Category Archives: Daytrips

Sour Cherry Jam

We were home for the long weekend – in fact, this was the first weekend home and with no houseguests since mid May – so we seized the opportunity to take a quick afternoon trip to the u-pick farms. We’d hoped to pick strawberries or raspberries, but found ourselves on the cusp of both seasons, and so only able to pick cherries.

Photo by The Hungry Masses

Now, I don’t know if I can conclusively say that cherries are my favorite fruit, but they’re certainly in the top 5, along with cantaloupe (or muskmelon), apples, clementines, and the first strawberries of summer. I love them in all forms – fresh from the tree, dried and stirred into oatmeal, even artificially bright red and dubiously a foodstuff.

We hopped in the car and drove half an hour north to Spicer Orchards, where we paid the $1 deposit for our picking bucket and set to work. Shane climbed low branches to reach perfect cherries at the top of the low trees, while I wandered around collecting bright red berries in my gathered skirt.

We ended up with about 2 pounds of sour cherries (at $1.50/pound) and 3-4 pounds of sweet cherries (at around $2.50/pound) – definitely cheaper than the grocery store or the farmer’s market, not to mention more fun. The folks at Spicer make their own wine and cider and offer free tastings, so we tried a few samples and had a small lunch before heading home.

But what to do with all the cherries other than eat them? Excellent question. Sour cherry jam to the rescue!

1.5 pounds of sour cherries yielded 1 pint and 3 half pints of jam. The recipe might have yielded more except that I made a ridiculous mistake in my math and so had to quickly pull and rinse the cherries when I realized I’d used at least twice as much sugar as was necessary. Granted, this wasn’t as bad as the time that I confused teaspoons and tablespoons when making bread in my parents’ bread machine – but it did result in using up the last of the sugar, thus preventing me from jamming up the rest of the cherries. Guess we’ll just have to wait for another day and another post!

Recipes:
Sour Cherry Jam from Food in Jars

1023 Afternoon in Detroit

I feel like I just want to show you pictures of our afternoon in Detroit with Laurie. I’m not sure if I have the words to capture the things we saw. First, the Fisher Building – we were headed to the knitting store, but were absolutely stunned by the interior of this Art Deco building.

And then The Heidelberg Project, two blocks of strange and unsettling urban art, made more unsettling by the overcast day and the contrast between the bizarre and the commonplace: a child riding her bike by a tree where a bike is mounted, for example.

What could we do from there that might be more strange and wonderful? We tried to get dinner at Slows – a foolish idea any weekend, but much worse the weekend after it was profiled in the New York Times. Laurie’s friend had suggested Woodbridge Pub, so we headed there – confirming our suspicions that everything in Detroit is 2 miles away – and had an enjoyable dinner at what felt very much like a neighborhood restaurant – and will likely be one of our go-to spots for future trips to Detroit. I’m really glad that Laurie’s visit provided us with a very good excuse to see and try a number of new things!

1009 Grand Rapids

We missed out on ArtPrize last year – a big city-wide art competition in Grand Rapids – and I was pretty sure that we’d miss it again this year, what with Shane’s trip to Vienna and mine to Atlanta and the exhaustion between trips and being sick. After last night, though, we really needed to do something to make us feel more positive about the state of things – so we hopped in the car and headed out to Grand Rapids for the day.

The day got off to a bad start, though, when I popped a big ol’ filling out of one of my front teeth while getting out what I thought was a bit of crusty bread. No, it was a filling pebble, leaving a tooth hole that didn’t hurt, but that did mean my eating options were somewhat limited. Undeterred by this traumatic incident, we made our first stop Founders Brewery, where despite lousy service and the tooth hole, we enjoyed a couple of sandwiches and beers.

We set off in search of art, and while we found a lot of “art” along the way, we also found a number of pieces that we really liked. They seemed to fall into three categories:

Horses made of unusual materials
Fantastic creatures
Installations that involved both static and dynamic elements connected by string

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people were spending perhaps the last perfect weekend of the fall on art, rather than on cider mills or raking the leaves. We didn’t end up seeing as much as I think we would’ve liked, in part because we wandered a bit far afield in search of a couple of cute shops I’d spotted online. I’m glad we did, too, because otherwise we wouldn’t have stumbled upon Rowster New American Coffee.

Who would’ve thought that we would’ve found a coffee operation to rival those we visited in San Francisco – in the middle of a neighborhood in the middle of Grand Rapids! But there we were, and there were the gorgeous lever espresso machines, and there were the really perfect espressos in front of us. Rowster has only been open about two months, but the state of the shop – clean, simple, efficient – and the quality of the product have us sold completely. We had an espresso and a cappuccino – and several cups of sparkling water – while talking to the barista/owner (?), who then made macchiatos for us so that we could try a new espresso blend. When he had extra coffee left from a cup of pour-over, he offered that to us as well. $6 for three great drinks and a fair amount of coffee nerdery each equals a really nice way to pass an afternoon.

By this point in the day, though, we were both getting really tired and I wasn’t feeling so great, so after a bit more meandering, we headed back in the direction of the car. The last stop for the day was dinner at Restaurant Bloom – we were a little too hungry to just hit the road, realizing that it would only result in a stop for fast food. Bloom is the sort of place where you find yourself really struggling with the menu – not because there’s nothing you want to eat but because you want to eat absolutely everything. We split an order of fingerling “fries” – half of which will be tomorrow’s breakfast – and had a fancy sandwich each. My croque madame was impossibly rich, and I almost immediately regretted eating the whole thing. I’d love to go back for a meal at Bloom when a huge city-wide event is NOT taking place, as I expect the service would be a whole lot better.

All told, though – a nice day out of town, nice to see a smallish city investing in the arts, and a nice range of eats to share with my sweetheart.

0805 Take Me Out to the Lugnuts

You’ll forgive me if I don’t have pictures to go along with tonight’s dinner. You see, we were busy doing this:

And what do you eat when you’ve paid $10 each for two seats that are basically on the playing field? A slice of pizza, nachos, and a hot dog, of course! And $2 beers. Cold ballpark beers in tall plastic cups. If we didn’t have an hour drive in each direction, I’d say we should make this a regular thing.

0508 This Pizza is a Miracle

A miracle in a couple of senses. First, it’s a miracle that I got dinner on the table at all. I spent today digging channels for baseboards:

and holding 16′ boards in place while they were marked, drilled, and hung:

plus lots of other mucking about, digging, holding, and securing while participating in the Spirit of Hope hoophouse build in Detroit. What you don’t get from these pictures, though, is an accurate portrayal of the weather. It was cold. It was windy. It rained a lot. It also hailed. And then occasionally the sun would peek out and give us all hope. It was a physically challenging day, but the net result will be an extended growing season for the community garden allied with the kind folks at Spirit of Hope.

After delivering my carpoolers home, I went straight for the tub with a glass of bourbon, both very necessary to soothe and warm my sore muscles. So you can see how getting dinner on the table, much less a home-cooked dinner, much less one that had to be rolled out, was kind of a miracle.

The second miracle? How fantastic these pizzas tasted!

Asparagus, prosciutto, and goat cheese

Roasted red pepper, shallot, asparagus, and goat cheese

I had picked up a frozen ball of pizza dough at Plum earlier in the week, so tonight I split it in half, rolled it out, and pre-baked it at 450 for about 10 minutes. I was surprised by how much the dough puffed up – we tend to like a thinner crust, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it any thinner than this. Add the toppings, toss the pizza back in the oven for a few minutes, and dinner was on the table.

Shane fancied his up with balsamic crema and olive oil, while I didn’t even wait to sit down to start eating. So good! I’ve decided that we need to keep pizza dough in the freezer at all times if it means that a dinner like this can be made in a pinch.

0501 Avalon Bakery

We had very good intentions of going hiking today, but the early morning thunderstorm followed by the late morning rain made venturing out for five miles an extremely muddy and unpleasant prospect. At Shane’s suggestion, we instead hopped in the car and took a spontaneous trip to Detroit.

We both recently read this article from Vice (of all places) that decries the obsession with Detroit “ruins porn” – the exploitation of a city that has seen better days, but still contains vibrant industry and culture. I have to admit – on our first trip to Detroit a few months ago, we were pretty amazed at what we saw. It was a grey and blustery day, and it’s hard not to be struck by the Michigan Central Station or the site of buildings falling into disrepair, especially in such weather. Look at a little closer, though, and you’ll find scenes like this:

Things are growing in Detroit. Things like gardens with chickens in them in Cass Corridor. Things like vibrant little bakeries where you can grab a snack and watch the (bread) magic happen:

We’re big fans of Avalon International Bakery, as I might have mentioned. Their breads are sold at Plum Market and at the co-op – somewhat more affordable than Zingerman’s with little difference in quality. By that I mean: a great crust, a great interior, perfect for sandwiches and toast.

Even though we’d just had ridiculously good brisket at Slows, we split a peanut butter brownie and an iced coffee and watched two bakers divide, weigh, and shape an immense pile of dough into beautiful little loaves. It was a lovely interlude in a very nice afternoon – I only wish that Avalon were in our neighborhood so that this could be a regular thing.

0418 Pizza at Dark Horse

Dark Horse Brewery, originally uploaded by Ben B Miller.

Our first morning as man and wife started with breakfast in bed: bacon, coffee, and Law and Order – a new episode, even! If this is what married life is like, I’m awfully glad we’re giving it a try. Also please let the record show that our first dance as husband and wife took place at Dark Horse when Mike played This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) on the jukebox.

While we’re on the subject of Dark Horse, let me just say that the portabella pizza? Top notch. It took awhile to arrive on our table, but when it did, we dug in with gusto. Thin crispy crust, delicious cheese, and savory mushrooms and pesto – all good stuff. On a strictly aesthetic note, we also appreciated that the pizza was cut into squares – better for sharing and for pacing yourself while also enjoying a Double Crooked Tree or two. Not that any of us did that, of course. Nooo.

0416 Sandwiches at Founders

After kicking around town with Mike this afternoon, we headed off to Muskegon, where we’ll be getting married on Saturday. Coincidentally – or perhaps just fortunately – Founders Brewing Company was right on our way, so we stopped for a sandwiches and a couple of great beers. We stopped at Founders after scouting wedding locations in Muskegon, but we’d just had a huge lunch at Mia + Grace and so weren’t able to try any of the awesome deli menu.

Not the case this time! I had the Stella Bleu, which was delicious and packed full of things Shane doesn’t like (tomatoes, black olives, blue cheese), and a Backwoods Bastard, full of bourbon-y goodness. Shane enjoyed a killer cheesesteak – the first legit cheesesteak I’ve ever tried, a Founders Porter, and a Centennial. Mike had MEAT, which is really all I have to say. I think it was a turkey reuben? (Should one capitalize reuben? Reuben? Not sure.) Good stuff, and good fuel for the remaining hour’s drive to Muskegon. On our way out, Shane commented that he’d like to visit to Grand Rapids more often – with sandwiches like these, I can see why!

0220 Wedding Update & Lunch at Mia + Grace

We’ve waffled a great deal about wedding plans – in part because our living and working situations have changed dramatically since we first got engaged, in part because our families are in different cities and have very different life situations, and in part because we just couldn’t come up with a plan that worked for everyone while still making US happy. We toyed with eloping, and it was that line of brainstorming that led to Lake Michigan beach towns, which led to Muskegon. Why would we decide to get married in a town that we’d never visited? Because of views like this:

SO that’s what we’re going to do. Lake Michigan and gorgeous lighthouses in the background. No backup plan. No changing plans again, because if we do, we’re going to the courthouse, and no one’s allowed to get mad at us. It’s going to be incredibly small and relaxed, and then over the summer we’re hoping to have receptions in Illinois and Ohio so that our many loved ones can celebrate with us.

We took a much-needed and belated daytrip to Muskegon today to scout out wedding locations and test-eat the restaurant where we’d like to have dinner that night. We tromped around in the snow on the beach, took a lot of photos, and sort of squinted our eyes to imagine what it’ll be like in two months. We walked on the icy sea wall all the way out to the lighthouse, where I freaked Shane out a bit by clambering around to investigate a giant ice formation. All that walking and wintery lake air fanned the flames of our peckishness, so we were both pleased to find Mia + Grace quickly and to almost as quickly have beverages in front of us and delicious smells wafting towards the table.

The owners and chefs of Mia + Grace espouse a farm-to-table orientation, which is demonstrated in the list of farm friends on the butcher paper menus on the walls. This orientation towards supporting local agriculture was one of the things that really drew us to the restaurant – and also made us wish that Mia + Grace were in OUR neighborhood rather than several hours away. I had the butcher’s plate, which today featured house-made mortadella, salami, a spicy sausage, and duck rillettes with delicious toast points, a ridiculously large and peppery cracker, and onion jam. I’m not a big fan of mortadella – meat with things in it has always struck me as weird – but the duck rillettes in particular blew me away – savory, creamy, sweet, and impossibly rich. Shane had the spaghetti and meatballs, with hand-rolled pasta and pork and beef meatballs cooked slowly in a sweet tomato sauce. I regret not being hungry enough to try any of the amazing desserts – but look forward to being able to do so on a special occasion coming soon.

0123 Detroit

I would tell you about tonight’s dinner, except that there really wasn’t much dinner to speak of. We made our first trip to Detroit proper today, and as is the challenge in any new city, we had about five times as many restaurants to visit as we had meals to eat. Some time ago, we realized that restaurant meals are generally just too damned big for either of us to enjoy without guilt, especially if salads, drinks, or dessert are in play. We also realized that splitting meals means we can try more things – definitely a good strategy when, as in Detroit, we had more things to eat than could be reasonably managed in one day.

Our first stop was Slows Bar-B-Q, where we split an amazing pulled pork sandwich and Shane enjoyed a remarkable pour of Bell’s Expedition Stout off the firkin cask. The meat was tender and flavorful, the flavor only enhanced by the array of sauces available for (liberal) application at your discretion. I really can’t wait to go back to Slows – Shane said that it alone was worth the trip.

Our second food stop was at Supino Pizza, located in the Eastern Market complex. We split the only slice they had on hand – a very thin piece of cheese with a crispy crust. Other diners were folding their pizza New York style – with just have a slice each, we weren’t able to enjoy the full experience – or the amazing line-up of other zas. Another must-return location!

Finally, after wandering around the Cass Corridor for a bit, we grabbed a couple of beers and a pot of crab dip at Motor City Brewing Works. The beers were unremarkable – I think Shane’s going to review his – but I enjoyed the crab dip, hot and bubbly with a bit of a bite. I continued scraping the little pot with my spoon long after all salvageable dip was gone.

Detroit, you were delicious, and I can’t wait to visit you again.