strawberries

It's about strawberry season in our northern region, which means I'll soon be heading to a u-pick field to load up my freezer, (after eating a few quarts fresh of course). Unfortunately we don't grow strawberries at my dad's farm, so I'll have to find a neighbor who doesn't spray unnatural poisons on their crops.

I'm concerned about this because this is one fresh produce item you do not want to purchase unless it's organic. Strawberries are consistently on "dirty dozen" lists for what never to buy conventionally grown. Even if the grower isn't certified organic, you should at least talk to them about what they used to produce their berries. If they haven't been thinking about the dangers of pesticides and herbicides from large chemical corporations until this point, maybe your questions will spark some dialog on their farm.

There's a website where you can see exactly which toxins most strawberries contain. In fact, you can search "what's on my food" for most basic food ingredients. Plus, they make it easy to take actions and stay informed about this issue. Anyone who eats food should be familiar with this resource!

movie night

Walloon Lake is my favorite. I know I haven’t seen them all, but I don’t need to in order to know. It’s just how love works.

I’m at one of my best friend’s cottages, facing west so we have the best view of the sun setting amongst Walloon’s points and inlets. Before the color in the sky began reflecting off the lake, we escaped the heat by watching Ratatouille. I subconsciously selected a movie about food; this blog must have been on my mind.

Now, if you haven’t seen it, I promise not to give too much away. But here are some of the social/political themes of this cartoon:
• Anyone can cook. Even bourgeois rats.
• Patriarchy exists in the kitchen, (and quite literally in my case).
• Health inspectors are not always good guys.
• Selling out to frozen dinners, especially corn dogs, embodies evil.
• Give credit where it’s due. It makes for a happier ending.

I would say, despite some great messages and animation, the romance story was a bit lacking. With my recent engagement and love in the air, I found myself thinking the writers could have been a bit more creative with that part. However, the knife-wielding female lead was fantastically admirable, for a cartoon character.

Before this, we had dinner by the water.


on the menu:
pizza from the Walloon General Store (made by my lovely Aunt Linda and cousin, Tia)
salad with more BBG radishes
mom’s homemade rhubarb pie with vanilla ice cream

father’s day

I’m so glad to have this summer to work with my dad and Real Food/Blackbird Gardens, but it’s also great when we can relax. After a few long days of making food for other people, Father’s Day gave us the much-needed excuse to slow down.

So we loaded up the canoe, towels, and snacks, and arrived at the state park about an hour and a half after leaving the Petoskey marina. A family walked by with little girls, three and six years old. They helped us finish our strawberries as my dad visited with their mom, who he knew from yoga class.

Swimming ensued, then more relaxing in the sun while perfect billowing and wispy clouds grazed by. Carolyn, my dad’s partner, shared an observation about our day’s activities. She wonders if our society might enjoy slower leisure- like canoeing to a beach to picnic- given the economic downturn.

It has seemed to affect our slower catering schedule. And, time will tell how hard the tourism slump will hit the rest of our little lake-ridden paradise. It’s likely families in Detroit and Chicago suburbs may find it difficult to afford fuel for SUVs and jet-skis. Maybe they can carpool up north and borrow our kayaks and canoes as they practice the future of slow tourism?

on the menu:
a dab of leftover whitefish pâté with crackers and roasted cherry tomatoes
black bean corn chips
white cheddar and gouda cheese
trail mix and toasted sunflower seeds
strawberries
dirty bastard beers
a bit of sand, sun, and fresh air

first event of the season!

We catered a lovely wedding last weekend. Two hundred guests gathered at a park on Lake Charlevoix for a brief ceremony, dinner, and dancing. Our bartenders, Ann and Carolyn, were busy the entire evening as the lively group partied more than most. The DJ even said it was “the best group I’ve ever seen,” as he asked the bride and groom if he could play just one more last song.

I enjoy serving for events because it’s a chance to share life-altering moments with complete strangers. Arriving to weddings, birthdays, family gatherings, music festivals, and company picnics, I am always confident our crew brings good energy and incredible food. We don’t skim on the absolute most crucial ingredient. Cooking with love really does taste better.

However, as I maintained heaping platters on the buffet, I wondered how many of the guests had any idea of the care that went into their meal. Just ten days prior the Northern Michigan weather finally warmed up enough to produce salad mix, radishes, and violets for the salads.

Would there have been a way to tell of the compost that went into making the soil to grow these incredible greens, or how they were harvested that day just thirty miles away? I doubt it’s polite for a caterer to grab the DJ mic to announce the slow food stories of the entire meal, but this question lingers with me as I contemplate the remainder of this season’s events.

One obvious way to start: bring business cards- with our website- to the rest of our jobs!

on the menu:
(passed hors d’oeuvres and platters)
tortilla española and green olives
sizzling garlic shrimp
chili and lime mango
whitefish pâté on crackers
bruschetta
veggie platter and herb dip
Michigan strawberries

(buffet)
Blackbird Gardens salad with baby radishes
rice pilaf with walnuts (vegan version with corn and peas)
roasted balsamic beets, dill carrots, and tarragon shallots
grilled asparagus and pine nuts
pulled pork sandwiches with garlic aioli

(dessert)
white cake with almond frosting (from a local baker)
cheese platters
fruit platters

(open bar)