Calling all foodies in NY: Ticket giveaway!

Hi all! I wrote a little about the North Fork Foodie Tour a few weeks back while I was designing the poster for it. Now I'm back with a few tickets to give away. The tour takes place on Sunday, September 12 on the beautiful North Fork of Long Island, NY — the perfect excuse for a weekend getaway! Fall is the best of the best seasons on the North Fork and you'll get to visit amazing artisan food producers and farmers throughout the area. All you need to do to win a pair or two of tickets is visit Sloe Gin Fizz, my Etsy shop, and leave a comment below letting me know what your favorite item is. Please include your email address in the comment so I can let you know if you've won. That's it. It's that easy and then you could be drinking wine, slurping oysters, sampling goat cheese, all while touring the lovely North Fork on a beautiful fall day! I have two pairs of tickets to give away and since this is only available to those who can get themselves to the North Fork, I will choose one comment at random as the winner. I will offer that winner the option of all four tickets and if they only want two, I will move on to winner number two. You must enter by Sunday, September 5 at 12noon. I'll announce the winner on Monday, September 6. Spread the word to anyone you think might be able to make it to the area for the tour! Thanks so much for playing along! Here's a glimpse of the North Fork to get you in the mood…

A flower for Friday

A flower for you late on this Friday afternoon… have a wonderful weekend! Maybe I'll see you at the People's Arts Festival in Detroit? If not… let's chat Monday.

Drawing a dream car

My friend Rania's husband just bought his all-time dream car: a 1978 Volkswagen beetle convertible. He owned this same car when he was just twenty years old and always knew he wanted another. And what fun for me, Rania asked me to draw this new dream car for him as a gift. Have a look…

4th Annual People's Arts Festival

People's Arts Festival

This weekend! August 28 & 29 • Free!

Russell Industrial Center • Detroit

Art! Music! Film! Performance!

Saturday, 11 a.m. – 12 a.m. • Sunday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The Flexitarian Table: Shrimp with Harissa

So sorry I forgot to mention that I would be away for a long weekend -- I had a great time in Chicago visiting with friends. To make up for the quiet on the blog front though, I have recipes for a whole meal to post!

I've been obsessing over a new cookbook I borrowed from the library: The Flexitarian Table by Peter Berley. The book focuses on flexible menus that can easily accommodate both vegetarian and non-vegetarian eaters with just slight changes in the prep. By interchanging vegetable proteins, such as tofu or eggs, for meats and applying the same recipe to both, Berley presents a wonderful array of meals that I am dying to try. The book is divided by season and most menus are geared toward two vegetarian servings and two- non veg servings, so it's easy to adjust for just two people. This is just the first of many meals I plan to make from from the book.

I was curious about the harissa in this recipe because I had made harissa once before with a very different texture. This has similar spices but without the red peppers and is the perfect accompaniment to tender shrimp. Delicious! There's a lot going on here, so read through everything first and if possible, do all your chopping and prep for the whole meal before starting to cook anything. The vegetarian version in the book served an egg on top instead of shrimp.

Shrimp in Harissa with Fresh Corn Polenta, Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes and Grilled Zucchini in Mint Oil

Serves 2.

POLENTA

1 1/2 cups water

1 Tb unsalted butter

1/2 tsp seal or kosher salt

1/2 cup medium corn grits

1/2 cup corn kernels (from 1 large or 2 small ears)

1 scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced, white separated and reserved for tomatoes

Preheat oven to 200º F.

In medium ovenproof saucepan, bring water to a boil over high heat. Add butter and salt, then stir in grits and corn and continue to stir until water returns to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until polenta is thick, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in scallion green, cover and transfer to oven to keep warm.

(Note: If you are broiling your shrimp, as I did, you won't be able to keep the polenta warm in the oven. Try to plan to have the polenta ready right before you broil the shrimp. Then simply keep the polenta covered on the back of the stove top -- burner off -- and it should stay plenty warm.)

SHRIMP

2 tsp ground cumin, preferably toasted and freshly ground
1/2 tsp ground fennel, preferably toasted and freshly ground
1/2 tsp ground caraway, preferably toasted and freshly ground
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tsp sea or kosher salt
5 Tb olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 large garlic cloves
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a medium bowl, stir together cumin, fennel, caraway, cayenne and salt. Whisk in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. Toss shrimp in mixture and marinate 10 to 15 minutes. Do not marinade for longer as the acid of the lemon will start to cook the shrimp and make it tough.

Preheat broiler or grill.

Thread shrimp onto skewers (if using bamboo skewers, be sure to soak in water for at least 30 minutes before using). Cook under broiler or grill until cooked through, turning once, about 3 minutes per side.

TOMATOES

2 Tb olive oil

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2-3 Tb mixed fresh herbs, chopped (oregano, basil, parsley, tarragon, etc)

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, combine oil, tomatoes, garlic, reserved scallion white and red pepper flakes and cook over high heat, stirring, until tomatoes soften and begin to release their juices, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in herbs and cook 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

Divide polenta between two shallow soup plates. Spoon tomatoes and shrimp over top and serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

But wait, there's more...

ZUCCHINI
1-2 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise, 1/2-inch thick
Sea or kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 Tb coarsely chopped fresh mint
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkle zucchini slices all over with salt. Lay flat on kitchen or paper towel to drain for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Bring just to a simmer and cook gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until garlic is golden. Add mint and remove from heat.

Light a grill or preheat broiler.

Brush off all the salt and pat zucchini dry. Lightly brush tops with mint oil. Place oiled side down on grill or broiler pan and cook, turning once, until softened and nicely browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. (I put the zucchini under the broiler a couple of minutes before adding shrimp so all would finish at once.)

Transfer zucchini to platter and drizzle with 1-2 Tb of remaining mint oil and the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Oasis in the city: County Farm Park

The last couple of weeks I was in a bit of a funk — I just couldn't seem to get out of it. When our hot, muggy, humid weather finally broke on Monday, I started to feel a bit brighter. That afternoon I went for a walk in a park that a kind little bird told me about (thank you, little bird). It helped put the spring back in my step. It's the County Farm Park in Ann Arbor and I thought I would show a little bit of what cheered me up. I hope it brightens your day, too.

Most of these are from the Project Grow community garden plots located there, but the park has so much more to explore. I didn't even get a chance to walk through the perennial gardens or into the Briton Woods nature trails… I can't wait to go back!

Yes, that's right: MORE fried chicken

I do love my fried chicken. Can't you tell? I am posting yet another recipe for it — this one is an easy, weeknight oven-baked variety from Paula Deen, as opposed to the super-deluxe Chesapeake Fried Chicken I wrote about recently from my pal John. It's super crispy from panko bread crumbs, and has some hidden mustardy goodness to keep it moist and flavorful. I'm sorry to say that all you get is this one lousy photo. I was going to come back and take a couple more photos once I sliced it open, but I made the mistake of having a bite first and completely forgot and chowed down on it in a flash. You would have done the same — I know you would.

Mustard & Panko Oven-Fried Chicken
Adapted from Paula Deen
Serves 2.

1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoons freshly minced thyme leaves
Salt and pepper
2 Tb Dijon mustard
1 Tb water
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 -inch thickness

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack in the pan. Brush the rack with oil.

In a shallow dish, combine Panko, cheese, 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste. In a separate shallow dish, combine mustard, water, salt and pepper, to taste, and remaining olive oil.

Dip each chicken breast in mustard mixture to coat and then dredge each in bread crumb mixture, patting the crumbs into place if necessary. Place on prepared rack in pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown.

Come be social & crafty at the Blue House

What are you doing with your bad self tomorrow evening? I know what I'll be doing to stay out of trouble: I'll be curled up in a comfy chair over at the Blue House gettin' my craft on. If you're in the Ann Arbor area, how about stopping by for a little crafty socializing? We're having a casual drop-in "MakersMEET," so pull up a chair with that project you've been working on, come start a new one you've been meaning to get to, or just come and chat and chill. Feel free to bring some wine, beer, snacks, what have you... or nothing at all but your sweet self. Now I just need to decide whether to bring the little sewing project (top photo) I started at the June MakersMEET and haven't touched since -- or my latest knitting project (bottom photo). Hope to see you there!

Gram's Fruit Cake

My mom has been making this cake for as long as I can remember‚ especially in summer. When I copied down the recipe, it was for "Gram's Fruit Cake." I don't know who's gram it's from, but I'm sure she's been making the rounds because this is such an easy and versatile cake. It's one of those desserts you can so easily throw together for last minute company or running out the door to a picnic or potluck. You almost certainly have the ingredients in your pantry as long as you can scrounge up one paltry piece of fruit. The original called for one McIntosh apple, but you can substitute just about any fruit you'd like: peaches, pears, blueberries, strawberries, etc. That's the beauty of it — that, and it tastes great! This weekend I made it with my all-time favorite fruit combination: peaches and blueberries.

Gram's Fruit Cake
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 Tb butter, melted
1 McIntosh apple or equivalent other fruits (use as much as you'd like)
cinnamon
1 tsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.
Sift together flour, sugar and baking powder.
Beat together egg and milk and add to dry ingredients.
Pour into prepared pan.
Cut fruit and place on top of batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and about 1 tsp sugar.
Bake 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

As you can see, I get all crazy about placing the fruit — kind of like meticulously filling in every single holes on a waffle with syrup. This is completely unnecessary as the cake bakes up around and over the fruit, so you won't see the pattern. But I still find it very satisfying. Do as you will…

Guest post: Aida's Ham and Cheese Cake

At the recent Detroit Maker Faire, fellow maker Rania, of Mains de fees, shared a couple of slices of what she called "salt cake." Her friend Diane had made it and knowing from this blog that I love food, Rania wanted to make the connection between us. Diane loves to cook and I was intrigued by the "cake" she had made. It is filled with flavor — little bits of ham, salty olives, lots of herby flavor and a dense texture.

I contacted Diane and she graciously offered to share with me — and you — this recipe that has long been a favorite in her family. Voilá! The result is that today I present you with this blog's first ever guest post and recipe. Welcome, Diane!

Aida, my mother — the greatest cook — is always looking for new recipes and when we were still living in Paris, France, she discovered this salty cake in a magazine. When we tried it… what a success! It was a hit in our family and has been ever since! That makes 20 years and still counting! So when Nicole tasted it, she got hooked and here’s for you one of the favorite recipes of my family.

Aida’s Ham and Cheese Cake
Makes 1 loaf.

3 eggs
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup diced ham
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup olives, sliced
1 Tb herbes de provence (or a mix of dried oregano, rosemary, sage, basil & thyme)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
1/3 cup of milk
butter for the pan

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Butter a standard loaf pan.

Blanch the olives for a few seconds so they are less salty. (Note from Nicole: Place them in a strainer that you can submerge in boiling water for a minute or two and then lift out. Run under cold water for a few minutes and then drain well.) Dry them well with paper towel.

Heat milk in a small saucepan over low for a minute or two until it is between 110º and 115ºF. Remove from heat and stir in yeast until it dissolves. Let sit for five minutes. The yeast should be foamy and smell bready.

Sift together the flour, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl.

Lightly whisk eggs in a separate bowl, then add the yeast and milk combination and olive oil.

Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined. Fold in the ham, cheese, olives and herbs.

Pour batter into prepared pan — it should be no more than ¾ full. Bake until cake is just firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on a rack, then turn out onto rack and allow to cool completely.

You can always add some sun to your cake with sundried tomatoes, or toasted pine nuts, or apricot and hazelnuts. As long as you have good ham, good cheese, good olives, that’s a good start and then you can improvise!

I hope you will enjoy it! Try it with a delicious spinach and strawberries salad, with a balsamic vinaigrette!

Bon Appétit! ;)
From Aida & Diane!

I did a little more digging online to figure out the origins of "salt cakes" and found a recent article in the New York Times (it appeared just days after the salt cake crossed my lips!) that describes cake salés, or savory quick breads that in France you often find at informal family gatherings, but rarely in restaurants or markets. The article even talks about a New York chef whose French mother saves cake salé recipes clipped from women's magazines for him. Hurray for French magazines!

Thanks so much to Diane and Aida for sharing this little slice of France.
Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Local love: Courtney Fischer Jewelry

This summer has been all about taking part in local craft shows — which means, of course, lots of shopping at local craft shows! I'd had my eye on this delicate leaf necklace from Courtney Fischer Jewelry since early July. And, to my delight, the boy picked it up for me for my birthday. Aw shucks. So sweet. And that's just what I'd say about Courtney, too: aw shucks, so sweet! The girl's a doll and her jewelry is gorgeous, affordable and local — coming to you from Royal Oak. You can see more jewelry treats in her Etsy shop, Cefische.

Quick, easy — pico de gallo

Tomato season is finally here which means plenty of fixin's for the beak of the rooster! Huh? What? Pico de gallo, of course! Fresh, hand-cut salsa — the perfect treat, with some nice fresh tortilla chips, at the end of a long, steamy day.

Pico de Gallo
Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped
4-6 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 or 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers, finely chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 tablespoon lime juice
Salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a nonreactive bowl and chill for about an hour or so.

For milder heat, remove the jalapeno seeds before adding. I like to rub a little bit of oil on my hands before chopping the peppers. This keeps the oils of the pepper from penetrating your skin very much. Some people choose to seed the tomatoes, too, but I don't mind this salsa being a little looser and juicier. Others like to add a bit of garlic. You could also add some cucumber, radish or mango. Serve with chips, fajitas, tacos … you name it! Summer's finest.

Wednesday Lunches at Pot and Box

Hello! Have you heard about the Wednesday Lunches at Pot and Box in Ann Arbor? No? Well, let me tell you: It is a ten-week series that each week features a lunch menu built around one spice. Gauri Thergaonkar is the cooking mastermind behind it all and Lisa is the host and owner of Pot and Box, a lovely little flower shop at 220 Felch Street.

Each week, the menu is posted online on Sunday and you may make a reservation for vegetarian, or non-veg. Only 30 lunches are served and the first two weeks were both sold out by Sunday afternoon, so you've got to be quick to make your reservations! The first week's spice was the long pepper and was sold out before I could wrangle that reservation. But I made it to week (thanks to my boss, Kim!) and was stunned by the cumin-based meal. This food is outstanding -- fresh, well-balanced, perfectly spiced!

As we entered the shop, we were greeted by the smiling Guari and a little display of the featured spice. She also provides a fun fact sheet with all sorts of info about the spice. Did you know, for example, that cumin is part of the parsley family? Or that it is useful for keeping lovers, chickens and soldiers going to battle from straying? We also learned that Theophrastus in the Study of Plants said that "when people are sowing it, they must curse and slander if they want it to be healthy and prolific."

The menu included cumin-cured pork loin or lentil fritters, corn relish, peach chutney and a tortilla. Using only the featured spice and salt, Guari made each of these dishes distinct and delicious! And it was all topped off by a cumin butter cookie that melts in your mouth.

We are going into week 3 and this week will be all about cardamom -- one of my favorites! Oh! And I just looked and week 4 is already sold out!! Go send your emails now and get a spot for this limited series of lunches. You will not be disappointed!

Michigan Root Jamboree in Ypsi

I'm off to the 2010 Michigan Roots Jamboree today — a two-days outdoor music and art festival in Riverside Park in Ypsilanti with urban camping, local beers and a HUGE lineup of music. Come on down and check it out — it looks like the weather is going to be gorgeous! Admission is $20 per day, kids under 12 free. More info here. Have a great weekend!

Maker Faire Detroit 2010

As promised — finally some photos from last weekends Motor City Maker Faire at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Start looking for details for next year's Faire because it is really a sight to see! You can also check out the Detroit Maker Faire Flickr pool, join the Detroit Maker Faire Facebook page, and a nice roundup at Boing, boing.

The sign pretty much says it all!

Life-sized mouse trap board game. You can support this fantastic attraction (as well as a whole slew of crafty projects) over at Kickstarter.

And last but not least… Chris of Detroit GT shows off his wares from a revamped bread truck!!

Hot glass and cold beer — oh my!

Glassblowing and beer tasting — together at last! Have you heard about this event on Thursday night in Dearborn?! Wow! Five Michigan breweries paired up with hand-crafted glass tumblers and live glassblowing. How hot and cool is that?! $45 gets you a hand-blown tumbler and two drinks, plus tasty local treats provided by Edible WOW. Unfortunately, you have to purchase tickets in advance, so plan ahead! It's from 4 to 10 p.m. at the Glass Academy and tickets can be purchased here. The breweries participating are: Arbor Brewing Co., Motor City Brewing Works, Kuhnhenn Brewing Co., Corner Brewery and Rochester Mills Beer Co. I totally want one of those swirly glasses with the amber lager-y looking beer in it!

Balcony garden update 08.02.10

This weekend's Maker Faire at the Henry Ford was phenomenal. I'll have a few pictures and highlights for you tomorrow, but today a little balcony garden update…

First off the annuals… we put in a lot more flowers this year than last. We ended up not planting corn this year and doing a lot more herbs in individual pots rather in the long window box style planters hanging on the balcony rail. This left plenty of extra room that has been filled with flowers. I also planted the box that grew spinach in the early season with nasturtium seeds and in no time they were full and blooming. I'm so glad we went this root as it's brought so many more butterflies and bees — happy friends to have in the garden and beautiful to watch.

A happy new addition this year is tomatoes. We have two huge plants that are loaded down with ripening tomatoes. The first ones started to rot on the bottoms and thanks to the interwebs, I quickly diagnosed that they had the common blossom-end rot. This is usually caused by inconsistent watering causing the fruit to be unable to draw enough calcium in. I smashed up a few of my own calcium vitamin tablets by placing them in a ziploc bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. I then sprinkled this over the soil and gave the plants a thorough watering. I changed up my routine to give the tomatoes less frequent but longer waterings and these steps seemed to have worked. The rot has stopped and the newer fruits show no signs of it.

We've had a steady stream of tasty petite carrots since mid-July with still more to harvest. And to date we've made three huge batches of pesto. It's best to use smaller basil leaves as they tend to get bitter the larger they grow and it's been difficult to keep up with — a welcome challenge!

The lettuce held out for quite some time despite the heat. But I've now let it start going to seed and hope to harvest them for next year's crop. The heat was just too much for the cilantro and dill, too, and they have now gone to seed. The jalapenos have been very slow-going and this is our first and only pepper so far.

It shouldn't be long before I have beautiful sunflower photos to show you. I have to say that at this point in the summer, I don't want to do much more in the garden than harvest tasty veggies and cut flowers for vases, but I have been thinking about a couple of cold crops we could start to sew soon. Stay tuned!