First Local StoryCorps story on KAXE

Tune in this Monday morning at 6:50 for the first locally produced StoryCorps segment. You'll hear an excerpt of the conversation that Rick and Kathleen Blake of Grand Rapids had in the StoryCorps airstream trailer. They took their 40 minutes to remember their son Michael, who passed away when he was 8 from leukemia.

Kathleen tells the wonderful story of how telling her "Micahel the Elephant" story helped Michael get through his treatments.

It's the Fall Fundraiser at KAXE - the Northern Observer. What better way to support local media like KAXE that gives you real stories that matter. If you pledge your support at $10/month - $120/year - you can get "Listening is An Act of Love" - the first StoryCorps book as an EXTRA thank-you gift. Pledge online or call 218-326-1234/800-662-5799 to pledge your support.

And stay tuned to 91.7KAXE for more local StoryCorps stories. You'll hear the people in your community telling the stories that mean the most to them.
-Heidi

Holtan Wrecks KAXE Kitchen in Soup Face-Off

Yes, it's true! Producer Heidi Holtan made a colossal mess in the kitchen in a vain attempt to win KAXE's first-ever soup throwdown.
She omitted that fact in her blog post below. Here's what happened:
On Thursday the staff realized there was no food scheduled for lunch on Friday of KAXE's Great Moments pledge drive.
Fresh from a weekend watching the Food Network during down time at the NFCB conference, Heidi and I agreed to create soups from ingredients found around the station. We could each bring an ingredient from home. Don Boese (a founding member of the local gourmet club) would judge the soups!
I brought a jar of home-canned tomatoes.
Heidi brought boullion cubes. She also claimed the entire contents of the KAXE freezer for her own.
I scrounged some garlic and part of an onion (left over from Chef Charlie's visit the previous day) from the fridge and asked Scott Hall if I could use some of his peanut butter. He said yes.
Heidi stole a frozen White Castle hamburger from Rev Dave. Rev Dave had written clear instructions on his burger box (something about death to transgressors) indicating that he did not want to share.
I browned the onions and garlic, seasoned them with curry powder and red pepper flakes (liberated from a puddle of honey in the lazy susan in the cupboard), added the tomatoes, a little water, peanut butter and a can of coconut milk (from the back of another cupboard--it had been there for a year, maybe more).
Heidi thawed the stolen hamburger in the microwave, whizzed it in the blender, added water and boullion, heated it up, and whizzed it again.
During the second whizzing, the burger water WHOOSHED out the top of the blender, across the counter, and splattered the walls! The entire kitchen was a disaster!
As you probably read in Heidi's blog post below, judge Don Boese liked the burger soup and declared the contest a tie.
He faulted the crunchy peanut butter in my soup and, although I thought the curry powder might curry favor, it did not. The soup was a bit spicy for Don. "They should be eaten together," he asserted. "The mild, all-American flavor [of a pulverized and watered down White Castle hamburger] is complemented by the spicy flavor of the peanut butter soup."
Was the curry powder too overwhelming? Will the kitchen ever recover? Should we find another judge?
We'll find out during the next KAXE food throwdown!

Chateau Blanc Recipe from the KAXE Throwdown

If you didn't hear the KAXE Cafeteria Soup Throwdown last Friday, Maggie and I were given the following instructions:

Make a soup from the ingredients currently in the Kitchen

Bring 1 ingredient from home

Wow the judge (Don Boese)

My ingredient from home was Beef Bouillon cubes. And I came up with what turned out to be a surprisingly good soup. Some call it the White Castle Soup, I like to call it the Chateau Blanc Soup. *

Here's the recipe:
1 frozen white castle burger (SORRY DAVE!)
1 beef bouillon cube
3 cups of water
day old French bread
butter
1/2 cup onions
2 tsp red pepper flakes
dash of salt

Cut crusty french bread into bite size pieces. Heat butter, onions and red pepper flakes in a sauce pan. As it gets hot and bubbles, add french bread and fry up until browned. Set aside.

Follow directions on the white castle box for thawing/cooking in the microwave. Plop burger in a blender. Puree for 1 minute. Add to pan you cooked the french bread in.....add water - continue to stir. As it begins to bubble, put back in the blender to further puree (it was a little tough getting the bun completely pureed).

Put back in sauce pan and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve with breadcrumbs sprinkled liberally on top. Pay no attention to the terrible color and tell no one what you put in it! you'll be surprised by the reaction! Don Boese reacted "It is very American! Surprising!"

The only negative thing to come out of the 1st ever KAXE Cafeteria Throwdown was that no winner was declared. Don said he thought the two soups complemented each other so well he couldn't choose!!! Maggie and I will have to go head to head once again to find out WHO the KAXE Cafeteria Head Chef will be! Stay tuned for more....

*I don't recommend trying this one at home.

Christmas book suggestions from Heidi

It's hard for me to choose just a few books, but here are some Minnesota books that really stand out from the last year or two of interviews/reviews that might be good for gifts this holiday season.

Travel books:
Catherine Watson's books are wonderful - she is the former travel editor of the Star Tribune and has collected her essays in two volumes "Roads Less Traveled" and "Home on the Road". Her writing is like sneaking into her suitcase and joining the trip.

Minnesota/Midwest history:
Barns 0f Minnesota by photographer Doug Ohman and story by Will Weaver. This is more than just a coffeetable book, this is a great story accompanied by amazing photos that chronicle our state and our vanishing barns. His other books "Cabins of Minnesota" "Courthouses of Minnesota" "Churches of Minnesota" and "Schoolhouses of Minnesota" are wonderful as well.

900 Miles from Nowhere: Voices from the Homestead Frontier by Steven R. Kinsella. It's the chronicle, through photos, diaries and letters, of the people who came to the Midwest for a better life.

Sweetland - this is the independent film based on Will Weaver's short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat". If you haven't seen it, run - don't walk - to the store for a copy. I just took the time to watch the extras and I fell in love with it all over again. The rerelease of Will's short story (along with others) is good too.

Non-Fiction:

Broken by William Cope Moyers. William is the son of veteran journalist Bill Moyers and the vice president of External Affairs at Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota. Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption is gritty and honestly shows the allure of addiction.

The Dog Says How by Kevin Kling. It's a collection of his stories heard on NPR's All Things Considered. Kevin tells a story like no one else can - with a Minnesota twist.


Fiction:
Torch by Cheryl Strayed. A family story of how you keep going when you lose the person that keeps you together. KAXE has a bit part in this one, the mother is a volunteer programmer.

Keeping the House by Minnesota native Ellen Baker. This novel is set in WWI and WWII and examines the roles of women during wartime.

The View from Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik. Set in Minnesota beginning in the 70's, it's the tale of Joe Andresen, a real good guy. This book has sex, drugs AND rock and roll!

Novels for Young Adults:
Will Weaver's Defect - the story of 15 year old boy who was born "defective" and is taunted by bullies until he starts going to an alternative school.
William Durbin's El Lector. Set in Florida, Bella wants to be a lector at a tobacco just like her grandfather. He reads books and newspapers to the cigar rollers until machines take over and the lector isn't needed anymore.
Alison McGhee's Falling Boy - Teenager Joseph is paralyzed and working in a bakery in the heat of the Minneapolis summer. A young girl, Enzo, sees the world through superheroes asking questions like "Did you really rescue your mother from a fate worse than death on a cliff overlooking the sea?"
Mary Casanova's The Klipfish Code. A historical novel set in WWII in Norway, 12 year old Marit's life changes drastically when Norway is occupied by Nazi Germany.

What were your favorite books of the year?