northern michigan adventures, culinary and otherwise

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I have had the good fortune to travel not once, but twice, to northern Michigan over the past month.  The first time I went I took an ancient ferry across Lake Michigan from Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Ludington, Michigan.  It took four hours.  The above picture is what it looks like when you are on that ferry in the middle of the lake and can’t see the shore on either side.  It’s a big lake.

My first trip to northern Michigan was for a family vacation in Charlevoix, which I had never been to previously.  Growing up we had visited Traverse City quite a bit and I remember a separate trip to Manistee and a few wintertime jaunts to Crystal Mountain and Garland for skiing but there was quite a lot of territory up yonder that I had heard wonderful things about but hadn’t yet explored for myself.

Of course there were many beautiful sights with Lake Michigan and nature and all but this being a food blog and my chief interest being in food you better believe I wanted to spend a good chunk of the vacation exploring that side of things.  So that’s just what I did.

Having lived in both metro Detroit and Brooklyn I’ve learned to love Polish food something fierce (not that it was a difficult feat by any means) so when I spied a restaurant called Polish Kitchen in Harbor Springs I instructed my dining companions that we needed to sup there as soon as possible.  None of us were disappointed.  I got dill pickle soup, pierogi, and latkes (because you can never have enough potato in your diet) and all were wonderful.  It reminded me of meals enjoyed at Polish Village in Hamtramck minus the low ceilings and two-man polka band.

It’s a good thing there was a fair amount of walking and biking that took place on my vacation because apart from the splendid Polish food I also had a first-rate homemade bagel with lox at L’Chayim Delicatessen in tiny Frankfort (they also have a location in even tinier Beaulah).  I almost felt like I was back at Russ and Daughters in NY except I didn’t have to take a number and wait a half hour for a sandwich.  (Mind you those sandwiches are worth waiting for.)

A day was spent wine-tasting on the Mission Peninsula just north of Traverse City.  My companions and I tasted wine at no less than five places which is relatively easy since the peninsula is quite small and the wineries are all close together.  We visited, in order: 2 Lads (beautiful modern building and lovely views), Chateau Chantal (always a classic– I bought half a case of wine here that I have been rationing out since I returned), Peninsula Cellars (their tasting room is in an old one-room schoolhouse which gave it a cool vibe, also loved their staff who we played movie trivia games with while sampling their wines), Black Star Farms (beautiful property and loved the giant round bar which meant you didn’t have to elbow your way up for a taste), and finally Bowers Harbor (lovely outdoor seating and intimate tasting area).  In addition to the wineries we also stopped at Jolly Pumpkin so that my brother could sample a few of their beers.  If we had planned it right we would have stayed on the premises to dine at Mission Table which is said to have outstanding food.  Next time.

In addition to Jolly Pumpkin we also visited Short’s Brewing Company in Bellaire for dinner another night.  Not only was the beer outstanding, the food was very good too.  I had a bowl of carrot ginger soup and split pizza with my mom.  Well worth the drive to Bellaire from nearby resort towns.

My second trip to the area was just last weekend for the wedding of my oldest friend.  (Is that the way to phrase that?  It makes it sound like she’s 102 but really we’re the same age and have been friends since we were three and used to carpool to Miss Janie’s pre-school together.  Those were the days.)  For this trip I opted to go the northern route and drove from Wisconsin through the upper peninsula of Michigan.  Hadn’t passed over the Mackinac Bridge in about ten years.  It looks the same of course, and still makes me nervous to drive in the center lane which is all grates open to the lake below.  No thanks, I’ll stick to the outer paved lane with the trucks and old folks.

Upon arriving in my destination of Petoskey I grabbed lunch at American Spoon Cafe which I had somehow missed on my first visit to the area.  The atmosphere is cozy and classic at the same time and the food was awesome.  I had butternut squash soup (if you haven’t noticed, I’m really into squash soup) and a root vegetable salad.

I had a little time to kill before the rehearsal dinner so I popped into local natural foods grocery store Grain Train because I heard a rumor they sold Light of Day Organics tea in bulk and that rumor was true.  A lovely gentlemen working in the bulk section helped me bag up three different kinds of their tea and I was on my way.  Light of Day has a farm in the Traverse City area that I plan to visit when next I’m in the area because they are starting to turn me into a tea snob and I would love to see their operation up close.  I used to be fine with regular old bagged tea from wherever and now it’s just not tasting as good to me… Funny how that works.

I also managed to sneak in a quick trip to Suzie’s Pies in Harbor Springs (which is located at the other end of the strip mall from Polish Kitchen though had not realized that when I was there a month earlier) to purchase a “Harvest” pie with apples, pears, and cranberries.  Suzie herself helped me and she could not be sweeter and the pie was awesome.  I also sampled a piece of her Canadian Butter Tart which was equally as delicious.

The rest of the weekend was lovely and filled with various wedding activities.

I put my hair in a fingerwave for the occasion.

The bride was beautiful.

And the drive home was gorgeous.

Pure Michigan.  Can’t wait to go back!

black sesame pear tea cake

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I credit my days living in New York’s Chinatown for helping me discover the beauty of black sesame.  It was always my flavor of choice at bubble tea shops and at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory which in turn inspired me to recreate the ice cream at home.  I had never baked with black sesame seeds before but had torn out a recipe for Black Sesame-Pear Tea Cake a while back that intrigued me so decided to give it a whirl.

The recipe instructs you to combine several tablespoons of whole black sesame seeds along with a half-cup of ground up seeds as well.  I put my coffee grinder to use and worked those seeds until they turned into a beautiful paste.  Besides black sesame seeds, the only other ingredient that is slightly out of the norm in the recipe is almond meal which can be found in most any grocery store these days.  Bob’s Red Mill makes a great one.

Word to the wise: I often have buttermilk on hand for various baking exploits but it can easily be made in your kitchen in a pinch.  Simply put a tablespoon of white vinegar in a measuring cup and add a cup of milk and let them sit for 5 minutes.  Voila!  Way easier than changing out of your sweatpants, putting make-up on in the off-chance of running into someone you know and driving to the grocery store to buy some while in the midst of your baking project.  You’re welcome.

Be sure to use a ripe pear– mine was slightly less than ripe and even though it softened in baking I think the pear flavor would have been more pronounced if I had used a properly ripe pear.  I can assure you it was still delightful though.  It’s the kind of cake you make when you want to have a lovely cup of tea and not feel like a total fatty after a meal.  It’s light and sweet and the black sesame has an almost savory flavor, not unlike peanut butter.  In other words, totally awesome.

Black Sesame-Pear Tea Cake (found at www.epicurious.com)

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more
  • 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup almond flour or almond meal
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons plus ½ cup black sesame seeds
  • 1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 1 (medium) firm but ripe Bosc pear, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4″ cubes

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter one 9x5x3″ loaf pan or six 4x2x2″ paper or metal loaf pans. Whisk 1 ½ cups flour, next 4 ingredients, and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Grind remaining ½ cup sesame seeds in spice mill to form a thick paste, about 2 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat ½ cup butter and 1 1/3 cups sugar in a large bowl until well combined, 2-3 minutes. Add sesame paste and beat, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until blended, 1-2 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk. Beat until pale and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. On low-speed, beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Toss pear with remaining 2 tablespoons flour in a small bowl; fold into batter.

Spoon batter into prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until a tester comes out clean when inserted into center, about 1 hour 40 minutes for large loaf and 45-55 minutes for small loaves. Let cool in pans on a wire rack.

sweet potato fries

Posted in vegan, vegetable, vegetarian by

This is going to feel like a cheat post and it kind of is.  There are only two photos and the recipe is one that I have memorized I make it so much.  I’m not sure if there even was a recipe originally, but I suppose those are the best kind.

Much like kale chips I make these when I feel like I want healthy versions of junk food.  Which is often.

I like to peel my sweet potatoes but you could certainly leave the peels on yours if you’re into that.  I toss the peeled sliced sweet potato chunks with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin, though you could shake it up and change out the cumin for curry powder and that would be awesome too.  Shake it up a bit.

These fries are healthy because they aren’t actually fried, they’re baked.  Genius.  Sometimes I eat them with honey, sometimes with ketchup, and sometimes plain– just depends on what kind of mood I’m in.  You could even get fancy and whip up an aioli to serve them with.  Go forth and enjoy!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

  • Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into desired fry shape (I like to cut them thick like classic steak fries)
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Cumin or curry

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Toss sweet potato fries with a little olive oil until lightly coated.  Sprinkle fries with salt, pepper, and cumin or curry.  Bake for 30 minutes, shaking pan several times to bake fries evenly.  Serve with ketchup or honey, if desired.

curried squash and red lentil soup

Posted in soup, vegetarian by

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I told you you’d thank me for sharing a soup recipe?  Well if it wasn’t already, it definitely is soup weather now and I just can’t help myself– I haven’t wanted to make anything but soup lately!  This time it involves butternut squash, red lentils, ginger, and curry.

The ginger adds warmth to the soup and the lentils make it hardy so that it can be the main course and not just a starter.  Butternut squash is just starting to show up at farmer’s markets in these parts so when I saw it a few weeks back I had to pick some up and do something with it.  The soup is already vegetarian but could easily be made vegan with the omission of the butter.  I personally think that cooking the onions in olive oil and butter is luxurious but it would certainly still work without it.

Curried-Squash and Red-Lentil Soup (found at www.epicurious.com)

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 celery rib, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder (preferably Madras)
  • 1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Heat oil with butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook squash, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in curry powder and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes.

Add lentils and water and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 25 to 40 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

sage advice: make this pumpkin bread now

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I know I’ve made pumpkin bread for you before but I promise you there is room in your recipe book for this version too.  The difference here is I left out chocolate chips and added sage.  The addition of sage made my kitchen smell like Thanksgiving which was an added bonus.

The bread is moist and sweet but the sage gives it a hint of a savory vibe, which in this case is a good thing.  The recipe was meant to be baked into small loaves so that you can have one for yourself and give the rest away to friends.  What lucky friends!

Pumpkin, Sage, and Browned Butter Quick Breads (from “Martha Stewart Living” magazine, also found at www.marthastewart.com)

  • 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pans
  • 1/4 cup fresh sage, cut into thin strips, plus more, whole, for garnish
  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup solid-pack pumpkin (from one 15-ounce can
  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour eight 2 1/2-by-4-inch loaf pans. (The smallest pans I had were 3 1/4-by-5 3/4-inch loaf pans so I buttered and floured four of them and they worked just fine.) Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add sage strips, and cook until butter turns golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl, and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.

Whisk together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and browned butter with sage. Add flour mixture, and whisk until incorporated. Divide mixture evenly among 8 pans. Smooth tops gently using an offset spatula.

Place pans on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack, and let cool for 15 minutes. Invert pans to remove breads, transfer to wire rack, top sides up, and let cool completely. Garnish with whole sage leaves before serving.