Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page E9

JOURNAL RICK NELSON RICK NELSON Star Tribune The Farmhouse on Madeline Island in La Pointe, Wis. In a new memoir, Duluth cookbook author Beatrice Ojakangas tells how recipes and the skills behind them led to her career in food. By LEE SVITAK DEAN lee.dean@startribune.com It was the early and I was seated at House restaurant in Duluth, up the road from the University of Minnesota. Should I splurge on a burger? At 85 cents to $1.50 each, it would make a dent in my meager college finances. One look at the menu 36 burgers and I need convincing.

These were exotic for the time, open-face sandwiches with whimsical names and wild descriptions. There was the Duluth Blizzard- burger hamburger sheltered beneath a of sour cream as only Duluth would, or could, have it; the garnish, of course, is a kosher pickle and a Scandinavian style pickled beet. Var sa And there was the HHH burger (that would be named after Hubert Horatio Humphrey, vice president of the nation from 1965-69). The Cannibalburger (which was not to be confused with the Toplessburger): daring! The hamburger just singed on the grill really Also on the menu: the Beatles- burger (with a wig of coleslaw), the Russianburger (served with caviar) and more sandwiches than I could afford to try. Not until decades later did I discover that the creative mind and dry sense of humor behind this venture was none other than Beatrice Ojakangas, the prolific cookbook author from Duluth, with her Finnish heritage and baking prowess.

She was ahead of her time. Way ahead. The author of 29 cookbooks now boasts a memoir, Finnish Rye, Feed Sack Fashion, and Other Simple Ingredients From my Life in Food (University of Minnesota Press, 197 pages, though she actually be boasting because, well, Scandinavians do that. So she mention her recent induction into the Hall of Fame of the Nordic stfest in Minot, N.D., where her name appears alongside Walter Mondale, Knute Rockne and O.E. Rolvaag.

Nor will she mention that her volume Great Scandinavian Baking was awarded a spot in the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame. Or that her first book, Finnish published in 1964, is still in print, a rarity matched by few cookbook authors (that was 52 years Never mind that she cooked with Julia Child and Martha Stewart on their TV shows. Her claim to fame may lie in the freezer of your supermarket where pizza rolls are stored. Ojakangas developed 55 flavor options for a project by Jeno Paulucci, the Duluth businessman who owned Chun King, a company that produced Chinese foods. He wanted to expand the use of his eggroll technology.

Those snack rolls (now sold by might well have been the flavors of cheeseburger, Reuben, or peanut butter and jelly (a Paulucci favorite). But when the familiar pizza ingredients were brought out during a demo with the big guy himself, all conversation stopped. slammed his fist on the table and said, Pizza said Ojakangas, who was paid $3.50 an hour for her work. Culinary training started early for Ojakangas, on a farm in Floodwood, where she grew up, the eldest of 10 children and, not surprisingly, learned to cook, sew and farm. Now 82, her tales in make for a more contemporary version of Laura Ingalls House on the as she tells of milking cows, baking bread and doing farm chores as a child.

Her cooking skills led her to the county and state fairs, for which she practiced food demonstrations in front of the livestock. Rebellion came at the age of 18 when she was determined to go to college, where she would earn a degree in home economics. (Her parents had wanted her to take a job as a bank teller after high school.) Ojakangas had bigger dreams, and they revolved around food, which was not surprising for some- one whose nickname has been since birth. (Her Finnish grandfather pronounce which to him sounded like But first there was time in Oxford, England, where her husband, Dick, was stationed. From there, she entered the Pillsbury Bake-Off on a whim with a recipe for Chunk Cheese Bread.

By the time she heard she was a finalist, she was back in the U.S. with her first due date the same day as the competition. Fortunately, that baby came early, and she went on to win the second grand prize of $5,000. A Fulbright scholarship for her husband brought them to Finland for a year, an opportune spot for the couple, who both spoke the language and had that heritage. With two small children in tow, Ojakangas wanted her own outlet and found it through the U.S.

Information Service, where she proposed that she would travel around the country and present cooking demos on American food to Finnish women. But she had as many questions on Finnish food traditions as did the participants of her, and she gathered those notes and recipes, which would come in handy later. A move to the West Coast, again prompted by her education, brought her to the offices of Sunset magazine, where she started work as a typist and soon became one of the food editors. During the evenings, she worked on her Finnish cookbook. From there it was back to Duluth, where Ojakangas set up shop in her home, at the end of a long driveway, way out in the country.

When not writing cookbooks, offering inspiration to the cooking effort at First Lutheran Church in Duluth, which told has the best lutefisk dinners and Lenten suppers in the North Country. No surprise there. Those burgers were the best, too. Lee Svitak Dean Adventure of a lifetime Star Tribune file At home with her cookbooks, Beatrice Ojakangas of Duluth tracks trends and finds inspiration from recipes that span world flavors. SUNDAY SUPPER Savory Spiced Pumpkin Soup, from by Maria Rodale.

Savory Spiced Pumpkin Soup Serves 4. Note: Two pounds of raw pumpkin equals about 15 ounces of pur e. From by Maria Rodale. 4 tbsp. 1 2 stick) butter 1 white onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, nely chopped 1 tsp.

ground turmeric 1 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. curry powder, plus a little for garnish 1 tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves 2 lb. pumpkin (sugar or pie variety), peeled, seeded and chopped (see Note) 2 c.

vegetable or chicken stock 1 4 c. pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds), for garnish Olive oil 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice 1 2 c. heavy cream or coconut milk, plus extra for serving Salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat.

Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add garlic, turmeric, ginger, curry powder and parsley, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add pumpkin and stock, bring to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, or until pumpkin has softened completely. Meanwhile, toss pepitas in a little olive oil and spread out seeds on baking sheet in single layer. Roast in oven for about 13 minutes, until fragrant.

Cool, then toss in a little curry powder. Set aside. In batches, transfer soup to blender and process until smooth. Return soup to pot and add lime juice, cream, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and cook until warmed through.

Ladle into bowls and drizzle with a little cream and sprinkle the roasted pepitas atop. SUNDAY TASTE Farmhouse This casual daytime charmer is the best thing to happen to Madeline Island food- and drink-wise, anyway in ages. Twin Citians Gilpin Matthews and Lauren Schuppe made the move north a little over a year ago, offering sharply rendered basics that emphasize local, seasonal ingredients: savory waffles, a grilled cheese sandwich laden with garlic scape pesto, a top-shelf burger, and more, all in the $13-and-under range. Open for breakfast and lunch 858 Main La Pointe, 1-715-747-3276, farmhousemadelineisland.weebly.com Good Thyme Ask for a table near the massive stone hearth and dig into pork tenderloin with risotto, meatloaf with a spiced-up glaze, roast chicken in a red mole sauce and other classics- with-a-twist, most in the This being Wisconsin, a Friday night fish fry: Lake Superior trout or whitefish (in a Leinenkugel beer batter), with waffle fries, coleslaw and a cheese biscuit, served in all-you-can-eat portions for $16. Open for dinner 77180 Hwy.

13, Washburn, 1-715-3735255, agoodthyme.com Wild Rice Chef Jim Webster presides over one of the great restaurants, with big-city cooking (and gracious service) that would fit right into Milwaukee, Chicago or Minneapolis. For those uninterested in splurging on entrees that breezily land in the $30s, a far more accessible bar menu. The striking setting has the look of a Gold Card- level North Woods summer camp, thanks to Duluth architect David Salmela Open for dinner through Oct. 29. 84860 Old San Bayfield, 1-715-7799881, wildricerestaurant.com Where to eat on a South Shore fall colors drive Join the fun and enter the 14th annual Taste Holiday Cookie Contest.

Those in search of big-time fame, look no further: Your recipe and your story will be featured in the Star Tribune on Dec. 1. That day the Star Tribune will also hold a tasting of the winning cookie (and the four finalists) at 11 a.m. at in the Capella Tower in downtown Minneapolis. Our 2016 bakers will also be invited to bake at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis on Dec.

3 The winner receives a $200 gift card to a local kitchenware store. easy to enter: Include the cookie recipe, its background (we like original recipes, but favorites from cookbooks, newspapers, magazines or websites are OK, too), and how it became part of your holiday baking traditions. forget your contact information: street address, daytime phone number and e-mail address. Enter via e-mail at startribune.com (please write Taste Holiday Cookie Contest in the subject field), or mail to: Taste Holiday Cookie Contest, Star Tribune, 650 3rd Av. Suite 1300, MN 55488.

delay. Deadline is noon on Oct. 21. Wanted: Recipes! Meet Beatrice Ojakangas Oct. 11: Common Good Books (38 Snelling Av.

St. Paul), 7 p.m., book signing. Free. Oct. 12: American Swedish Institute (2600 Park Av.

5:30 p.m. reception, 6:30 p.m. discussion with Kim Ode of the Star Tribune. Tickets reservations suggewsted, z.umn.edu/ homemadelaunch Ronald Reagan, then a movie star, chatted with Ojakangas at the 1957 Pillsbury Bake-Off. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016 VARIETY STAR TRIBUNE E9.