Ice Sauna

On my chilly Minneapolis North Loop walk, with temperatures hovering in the single digits (Fahrenheit), spotted a woman in a bikini walking outside. It took me a few moments to realize she was walking from a wood-fired sauna to an ice sauna.

New Year’s Day Tradition

Our New Year’s Day tradition is a long walk and a bar lunch. With subzero weather all day we achieved one out of two. Maxwell’s is our local, a chilly two-block walk.

New Year’s Paella

Our annual tradition: celebrated the new year in Madrid at 5:00 p.m. Central then made paella.

Enhanced Gravy

Last Christmas, a bottle of red wine was corked, so I reduced the wine to an excellent syrup. Over the year, it’s added a fruity note to dressings and sauces. Today, a couple tablespoons added a pleasant dimension to the gravy.

Craving Ramen

Dwight is up in Fargo to see his mom and drive her to Minneapolis tomorrow. Walked over to Zen Box Izakaya to satisfy my craving for gyoza and tonkotsu ramen. An authentic Japanese Christmas meal would’ve been a bucket of fried chicken from KFC.

Best With Bacon

Kicked off Thanksgiving dinner with our Holiday go-to: warm Brussels sprouts salad. It’s a lot of hand-chopping, which is more consistent than a food processor. It would be raw vegan without the essential bacon, Parmesan, and sautéed shallots(!).Recipe.