First Ski of the Season

Keweenaw Peninsula (3)

Keweenaw Peninsula (2)

Alan and I made a quick trip to the Keweenaw Peninsula this weekend. Our days in Marquette are numbered, so we decided that we wanted to see every part of the UP before we move. Our mini vacation was wonderful and a great refresher from our everyday lives in Marquette. A few of the highlights include a brief tour of Calumet, which is the cutest town I have yet to see in the UP. Calumet is home to the Calumet Historic Theater, which was built in the 1900s. A little further north on the peninsula in Mohawk, we stopped at the Wood'N Spoon—a cute jam and honey store that smelled of fresh bread. Then we stopped at the "Jam Lady," in Eagle River. The Jam Lady was not necessarily a highlight of out trip, but it was an interesting stop. We didn't buy any jam at this stop, but we did buy a jar of "Chow-Chow." I can best describe this as the UP's chutney. A few miles further north by Eagle Harbor, we made our last jam stop of the trip at the Jam Pot. This place was AWESOME. They had jams, fruit cakes, and muffins, but the best part about the jam pot is that the monks who operate the bakery. The monks were knowledgeable, nice, and great bakers. They also had nice long beards, which is why they are Ukrainian Catholic rather than Roman Catholic. From Eagle Harbor we took the scenic route (Brockway Mountain Drive) to Copper Harbor. From the top of Brockway Mountain Drive you could see the entire peninsula. The rest of the trip we explored, talked to some interesting gift shop owners, and planned our spring trip to Isle Royal. (Copper Harbor is one of the three cities that has a ferry to Isle Royal.) Are brief stay in Copper Country was a treat—enjoy some photos.

Keweenaw Peninsula

Irish Soad Bread

Did you know that most Americans ideas about Irish soda bread are completely inaccurate. American-Irish soda bread is sweet, scone-like, and typically includes raisons or currents. Real Irish soda bread is dark brown, dense, and an important staple to many meals. I am including Neil's (the farmer I stayed with) recipe for Irish soda bread.

(The man in the picture is Neil.)

Neil's "REAL" Irish soda bread.

3 cup extra coarse whole meal flour

1 cup rolled oats

1.5 tsp bread soda (sieved into dry mix)

1tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Mix all of the above together thoroughly.

1 pt butter milk.

Stir in the milk with the dry mix until is wet.

Lightly oil a 2lb loaf tin

Sprinkle rolled oats into bottom of tin

pour mixture into tin and cut a cross in mixture to the bottom of tin and from each end

place in centre of pre heated oven (gas mark 4.5)

bake for 1 hour

remove from tin immediately

Enjoy with loads of salted butter and my favourite STRAWBERRY JAM

My "Dude"

Alan is the proud father of an heirloom pumpkin. 12 pounds, 4 ounces.

A few more shots from Ireland

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

This weekend Alan returned to northern Wisconsin to visit family, and I fended for myself it Marquette. I was hoping the alone time would allow for some much needed creativity and even more needed productivity. Although I cannot not deduce if I was as creative or productive as I needed to be, (I may have been—I don't know) I did pick up a new pick book. Elizabeth a fellow TA in the English department (and one of the five people who reads this blog) encouraged me to stop by Snowbound Books on Friday while she was working.

I didn't expect to find a book, but among the new arrivals was Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant. The front cover is purple and has a photo of an eggplant, my power vegetable. I was instantly drawn to it. The book is a collection of essay about cooking and eating alone. I have read about half of the essays so far, and most of them are either insightful or funny. "The Legend of Salsa Rosa" by Ben Karlin, a UW Madison alum, told the story of a young Ben learning to cook in Italy during a semester abroad. His hit dish, Salsa Rosa, which he made to impress all of his friends and family when he returned from Italy, ends up not being Italian at all. Another local interest essay was "Asparagus Superhero" by Phoebe Nobles. Her essay explores all things asparagus in Michigan, including asparagus pee. (Don't be ashamed—we've all had it.) Overall, this collection of essays was the perfect fit for my weekend. It had good insights on not only eating alone, but being alone as well.

So, the big question is: what did I eat this weekend? Friday's dinner was baked Superior trout, roasted brussel sprouts, and a roasted beet with goat cheese salad. (I am including a picture, but I took it with my phone so it isn't the best quality). Saturday night I cooked up a graham masala with veggies from the farmers market. In the midst of the fall harvest, I am alone, but with much more than just an eggplant, and Alan is returning soon too.

Photos of Cape Clear Island, County Cork

A Taste of Ireland's Local Food Scene

The following is an excerpt from a piece I wrote about my Irish experience this summer. Although I have a lot of work let to do on the essay, I thought I would share a bit anyway. The included photos are all taken on Cape Clear Island.

I couldn't think of any better way to investigate the trend in local food production and consumption than by asking a farmer. In fact, as a low budget traveler, it worked out best to stay with a farmer. Alan and I joined WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), which is a community of national organizations that connect organic farmers, gardeners, and landholders with volunteers who exchange labor for food and accommodations. The Republic of Ireland had 172 host farms for us to choose from. My preference was to farm by the sea, and Alan, as an employee of a natural food cooperative in Michigan, preferred to work on a farm that supplied a restaurant or store with local products. After a thorough search, we decided on Neil's Place located on Cape Clear Island (population 130) in County Cork. Neil not only owned a 15 acre farm, but also his own grocery store and restaurant.

Alan and I envisioned working 15 acres of vegetables, but our idea of farming changed when we arrived at Cape Clear, a three mile long by one and one half mile wide island with a topography similar to the foothills of Appalachia. This was grazing land, and we were going be working with livestock. Although the island was small, the steep and winding roads made it seem larger. It took a long afternoon to walk around the entire island. Most houses on the island had small gardens for potatoes, tomatoes, and a few other select vegetables, and several families earned their livings by tending livestock.

Neil had several projects for me and Alan. Some were small: mowing his mom's lawn, digging thistles out of the cow pasture, and pruning hedges. The largest task we completed during our stay with Neil was building an electric fence on his mom's pasture land. Growing up in Wisconsin, I equated cow pastures with flat to gently sloping land. Neil's land was anything but flat, and I was surprised the cows would even be willing to graze the steep, tussock-lined ridges that skirted the Atlantic. The land halted with a 200 meter drop into the sea. The plunge had already taken the lives of several of the island's livestock.

In the evenings, Alan and I explored the island. We had the opportunity to visit some of the other farms that accept WWOOFers. The island's most interesting farm, Cleire Goats, was the first farm on Cape Clear to take volunteers. Ed Harper runs the 27 acre goat farm, and his WWOOFers milk goats and make handmade goat ice cream (strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla) for farm door sales. When the bucks get to size, they are ferried over to the mainland for slaughter and then processed into some of the only goat hams in the world. Ed is also blind, and although he can manage the hilly acreage and goats on his own, he is always looking for volunteers to lend a hand. By the way, Ed's volunteers get all the goat ice cream they can dream of.

As Neil's WWOOFers, we took our meals at his restaurant, An Siopa Beag, (Gaelic for Little Shop) which serves traditional home cooked food. My usual breakfast was eggs and toast (the Irish love toast) and breakfast meat if I wanted it. Some locals who ate at An Siopa Beag ordered the traditional Irish breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, and black and white pudding, but the Irish breakfast roll—meat on a bun—was by far the most popular morning item. At dinner we ate chicken, turkey, beef, or pork with potatoes and other vegetables. One thing remained consistent at every meal: the large portions. "The Irish like to make sure their guests are full after a meal," Patrick, an American who had been living on Cape Clear for the last year, said when I asked about the belly-stuffing size of each meal. It was unclear whether this was a residual effect of years of famine in past centuries or just a love of food. Everyone I asked had a different opinion.

Neil was interested in the idea of serving local food, but his restaurant's transition was slow in the making. Besides a few vegetables and scallops caught by a local fisherman, a shellfish Alan and I gained firsthand experience cleaning, most of the food served at An Siopa Beag was imported. "Someday I would like to serve my own grass fed beef here," Neil said, after cooking us our dinner of corned beef, which was not from the island. "The beans I serve are from Africa, the canned fruit from California, the cereal and bread from who knows where," Neil shook his head as he showed us the products in his little grocery store. "I would like to sell more local products. It's just difficult figuring out a system."

Cristina Henriquez

Cristina Henriquez is the author of Come Together, Fall Apart, a collection of short stores. This afternoon I had the pleasure of eating lunch with Cristina, and this evening I attended a reading of hers at the Federated Women's Club. "She is the real deal," as Becky Johns said tonight while introducing Cristina. Check out Cristina's work if you're looking for a good read. Click here to view Cristina's webpage.

Strong Woman by Janet Bruhn

September Check Point

As some of you may remember, September is for short stories and swimming in Superior. I am disappointed to say, my daily dip in Superior has not been happening daily. The school weeks have been busy and it rained for a large portion of last weekend.

Happily, I have been sticking with my short story a night theme. Last week I finished Yiyun Li's collection of short stories, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. (Click here to be taken to Yiyun Li's homepage.) Her collection of stories was fantastic. Many of her themes revolved around family, and her essays were an interesting glance into Chinese culture. I ordered Li's book on a whim several months ago after reading Granta's list of top young American writers of 2007. Click here for the article. I recommend this collection for anyone interested in Chinese culture and looking to read a few terrific stories.

Persepolis

This past weekend I had a wonderful lesson in Iranian history. I have never given much thought to Iran, and always assumed it is similar to other countries in the Middle East: desert like, oil rich, oppressive, crowded with veiled women, and a possible country to go to war with for our current administration. This weekend I learned that A) I don't know much about the different cultures of Middle Eastern countries and B) I know next to nothing about the history of the countries of the Middle East.

A few months ago, I heard about the movie Persepolis and how it was a controversial, animated movie written in French about an Iranian women. Recently, I decided to rent the movie from the Marquette Public Library. The movie was checked out and I had to place a hold. Accidentally, I also placed a hold on the graphic novel, Persepolis, that the movie was based on.

My partner Alan and I spent Saturday devouring the graphic memoir written by Marjane Satrapi. Satrapi's story is amazing and unlike anything I have ever read. Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's childhood during the Islamic Revolution. Born to liberal parents, the young Satrapi is witty, intelligent, and growing up during a war. Her perception of war and life in Iran is unique and insightful, and her story is both heartbreaking and uplifting.

Persepolis the novel was published in 2003 and in 2007 the film adaptation came out. I had the fortunate experience of watching the film this evening. It was an accurate representation of the book and just as moving. The film, which premiered in France where Satrapi lives, was banned in Iran and several other countries.

I highly recommend both the novel and film for anyone interested in learning more about Iranian culture or history. Marjane Satrapi is a brave and honest writer, and I fell thankful to know her story.

Click here to view the trailer for Persepolis on youtube.

"Academia!" by Janet Bruhn

This is a painting by my good friend Janet Bruhn. Janet is trying to make a painting a day, and this is one of her most recent, entitled "Academia!"

Notes on Fermentation

Click here and check out what Dr. Weil has to say about Sauerkraut!

Last night was my first fermented adult beverage success. After a long seven weeks of waiting, I experienced the unique taste of T'ej, an Ethiopian honey wine. I used the basic T'ej recipe found in the book Wild Fermentation by Ellix Sandor Katz. Honey, water, and wild yeast (that is naturally drawn to the honey mixture) is all that is needed for this unique beverage. To my surprise, the wine was slightly carbonated and alcoholic. The taste of the honey—a buckwheat honey from southern Wisconsin—was prevalent and sweet. Overall, I am impressed at the simplicity of this home fermentation, and I look forward to experimenting with new recipes for T'ej.

Click here to be directed to the T'ej entry on the Wikipedia page.

September is for short stories and swimming in Superior

Short Stories

School has started and suddenly there is less time for personal reading. I have, however, decided to dedicate the month of September to an under appreciated art form: the short story. As the saying goes, a short story a day keeps the anxiety of finishing a novel away. The first collection of short stories I plan on reading is Narrow Beams by Kate Myers Hanson. Katie Hanson is also a professor at Northern Michigan University, and I am taking a course with her this fall. Please feel free to join me in the story a night challenge.

Swimming

According to Shakta Kaur Khalsa in the KISS Guide to Yoga, a daily cold shower is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Khalsa mentions that many yogis often immerse themselves in glacial streams because "cold water opens the capillaries and strengthens the entire nervous system." When you take a cold shower (or jump in Lake Superior) your capillaries open and release toxins. Khalsa says that "if you bring your body to that temperature where it can meet the cold by its own circulatory power, you have won the day. You have empowered your own health and happiness."

For the month of September, I intend to take Khalsa's recommendation and take a daily dip in Lake Superior. For those who do not live on Lake Superior but still want to participate in the cold water challenge, a 30 second to one minute cold shower should suffice. For more information see page 270 of the Kiss Guide to Yoga.

Fantastic Fermentation

What do beer, yogurt, sourdough, and kimchi have in common? Besides being delicious, these foods are all products of fermentation. One of my favorite books of the summer was Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. Katz's book is a step by step guide to home fermentation. His book aided me in fermenting my own cherry vinegar, kimchi, ginger beer, T'ej, (an Ethiopian honey wine, which is still in the fermentation stage) and most recently sauerkraut and sour beets. After experiencing the process of fermentation first hand and having read Katz's book, I can honestly say that my perceptions about fermented foods and the process of fermentation have drastically changed. This book has changed my life and I highly recommend it to anyone with the slightest interest in fermented foods or beverages.

Want to pretend you are still in college?

The following is the required reading list for the En211B course I am teaching this fall. The course focuses on narrative and descriptive writing. I highly recommend both the novel and the collection of essays and stories. If, by chance, you are so jazzed by the books, I can send you a study guide and assign you essay too! School starts Monday. Ciao

The Best American Nonrequired Reading of 2007 edited by Dave Eggers

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn