(warm piano music) - [Narrator] Funding for "Off 90" is provided in part by: The Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, and the citizens of Minnesota.

(birds chirping) (upbeat rock music) - Cruising your way next, "Off 90," a local organization that is committed to helping families experiencing homelessness, an award-winning short film, a delicious recipe just in time for Mother's Day, and a visit with a local immigrant Who's making waves in southern Minnesota.

These stories and more are coming up on your next stop, "Off 90."

(upbeat funky music) Hi, I'm Barbara Keith.

Thanks for joining me on this trip "Off 90."

First up, we stop in Rochester to check in with Family Promise Rochester, a local organization that is committed to helping families experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.

(wistful guitar music) - Family Promise National started in New Jersey.

It was by a woman who saw a need for this service in her community.

And so, she piloted her own program called the Interfaith Hospitality Network, where she included different church members and churches to provide that shelter.

And then, Family Promise kind of grew out of the need to provide services to those individuals.

You know, shelter was a basic need that needed to be met, but then offering supportive services prolonged those individuals into more of a sustainable environment, essentially.

And so, now Family Promise has grown to over 200 affiliates across the nation.

And so, Family Promise Rochester is just one of those affiliates.

Our mission is to help families experiencing homelessness, and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.

- We do that by providing shelter, case management services, life skills classes, et cetera, to families in the Rochester area who are experiencing homelessness.

In February of 2021, we opened the doors to a static site shelter.

We call it our North Star House, and we have the ability to shelter up to five families, or we think 18 people, though we are operating at half capacity during COVID.

We currently have 11 people in shelter, two families.

- Prior to coming into Family Promise, and moving to Minnesota, my family, we were homeless for about two, three years.

Well, we lived in a hotel, and it was a struggle doing it all by ourselves.

And coming into Family Promise, and knowing that they had our back, just being all around supportive of the families that came through the program, it helped to keep us from feeling like we were all over the place, and that we didn't have anyone.

We had a support system, we had somebody that was there to help us whenever we needed.

It meant a lot.

It still does.

The life skills classes brought everybody together.

And we got to talk about our experiences.

- We have a large number of families that enter our shelter program, and many of them do come from out of the country.

But each family that enters meets with our staff, these stories help us better understand their needs.

Where they're coming from, how to structure their individualized plans, and ultimately help them integrate into a new community.

And this has led us to understand how they feel about our services that they receive from our staff, and our volunteers, it helps us understand what their expectations and needs are.

For example, we recently created a meal exchange program that is culturally relevant, and it provides us the opportunity for cultural exchange between our program participants, and our volunteers who are providing meals.

- We are also piloting a new program where we're offering a little bit more of what's called shelter diversion.

So, trying to divert those families that are at risk of experiencing homelessness, and trying to keep them in the place that they're at, just to kinda avoid the trauma of shelter if possible.

- We know that racism is the reason why the majority of those people we serve are people of color.

And we also know that we still have a lot of work to do to make that truth more visible, and to change that reality.

So we strive to do better at committing ourselves to addressing the racism that's robbing many children of their housing, their opportunities, their futures.

And that's also why we are working hard to expand the diversity of our staff, our volunteers, our board.

We are beginning to recognize that having diversity, and the wide range of perspectives that that brings are critical to helping us carry out our mission in the most compassionate way possible.

- It's really awesome program.

The support system, they help lay a foundation for those who are in the program, coming in, struggling to get on their own two feet.

They work tirelessly for these families.

And I can say that firsthand, that they did whatever they needed to do to make sure that we were okay.

It's just, it's an awesome program.

I love Family Promise, I do.

(upbeat funky music) - Winner of the Best of Fest award for the Speechless Film Festival in 2020, short film, "Muse," tells the story of a young artist who finds inspiration in an unexpected place.

(inspirational piano music) (alarm beeping) (alarm beeping) (alarm beeping) (engine humming) (door clicks) (tense piano music) (fan squeaking) (water dripping) (bag rustling) (energetic piano music) (phone clicks) (vacuum hums) (bag rustles) (spray hisses) (wipe squeaks) (door clicks) (bags rustle) (woman sighs) (bags rustle) (woman sighs) (door clicking) (woman sighs) (warm hopeful music) (paper rustles) (warm piano music) (paper tearing and rustling) (woman sighs) (woman inhales) (woman exhales) (warm hopeful music) (paper rustling) (pencil scratching) (warm inspirational music) (light clicks) (clothes rustling) (footfalls tapping) (warm inspirational music) (box clicks) (sketchbook flaps) (warm piano music) (sultry funky music) - The Northfield Arts Guild is a place for everyone, creators and audiences alike.

Every month, the Guild Theater hosts a live performance of local musicians.

One of these performers, Barb Piper, performed an original song, "On Safari," and the Guild was kind enough to share her performance with us today.

Enjoy.

♪ Running scared and left for dying ♪ ♪ Ripped from the grip of a hungry lion ♪ ♪ We are bleeding ♪ ♪ Staggering before we fall ♪ ♪ The pride commences to his call ♪ ♪ And him join him in the field ♪ ♪ Rise up, Antoinette ♪ ♪ Keep your head, it's not over yet ♪ ♪ The up and down of power folds ♪ ♪ To the balanced hand that nature holds ♪ ♪ To rise up, have no fear ♪ ♪ You're all connected here ♪ ♪ A kaleidoscope of butterflies ♪ ♪ Will decorate the tarnished skies ♪ ♪ And sacred hearts are bleeding ♪ ♪ On safari, heading east ♪ ♪ Facing with the wildebeest ♪ ♪ Two hunters and their lawyer ♪ ♪ On a quest for wild game ♪ ♪ The plastic soldier takes his aim ♪ ♪ A trophy for the foyer ♪ ♪ Great shot, the brother cries ♪ ♪ Gleeful as the lion dies ♪ ♪ Grieve for those who feel the shame ♪ ♪ But not for those who share his name ♪ ♪ So wise up, try to see ♪ ♪ He is just a wannabe ♪ ♪ Whom agreed in firebrand ♪ ♪ Do your will, take all you can ♪ ♪ Dystopian destroyer ♪ (warm guitar solo) ♪ Klepto walk backs against the wall ♪ ♪ Hoping for a crystal ball to see ♪ ♪ With eyes opened, forge ahead ♪ ♪ Nothing matters when you're dead ♪ ♪ Up and down a power folds ♪ ♪ To the balanced hand that nature holds ♪ ♪ To rise up, have no fear ♪ ♪ Truth and love will persevere ♪ ♪ Speak your mind loud and clear ♪ ♪ But remember all the beauty here ♪ ♪ A kaleidoscope of butterflies ♪ ♪ Will decorate the tarnished skies ♪ ♪ And sacred hearts ♪ ♪ Are bleeding ♪ (energetic funky music) - A contestant on season 10 of "Master Chef," local culinary artist, Shari Mukherjee, shares a recipe perfect for Mother's Day.

- Hi, my name is Shari Mukherjee, I am a Rochester resident that was on season 10 of "Master Chef" with Gordon Ramsay.

And today I'm super excited to be in the kitchen with you guys.

I'm gonna show you guys how to make a Dutch baby.

If you are unfamiliar with the Dutch baby, it's a super easy and delicious fluffy pancake.

So, the first thing we're gonna do, lemme grab a blender.

So everything is mixed right into the blender.

If you don't have a blender, obviously, you can do this by hand using a whisk.

It'll just take a little bit more time.

So in the blender goes three quarters of a cup of flour, three quarters of a cup of milk, a couple of tablespoons of sugar.

We're gonna add a little bit of cinnamon in here, because I want a little bit of spice, a little bit of extra flavor, and we're also gonna put some lemon zest.

Next is three eggs.

So, I'm gonna go ahead and crack these eggs.

And I always like to keep a little bowl at the table where you're working, so that way you can just discard the shells right there.

I always crack them into a separate container, just something I learned from my grandma growing up, we always had farm fresh eggs, wanted to make sure they were all good before you put them in your product.

Pinch of salt, and a little bit of butter.

While we blend this, what we're gonna do is I already have the oven preheated to 400 degrees.

I grabbed a cast iron pan.

We're gonna go ahead and put this in the oven just to get it nice and hot.

So now we have all of our ingredients into our blender container.

We're gonna go ahead and blend this up.

(blender whirring) You know, before we blend this, I also wanna add in a little bit of lemon zest.

So to get the zest off the lemon, we don't want the white pith part, that part's bitter.

We just want this yellow part, this is where all the essential oils are.

(blender whirring) All right, guys, so, you'll know it's done.

It should look really nice and liquidy, really nice and smooth.

It's thinner than pancake batter, it's more like a crepe batter, and there should not be any lumps of flour.

If there's lumps of flour, continue to blend.

We don't want that, it's gonna cook wrong otherwise.

So, now our batter is ready.

The pan out of the oven, this is very hot, so we always wanna be careful.

If you do not have a cast iron pan, that is okay.

Cast iron, a non-stick, it's gonna be totally fine.

If it is non-stick, make sure it's oven safe, of course.

So we put about two tablespoons of butter into the batter.

We're gonna add about one tablespoon into the pan.

This is gonna ensure that our Dutch baby will remove, and it won't stick, okay?

Once this gets melted, we're simply gonna pour our batter in, and then we're gonna pop it right into the oven.

How easy is that?

Isn't that simple?

All right.

(tapping pan) Butter is melted, we don't necessarily want that to brown, so you want to kinda move fast at this point.

So you can see, butter is melted.

So pancake batter in, I kinda just swirl it around.

(upbeat rock music) All ready to go back into the oven.

I'm gonna pop it in.

This is gonna cook for about 20 minutes or so.

While it's cooking, I'm gonna show you guys how to make a quick jam, it's your topping.

Now our Dutch baby is in the oven baking.

I have the oven set for 10 minutes.

We're gonna check it, but it's gonna take about 20.

So in that time, I'm gonna show you guys how to make a fresh fruit compote.

So I have a little sauce pan here, to that, I'm gonna use some berries.

This is about a cup and a half.

You guys, you can kinda just wing it.

So these are, this particular recipe is just a guide.

Do it by taste, do what you like, go ahead and wing it.

I have a quarter cup of sugar, it's always good to start a little bit less, and then you can always add more.

So I'm gonna add not quite all of this.

I'm gonna add a little bit of salt, and a little bit of lemon.

So, the lemon is going to really freshen this up, and brighten it up.

It's gonna make it taste really nice and fresh.

Now, because we put cinnamon and lemon zest into the pancake, I actually wanna do that with my berries too.

Probably even less than a quarter teaspoon.

(spoon tapping) Just a little cinnamon will do, you don't need too much, it can be overpowering.

All right.

And then from here, we're gonna let this just kinda cook and simmer.

The berries will start to break down, and we'll get a really nice jam by the time we pull that Dutch baby out.

All right, guys, how beautiful is this?

Look at that fluffy pancake.

First thing we're gonna do, I'm just gonna move my hot pad here and set it down.

It should almost lift right out.

Now, it is hot, there could be some steam under, so you always wanna be careful, but it just pulls right out.

The first thing I like to do is I like to take some of this homemade jam we made.

So again, look at that beautiful jam.

We cooked that just while this was in the oven, how great would this be for Mother's Day, you guys?

Impress your mom, make her a Dutch baby, and then do the dishes after, so she doesn't have to clean.

(Shari laughs) And then what I really like to do is I like to add a little bit of color, and a little bit of crunch.

So, I'm also gonna top this with some ground pistachio.

You can just chop some up, chop some almonds, whatever, you can leave it off if you want, but I really like the color.

It's a little pistachio on, followed by a little powdered sugar.

Add a little bit of extra sweetness, right?

And pretty, I mean, it makes it look just beautiful.

And there we have it.

Here is our Dutch baby, a brunch perfect for Mother's Day.

If you want this recipe, you can find it on my website, SpicedUpMom.com, or follow me on Instagram, @SpicedUpMom.

I can't wait to get in the kitchen, and cook with you guys again.

Thank you so much for spending the morning with me.

Mm.

Really good, guys.

(sultry funky music) - Executive director of 125Live, Sylwia Oliver has made a home in Rochester after immigrating from Poland to Northern Ireland, and finally settling in Minnesota with her husband in 2012.

- I was born in a small little town on the northwest of Poland.

But then my parents moved to Warsaw, which is the capital of Poland.

And that sort of prompted little bit, you know, I was a teenager back then, since I actually do enjoy it, something like very cleansing about moving places.

And that may be starting from beginning, but just having this fresh start, and just not knowing anyone, it almost like woke something adventurous in me.

My name is Sylwia Bujak Oliver, - [Barbara] And where do you live?

- Currently in Rochester, Minnesota.

This is number one question, where are you from?

Whenever people want to know my accent, which, they're obviously too polite to ask me what I'm originally from.

So I'm like, Rochester, I live in Rochester.

(laughs) The whole big thing, and I'm sure it's currently still happening, it's to travel.

You know, you have, you don't have your family yet, you don't have your kids.

You know, my parents were always like very adventurous, and saying, just go, you're young.

Yes, come back, we are always here for you, but you need to travel.

The whole discussion was basically, you know, what can I do and how to get out of Poland.

And that's why I decided to move to Northern Ireland.

And I actually met my husband there.

You don't want to like start any relationship and just decide to move to a foreign country.

And so obviously, qI stayed, I had a baby there, little Arianna, who's not so little anymore.

(laughs) And at some stage, you know, my husband, he actually went to San Diego and met this team there on some type of conference at Mayo.

And he asked me what would I think about living in the United States.

My first thought was, is he absolutely insane?

I am already extremely homesick, you know, I, you know, I see my parents four times a year.

Let's just go even farther, that sounds like an amazing idea.

(laughs) But the more we talk about it, and you know, about starting fresh, and just trying to be adventurous, you know, like, and Arianna was one year old.

And I knew, whenever I would've moved to the States, obviously, my husband went for it for an interview to Mayo Clinic, and he was successful, they offered him a job.

But the big discussion was I'm gonna be stay-at-home mom, which was really frightening for me, but also almost liberating as well.

Because again, I'm at home with this little baby.

I waited for my green card about four and a half years.

There was a lot of like bad luck in that, somebody owed it at us, in the meantime, and my husband got promoted, so that was putting sort of our green card process, or my green card process lower and lower in the little line.

So I volunteered for Rochester area family Y.

And then whenever I was able to finally to work, my husband was saying, okay, you've been unemployed for four and a half years, time to find yourself a job.

(Sylwia laugh) If you are independent person, I'm not gonna even say woman, but an independent person who, you know, I earn my own living, that, you know, this is my money, and just suddenly rely on my husband being here, and just asking, you know, him, and obviously, he was very generous.

And, but just asking him for everything, and being not able to support yourself, I think it's, you know, it is a traumatizing thing.

So I applied to be a fitness instructor/personal trainer just for a few hours, and I was so adamant, I was like, I just want to work a few hours when my daughter is at school.

Absolutely no full time, you know, I know, you know, that the work-life balance.

I learned my lesson, I'm gonna be very smart about it.

Yeah, and now we are like five years later, here I am, working full-time.

(laughs) I think the weather in Minnesota tricked my husband, 'cause whenever he arrived, (laughs) he arrived for an interview in Mayo Clinic, and it was March.

And he said, oh, it's so beautiful in here, everybody just wears short sleeves, and there was beautiful weather.

Next year, whenever we moved in here, it was still snowing in May.

(laughs) And I remembered like asking him because I watched the news, I think it said, spring started in Siberia, you know?

And I'm like, yeah, and we just had this snowstorm up here in Minnesota now.

(laughs) So yeah, that's how we ended up in America.

- We've reached the end of this tour "Off 90."

Thanks for riding along.

See ya next time!

(energetic funky music) - [Narrator] Funding for "Off 90" is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, and the citizens of Minnesota.

(birds calling) (warm piano music)