A taste of Asia

The Minnesota Historical Society Press and Twin Cities Public Television have co-produced a 30-minute documentary based on one of MHSP's recent books, "Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875," by Phyllis Louise Harris with Raghavan Iyer. The documentary, made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, is narrated by Iyer and includes interviews and profiles with business owners and culinary professionals such as Supenn Harrison of Sawatdee, Reiko Weston of Fuji Ya, Ann Kim of Pizzeria Lola and Thom Pham, among others. The show will air on tptMN at 7 p.m. May 26, and at 1 a.m., 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. June 2.

Go a little wild

The Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice Council's annual "Get Wild With Wild Rice" recipe contest is looking for creative ways to use our state grain. Up to 16 finalists will be chosen in a taste test by culinary specialists. They'll compete for a $500 prize awarded by a panel of celebrity judges. All finalists' recipes will be posted in September for an online vote for the people's choice winner, with a $250 prize. The deadline for recipe submission is June 14. For all the details, visit www.mnwildrice.org.

Fewer GMOs at MM

Mississippi Market, with two co-ops in St. Paul, has announced that it's strengthened its stance against genetically modified foods, or GMOs, by committing to not bringing in any new items that contain "GMO-likely" ingredients. Those ingredients currently are limited to a few approved crops, including corn, sugar beets, soy, canola, cotton, alfalfa, papaya and summer squash, the co-op said in a press release. To learn more about GMO legislation, visit Right to Know Minnesota, a coalition working to pass Minnesota legislation requiring labeling of foods produced using genetically modified organisms. www.righttoknowmn.org.

Literally cool food phrases

Eat24, a food delivery service, has in its spare time cobbled a list of hidden meanings for 12 common food phrases. Think: bring home the bacon. Our favorite is "cool as a cucumber," which apparently is literally true. The blog entry notes that the inside of a cucumber is actually 20 degrees cooler than its outside. Who knew? For more conversational gambits, visit http://bit.ly/1095LsQ.

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