updates

listening to Lady Day 

Billie Holiday collection # 1

"When you're smiling"  

Sorry for the delay, ladies and gents. 

I've been reading and scanning food bits online, five minutes at a time when I get a chance.  Some weeks, there's more opportunity than others.  With a big mug of sweet & milky earl grey by my side, I'll update you.

• Oh my, MIETTE. You taste as good as you look.  That's a rare compliment.  Typically fancy french-y kind of baking doesn't satisfy my taste buds as much as the eyeballs. But WOW.  Check out the photos she's posted on her FB page.  Amazing.  More Ann Arbor talent shines! If you're at the Kerrytown farmers market, or are a customer of Lunasa, please order from Miette.  You will not be sorry.  We've particularly enjoyed the brioche rolls and the chocolate ganache tart.   And stay tuned to her on FB, because a little birdie told me there's some exciting news in her (and our) future! 
• Need to know how to make Mozzarella?  John Loomis is your man (follow him on Twitter).  My daughter and I spent last Saturday afternoon with him at Zingerman's creamery.   Definitely worth it.  The products we went home with were amazing.  For dinner we thickly sliced our homemade mozzarella and put it on a Zing French baguette, spread black olive tapenade and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.  Wow.  Even if you don't make your own mozzarella, buy some fresh this a.m. and make this sandwich for lunch.  
• Why care about being a locavore?  I know some cynics are wondering what the hype is all about.    
• Going to see AMERICAN MEAT tonight, so more about that later.  But I'm grossly excited to see this expose.  Me going to watch this is a little like the choir being in the front row at church, but I want to stay informed and be able to explain with evidence why this topic is important to me. 
• To that end I've joined a meat CSA called Bending Sickle Farm. I payed 5 months in advance when I picked up the first share in February.  Pork chops, ham hock (with quite a lot of meat on it), ground pork, goat stew meat (looking forward to a curry with this), leaf lard, and a slab bacon.  So far everything has tasted and looked great. If you're like me, it makes for happy eating to know your meat was treated well during it's life.
 

I've tried:
yogurt cake ~ Chocolate & Zucchini - a standard (almost bland) cake that is 'the first that every French child learns to bake'.  With raspberry coulis, lemon curd and whipped cream, it was enjoyable.  I didn't fall in love with this gateau, but i adore this delightful blog and cookbook. 

kinda classic coleslaw ~ Smitten Kitchen for fish fry night- 'not your mama's' because of the blue cheese.  Instead of celery seed I grated a celeriac root.  I prefer the celery a background note - not the harsh black seeds that stick in your teeth and get burped up for hours.

butterscotch pudding ~ David Lebowitz - a favorite oldie but goodie that can't seem to stay in this house for more than a day. 


Dinner last night: 
Bending sickle ground pork browned til crispy, with rosemary, crushed red pepper, and slivered garlic, sauteed broccoli raab, and pecorino romano served over boccatini. 


Looking forward to:
SEMBA beekeepers conference : next weekend
Cecelia Pastries class on Eclairs : March
Joel Salatin @ Michigan Theater : April
BaconFest Michigan : June
River Cottage !! Cheese Making Class : June