Two Minneapolis women launch Tango Chimichurri

‘A sauce for everyone,’ it is sold at the Minneapolis Farmers Market

by Tesha M. Christensen

Every Friday night, you can find Standish-Ericsson residents Mariana Leimontas and Suzie Holzinger at the GIA Kitchen in St. Paul chopping, dicing and mixing.

They are making the Tango Chimichurri sauce they’ll be selling fresh for the next two days at the Minneapolis Farmers Market on E. Lyndale Ave.

“We’re just so excited to share Mariana’s authentic recipe with everyone here in the city,” said Holzinger.

During their first attempt, it took about six or seven hours to make 60 jars. After five weeks, and they had cut the time down to around four hours for 70 jars.

“Chimichurri is a sauce that Argentines have used for nearly 200 years on all of their grilled meats,” said Holzinger. “It is also their traditional table sauce.”

Chimichurri originated in Argentina, but has found its way north through South and Central America. “There are several varieties using different herbs, but Mariana’s recipe is the authentic recipe,” pointed out Holzinger. Liemontas brought it with her from Argentina 10 years ago, and still imports her spices direct from Argentina.

“Tango Chimichurri is the closest you will come to what the gauchos used nearly 200 years ago,” noted Holzinger. “It has an Italian flavor that is quite unexpected. This has made it a versatile sauce that works great for more than just BBQ. It is amazing in vegetable stir fry, as a sandwich spread, in bruschetta, dips and much more. The great thing about Tango Chimi, is that it is naturally vegan, gluten free and sugar free.

“It’s a sauce for everyone.”

THE BIRTH OF A BUSINESS

Tango Chimichurri was born overnight.

Leimontas has been making her family’s special recipe for years (with spices from Argentina) and her friends and family have loved it considering a special treat at parties.

“We started our business the day after going out for my birthday with friends this past March,” recalled Holzinger. We were chatting about summer plans when my good friend, Marnna, demanded that we sell Mariana’s famous chimichurri at the Minneapolis Farmers Market. We all looked at one another and said, ‘You know what? Why not???’”

Leimontas had the name picked out and a logo started before the sun came up.

“If we knew what we were getting ourselves into, we may have brushed it off as just another night joking about start ups with friends,” admitted Holzinger.

“It has been a whirlwind these last three months and it hasn’t quite slowed down,” she said.

They have learned the most from talking to other entrepreneurs and people at the farmers market.

“For those who are interested in starting a food business, my best advice would be to check with the permits department in the city you are planning to sell and also check with the Department of Agriculture for laws surrounding your product and the way it should be manufactured,” recommended Holzinger. “We would have saved a lot of time if we had checked there first.”

When starting a business, “You have to be flexible, keep your eye on your goal, and understand that it can be expensive and time consuming,” said Holzinger.

At first their business plan involved canning the chimichurri sauce. They consulted food experts, did a ton of research, and spent the majority of April experimenting with different processes to can it. “We ordered jars of processed chimichurri online from across the country to taste it, in the end we found that it was horrible and nothing like the traditional sauce,” said Holzinger. “We decided in a few short weeks that we were going to make our product fresh, weekly for the market using no preservatives in the traditional style so that everyone could enjoy Chimichurri the way it is meant to be enjoyed, just like they would have it in Argentina.”

AUTHENTIC TASTE

What is the secret to making a great, authentic sauce? According to Holzinger, the secret is keeping it simple and using fresh ingredients. They buy local when they can, and have just started using sunflower oil from a local producer. “We never compromise and always stay true to the product,” said Holzinger.

“We put a lot of love into each jar, as we make each jar one at a time,” she added. “We measure each ingredient and add them to each jar separately -- just as Argentines would make it for their family.”

Confirmation that they’re on the right track has come when “their most discerning customers”, those from Argentina as well as Brazil and Uruguay, try it. “They have all admitted that it is the real deal,” said Holzinger.

“Many people are surprised by its flavor,” observed Holzinger. “It has a boldness, a zesty, tangy bite as we use premium red wine vinegar, and a sweetness from our authentic spices.”

The two have included recipes for how to use Tango Chimichurri on their web site, http://www.tangochimi.com/.

Tango Chimichurri is currently available at the Minneapolis Farmers Market on E. Lyndale Ave N. Holzinger and Leimontas have received a permit from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture which allows them to sell retail, and they hope to introduce it at a few local co-ops soon. Each 9-ounce jar is $8 or purchase two for $15.

They are also working on a “spicy” version that will be for sale by the end of the summer.

“It has been a lot of fun to see people try it for the first time,” said Holzinger. “From really small children to their grandparents, we have gotten a great response.”

This story was published in the August edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.

Page & Flowers leading urban garden movement in Twin Cities

Local couple named Ramsey County Farm Family of the Year

by Tesha M. Christensen

The 2013 Ramsey County Farm Family of the Year lives and farms in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood.

Cherry Flowers and Tim Page of Page & Flowers (formerly named Holistic Health Farms) are part of the growing movement of urban farmers. “We were the first people to put up a hoop house in St. Paul,” Flowers said. The 6.5-foot high hoop house sits alongside their home. It’s one of the many innovative methods the two have employed in their urban garden plots.

“We push the envelope,” Flowers said.

They believe that urban farms are important and that they empower the people who contribute. “In neighborhoods that have community gardens, the crime rates go down,” said Flowers. “Property values go up. Communities are connected.”

The hoop house enables the farmers to extend the Minnesota growing season significantly, which gives them an edge at farmer’s markets. In the winter, they use the hoop house for compost. The compost is used to enrich their soil, which in turn enables them intensively farm the small plots they have.

Page and Flowers are actively working with St. Paul and Minneapolis officials to standardize the requirements on hoop houses. In Minneapolis, they are considered a temporary structure, Flowers pointed out. Right now in St. Paul, they are considered a permanent structure, similar to other outbuildings. The size is limited, and footings are required. Page and Flowers are working with St. Paul right now regarding their own hoop house. They’ve had to make it smaller to comply with regulations, and are installing 12-foot-deep concrete footings. St. Paul’s regulations are limiting for the urban farmer, Flowers noted, many of who are using land that they don’t own.

TECHNIQUES TO MAXIMIZE LAND USE

“We try to use a lot of techniques to maximize the use of the land,” said Flowers. She added that if they owned 140 acres, they wouldn’t need to be as conscious of space as they are. But because they have small plots in the city, they try to cram as many plants together as they can.

With companion planting, Flowers and Page put plants together that benefit each other, such as mint and cabbage and asparagus and strawberries.

Within their rows, there is a mixture of vegetables. Between the tomatoes is basil and at the ends of the lettuce rows are onions.

They don’t walk on the rows where they plant to avoid compacting the soil.

They use SPIN techniques, planting a lot of items in two-foot-wide rows that are easier to weed. The staggered rows resemble the pattern of a dice. Instead of placing carrots three inches apart in rows that are 15 inches apart, their carrots are merely three inches apart.

Rows that are skinnier cuts down on labor costs because they are easier to weed. They also lay burlap coffee bags between plants to keep the weeds down, a product they’ve found works much better than other options.  “It allows us to focus more on growing and less on weeding,” said Flowers.

GARDENING THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Flowers learned about gardening at a boarding school in Iowa where she lived during her four high school years. The students did everything there, including butchering pigs and making yogurt. Her passion has most recently led her to attend the classes to be a Ramsey County Master Gardener; she has 50 volunteer hours left before earning her certification.

Page picked up his knowledge of gardening through the youth work he’s done.

The duo met working in an urban garden in North Minneapolis where teens from low-income families were learning about how to grow their own food.

In addition to the plot next to their house, Page and Flowers operate a one-acre market garden at Maryland and Arundel St. in St. Paul’s North End neighborhood. The land is owned by Sparks Development Corporation and was initially slated to be a housing development. When the market changed, Sparks decided to focus on market gardens. Page and Flowers only use about half the site there, and host a community garden on the other half.

The duo also farm on certified organic land in North Branch that is owned by the Women’s Environmental Institute. They are involved with gardens in North Minneapolis, and last year provided a site for a Picnic Operetta by Mixed Precipitation Theater. Over 150 attended the event in their garden, which included not just the musical performance but a 5-course sampling menu.

TRANSFORMING LIVES

Page and Flowers are known for their youth mentoring work through Boys Totem Town in St. Paul and Emerge Community Development in North Minneapolis. The look for opportunities to put youth and seniors together. Their work tends to involve gardening.  They believe it is important to teach young people about where their food comes from. “I can’t tell you how many kids have no idea that carrots come from the ground,” said Flowers. “It’s exciting to see the transformation.”

TOUGH TO MAKE A LIVING AS FARMERS

Despite all the effort they put into growing vegetables, the duo recognizes that they can’t make a living off of just farming. Even rural farmers often have second jobs, Flowers pointed out.

In addition to working elsewhere, Flowers and Page have begun focusing on “value-added products” that they sell while at farmer’s markets. These items include the burlap coffee bags that block weeds, and several food items: salsa verde, Page’s Cha Cha relish/chutney, zucchini bread and flavored vinegars. Flowers & Page can be found each Saturday at the Mill City Farmer’s Market and on Sundays at the Linden Hills Farmer’s Market.

Page teaches classes on how small entrepreneurs can survive in part by focusing on value-added products. He also manages Market on the Bluff at 798 E. 7th St., an event on Thursdays from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Why do farmers need an extra job to survive? Why is food in the United States so cheap? Why can’t a lot of people afford to buy food? Those questions point to problems with the United States food supply.

“We think that local, sustainable food is part of the solution,” said Flowers.

This story was published in the July 2013 edition of the St. Paul Monitor