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.