Up North Foodies

Eat it to Save it: An Interview with Gary Nabhan

From roasted tomato hornworm larvae, to pit-roasted cactus flowers, Gary Paul Nabhan has sampled his share of foods unfamiliar to most of us in northern Michigan. A renowned ethnobiologist, conservationist, MacArthur "genius grant" recipient and author, Nabhan has traveled the globe, searching out the stories and tastes of many a region's traditional foods. But his efforts aren't about saving these foods for the museum shelves; instead, he aims to get these foods back on our plates to savor and enjoy. "Eat it to save it" sums up the approach. Read on for our interview with Gary and his upcoming visit to northern Michigan. (This piece will also appear in next week's Northern Express.)

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Great Sandwiches

Do you make a killer sandwich that has your friends begging for more? If so, we want to hear about it! We're asking for recipes for cold sandwiches, using great local breads and other ingredients, and preferably with a unique twist. We need them within the next couple weeks. The new food magazine, The 45th, will be writing an article for next summer, but will be doing a photo shoot soon. They'll include the recipes there. So come on up north foodies, what do you have?

Ethnic food up north? Oh my!

The one thing I hear more than anything else from people who move to northern Michigan, or move back to northern Michigan, is that they miss ethnic foods...Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern...you name it, we want it!

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Local Foods Tasting and Book Event with Gary Nabhan and Stephanie Mills

If you care about developing a strong local foods economy, or you just like to eat good food, or you want to get inspired and informed listening to two wise voices, including the man dubbed "father of the locavore movement" plan to be at Horizon Books Lower Level on October 10. Enjoy a local foods tasting, followed by a book signing and reading with Gary Nabhan and Stephanie Mills, rounded out by music from Barbara Jordan. What's not to love? Read on for details...

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It’s All In The Approach

There are two types of cooking, and one of them brings passion to the plate, according to Chef Eric Patterson. He and Jen Blakeslee, co-owners of The Cooks' House in Traverse City, are planning a cookbook, and he shares his thoughts about the process in today's post on his blog.

"I'm a bit nervous to say the least," he writes. "Jen and I don't want to write just another collection of recipes. We want to write a cookbook that teaches people how to cook from within themselves."

CSA Fall: week 3 (1/2 share)

This week's share contains:
Mixed Greens
Sweet Corn
Apples
Onions
Grapes

A look at NW Michigan Wine Industry

Joel Goldberg's blog entry on the state of and prospects for the wine industry in NW Michigan.

March of Dimes Chef’s Dinner

Great event supporting an even better cause. Check out the 6th annual dinner at the Hagerty Center on Wednesday, October 1st.

CSA Fall: week 2 (1/2 share)

This week's share contains:

Swiss Chard
Melon
Mizuna greens
Arugula
Mixed Greens
Sweet Corn
Peaches
Tomatoes
Grapes
Jalepenos peppers

I'm told that the arugula is spicy and makes a terrific pizza topping!

Trio of tasting rooms to open in Leelanau

Cari Noga writes in her blog about three new tasting rooms opening in Leelanau. Just in time to enjoy the fall colors! They are Silver Leaf Vineyard and Winery, Tandem Ciders and Circa Estate Winery.

Traverse Bay Farms Voted America’s #1 Salsa 2nd Year in a Row

National awards and recognition just keeps coming to Traverse Bay Farms. The company won the top prize in the salsa category at the 2008 America's Best National Food Competition.

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Patterson on IPR

Check out this interview with Eric Patterson, chef at The Cooks' House, on Interlochen Public Radio. Bliss in a 19-seat restaurant!

Chef Worship Strikes

Chef Eric Patterson shares his starstruck encounter with Joyce Goldstein at last week's Epicurean Classic in a humorous read. "Starry eyed and all I must have looked the fool I felt," he writes. "I am an unabashed chef groupie and I would have let out a teenage girl-seeing the Beatles for the first time-scream, had I not caught myself."

McKibben calls us to action. Push 350!

Bill McKibben, one of the world's leading experts on climate change, recently paid a visit to Traverse City to galvanize action to reduce carbon emissions as part of his new global movement 350.org. He shared his vision of what the world would look like after we get past our dependency on cheap fossil fuels, and it looked pretty darn attractive. Part of the solution is to eat local foods, and I've included some of the highlights here. It's well worth listening to the speech in its entirety, which Michigan Land Use Institute recently put online.

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