You know I just love our mitten state, right? So I was thrilled to learn the other day about Found Michigan, a blog and new t-shirt shoppe. Spread the Michigan love! God knows we need it…
Somehow I just knew you’d love these t-shirts! They’re grrrreat! See more designs and order them here.
Lovely just how much it helps to lift one’s spirits to just get out. Simple joys of listening to the muffled silence that a fresh blanket of snow brings, seeing your breath as you work your way up the hills, feeling the snow creep into the space between pants and socks that the boots neglect to reach, sharing a bowl of soup that warms the belly. And the soul.
Spread your love of the great mitten state this holiday season with some ode-to-Michigan gifts. Lord knows Michigan could use all the love we could give it…
1) Midwest is Best tote bag. Spread the midwest love while grocery shopping or a trip to the library. Or how ’bout presenting your gifts in these totes instead of wrapping paper?
2) For your favorite green thumb in your life, how ’bout a Midwest Seed Bomb? Make flowers, not bombs!
3) I love Fordite jewelry, like these Fordite earrings. Do you know what Fordite is? Fordite is multi-layered, automotive enamel. The original leftover paint slag, or “rough”, was made years ago by the old-fashioned industrial techniques used to spray-paint multiples of production cars in large Ford automobile factories. So unique, so Michigan, so beautiful, no?
4) A Michigan-themed gift box from Great Lakes Tea & Spice. This is the perfect family gift idea, which includes the classic Caldecott-honor book, Paddle-to-the-Sea
5) For the all-Michigan, all-organic foodie: the Cherry Supreme gift box from Food for Thought. Cherry Cabernet jam, dried cherries, Cherry Raspberry jam…, need I say I more?
6) Too young to eat the dried cherries? Bummer. How ’bout a wooden Michigan teething ring. So cute!
7) Strapped for cash this year, but still want to send a little Michigan cheer? Send one of these Michigan mitten notes! I love these, don’t you?
Dear readers, do you have any other ode-to-Michigan gift ideas? I’d love to share them in the upcoming weeks. Until then, a big shout out to our dear mitten state, woot woot!
Leaves–some orange, most green with the ends dipped in color–danced more quickly across the sidewalk as the needle plunged into the low 50s. I tightened up my scarf and pushed the stroller with haste, purpose. Let’s go home and snuggle up, I said to the little birdie. That’s pretty much all I felt like doing last week when the World’s Worst Cold hit our nest. Oof. The only other thing I felt like doing was baking something beautiful and delicious. Pflaumenkuchen – a German plum tart-meets-cake slice of loveliness. Yes.
I picked up some beautiful plums from the farmer’s market and truth be told, I don’t LOVE the taste (maybe it’s the texture?) of a fresh plum. But I cannot resist their beauty. I love how they perspire when I take them out of the fridge and let them show off their blue and purple swatch books.
Most fruits I prefer in their raw, unadulterated state. But plums? Slightly caramelized in a not-too-sweet crust with a hint of almond? Um, OK, bend my arm. Sooo, I turned to my buddy, the Internet and perused for Pflaumenkuchen recipes. I ended up combining a couple and tweaking them a bit to create this perfect fall treat, which uses simple ingredients and reveals a great plum taste. Aah, fall.
Give it a try!
I used a 9 inch spring-form pan, but any shape/type baking pan about that size will do fine.
Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract
About 15 or so fresh plums, pitted and cut in half.
Directions:
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and almond extract. Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture and combine. Butter your 9 x 9 inch pan. Spread batter in pan and then press the sliced plum wedges into top of batter, cut side up. Yes, I told you I was keeping it simple…
Then bake your cake 375°F for about 40-45 minutes. Enjoy warm or cold, maybe with a dollop of whipped cream and a cup of hot tea! Or with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a cup of coffee, like I just did. Sorry, waistline. Maybe tomorrow.
I’m thinking of using this post to start an “Ode to Oktoberfest” series. All things fall, German and fun, wrapped up in a Cyber-bundle. What say you, dear readers, does that sound like a good idea? What fun fall things do you have planned?
Best!
How’s your summer so far, lovelies? Are you beating the heat? Is this expected to break soon? Please say it is because I don’t want to run ten miles in this on Saturday. Yuck. Here’s hoping for 70s again… Cheers!
Back to the grind, anyone? Need a colorful pick-me-up after a fun holiday weekend? Look no further than my friend Sandy‘s getaway nest. It’s featured in the current issue of Midwest Living. Here are a few photos from the article. What do you think? Isn’t it funky, fun and inspiring?
Sandy’s cottage is located in a smart development called the New Neighborhood in Empire, Michigan.
Want to see more pictures and Sandy’s budget-friendly, creative decorating tips? Click on to the full article in Midwest Living, lovelies.
Happy Summer Solstice to you, dear readers. It’s decidedly summer here: 75 and sunny and the bikinis are at the beach. We had a fun beach day yesterday to celebrate Father’s Day and I was very concerned about Wren’s precious skin so she was generously slathered with sunscreen, but I neglected to do the same for my own skin. Result? The season’s first (and hopefully, last) sunburn. Oops. Sigh.
Because I’m a list-maker and my Spring Forward list kept me focused on enjoying Spring’s delights, I will do the same for summer. So here goes…
Oh my, I could go on, but I better stop. If I think of more, I’ll add them later… What do you look forward to this summer?
Happy longest day of the year, lovelies! Any fun pagan rituals planned for tonight? Enjoy!
The little birdie and I had a great time at the farmer’s market this morning while we let Chris enjoy some peace a quiet and a few more minutes of beauty sleep. We got ourselves a couple bins of lovely, organic “jam strawberries,” which are softer and a bit imperfect. Imperfect means perfect for chubby baby hands. Needless to say when you see the photos, Wren loved them!
I’m not even going to post any recipes or ideas on how to enjoy strawberries today because my favorite way is to eat them fresh. What’s your favorite way to enjoy fresh strawberries?
Don’t get me wrong. I love the juxtaposition of rhubarb and strawberry, I really do. But I love the occasional sour treat and rhubarb delivers. If you’re a rhubarb purist too, you will likely enjoy these muffins. Heck, go ahead, throw in a few strawberries too… if you have to.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (I like to mix white and whole wheat or spelt flours and a small handful of flax, but that’s just me)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup yogurt
I stick (8 T) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups 1/4-inch-diced rhubarb (7-1/4 oz.)
Directions:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with baking cups or spray with oil. I like to spray the top of the tin too so when the muffins bulge over, they can easily be removed.
Make the muffin batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and whisk to blend.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Lightly stir the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients with a spatula until the batter just comes together. Gently stir in the diced rhubarb. The batter will be thick.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups, using the back of a spoon or a small spatula to settle the batter into the cups. The batter should mound a bit higher than the tops of the cups.
Bake the muffins until they’re golden brown, spring back most of the way when gently pressed, and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift the muffins out of the pan—if necessary, loosen them with the tip of a paring knife—and let them cool somewhat. Serve warm. Enjoy!
Note: As with all fresh-baked goods, these are best eaten right away. If you’re not going to eat them right away, freeze them and then toss them in an oven to reheat when needed.
This recipe has been adapted from this one, found at Fine Cooking.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush or spray asparagus spears in olive oil. Season the coated spears with black pepper. Take a quick count of the spears. Divide the total number by four. Gather that number of spears and use a slice of bacon to wrap the bundle and secure the spears together. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Place bundles on slotted broiler pan in the center of your oven. Bake about 12-15 minutes.
