Mother's Kitchen

Michigan Wild Rice Soup

2026-01-28T18:37:00.007-05:00

Minnesota has been on my mind, with all the unrest going on there. So, I thought I would make a quintessential Minnesota food - wild rice soup. I really like the version from Byerly's that uses ham instead of the usual chicken. I decided I wanted to boost the veggies in my version. Michigan also is home to native wild rice, so I will name my soup after my home state, that just turned 189 years old this week. Here it goes:

Michigan Wild Rice Soup

serves 6

2 T. butter
1 onion, diced
1/2 c diced green pepper
1/2 c diced red pepper
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 c button mushrooms, halved
1 c diced ham
4 c chicken stock
3 c cooked wild rice
1/2 c slivered almonds
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
3 T. dry sherry
6 T. snipped fresh chives

salt and pepper, to taste

In a dutch oven, heat butter and onions, stirring until onions are translucent. Add peppers, carrot and mushrooms and saute until soft. Add ham, stock, wild rice and almonds and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add evaporated milk and sherry. Adjust seasonings. Serve sprinkled with chives.

Candied Bacon Wrapped Dates

2025-11-20T08:48:00.008-05:00

I developed this recipe to find an innovative way to use chocolate in a savory application. I made these last night for book club, and they came out fantastic.

Candied Bacon Wrapped Dates

12 bacon strips

24 dried pitted dates

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 T cocoa

1 T chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425°. Cut bacon strips in half crosswise. Cut each date in half a lengthwise ; fill with 1/2 teaspoon cream cheese. Wrap with half strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick or skewer. On a small plate, mix brown sugar, cocoa, chili powder and cinnamon. Dip each date on both sides of sugar.

Transfer to a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake 15-30 minutes until bacon is crisp. The thicker the bacon is, the longer it will take to cook.

Wild Foraged Jams and Jellies

2025-10-27T10:07:00.003-04:00

Pear Vanilla Caramel Jam, Crab Apple Jelly, Rose Hip Jelly

Boy, it sure has been a long time since I blogged here! I came back to check on comment moderation, since someone found my recipe for the Onigaming Supper Club spinach salad and posted it on the "You Know You're From The Copper Country When..." fb group. I haven't written here much for several reasons. I have taken to writing short non cooking things on my own fb wall called "morning musings", and I also started another website to be the basis of the cookbook I want to write Up North Kitchen (there's not much there yet) and then I also am developing a website for my bakestand business Mothers Kitchen LLC. That pretty much has sapped my energy for publishing things on the internet.

I really do need to come back here more and publish some of the recipes I am cooking these days. Lately, I have been keeping my recipes on paper in a folder, but I do need to write about them here. I made a bunch of jams and jellies for my bakestand yesterday, and I want to remember what I did. So I am taking pen in hand, or shall I say keyboard to finger tips, to capture yesterday's venture. I have been really into wild foraging this season, and it was time to preserve what I had. I really love these 2 foraging books Wild Fruits and Berries Field Guide of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin and Cooking Wild Fruits and Berries of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin by Teresa Marrone.

First up in my canning exploits of yesterday was Wild Crabapple Jelly. There's a nice crab apple tree down on Salo Road where I like to forage. I used Teresa's method for making jelly, along with my steam juicer. It is so much easier to make jellies with it than the old jelly bag method. Here's how to make crab apple jelly using her method:

Wild Crab Apple Jelly

For each 2 cups of juice extracted, prepare 3 half pint canning jars. For each cup of juice, you will need:

1 t. lemon juice
2/3 c. sugar.

Put juice in a large dutch oven and heat to boiling. Add sugar all at once, and heat, stirring frequently, until the temp hits 220F (or whatever is 8 degrees over the boiling point of water is where you are, for me, it's 212F) Skim off any foam and pour into jars, leaving 1/4 in. headspace. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Next up, I made rose hip jelly. My neighbor down the road has the best rose hips! I harvest them every year, best after the first frost. I modified Teresa's recipe with my steam juicer, so I didn't have to use boxed pectin.

Rose Hip Jelly

1/2 lb rose hips, blossom ends removed before weighing
1/2 lb tart green apples, chopped with peels and cores
1 lemon, chopped fine with peels and seeds

sugar

Put rose hips, apples and lemon in juicer. After extracting juice, measure volume. For every 2.5 c. juice, you will need 7/8 c. sugar. In a dutch oven, bring juice to a boil, Add sugar and boil, stirring frequently, until temp hits 220F (see above). Skim off any foam and pour into jars, leaving 1/4 in. headspace. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

For my pear vanilla jam, I had to improvise. I made some with boxed pectin last year and I had to reprocess it twice, so I vowed never to do it with the boxed stuff again I am a big fan of making my own natural fruit pectin, so I had to improvise, because I didn't have a recipe for pears. Pears need pectin to make jam. I decided to follow the method for peaches, but instead, subbing peeled, cored and finely chopped pears.

Pear Vanilla Jam

To make the pectin:

5 tart apples, stems and blossom ends removed and chopped coarsely, cores intact
1 lemons unpeeled and chopped fine

Boil apples and citrus in enough water to prevent sticking for 20 minutes until soft. Force through a food mill to make 2 cups puree.

To make pear vanilla jam:

6 c. peeled, cored and finely chopped pears
5 1/2 . sugar
Prepared apple/lemon puree

2 T. vanilla

Add fruit and sugar to puree in a deep pot, bring to a boil and stir frequently over medium heat. Cook until temp hits 220F (it's okay if it caramelizes a little, it gives it a great flavor boost) Skim off any foam and pour into jars, leaving 1/4 in. headspace. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Chicken, Apple & Cranberry Wrap

2025-04-24T11:24:00.004-04:00

I'm a fan of this chicken salad wrap at Roy's Bakery in Houghton, so I tried my hand at making something like it at home. I searched for menus for some clues. Here's the description:

"Our fresh chicken salad, sliced apples, cranberries, chopped lettuce and feta crumbles finished with an apple cider vinaigrette in a honey wheat tortilla"

Their chicken salad was so good. I wondered what was in it? A little more menu sleuthing:

Our own flavorful house-recipe of oven-roasted chicken, onion, celery, dried sweetened cranberries, and spices make up our delicious chicken salad. I wondered what were the spices? So I did a little googling and found this chicken salad recipe online that had powdered mustard in it. Powdered mustard? That sounds like it might be it! I think I nailed it. I made an apple cider vinaigrette with some cider vinegar and oil, salt pepper and dijon mustard.

Chicken, Apple and Cranberry Wrap

serves 4

To Make Wrap:

4 flour tortillas

1 c. shredded lettuce

1/2 c. feta crumbles

1 apple (Cosmic crisp Granny Smith work well) cored, halved and sliced thin

Chicken Salad (recipe below)

Apple cider vinaigrette (recipe below)

Chicken Salad

4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1/4 c. diced red onion

1 stalk celery, diced

1/4 c. dried sweetened cranberries

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/2 t. dry mustard

Combine all ingredients and mix well

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

3 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 t Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Put all ingredients in a jar and shake until emulsified

To make the wrap, place approximately 1 cup of the chicken salad in the center of each tortilla. Top with some apple slices, shredded lettuce and feta crumbles and drizzle with vinaigrette. Wrap tightly.

Sourdough Bread Class

2025-04-16T19:57:00.003-04:00

I often get asked for silent auction prizes. Sometimes I make crafts, other times I offer cooking classes. For the recent silent auction to benefit the Carnegie Museum of Houghton, I donated a sourdough bread making class. I've been making sourdough for over a year and sell a lot of it in the little bakery stand I have at the end of my driveway.

I am creating this post for the auction winner, so she can see what she needs to get to make sourdough. I will provide my very robust starter. Here is a list of everything you need to make sourdough bread:

Must have:

A scale - bread making measurement is all done by weight, not measuring cups. A scale is required for bread baking success. This is the one I have - very reliable and easy to use. Highly recommened.
Large mixing bowl - any kind, it just needs to be big enough to hold your dough. I like my vintage Pyrex 404s - that's 4 qt. size
At least a 6 quart enameled cast iron dutch oven. I have a Martha Stewart one that works great - I'd recommend this one. I like the black color because it doesn't stain easily and makes great crust. You can use it for a multitude of cooking projects - soups, stews, deep frying, roasts, etc. It is a kitchen workhorse.
A banneton, or a similar sized bowl with a liner. This is the one I have, but you could use a narrow bowl with a dishtowel in it, I suppose. The dough needs a lot of support during it's cold ferment period.
Parchment paper
Bench scraper

Nice to have:

Dough whisk to mix up the dough. This one comes with a dough scraper, which is also nice to have.

Bread sling to transport your loaf into your very hot dutch oven. Much easier than using parchment paper and less risk of burning yourself.

Bread lame - you can use a knife, but a bread lame is way easier!

Ove Gloves - making sourdough bread requires handling very hot pots. These are wonderful! I give them out for Christmas every year.

Serrated bread knife - the best tool to cut your sourdough

Instant read thermometer - how to know your bread is done without guessing

Here is the recipe I use to make my sourdough bread

120g starter

400g water

480g King Arthur bread flour

60g whole wheat flour

4 g diastatic malt * see note

10 g sea salt

Note: Diastatic malt results in a faster, more robust rise, a richer flavor, and a deeper, darker crust in baked goods. It also helps create a smoother, more finely textured crumb

Mix all the dough ingredients except the salt with a wooden spoon or even better, a bread whisk. Allow to rest for 30 minutes. It will look like a shaggy mass of unprocessed dough. After 30 minutes, add the salt and mix it in by using the dough whisk or folding the dough over itself repeatedly until the salt is well-incorporated. Cover again and let rest for 30 minutes.

Now, for the next 2-3 hours or so, you've got to stretch and fold your dough. It's how sourdough bread is kneaded. I recommend this video to show you how to do it. Some days, my dough is stiffer than this. “Stretch and fold” is the way we build up the gluten structure. After mix in the salt, I will try to stretch and fold it 3 more times, at 30- 45 min intervals. At this point, the dough has been in process for about 3-4 hours. When you make sourdough, plan on being with it this first part for that that time. I find it easiest to do it right after dinner and do the next step over night.

The next step is what they call bulk fermentation. Let it rise at room temp for at least 5 hours. I find that during our cool Keweenaw weather, I can do this step overnight. Lor an elastic, strong dough. It should be smooth, elastic, with defined edges. When tugged, it should resist stretching, indicating elasticity. Dough during bulk fermentation shows domed edge and bubbles.

Before

After

The dough is now ready to shape. For the class, we will make a boule shape. (round) Watch these videos to see how to do it - round and oval, or boule and batard, if you want to get all fancy French like. Place the shaped dough in a banneton and let the dough cold-proof in the overnight in the fridge. The longer it cold proofs, the more sour the flavor, but if you go too long (days) your dough won't rise much.

On bake day, place your empty Dutch oven in a cold oven on the center rack and heat to 450° for 45 mins. I put my pizza stone on a rack under it to make sure the bottom doesn't burn. All ovens are different, you might not need this. Upend the dough into a piece of parchment paper or the bread sling, carefully score the top with your lame, and place it in the Dutch oven, cover, then bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid of the Dutch oven and control bake until your crust is a deep golden brown. For my oven,. it's usually another 5-10 minutes. You can check the temp and it should be 200F at least in the center. Allow to cool fully before slicing.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread Smoothie

2025-01-30T10:06:00.001-05:00

Like many people these days, I am trying to get more protein and fiber in my diet. I was craving banana bread after tasting some my friend Sheila made yesterday, so I thought I'd try to make a smoothie to match those great flavors. Besides being delicious, this smoothie features 7 g fiber and 21 g protein. Plus, it's got a nutritious boost of calcium - almost 30% of my daily requirement.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread Smoothie

2 bananas, peeled, sliced and frozen
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (uncooked)
1 container (5.3 oz) plain non-fat Icelandic or Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 T. peanut butter powder

Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth. Garnish with bananas and peanuts, if desired. Serve immediately.

Mini Pasties Appetizer

2025-01-26T17:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, the city of Hancock celebrated Heikinpäivä, The celebration’s themes are taken from Finnish folk saying associated with the name day for Heikki (St. Henrik's Day, Jan. 19th):

“Heikki heinät jakaa.”

Translated, it means "Heikki divides the hay." It was a time when the farmer took stock of his hay, grains and other commodities, making sure that there was at least half left. So we celebrate winter being halfway over here.

The Copper Country Community Arts Center hosts an exhibit "Animals of the Kalevala" theme. Each year, I make some art featuring a pike. I volunteered to help with refreshments, and I made mini pasties. A long time ago, this recipe was featured in the Ann Arbor News, and when we were newlyweds, I made them often for parties. I forgot all about it and lost my newspaper clipping, but my friend Leah shared her recipe with me that was similar to the Ann Arbor News one, complete with a rich butter and cream cheese crust. I tweaked her recipe a bit and here is how I make them. I am so thankful she reminded me of this popular appetizer.

Mini Pasties

makes about 75 appetizers

Crust

2 1/2 c flour
1 t. salt
1 c. butter cut into cubes
8 oz. cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/4 c heavy cream (approximately

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix all ingredients except the cream until crumbly. Add enough heavy cream to make the dough come together. Form into 2 disks and wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge while making the filling.

Filling

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 t. thyme
1 t. garlic powder
2 T. Tabasco sauce
3 slices white bread
salt and pepper, to taste

Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Drain fat. Add thyme, garlic powder, Tabasco sauce and salt and pepper. Soak bread in water and wring out and add to pan. Using a potato masher or a ground beef chopper, work soaked bread into ground beef until mixture is chopped very fine. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Roll out the crust to 1/8" and use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut dough into circles. Fill with filling and crimp with a fork. Brush with an egg wash (mix one egg with 2 T water) and bake for 20-25 mins. at 400 F.

Traditionally, pasties are served with ketchup; I served these yesterday with Heinz Dill Pickle Ketchup for added flavor.

Onion Souffle Dip

2024-11-10T17:03:00.002-05:00

I was reminiscing about a place I loved in Elizabethtown KY called the Back Home Restaurant that started out 40 years ago as a crafts and antique emporium, and then they added a cafe so the husbands could have something to do while their wives shopped. The cuisine is homestyle comfort food, and I was hoping they wrote a cookbook I could get. I didn't find one, but noticed they had something called "Sweet Onion Souffle Dip", which sounded really interesting. A quick googling resulted in my learning that the original came from a Memphis Junior League Cookbook, and it sounded so delicious, I had to try it! I found a recipe in a food blog I like, but I tweaked it a bit to my taste. I forgot to take a picture of it, so I will borrow this one from that food blog and include the link to it

photo courtesy of White on Rice Couple blog

This dip tastes just like French onion soup. So delicious! The traditional southern treatment is to serve it with Fritos, but since I always have homemade sourdough on hand, I served it with thin slices of bread like the WoR couple suggested. Here's how I made it:

Sweet Onion Souffle Dip

8 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup mayo (I only use Helmans)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cup diced sweet onion like Vidalia or Walla Walla

2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°F

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan, onion, and black pepper and until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour and gently spread the mixture into a 8" cast iron fry pan

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 50 minutes to one hour, or until everything is melted together the crust is a deep brown. When the top crust is brown and almost burnt-looking, the dip is ready. The darker brown the crust becomes, the better the flavors are.

They also suggested make big batches, and then just dish out the un-baked dip into baking containers and then bake it whenever you need to serve it, so this would be a great idea to whip up a big batch during the holiday season and it can be your dish to pass wherever you go. I think that is a great idea!

Sloppy Joes

2024-08-28T09:23:00.000-04:00

Just getting caught up on some recipes I wanted to save. Here is a great recipe I got for sloppy joes from a friend. It's even better than Manwich!

Sloppy Joes

serves 10-12

2 lb ground beef
1 onion, minced
12 oz. ketchup
6 oz chili sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar

1 T. dry mustard

Brown and drain ground beef. Add onion and saute until soft. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 mins.

Strawberry Jam 2024

2024-08-28T09:10:00.003-04:00

I've barely posted anything this year, but I wanted to remember a few things about my jam making this year. First of all, the Ferber method of jam making once again didn't work for me. I am never going to try one of her recipes ever again. I am going to stick to my tried and true method for making it. Just for record keeping's sake, 1 flat of strawberries were 24 c halved and hulled berries. I paid $48 for a flat. The yield was 18 half pints of strawberry jam. I haven't made any other jams yet but am freezing berries for fall canning.

Adventures in Sourdough Bread Making

2024-03-05T08:41:00.001-05:00

I haven't made sourdough since the pandemic, and even back then, I wasn't particularly good at it. My friend Alex is a master and he wanted me to test out his sourdough starter method, but I killed my starter after about a month of trying. So, I just started another one in the typical fashion, where you use water and flour and then throw half of it away everyday and feed it more. I started it with whole wheat flour and then fed it AP flour. I kept it warm by using a smaller version of one of the cherry pit pads I sell in my etsy shop by heating it up for 2 minutes in the microwave and tucking it around a weck jar covered loosely in saran wrap that I set in a bowl in my pantry. I also stirred it up at each feeding with a fork just to make sure it got a lot of air. I think what killed my last starter was that it wasn't warm enough and didn't get enough air. It took about 2 weeks to get a starter that was ready to bake.

I think too much attention was made about precise weighing of ingredients when making starter. After I weighed things, I just used measuring cups after that first time. In my opinion, the flour and water weight isn't going to change that much day to day. Besides, I feed my starter every morning when I wake up, pre coffee. I don't need any added complications. I have always wanted a bread lame and a dough whisk, so I decided to get myself this sourdough baking set for my birthday present to myself this year. I needed the bannetons, so it was a good deal.

I followed Alex's excellent bread recipe using my starter. The beauty of this recipe is that it doesn't make too much bread. Here is how I make it - note I use King Arthur flour and Redmond sea salt. KAF is high in protein and makes an excellent loaf. You can make it with AP flour as well.

Sourdough Bread

60g starter

180g water

240g bread flour

30g whole wheat flour

6g sea salt

Make a note of the time when you start. Mix all but the salt. Cover with saran wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Just a shaggy mass of unprocessed dough. After 30 minutes, add the salt and mix it in by folding the dough over itself repeatedly until the salt is well-incorporated. Cover again and let rest for 30 minutes.

Now, for the next 2-3 hours or so, you've got to stretch and fold your dough. It's how sourdough bread is kneaded. I recommend this video to show you how to do it. Some days, my dough is stiffer than this. “Stretch and fold” is the way we build up the gluten structure. At this point, the dough has been in process for about 3-4 hours. You can really take your time with developing the dough’s structure. Just keep track of your starting time. So keep in mind, you are stuck at the house during this time. Plan your dough accordingly.

Next, it's time for what they call bulk fermentation. Let it rise at room temp for about 5 hours. Your total time since mixing the dough should be 8-9 hours at this point. The dough should be puffy and airy.

The dough is now ready to shape. I make both round and oval shapes. Watch these videos to see how to do it - round and oval, or boule and batard, if you want to get all fancy French like. Place the shaped dough in a banneton and let it proof at room temp for an hour or two before baking. I prefer to let the dough cold-proof in the fridge for 12-48 hours. Longer sour flavor. When you’re ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge for an hour for maximum oven-spring. That way, I can bake it whenever I want.

I take the dough out and set it on the counter and then place your empty Dutch oven in a cold oven and heat to 450° for 1 hour. I put my pizza stone on a rack under it to make sure the bottom doesn't burn.

Upend the dough into a piece of parchment paper, carefully score the top with your lame, and place it in the Dutch oven, cover, then bake for 25 minutes. I have this 7 qt. Martha Stewart one that works for both the boule and batard shapes of this size

Remove the lid of the Dutch oven and control bake until your crust is a deep golden brown. For my oven,. it's usually another 10 minutes. Allow to cool fully before slicing. 2 hours is best

This is enough bread for Andy and me for a couple days. It's so much better than any bread I can buy up here. There's one family that sells sourdough bread in the summer at Calumet Farmer's Market, and they sell out pretty much immediately. I have this fantasy that maybe this summer, I will have a little farm stand in the driveway, selling bread and pie to the local tourists camping at McLain or looking for agates at Calumet Waterworks.

Six Inch Cakes

2024-01-25T09:23:00.004-05:00

my hubby's 58th birthday cake

Since I am going to become a grandma this year, I figure I need to level up my cake making game. It's just that unless you are serving 12 people, a layer cake is just way too much for us. After reading a blog post on Sally's Baking Addiction about making 6" cakes, I determined this might be the solution to the problem.

I needed to invest in a trio of 6" baking pans, so I followed Sally's suggestion of the Fat Daddio brand, and I tried to buy them locally at Swift's Hardware, which has an excellent cooking section, but they only had 1 pan in stock, and I needed 3. So, Amazon to the rescue! Sally's tip is that any recipe that is scaled for 12-14 cupcakes will work for 3 6" cake layers, so I opted for her chocolate cupcake recipe, except I didn't use natural cocoa, I used the cocoa powder I had. I was halfway through the dry ingredients when I discovered I was out of baking soda! I had forgotten when I cleaned out my pantry, I threw away the ancient box I had here which I think was here from when my son was still in college, (he graduated in 2019) but forgot to restock. Off to the store I went! I prepared the pans by cutting out parchment circles for the bottoms of the pans, and then I used Bake Klean ZT spray to coat the pans and then the parchment after it was placed. It worked very well, the cakes were easy to get out of the pans.

I knew I wanted to make ermine frosting, which is a super light buttercream that isn't too sweet. I had made it before using a different recipe, probably the NYT one, but this time, I opted for Stella Park's version. It is different as she has you add the sugar to the cooked milk and flour mixture, and I also like how she has troubleshooting tips, which I needed to use. My butter was not at room temperature, so the frosting wouldn't whip right. I followed her tip to set the mixing bowl over some hot water and that fixed it fine. I like her approach that it's not a "fail" if this happens. She says, "However precise a recipe may be in terms of target temperatures (for both the ingredients and the finished product), the ideal working temperature of a buttercream can vary from batch to batch, depending on environmental conditions and the time of year, as well as variations in equipment and ingredients. So, rather than rely on a thermometer alone, evaluate the texture and consistency of the frosting. If it's heavy and dense, if it has a greasy texture, or if it seems curdled, it will need to be warmed and re-whipped. If it's too soft or loose to hang from a spoon without dropping, it will need to be cooled and re-whipped. These are routine adjustments, not a sign of failure."

I love Stella's great cookbook BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts that she wrote with Kenji Lopez-Alt. I need to make some recipes from that book - I bought it back in 2017 when I was doing a lot of work in Kentucky and she used to work at many Lexington area restaurants early in her career. One I really love is the Wallace Station. It's way out in the bluegrass horse country of Versailles (in KY, you pronounce that Ver-SELLS). Their pimento cheese is tres bien! I moved that cookbook from our old house in Ann Arbor to our rental house to our lake house. It survived my great cookbook purge. But I have yet to make anything from it, or the other sweets cookbook I have that survived the move north, the Zingerman's Bakehouse Cookbook. I am going to have to dust these off if I am going to be the grandma that always has baked goods on hand.

I wasn't sure how much frosting I was going to need, and I had this grand plan of making a rose cake piping on the sides with sprinkles on top. Alas, one batch of Stella's ermine was not enough, so I made another and that wasn't enough to do all the roses I wanted so I just did some on the top. Next time, I'd recommend tripling this recipe to make enough frosting for rose cake decor on a 6" cake. Sally recommends you need 2.5 - 3 cups frosting for a 6 inch cake. Stella's ermine recipe makes 2 cups. The roses use a lot of frosting, so I'd triple it next time.

I am looking forward to making more cakes this year. Stay tuned!

New Year, New Baby

2024-01-07T11:37:00.003-05:00

We had a baby shower for my daughter in law Olivia yesterday. My first grandbaby! The food was delicious, many of the ladies brought yummy food to pass. I made some mini cheese balls (shown above) from my favorite cheeseball recipe formed in half inch balls that I rolled in ground pecans. This is so much more convenient than a whole cheeseball for a large crowd. I made a great recipe for Mediterranean Turkey Pinwheels I found on the interwebs that was delicious and easy. I made them a day ahead and wrapped them in waxed paper tightly. I cut them with a serrated knife and secured them with a toothpick. I also made an old favorite appetizer recipe for mini pasties that my friend Leah reminded me about. Years ago, I clipped this recipe out of the late great Ann Arbor News Food section, but I misplaced it. She shared it in our fb group. I tweaked it a little to match our tastebuds, but it was just as good as I remembered.

Little Pasties

Dough

1 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
¼ cup evaporated milk
2 ½ cups flour
1 t salt

In a stand mixer, cream butter and cream cheese and beat in milk. Add flour and salt. Chill dough well.

Filling

2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, diced very fine

2 t thyme

2 T Tabasco sauce
3 slices bread

1/4 c. evaporated milk

Egg wash

1 egg

1 t. water.

Brown meat and onion, breaking meat into small crumbles and drain excess fat. Soak bread slices in milk, gently squeeze out excess water and then add to meat. Add thyme and Tabasco. Mix well (best to use a potato masher to blend in the bread into the meat). Set aside to cool.

Roll out dough to 1/8” thick and cut out 2” or 2 ½” circles using a biscuit cutter. Mix 1 egg with 1 t water and use wash on edge of dough circles, add meat mixture and use a fork to seal edges. Brush finished pasty with egg wash.

Freeze uncooked. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

It was a delicious spread! I am looking forward to more cooking in the New Year!

Monster Cookies

2023-10-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

I know, they don't look like much. But a couple years ago, I won a gift basket in a raffle and it included something called "Monster Cookies" and they were so delicious, I had to figure out how to make them. At the time, I was regularly baking for an assortment of carpenters, plumbers and electricians that were working on my house, so I was always looking for something new to try. I made a batch of these and presented them to the 2 young electricians that were installing the ceiling fan in my craft room. One of them said "I can't have them, I'm gluten free!" and I was thrilled to tell him that these cookies are, indeed, gluten free. Not that they are healthy, or anything.

Monster Cookies

1/2 c butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 t honey
1 t vanilla
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
3 eggs
1 c mini M&M's
1 c semi sweet chocolate chips
4 1/2 c old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, peanut butter, sugars, corn syrup, vanilla, soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl till very creamy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix well.

Stir in M&M's, chocolate chips, and oats till well combined. (Dough will be fairly sticky.) Form tablespoons of dough into balls and place them onto silicone lined or greased cookie sheets. Flatten cookie dough balls with the palm of your hand.

Bake at 350° for 9-10 minutes.

Sweet Corn Memories

2023-09-05T19:25:00.002-04:00

Since I have moved to the Keweenaw, I have really missed some great produce you just can't get up here. For example, there really isn't local cantaloupe and watermelon. I had to buy canning peaches when I was downstate in Traverse City last weekend. And the sweet corn at the farmer's market has been a big disappointment. I did find some great sweet corn for sale at the gas station at the Indian reservation in Baraga from Johnson Farms. I bought a dozen ears and we ate some, and I made corn relish with the rest.

It was 92 degrees today, and too hot to can anything, but I needed to get it done so I got going. First, I made some hot pepper jelly with the bumper crop of peppers I have growing in my Earthbox which I have had for about 20 years. I grow tomatoes and peppers in them, and they work great! Then I set about to make the corn. Whenever I shuck corn, it takes me back to the St. Sylvester's Usher's Club picnic when I was a kid. My dad was president of the Ushers Club, and we'd head out early to the K of C picnic grounds early in the morning to help get ready for it. I can remember thinking it was so far away and up north, but it was actually only on 21 Mile. Back then, Shelby Twp. was considered "the sticks". We'd go up early and Mr. Jakubowski used to make up a bunch of bacon and scrambled eggs for us to eat and a big pot of coffee. We kids would be put to work shucking corn for the corn roast.

When the picnic started, they'd roll out the barrel and the bar would be open. To eat, we'd have hot dogs, corn, and a grilled sausage that was called "Polacki" that was a cross between kielbasa and a hot dog and was served with kraut and onion and mustard. I remember thinking Polacki was a funny name because it sounded like "Pollack" which was a derogatory name people called us Polish people in Warren. There was always a Moon Walk that we kids could jump in all day long, plus contests like the 3 legged race and and a sack race, plus there was a treasure hunt where tons of pennies were buried in sawdust. The picnic lasted well into the night, when the "Wheelbarrow of Cheer" raffle winner was announced. I don't think I've ever seen a Wheelbarrow of Cheer since I left Warren - it's a wheelbarrow full of booze.

The picnic was always around the end of August, close to my mother's birthday on Aug. 26. The weather was always super hot. That made the water balloon toss a welcome respite. I can remember the scandal when a woman names Sue Earl tried to sign up to be an usher at church. The usher's club took a vote and decided against letting her do it, she could join the altar society instead. None of this women's libber stuff for St. Sylvester! Back in those days, we had a Catholic church on every corner in Warren, but that eventually dwindled. St. Sylvester merged with St. Edmund, in June 2013 on the St. Edmund site, and became St. Faustina. A good Polish saint! I wonder if they have a picnic and a wheelbarrow of cheer and some polacki?

English Muffins

2023-08-27T10:26:00.004-04:00

This year, I entered many contests at the Houghton County Fair. It was a lot of fun to do! I entered 21 things and won 7 blue ribbons: food preparation: English muffin (only entry so that was an easy win!), food preservation: Dill Pickles, Salsa and Floriculture: dahlia (only one entered), succulent, dracaena, terrarium. I had never made English muffins before, and I have to say they were kind of a pain to make, but they came out so good. I probably will make them again, so I want to remember how I did it. I found a recipe on the King Arthur website, but it was fraught with errors.

Here's how I actually made the recipe. I used the electric griddle that Jane bought me for Christmas years ago to make pancakes for all the grandchildren she thinks her brother will give us!

English Muffins

1 3/4 cups (397g) milk, lukewarm
3 tablespoons (43g) butter, softened
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, to taste
2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 1/2 cups (540g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
corn meal for sprinkling the griddle

Weigh your flour; Combine all of the ingredients (except the cornmeal) in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the dough using the flat beater paddle until it starts coming away from the sides of the bowl, and is satin-smooth and shiny; this will take about 5 minutes at medium-high speed. When you lift up the beater, the dough will be very stretchy.

Scrape the dough into a rough ball, and cover the bowl. Let the dough rise until it's nice and puffy; this will take 1 to 2 hours or so. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 16 pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball, then flatten the balls until they're about 3" to 3 1/2" in diameter. Place on a cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal. Cover both sides with corn meal. Let them rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, h eat electric griddle to 350F, and then sprinkle it heavily with corn meal.

Cook the muffins about 5 minutes per side, until their crust is golden brown, and their interior is cooked through. When done, the center of a muffin should register about 200°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Visiting Isle Royale

2023-08-20T09:46:00.006-04:00

This past week, Andy and I finally visited Isle Royale after all these years of wanting to get there. When we were in college, we had plenty of time to do it, but no money. After we graduated, we had the funds but were short on time. Now that we are retired, we were finally able to do it!

Getting there:

Isle Royale is the least visited national park, and rightly so. It's difficult to get there! You can get there by seaplane or boat from the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan or Grand Marais, Minnesota. None are cheap! We took the seaplane, which is the easiest and quickest way (40 minutes) to get there, but also the most expensive. ($360 per person, round trip). You have to pay to park and the sea plane base is in Ripley. Round trip on the Isle Royale Queen and the Ranger is $120, so really there's no way to get their cheap. It takes 6 hours to get to IR from Houghton on the Ranger. I'd recommend the Queen out of Copper Harbor, it costs the same and is only 3 hours, but some call it the "barf barge". You do have to pay to park, though. On the plane, you are limited to 45 lbs of luggage, per person, and it has to be soft sided things. No metal frame backpacks, no suitcases, no coolers. Your luggage gets stowed in the boats floats. You also have to declare your weight accurately as they have to manage how much on the plane. They originally said no liquids were allowed on the plane, but when we got there, we found out we could have brought any booze <80 proof. I wish we would have brought more food and some wine! My stuff was only 18 lbs. I bought this backpack and stored all my clothes in it. I bought it because it could hold my hiking sticks, which are a must for IR. You also have to buy a park pass: the best deal was the annual pass for up to 4 people for $60.

Accommodations:

We stayed at the Rock Harbor Lodge, because Andy has a CPAP and we need electricity. The other option is the housekeeping cabins. Both are extremely hard to book. The hotel needs to be booked the first business day of the calendar year for the season. I got up bright and early on Jan. 2, 2023 to book in August this year. August is the best time to go to IR because the bugs are really bad in June and July. After you get your accommodations nailed down, secure your travel because it books up fast. The housekeeping cabins are secured a year in advance and get booked up super early. I haven't been able to figure out how to book them online, their website sucks. I think you have to call. For example, if I wanted to book next year, I'd have to call on Aug. 20 2023 to get Aug. 20, 2024. I think you'd have to do it every day to get multiple nights. I have friends that book the same weekend every year in the housekeeping cabins, and they do it while they are on the island for every day the following year. Aramark runs the hotel and the restaurant for NPS. The hotel has great views and a deck that overlooks the lake, but the walls are paper thin and you will hear everything in your neighbor's room. We somehow got put in an ADA accessible room with a double bed, so we didn't have a screen door like the other rooms, which are nice so you get a good cross breeze. The rooms do not have coffee makers or refrigerators, but you can get ice. They do not clean the rooms while you are there. Our room didn't have kleenex in the dispenser. My friends room didn't have soap! The rooms, at the minimum, are over $300 a night. I think they struggle with getting employees. Lots of international students working there, like the Chinese young lady at the camp store. She couldn't wait until September so she could get off the island. She was looking forward to visiting the US for the first time and didn't realize how remote this location is. There's also lots of older single men that I think like to work there so they can go fishing all summer. If you are interested in 70+ year old men, there's plenty! I need to tell my friend that is on the market for a new love....

A note on camping on IR: the campsites are all rustic and you need to backpack to them. Don't even think of doing this unless you are a very experienced hiker in good shape. The terrain is rough and rocky. I saw many out of shape, miserable hikers on the trails. There is no running water and you need to bring your own toilet paper to use in the outhouse. In August, campsites are all crowded. You will have people asking to share your site, especially the ones close to Rock Harbor. Bring all your food with you because the camp meals sold at the camp store are very expensive.

We had to take our meals at the restaurant, which wasn't good. Skip the more expensive upscale side and just choose the cafe. The coffee is not good, and they don't have half and half. They are serviced out of the same kitchen. Both have beer and wine, be prepared for sticker shock! That pint of Keweenaw Brewing beer you buy in Houghton for $3.50 costs $7.50 in the restaurant. The wine is $30 per bottle for the same quality as Two Buck Chuck at TJs. A woman asked me how the wine was, and I described it as "serviceable", and we both laughed. The wine and beer selection is a bit bigger at the camp store, and better priced. There are grills in the harbor, but no charcoal. So bring your own charcoal! The camp store also sells hotdogs, and brats but no buns. I did hear from the 70+ year old camp store cashier/fisherman that last year, the Queen broke down and couldn't run for the last few weeks, so they ran out of booze and it was really rough. Don't let this happen to you: Bring your own!

Weather:

We flew to IR on Monday and left on a Friday. We had windy and rainy weather on Tues/Wed/Thur and so the water taxis, tour boat and kayak/canoe/power boat rentals didn't go. There's only 2 trails that are 5 miles or less out of Rock Harbor to hike, so without the boats you are pretty limited. We hiked those trails a few times, otherwise, there's not much to do. We bought a deck of cards and played cribbage. Luckily, I had a book to read. Note that the Ranger/Queen/Seaplanes don't go if there is foul weather as well. So the good news, if you are staying in the hotel, they can sometimes extend your stay a day because if the boats don't go, guests don't arrive. However, if you aren't a hotel guest, you're stuck with camping in wind and rain. If it is really bad, NPS will find you a place to stay indoors somewhere so you don't get hypothermic, but it won't be comfortable. It was relatively warm for us, I just wore long pants and a jacket in the evenings. All the planes were canceled on Thursday morning but they caught back up by Friday when we left.

There were lots of older folk staying in the lodge with absolutely nothing to do. There really aren't any easy hikes for seniors unsteady on their feet or families with young children. There's no place to swim. There were surprisingly few programs - I was expecting a lot more. There's no TV, and very, very limited internet only available to hotel guests and no streaming or downloading files or anything. Next time I go, it will be 3 days max. That way, if the weather is bad, it's not a complete loss. We were hoping to do a lot more hiking by water taxiing to different parts of the island, but we couldn't do that this time. So we spent our days reading, playing cards and just relaxing, plus hiking and re-hiking the same two trails out of the harbor. It was nice to unplug for a while, but I am the kind of person that likes to do things on vacation. Next time, we might just bring our own sea kayaks, then we aren't at the whim of the NPS, which has to plan on the lowest common denominator. We would have had no trouble kayaking on Tuesday or Thursday. By the time our week was over, I was ready to go on Friday!

The bottom line:

Plan at least a year ahead of time
Seaplane is worth the extra money
Bring your own boat if you can: more freedom!
Bring lots as much food and <80 proof alcohol as you can. You can get ice and bring a insulated cooler bag to store stuff in. We brought sandwiches from the Keweenaw Co-op to eat on the first day and that was the best meal we had on IR
Bring a pair of sandals or crocks to wear in the evening. After hiking all day, you don't want to wear hiking boots to relax.
Bring 2 bottles of water while hiking
3 days max in case the weather is bad
Bring games and books in case weather is bad

Jacobson's Recipes

2023-07-06T20:54:00.003-04:00

The Dearborn Store

I got a little nostalgic about Jacobson's the other day. Jacobson's was a Michigan based department store that went bankrupt in the early 2000s. When I was a new engineer at Ford and working and living in Dearborn, my hair salon was in the Dearborn store right on Michigan Ave. When we first got married, we were living there. I got my hair done there for my wedding by a very talented young man that they kept on staff there that only did wedding hair. He asked me how I wanted it done, and I admitted I had no idea. He grasped my hair in his hands and held it up and declared, "Two words. Steel Magnolias!!" and then flounced back to the stylist's break room. On that Saturday, he arrived after my own stylist set my hair and combed me out and he welded it into place with a lot of bobby pins and hairspray. I still can remember my brother saying to me, "Your hair looks great! You should wear it like this every day!" and I replied that it took 3 hours to get it this way, no thanks! I had already had my nails done there earlier in the week. It was the one and only time in my life that I have ever had my nails done. Jacobson's also had an aesthetician that put on my makeup. I had a favorite pink Clinique lipstick I had her use. Wish I could remember the name of the color! We young gals all loved Clinique in those days, circa 1992.

Two words: Steel Magnolias

The Dearborn Jacobson's had a restaurant there called "Top of the Fountain" where ladies would lunch. Department stores often had these places where the shopping crowd could rest and take in a light lunch and tea, or perhaps a dessert. For example. check out what I wrote about the famous Maurice Salad that was served at Hudson's. West Dearborn was a very preppy, affluent area and we had all sorts of fancy shopping, including a Pendleton store and Crowley's and, of course, "Jake's", as we used to call it.

The Dearborn store closed in 1997. By that time, I had moved to Ann Arbor and we had our own Jacobson's in Briarwood Mall. Before that, I can remember the original store when it was in downtown Ann Arbor, which became eventually became Borders after they moved off State Street. Now, I think it's largely office space and restaurants. I think the A2 store folded in 2002, but before it did, I used to shop there for wedding and shower gifts because they would gift wrap them with their signature red ribbon and silver box and ship for free. So classy! When I was going to Michigan for my MBA, I can remember standing in line behind this very famous professor at the B-school, and his very young looking attractive ladyfriend and/or trophy wife. It was Christmas time, and there were 3 decorated trees full of lovely ornaments for sale next to the cash register area, probably placed there to stimulate an impulse buy. The beautiful blond patted her old man on his arm and declared "Let's get this for the house!" and the cashier asked which ornament she would like, and she replied "I want all three of these trees for our foyer!". And just like that, the cashier replied, "Absolutely! What is your address? We will put this on your account". That's the kind of store Jacobson's was. Great customer service!

I got a book out of the library about its history, and it included several recipes from their store restaurants, so I wanted to share them. I can remember enjoying the garden sandwich and the quiche. What was your favorite?

JACOBSON'S CASHEW CHICKEN SALAD

1 pound cooked chicken
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons raisins
1/4 cup cashew pieces

Dressing

2 tablespoons mango chutney
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon curry powder

Combine chicken, celery, chopped green onion, raisins and cashews. Purée mango chutney and add to mayonnaise. Season with curry powder. Combine with chicken mixture and allow to cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.

JACOBSON'S CHEESE SOUP

1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 stick butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
6 c water
6 teaspoons chicken base
1 pound American cheese, cut in cubes
1/2 cup half and half, warmed
Cayenne pepper to taste

Sauté carrot, celery and white pepper in 1/4 stick of butter in a frying pan. Remove carrot and celery and set aside. Melt 3/4 stick of butter. Over heat, whisk flour into butter to form a roux. Set aside.

Boil water in a large stock pot. Add chicken base and sautéed vegetables. Bring to a boil; simmer for 10 minutes. Slowly add cheese cubes, whisking until melted. When cheese is melted, whisk in roux in small batches, adding slowly to avoid lumps. Allow soup to cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and add heated half and half. Season with cayenne pepper, if desired. Makes about four servings.

JACOBSON'S MING DYNASTY CASSEROLE

1 can sliced water chestnuts, chopped
1 can chow mein noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup diced celery
I can chunk-style tuna, drained

1/4 pound cashew pieces
1/4 cup onion, minced

Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, holding 1/4 cup noodles for the top. Spoon into a greased casserole dish and sprinkle reserved noodles over top. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.

JACOBSON'S HUNGARIAN MUSHROOM SOUP

1/4 pound butter
4 medium onions, sliced thinly
2 1/2 pounds fresh white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 tablespoon dill weed
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
4 mushroom bouillon cubes
12 cups water
3/4 cup warm water

1/2 cup flour
1 12-ounce container sour cream, thinned with milk

Melt butter in the bottom of a large stockpot. Add onions, mushrooms, th weed and paprika. Sauté until the onions are translucent. Dissolve mushroom bullion in water and add to sautéed mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes. Mix warm water and flour into a thin paste. Return soup to a boil, add flour paste in a thin stream and simmer for 10 to 15 miles until thickened. Remove from heat. Temper sour cream and milk mixture by slowly adding a ladle of soup to the cream. Slowly mix sour cream into the soup and serve. Do not boil when reheating.

JACOBSON'S GARDEN SANDWICH

2 green onions
4 medium-size fresh white mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
I small package frozen spinach, thawed and chopped
Lemon juice and pepper to taste
4 slices each medium cheddar cheese, provolone and Swiss
8 slices light rye bread

Lightly sauté onions and mushrooms in butter. Add thawed spinach and heat through. Season with lemon juice and pepper. Assemble sandwiches starting with provolone and cheddar cheeses. Spread a layer of spinach mixture of top of cheese and top with Swiss. Grill sandwiches as for grilled cheese or heat in sandwich press.

JACOBSON'S QUICHE LORRAINE

6 large eggs
½ cup half and half, mixed with 1/2 cup 2 percent milk
1½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
12 cup shredded Swiss (Emmental) cheese
1 large pie shell
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
Paprika
Nutmeg

Beat eggs slightly. Add half and half and milk and beat again. Place shredded cheese into pie shell. Add basil to eggs and milk and pour over cheese in the pie shell. Dust the top of the pie shell with paprika and nutmeg. Place quiche on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Quiche is done when a knife poked into the center comes out clean.Let cool for 10 minutes and cut into 8 slices.

JACOBSON'S FISHERMAN'S SALAD

Salad Mixture

3/4 pound deli imitation crab sticks, shredded (or use cooked lump crabmeat)
½ cup diced celery

½ cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds

1/4 teaspoon dill weed

Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
1½ teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Whisk all items together and cool in refrigerator for at least 1 hour

Assembly

4 large leaves head lettuce, shredded into 1/4-inch shreds
2 vine tomatoes, quartered into wedges 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered into wedges
12 pitted Kalamata olives

Combine crab sticks, celery, onion, almonds and dill weed with dressing, reserving some dressing for final presentation.

Line bowls with lettuce strips. Place a scoop of seafood mixture on lettuce in each bowl.Place a tomato wedge at 12 and 6 o'clock near the rim of the bowl. Place an egg wedge at 3 and 9 o'clock near the rim of the bowl. Place 3 olives on top center of salad scoop to decorate. Serve with additional dressing on the side.

Strawberry Chiffon Pie

2023-07-06T10:10:00.005-04:00

As usual this time of year, I am up to my eyeballs in delicious Copper County Strawberries. I prefer to get my berries from Crane Berry Farm in Chassell. They are the best. Jane is up visiting, and she requested a strawberry pie. I had recently checked out Kate Lebo's Pie School cookbook from the library and came upon her recipe for strawberry chiffon pie that she said was inspired by the strawberry chiffon pie recipe in Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook, which is one I don't have in my arsenal of Farm Journal cookbooks. I need to write a blog post about my FJ collection. This pie came out fantastic! I decided to try a new tip I read about using instant pudding to stabilize whip cream, and it really works I just looked at the piece of pie I still have left that I made days ago and the cream is still perky!

I took this pie to our friends Steve and Lisa's beautiful place in Eagle River for the 4th of July, and it was a hit. We got some rain later in the day on the 4th up north, but I understand it was a big storm in Houghton/Hancock. From the looks of the water on our deck here just north of McLain, it was pretty heavy here as well.

Vanilla Cookie Crumb Crust

2 c. crushed vanilla wafer crumbs
pinch of salt
6 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F. Pulse cookies in food processor until fine - it was almost a whole box of mini Nilla wafers. In a medium bowl, melt 6 T. butter in the microwave. Add crumbs and and salt and mix with a fork to combine. Press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes until it is slightly fragrant. Allow to cool before filling

Filling

2 cups (1 pint) fresh strawberries, trimmed and quartered
3⁄4 cup sugar, divided
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1⁄4 cup cold water
1⁄2 cup hot water
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup chilled heavy cream
2 egg whites

In a medium bowl, crush the strawberries with your hands or a fork. Mix the berries with 1⁄2 cup of the sugar and let them sit for 30 minutes. Pour the gelatin into a small bowl, pour the cold water over it, and stir to soften it. Then stir it into the hot water until dissolved. Add the gelatin to the crushed berries, along with the lemon juice and salt. Refrigerate the mixture. Briefly stir the mixture every 5 minutes while chilling to catch it at just the right setting stage—the mixture will lump softly when you drop it from the spoon back into the bowl. This takes about a half hour.

Beat the chilled cream on high until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture. Whip the egg whites with an electric beater on high until they hold soft peaks, then gradually add the remaining 1⁄4 cup sugar as you beat the whites into stiff , glossy peaks. Fold the meringue into the strawberry mixture.

Pour the filling into the crust and smooth it into a mound with a spatula or spoon. Chill until completely set, about 2 to 3 hours.

Stabilized Whipped Cream

1/2 T. instant vanilla pudding mix

1 t. powdered sugar

1/2 c. heavy cream

A pinch of kosher salt

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Whip cream with sugar and pudding mix until it forms stiff peaks. Stir in salt and vanilla.

To garnish the pie, I used a Wilton 2D tip and then used some sliced strawberries.

Serve chilled. Store leftovers covered in the fridge. I like to use my vintage tupperware pie carrier, mine looks like this:

If you want to buy one, this seller on etsy has it. It's a great way to bring pie with you to a potluck! I need to make more pies. I think this is the first one I have made this whole year.

Rhubarb Meringue Squares

2023-06-05T18:40:00.001-04:00

I was reading a blog I like called The Culinary Cellar and the author often posts recipes from the once wonderful, but now defunct Cuisine magazine. This one featured a recipe called "Laura's Strawberry Rhubarb Bars" and I liked the idea of meringue with rhubarb. I'm a rhubarb purist, however, and prefer to keep strawberries far away from it. We are still at least a month off from strawberry season up here, anyway. I wanted to make something from my fantastic giant rhubarb plant growing in my yard. So I decided to try my hand at making something like this with just rhubarb.

Rhubarb Meringue Squares

1/2 c butter softened

1 c all-purpose flour

1 T sugar

3 eggs, separated

1 c sugar

2 T all-purpose flour

1/4 t salt

1/2 c half-and-half

2 1/2 c cut-up rhubarb

1/3 c sugar

1 t vanilla

1/4 c flaked coconut

Heat oven to 350°F. Mix butter, 1 cup flour and 1 tablespoon sugar. Press evenly in ungreased square pan, 8x8x2 inches. Bake 10 minutes.

Mix egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, the salt and half-and-half in large bowl. Stir in rhubarb. Pour over hot crust. Bake 45 minutes.

Beat egg whites in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy . Beat in vanilla. Spread over rhubarb mixture; sprinkle with coconut. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown; cool about 30 minutes. Cut into about 4-inch squares.

Garden 2023

2023-05-15T15:13:00.000-04:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I blogged! Time to get back to it. I'm trying to figure out what is coming back up. So glad I drew a map of the perennials I planted:

Let's we what is coming up!

What to do in the Keweenaw - Winter Edition

2023-02-02T09:54:00.007-05:00

I often get asked about what to do in the Keweenaw in winter. Here's some of my favorite things to do:

Eat a pasty

In Houghton, my favorite is Suomi Restaurant...It's on Huron St. They do have lots of Finnish specialties like Pannukakku, which is like a baked custard and comes with a thimbleberry sauce. Thimbleberries are like raspberries, and they are a Keweenaw specialty. They also make a great pasty - better than any of the tourist traps on US 2 just over the bridge. By the way, pasty rhymes with "nasty", it is not pronounced "PAH-sty" as is sometimes suggested. If you pronounce it that way, I can guarantee the locals will think you are troll (Yooper slang for a downstater - i.e. someone that lives "under the bridge") trying to fake a Yooper accent. By the way, don't call it a "paste" y, because that's something strippers wear. I like pasties with gravy or mustard, but most locals like them with ketchup on them.

Also, great pasties can be had (and cookies) at Amy J's Pasties in Hancock.

Eat a pickled egg

Pickled eggs are a Yooper bar snack! Spicy - I like mine with tabasco and plenty of jalapenos. Here's the 2 best places:

B&B Bar - it's on M26 as you are slightly west of downtown toward Walmart. It used to be a total dive bar but it has gentrified in recent times. Take in the hockey history!

Douglass House Saloon, aka the Dog House or just "The Dog". It's right on the main drag. When I was a college student, it was the place where MTU students hang out. They now hang at the Downtowner, which has its own charms. I like the Dog's pickled eggs, and they also have popcorn, which is awesome.

Favorite Downtown Houghton spots for a drink

I also love the submarine sandwiches and the fishbowl cocktails at the Ambassador, which is slightly up the street from the Downtowner. The fishbowl drinks are served in brandy snifters - my favorite is the Quaalude. Be careful - they sneak up on you!

Have a beer at KBC or Keweenaw Brewing Company. They don't have food, just beer and peanuts in the shell, but it is good beer. My favorite is the Red Ridge.

Go Copper Country Cruising

CC Cruising is what MTU students call hopping in your car and driving north to Copper Harbor, and stopping on the way.

As you get toward Copper Harbor, I like Fitzgerald's in Eagle Harbor. You can dine overlooking Lake Superior. (reservations a must)

In Copper Harbor, visit the Brickside Brewery, the northernmost microbrewery in Michigan. Eat at the Mariner North

Have a drink at the log bar at Mt. Bohemia. or ski if you are really good.

If you want to do some really outdoorsy stuff, rent skis or snowshoes from Keweenaw Adventure.

Check out the snow thermometer near Mohawk (pictured above). Good food at the Glacia Tavern

Waterfalls

Hungarian Falls - there's a bit of a hike, but fun! Snowshoes helpful

Jacob's Falls - Eagle River

Eagle River Falls

Inside activities

Visit the A.E. Seaman Mineralogical Museum

Go to the Gay Bar. No, it's not what you are thinking - the Gay Bar is in Gay, Michigan, which is on the east side of the Keweenaw. When I was a college student in the 80s, you could regularly see the guy that played Jethro Bodine on the Beverly Hillbillies or Ted Nugent there, as they both used to hunt nearby. Now that Tedly's moved to Texas, I'm not sure he visits anymore. There's not much else to do in Gay, but you can say you've done it!

Visit historic Calumet: check out Copper World, the antiques at Vertin Gallery, have coffee at Keweenaw Coffee Works, tour the Calumet Theater, check out the Tiffany glass at the bar at Shute's.

Outside Activities

Cross country ski or snowshoe at Swedetown or MTU Ski Trails. You can rent at Cross Country Sports in Calumet or at Michigan Tech.

Downhill Ski or tube at Mt. Ripley - rentals available

Winter Carnival

If you are visiting during MTU's winter carnival, here's the additional activities I recommend:

Hockey games (get tickets in advance)

Tour snow statues

Go to the all-nighter statue building Wed night on campus

Watch the torch light parade on Saturday night on Mt. Ripley, with fireworks!

There is sometimes a lantern lit snowshoe hike in on the MTU trails

Watch the Grundy Run guys from Sig Tau race in their skivvies for a good cause. Usually on Friday

Tour the Quincy Mine

23 for 23

2023-01-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I've been listening to this podcast I really like called Happier and I have found it to have some great suggestions for how to increase happiness in my life. One thing we are doing is setting up 23 goals for 2023, along with a personal theme and a group goal, which is to get outside for 23 minutes every day in 2023. So here are mine:

Theme: BALANCE

1. Get outside for 23 minutes every day

2. Write in this blog more - ideally once a month

3. Get to goal weight

4. Do my strength and balance exercises daily

5. Go to New Mexico

6. Sew at least 5 things for myself

7. Work with students more

8. Plant a garden on the lake side of the house

9. Audition for a choir solo

10. Ski on more trails at Mt. Ripley

11. Mountain bike more often

12. Try out linocut

13. Improve record keeping for Etsy shop

14. Try out cryptid theme for Etsy shop

15. Read 23 books

16. Try making more things out of clay for Etsy shop

17. Walk on the beach all the way to McLain

18. Kayak more

19. Go camping more

20. Visit Isle Royale

21. Play guitar again

22. Winter sow zinnias

23. Try out a craft show

Curried Parsnip Soup with Curried Croutons

2022-11-11T13:56:00.002-05:00

The guys have gone to deer camp, so my sister came up to visit me at the lakehouse. The rain we've been getting has turned to snow finally; it's been a very warm long autumn here. So it is a perfect day for soup!

My friend Kirstin shared with me a curried parsnip soup recipe she makes, so I decided to give it a try. I made a few tweaks to the recipe, but it came out delicious! This recipe is a keeper.

Curried Parsnip Soup with Curried Croutons

For the soup:

2 T butter
2 med. onions, chopped
1 T. grated fresh ginger
1 T. curry powder
2 t. cumin
2 lb. parsnips, peeled and diced small
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced small
6 c. chicken stock
1 sm. container plain Greek yogurt
curried croutons (see below) lemon peel and lemon wedges, for serving

In a dutch oven, saute onion in butter until soft. Add seasonings and cook for a minute or two, until fragrant. Add parsnips, potato and chicken stock, and simmer until parsnip is soft, about 30 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree in pot until smooth. Blend in yogurt. Garnish with lemon peel and croutons; pass lemon wedges to squeeze on top.

Curried Croutons

2 slices bread
1 T, curry powder
juice from half a lemon

2 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix curry powder, butter and lemon juice together in a small bowl, and brush bread with mixture. Cut bread into small cubes. Bake on a cookie sheet untilcrisp and golden, about 20 minutes.

Thimbleberry Jam 2022

2022-08-31T14:56:00.008-04:00

It was a banner year for berries. I started picking them the last week of July and continued all the way through mid August, freezing them as I picked. this year I got 6 lb 6 oz of berries, and it resulted in 20 half pints of jam.

Thimbleberry jam is the easiest jam ever to put up. Here is how I do it!

I have an outdoor canning rig, which makes it super easy and fast cleanup. I stay nice and cool and I just hose down the driveway when I'm done. Happy canning!