'Startled Cub'

We have a trap on the premises, people. Installed by the Fabulous people at Michigan's DNR. Right next to infamous 'startled cub' honeybee hives.

I hope this bear cannot read.

This morning the trap had triggered so we peeked in it, couldn't see anything, called the ph number to notify the authorities.  It was a raccoon. A raccoon who feasted on molasses and bacon and doughnuts. A very very smart raccoon.

Will keep you posted in the event that my honey thief returns.

okay, i guess it wasn't a joke after all.

Look who I just saw in my backyard.

sweet as...

Ladies and Gents, we have honey in the hives.  After last year's poor performance, I decided to give it another go. And we've been coasting along for about a month. 

But this is how I found the hives this morning...

Toppled & tumbled, but luckily not destroyed.  I don't know if I'm overreacting, but just last night I read on Annarbor.com that there were two separate black bear sightings only three miles from my house.  Could this be? a bear?  I don't know what did this, but something else wanted honey. 

So this morning, I put my sexy white suit on - and walked out there, only to find that nothing was broken only disassembled.  And to my surprise, honey.  Honey is in the frames. I scraped three square inches off one foundation to find

I was giggling as I walked back to the house, tasting it all the way. 

It's straining off in the kitchen now.  Beautiful and Delicious!

sometimes even a yankee...

Sometimes even a Yankee craves hush.puppies and cornmeal breaded fish.  Lake perch in this case from Bayport Fish Company.  It is supposedly never frozen - taken right from Saginaw bay which leads into Lake Huron. I picked it up on Wednesday at the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market.  Sometimes this seller is also available at the Lunasa online farmers' market.

This fish was flaky and wonderfully mild.  First dusted with seasoned flour, bathed in tabasco spiked buttermilk, then shaken in a bag of cornmeal and salt.  Fried in two inches of peanut oil.  The breading was a perfect compliment to the fish.  Sometimes a thick batter can mask the delicate (or purposely hide the disappointing) smells and taste of seafood.  This fish, however, needed very little breading. 

The little man swiping a filet off the platter while I was trying to take a photo.  

He was very pleased with himself.

Homemade tartar sauce, hot sauce, a fresh tomato and spinach salad, and an Alabama Fizz made this meal very complete.  Tomatoes courtesy of Carpenter's Greenhouse and Organic Produce, one of my favorite guys at the f.market, who already has delicious tomatoes thriving.

Thanks to Donald Link for the fabulous recipe for hushpuppies.  We are northerners, but these were the best we had ever tasted. 

 

What a day!

This is the Michigan that I love.


A2 farmers market





Lunch on the patio :: caprese salad

Garden's waking up

photos from a Middle.eastern food adventure

Yesterday was filled with a tour of Dearborn's finest Middle.eastern food joints on West Warren Ave. Per 'sky full of bacon' blog (Scroll down to his April 25th entry)

Grocery and dinner take out at

New Yasmeen

a thing of beauty

 (I forget the name of this but it was good.  maybe it was - 'knafeh'.
shredded filo-like pastry encasing a tart fluffy cheese, topped with a very floral rose water honey)

Sweets at Shatila bakery

Lunch at Assayad Restaurant

moist and fluffy falafels with tahini, kafta and chicken kababs.

what's playing in the kitchen: Ronnie Dunn, We all Bleed Red

Birthday dinner on cornman farms

Lucky, lucky girl am I.

grrr...

Crab morel risotto (drizzled with veal Demi glacé and curry oil) 

Roasted tomato and asparagus salad.

A perfect perfect perfect meal...

Ann Arbor gets street food!

Mark's carts

Last week I took a trip down to Washington street, near the intersection with Ashley, behind one of my favorite stores in all of Michigan, Downtown Home and Garden.   Street food carts, all the rage around the country, have finally reached Ann Arbor.  If you haven't heard about this yet, A2ites, Mark's carts is a new food courtyard downtown that serves a variety of ethnic foods.

For this first time around we order from EAT, an Ann Arbor catering partnership with roots in the old Jefferson Market.  Last week we lunched on three different styles of sliders, a sloppy youssef (joe) moroccan style with a cucumber raita, pork confit with mustard gremolata, and korean bbq beef (without the kimchi for the little guy).  They were all different and wonderfully full flavored.  I loved getting the opportunity to try the different flavors, and I love the distinct flavor profiles all done clearly and well.  This is the way I love to attack my cooking projects, with a shout out to the edible flavor and texture icons of a culture.

I'm ruminating on the possibility of running one of these carts myself.  It's like a restaurant without all of the front of the house details.  I could do it; I'd love to attack this project. But I'd have to start from square one which is a bit daunting. I don't have a current catering business to work out of.  So for now, I'll start by sampling the other stands.  And maybe one day...

Saveur takes on Spring

I get excited when new things pop up from the ground and into the market; fiddlehead ferns, asparagus, crab, salmon, rhubarb, morels.   As soon as they appear I snatch them up and start to have fun back in the kitchen.

Found this link today to choosing and preparing fresh spring produce.  Enjoy!

Saveur tips for spring produce

what's playing in the kitchen: Mumford & Sons, Roll away your stone

LUNASA

Ann Arbor people, do you know about Lunasa? What's Lunasa, you ask? Here's an excerpt from their website, www.lunasa.us.

Lunasa provides one-stop shopping for local products. With an online store-front, a twice-a-month in-person pickup, and a choice of two southeast Michigan locations in Ann Arbor and Garden City, Lunasa makes shopping local easy. Simply by becoming a member of Lunasa, you can be sure that the items you purchase are produced in Michigan by people who live in Michigan.

So, it's a farmer's market, but you reserve your stuff online the week before.  Ordering window is Thursday-Saturday for a pickup on the following Tuesday, bi-monthly. You can pay on the site directly with a credit card, or you can use your paypal account.

You do have to buy a $40 membership, but don't let this dissuade you. Think of it a donation for farmers and small producers who can't or don't care to break into a larger venue.  It is such a cool opportunity that we have to buy from local sources.

Pick up is on the south side of Jackson Road, between Zeeb and Parker Road. (There's also a Garden City pickup location.) After checking in, you walk around to each vendor picking up the merchandise that you reserved. You also can purchase anything extra that they brought with them. This was helpful for me the first time, because I needed to see some of the products before I bought them. I came away with pasta from Al Dente, tea leaves from Iceni, ice cream from Mooville Dairy, carrots from Ferris Farms, scones from Westwind Milling, cocoa powder from Mondo Chocolates, and brazilian cheese bread (gluten free) from Deer Tracks Farms.

What drew me into this initially was the wide variety of products, fresh foods (veg, fruit, meats, fish...), shelf stable items (flours, cake mixes, tea, coffee...), & beauty.  Check out the producers and categories online. You'll be impressed.  And please consider joining Lunasa, and meeting me there in two weeks to pick up your produce. Don't miss out on this exciting Ann Arbor marketplace, just because it's a little bit out of the way!

Congrats, my friend.

Alex Young wins James Beard awards Best Chef Great Lakes 2011! 

They finally came to their senses, my friend!  Wishing we were there with you tonight!

Ahhh NYC

I love my rural paradise. Really, I'm grateful for the green land and the fresh air and the slow(er) pace. But sometimes there's a disconnect between my inner metropolitan vibe and the space around me. After growing up in semi-urban New Jersey, I struggled with the transition to the Midwest. I've grown to love it -- it's now how I define myself. Yet, as any immigrant knows, there's always a deep part of your heart that cannot abandon the roots which grounded and shaped you from the start.

I'm lamenting as I am finishing up a surprise birthday weekend in Manhattan (without children; props to the husband!)... I'm not wanting to return to the routine & the hustle and bustle of my life. You should understand something about the anxiety of my days if the streets of Manhattan are calm in comparison.

Allow me to reminisce as I jostle around in a yellow cab on the way back to LaGuardia.


Le Bernardin. Friday night.
Eric Ripert is Poseidon. Every morsel of his is otherworldly.
The tuna carpaccio draped over foie gras and toast -- I will never forget this.


Green market at Union square. Saturday morning.
Makes Ann Arbor's farmer market look malnourished. I shouldn't covet what I don't have, but the bank of gourmet farmers and producers is clearly more abundant here than back home. Feeling the need to support some seller, but not needing fresh produce, we share a cup of raspberry cider.


ABCkitchen. Saturday brunch.
Ramp and goat cheese toast. Spring pea soup. Frites tossed with herbs and sliced garlic aside a mushroom panini. Wild mushroom pizza. Authentic farm to table in the middle of the city chaos.



Del Posto. Saturday dinner.
Mario Batali dresses up the rustic regional Italian flavors in the setting of an elegant 1920-30s dining room. It's Mario in a tuxedo. Highlights of the evening are seeing the Man himself, orange clogs and all. My father, declaring there's nothing to lose at 67, shouts out to him even though he clearly is not in the frame of mind to talk to the common people. Instead we are offered a kitchen tour by the chef de cuisine. An amazing way to end a birthday meal.

Bouchon bakery. Sunday morning.
Raspberry almond Croissants for breakfast and TKOs -Thomas Keller Oreos- for the little ones back home.

Eataly. Sunday late morning.
More Mario. An Italian marketplace in Madison Square Park. Although I wish I could shop there every week, I realize that between Zingerman's, Plum market, Morgan and York, and Cantoro's in Livonia, I can have this all back home. That doesn't stop me from buying loaves of bread and jars of capers to bring home for my babies.

Yep, those are all mushrooms..

(finally) street food. Sat and sunday mornings. Jefferson market. Madison square market (running from 5/6-6/1) pizza, shaved ice with homemade cherry syrup. And last but not least, a gyro at Columbus circle for Saturday lunch. Heaven.

Location:W 32nd St,New York,United States

This is an old post on a cool blog.  but hey, if you've never read it before it's new to you.

THINGS TO EAT BEFORE YOU DIE @ the travelers' lunchbox

"Perennial plate" could not be better.

Episode 39: Frozen Eggs

for Sonali

Kale Chips:

Roughly chop two large heads of kale, cavalo nero or curly kale.  Toss with two tablespoons of olive oil.  Add one tablespoon of kosher salt and as much freshly ground black pepper as you think you can handle. I like them spicy!  (Sometimes when I'm in the mood, I also add a palmful of sesame seeds to the mix.)

Roast at 400 degrees for 6 minutes.  Open oven and toss lightly.  Might need 2-4 additional minutes of baking depending on your oven and the kale.   You are looking for it to be crispy, but it can easily burn if you are not careful. Stay in the kitchen and check every one-two minutes. Remove from the oven. Let sit on the counter to cool before storing in an airproof container. Although we've never had any left over.
 

* I have also read that you can bake them at a lower temperature for a longer time.  If you'd prefer that method which has a lower babysitting need, look around online for the timing.

Alinea

As expected, a full review of Alinea would be too much. 22 courses of pure joy, fun and anticipation. Some courses were one bite; such as the truffle explosion, a single ravioli on a spoon filled with the most intense truffle flavor ever. Instructed by the waiter to close our mouths while chewing, lest we lose the filling on the table.

This course was a lemongrass infusion, refreshing, floral, aromatic. Most of all creative.



Some courses were more substantial. Rabbit three ways was comprised of a dish with three compartments, each a different interpretation of the same main ingredients. Least favorite for us was the dish we assumed to be a tasting from Achatz's new place, Next. He is premiering with a Parisian menu from 1906. Not that it wasn't delicious, it just felt out of place, and didn't flow with the remainder of the meal.

I'll leave you with dessert. Only at Alinea would the chefs come to your table and grafitti a (nitrogen) ice cream sundae. Not only that, but when they poured some of the sauces onto the table, they came out as squares as you can see below. Confounded by this we tried to sneak some secrets out of the waiter to no avail. We were most certainly too full to eat this dessert, but after toasting to excess, we were not about to hold back.




A masterpiece.

Revisited

Dear Mama,

Every day that passes I miss you more and more because you have missed more and more of our lives. And although in some sense the intense pain has subsided slightly, your absence looms larger than ever.

This weekend we are headed to Chicago for a distraction from our daily routine. Making this trip special is our reservation at Alinea, a world renown restaurant known for incorporating the mind along with all five senses to interpret a dish. It is a once in a lifetime experience, one that I wish I could share with you. I don't want to be an obnoxious blogger/poser at Alinea. So although I might try to snap one picture of one of the 22 courses, I will write more of an emotional review than a blow-by-blow.

I know that you wouldn't want me to be silent forever. So I dedicate these writings to you, my muse.

With undying love,
Allison

if food is love, then

My mother passed away on the day before Thanksgiving...

Not exactly food related news. But as you foodies and friends know well, food is love around here.  So if my heart is broken, I suppose that should affect my cooking.  Even so, I have been surprised how very little desire I've had to cook (not less desire to eat, mind you).  Typically all of my creativity, my love, my person flows through creating meals and delicacies.  But I'm stopped up. I'm numb, and I have no desire to cook.

Although I realize this pain will lessen with time, the Linda-shaped hole will never go away.
She was one of a kind.
She taught me to love.

So I guess that means, she taught me food.

murphy's law of cooking part 237

IF

1. you are making a cake with a seven minute marshmallow frosting,

AND

2. you have an almost three year old who is technically potty trained, but is still having issues getting to the toilet in time for no. 2

THEN
1.  you will hear "I have to go! I have to go!"  right when your syrup is at 240 degrees (2 degrees from when you need to pour it into the egg whites), and shortly before your egg whites are almost fully beaten, destroying both components, causing you to have to start again.

kale, revisited

Kale.  I love it.  This is not the first time I've sung it's praises on TLB.  I realize there are those of you who don't enjoy it and those who roll your eyes and those who think that I might even be faking how much I enjoy it.  But I'd venture to guess that you nay-sayers have never had kale prepared by someone who loves it.  We're not simply talking about old fashioned braised southern greens.  There are so many ways to prepare it, and I'm always reminded by the fall abundance in the farmers' markets just how much you can do with it.

Fried Kale with eggs

Heat two tablespoons olive oil and add two grated garlic cloves and one teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.  Saute for 30-60 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.  Do not let the garlic get brown because it will be in the pan for another 15 minutes and will have plenty of time to get yummy.  Add two heads of kale, chopped roughly, in small pieces.  Saute kale over medium heat- watching that it doesn't burn before it's fully cooked. It will go through a few different phases, softening and then starting to crisp up around the edges.  When it starts to get crispy, sprinkle it with the following 1/4 cup pine nuts, 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese and 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs.  You could use store bought, but not only do the fresh taste better, in this recipe the chunkiness of the crumbs add a great additional texture.  Lightly toss around the bread crumbs and cheese with the kale.  You don't need to go crazy stirring here, just make sure that each bit of kale is graced by pine nuts, bread crumbs and cheese.

Continue to saute on medium heat for another 2-3 minutes or until the pine nuts begin to brown.  When the cheese has melted in, spread the kale around the pan, creating four divots in which you will be able to crack and fry an egg.   Cook the egg to your favorite consistency.  Salt and pepper the egg as desired.  You won't need a lot of extra salt on the kale itself because of the other seasonings.  So taste it first to make sure you don't overdo it. 

Although this picture is not great, it will give you an idea of how I served it.   Frying the eggs in the kale worked out so well.  It was last minute impulse decision, but the crispy kale pieces nestled into the eggs.  Yummmm...  We were all fighting over the crsipy bits in the pan when this was done.  I served it with Nigella's salami pasta.  But it would be also great alone, split this into two portions with some good bread on the side to dip into the yolk.

Tomah-toes are dying out.  We're into October and a few last fruits refuse to give up. At the farmers' market yesterday there were quarts of cherry tomah-toes, along with the fashionable green tomah-toes.  For the most part, I'm done consuming these lovely things until next summer.  The supermarket versions pale in comparison.  I have some roasted, frozen, dehydrated, and canned --preserved for needy times.  By the time I'm done with these this winter, I just might be willing to buy a clamshell of cherry tomatoes grown in a greenhouse.  On second thought...

With yesterday's provisions, I made this tart that seems more complicated than it is (my favorite kind of dinner).  Store-bought puff pastry makes this as simple as can be.  Roll out puff pastry to stretch it a bit.  In this case my pastry was round so I made it into a pie shape, but if yours is rectangular, work with that shape instead.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (convection if you have it).  Combine one pint fresh ricotta cheese, three eggs, one half cup parmesan, one finely chopped shallot (if you have it; if not, substitute your favorite related onion), two tablespoons chopped parsley, one teaspoon kosher salt, and as much freshly ground pepper as you desire.  Spread this filling in the center, leaving about two inches of pastry bare around the edge.  Fold up this edge pressing together the overlapping edges lightly with your fingers.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until puff pastry is fully cooked and filling is set.  Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. 

farmers' market wednesday

Produce excites me.  Beautiful produce brings a tear to my eye.  This is why I love the farmers' market.  Not only am I among all of this loveliness, but I am among others who love fresh fruits and vegetables so much that they dedicate most hours of their lives growing and selling it.  Now, I realize that I'm a food dork, and you might not be quite as dorky as me, but come on!  Look at the natural marketing of this chard. It doesn't need an ad campaign.  Bright yellow stems scream to be bought and tossed with garlic, crushed red pepper and salt in a saute pan and served over fresh pasta with a coarse grating of ricotta salata.

mama's sick

It's a terrible thing when the captain of the ship can't keep up.  A cold doesn't keep me down;  I can power through something even a tad worse. A fever of 102.5, however, grounds me.  On the flip side, I never, I mean ever, sit on the couch in the middle of a weekday with my laptop. So while PBS is entertaining my little guy, I'm scanning around the internet and found a few new-to-me foodie sites.

Steamy kitchen

New asian cuisine

Fra'Mani

don't have a good butcher around you? mail-order some.

Kiss my spatula 

(wow!) - check out that homemade pantry and music matches. a girl after my own heart.

The pioneer woman

The perfect pantry

Mea Culpa

I'm sorry, dear readers, that I disappeared and disappointed.  I would staunchly promise that it'll never happen again, but that would just be one more vow not maintainable.  Getting four kids started successfully and happily into a new school year has gotten the better of me.  It's not that I haven't been cooking. Oh no, my friend... There's been

• ciabatta bread (sullivan street bakery recipe. no knead, 18 hour rise)
• refrigerator rolls 
• farmer john's favorite pumpkin bread 
• kentucky chess pie  
• cauliflower gratin
• paella style rice with chorizo
• clover peach pies (fried hand pies courtesy Lee Bros)
• red velvet cake (also Lee Bros-- birthday request)
• blueberry crisp ice cream (that's right, blueberry ice cream base, swirled with blueberry jam and crisp topping)
• jam, jam and more jam (cherry almond, peach, apricot, blueberry bay, raspberry rhubarb, tomato chili...)
• sauced tomatoes (quarts and quarts worth)
• pickles (beets, summer's peak, cucumbers, watermelon rind)
• hot sauce
• Jamie Oliver's farro with roasted veg **** this is awesome. please try it or some version of it
• carrot sheet cake (silver palate)
• applesauce (for now and later)
• homemade yogurt (topped with above jams)
• dried herbs (with a new dehydrator)
• matzoh ball soup (with homemade stock from homegrown chickens) 
• not to mention, a whole greek night party - roasted beets with skordalia, stuffed peppers, spanokopita, lamb shanks and too much ouzo...

just to name a few.

I've also harvested my first honey, although it was less than I'd hoped for.  (Will try again soon and post.)  And also almost cleared my garden of it's goodies.  Basil for pesto now waiting in the freezer. Swiss chard and eggplants still growing. Potatoes and carrots to harvest.  Hens are laying -- three to four eggs per day.  At some point I can expect more, but for now I'm happy enough with that harvest.

And as usual, Zingerman's roadhouse tasting dinners never disappoint, especially the wonderful harvest dinners.  Fruits of Chef Alex's labors displayed on long buffets that make you wish for a larger plate.

Also this: just in!!  Chef Alex's mac and cheese voted best comfort food in America by Food Network.  Alton Brown's show, America's Best: Comfort Food just aired on September 20th, but I was at the taping on May 7th (and on the show for 3 seconds at the end as an unwavering fan) and managed to keep my mouth shut about it.

Tantre Farm is accepting forms for their fall and Thanksgiving shares.  Even if you are not a regular CSA member you can sign up for this.  I heartily recommend it.  Contact info is on the website.

A month has past, and I've been terrible at updating this blog.  It's all I can do not to pass out at night after I'm done with all that needs to be done. (cue - pathetic violin music.)  So here's my lofty, but loose, promise, that I will be writing again more regularly to share with you the lovely things that are going on in my kitchen and in Ann Arbor.

herbed farmer's cheese

A great nosher or lunchtime spread.

herbed farmer's cheese

makes 8 servings

time: 10 minutes (plus 30 minutes to rest)

adapted from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist Entertains

Puree one pound cold farmer's cheese (or fresh goat cheese or fresh cream cheese), 1/2 cup sour cream, and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, one garlic clove in a food processor. (Alternatively mince the garlic and combine by hand with a whisk.)  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Taste again. 

Scrape into bowl and refrigerate until stiffened approx one hour.  Serve with crackers, lightly toasted pita or vegetable sticks. (Also try tossing with pasta or stuffing into chicken breasts.)

found in a2 :: bella italia

Bella Italia is not new for my family, but I thought I should give it a shout out for any locals. It's an awesome place for pizza, REAL pizza. It's a true New York/New Jersey style pizzeria, with pizza that tastes so good, you'd swear you were back home.  The calzones are fabulous too! 

Click on the link above to go to the website.  You can call in an order and pick it up for dinner.  It's located in the Colonade shopping plaza on Eisenhower Parkway.

the best buttermilk biscuits ever

Try this recipe on Joy the Baker's blog. It's been on there for over a year.  Apparently it's a family recipe, passed on by her dad.

And it was just perfect with a bowl of garden soup, fresh from my morning's harvest. 

P.S. Every single recipe on her site is fabulous.  Poke around a little bit while you're there.

watch out! he might bite!

-seafood marinara for the gang-

When seafood is this fresh and tastes this good, all you need is a simple preparation. Shrimp and calamari poached in marinara sauce. Topped with chunks of fresh lobster.