I’m a relatively new North Dakotan, having moved to Fargo from Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN in October 2011. As a lifelong city kid, I often felt like a fish out of water upon our move. Fargo feels like home, now, a year and a half later and it’s hard to imagine living anywhere else. Join me on my blog, Like A Fish Out Of Fargo, as I explore the most populated city in the 4th least populated state, through adventures in food.
I enjoy sharing my home cooking experiments, stories integrating memoir and food, dining experiences, and road trips. There’s nothing I love more than exploring the small towns around me and stopping in a local cafe or dive bar.
Herstory
Adopted from South Korea as an infant, I was raised by a Scandinavian family in the South Metro area of the Twin Cities. For as long as I can remember, I read as many cookbooks as Nancy Drew and looked forward to Saturday with Rick Bayless on PBS. Twelve years later, I watched him win Top Chef Masters. And to my parent’s dismay, I became infatuated with Anthony Bourdain in his “Cook’s Tour” days. Still am.
My curiosity about food arose from a steady diet of Shake N Bake and well-done steaks. I never saw a real clove of garlic or onion in its true form until I experimented in my own kitchen during my college years. Ever since, I have pursued cooking and eating new foods with a relentless passion.
In addition to cooking in my own kitchen, I briefly volunteered in Spoonriver Restaurant’s kitchen one summer where I learned to think of food as medicine. Soon after, I began taking classes in Western Herbalism where I completed Lise Wolff’s 10-month Three Seasons of Herbal Wisdom, apprenticed with Wolff, joined the North Country Herbalist Guild, and attended several classes taught by Cynthia Thomas and Matthew Wood. The excitement that arises from turning local weeds into medicine never ceases to thrill.
Also a lifelong lover of all things food, I finally launched my first blog, An Herbalist Eats in April of 2011, following a trip through Central Mexico with friends. I have since become a member of the MN Food Bloggers (now, Fortify Food Community), connected with the growing North Dakota Bloggers, occasionaly linked in the Heavy Table’s Daily Churns, and contributed to 20Food.net, a now, defunct blogging project.
Currently, I am a full-time student at my local community culinary program. Last summer, I wrote a series about cooking with my Bluebird Gardens CSA box in Simple Good & Tasty, an online Twin Cities food publication dedicated to all things local, organic, fresh, and fair. Now, I am sharing my adventures in culinary school. I also occasionally contribute to the The High Plains Reader.
I am excited to connect with an even broader network of foodies (and by “foodie” I merely mean anyone who loves food) throughout the greater Fargo-Moorhead community and beyond.
Ethical Matters
All photos and text are copyrighted and my own intellectual property. Contact me directly to use my photos. If you ask, I will most likely say, “yes.” Every once in a while, I Google myself and file DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaints for stolen text and photography.
I am not paid or sponsored to write restaurant reviews by any publication or company. If I accept gift certificates or free product from a restaurant or company reviewed, I will disclose such information.
Through my writing, I strive for authenticity, always.
Contact Me
* I’m now on Twitter! Follow me @JeniEats
* For questions, comments, suggestions, and opportunities, email me at:
acoustic dot 88 at gmail dot com
Hi Jeni,
I was born and raised in Fredonia, ND and was surprised and pleased when you mentioned the knoephla soup at the Home Plate cafe. Most of the families in and around Fredonia are German from Russia descendants It was fun growing up there. I grew up on a farm and have fond memories of my parents and relatives butchering, canning, making their own sausages and of course eating lots of German food.
I’m actually making a German meal for my co-workers in a few weeks and ran across your site when I was looking up German items to use for the menu I’m putting together for the lunch.
. (If you ever get a chance to get down to the South Central part of ND you’ll find restaurants in the towns of Ashley and Strasburg with more types of German food offered).
I’m glad you liked the Knoephla soup
Hi Rhonda, Thanks for taking the time to comment. I found Fredonia to be very beautiful and thriving. Over a year later, it’s still the best knoephla I’ve ever tasted. I hope the winter ends soon because I’m planning to take a roadtrip to the South Central part of North Dakota and chase German-Russian foods and take photos of the North Dakota prairie. I will have to visit Ashley and Strasburg. Hope you have a wonderful German meal with your co-workers!