The Improved Brubaker.

I know I'm preaching to the choir on this one, but if you have been living under a rock, and you haven't been to The Sugar House yet...go.  Drop everything.  Leave your husbands and children to fend for themselves, put on something pretty, and go.

It was a cold and snowy Detroit night when my gal pals and I were ushered into a dark, brick walled, taxidermied, candle lit, magical wonderland know as The Sugar House - a craft cocktail bar featuring a refined and pallet titilating menu of prohibition era style cocktails.  (And this after being ushered into one dressing room and fitted for bras together at the fabulous Bravo Intimates...yep.  we needed a stiff cocktail)  (But a good bra is life changing, just sayin'").  But I digress, they get a giant block of ice once a week from Dexter and hand chip your cubes.  The gentlemen bartenders wear their sleeves rolled up with little black arm bands.  You feel as though you've been transported...and then there are the cocktails.  Oh! the cocktails.  They make their own syrups, bitters, and squeeze their own juices.  The different flavor combinations are so complex and so perfect.  Go ahead, put a raw egg in my drink (just don't tell me about it), because I trust you , and I know it will be delicious.

So, when planning a big Sunday family dinner for this afternoon, I decided we were going old school and everyone was partaking in my favorite Sugar House delicacy...The Improved Brubaker...or Joe's take on it at anyway. (recipe slightly different, yet delectable!)

1 part fresh squeezed lime juice
1 part homemade blackberry syrup (simple syrup with a pint of blackberries...and let 'em simmer)
3 parts agave blanco tequilla
Mint leaves
Cinnamon (a pinch)

I meant to take a picture of the jug of cocktails all day...but somebody drank it all too fast (ok, maybe me.)

Joe made the cocktails in a growler from my other favorite place on earth - Tandem Ciders

Here are a few picks of last years Tandem Cider excursion...best damn hard cider anywhere.  Light and smooth and something you crave until the next summer on Leelanau.

And, one more of the sugar house menu.  Watch a sultry and hot Sugar House promo video here.

And, thank you family - for a lovely day walking around the farm, eating beautiful food, and sipping cocktails with me.
We built memories today people!

Joel Salatin Makes Me Want a Better Larder

And I bet that title made you click...didn't it?

This week I went to hear Joel Salatin speak the the Michigan theater.  He is, let's say, the godfather of the chemical free, sustainable, and local food movement (all one, not separate).  He is the hero to many who are trying to self sustain, reduce waste, and feed their families and neighbors with food that is, well, good old fashioned "real food."  Without getting too preachy, I did take away a few life lessons and a new sense of momentum moving into the summer growing season.  Before I begin, let me look back at the notes that my nerdy friend took during the presentation, and then promptly emailed to me afterwards (we thought she was texting through the whole presentation.  newfangled fancy phones.)

Mr. Salatin has a few soap boxes that really resonated with me.  You see, at some point Joe and I decided that we wanted to be "farmers," on whatever scale, learning a little more each year.  We house hunted for a farm that we could plant roots in, literally.  Summer one was good, summer two will be better.  We believe in raising our child (or children) (infertility will get its own post someday) with their hands in the soil and their mouths stained with blueberries.  We grow what we can.  We pick, trade, and buy locally, but we could do better.  We put food in the larder/pantry....

Soapbox 1:  bring back the larder.  He spoke repeatedly of canning, freezing, and drying (dehydrating).  We do this of course, but we can do better.  Last year we put up 50 quarts of tomatoes, and a host of jams, jellies, apple and pear butters, applesauce, etc.  We bought and froze local meat for the deep freeze.  We picked berries till our fingers were stained...and still we ran out.  After the talk this week, Joe and I took stock of the larder and came up with this summer's plan based on what we have too much of and what we needed more of (I HATE buying out of season berries at Meijer)...which brings us to...

Soapbox 2:  Why do you need strawberries in Michigan in February?  Perhaps you should have thought ahead when strawberries were in season in Michigan, and canned, dried, and frozen more of them.  Of course we can't be perfect, but I think a balance in this concept is well worth thinking about.  How much fuel did it take to to get them here from California (or heaven forbid, Mexico)?  Trade and commerce is how this nation runs, so if you can't grow it here, you're going to have to buy it from elsewhere (coffee, chocolate, oranges, etc.)  But I think we've all been duped now and again when buying, say, a bag of apples, and not till we get home do we realize that they are Washington apples, not Michigan apples.  I.e...BUY LOCAL.

Soapbox 3:  Kitchen chickens.  If every kitchen had two chickens to reduce the amount of food waste in landfills, we could substantially reduce our garbage output...because chickens eat almost anything! (yes, some people throw food in the garbage, not in the compost bin.  sigh.)

Anyhoo, it was a night well spent.  Bottom line is that it motivated me to do better.  I'll let you keep tabs on me this summer.  We'll keep you posted on filling the larder!

I like a blog with pictures, so I'll just throw in some pics of last summers larder.  I love that word.

Dexter Blueberry Farm - Thank you Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda!

We did not larder the kitten, just the summer squash.

And I'm quite certain we did not larder the pie.  But Joe is so cute when is makin' pies.

If this was already on Facebook, I don't need to get his permission again to

 post pics of him canning in his undies...right?

Cider makin' at Uncle Scotties...we actually just took the last jug out of the freezer yesterday!

This last one may be my favorite.  One day in the fall neighbor Al called and said 

"Old man Carl has some old pear trees.  He isn't gonna pick em', so if you want em'"......yes please.  Ginger pear butter all day long baby.

The End.

Almost an Outfit Post, Until I Fell Out of the Tree

I've been wanting to do an outfit post of things I've been wearing lots of lately.  I'm not much for taking random photos of myself, but I geared up and drug Joe out to the woods next to the house.  We were followed by one six year old, one dog, three cats, four ducks, and twelve chickens (it was a family affair).

I have had photographers catch me in really flattering ways, but unfortunately Joe is not one of those photographers.  His photo shoot went something like this..."stick your butt out more, tuck your chin in, and frame your face with those branches."  Since this is the most unflattering pose one could put me in, I blew off his instructions and grabbed onto the dead branches to climb up into the tree.  And, as the dead branches broke, I fell in slow motion through layers of broken tree limbs.  In my white dress.  With chickens scampering over quickly thinking I had probably brought food down with me as I fell.  Now Coco is doctoring my scrapes and bruises on the couch.  I did this all for you people, in the name of fashion....I better see you wearing this outfit soon.  This better start a trend.  I've been wearing my new glasses, shoes, scarf and dress together, separately etc.  And a lot of etc.'s.  So, this makes an outfit because I say it makes an outfit.

White Cotton Dress: Thrifted

(note:  the tag says "Made in Greece," with a phone number for the shop in Athens.  Just in case.)

1980's Peach Fringed Scarf:  Thrifted

(note:  there were four different shades of these.  two made it in the shop, 

one stays on me, one stays on Coco)

I haven't had a pair of Dexter's since I was little, but these are my new faves.  

Won't take them off.  Thrifted.

Earrings:  Stella & Dot.  Had a pair, lost them.  Have a new pair (thank you mom).

Glasses:  Zenni Optical

(I could write an entire post on zenni.  These were $9.95, full script, anti glare, etc. etc.  I'm happy to answer any zenni optical questions you good people may have.)

Ok, this is what Coco actually wore today, but when she heard the words "photo shoot," she ran in the house.  Because this is clearly not an "outfit post" worthy getup.

Five minutes and a little rouge.  Clearly this is an outfit post worthy getup.

Queen for a Day.

I am not quite sure how I feel about "friend birthday parties."  I've gone to plenty.  I've gone to some doozies (insert kool-aid, vodka, and sloppy joe party) (kool-aid for kids, vodka for parents.  sloppy joes and doritos for all).  Kid parties usually surmount to parents standing around awkwardly making conversation, sizing each other up - brought together for no other reason than their children chose each other as friends and desperately had to celebrate the big 0-6 together.

But we promised Coco that this was the year.  She chose the guests, she chose the menu.  She chose the fancy thrifted dresses for her friends to pilfer through for the fashion show.  Yes.  There was indeed a fashion show.  And, the mom's I didn't know chose the "drop off/pick up" option, so more appetizers and wine for the lucky mommies that did stay ;).

Mason jar travelers are the greatest thing I have ever made (top 3 at least).  Joe added grommets to a bunch of mason jar lids for me, insert fancy paper straws, twine and name tags....and voila!  

Life changing.

The big sisters lead a rousing round of Pictionary, 6 year old style.  (It was pouring cats and dogs outside)  The kiddos had a huge chalkboard, yet each of there 

pictures were tiny post-it-note size drawings.  So adorable. 

Big Sis's took over full hair and make-up service for the fashion show.  Each little girlie got announced, paraded down the stairs, and stopped in a kneeling pose for us to admire and cheer ;).

...While she was surprised by an impromptu ukulele serenade. 

(Hey, sometimes the ukes just come out, ok?)

"Mom, you made me feel like a queen today."  Yes, she said that.

When Life Gives You Lemons....

When life gives you lemons, make.....oh who are we kidding.  Sometimes you just make a really stiff whiskey sours.

Yesterday morning, my week seemed well mapped out.  Here is what my "to do" list might have looked like.

- Get a polish change on lunch hour
- Sing to dying people (this is not snarky, I actually do this for a living)
- Eat amazing polish food in Hamtramck and then be serenaded by Ingrid Michaelson
- Plan amazing 6 year old friend b-day party for Sunday
- Take loads of pics of the laundered, scrubbed, and ironed pretties for shop
- Post new shop stuff because life has been too busy to care this week (there was this easter bunny thing,
   other 6 year old birthday parties, etc, etc...life has been busy people!)

Then everything changed.  Family emergency in Toledo.  So this is what my week actually looks like.

- Bite nails to the quick
- Sing to dying people (they don't care about my nonsense, girl with guitar just better keep on singing)
- Eat hospital cafeteria chef salad while Ingrid Michaelson blared on the loudspeaker in said cafeteria and
  friends were at concert (not even making sh@t this up)
- Pull off birthday party
- Take one pic of clothes and post so you think I had good shop intentions
***Open chilled bottle of L Mawby SEX intended for someone other than myself... and get in tub...and
      read Edwardian romance novel.  period.  done.  Because sometimes you have to just be ok with this,
      and you do anything for family.  anything.
      In the words of Ray LaMontagne, "You win some, you lose some, you let it go."  Just let it go.

The clothes of good intentions.

Happy Birthday Coco Rosie!!!

Happy 6th Birthday to my beautiful baby.  This is nothing more than an ode to Coco Rose, because she deserves it.

It was a beautiful April day.  I labored and labored for 36 long hours.  People I loved - people that loved me - surrounded me.  And I had a perfect little girl, and we called her Coco.

She is smart, beautiful, and kind.  She has a compassion for others that takes my breath away.  She is creative and funny.  She sings.  She dances.  She puts on plays and musicals.  She makes me laugh.  She is a perfect combination of Joe and I, and of both of our families.  And yet, she is like no one I have ever met.  She is my best friend, and the person I would choose to be with above anyone else.  She has held me when I've cried, and comforted me as only one's little girl can do.

You are destined for amazing things little one.  I am so proud of the young lady that you are, and I am so excited to see all that you become.

Mommy and Daddy Love You!!!

A Girl and Her Chickens. or Chickens, A Love Story.

A proper introduction to the flock, of sorts, is long overdue.  So, let me formerly introduce you to my gals and guys....let's start with the chick, or the egg, or the...

Ok.  There is Sookie, Sheriff Eric Northman, Wanda Jackson, Susie Q, Lily and Rosie, St. Marie, Henny Penny, and Dolly Parton #1, #2, and #3 (they look alike), and my rooster, The Shiek.

We decided when we bought the farm to slowly add livestock over the years.  Year one - chickens.  So in March, one goes to Tractor Supply.  One buys heat lamps, feeders, and tiny, yipping and pipping chicks.  One also buys four baby ducks because their husband says "Please, I'll do anything if you just let me get those ducks."  MmmHmm.  And so it became the year of the chickens and the ducks.

It's March, keep in mind, and tiny baby birds have to live in your kitchen in totes under heat lamps, not outside yet.   Every morning they would hear me come down the stairs, and the excited cheeping and quacking would start.  And they grew.  Fast.  

I'm talkin' full grown ducks in your kitchen with no sign of spring in sight yet.  But spring came, and the coop got built.  The chicks and ducks made it into the barn, and before you know it, they actually started laying eggs!  The first two were like gold.  You'd think that we had never seen an egg before.

They give and give, and then randomly the smarty pants chickens start hiding their pretty powder blue eggs, and you get worried because they are "not laying," but really they have made a nest out of a dish towel in a corner of the barn, and outsmarted you again.

They peak in the doors for visits.

They lay gigantic double yolkers.

They are amazing.  And so, when you see a beautiful little bird for $15 dollars at the farm down the road, you pack a cat carrier full of hay, and you go get her.

St. Marie was a very welcomed addition to the flock.  She is a Golden Sebright bantam, and she is no bigger than a dove, and she is full grown.  She lays teeny tiny eggs the size of a quarter.  We lost a few and gained a few chickens in the first year (neighbor's dog eating chickens, other neighbors dropping random chickens off in totes) and St. Marie rounded us off to an even dozen chickens, and the four ducks (we'll get to them in a minute).  The day I brought her home, I put her down with the others, and the CCIP (Cesarz chicken integration program) began.  The others chased her away at first, and she would fly straight up, 40 ft in the air, and sit on the power lines.  And I would think, "Good God, I brought home a dove and am going to try and keep her in a coop?".    But after a few days, my two head chickens, Sheriff Eric Northman and Sookie (smartest, prettiest, best girls) took the little one under their wings, literally.

Which brings me to last night.  Chickens have assigned sleeping spots in their coop.  In the beginning, each night we would creep out to the barn at dusk, and the little chicken would be on the fence outside of the barn, shivering and trying to sleep.  I would place her into her new "assigned spot" in the coop and cross my fingers.  Each morning I would go out, and St. Marie would be sleeping up in the rafters, which is apparently where she wanted to be.  So be it.  Last night I went out to "tuck the babies in" (lock up the barn) and in true big sister form, the sheriff, my white chicken, was sleeping on top of the coop directly across from St. Marie...just to keep an eye on the baby.  They are like a perfect little family, and they are part of our little family.

Ok, just a word on the ducks.  I held them as babies.  I kissed them an told them how much mommy loved them.  I give them a fresh swimming pool every day, and share my cucumber slices with them.  And still, they think I am going to kill them every minute of every day.  They are my rotten little babies.  They rape and pillage the chickens.  They run away.  They quack.  They chase me with their heads down until I turn around and tell them I might eat them.   But, they lay beautiful, huge eggs every day and I make amazing custard and ice cream with them.  So they can stay.  Because we like ice cream.

The Bevy:  Hank, Henrietta, Peaches, and Penny.