In your position I would have a look at the new mics from Audio Technica. In particular the 8035 & 8075 which are both very good value for money. Personally I'm not impressed with Rode mics but, if you've got a bit more to spend, the Sennheiser K6 system is also very good.

As for recorders the Marantz PMD660 and the Edirol R-9 (both of which I own and use regualrly) are very good. The Zoom H4 has some problems with high frequencies apparently and the Fostex is very expensive. I personally wouldn't go down the mini-disc route, only because of the difficulty in transferring the recording to the computer, compared to the ease of CF and SD cards.

In the long run it might be better forking out for a camcorder with a mic-in socket.