Archives for October 2015

Chef on the Block: Simply Coffeehouse

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Chef Doug Tesar, Simply Coffeehouse

By Inspire(d) • Originally published in the Fall 2012 Inspire(d)

Simply Coffeehouse and Eatery in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, is right at home in the charming downtown Blackhawk Avenue area. From the high ceiling interior to the rustic furnishings, Simply is a great place to stop and take a break. Part coffeehouse, part cafe and bakery, owner Doug Tesar’s eatery has become a local favorite and a must-stop for out-of-towners like us (and soon, hopefully, you too).

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They serve up an ever-changing breakfast menu, and for lunch, offer homemade soups, salads, and sandwiches – seriously – as big as your head! From Simply grilled cheese on housemade bread to the Kick-N-Roast Beef made with their own roasted meat, the options are seemingly endless. Always suckers for chicken salad, we gave Simply’s a try – it certainly did not disappoint. It was – simply put (haha) – delightful: a wonderful made-from-scratch mixture of sweet, crunch, and salt that complimented the chunky chicken perfectly (that’s only half the sandwich pictured below!). We suggest you also try their chocolate frappe, plus the cookies, bars, and cupcakes are killer, too, and often sell out by noon! So get there early, curl up with a coffee in a street-front window or with a magazine (may we suggest Inspire(d)?) by the giant aquarium where the “pet” (and giant) fish swims happily every day, and enjoy some time for yourself. Or stop by for an early morning coffee before hitting the river and grab lunch to take for a picnic in the park – it’s simple!

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doug1Name & Age: Doug Tesar
Restaurant: Simply Coffeehouse and Eatery

Formal Training or Live and learn?
Live and Learn… From short order cook, to sous chef, and somewhere in there a food and beverage purchasing agent. I’m now owner and operator of my own restaurant!

What’s your most significant memory of cooking?
I would say my earliest (professional) memory was cooking stir fry and broiled tilapia for Bill Clinton and his campaign staff. Recently, it would be an auction for the hospital to raise money for their hospice program. I and my superstar helper, Carly, were auctioned off to cook and serve a group of 6 to 8 people in their home for $3,400! (What to make right? Haha!)

baristaWhy did you decide to become a chef?
I really didn’t decide, I just started off on dishes and kept on rolling ­– before I knew it, I was getting moved up in positions, making money, and just really enjoyed doing it.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever made?
Sea Bass with a mustard and balsamic crust.

Do you have any monumental food fails you’d like to share with us?
Sauerbraten with an 18 pound prime rib!

How about secret food indulgences you don’t normally talk about? Will you tell us?
Cheap hot dogs, peanut butter on a spoon, and mac and cheese without the butter and milk.

What’s your favorite…

Ingredient: Course salt and pepper
Dish: Broiled Scallops
Cooking Tool: Rubber spatula
Vegetable: Corn
Fruit: Strawberry

How to Make a Paper Wreath

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How to Make a (our) Paper Wreath

When I think “fall” I think leaves, Thanksgiving dinner, football (or, moreover, marching bands!), sweaters and scarves…and wreaths! What is it about fall that makes us think about wreathes? It’s a funny thing. No matter the reason, it seemed about time to make up some sort of fall paper wreath, don’t you think?

So, armed with some random art supplies, an old cereal box, and a paper grocery bag, I came up with this! I think it’s cute. It’s not huge, for sure, but a collection of them would look pretty adorable! Enjoy!

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Supplies:

Cardboard cereal box, flattened
Paper grocery bag
Streamers or tissue paper or fun-colored paper napkins
Tape
Glue
Scissors
Pipe cleaners
Plastic beads (as many beads as flowers you’d like to make for your wreath(s)
Paper punch (heavy duty is best)
Bowl for drawing a circle (the wreath shape)
Ribbon or string for hanging

Outline your wreath shape – use the top of the bowl for the outside, then flip it over to make the inner circle. You’ll end up with what looks like a wreath outline on your cereal box. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. You can adjust as you cut, and once you wrap it, the “perfectness” or lack thereof doesn’t show as much.

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Cut out the wreath base.

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You’ll end up with something like this!

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Make paper strips out of the paper bag.

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Start wrapping the wreath base with your paper strips. Tape one end to the back of the base and wrap around, layering it slightly left as you wrap (so you progress around the whole thing eventually). Once you get to the end of the strip, secure it to the back (you might have to trim it to make sure the end hits the back), and move on to the next strip. I used glue and tape to make sure it all held.

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Occasionally you’ll have some spots that don’t seem to want to make the corner. Just squish them down and fold over. It’ll work out in the end!

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Repeat until the entire wreath base is covered.

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Time to make your flowers! I started with some streamers I had left over from our unicorn piñata tutorial! Fold the streamer over itself over and over again (not accordion style, but like you’re making a loose roll – see the green streamer photo below). Then cut the edges so you’re left with a stack of tiny pieces of tissue paper (in turn, you could start with tissue paper and cut that similarly into tiny pieces). ask a question I make some of my other flowers out of orange paper napkins (hey, use what you’ve got, right?)! The pieces should be about 2×2 inches.

I made orange, green, and pink flowers. You make whatever colors you’d like (and post the pics on Facebook tagging Inspire(d) Media)!

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Arrange your beads over your piles of paper to decide which colors you like best.

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Decide which part of your wreath you want at the top. Make a little notch so you remember (this is also the place where you’ll attach your ribbon or string for hanging).

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Using your heavy-duty paper punch, punch a hole in the middle of the first pile of papers.

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Cut a bit of pipe cleaner (it doesn’t have to be green, although green looks like a stem). This is to attach the bead to the flower and the flower to the wreath.

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String the pipe cleaner through the bead, then the two side of the pipe cleaner through the hole in the stack of papers. The two ends of the pipe cleaner will be sticking out the back.

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Punch a hole near the edge of the wreath (so you can attach the pipe cleaner through both sides).

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Twist the pipe cleaner ends together to attach the flower to the base.

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Ruffle up the flower a bit! I trimmed around the edges to make it more circular, and also cut into the =center a bit to create “petals”. Then I just, as I said, ruffled the edges to make it look more flower-like! (I had to cut into the paper napkin flowers a bit more to make them look more flowery.)

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Repeat for the remaining flowers (as many as you’d like to make), until they’re all attached.

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Attach the ribbon where you made your top-of-the-wreath notch earlier, leaving a long string for hanging.

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And you’re done! Hang it up and enjoy! Obviously, the back isn’t the prettiest, so this won’t work over windows, but would look great over doors, at walls, etc.

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Like this paper project? Check out all our other projects here!

I Might Be a Mountain Biker

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By Aryn Henning Nichols

I’m standing at the edge of a steep single-track slope – c’mon, let’s be honest: it’s a cliff – with a mountain bike between my legs. I’ve freaked myself out and am stuck looking down.

ArynJosie“Eeeee! I can’t do it!” I shout ahead to my totally rad and more experienced riding leader (the ever-awesome, Josie – pictured at right with me).

“It’s okay to walk,” she says.

No it’s not. I can do it.

Trust your body, trust your bike. Trust your body, trust your bike. Trust your body, trust your bike. This mantra floods my head as I climb aboard to ride to certain death.

“Woohoo!” I shout ahead. “I did it!” I hear a “wooo!” back and we keep riding.

The next day, I don’t hesitate at the cliff. And it’s amazing.

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Mountain biking is something I’ve always wanted to be good at. I mean…it’s a pretty badass sport. Those craggy rocks and towering bluffs are some killer personal trainers, and running an endless “trust your body, trust your bike” mantra is, literally, meditation.

The amazing Benji Nichols (my husband) has known this for decades, so I don’t know why it’s taken me almost a decade into our relationship to give it a fighting chance (okay: running a magazine, having a baby, watching all the Netflix…those are probably the reasons).

But no more! Over the past month-ish, I’ve been renting mountain bikes from Decorah Bicycles to see if I can somehow be a badass-mountain-biking-bitch.

ArynPinesHere are 5 things I’ve learned (spoiler: lessons may also be applied to life):

  1. You’re going to crash. Once you get the first crash done, the next one doesn’t seem so scary.
  2. Uphill climbs are so hard! But they get better if you keep working at it.
  3. Using your body AND mind to navigate roots, rocks, twists, and dips is an amazing experience.
  4. You might run over a dead mouse every now and then. It’s okay. Get over it and move on.
  5. If you can’t get through a section of trail right away, go back and try again. And again. Victory is exhilarating! (Don’t be alarmed if you accidentally shout, “F#*k yeah!” Swearing is acceptable encouraged.)

CrashCrashBandaid

After a week or two of riding by myself and with Josie, I went out with Benji (yikes, I was nervous!). I had ridden with him probably five times before probably five years ago, and I really wanted him to think I was kicking ass. Of course, I crashed. But that was after I kicked ass.

ArynBike

We climbed up and rolled down the challenging single-track of Decorah and I was proud of myself. There were many “woohoos” and lots of sweat. At the top of Van Peenen Prairie, I looked at Benji, smiled – excited – and said, “I think I might be a mountain biker!”

He looked at me and snorted. I expected one of his usual snarky remarks, but instead he threw a hand up for a high five and said, “I’ve got news for you: You are a mountain biker.”

F#*k yeah!

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Wanna ride with me? Let’s rent bikes together (it’s a great way to figure out what you like to ride, or if you like to ride)! Or join Josie and Travis at Decorah Bicycles for their weekly Sunday FWD Rides. Get more details and sign up here! Ride on, you unicorns!