Matthaei can be gorgeous anytime of year just ask about their year round schedule of weddings on the grounds or in the conservatory …but we weren’t scouting for wedding sites last week …just hanging out.  Whether you are good with your latin names for flowers or just want to read a book on a bench surrounded by someone else’s hard work the gardens can entertain.  They have the children’s garden in its first full year of being open with different games and hands-on stations.  Or the vegetable gardens where you can see what your zucchini plants should really look like …if I would just remember to water them.  Matthaei even offers visitors the opportunity to pick and sample the ripening strawberries.  The sign said we could!  Last winter they offered yoga classes in the auditorium and if you are curious about solar energy the MiSo house (Michigan Solar House) is a cool tour of what could be your future renewable energy abode.

Wander farther afield and find the Woodland Wildflower Garden, the Matteson barns and farmhouse or skip along the various river paths.  As is typical in beautiful places I was daydreaming about it being my home.  Wouldn’t the visitor’s center make a great mid-century house?  …I could live in the MiSo house in a NY minute.  If you have been meaning to go, just go.  It is in full bloom right now and absolutely gorgeous.

The gardens are available for walking from sunrise to sunset and the Display Garden is easily accessible from the newly improved parking lot.  Check the hours for visiting the conservatory, MiSo house and garden shop.

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Any event that has had a 32 year run must be worth seeing!!!  Arts and Crafts, kids activities, beer and food, cool car stuff… did I mention the beer?  Check out Riverside Park, Depot Town and Frog Island Park for all the great things going on.

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This jam recipe came together as a result of watching a bit of tennis followed by the opportunity to work from home for part of the morning.

I stopped by my mom’s for a few minutes and while we caught up on the family gossip I picked a couple of pounds of currants (with my mom’s help) in under 30 minutes …plenty for weekend jam.  A lot of farmer’s markets will have them for the next few weeks.  Then last night while watching the heartbreaking loss of Roddick against Lu at Wimbledon (dvr’d) I picked the berries clear of stems and leaves.  If I had been focused instead of  yelling advice at the line judge and wiping away the tears, I could have accomplished this task in 20 minutes or so.  I only needed a pound.  There is a confiture (translate jam maker) in France who uses a goose feather to pick all the seeds out of the currants for their jam.  There isn’t enough tennis on tv in a year for me to hit that level.  My family will have to make do.

This morning, in-between reading emails and eating my yogurt, I combined 2 cups of water with 16oz of  sugar.  Heat the water and sugar over med-low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.  Bring up the heat enough to simmer and add 1 pound of the cleaned, whole currants.  If you like your jam on the thicker side, throw in 8-10 raspberries with the simmering currants.  The natural pectin in the raspberries will give it more holding power.  Next add 2 good teaspoons of grated, fresh ginger and just under a teaspoon of fine sea salt.  Simmer for 40-45 minutes.  I skimmed the foam off the top a few times just to make myself feel better after reading about the French guy’s goose feather and jam.

The batch made between 2 1/2 and 3 cups of jam which is headed north with us for the holiday weekend with family.  Since the jam will be gone before the weekend is over I didn’t bother to can it.  There are plenty of currants left on that bush for another go next week.  As the jam cools it will set.  My version is not as sweet and the ginger comes through softly to give it a little different finish from traditional.  As we sampled, I added in some fresh chopped mint and garnished with a few sprinkles of lemon rind.  The lemon gave it some brightness that nicely offset the hot day.

Can’t wait to enjoy breakfast in Northern Michigan this weekend!

Have a great 4th everyone.

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Where:
The LakeShore Apartments, at the corner of Grove and Bridge Roads.  Located in Ypsilanti Township on beautiful Ford Lake, the LakeShore facility will host a 4 ^th of July “ FIREWORKS CELEBRATION ” that will include 2 nights of on-sight fireworks, amusement rides, a petting zoo, circus, classic car show, talent contest, monster truck rides, arts & crafts, on-stage entertainment and much more!

When:
From Thursday, 01 July 2010 -  2:00pm
To Sunday, 04 July 2010 - 11:00pm

Details:
The Festival is planned as an event for the whole family with all activities (except the carnival rides) being offered free of charge.

Featured entertainment on Friday, July 2 ^nd , includes WDIV Local 4 News Anchor, Devin Scillian & the Arizona Son band in concert. The Reflections will be performing live on stage on Saturday, July 3rd accompanied by their 5-piece band – sure to please the Oldies Fans!

Thrilling, breathtaking high-wire performances by the Flying Pages are a part of the event this year – together with a traveling rare white tiger show. This is a must see, once in a lifetime, opportunity! All offered FREE of charge!!!

A classic car show with live Oldie ’ s Doo-Wap entertainment, car crushing, and monster truck rides are all a part of the weekend line-up.

During these challenging economic times when family vacations may not be possible, a local event such as the LakeShore Fireworks Celebration is the close-to-home activity for families to enjoy this summer.

All parking is on site at cost of $5.00 per carload.

Walk-ins will be assessed a $2.00 per person admission fee.

More Info:
http://www.lakeshorecelebration.com/

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Event location: Dowtown Ypsilanti, MI

When: July 3rd, 2010  11:00am

Details: 79th Annual Ypsilanti Fourth of July Parade: 11 a.m., Route to be announced. One of the oldest celebrations in the state.  More info: 734-483-4444 or www.ypsilanti.org.

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You may already know Leslie Austin’s name or face.  She and her husband, artist David Austin, have been Ypsi supporters for years now having owned What is that Gallery of Fine Art and Craft and Leslie was the force behind the fashion show Dressed on Washington Street hosted in the spring of 2009 which showcased local design talent.  She designs and creates most of what you see in the store many of which are one-of-a-kind pieces.  You can even make requests and Leslie will accomodate when she can.  Leslie has been working with Jenice Pettibone to promote the store and her creations and Jenice came up with the idea of stepping-out with a “street team” to various events and clubs around town dressed in Leslie’s designs.  The result is a lot of street cred when other party goers ask ‘Where did you get that skirt, dress etc…?’.  Great publicity.

Again, don’t think her store services only those who take a size 4 for granted.  She runs the gammet on cuts and sizes utilizing new and re-issued materials that she picks up from sources all around Michigan.  As for Leslie herself, they don’t come any nicer.  She loves her craft and is happy to chat when you stop-in.

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Hoarder of the Gateaux

If you haven’t been to Dexter in awhile or you have never been, you may be surprised by this nice little town outside Ann Arbor.  We decided to take the scenic route from Ann Arbor along Huron River Drive.  This was a great idea until I took a wrong turn and we found ourselves bumping along rutted, dirt roads and running late for our reservation.  If you don’t follow our route, Dexter is an easy and pretty 15 minute drive outside Ann Arbor.

Terry B’s is located in a former farmhouse at one end of Dexter’s downtown.  It doesn’t disappoint on the homey feeling quotient and the crowd inside was stylized in everything from Harley wear to sport coat attire.  Immediate impression was anything from a romantic first date kind’a place to casual pop-in place for a drink and an app at the bar after you’ve been soaked at the game.

Terry B's - Dexter, Mi

Inviting Space

Terry B’s was purchased by the current owners in the fall of 2005 and opened the following spring after extensive renovations.  I must confess the name of the place didn’t bring gourmet food to mind.  A good burger, maybe …house made pastries and charcuterie, accompanied by a strong wine list …absolutely not.  But we were in for a treat.

Our 6:30 seating coincided with several larger parties arriving in other areas of the restaurant.  After a few minutes of getting settled and our waiter smiling at us a few times as he rushed past, the bartender stepped in to get us started on drinks and wine.  We liked Sean so much we decided to keep him.  Despite doing double duty at the busy bar and our table Sean had that easy manner that you wonder if anything stresses him out.  His first act of good service was to bring over a very nice, dry martini.  For those of you who have already noticed a trend of martinis among our posts we’ll arm-wrestle anyone who says we don’t know a finely made cocktail.

The basket of bread arrived with our drinks.  Don’t be shy about asking for more of the Parmesan crisps.  Deeeelicious!  I wiggled in my seat as I realized I was going to eat way too much and be happy, happy, happy.  Next…pecan dusted calamari with a sweet bourbon ginger syrup complimented nicely by a Meyer lemon vinaigrette and green apple slaw.  We order calamari a lot and we love it, but I don’t expect to be surprised by it very often.  This dish had me trying to figure out all of the ingredients so we could give it a go at home.  One person at the table wished the pecan coating was crisped-out a bit more …always one in the crowd.

Smoked Salmon Pastrami

House Charcuterie

We also sampled the Dexter Plate and the kitchen sent out the House Smoked “Pastrami” Salmon as a specialty of the house.  As expected, the charcuterie plate offered a variety of meats, cheeses and sides.  Someone I believe Sean referred to as “The Doctor” makes the cured meats in-house.  He has the skills.  It was a beautiful selection although a bit overwhelming with all the varieties and a bit tricky to divide the samples between multiple people.  The House Smoked Salmon however was a perfect presentation and proportioned for everyone to have a nice taste.  At the end of the night it made favorite dish for one member of our party.

The specials that night included a rack of lamb presented on a ramp risotto with a subtle cherry glaze.  Done!  Two orders for the ladies at the table please.  We also ordered up the Filet.  Both entrees were excellent.  Proportions across the board were good for being able to sample multitudes of courses (like we did) or just add a salad to your entrée and head home nicely satisfied (without the need to run extra miles the next day …like we did).  Pricing was also reasonable not only for the type of food, but add in the level of quality and creativity and you have an exceptional value.

Filet with Bacon and Haricots Verts

Colorado Rack of Lamb with Ramp Risotto

We couldn’t leave without dessert and when one person at the table who will remain nameless (but pictured above) refused to share the chocolate gateaux after her first bite I assumed it was her favorite dish of the night.  It looked fantastic, but she never stopped baring her teeth at us long enough to scam a taste.  I had finally hit my wall of gluttony and ordered the key lime crème de pot with raspberry sorbet, which was a refreshing finish to the night.

Gateaux Plating

Chocolate Gateaux

Chef Doug came out to say hello and check on our evening.  Always a nice touch, but I tend to question the sincerity when the chef  has been alerted to the potential written word.  What if I had just been Joe Diner in here tonight?  In the case of Chef Doug he was a genuine guy.  Once the rush was over and before he introduced himself to us I noticed him circulating the dining room several times and greeting people with a handshake or by name with a smile.  People don’t come here just for special occasions they come when they want to go out, have a good meal, but feel as at-ease as they do at home.  Overall Terry B’s has managed to create an experience that offers variety to a wide clientele …families, young couples, a group of retired friends and at the end of the night they even offered a keyboardist and singer who inspired a few dancers.  Terry B’s slogan is “a comfortable place to be” they just need to add “…with exceptional food.”

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800 of our newest friends

Per Wikipedia “Vermicompost is the product of composting utilizing various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast, similarly known as worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by species of earthworm.”  Got all that?

Having two large dogs and a yard that barely contains them we have the never ending issue of what to do with the poo.  After several conversations with a few people more in the worm know than us and a quick browsing on the web, it seems everyone is doing this!  I haven’t met these people so they must be a bit reclusive, but we are stepping into the light …unlike the worms which need dark.

You can certainly set-up this same system for more traditional uses like kitchen scraps …borrrring… and happily use the ‘Black Gold’ the worms produce on your vegetable gardens and yards.  We will not be using our worm leave behinds on anything edible, but I will bury it around my shrubs and they will love it.  I already see a kitchen scrap system in our future.

Because of the poo contents of our worm bin we have found a spot in a well shaded and well ventilated area …outside.  It sounds fairly common for a kitchen compost to be set-up in the basement.  The worms need temps between 40 and 80 degrees and prefer no direct sunlight.  Being in a cold climate we will have to figure out what to do with our 800 to 1,000 new friends once the fall comes.  So why pick worm city instead of a traditional compost?  I’m sure people far more in the know can debate that one.  We picked it because of our specific usage, but will also pick it for our future kitchen scraps system because it will function year round in a cold place …and it’s small.

Cover them up and nighty-night

I’ll guess 16″x16″ with a height of 20″?  Various forums online claim the smell of a well maintained worm bin is minimal and tends only to last for a few hours after placing new food into the bin.  Again, this will not be an issue for us, but we will be watching for any increase in the fly population.

The bin is purchased, but could be made easily enough.  Our red wigglers were mail ordered and came in the post today!  They look plentiful and on the move.  We ordered from a Kalamazoo company called Worm Woman.  Both the bin and the worms came with ample (and similar) instructions on how to prepare your bin so it will be a dark, comfy, damp home for your worms.  Let the poo begin!

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Disclaimer: I am not an expert! I have not sprouted seeds since I was a kid and to help spread good karma to the seeds I put myself back in a kid mindset.  So my set-up looks a little crazy and I’m sure some seeds will be sacrificed to my method, but I’m still going to be mighty excited when those first few leaves of green sprout.

My First Steps:

1 – Collect everything including your toilet paper rolls.
2 – Dampen the soil and let sit overnight.
3 – Mild Bleach Solution (1:10) to clean milk containers, ice cream containers and yogurt containers.
4 – Poke holes in the bottom of the containers.
5 – Distribute soil, tamp down to remove air and place seeds to a depth of no more than 1/4″ for tomatoes. Cover lightly with soil. Tamp lightly.
6 – Over sow your seeds by 20% so you have more tomatoes, eggplants etc than you will ever know what to do with.
7 – Lightly water if needed.
8 – Since I had a heating pad I will be using that as my heat source. Tomato seeds need between 65 and 80 degree warmth on their bottoms to sprout.
9 – Place cookie sheet with containers on heating pad.
10 – Place somewhere where there is light, but not in direct sun.
11 – Cover with plastic bags until plants begin to sprout.

Now we wait…

Tomato Sprouts

UPDATE:

3/26/10: Realized after assembling my set-up that the heating pad I have is safety-first and shuts down every hour.  No good.  I ended up relocating the tomatoes within range of the space heater in my office that keeps things a toasty 70 while the rest of the house is at 63.  At night I turned it off and figured I would see if they survived.

3/30/10: They’re SPROUTING!  I pulled off their plastic hood and put them in a south facing window.  I’ll turn on the grow light for a few hours early and late so they get 10hrs total.  Yeah!

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The Common Grill
112 S. Main Street
Chelsea, MI 48118
www.commongrill.com

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