjoy! 

So tasty! If making this with little ones, obviously omit the rum or bourbon. 

Making s'mores, we just had to have a bonfire. We tried heating the marshmallows over the fire, but because they were basically made out of sugar only, and didn't have any of the "other" processed ingredients like the marshmallows you buy at the store, they just melted instead of turning nice and golden. Oh well, they were perfectly delicious as they were. It was a beautiful night for a fire - chilly, with a definite feel of fall coming on. Andrew, my sister, and I sat around the fire on our patio with a few pyvos (as Andrew says, "beer" just sounds better in Ukrainian!). All in all, a great night. 

It was a lovely weekend home, and it has inspired a new series on the blog: MN Mondays! MN Mondays will be all about the land of 10,000 lakes. What are your favorite things about MN? What do you love to do in Minnesota in the fall? I'll share some of mine if you tell me yours!

I'm off to finish dinner for tonight - stay tuned for more on gnocchi and oxtail ragu! YUM!

To the lake.

Shorewood is adorable. It's full name is actually "the Village of Shorewood," and it really does feel like a little village. Dotted with coffee shops, restaurants, and grocery stores, everything we need is basically within walking distance.

A view of our apartment building - more shots of inside will be posted once the apartment is finished! 

What makes our new neighborhood even more charming, though, is its proximity to the lake. Our old apartment in Minneapolis was really close to the Mississippi River, and we'd often walk down St. Anthony Main and cross the Stone Arch Bridge. I do miss the downtown skyline, the views from the bridge over the river, and the familiarity of East Hennepin. Here, though, the walk to Lake Michigan takes us down tree-lined streets where we pass by gorgeous old houses. People are always out for strolls, walking with their dogs (it seems like everyone has a dog) or with their sleepy babies lounging in their strollers. It's really lovely, and a welcome change from all the student housing that surrounded us in Minneapolis.

Atwater Beach is just a short walk from our apartment. Following our street down seven or eight blocks, you come to a big grassy knoll with a playground that overlooks Lake Michigan. How fun would this have been as a kid, to have such a cool place to play with these incredible views? 

It's so peaceful; we've spent an afternoon at the beach already. As lovely as these views are in the summertime, I can only imagine that it's going to be absolutely beautiful in the fall. I can't wait to see all the leaves change! But for now, we'll enjoy this last day of August (how can that be?!) just as it is.

~N.