‘Healthy’ Coleslaw and a Party
If you haven’t jumped in the water yet this summer, do it. If your response is “but its too cold!”.. Suck it up. Seriously, and get your feet wet.
Tag: Michigan
2013 Winemakers Party: Traverse City, MI
The Traverse City Wine & Art Festival celebrated its fifth successful year this past weekend, expanding the event’s reach in more ways than one. With increased participation and the Festival’s relaxed, expansive layout to the addition of an exclusive Friday night “Winemakers Party”; the Festival grew immensely this year and that growth was very well-received.
Raised Beds
Lets just say, It’s been a process to get my backyard into working condition. We purchased the house last October and immediately knew we had a space with incredible potential. The 50 x 50 backyard lot is a city dwellers dream garden, but the landscaping (or lack there of) was underwhelming and it was left seriously overgrown, with a jungle of weeds, vines, and untended brush to clear.
Farm Fête 2013: Suttons Bay, MI
I’ve been a part of the Farm Fête Gala Committee for the past few months; planning, organizing and collecting auction items to raise money for the Great Lakes Children’s Museum in Traverse City. The fundraising event is held annually with a different theme to each Gala and this year, the local farm-to-table emphasis caught my eye. I was able to connect with the Museum and meet a new group of passionate individuals who support and make this incredible facility possible, all for the children of our community.
The day of the event, as everything came together, I was able to support the Museum in my own way by offering to be the Gala’s roaming photographer and capture the night, the setting, and the incredible people who made it all possible.
There were numerous silent auction packages, each carefully selected by the Gala planning committee and donated by generous members of the community. By numerous, I mean at least 5 long banquet tables piled high with anything from books and dresses for toddlers, to CSA shares, composting services and SUP paddle board rentals.
After mingling, with delicious Black Star Farms wines and hors d’oeuvres like fresh radishes stuffed with herbed cream cheese, the sold out gala of about 140 people made their way to the dinning room for dinner and live auctions. Guests were able to continue and monitor their must-have silent auction items in the other room, but as soon as dinner was served very few people chose to leave their seat.
The evening’s menu was developed by Chefs Jonathan Dayton and Stephanie Wiitala with local and seasonal produce in mind. The chefs gather greens from farmers in the area like Nic Welty, owner of 9 bean rows, whose produce storage facilities are housed right onsite at Black Star Farms. The Inn, which regularly serves an incredible morning breakfast, can also pick farm fresh eggs from the Black Star Farms’ chickens just outside in the barns.
As a gal who regularly eats with my eyes before taking my first bite I snapped a picture of the delectable fare served throughout the course of the evening, so “dig in” as you scroll thru!
Roasted beet and pear salad, candied marcona almonds, goat cheese, spring greens, verjus vinaigrette
Vegetarian entrée: Grilled potato and Autumn vegetable napolean , tomato confit, parsley oil
Coffee and red wine braised beef short ribs, fromage blanc baked polenta, wilted arugula, crisp leeks
Warm Apple Pie tart, Vanilla Bean whippecrème, Riesling caramel and spun sugar
As the courses kept coming, Executive Director, John Noonan and Board President, Ellen Fred stepped up to the podium to address the Gala attendees. Ellen began the live bidding for the night by raising funds for the +Plus Membership that I spoke of in my previous post. Bidding began with the announcement that a $3,000 match was pledged by many of the generous former board members of the museum before the Gala began that night. As I mentioned before, the +Plus Membership ranked high in importance for me that night and I, along with many others, was incredibly awestruck and encouraged when nearly $4,000 was raised immediately for the Membership Program in addition to the match of $3,000. Ultimately, over $6,900 was raised for Museum scholarships to those of our community in need.
At the end of the night, after a series of incredible Live Auction packages were auctioned off and the numerous silent auction items were given to the highest bidder, the Gala raised over $35,000 for the Great Lakes Children’s Museum!
The event was fantastic; both successful in raising funds for the Museum and in gathering passionate, generous members of the community around the table to share a delicious farm fresh meal. I spent the night savoring the flavors of the feast made by the talented staff at Black Star Farms and roaming around with my camera in hand snapping photos of the smiling faces all around me. You can check out the selection of photos from the night here, and for those who attended the event you may notice some familiar faces pictured in the upcoming issue of Bay LIFE North Magazine.
Cheese!
love,
tricia
The Great Lakes Children’s Museum: Traverse City, MI
Children are explorers, they’re creators, dreamers and learners. In a place like the Great Lakes Children’s Museum these qualities are not only encouraged but strongly developed. From InterActive StoryTime to Food Art & Tie Dye, The Museum creates fun activities with the opportunity for children to build skills adaptable to their lives today and the future ahead of them.
The Great Lakes Children’s Museum annual fundraiser Farm Fête, will be held this upcoming Saturday, February 23rd. In order to make the event accesible to more couples and guests the price was reduced this year to $50 for a complete farm-to-table dinner and access to a group of incredible live & silent auction items benefitting the Museum.
The farm-to-table dinner will take place at the beautiful Inn at Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay, celebrating our grand agricultural region while honoring the Museum as a special place here in Traverse City that is devoted to our community’s future, the children.
As a part of the Gala planning committee I’ll be attending Farm Fête this year and I’m thrilled to be involved in an event that is not only for a great cause but celebrates the local food and agriculture of our region. The menu, an ode to the incredible offerings in Northwest Michigan even at the heart of winter, will consist of the following courses:
The Menu
Focaccia with whipped butter
Roasted beet and pear salad, candied marcona almonds, goat cheese, spring greens, verjus vinaigrette
Coffee and red wine braised beef short ribs, fromage blanc baked polenta, wilted arugula, crisp leeks
Vegetarian entrée: Grilled potato and Autumn vegetable napolean , tomato confit, parsley oil
Warm Apple Pie tart, Vanilla Bean whippecrème, Riesling caramel and spun sugar
Each course paired with Black Star Farms wine
My involvement with the event has allowed me to help in the development of this local food celebration as well as gain insight into programs the Children’s Museum offers the community that the public might not be fully aware of. One specifically, that truly interests me the most is the +Plus Program. The program “assists children, families and educators for whom admission costs pose a significant obstacle to attending the museum.” In addition to raising funds for the general operations of the Museum, the Farm Fête event will strive to raise money for the +Plus Program, ultimately providing more museum scholarships to those of our community in need.
I’m looking forward to a successful event on Saturday and I encourage those of you who are interested in attending to register for the Farm Fête event here, tickets are still available but we’re filling up quickly!
You can make a donation to the +Plus Program even if you’re unable to attend the event by calling the Museum at 231-932-4526
Ride among the ‘Waves of Wonder’
love,
tricia
Interested in Cooking Classes?
There’s only about a week left before the Festival of Foods, an event led by Northwest Michigan College in Traverse City. It’s a day of “demonstrations & food discovery” where NMC’s Culinary School, local area chefs, artisans & business owners host workshops to engage, educate and instruct interested foodies. The day is organized in such a way that you can design your own Festival of Foods experience. With 16 seminars available, you get to choose four that are the most interesting to you. This year’s workshops range from knife skills & kitchen gadgets to cooking without a recipe or making your own fresh pasta. All sessions are demonstration-based immersing participants in the subject at hand and involving all of your senses. The sessions can be as small as 10 people and as large as 40 depending on the size of the space & interest in the specific session. I spoke with Julie Doyal, who organizes the event to find out more about how the Festival began and what goes into planning each individual workshop.
Next Saturday February 9th, will be the Festival of Food’s 5th Annual event. NMC’s Culinary Program used to be housed in the Oleson Center, where the the festival takes place and after they moved to the Hagerty Center six years ago that space was renovated for the Extended Education Classes. Festival of Foods is an event that provides culinary instruction and resources itself, but is also a way to introduce participants to the type of learning offered in the year-round Extended Education Culinary Class. The difference is that Festival of Foods is demonstration based where as the year-round culinary classes are hands on 3 hour sessions limited to a group of 16 people. The Festival of Foods event allows participants to get a taste of the sessions, sampling four of the 16 workshops for just $69. The full day (10 AM – 3 PM) involves 4 hours of demonstration workshops and endless opportunities for mingling with other foodies. Julie says its the personal touch, the relationships built during that day that make the event so great. While you’re engaging in sessions with skilled teachers your also getting to hear the story of the person behind the food. Julie looks for session leaders that certainly have a passion for food, but that also have an engaging personality and a excitement for what they cook and eat.
The hardest part, Julie says, is that people love the event so much, she has to top it year after year! She keeps things interesting by offering different sessions, and the public response continues to be both positive and supportive. Pre-registrations for the event were well received this year and there is only one week left to register! I for one will be attending the Festival of Foods and I’m simply giddy to learn more about the sessions I chose. Of course I’ll spill the details of my experience and share it with you all after the event, but if you want to enjoy it first hand sign up here to attend!
Never stop learning!
love,
tricia
2013 Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference: Grayling, MI
This past Saturday was the 14th Annual Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference. A gathering with the mission to build and foster a local vibrant agricultural community. The conference is an educational forum with the opportunity for sharing ideas, developing a local network, and empowering participants with the tools necessary to be successful. The day includes a series of educational sessions and speaking seminars, with a well-balanced lunch allowing for the chance to stretch your legs, recharge, or casually build relationships with 1 or more of the 800 attendees.
I was involved in the conference not as an attendee this year, but rather in the kitchen with Michael Everts of Blackbird Gardens and his team of farmers, foodies, & friends. We spent the morning baking apple crisps, muffins & scones. We layered lasagnas, chopped produce for salads and roasted squash in the oven. Blackbird Gardens’s catering company Real Food Dream Kitchen, sourced fresh local produce, breads & ciders in the heart of winter. With Saturday’s dream team, we prepped, cooked, and fed about 800 conference goers. The people I had the pleasure of working with were great. We were a “well-oiled machine” of a team, with most of us never having worked together in the past. The synergy was incredible; people helping people, “Farmers Feeding Farmers.”
The Menu:
Mike Everts and Real Food Dream Kitchen have been catering The Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference for several years now. What better way to celebrate Northern Michigan Agriculture and the people whose hard work make it available to us, than a fresh and local culinary display of the very produce we’re celebrating. This alone makes it a tribute of the heart, but to have access to this type of bounty in January, makes it a grateful tribute of ingenuity & excellence as well.
After smelling the aromas all day and working hard in and out of the kitchen to serve the 800 attendees we sat down and enjoyed the fruits of our labor as a team. Congratulating one another on a swift, problem-free and more than enjoyable afternoon of Real Food catering.
Thank you to all those who made the Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference possible as well as the food community that supports and attends it. Here in Northern Michigan, we have an access to fresh local produce that is invaluable. I love knowing, meeting, and working with the people that make it all possible.
No Farms, No Food.
love,
tricia
The Village Indoor Farmers Market: Traverse City, MI
Farmers Markets are one of my favorite community gatherings. You might say I’ve got a resume to prove it and its true. I love what I do and I love being involved in Traverse City’s community markets.
I help to manage the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market as well as the year-round Farmers Market at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons. The later as I mentioned is a year-round market. In the summer it takes place outside on the Piazza, an ample open green space on the beautiful campus, perfect for the event.
During the cold months, it’s held within the walls of the Mercato, the marketplace of retail shops, cafes, galleries & boutiques at The Village.
Now its important for me to preface the unique location of the Village market for those of you who aren’t familiar with Traverse City, so I’ll make it short and sweet. The Village at Grand Traverse Commons is one of the largest Historic Redevelopment projects in the country. The Campus was formerly known as the Northern Michigan Asylum or Traverse City State Hospital built in 1885.
After 100 years in operation, the hospital was left empty to decay and with threats to demolish these beautiful historic buildings, a group was formed to save the State Hospital. My boss, Ray Minervini became a part of that group, later sharing his vision of redeveloping the campus into a mixed-use community called The Village, open to the public and thriving with renewed life. Today, 10 years later and with many years to come, The Village Farmers Market adds a heavy dose of healthy well-being and social interaction to this vibrant community.
From fresh local produce, honey, and maple syrup to homemade salsas, tamales, pasties, and delicious baked goods; the Village Farmers Market fills the hallways with about 45 vendors every Saturday.
The Market is lively, friendly and simply an enjoyable place to spend your Saturday morning. With a cup of coffee in hand and the weekly update from friends throughout the hallway you can pick up greens for your salads, pastas or smoothies as well as bread & croissants baked fresh that morning. Root Vegetables line the hallways as do coolers stocked with fresh meats, cheeses, butter and milk.
The most unique element is that all of this exists inside a century old building with an existing stable marketplace of retail merchants, galleries, boutiques, wineries, a cafe and an incredible Italian restaurant. You can wander in and out of the shops as you gather produce and other treats in the hallway all the while enjoying the company of our community gathering together.
Saturday at The Village Market is an incredible event that is great to watch on camera (see below) but even better experienced first hand.
-Watch this feature on Up North Media to hear me share details on the market’s beginnings and our upcoming special events!
-View the thriving market in action on 9 & 10 featuring Sandee Ware from Ware Farm!
Where is your favorite place to get fresh produce this time of year?
love,
tricia
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