Duluth in two days

I was touring Minnesota last week (yes, it was cold), and I visited several towns.  Yes, Minneapolis is a cool city, and I've already talked about what I like in the Fargo/Moorhead area, but today I want to tell you about an oft-overlooked little city called Duluth.  I think this place will probably suck in the winter, because the fog and icy wind coming off Lake Superior was already getting a little old after two days, but it's a lovely lakeside town with a charming downtown area and a friendly population. If you go,...

7 West Taphouse

We went here for lunch, and then came back for the huge beer list at night! Fried cheese curds, onion rings, creative burgers, and lots of local brews make this really worth visiting.

Lake Superior Bakehouse

This place was our savior on a cold, gray morning before teaching at 9am (and after post-concert drinks at 7 West). Great breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, coffee, and tea.









Tweed Museum, UMD  

Bent Paddle taproom

Right across the hall from where I was teaching flute class and performing a recital, there was a great little museum with modern pieces and classical European art, all presented in an educational, interactive setting.  What an inspiring setting in which to learn!




Beer

I was not in town long enough to enjoy some of Duluth's delicious local beer in their original homes, but there are a ton of breweries in the area: Bent Paddle (which is on tap all over the city, and it is delicious), Fitgers, Black List, Canal Park, and Lake Superior are all in Duluth, and surrounding towns have a few to contribute, as well.  Beer is so appropriately loved here that there is a "Beer Trail" that serves as a directory to them all.

Curried yogurt sauce

Last week I was in Minneapolis for a concert, and I ate some Indian food at Malabari Kitchen near the university. It was all good, but by far my favorite item was a yogurt curry, which was really just a runny, spiced yogurt sauce which was meant to be eaten as a digestive with rice at the end of the meal. It was bright, tangy, and delicious, and as I was cooking up some brown rice and mung beans for lunch after I got back, I thought it would be the perfect compliment.

This recipe at least gave me some clue of what goes in a yogurt curry, and the photo looked exactly like what I ate in Minneapolis, but I cannot imagine acquiring all of these ingredients easily, and I didn't particularly feel like cooking the whole thing (boiling dairy products never goes well for me). So I heavily adapted the recipe and came up with a respectable copy that is easy to make and is delicious as a sauce over lentils or mung beans and rice (as I did below). 

Kerala Yogurt Curry

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup plain yogurt

½ cup water

1 teaspoon lemon juice (or more, to taste)

½ teaspoon prepared mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon each: curry powder, turmeric, and cumin

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 serrano pepper

½ small garlic clove

Black pepper to taste

Combine the yogurt, water, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and powdered spices in a small serving bowl and set aside.

In a mortar and pestle or food processor, mash the ginger, serrano, and garlic into a paste with a little drizzle of olive oil. Stir into the yogurt mixture and serve room temperature or cold.