By Lisa Golden Schroeder

I know there are just so many parts to a chicken, but the versatility and allure of each and every part never fails to make me happy. I’ve made no secret of the fact that my true personal taste allegiance goes to chicken dark meat—nothing personal against white meat (who can argue with a tender slice of roasted chicken breast?) But I have to say I’m so happy to welcome the newest family member to Just BARE, meaty bone-in thighs. So rich in flavor, especially when cooked on the bone, humble chicken thighs deserve a status promotion in the chicken world. While boneless thighs are endlessly flexible in recipes, subbing in for boneless breasts or tenders, bone-in thighs call out to be center stage. So today I celebrate another great choice for supper, a cut that can stand up to slow or fast cooking, skin on or skin off, enjoyed with a fork and knife or with your fingers—no matter the method, always moist and juicy. Even with a deeper flavor profile, thighs are still an inviting canvas for assertive sauces, like the following doctored up garlicky barbecue sauce. While I love to roast whole heads of garlic to mash up into a luscious spread for warm bread or as a base for sweetly pungent salad vinaigrettes, it’s easy to find already roasted garlic paste in a jar. So if time is short or the day is hot—no harm, no foul if you fall back on more convenience (since I’m already speed scratching by using one of my favorite bottled sauces). The key is getting that punch of garlic and the fresh zestiness of lemon peel into the sauce. And really slathering up those chicken thighs so they’re dripping with goodness. It’s time to invite those bone-in beauties to your next backyard cookout!

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

It’s time folks. May Day is officially done and as far as I’m concerned, it’s tolling the start of eating with our hands. Outside. On the deck, porch, or in the grass. In the boat, on the dock, in the woods. Little kids and big kids alike, I say chuck the forks and let’s eat everything that we can carry outside, or better yet, cook outside. Sweet, buttery corn-on-the-cob, frosty popsicles, and juicy chicken drumsticks! Watermelon, berries, and thick drippy burgers… all we need is a big roll of paper towels (or slightly damp washcloths, if you want to be green about it—my mom’s favorite kind of napkin). I’m practically full just thinking about being freed from the tyranny of dinner inside, free to move the “table” someplace fun. The promise of warm breezes and sunny evenings is working me up and I’m gathering all my favorite go-to ingredients in my head.

So at my house (or cabin), if I want to please every single person called to the supper table, it’s gonna be chicken drumsticks and/or bone-in chicken thighs. Whether roasted fast in a super-hot oven at home or char-grilled on the tiny Weber perched on a flat rock outside the cabin, those meaty chunks are always eaten with our fingers. And I’m not so choosy that I’m compelled to home-make every glaze or sauce—I’m way okay with good jarred barbecue sauces, the sweet-spicier the better. But I’ve got a kid who’s not okay with conventional American barbecue sauce, so I’ve got a handful of easy off the shelf combinations that still deliver those savory-slightly sweet-tangy elements that meld magically with deliciously dark chicken—even better if the element of smoke is thrown in. I’ve doctored up Asian barbecue sauce—fragrantly pungent hoisin—with a spoonful of creamy almond butter, to slather on the meat just a few minutes before serving. I’ve stirred up mango chutney with a dollop of Dijon mustard (talk about fusion food!) or along the same lines, blended local maple syrup with coarse country-style mustard, to make a glaze and dipping sauce. Honey, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice, apricot jam, horseradish… take a stab at saucing mixology the next time you dream of crispy drumsticks. Just start with nice meaty legs, roast or grill till nearly done, then sauce away.

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

I just landed back home after a week in California, bounced around in an unseasonal—well, maybe not entirely—snowstorm. I do live in Minnesota, where conventional gardening wisdom is to wait to plant until after Memorial Day. As I stopped to pick up a gallon of milk, I sadly shook my head at the local garden center outlet under construction in the grocery parking lot. Today icicles are dripping from the eaves of the portable green house.

Just 24 hours ago I was sitting in the sun outside the San Francisco Ferry Building, an amazing revitalized portal to the bay. Ten years ago the historic, but long neglected Ferry Building was renovated to house a public market—transformed into a vibrant celebration of local food purveyors and sustainably grown produce, meats, cheeses, bread, chocolate, and wines. The gentle climate of California makes it the perfect incubator for agriculture—if I live in the breadbasket of the U.S., California is the salad bar. So the whole concept of urban agriculture—city dwellers embracing food they can buy directly from the source, or growing it themselves in communal gardens—organically springs from the Golden State. The mission of everything that happens at the Ferry Building is summed up through CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture), a program dedicated to cultivating sustainable food systems and educating everyone who shops at the farmers market on the outdoor plaza, eats and shops inside, and the kids who learn about growing and selling their own harvests from school or neighborhood gardens. Green living is part of the fabric of the city.

So I’m back in my own city, dreaming about planting my own garden or finding any locally grown produce. But guess what? Earth Day (April 22) is nearly here, the harbinger of warm hazy days filled with outdoor living. And my own community will celebrate our 7th Annual RITE (Really into the Earth) of Spring. What’s really cool are the unique, family-friendly activities that underscore how we can easily live like Californians. Pick up free tree saplings, herb seedlings, faucet aerators, or score a chance to win a water conserving (and money saving) low-flow showerhead. Or be part of a drawing to win a gas grill if I sign up for online utility billing and payment. But my favorite feature is the Free Market. In the spirit of the reduce/reuse/recycle mantra, the market is a place to bring unwanted household items to be traded for someone else’s cast-offs. Truly, one man’s trash is another one’s treasure. On the heels of the RITE of Spring will be a ribbon-cutting for the face-lifted Mahtomedi Area Community Gardens, sporting new fences and a brand new sign. Every community can grow great food and rally the cry for being good stewards of our resources—check out your own Earth Day celebrations. And have an excellent time modeling better ways to live for our kids!

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

You may live in sunnier climes, but for those of us in the Midwest (and I’ve heard farther east), spring has yet to have sprung. Even though Easter falls at different times each year, in my head it’s the harbinger of fresh, warm breezes and the guarantee that gardening is ahead. I’m a spring baby, born in early April on the west coast, so by now winter is supposed to be over. But this year, the breezes still have a bite and the Mahtomedi community garden plots are sleeping under a blanket of frozen white—with our bright blue rain barrels a cheerful blip on the otherwise bleak landscape. So the unexpected arrival of an enthusiastic garden promoter has been a highlight of a grey month.

Emily Hayne, a locally grown gal who graduated from Mahtomedi High School in 2010, is deep into a major in Environmental Studies at The College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota (just a stone’s throw from where Just BARE headquarters is located). Looking for a relevant summer internship, she found the Mahtomedi kids garden program and won us over with her passion for green living. And her plan for the 12 weeks she’ll be with the garden program is filled with fun and unique activities for the two age groups she’ll dedicate time to—kindergarten through 2^nd grade and 3^rd through 5^th graders. I’m pretty sure that if you’ve got elementary school kids kicking around this summer, you might want to take a peek at what she’s going to kick into action.

Emily’s small town background (yeah, Mahtomedi is pretty small, sandwiched between two bigger towns) and the diversity of her interdisciplinary college program makes her a phenomenally perfect fit with the burgeoning efforts to immerse our kids in creative outdoor living and conservation. She’ll not only get the children outside to get their hands dirty, but she’ll oversee a great lunchtime program all about reducing waste. The children will weigh what’s left of their lunches every day—separating true garbage from whatever can be composted. With the goal of reducing their waste to nearly nothing by summer’s end. Science, math, reading, learning to follow directions, and realizing the importance of being good stewards of the environment we live in… I can think of a lot of grown-ups who would benefit from sitting cross-legged in the grass with the kids this season! Here’s a quick overview of some of my favorite topics:

–Plant growth and development, with a close look at what’s native to our area—and why some types of plants are considered invasive. And the basics of water, nutrients, sunlight, and air to make plants grow well (sort of sounds like what humans need, too.)

–How there’s harmony between the environment, plants, animals, and humans—and why we need to maintain that balance.

–Recycling organic matter—that composting piece and trying to reduce our waste. I’m working on my new “composting drawer” in my own kitchen.

–The fun, benefits, and danger of bugs—this is one of my favorites, as those nasty Japanese beetles ate up my garden last year.

–What to eat to be healthy—this is my passion, as we decide what to grow, harvest, and enjoy in the kitchen. Studies consistently show that kids who help with a family garden are better, healthier eaters.

–Taking the kids on nature exploration walks. Emily has a little lesson about trees and how we can tell the age of trees by the rings (each ring represents one year) in the trunk and what the weather conditions were each year of a tree’s life.

Keep an eye on the Just BARE Facebook page this summer for Emily’s reports about what the kids are doing—it might inspire you to play and explore in your own yard.

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

I don’t care what people say about Hallmark holidays. I absolutely love Valentine’s Day—and in my opinion, we could use a lot more days in the year devoted to being nice to each other. I suppose we shouldn’t need to be told to be generous and caring, but having an annual day to give flowers, chocolate, and little notes to people we care about can only be good. So I’ve got my little padded envelopes stuffed with chocolate bars for my best girlfriends (and my boys in college) headed to the post, and a big bag of those slightly obnoxious Valentine heart candies stashed in my tote to share at work this week. I’ve never liked those candies, but they’re so much a part of our American “have a nice day,” elementary school Valentine’s fun, it almost feels like the day isn’t complete unless we’ve eaten a handful.

So the big question around Valentine’s is to eat out or eat in? Any excuse to go out is welcome, but to be honest, eating out on the busiest restaurant night of the year is disappointing at best. Overcrowded spaces, harried staff, overburdened kitchens… a recipe for mediocrity. And that’s not what you want when you’re waiting for a treat. I’ve learned the hard way that the best way to my sweeties’ hearts is by cooking myself. And to be honest, even though I’m the chef of the night, I’m so much happier. I guess I’m a control freak, but if I plan the menu, decorate the table (even if that only means using cloth napkins and sprinkling those silly heart candies around some lit candles), and cook something we all love, the night is about us—not restaurant madness. Even though it’s technically still winter, this year I’m taking a few extra minutes to make spring-inspired lasagna. A special occasion lasagna, one that isn’t all about a heavy, gooey mess of melted cheese. This one is more refined, though no more difficult to assemble. And since Valentine’s falls on a weeknight, there’s time to quickly prepare all the parts and layer them up on plates with no anxiety about extensive prep ahead of time. Find a nice crusty loaf of bread to serve alongside (with a little dish of good olive oil and flavored balsamic vinegar to dip it in) and toss a sprightly salad of baby kale leaves, dressed in a tangy vinaigrette. There’s nothing hard about this menu, it’s all in how it’s served. A recipe for special evenings, all year long. Oh, and don’t forget the chocolate—French silk ice cream with hot fudge sauce anyone?