Shows
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensCooking Up History: The Evolution of Kitchens and Cookbooks at the Old Courthouse MuseumStep into the heart of the home in this episode as we explore Cooking Up History: The Evolution of Kitchens and Cookbooks, a featured exhibit at the Old Courthouse Museum in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Host Staci Mergenthal talks with Jill Van Veldhuizen, Education Assistant, Molly Engquist, Curator of Exhibits, and Jessie Nesseim, Curator of Collections about how American kitchens—and the cookbooks that fill them—have transformed over time. Discover the social, cultural, and technological shifts that turned kitchens from open hearths to modern hubs of the home. We discuss the rise of community cookbooks, how immigra...2025-06-061h 07
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensJunking Angels and Vintage Finds: Meet Sharon Hohler of Homeless Treasures, Tracy, MNIf you’ve ever found joy in a perfectly rusted garden gate, an old Pyrex bowl like Grandma’s, or the thrill of repurposing a forgotten item into something useful again—this episode is for you.In Season 3, Episode 9 of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens, I head to rural Tracy, Minnesota, to visit with Sharon Hohler, the creative and kind-hearted owner of Homeless Treasures. Tucked away on an acreage just south of town, Homeless Treasures is a vintage wonderland filled with antiques, oddities, DIY-ready furniture, and Sharon’s signature charm.Sharon shares how her passion for old things—and...2025-05-091h 00
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFishing, Foraging and Exploring: Midwestern Alice’s Alaskan AdventuresBorn and raised in South Dakota, Alice Klopstad stayed for college and the start of her corporate career. Then Alaska captured her heart and now she calls it home.
Join me as Alice tells her adventurous and inspiring story of moving to a place where she’s embraced the outdoor lifestyle—hiking, snow machining, fishing, foraging, and filling an entire freezer with fresh-caught halibut and salmon.
When she’s not exploring Alaska, Alice is baking sourdough bread, sewing and quilting, cozying up with books from the Anchorage Public Library, planning her next international travel adventure, visiting...2025-02-031h 07
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensLeah Rodriguez’s Magical Oven and How Joy, Faith, and Family Rise TogetherStep into the warm and inviting kitchen of Minnesota native Leah Rodriguez, where baking isn’t just a pastime for her, it’s a way to honor tradition, celebrate family, and embrace joy and faith even in life’s hardest seasons.
Get ready to laugh and cry in this episode as Leah shares what she puts in her pumpkin bars that make them extra special, a recipe for funeral hot dish with an Asian flare, and how growing up in a family of 11 kids played a part in raising six children alongside her Juan & Only husb...2024-12-201h 10
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensWhirlygigs and Watermelon Pickles: Keeping Family Traditions Alive with Stacy BrallierToday, I’m introducing you to Stacy Brallier, a South Dakota mom, grandma, and keeper of family food traditions. Stacy shares recipes that hold a special place in her heart, including Funfetti cookies, her mom’s peanut butter whirlygigs cookies, and her great-grandma Elsie Edgecomb’s watermelon pickles, and a co-worker’s more updated recipe for watermelon pickles—each one tied to cherished memories.
For Stacy, food isn't just about flavor; it's about the people and moments that make life sweet, in all seasons of life. Whether it's making Elsie’s watermelon pickles or baking cookies with h...2024-12-1749 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensCooking Without Loving It: Inherited Recipes from the Heart with Amanda RuniaToday’s guest is Amanda Runia, a busy mom, South Dakota business owner of In-House Ally, and self-proclaimed non-cook who has still managed to gather an abundance of beloved Midwest comfort food recipes from her family.
Drawing from the kitchens of her mother-in-law, grandmother, and mom, Amanda shares her approach to keeping mealtime manageable and delicious, plus her go-to resources for recipes that bring a little warmth and nostalgia to the table—even though she doesn’t inherently love cooking.
See photos and get the recipes and links on my website randomsweets.com.
Amanda...2024-12-111h 08
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensSweet Generosity: Local Impact of the Lake Campbell Lutheran Church Cookie WalkYou don’t need walking shoes for the Lake Campbell Lutheran Church Cookie Walk. Just an appetite for homemade, tried-and-true Midwestern treats and a giving heart to support local non-profits.
This year's bake sale is on Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 9a.m. Be there early to get in line! They run out of cookies quickly. The church address is 46610 219th Street, Volga, South Dakota. Cash or check only.
Three big-hearted women, the organizers behind the church’s 22nd annual cookie walk, gathered around a table in their fellowship hall with our steaming cups of Lutheran coffee to talk...2024-12-1054 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensHarvesting Holiday Spirit: 70 Seasons of Traditions at Krueger’s Christmas Tree FarmKrueger's Christmas Tree Farm has been more than just a place to pick your own perfect tree—it's been at the heart of holiday traditions for families in the Lake Elmo and Twin Cities Minnesota area for 70 years and counting.
Spanning four generations, the Krueger family has cultivated not just evergreens but cherished memories, as they continue to welcome visitors with the warmth and magic of the Christmas season. From the fresh scent of pine, the warmth of a crackling fire and hot cider, to the timeless ritual of cutting the perfect tree and pulling it o...2024-12-0554 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensThe Meatery MN: Connecting Meathusiasts Directly with FarmersIf you like meat or stories about family businesses that connect producers directly to their customers, you’re going to love this episode with Bruce and Jodie Drager, Allie and Michael Drager, and Mackenzie Drager, half of the Minnesota family of farmers and food enthusiasts behind The Meatery MN.
While sharing meals together on vacation in Oregon, the Drager family dreamed up an ecommerce business that connects the producers of premium, USDA certified meat directly with consumers who appreciate fine food and knowing where it came from.
Founded in 2022, The Meate...2024-11-261h 04
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensVineyard Visionary: Jim Schade of Schadé Vineyard & Winery on Pouring Connections and Pioneering a State IndustryIf you drink South Dakota-made wine or beer, Jim Schade and Eldon Nygaard are the guys to thank. Because prior to the South Dakota 1996 Farm Winery Act legalized commercial production of wine in South Dakota, you couldn’t make an alcoholic beverage in South Dakota and sell it since Prohibition.
So, Eldon came up with the idea to start a legal license for making and selling wine, wrote the legislation and Jim took it to the legislators at the state capital in Pierre. The bill passed.
Eldon got the first license and began the state’s fir...2024-11-151h 05
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFrosting the Heart: For Goodness Cakes Twin Cities ChapterToday’s story is a reminder that not all kids have the luxury of celebrating their birthday with a fun cake, but it’s also a reminder that just one small act of kindness, and a little frosting and sprinkles, can light up a child’s special day, showing them that people care about them and they are not forgotten.
Meet For Goodness Cakes Twin Cities co-chapter leads Carolyn McGovern and Katie Lipe, plus five sprinkle squad volunteer bakers—Audrey Hyatt, Kenzie Taylor, Tiffane Gayle, Tom McGovern, and Emily Beckmann, and Chris Bernard from Jeremiah Program and Melissa Westpha...2024-09-211h 27
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensRecipes, Rhubarb Muffins, Roseville Restaurants and Mississippi River Road Trips with Shannon ThomasserThis is a classic story of two Midwesterners becoming friends over a grandma's handed-down rhubarb muffin recipe.
Growing up in New Richmond, Wisconsin, Shannon's grandmothers, aunts and mom were great Midwestern cooks. Even so, she didn't watch or pay attention to how they worked their culinary magic in the kitchen or with recipes. Her job was to set the table and clean up after dinner.
Eventually, they rubbed off on her.
Get the recipes, photos and links https://randomsweets.com
What we talk about in this episode:
Growing up and...2024-08-281h 15
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFresh Pickings with Jan Sanderson of Sanderson GardensHe had a self-checkout long before Walmart and Target and he still updates his telephone hotline with garden patch conditions and produce availability. Just call 605-693-4871.
Meet Sanderson Gardens owner Jan Sanderson, the Rhubarb King and developer of the Sanderson Red rhubarb variety.
A visit to Sanderson Gardens on the I-29 corridor just four miles east of Brookings, South Dakota, can mean a quick stop for a pail of strawberries, or hours long in the pumpkin patch letting the kids find the perfect jack-o-lantern and play on the playgrounds, taking fall family photos and...2024-07-231h 37
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFaith and Family at the Center of Growing Veggies with Berndt Family ProduceWhat began with a tent purchased from an anonymous $200 donation and Dawnna Berndt’s idea to grow a garden to bring in more income, turned into a family-based vegetable farm market business (Berndt Family Produce) that’s been serving their community of customers in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota for 24 years.
At the time, she and her husband, David, had five young children and even though she admits she knew zilch about gardening (she told me she was the “inside girl” and her sister was the “outside girl” when they were growing up), she leaned on David’s know...2024-05-2959 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensAmber Waves of Anthem Oats with Fifth-generation South Dakota Farmers Taylor and Cassandra SumptionRoots go deep in today’s show. Come with me to meet fifth-generation farmers, Taylor and Cassandra Sumption, the founders of Anthem Oats. The couple grows and packages premium, gluten-free oats for retail on nearly 400 acres near Frederick, South Dakota, 27 miles north of Aberdeen on US Highway 281, just seven miles south of the North Dakota border, and their packing and offices operation in Frederick.
Taylor’s great, great grandpa homesteaded in the area in 1882 so Taylor and Cassandra are keeping the family agriculture business alive in what’s now 142 years! They’re focused on value-added agriculture and vertical...2024-05-1054 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensWill Read for Pizza: Apps, Sides and Books with Christianne BeringerIt’s almost summer, which means pool and lake parties, family reunions and picnics, camping, and smoking out the neighborhood with your backyard grilling. It’s also time to dig out your library card, visit your local indie bookstore, and pack your beach bag with books on your “want to read” list. Today I’m bringing back my friend and book goals hero, Christianne Beringer. First, we are talking about easy appetizers and sides delicious enough for sharing, like creamy red pepper dip, Southwest dip with pepperoni, BLT dip, Clara's corn, and green beans with lemon...2024-05-0555 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensSausage Wontons and Crafting a Creative Life with Bobbi Lynn GaukelLiving a life of curiosity and creativity means you will, at times, gracefully let go of things that no longer fuel your passion or serve you positively. This week's podcast guest, Bobbi Lynn Gaukel, and I agree—the earlier in life you learn this practice, the more open and freer you are to being curious and trying new things.
Throughout her life, Bobbi has weaved in creativity and learning, leaving a trail of beauty wherever she goes. In addition to her professional life as a graphic artist, she gardens, crochets, writes, takes captivating photos, thrifts, repurposes, bakes des...2024-04-261h 24
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensBack to Grandma’s Basics and Handwritten Recipes with Wendy DoorninkHave you thought about who you’ll pass down your handwritten recipes to? If you’re like Wendy Doornink and me, you have a mix of handwritten recipe cards from family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and of course, yourself. This episode might make you think about who the next person might be to keep those cherished recipes in your family.
In our visit, Wendy shares recipes and sweet and fun stories from her grandmothers, and we talk about the correlation between the food basics and mental health. We’re kind of all over the place, there’s head cheese, rai...2024-04-1752 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensButtery Caramels and Fancy Dishes with Liz Murphy of Betty’s AntiquesIn this episode, you and I are going to meet Betty’s Antiques owner, Liz Murphy from St. Paul, Minnesota. She’s walking us through her charming vintage boutique on the historic corner of Selby and Snelling Avenues, plus she shares the sweet way her grandma Betty influenced how she dresses up a table, in a non-fussy sort of way, so that we can make our guests feel special—even in our everyday living—using touches like fresh flowers and table linens, to glassware and flatware, candles, and pretty dishes.
We talk about an evening with Lawrence Welk, he...2024-03-3055 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFlock to Fork: Eggstravaganza and Deviled Eggs with Iowa Egg CouncilWelcome to the 50th episode! We’re heading to Iowa today to speak with Iowa Egg Council’s Board Chairman Bruce Dooyema, and Director of Marketing and Communications Melissa Alto-Kintigh about one powerhouse food—eggs.
IOWA IS THE #1 STATE IN EGG PRODUCTION
First, we cover the basics, like how many eggs a chicken lays in a day, what determines the color of eggs, their nutritional value and health benefits, why we refrigerate our eggs in the U.S., and which fast-food restaurant still cracks a real egg for their breakfast sandwich.
Then, Bruce, who is a...2024-03-2950 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFish Fry Friday Feeds the Soul with Ron FaiolaBatter up! You don’t have to be from the Midwest to feel like a part of the community we’re talking about today—that’s because our beloved Friday night fish fry welcomes people from around the world to sit across the table with each other at parish schools and fellowship halls, to supper clubs, taverns, and community centers to enjoy golden-fried or lightly baked fish alongside classic sides like coleslaw and potatoes.
Who better to talk with me about this Lenten tradition than Ron Faiola? He’s a filmmaker, director, and author who, in addition to his mov...2024-03-2254 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFrom Cabinets to Sculleries and Floating Shelves: The Art of Your Kitchen Design With Carissa TrygstadOn today’s show, we’re expanding on last week’s theme of incorporating personality into your kitchen as we sit down with expert designer, Carissa Trygstad, about what she’s seeing in kitchen trends and the classics, plus the revival of the scullery, and how it differs from a butler’s pantry.
From cabinets to heated countertops, Carissa covers kitchen work zones, function and organization, floating shelves, appliances, cabinet hardware…everything including the kitchen sink, even a few tips for giving your kitchen a refresh without a remodel.
While you listen to this episode, I recommend yo...2024-02-2055 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensPainting Personality and Vibes into Your Kitchen with Wendy DoorninkWe're heading into the kitchen with Wendy Doornink, the color services manager at Hirshfield’s, a family-owned paint, wallcoverings and window fashions company headquarted in Minnesota.
Wendy has been painting since she could hold a paint brush, so when Jason and I started talking about painting our kitchen and possibly even our cabinets, I knew I needed professional help.
Maybe you can relate. It's because I have a hard time choosing paint colors, for two main reasons—I’m worried I’ll choose a color that once it’s on the walls, I won’t like it. Secon...2024-02-0957 min
Eat Your Heartland OutMidwest Superfans: Bloggers and Podcasters Who Celebrate Midwestern CultureMeet Kim Laing, the Indiana woman behind the blog and podcast More Than Corn, as well as Staci Perry Mergenthal, creator of the Funeral Potatoes and Wool Mittens podcast and the Random Sweets blog.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Eat Your Heartland Out by becoming a member!Eat Your Heartland Out is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.2024-02-081h 03
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFrom Pucks to Potlucks: Hockey Moms Stick TogetherIt’s hockey season and I live in Minnesota, the State of Hockey. And even though my kids played hockey in South Dakota where’s it’s not school-sanctioned, there’s one thing we have in common across the sport—once a hockey mom, always a hockey mom, even after our kids have shot their last puck as a high school player. We may not wear our player’s photo button on our puffy winter coats anymore, but we’ll always proudly wear the “hockey mom” title.
It’s been a few years since my guests, Kathy Lesnar and Julie Peder...2024-01-2642 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensRevolutionizing the Cafeteria: Farm to School Impacts Student Well-being and Local AgricultureWe’re going back to school—to the school cafeteria, that is. And although I do ask about good ol’ square school lunch pizza, and the pairing of cinnamon rolls & chili, my guests, Karla Sawvell and Amanda Reilly are spilling the beans on how the Huron South Dakota School District is implementing Farm To School.
In addition to being one of the very few public school nutrition programs that cooks from scratch AND bakes all of their own bread, they are striving to serve fresh and local foods to 2,200 students each day.
You’ll come to the e...2024-01-1850 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensHarvesting Hope: Iowa Teen’s 7,000-pound Garden Bounty Feeds Thousands, Aims to Triple Impact by 2025 with Lauren SchroederToday we’re heading to rural Dixon, Iowa to meet Lauren Schroeder and her mom Katie on their family farm, and Lauren’s FFA advisor and ag teacher, Jenna Kingsley.
Lauren is a junior at Calamus-Wheatland High School. She shows sheep and rabbits at county fairs, plays softball and volleyball, she’s the junior class president, and somehow, Lauren, who is a three-time National FFA grant recipient and a My Impact Challenge Special Award winner, has found time to grow more than $15,300 in retail value of fruits and vegetables over the past two years and donate them to loca...2024-01-0455 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensChristmas Baking Recipes With My Mom Linda MoeSince I can remember, my mom, Linda Moe, has shared dozens and dozens of delicious goodies at our family’s Christmas gatherings.
Today we’re talking about most of them, like vintage treats from her mom like mashed potato candy, cherry bing bars, and fruit salad with a cooked pineapple dressing, and newer recipes she’s added over the years like Ritz cracker cookies, Corn Pops clusters, puppy chow, taco dip, veggie pizza, caramel corn chips, chex mix, and orange chewins cookies with orange slice candies.
Of course, we love our bars in the Midwest so we’r...2023-12-2359 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensHosting a Ranch Cracker Snack Mix and Cookie Exchange with Carissa Trygstad and Val EllensRural South Dakota friends since kindergarten and K-mart co-workers in high school, Carissa Trygstad and Val Ellens have a bond that even Val’s dense molasses cookies can’t break.
They’re joining me today because I heard that Carissa hosts an annual ranch cracker snack mix tossing party, and to top it off, she weaves in a Christmas cookie exchange and an evening of cocktails and appetizers with their friends. Get the recipes and photos on randomsweets.com.
It hasn’t always gone as planned though, so along with Carissa’s snack mix recipe from her frien...2023-12-0736 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFamily Recipes and Stories with Sarah Peterson of Vintage Dish and TellFor Minnesota native and public relations professional Sarah Peterson, launching her own blog with family recipes helped her find her writing voice. But it didn’t take long for Sarah of Vintage Dish and Tell blog to expand her passion for handed-down recipes and the stories behind them by inviting others to share the cherished food and family traditions that are dear to their hearts.
We talked about Aunt Jeannie’s famous lasagna parties and her friend Annette’s sugar cookies, which recipe earned Sarha the title of a Minnesota State Fair blue-ribbon baker, recipes to inspire you such as C...2023-12-021h 27
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensThankful for You, Turkey Leftovers, and Pumpkin Cheesecake, Cookies and BarsThis episode is dedicated to thanking you, a listener of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens. Plus I share a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes, like sausage stuffing, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, KAHLÚA pumpkin chocolate cheesecake, cherry crunchobblerumble, and pumpkin bars with maple cream cheese frosting. I'm also sharing ways you can support this podcast and a sneak peek into a few upcoming episodes. Thank you for pressing play today!
Recipes in this episode:
Sausage Stuffing
Cinnamon Chip Muffins
Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Bu...2023-11-1827 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensNordic Waffles: From Fair to Food Hall to Freezers Across the U.S. with Founder Stine Aasland and CEO Jeremy ElyStine Aasland’s dream of creating a Nordic Waffle Wafflelution has come true, and that means we get to delight in sweet and savory, handheld, heart-shaped waffles all day long.
Stine, known as Norway’s Waffle Queen, came to America in 2015 with two suitcases, a waffle recipe, and a dream. On today’s show, Stine and Nordic Waffle’s CEO, Jeremy Ely, talk about everything from selling cozy, soft and thin waffles at Valleyfair to the Minnesota State Fair, to what happened when a pandemic shut down their main revenue stream, her advice to people with a business...2023-11-121h 06
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFamily Recipes and Braving Youth Mental Health with Kristin and Anna RehkampTuck a few Kleenex in your sleeve. Everyday living—the highs and lows of everyday life—is exactly what today’s show encompasses. Because whether we, or someone we love, is braving adult or youth mental health battles, our everyday lives continue around us. But how we cope with and support each other makes all the difference in the world. You might cry, laugh, cry again, and then even laugh out loud.
In the first half of the show, Kristin and Anna Rehkamp share their personal story about how Anna’s panic attack at a well-child check in 2020...2023-11-041h 08
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensSugar Cookies and Mrs. Chandler’s Chocolate Fudge Cake with Stacie Suedkamp of Fig TalesYou may have met this week’s podcast guest Stacie Suedkamp, the owner, artist, and cookie engineer behind the South Dakota luxury cookie company, Fig Tales. But how well do you know her? Tune in to Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens S2 E5 to learn:1. What’s the one word Stacie doesn’t allow people to use?2. How is Stacie using high-tech engineering tools like a 3D printer and AutoCAD?3. Why does Stacie use emulsion instead of extract?4. What’s the one question Stacie asks each of her clients?
You'll hear all about the inte...2023-10-281h 10
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensArepas, Allergen-Free Cookies, Holland Michigan, and Gulf Shores Alabama with Boutique Vacation Rental Superhost Alicia WrightToday you’ll hear from my first Michigan (the Mitten State!) guest, Alicia Wright. We cover a lot of topics in this episode—from mud water and allergen-free chocolate chip cookies, and Alicia’s favorite spots in Holland, to her motivation behind becoming a boutique vacation rental owner in Gulf Shores Alabama, to the Venezuelan arepa recipe her dad brought with him when he came to America with just a suitcase and his guitar.
If you've been thinking about vacationing to Gulf Shores, you’re in for a treat because Alicia surprises us with a discount code to both...2023-10-201h 05
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensPumpkin Dessert and Kids in the Kitchen with Danielle HerbergDanielle Herberg and her 7-year-old daughter, Carly, join me by phone at their home in Browns Valley, Minnesota.
Danielle talks about who influenced her love of baking, what happened when she and her daycare kids experimented growing seeds from a tomato, and she pulls out some of her favorite recipes from her go-to community cookbook and her grandma Ileta’s recipe box.
Plus, she gives the local scoop on a coffee shop in Wilmot, South Dakota, and the Pub in Beardsley, Minnesota where they’re cooking up great burgers, and the restaurant and bakery in Sisset...2023-10-1447 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensGaylen's Gourmet Popcorn is Popping with South Dakota PrideWhen Gaylen Backus was in his peak popcorn growing season, he was popping out nearly half a million pounds of popcorn seed on his 350 acres of South Dakota farmland near Wentworth. He went from selling most of his crop to wholesalers, to his family popping and packaging his wife Shirley’s homemade caramel corn and selling it at farmers markets and vendor shows.
People loved it and demand exploded. So much so that in 2015 he and Shirley and their youngest son, Tyler, converted their 2-stall garage into a commercial business. In this episode, Tyler Backus shares about the...2023-10-061h 11
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensSteak and Coffee Cake with Millennial Rancher Calli Williams of TW AngusCalli and Tate Williams' love story began when they met at the South Dakota State Fair. Tate asked Calli to show his heifer. Having grown up on a farm with a small herd of cattle and a love for 4-H, she did it.
And that's all it took to begin their lives together building a family and pouring their hearts and hard work into TW Angus, their purebred Angus seedstock operation and direct to consumer beef business near Letcher, South Dakota.
In addition to talking about her days on the ranch with their boys, Jack and...2023-09-2859 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensSeason 1 Finale. What's Next?After seven months and 32 episodes, Season 1 has come to an end. But not without a huge thank you to guests, listeners and supporters. What's next? Tune in to find out.
Random Sweets:
Website: randomsweets.com
Instagram: @potatoesandmittens
Instagram: @randomsweets
Facebook: Random Sweets
Email: staci@randomsweets.com
#ourSweetMidwestLife2023-08-0410 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensHive to Jar, The Sweet Story of Adee Honey Farms with Marla Hoyer and Sarah HaugeYou are in for a sweet and sticky treat today! Joining me are Adee Honey Farms’ second and third generation family members, Marla Hoyer, and Sarah Hauge.
We cover everything from the history of Adee Honey, way back to even before Richard and his brother Stanley purchased the South Dakota honey operation of about 1,000 honeybee colonies in 1957, to how they’ve grown the business to 100,000 colonies of bees that journey thousands of miles between producing honey in several states, and pollinating almonds in California and apple orchards in Washington.
As with any agricultural industry, growth comes...2023-07-261h 18Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensBruce Honey Days 2023 and Community Cookbook Honey RecipesMany Midwestern towns host annual festivities in celebration of characteristics unique to their community—like the city celebration we’re talking about today—the 32nd annual Honey Days in Bruce, South Dakota.
Joining me for today’s show are longtime parade emcee, Mary Bjerke, and her husband, Russ, and their daughter, Christianne Beringer.
Mary shares the itinerary for the 3-day weekend of events, kicking off with KCountry 102.3’s cookout in Museum Park at noon on Friday, July 28, and other traditional events like a parade and craft show, competitive activities like basketball, bean bags, volleyball, horseshoes, and baseball...2023-07-2542 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensGardening, Salsa & Mocktails, A Summer Conversation with Medary Acres GreenhouseI’m talking all things summer gardening with two special guests—Lynn Darnall and her daughter Sarah Alfano, owners of Medary Acres Greenhouse—a 71-year-old, third-generation business in Brookings, South Dakota. We cover a variety of topics, from basics like watering and deadheading, to the value of mulching tomato plants, how to properly cut stems so you can bring the beauty of your flowers indoors, natural ways to keep plants healthy, and how to divide peonies. And when I ask how to protect my plants and vegetables from critters like rabbits, raccoons and deer, Lynn surprises me with a super...2023-07-211h 19Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensHomemade Strawberry Apricot Jam and Broiled Parmesan Potatoes with Sydney AnderaToday on the show, South Dakota native Sydney Andera talks about who inspired her to make homemade strawberry apricot jam, her favorite flavor of birthday cake since she doesn’t like chocolate, the meal she likes most that her mom, Michelle, makes, her Grandma Naomi’s broiled parmesan potatoes, and a barbecue joint and a doughnut shop she and her boyfriend, Sajen, enjoyed on a recent trip to Colorado. All that, plus a funny story about how Sydney broke her electric hand mixer with potatoes. Photos from this episode and the recipes are on https://randomsweets.com/homemade-strawberry-apricot-jam-with-sydney-andera/.
Lin...2023-07-1451 min
Fill To Capacity (Where Heart, Grit and Irreverent Humor Collide)Finding Joy in Elder Advocacy: Passion, Purpose & ImpactSend us a textIn this moving episode, Cori Levin delves into the profound journey of elder advocacy, finding joy and making a meaningful impact. Discover how Cori fills healthcare gaps, explores alternatives in healing, and imparts wisdom that challenges society’s fear of death. Listen as she describes how her end-of-life doula work took on new significance during the pandemic. Gain insights into creating a more inclusive, age-friendly environment and the importance of honoring the stories and dignity of our older adults.Cori Levin, owner of Navigating Elderhood, provides advocacy & skilled care for clients an...2023-07-0240 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensBake With Me: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup PoppersOn today’s Bake With Me episode, I invite you to bake along with me as I make Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Poppers. With just a few ingredients and a mini muffin tin, you can quickly make a batch of these poppers that all the peanut butter and chocolate lovers in my family like. Since we’re using a peanut butter cookie mix, all we need is the cookie pouch, the ingredients to make the cookies, peanut butter, and Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. And we’re doing this by hand so there’s no need to dig out your...2023-06-3014 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensTry These 26 Iconic South Dakota Foods, Plus a Few From Neighboring States’ PlatesAs South Dakotans love to road trip across the state, plus, hundreds of thousands of tourists vacation here throughout the summer, this episode is for anyone who wants to learn more about, and try, 26 iconic dishes and drinks that define the Mount Rushmore state. If you’re from the Midwest, you’ve probably already checked a lot of these foods off your list. And even though I’m mostly talking about South Dakota where I was born and raised, I included a few iconic dishes from neighboring states like Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Minnesota, where I live now. I...2023-06-2949 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool Mittens18 Camping Meals and Snacks, Plus Jenn Buse’s Favorite Campgrounds in South Dakota and MinnesotaDo the great outdoors beckon you to the campground all summer long? Today’s guest, Jenn Buse from Tyler, Minnesota, is such a seasoned camper, I knew we’d have fun talking about meals and snacks she shares with family—whether fireside folk singing, watching the sun set over Lake Poinsett, or cozied up in the camper on a rainy day.
Jenn has celebrated nearly all 49 of her birthdays at campgrounds. Once she became a mom, she and her husband, Brent, carried on the summer camping tradition with their children, MacKenzie and Landen. Jenn shares how she c...2023-06-161h 19Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensFudge, Tacos, Fruits, Vegetables, Smoothies, Cocktails, Chicken Alfredo, and All Things Vitamix with Leah BrinkYou are going to love today’s guest—my friend and a true Midwesterner, Leah Brink has lived in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and for nearly 20 years, she’s called Brookings, South Dakota home. She’s the kind of person who brings the fun to a party. It was her idea to start our show making strawberry daiquiris in my kitchen, and I certainly didn’t argue with that!
She speaks frankly about the influence her mom had on her philosophy regarding food, and how her short-lived rebellion led to her own goal of fitting more fruits and...2023-05-311h 02Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensSmoking Cheese, Pulled Pork and Ham with Russell ZieglerToday my North Dakota brother-in-law, Russell Ziegler, a coal miner and former United States Marine, joins us to talk about cold-smoking cheese, smoking pork butt, and how he turns a plain old pork shoulder into an incredibly flavorful smoked ham that practically shreds itself at the sight of a fork. You'll learn where he uses maple syrup, what’s in his brine that turns a pork shoulder into smoked shredded ham, and why he puts his smoked pork butt in a slow cooker to finish it off. We also talk about his wife Betsy’s recipe for cilantro lime slaw t...2023-05-2643 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensEating Kuchen, Mexican Corn, Pickle Dip, and Fried Knoephla & Sauerkraut Pulled Pork and Cruising the River in North Dakota with Betsy ZieglerIn this episode, my North Dakota sister-in-law Betsy Ziegler joins me to talk about the German dessert, Kuchen, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, beloved maple bacon long johns at Bearscat, and cruising the Missouri River and drinking blood-red cocktail pouches.
She shares her recipes, most of them using the “eyeball” method, for a non-mayo-based German potato salad, bacon and cheddar ranch dip, chicken and wild rice soup that she makes using a box of Uncle Ben’s wild rice and seasoning, Mexican corn, pickle dip, and smoked pulled pork and sauerkraut with fried knoephla, along with he...2023-05-2050 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensBake With Me: Tangled Caramel Peanut Butter Corn ChipsIt's a busy week at my house. Our daughter graduates from college and I'm making the food for her party. So come bake with me in my kitchen on this episode as I make tangled caramel peanut butter corn chips, a sweet & salty favorite and one of the most popular recipes on randomsweets.com. It's one of those snacks that's hard to stop eating once you start.
https://randomsweets.com/tangled-caramel-peanut-butter-corn-chips/2023-05-0414 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensChanging a Child’s Story with Ashley Rhodes-Courter and East Central CASAJoining us today is Ashley Rhodes-Courter, author of the New York Times and international bestselling memoir, “Three Little Words,” and its sequal, “Three More Words.” She’s an international keynote speaker, licensed clinical social worker, and founder of The Foundation for Sustainable Families.
Since her first national keynote at age 14, Ashley has shared her story with thousands in the United States and in more than 7 countries. By the age of 3 she was in Florida’s foster care system where she spent almost 10 years being shuttled between 14 homes—some quite abusive—before being adopted from a children’s home at the age of 12...2023-04-271h 54Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensWhat Are Funeral Potatoes and Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole?It’s time to talk all things funeral potatoes. Cheesy hash brown casserole has more names than any dish I know—funeral potatoes, hash brown casserole, cheesy hash browns, party potatoes, company potatoes, Cracker Barrel potatoes, hash brown baked potatoes, taco potato casserole, hash brown potatoes, company potato casserole, and many others.
In addition to sharing our recipes and the stories behind them on this episode, I share everything from what the common ingredients are and how people change things up like adding taco seasoning or not using cheese, to how to prep, cook and store funeral potato...2023-04-2243 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensDill Pickle Pasta Salad, Peanut Buster Bars, and Marie's Beans with Marie MergenthalMy mother-in-law, Marie Mergenthal, is giving away her secrets for tangy dill pickle pasta salad, and the calico beans she is so well known for in the family. And if you like a Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Parfait, stick around because Marie has a recipe to make it at home in a 9x13 pan. I’ve posted photos and these recipes on randomsweets dot com. She also shares a funny story about a time I brought salted peanut chews to a long weekend family outing. After you listen to this episode, you’ll know why Marie once put up a Hi...2023-04-0650 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensOur Top 5 Restaurants and More in Gulf Shores AlabamaWelcome to part 2 of our Gulf of Mexico getaway. This episode is all about the restaurants and delicious food we enjoyed while on vacation in Alabama’s Gulf Shores area this past February. My husband Jason and I share our top five meals and places to eat, like a smoked turkey sandwich, dry aged Delmonico steak, key lime pie, eggs Benedict atop a waffle, fried pickles and fried chicken, candied yams, Gulf grouper, fontina dip, and mac and cheese. Plus, we talk about the smoked tuna dip and a salad we want to recreate at home.
Although it...2023-04-0155 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensTaking a Break from Midwest Winter in Gulf Shores Alabama with Jason MergenthalYearn for a sugary soft, white sand beach vacation, but prefer a destination within the United States? You’ll find unforgettable spring break fun, romantic getaways, activities with the kiddos or teens, snowbird adventures, or time away with your friends in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama. Located on a 32-mile stretch of beach along the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay, Gulf Shores and Orange beach Alabama straddle Florida at Perido Key. Southern hospitality is in season all year long, while pine and palm trees wave in the salty sea air.
In this episode, you’ll learn...2023-03-2648 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensQuick and Easy Recipes and Pantry Items to Satisfy Your Sweet CravingsImagine, it’s Saturday afternoon and you’re craving something sweet and homemade. But you want something quick and easy, and you don’t feel like running to the store.
I’m sharing the ingredients I keep on hand for a few fast and simple recipes that you can bake (or no-bake) on a whim.
From sweet and savory caramel corn chips for a night of Netflix, popcorn and a cozy blanket, a giant chocolate chip skillet cookie you’ll eat hot out of the pan, to Reese’s peanut butter cup poppers that start with a cooki...2023-03-1721 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensSnickurtle Pie, French Toast Casserole and Love of the Midwest with Jill CoeneMy friend Jill Coene joins me on this episode to share her love of the Midwest, the three restaurants she's sure to eat at when she's back in Brookings, South Dakota, her family’s favorite recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers galette, French toast casserole, and snickurtle pie (a mash-up that tastes like Snickers candy bars and no-bake turtle cheesecake), plus, what she’s discovered about macaroni salad living on the East Coast. All recipes available on Randomsweets.com.
Show Notes
Mail your funeral potatoes or cheesy hash brown casserole recipe on a 3x5 recipe or index card...2023-03-1029 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensFood and Fun in Phoenix, Plus 9 Trader Joe’s Products We DiscoveredMy husband Jason joins me in this episode as we share a few of our favorite experiences in the Phoenix and Tempe Arizona area this past January.
From the strawberry cocktail on our hotel rooftop bar and the biggest breakfast burrito I've ever seen, to memorable Mexican food in Scottsdale, to the buffalo wings Jason has been talking about for years and the burgers at a place he assumed was long ago swallowed up by redevelopment around the ASU campus—we talk about it all.
Even the place with amazing philly cheesesteak sandwiches and shuffleboard, an...2023-03-0354 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensVintage Snow Frosting and Cocoa Birthday Cake with My Mom Linda MoeBecause my favorite birthday cake frosting is a recipe my mom has made for many of my 50 birthdays, I asked her to share her cocoa fudge cake and snow frosting, also known as 7-minute frosting, recipes. I was surprised to learn that both recipes came from her mom, my grandma Janet, when my mom and dad got married in 1969. We walk through the steps to making snow frosting, and how humidity affects the outcome. And it was never a birthday party without my mom's barbecue meat on white buns. Since there isn't a written recipe, she had to write...2023-02-2342 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensChildhood Favorite Comfort Food Meals With My Son Sajen PerryDo you have childhood favorite meals? In this episode, my son, Sajen Perry, shares a few of his favorite childhood comfort meals like beer chili spaghetti, hot dog casserole with potato chips, Chicken In A Biskit chicken strips, pepperoni pasta bake, and chip and mint ice cream brownie dessert with hot fudge…and, he tells me a little story about the butterscotch muffins and breakfast egg bake that he and his hockey team liked so much.
NOTES FROM THIS EPISODE
Mail your funeral potatoes or cheesy hash brown casserole recipe on a 3x5 recipe or index card. By sending it to...2023-02-1640 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensGame Day Appetizers with My Sisters Heidi Thomssen and Kalli ReisetterThis episode is all about appetizers. We’re sharing a few of our go-to game day recipes – whether for tailgating, a house party, or watching the big game on TV with our families. We talk about South Dakota sushi, slow cooker cowboy beans, buffalo chicken dip, cream cheese wrapped olives, baked cheesy bacon dip, and our different versions of taco dip.
Plus, you’ll hear what books my sisters are reading—from fiction to nonfiction, and a new Midwest cookbook.
Show Notes & Links
https://randomsweets.com/game-day-appetizers-for-tailgating-or-the-couch/
Trader Joe’s Corn and Chile Tomato-less Salsa
Presto Slow Cooker (great for traveling...2023-02-1147 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensVodka Pasta Recipe, Cossetta in St. Paul and 7 Sioux Falls Restaurants with My Daughter Kalani PerryMy daughter Kalani Perry joins me to share our spicy vodka pasta with chicken recipe, and she gives us a suggestion for how to use up that carton of heavy cream you need to make it, what it’s like to experience Cossetta, an Italian restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota, especially what she likes most to eat there, and she gives us a list of seven restaurants in Sioux Falls, South Dakota that she likes.
Randomsweets.com
Cossetta
PAve
Josiah’s Coffeehouse, Café & Bakery
All Day Café
MacKenzie River
Blarney Stone Pub
JL Beers
Oshima Sushi
Website: randomsweets.com
Instagram: @potato...2023-02-0245 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensMary's Meatloaf and Beverly's Mac and Cheese with Christianne BeringerChristianne Beringer shares her family recipes for two quintessential comfort foods—her mom’s meatloaf and her grandma’s macaroni and cheese. You'll learn how to elevate your classic meatloaf by topping it with a sweet and savory brown sugar sauce that caramelizes as it bakes. Whether you like meatloaf or not, if you have ties to the Midwest, emotions of nostalgia will drench over you like ketchup just thinking about it.
Join us for a conversation about Midwest comfort food, the story behind Christianne's family’s meatloaf recipe, how to make her Grandma Beverly’s mac & cheese without a written re...2023-01-2852 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensCheesecake Baking 101After more than 20 years, the most common questions I get are about baking cheesecakes—like how to know when it’s ready to come out of the oven, what causes cheesecake to crack, how to remove it from the springform pan, how to store it, and how long it should thaw before serving it.
In this episode, I share my tips for making cheesecake at home—from the casual and easy ways of making it in a cake pan, mason jars, and cupcake papers to the fancier springform pan for elegant slices, and mini cheesecake pans for adorable individual desserts.
If you...2023-01-2024 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensNearly 60 Years of Homemade Birthday Ice Cream with My Dad Ron PerryDecember birthdays can be hard. On this episode, I sit down with my dad in South Dakota, while he shares how he started his homemade ice cream birthday tradition, how, as the youngest of the family, he would get his brothers to turn the crank on the ice cream maker at his party, why my sister thought the ice cream would maybe taste like slough water, and dad’s tip for making smooth and creamy homemade ice cream every time.
Vanilla and rocky road ice cream recipes: randomsweets.com
Follow on Instagram @potatoesandmittens and @RandomSweets.
Join the fun on Facebook ht...2023-01-1325 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensHiking, Funeral Potatoes, BBQ and a Bakery in Bemidji MinnesotaVisiting Bemidji Minnesota and wondering where to eat, stay and get in a little shopping and hiking? My husband, Jason, joins us on this episode as we reminice about our October trip to Bemidji for hockey, dining, hiking, shopping and lakeside lodging. From a hearty meal at Fozzie's Smokin Bar-B-Q, gourmet hot dogs at Lucky Dogs, to whipped honeymooners at Raphael's Bakery Cafe and Funeral Potatoes (cheesy hash browns) at Minnesota Nice Cafe, we share about our stop at Bemidji Woolen Mills, hiking and exploring at Neilson Spearhead Center and walking across the Mississippi River at Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters...2023-01-0636 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool Mittens26 Bakeries You Should Know About in Minnesota and South DakotaThere are hundreds of bakeries across the Midwest. Come along with me as we explore 26 of them in Minnesota and South Dakota. From chocolate croissants and kouign-amann at Red Bench Bakery in Chaska and Excelsior Minnesota, and the famous and trademarked Zebra doughnuts in Centerville, South Dakota to a surprise menu item at Taste of Scandinavia, I briefly share about 26 bakeries I have enjoyed.
Website: randomsweets.com
Instagram: @potatoesandmittens
Instagram: @randomsweets
Facebook: Random Sweets
https://randomsweets.com/doughnuts-donuts-or-olykoek-a-few-of-our-favorites-in-south-dakota-and-minnesota/
Minnesota
Hendricks Bakery https://www.facebook.com/HendricksHometownBakery/
Raphael’s Bakery Café https://www.raphaelsbakery.com
Kowalski’s Markets https://www.kowalskis.com
L...2022-12-3134 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensBreakfast for HouseguestsWhat do you make for breakfast when you have overnight houseguests? In this episode, I share recipes for two meat, egg, and cheese breakfast casseroles, plus my favorite recipes for muffins, butterscotch monkey bread, mini cinnamon sugar doughnuts (much easier than you think), coffee cakes, amaretto pistachio Bundt cake with booze, and cake batter pancakes with sprinkles for the kids. Rise and shine!
o Randomsweets.com https://randomsweets.com
o 8x8 Hash Brown and Sausage Breakfast Casserole https://randomsweets.com/8x8-hash-brown-and-sausage-breakfast-casserole/
o 9x13 Sausage and Cheddar Hash Brown Casserole https://randomsweets.com/feed-your-family-or-hungry-team-ham-sausage-and-cheddar-hash-brown-breakfast-casserole-for-the-win/
o Butterscotch Cinnamon Chip Muffins https://rando...2022-12-2414 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensCookbooks I'd Give As GiftsAs I’m wrapping up my Christmas shopping, I’m thinking about how much I like to give and receive cookbooks as gifts. I’d like to hear from you which cookbooks you’d give as presents so I thought I’d share a few of my favorites. It turns out, it’s like trying to pick a favorite child, which is impossible. So on this episode of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens I’m sharing 13 cookbooks, 14 actually, that I enjoy so much that I’d give them as gifts—well, not MY copies of course because I couldn’t part with them—but new on...2022-12-1716 minFuneral Potatoes & Wool MittensHello. My name is Staci.On today’s episode, we’re talking about why I started this podcast and where the name came from, what you can expect, and a personal look into my history of baking. My funny and talented friend Jen Miller joins me with all kinds of questions, and you’ll learn what happened the first time I brought homemade cheesecake to a food day at work and why I like living in the Midwest.
Random Sweets Blog: https://randomsweets.com
Yes! Yes! Caramel Brownies recipe: https://randomsweets.com/yes-yes-everyone-deserves-a-gooey-caramel-brownie-recipe/
Plum Cake recipe: https://randomsweets.com/do...2022-12-1052 min
Funeral Potatoes & Wool MittensTrailerHow do you make contest-winning caramel brownies? Smoke Cheez-It crackers? Where is the best bakery in Minnesota to get a glazed blueberry or old-fashioned doughnut? Staci Perry Mergenthal, freelance writer, author of Random Sweets blog, TV guest baker, and speaker talks to people who embrace the warm and cozy spirit of everyday living and comfort food in the Midwest. Get the recipes at randomsweets.com. 2022-03-1302 min