The Hotel Kitchen

Discovering a booth for The Hotel Kitchen at the International Wine, Beer, and Food Festival this year was a pleasant surprise. I had seen their brand before but did not know much about them. I tasted their samples in the River Front Market area on Thursday. On Saturday I went to a Food Workshop by Josh Ganzevoort, one of their chefs.

The workshop was named Bringing Michigan Summer into Your Winter Kitchen - clearly one of my interests. Chef Josh made simple salad-based meals out of fresh produce that is easy to find year-round in the Grand Rapids area and the Hotel Kitchen products. The product lines include three dressings, two salsas, and two chutneys.

Chef Josh. Chef's hands alway move so fast!

After the class I chatted with Joshua about The Hotel Kitchen. If you know anything about downtown Grand Rapids you know about the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel which has been a gem in the city since the 1980s. It now has two sisters: The Downtown Courtyard by Marriott and the JW Marriott Grand Rapids. The Hotel Kitchen food company is owned by the Amway Hotel Corporation and began from the local food passion of the chefs. When customers ask about where to purchase the salad dressings and other accompaniments, they now have an answer.

The recipes – all tested by Michigan State University – are made annually in season in small batches. They are canned at a small processor in Flint, MI. Chef Josh estimated that 95% or more of the product ingredients are grown in Michigan. The products are only available at the three hotels and in small independently owned stores around the state.

Pick them up when you see them. Since they are made in small batches in season, when they are gone you will have to wait for next year.

 

 

 

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The Back Roads of Mid-Michigan

I recently took my own foodie day-tour of a southern chunk of the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. My trip was from Charlotte to Jackson to Battle Creek to Kalamazoo. I could have spent a day in any of those places, but I kept moving to see the sights. We have a lot of farmland here! I saw rolling field after rolling field and lots of horses.

First Stop: Tirrell Farmstead Specialties, Charlotte, MI

I met the Tirrell family in August at the Michigan FiberFestival, because they sell wool yarn and roving from their sheep. In their store, open on Friday and Saturday, they sell their own sheep cheese, beef, lamb, and baked dog treats, as well as farm products produced by the neighboring community. One notable cheese is the Tart and Blue which includes Michigan dried cherries. Their tiny store came into being because it was required that the cheese production area be partitioned. It is also stocked with wool products (yarn, roving, sheepskin, mittens, scarves, and hats), pork, chicken, eggs, maple syrup, honey, and pickled vegetables.

I met with Ben from this this three-person family business – he is the 7^th generation. The store is located on Ben and wife Jessy’s property. It is adjacent to the most adorable brick one-room schoolhouse which they hope to purchase as an expanded store soon. Down the road is the original family farm where Ben’s Mom, Pat, the third of this farm trio, lives. It was started in 1841, and Ben’s great grandfather built the house in 1864. Pat bakes the dog treats and knits and weaves items sold in the store.

 

Second Stop: Sandhill Crane Vineyards, Jackson, MI

I had heard about Sandhill Crane but had not tasted their wines. When I realized that they have a new café that would be a perfect lunch stop, I had to go. After parking my car, I look up from grabbing notebook, pen, and camera, to see a few dozen people pouring out of a bus. Oh boy, I thought. Fortunately, the business (originally started in 2003) had recently added an addition that included a banquet room. The bus tour was the annual one from the Pioneer Wine Trail.

I ordered a grilled vegetable sandwich, and the staff found a quiet place for me to sit. I tried a few white wines from their extensive menu. Owner, Heather Price, graciously spent a few minutes with me (I tend to arrive to places unannounced) explaining the history of the business and the local foods offered in the café. They serve MI produced bread, coffee, cheese, and ice cream year-round. And, they use Michigan produce as much as seasonally possible. I was impressed by the chalkboard list of Michigan producers served in the café. Then, Heather treated me to a piece of the bread pudding that they were serving the bus tour participants. The food was delicious.

Third Stop: Sweetwater’s Donut Mill, Battle Creek, MI

I was so full after my meal and dessert at Sandhill Crane, but I had come for my annual donut, and it was not to be missed. Well, it was almost missed. The man in line in front of me unapologetically purchased the last six peanut donuts. I love peanut donuts! So, I went with peanut donut holes and some Michigan cider. There seemed to be a steady stream of locals purchasing donuts; some to go and others staying  for coffee and conversation.

Four Stop: People’s Co-op, Kalamazoo, MI

Whenever I am in the area of Kalamazoo, I stop by their wonderful co-op. They have signage to designate the Michigan based foods that they sell.

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Built in 1864

Lamb meat for sale

 

I brought home some Tirrell cheese samples.

 

These look healthy!

On the pasture

The Bovine Good Life

Sheep and Their Guard Cat

Sandhill Crane Winery in Jackson, MI

Supporting Local

Random Cool Building on a Michigan Road

Yum!

One of my favorite stops.

 


 

Spaghetti Jim’s

I met Ann Abfalter at the Fulton Street farmers market. We became fast friends over packages of pasta. It was early spring and she had set up a booth with the pasta made and packaged by herself, her husband Jim, their partner Lori Fletcher, and a small staff.

They have a passion for pasta and it shows. They make hand crafted pasta in five cuts (spaghetti, fettuccine. linguine, paparadelle, tagliarini) and five flavors (organic whole grain farro, spinach nutmeg, roasted tomato, buffalo wing, and saffron). Ann cheerfully explained the pastas for sale, and I purchased the organic farro – eager to try it right away.

If you are a pasta lover – fresh is the way to go. It has so much more depth and character than commercial dry pasta. It cooks up quickly which helps to keep the kitchen cooler on these hot days of summer.

Spaghetti Jim’s has recently started serving take-out and eat in meals (open M-F 8 am to 6 pm) from the their small commercial kitchen operation; I stopped by last week. I was able to have a delicious lunch and tour the small pasta factory. The ingredients go into a mixer for 15 minutes and then go into a sheeter. After several runs through the sheeter the pasta is held together and flattened. Then it goes through a cutter and is vacuum packaged. They were making the spinach and the farro pastas.

For lunch I had the farro pasta with a basil pesto sauce, cherry tomatoes, and Buzzelli’s hand made mozzarella. The basil and cherry tomatoes were locally grown. Spaghetti Jim’s purchases Michigan eggs for the pasta. They have several meal options and the menu is pasted daily on their facebook page. Their address is 1133 B South Airport Road in Traverse City, MI.

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Under the Strawberry Moon

By mid- June I have berry-stained fingers. It’s strawberry time: my first big push for food preservation. It’s very rewarding. Strawberries are such a delight all year round. Over the past week or so I have dehydrated eight quarts. Each quart yields a cup or so of dehydrated strawberries. They store well in the pantry. I made a note in my food journal, so I can track whether I dehydrated enough. I keep notes each year to help me to plan.

To dehydrate strawberries, remove the stems then wash and pat them dry. Slice them up to one half inch thick and place them seed side down on the dehydrator trays. My dehydrator has a fruit setting, and that is what I used. It took nearly 24 hours because I had to turn it down for a while when I was away during the day. I check them every few hours and turn them around if they are starting to stick to the trays. Near the end, I pull out the smaller pieces that are finished and let the others remain until done. I will use them in muffins, oatmeal, and perhaps make a trail mix.

I also made freezer jam –this is very easy. So easy that you really have no reason not to make freezer jam this year. Pectin even comes in small packages; each making two jars. So you can make jams from many fruits throughout the season. Essentially you combine the sugar and pectin; then add fruit. Stir for three minutes, ladle into jars, and let it sit for one half hour before putting into the freezer. No canning. But, really it is not that difficult to cook and can jam. And, here is a link from a fellow west Michigan blogger for making microwave jam any time with fresh or frozen berries.

Freezing strawberries is easy and they come in handy throughout the year. They can be mashed and frozen in plastic containers for use on ice cream or short cake. I prefer to freeze them whole; their use is a bit more flexible than already mashed berries. To freeze whole strawberries, remove the stems then wash and pat them dry. Put them on cookie sheets in a single layer. Place them in the freezer for several hours until frozen. Store them in plastic bags. By freezing them individually, you can pull out as much as you need. They are great in smoothies.


Of course constant strawberry eating is essential in Michigan in June. This morning I made cinnamon toast rolls. For the icing, I mashed two strawberries through a hand strainer and caught the juice in a small bowl. I mixed that with powdered sugar and drizzled it onto the rolls.

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Smoothies

Summer is smoothie time. Michigan fruit is great in smoothies and can easily be to preserved for winter smoothies too. I had often used a banana as the thickener in my smoothies. But, they are not native to Michigan. So, last year I began experimenting. I came up with several recipes and tried some banana replacements.

My basic smoothie recipe included fruit (usually strawberries) and fruit juice along with the banana. Sometime I added Japanese style tofu to make it thicker and add protein. I tried to replace the banana with a Michigan apple – that did not work out. The texture was way off - pulpy. I did have luck replacing the banana with a fresh pear. They are difficult to keep for very long however. Then, I tried baked apples/applesauce and that made all the difference. Below are the recipes that I experimented with over the past year. All recipes are original and made in a blender.

Baked Applesauce for use in Smoothies
Put a bit of water in the bottom of a casserole and place chopped, cored apples inside. Be sure to cut into ½ inch or so chunks. Big pieces could explode. You can peel them if you want to, but it is not necessary. Then, drizzle MI maple syrup over top to taste. Bake at 300 degrees for 60 minutes – stirring every 20 minutes. Then, mash with a potato masher and bake uncovered to cook down the liquids for another 20 minutes. This freezes well for future use.

Banana-Free Smoothie
Blend together
¾ c (baked) applesauce
¾ c partially thawed strawberries
½ cup Welch’s grape juice
1 heaping Tablespoon of soy protein.

Basic Fruit - Yogurt Smoothie
Blend together
1/3 – ½ cup Thomas Yogurt (made in Michigan)
1 cup almost thawed fruit or spiced peaches.

Pear and Strawberry Smoothie
Blend together
1 fresh pear, chopped
9 partially thawed strawberries
½ cup Welches grape juice
1 – 2 T soy protein powder, optional to thicken

Zucchini Smoothie
Blend together
1 medium zucchini, chopped (good use of all of that extra zucchini)
1 cup baked apple sweetened with MI maple syrup or lightly sweetened applesauce
½ cup frozen tart cherries, partially thawed.

Tomato Smoothie – serve chilled or pre-chill the tomatoes
12 oz of home canned tomatoes
¼ cup Garden Fresh hummus
Several frozen crushed basil leaves (or a sprinkle of dried basil)

I served this with deviled eggs and the flat crackers from The Great Bread Company.

PB&J Breakfast Smoothie
This smoothie was inspired by a one that I saw listed on the breakfast menu of Sable Restaurant in Chicago. I did not order it; I inquired. It included yogurt which I replaced with the vanilla soy milk.
1. Cook (I did it in the microwave) 1/3 cup of quick oats in one cup of water. It will be runny.
2. Stir in 1/3 cup of Koeze Sweet Ella’s smooth organic peanut butter while the oats are warm.
3. Cool the oat – peanut butter mixture in the refrigerator.
4. Blend the oat-peanut butter mixture with one cup of Edensoy vanilla soy milk and 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup until smooth.
5. Add about 10 MI strawberries and blend again.

This is even better if you chill the whole mixture again before drinking.

Apple – Cardamom Smoothie
You may want to start with less spices than directed and add more after you taste this smoothie. Blend together the following.
2 small baked apples
½ cup plain, non-fat yogurt
1 Tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon ground Cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Cherry - Almond Smoothie (I had to have one with a banana.)
Blend together
1 frozen banana
1/3 cup Naturally Nutty Organic Almond Butter with flax and hemp seeds
1 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
When smooth, add 1 cup of fresh or frozen pitted cherries (sweet or tart) and blend again.

Three Berry Smoothie
Blend together
1 cup strawberries
1/3 cup blueberries
½ cup fresh raspberry juice (strain to remove seeds)
½ cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)
Adjust the sweetness with honey or sugar if the fruit is tart.

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Michigan Millers

I probably baked quite often with rancid whole wheat flour until I met Archie Jennings at my local farmers market. This is because whole wheat flour contains the germ which has natural oils that can go rancid quickly if not stored properly. The flour needs to be stored in the freezer or refrigerator. Now, I purchase freshly milled flours from Jennings Brothers; they sell buckwheat, spelt, whole wheat, and whole wheat pastry flours as well as corn meal. And, I store it in the freezer. It does not actually freeze, so I can use it at any time.


Recently, I took a drive to visit Archie and his wife Mattie at their farm in Barry County, south of Hastings, MI. I drove up to the yard - with a classic tire swing in the tree - where the white house sits in front of the two barns and acres of grains. The house has what I refer to as an old Michigan fieldstone basement. And, that basement contains two walls of shelves filled with home canned products. Very impressive!

Back in the barn, the antique milling equipment is nestled along the sides of an airplane. Wait. What? Yes, Archie is a pilot and owns a 182K Cessna plane which is stored in one of the barns. That day, corn was drying prior to becoming corn meal. The corn is all open-pollinated and organic. He has: Truckers Favorite (developed in 1907), Reed Yellow Dent (1846), Bloody Butcher (1856), and the 6,000 year old Hopi Blue. One of the “parents” of Reed Yellow Dent was, according to Archie, the yellow corn that the Native Americans shared with the first settlers of New England.

The corn is shelled, cleaned, ground, and packaged with the equipment shown below that Archie purchased second hand. The equipment was built during the first half of the 20th Century - when things were built to last. The parts of the grain not meant for human consumption are sent to other farms to be used as animal feed. It’s a truly sustainable production process. The Jennings’ sell monthly at the Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids farmers markets, and the grains are available through the West Michigan Co-op.

Click here for the Jennings recipe page.

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