Turkey Farming 101
While you're waiting for the turkey to get done, the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association would like to tell you a little more about the origins of your entree. It's released 10 videos at Youtube.com/MinnesotaTurkey, creating a sort of "Turkey Farming 101" overview of raising turkeys today. Video titles are:
• Raising Turkeys: A Family Business
• Raising Turkeys in Barns
• Caring for Young Turkeys
• Feeding Healthy Turkeys
• A Focus on Bird Health
• A Healthy Living Environment
• The Scoop on Turkey Poop
• The Cost of Care
• Market Bound
• Avian Influenza and Me
Each video is around two minutes long and also posted at MinnesotaTurkey.com/turkey-farming-101. About 450 family farmers from Minnesota raise an average of about 45 million birds annually, although production was down slightly in 2015 due to highly pathogenic bird flu. Despite that, Minnesota remains the top U.S. producer of turkeys.
Twin Sweeties, a la Norway
Inspired by the tradition of Bergen, Norway, re-creating itself as a Gingerbread City each year, Norway House in Minneapolis is creating cityscapes of Minneapolis and St. Paul out of spiced dough and sweet decors. Or, rather bakers from professionals to amateurs have pitched in to create winter skylines in cookie form. The Gingerbread Wonderland, or Pepperkake Twin Cities, is open in the Norway House Galleri until Jan. 15 during business hours. Norway House, a nonprofit organization, opened earlier this year with a mission to serve the greater Norwegian community in the Midwest as "a convener, collaborator, and a platform from which programs and issues impacting contemporary Norway and its relationship with America can be explored." Norway House is at 913 E. Franklin Av. Hours are: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is closed on Mondays; visit norwayhouse.org.
Cochon555 has 2016 date
If you like pork, you might want to pencil in Feb. 21, 2016. That's when Cochon555 returns to Minneapolis. The signature culinary competition is dedicated to bringing awareness to socially responsible farming. Last year's sold-out event featured five local chefs cooking five heritage breed pigs, nose to tail, in a friendly competition with lots of samples. Chef Thomas Boemer of Corner Table in Minneapolis took top honors. More details to come at cochon555.com.
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