Michigan Blueberry Smash Cocktail

It's Cocktail Week! A special thanks to Allison (that was hard to type, I really want to say Mrs. Powell) at Decadent Philistines Save the World for letting me join in the "week" games. Mrs. P was the young, hip teacher at my high school a few years back. I loved hanging out in her classroom talking shoes and gawking at her mad cake decorating skills. 

Now for some libations. . .

Despite enjoying several new cocktails over the past year, this was my first adventure in cocktail making. I decided to make a cocktail featuring Michigan berries. I've been fortunate to enjoy several Michigan fruits this season already - black cherries, raspberries, and blueberries - despite the damage the fruit crop here has incurred.  I settled on a half pint of itty bitty blueberries at the Farmer's Market and was able to snag some locally grown mint as well for this Blueberry Smash cocktail from Bon  Appétit. 

I halved the original recipe and swapped Elderflower soda for the pricier Elderflower liqueur, using equal parts soda and vodka.

To make this unbelievably easy drink, you'll need lemon, lime, berries, mint, and the aforementioned, vodka and soda. 

SMASH!

As the name implies, you'll need to smash the fruit and mint together (best part, aside from drinking it) before adding vodka, soda and ice. Voilà!

My taste testers and I found this drink incredibly refreshing on a hot Michigan afternoon! I have plans for another batch this weekend. Perhaps I will switch up the berries? I may also add a pinch of sugar or drizzle of agave - the early season berries seemed a little tart.

Thirsty for more? Check out what the other lovely ladies of Cocktail Week have stirred up:

- Megan @ Wanna Be A Country Cleaver: Raging Aztec Frappe

- Allison @ Decadent Philistines Save the World: Peach Pie Prosecco "Palmer"& Radlermass

- Kat @ Tenaciously Yours: Amaretto Sours

- Carrie @ Bakeaholic Mama: Raspberry Thyme Tom Collins

- Kristen (Fellow Michigander!) @ Comfortably Domestic: Traverse City Cherry Mojito

- Katie @ Hill Country Cook: Watermelon Mojo

- Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain: La Paloma

Be sure to visit La Petite Pancake to see what Mads has made today, and tomorrow visit Jeanne at Inside NanaBread's Head.  

Blueberry Smash Cocktail (serves three 20-something girls)

adapted from Bon Appétit

- 1 lemon, sliced

- 1 lime, sliced

- 1/2 cup of blueberries

- 1/4 cup of loose packed mint leaves

- 3/4 cup of vodka

- 3/4 cup of elderflower soda 

Muddle lemon, lime, blueberries and mint in a large pitcher. Stir in vodka, soda and 1 cup of ice cubes.

Good Food Jobs Day: Ann Arbor

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there obsessed with Good Food Jobs. A clean site design, good interviews with food folk, an awesome Tuesday newsletter and tons of foodie dream jobs - what more could a girl ask for?

Recently the site's founders suggested hosting meetups worldwide on June 16th to celebrate three years since the site was thought up and launched. They made it really easy to organize a meetup in your own community via meetup.com. I decided to organize the Ann Arbor meetup and pushed the information out through a few local foodie groups (in hindsight, I should have pushed more!). The day had an ice cream theme as the site's founders conceived the idea of the site over ice cream three years ago.

On Saturday I headed over to Iorio's Gelateria near campus to celebrate Good Food Jobs Day with some tasty gelato and food system talk. I was expecting about six people, one person came (and Carrie - an Iorio's employee - jumped in for a bit). Iorio's is really the perfect place for an event like this one. The business started exclusively as a catering business in 2004 and last year they opened their Ann Arbor location (there is another in Lansing, MI). The young owners really seem value the opinions of both their customers and employees; new gelato flavors are concocted from customer and employee suggestions. In addition, Carrie and I discussed briefly how the employees have the opportunity to jump into projects that both interest them and benefit the business.

Salted carmel, chocolate and fig, and chocolate ginger gelato all snuggled together. 

I indulged in a vanilla hazelnut cappuccino and a little gelato while there and jumped into talking with Aaron about our interests in working in the food systems. Ironically, Aaron and I took a class together and he grabs lunch at my work from time to time but I never knew of our similar interests in food issues. We talked about things going on in our community that are creating a stronger local food system and discussed creating a food book club for recent grads, young professionals, etc.  Finally, we talked about easy things everyone can do to change the food system.

I'm tentatively planning on organizing a similar event in the near future. I know there were people out there who couldn't make it and I would love to talk to them more about this topic. Are you in the Ann Arbor area and interested in talking more about building a better food system? Reach out!

We'll now return to our regularly scheduled programming. . .

There's just no good way to start a blog post after a six month hiatus (I guess this is a start). I'm just going to let that first sentence be satisfactory and provide short description of the past few months, in no particular order, so we can get back to munching on here.

• I graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Michigan! (I also happen to be on the lookout for a job with an environment-food-sustainability-people kind of focus. ;))

A cold, rainy Ann Arbor morning with lifelong bestie, Abby!

• Visited my older sister in DC with my younger sister and our friend whose name is also Madeline. 

• Met Jenna of Eat, Live, Run in Ann Arbor. . .twice. First at a meet-up she organized and then the following day when she wandered into my workplace. 
• Speaking of workplace, I now know significantly more about cheese, wine and the like since the last time we talked.
• I had cereal for dinner tonight, again. I promise breakfast and lunch have been better.  

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

Alternate Titles: The Day I Ate Seven Cookies, or The Week Cookies Became a Diet Staple.

Over the past few weeks I have been participating in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. The swap, organized by two bloggers, resulted in over 600 people shipping cookies in and out of the U.S. Each participant sent out a dozen cookies to three other bloggers and received three dozen cookies in return.

Last Sunday evening I baked Martha Stewart's Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies to send to my matches in Ohio, Tennessee, and Connecticut. I had a little local inspiration. One of the food carts that popped up in Ann Arbor this year makes the most delicious vegan (although you would never know its vegan) Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies. My cookies weren't as spicy as my inspiration's were, but they had subtle kick. Here's the recipe I used,  only slightly adapted from Martha's version.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

from Martha Stewart

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, additional for dusting if desired

Mix flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper, set aside. Cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until smooth, then add eggs. Once mixed gradually add the flour mixture until fully incorporated. Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl mix remaining sugar, cinnamon and cayenne if desired, roll tablespoons of dough in this mixture before putting on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes in the oven, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. 


. . .and if you're participating in the cookie swap, package up your cookies and send!

After baking and sending my cookies, the exciting part came - receiving cookies. Ironically, the same day I sent my cookies I received two dozen cookies. Salty Sweet Cookies from Kiss My Whisk and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip MAGIC Cookies from Ma Vie en Rose. Both cookies were delicious, and both bloggers were nice enough to send along recipe cards. I can't wait to eat both of these again. Later in the week, I received my final shipment of cookies (as if I hadn't eaten enough already) from Girly Obsessions. These lovely gals sent along Barcelona Cookies, which are dark chocolate wafers with almonds and fleur de sel.

The cookie swap was really fun and something to look forward to amidst that wanting-to-fall-over-from-finals-frustration-and-exhaustion feeling. If your a blogger interested in participating next year, sign up here to receive notifications next year on the swap.

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

What is Madeline eating for dinner tonight? Leftovers. What is she eating for dinner tomorrow night? Leftovers. And the next night? Leftovers! (I know, I know, this thought crosses your mind every night.) Ribollita from 101 Cookbooks + Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce = Two recipes in two days designed for families of 4-6. It's truly a blessing in disguise though, this is a crazy week at school. 

Last night I made the penne pasta dish and invited my friend Caroline over for dinner. I found the recipe for this dish on Classico's website after receiving their new Light Creamy Alfredo to try as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's Program. The thought of pumpkin and alfredo was intriguing to me and I was pleasantly surprised by the finished product. The combination of light alfredo and pumpkin produced a thick looking, light sauce. I actually preferred the light alfredo to other alfredos I've tried which I usually feel just sit in my stomach. I would definitely make this again for a quick, crowd pleasing meal.

Since making this I've noticed a few bloggers making pumpkin mac and cheese. This also sounds delicious but I think I will wait until my shelf of in the refrigerator is visible again. 

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce and roasted carrots and parsnips.

Hope you are having a great week!

Saturday Morning @ the A2 Farmer's Market

Is there anything better then a cool, crisp fall morning at the Farmer's Market? I'm doubtful, but I suppose a cool, crisp fall morning at the market with family and friends would have been even better. There wasn't a cloud in the sky this morning when I walked over to the market, walking on the sunny side of the street of course. On my list was kale for soup I hope to make today or tomorrow, apples, and the rest subject to market finds. I ended up walking away with kale, acorn squash, salad greens, sage, apples, roasted chestnuts and an Algerian pastry, for a total of $16. I am so lucky to live so close to a great market. I plan to take full advantage the rest of the year, since I have no idea where I will be ending up after this (school) year.

As silly as it sounds, I attribute some of my favorite new things at the market to the the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market Twitter account. I would have never learned about Al Meida, a producer of the most delicious Algerian Pastries (my personal favorites are Caak, picture below, and the Kaab el Gahzal). 

And I certainly wouldn't have given a second look, or even looked for the vendor roasting chestnuts at the market today had it not popped up on Twitter. Two dollars for a generous portion of roasted chestnuts seemed like quite a deal. There gone now, sad, but they'll be back at the market on December 10th. 

Silly I know, but it is kind of cool how social media makes it way into seemingly non-technological sectors. I find myself reading about things and connecting with people that I otherwise would not have. I, without a doubt, waste to much time on Facebook and Twitter but it turns out to be an effective waste time. :) Or at least that is what I'll keep telling myself...

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

Not too much blog worthy cooking going on the past few days. Food getting me through the days has included turkey sandwiches, roasted and raw veggies, apples, pears, bagels (lots of bagels), Halloween candy, Chinese food and other random unhealthy things. I'm hoping to simultaneously shift my (as of late) unhealthy eating habits and gets lots of other stuff done this week. But on to something really exciting. . .

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! I learned about the swap on Twitter as follower of Lindsay of Love & Olive Oil (who is one of the organizers of the swap). About 500 food bloggers have signed up to participate so far. The way it works is I will be given three names and addresses to send cookies to (and three different bloggers will receive my information as well). I'll send cookies to them by a certain date and receive cookies from other bloggers as well. I will be blogging about the swap in early December - so watch for the post!

If you are a food blogger interested in participating, sign up here by November 15th.

All I have left to do is test a few cookies recipes. I'm sure my roommates won't mind.