Eating and Drinking Locally for the Summer Months #WinePW

I love living in Michigan.  I love that we have a variety of weather, sometimes all on the same day.  I love the beauty of our State; the Great Lakes, the multitude of inland lakes, the sand dunes, the farmland, the orchards and the vineyards.  I think we grow the best apples, strawberries, peaches, cherries and corn on the cob that can be found anywhere else in this Country.  I even love the snow and the freezing temperatures of the winter months.

What I don't love is the gray days that we suffer through during the dead of winter and I wistfully look at warmer climates and wish that we, too, could enjoy fresh local bounty year round.  Alas, while we can enjoy all the foods that we have preserved over the winter and I still get fresh eggs, though not as abundantly during the winter.....you aren't hitting up any Farmer's Markets for local produce.  We can still get locally grown meats and if you are a hunter or angler the season is ripe for the picking, so to speak, but we are not getting any fresh fruits and veggies...that's for sure.

So during the season I hit the Farmer's Markets as often as I am able and thank God for the abundance of all the great produce we are able to enjoy now and preserve for later.  My meats are all home grown from the farm of our friends, Dave and Vicki, and are perfect for putting on the grill during the dog days of summer.  Along with those grilled meats, I serve up local, fresh veggies.  I grill them, I turn them into salads, I make cruditè platters with dips made from fresh herbs.  I also use as much local fruit as I can get my hands on...berries are very abundant, peaches are sweet and juicy, apples are tart and crisp, rhubarb is everywhere, and cherries are exploding off the trees.

Michigan also has great wineries and breweries with more popping up each and every day.  I am normally a California red kinda girl but when the weather turns hot I tend towards white wines that are served chilled.  Michigan makes some great white wines.  One of my favorites is this crisp dry white from the little town of Leland called Fishtown White.  Leland is affectionately called Fishtown because it is known for it's fishing.  You can charter a boat and go out after fresh salmon or whitefish. I have been lucky enough to have been the recipient, numerous times, of fresh salmon from our Great Lakes....it is amazing.  Whitefish is extremely popular in Northern Michigan and a treat that I enjoy at least once each visit.

With that thought in mind and no plans of going north before this post was due, I went on a hunt for some smoked whitefish and a bottle of the Fishtown White.  I had a pretty good idea that I could find Michigan White Fish at my favorite local market, Nino Salvaggios, and I was right.  They had both the white fish and the wine.

I turned this whitefish into dip that I served on garlic toasts with cold, crisp, clean glasses of Fishtown White.  The old adage to serve food from the same locale as the wine holds true locally as well as in other States and other Countries.  This pairing was delicious and a perfect start to a lovely dinner enjoyed poolside on a glorious Michigan evening.

I opened up a block of cream cheese, grabbed the sour cream, lemon, dill and fish from the refrigerator, spied a red onion on the counter and decided to add that as well.

This dip is delicious and was a perfect match for the Fishtown White.

Don't miss out on all the other summer wine pairings.  You will find them directly under this recipe.

Smoked White Fish Dip

6-8 oz. smoked white fish meat, picked over, bones and skin removed

1 (8 oz) block Neufchatel Cheese

1/4 c. sour cream

juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 T. diced red onion

handful of fresh dill weed fronds or to taste

dash of hot sauce 

salt and pepper to taste

Place half of the fish, the Neufchatel Cheese, onion,  sour cream, lemon and hot sauce in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Spoon into a bowl and fold in the remaining fish.  Taste and season as desired.  Print Recipe

More Summertime Wine Pairings

• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm will share Eating and Drinking Locally for the Summer Months #WinePW
• Cindy of Grape Experiences will pair Summer Supper: Cool Pasta Salad and Côtes du Rhône Refreshers
• Ellen of Family Around The Table will prepare Hassleback Chicken Cordon Bleu
• Jane of Always Ravenous will prepare Southern Summer Supper with a French Twist
• David of Cooking Chat will pair Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa and a Summery White Wine
• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla will share Ceviche + Scheid's Albariño #WinePW
• Jade of Tasting Pour will share Sweet Pea Pesto Meets Wines of Summer
• Jeff of FoodWineClick has prepared Cool Kitchen Seafood Rolls for an Easy Summer Supper
• Julie and Edgar of Wine-N-Friends will share Tintilla and Ribs: Superb Summer Pairing #winePW
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator will share Getting to know Napa: Bison Steak BBQ with Rombauer Atlas and Stice Cabs plus Conn Creek Atlas Rose! #WinePW
• Peter and Nancy of Pull That Cork will share Lamb Gyros and a Super Sauvignon Blanc for #winePW

Clean the Cupboard Cookie Bars #FilltheCookieJar

Our theme for this month's Fill the Cookie Jar is Back to School cookies.  Didn't summer just start? The kids around here have only been out of school for 2 weeks and don't go back until after Labor Day.

Evidently, some of the other States have year round school and the kids are getting ready for the upcoming school year already.  I'm not sure how I would have felt about that as a parent of school aged children.  I know that many parents have to work and it is probably easier for them to have school year round with smaller breaks throughout the year instead of having the entire summer to worry about finding daycare for the kids.

Are your kids still in school?  How do you feel about year round classes?  I was lucky enough to be a stay at home Mom until my kids were old enough to stay home without me.  I liked having them home during the summer but I think I would have equally liked having them home more throughout the year.  It will be interesting to see if this trend comes to Michigan and how it works out.

Okay.....enough of the rambling.....so anyhoo, the theme is Back to School cookies.  This is a pretty broad field so I opened the cupboard to see what I had on hand.  And found this.........

Does your cupboard look like this? Half a bag of this, quarter of a bag of that, couple Tablespoons of something else.....ridiculous.  Faced with this and the task at hand, I decided to make some bar cookies and just dump all my odds and ends into the mix.

I had some milk chocolate morsels, some white chocolate morsels, some peanut butter morsels and some mini M&M's.  I had just enough butter flavored coconut oil on hand for these but you could use plain coconut oil or butter or margarine.  Whatever floats your boat makes your cookie crumble.

I know my kids would have loved to find one of these cookie bars in their lunchbox.  It would have been packed right next to their PBJ sandwich.  Of course, I understand that those are no longer allowed.  Probably not my cookie bars either with the peanut butter chips, maybe you should leave those out.....or just save these cookies for your kids to have as an after school treat before homework. My kids were always famished when they got home and while much has changed in this 20 years, I'm pretty sure that hasn't.

Make sure you stop by and see what the others are sending with their kids back to school.....I'm going to enjoy mine, with my Little Miss, poolside and say a prayer of gratitude that she is not yet in school.

Clean the Cupboard Cookie Bars

2 1/4 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 cup coconut oil

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1 t. vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 c. assorted chips and candies (whatever you have in the cupboard)

Place the flour, baking soda, salt, coconut oil, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs into the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on low speed until combined.  Add the chips and candies and stir in until evenly distributed.

Spread into a 9x13" pan that has been treated with baking spray.  Bake in a preheated 375* oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cookie removes cleanly.

Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Print Recipe

More Lunch Box Favorites

• Giant Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies by Family Around the Table 
• No Bake Brownie Energy Bites by Join Us, Pull up a Chair 
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies by Jolene's Recipe Journal 
• Teachers Rule Cookies By Palatable Pastime  
• Clean the Cupboard Cookie Bars by A Day In The Life On The Farm 
• Trail Mix Cookies by Home Sweet Homestead 
• Orange Anise Cookies By This and That
• Monster Reese's Pieces Cookie Bars by Cookaholic Wife 
• Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies by Organized 31 
• Apple Date Cookie Bars by That Recipe 
• Cherry Pie Tassies by Cindy's Recipes and Writings 
• Sesame Balls by Feeding Big

Here's What's Happening on the Farm

Followers of this blog know that Frank and I have been blessed with many foreign exchange students that have become an integral part of our family.  You mostly hear about our Chinese daughter, Tingting, because she lives here with us in the USA and has blessed us with our granddaughter, Melody.

But Tingting wasn't our first exchange student.  In fact, she was the third and was introduced to our family by the second, our Danish son, Dian.  Dian returned to Denmark after his year with us but has kept in touch.  In fact, our fourth exchange student was his sister, Zoey. While Zoey was with us, Dian and their mom, Cindy, came for her graduation ceremony and stayed for a visit.

Dian has grown into a fine young man and met a very nice girl.  They gave us a grandson, Jordan, 10 months ago and had been sending us photos and updates regularly.  You can imagine how jump out of our skin excited we were when he asked if he could bring his family home for a visit.

They arrived 10 days ago and life has been a whirlwind around here.  We have been having so much fun.  Helena is a doll....I don't think Dian could have chosen a better person with whom to spend his life and start a family.  We have gone to Eastern Market, Belle Isle, the Detroit Zoo, the Mariner Titanic Museum, Frankenmuth, the Algonac Pickeral Festival, and the local parks. In between, Dian, Helena and Jordan went to Niagara Falls for a couple of days.

We have spent time catching up and getting to know each other.  Dian has bonded with our Angel Face and, after one full week, Jordan now allows Grammy and Grampy to hold and cuddle him.  We have been entertaining and we have been spending time relaxing poolside, catching our breaths from the constant activity.

We have had a lot of fun and a lot of excitement but the most exciting moment is this one that I am sharing for you from Youtube.

It was such a touching moment and we are so overwhelmed that Dian chose to share this moment with us.  We are thrilled to welcome Helena to the family and are keeping our fingers crossed that Dian's dream of finding a job here upon completion of University comes to fruition.  

Dian and Helena left last night to stay at John and Kirsten's for the remainder of their stay in the USA as Larry and Mary are arriving for the month. Some of Mary's dear friends are also going to be here from CA for a few days and we are looking forward to spending time with all of them.  Big party here on Sunday so stay tuned to hear all about it.  Dian can't wait to introduce his family to Larry and Mary with whom we spent time in California while he was here the first visit.

Slow Cooker Chinese Spare Ribs #FoodieExtravaganza

Hello all and welcome to this month's Foodie Extravaganza that just happens to fall on Independence Day here in the USA.

Our friend, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe, went to The Nibble and discovered that today is also National Spareribs Day.  She asked us to share a Spare Ribs recipe that our family would enjoy, be it braised, slow cooked or grilled.

I found this great recipe for Chinese Spare Ribs by Grace Parisi that used all of the applications. First you slow cook the ribs in a ginger-garlic braising sauce.  I adapted the sauce to use ingredients that I had on hand, popped them into the slow cooker and we headed out the door.  

Frank went to our daughter's to finish the room they are building in the basement.  I headed out with my Danish family and our Little Miss to spend the afternoon at the zoo.

Frank got home before we did, so while we were fighting rush hour traffic, he finished up dinner so it was ready and waiting when we walked in the door.

He put some Sweet Potatoes on the grill to bake when we let him know we would be home in about an hour.  When we called the second time to let him know we were 15 minutes out, he grilled up some asparagus and removed the ribs from the slow cooker.  He finished the ribs on the grill with the asparagus, brushing it with some of the braising liquid so that they were covered with a sticky, gooey and flavorful glaze.

We were all famished from our busy outing and our stomachs were grumbling the minute we walked in the door and could smell all the wonderful aromas wafting from the kitchen.  This is a wonderful way to make spareribs and I found them to be much more tender than the Chinese Ribs that you would get from carryout.

Slow Cooker Chinese Spare Ribs

adapted from a recipe by Grace Parisi

4 lbs. Spare ribs, cut into individual pieces

1 small (3") piece of ginger root, peeled and chunked

6 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 c. teriyaki sauce

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. coconut aminos

1 T. Chile sauce

1/2 c. water

Place ribs in the crock of a slow cooker.  Place the ginger, garlic, teriyaki, honey, coconut aminos, chile sauce and water in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Pour over the ribs and allow to marinate for 1 hours before turning heat to low and cooking for 6-8 hrs.

Remove ribs from slow cooker to a platter and place the braising liquid into a sauce pan removing as much fat as possible.  Cook over med high heat, boiling until thickened and reduced, about 4-5 minutes.

Place the ribs on a grill over med high heat and brush with the glaze, turning and cooking, until glaze is set, about a minute per side. Print Recipe

More Spareribs Recipes

ChineseSpare Ribs (Slow Cooker) by Caroline's Cooking
Slow Cooker Chinese Spare Ribs by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs by Food Lust People Love
StickyPork Ribs by Palatable Pastime
CanhSuon Khoai Tay (Vietnamese Spare Rib Soup by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
SingaporeanCoffee Spare Ribs by Sneha's Recipe

Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE.

Revisiting Borshch for #FirstMondayFavorites and the Weekly Menu.

Good Morning...it is time for us to share our favorite recipe that we posted last month.  I posted a tone of recipes in June but I do believe that this was my very favorite.

This Ukranian Borshch is unlike any beet soup I have ever enjoyed.  Chock full of great vegetables and meat it could be made thicker and be a great stew.

Thanks to Sid of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking for hosting this great party.  I can't wait to see what the others are sharing!  Join me, won't you?

I am also taking this opportunity to share our Weekly Menu with you.  Our son from Denmark and his family are in the USA visiting for a few weeks.  We had a lot of fun last week, catching up and visiting local sites.  They left to go sight seeing in Ohio for a few days, returning home Saturday.

The little town that we live in is having an Independence Day celebration that includes carnivals, music, dancing, fishing tournaments, parades and fireworks.  We spent yesterday afternoon enjoying the fun and all the festival food that was available.

Today, we are flying to Frankenmuth, a German town about a 25 minute flight from us, where we will do some sight seeing, shopping and enjoy all the German food that is available.  Helena is very anxious to go to Bronner's Christmas Store.

Tuesday is, of course, the 4th of July.  We are having a BBQ and will celebrate with Amy, Doug, Tingting, Melody, Dian, Helena and Jordan by hanging out poolside and avoiding all the crowds and congestion.  Our Little Miss will be spending the night as mama returns to work on Wednesday.

Wednesday is also the day that my brother, Larry, arrives from California.  As you are reading this, he is traveling across the country to us on his Harley.  He does this each and every year, while his wife, Mary, travels by train.  She arrives around Midnight Wednesday.

Dian, Helena and Jordan are moving to John and Kirsten's for the remainder of their visit but we will still get to see them each and every day.

Thursday, a couple of Mary's friends from California, who are visiting Michigan as well, are arriving to spend the weekend with us here. It is going to be a blast and as you can see our household is going to be crazy busy.  Dinners are going to be fun and casual with a lot of grilling and a lot of side salads. Enjoy!

Saturday
Beer Butt Chicken
Roasted New Potatoes
Roasted Corn on the Cob

Sunday
Dinner at the Festival

Monday
Dinner in Frankenmuth

Tuesday-Independence Day
Grilled Steaks
Mushrooms and Onions
Grilled Asparagus
Baked Potatoes

Wednesday
Grilled Pork Chops with Peach BBQ Sauce
Grilled Peaches
Macaroni Salad

Thursday
Grilled Chicken Breasts with Strawberry Butter
Lemon Basil Pasta
Sesame Sugar Snap Peas

Fish Friday
Mango Gazpacho with Shrimp
Grilled Cheese Quesadillas
Black Bean and Jicama Salad

First Monday Favorites

An InLinkz Link-up

Tomato, Cucumber and Blue Cheese Salad #SundaySupper

Welcome to Sunday Supper.  I haven't had an opportunity to participate with this great group for a few  weeks and I am happy to be back today.

This week's party we are celebrating Independence Day with recipes that are Red, White and Blue. You will find tons of great ideas for your celebration on Tuesday, the 4th of July.

I have shared several great patriotic recipes in the past including:

This great fruit salad

This bundt cake

This trifle

and

This pie

Today I decided to share something savory as I hadn't yet done that.  This isn't so much a recipe as a composed salad, using tomatoes for the red, peeled cucumbers for the white and blue cheese for the blue.  

Season with some salt and pepper, drizzle with some good olive oil (I used basil infused) and some aged balsamic vinegar.  You have a quick, easy and delicious side dish for whatever you are serving up for your Independence Day get together.  

Check out all the other great Red White and Blue creations following these simple instructions for my salad.

Tomato, Cucumber and Blue Cheese Salad

2 Tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 English Cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

2 oz. Blue Cheese crumbles

salt and pepper, to taste

extra virgin olive oil, to taste

aged balsamic vinegar, to taste

Arrange the tomatoes, cucumber and cheese on a platter in the order listed from left to right.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the oil and vinegar.  Serve at room temperature. Print Recipe

Red, White, and Blue Sunday Supper Recipes

• American Flag Layered Dip by Soulfully Made
• Baked Blueberry Pancake with Cherry Syrup by Pies and Plots
• Gluten Free Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake by Cricket’s Confections
• Blueberry Cherry Chia Pudding Parfaits by Daily Dish Recipes
• Blueberry Watermelon Salad by The Crumby Cupcake
• Boozy Red, White and Blue Fruit Salad by Food Lust People Love
• Healthy Greek Yogurt Parfait with Summer Fruit by Confessions of an Over-worked Mom
• Patriotic Slaw by Our Good Life
• Red White and Blueberry Dinner Salad by Cooking With Carlee
• Red, White and Blue Deviled Eggs by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Tomato, Cucumber and Bleu Cheese Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Liberating Desserts

• American Flag Fruit Tart by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Blueberry Strawberry Swirl Sherbet by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Key Lime Cream Puffs by Gourmet Everyday
• Patriotic Low Carb Vanilla Mousse in the Instant Pot by My Life Cookbook
• Red White & Blue Bundt Cake by Restless Chipotle
• Red White and Blue Banana Ice Cream by The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Red, White & Blue No Bake Cheesecake by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Red, White and Blue Broken Glass Jell-o by Turnips 2 Tangerines
• Rollitos de Vino Blanco by What Smells So Good?
• Rose Petal Jam Filled Blueberry Cupcakes by NinjaBaker.com
• Star Spangled Cookies by The Freshman Cook
• Strawberry and White Chocolate Panna Cotta by Tara’s Multicultural Table

More recipes:    20+ Red White and Blue Recipes That will Make You Want to Party Right Now

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Sour Cherry Chocolate Chunk #IceCreamSocial

We're having an Ice Cream Social today.  How fun is that?!  This great idea is the brainchild of our friend, Sue, of Palatable Pastime.  Sue invited us to post

"frozen treats of any kind, such as ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato,sorbets, ices, affogatos, malts and shakes, ice cream cakes, ice cream pies, ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, popsicles, what have you."

It just so happened that on the heels of this invitation our daughter, Nicole, gave me 2 gallons size bags of tart cherries from their tree.

Last year I had so much fun with the cherries.  I made a pie from some that I had frozen and an amazing strudel when they were fresh.   Both applications were wonderful and freezing the cherries couldn't be easier.  You just pit them and toss them in a freezer bag.  That's it. When you feel like baking just pull them out and use them as you would fresh.

This year I decided to use some of them for this Ice Cream Social.  Tart cherries with chocolate is a great combination and I knew it was going to make some amazing ice cream.

I started out the night before, making my cherry puree and an ice cream base, that I put in the refrigerator overnight.

I set about a 1/2 c. of the cherries aside before pureeing them so I would have some chunks of cherry in the ice cream.  This is completely optional.

I used milk chocolate because I still had this Easter bunny hanging around the cupboard.

A few pulses in the food processor and voila......chocolate chunks.  Of course, you could use milk or semi sweet chocolate chips, if that is what you have in your cupboard.

In the morning, pour your base and your puree into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.  I have a cuisinart and it took about 35 minutes to get to the soft serve stage.

Once it thickened and creamy, add the cherries and chocolate and let it churn them evenly throughout.

You could eat it right now but I poured it into a container and placed it in the freezer to serve as dessert after dinner.

We topped ours with a little more chocolate syrup.  It was soooooooo good.  The perfect ice cream for your next Ice Cream Social.  Enjoy!!

Sour Cherry Ice Cream

adapted from Pastry Chef Online

3 c. sour cherries, pitted

1 1/4 c. sugar, divided

2 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. 2% milk

1/2 c. half and half

1/2 c. chocolate chunks

Combine cherries and 3/4 c. of the sugar in a large bowl.  Refrigerate overnight. Remove 1/4 c. of the cherries, if desired, and coarsely cut into chunks. Place remaining cherries and all the juice into a blender and puree.  Set aside.

Combine both creams, the milk and the remaining 1/2 c. sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a low boil.  Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, 2-3 minutes.  Immediately transfer to a bowl set over an ice bath and let cool for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, place the puree and the milk mixture into the base of an ice cream maker and churn per manufacturers directions adding the reserved cherries and chocolate chunks during the last 5 minutes of churning.

Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze until firm, 4-6 hrs.  Print Recipe

More Ice Cream Social Treats

• Chocolate Mousse Ice Cream by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Cowtipper Shake by Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Easy Nutella Popsicles by All That's Jas
• Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• No Churn Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Old Fashioned Cola Float by Family Around the Table
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip No Churn Ice Cream by Cooking with Carlee
• Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream by Red Cottage Chronicles
• Sour Cherry Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Strawberry Frozen Yogurt by Palatable Pastime
• Strawberry Honey Sorbet by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Strawberry Peaches & Cream Popsicles with Gingersnap Crumbles by Tip Garden