Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout

Yesterday Chad and I scored an unexpected find: we discovered spicy locally made You Betcha Kimchi for sale at the NE Farmer's Market. I'm happy to be on the kimchi bandwagon. In fact, I'm a fan of food trends in general. Even when they are silly and annoying, they often increase our awareness of and access to foods that are new to us. Okay, the trend to put pumpkin flavor in everything may be out of control, but it's also become a rather comforting and familiar sign of fall. As far as I know, no one is selling pumpkin-flavored kimchi. Yet. But last fall I did try some acorn squash with kimchi and it was pretty good, So maybe there is some kimchi and pumpkin combination that will work...ooh that could be the flavor I enter in next year's Lay's potato chip contest ! While I'm happy that the joys of kimchi are now being brought to the world at large, I'm not a kimchi fan because it's trendy. I've been loving it for over twenty years, long bef...

"Do something uncomfortable today. By stepping out of your box, you don't have to settle for what you are--you get to create who you want to become"-- Howard Walstein This quote greeted me on Facebook last Wednesday, posted by my awesome friend Sandy. It's hard to imagine something more appropriate, as I was about to do something that made me uncomfortable in many, many, ways (including a little physical discomfort, squished in the van for a four hour trip):  I was off on a road trip up north, WAY up north, to act in my first murder mystery dinner theater.   Those of you who have known me for a long time probably get what a stretch this was for me, for several reasons: I don't enjoy interactive theater or audience participation, at least not as a member of the audience. When confronted with audience interaction (which only happens if I have misunderstood the nature of the performance) I try to sink in my seat and pray I don't get chosen, without sinking...

Chad and I have lived in our house in NE Minneapolis for fifteen years, as of this May. Sadly, I totally spaced this momentous anniversary, and missed the opportunity to commemorate it with a party, or an outing, or even a toast. Oh well, maybe next year we can do something for our "Sweet Sixteen." I know fifteen years isn't necessarily that long in the grand scheme of things, or even homes, but it should be long enough to get to know a neighborhood pretty well. So I'm often surprised when I realize there are still so many things (and by things I usually mean bars) about my little corner of the world that I still don't know.  Today I made a small dent in decreasing my ignorance by doing a bit of exploring on the trails along the Mississippi about two miles from our house. I won't spend too much time trying to write about geography and location and all that jazz. Given my lack of understanding of these things, it would just be frustrating and confusing for al...

When I was a kid, my mom would joke that she would send me to the "fox farm" when I was being too whiny about being sick or injured. Or at least, I think she was joking...since I don't really know what the fox farm was, maybe they just never had an opening? I just always assumed the "fox farm" was like the "glue factory" where old horses were sent. (Remember, this was in the days before Fox News so the "fox farm" was not the facility where plastic-looking Fox Channel news anchors are grown.) I don't know how my mom came up with the fox farm idea, or if anyone before or since has used the term. The google has yielded no answers. But whatever her inspiration, my mom got her point across, with the traditional Colleen Luedtke mixture of humor and fear. I'm afraid I am very close to having to turn myself into the fox farm. A little over a week ago, I somehow pulled a hip/butt muscle and it is doing me in. (I have no idea what this muscle...

Last weekend unexpectedly became the "Weekend of the Lay's Potato Chip Taste-Off." It was actually supposed to be the "Weekend of Snyder Family Camping" but I wimped out and Chad and I ended up sleeping in the comfort of the Snyder Homestead instead of in a tent. (I should clarify, my camping wimpiness was NOT caused by Lay's potato chips). I did rough it enough to use the "The Snyder Family Latrine" a few times, though, so I have a little outdoorsy cred (latrine use also NOT directly related to Lay's chip consumption).   My chip obsession was indirectly sparked by Snyder family bonding. I didn't even know that Lay's was having a new chip flavor contest , until I saw some of the flavors, cappuccino and wasabi ginger, on sale at Target a couple of weeks ago. I was bemused and intrigued, and thought they would be fun to bring along to the upcoming Snyder socializing. I figured they would inspire at least a few amusing conversation snipp...

For the record, I'm not really a bird fan. I don't wish them ill or anything, (I don't even eat them) but in general, they don't do much for me, either in reality or symbolically. And some of them I do actively dislike, most notably the geese that poop all over walking paths, stop city traffic, and try to attack me when I'm running. But I really love being in the one-act show "Bird Icon" (for the record, "for the record" is something my character, Claire, says in the play.) From our first read-through for "Bird Icon" I thought it was an amazing script, but couldn't tell if I was just bedazzled by the thrill of it. After all, I'm involved in an original production where I have a key role written, at least in part, with me in mind. So wait, pause the action for a moment...how did I get this opportunity? In one of those rather labyrinthine chain of events that would almost make me believe in the providence of theater deities an...