Photos

A couple weeks ago Liz finally had an entire weekend off so we went out of town and stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Marshall, Mi (which is apparently antique shop capital of the world. Seriously, like half the stores in the town.) The reason for picking Marshall is our all time favorite brewery, Dark Horse. They have some of our favorite beers including five stouts, two porters, a black bier and some great IPA's.

Not only do they have great beer, but amazing pizza too.
As usual, we took home a growler.



















The following day we stopped in Spring Arbor to see off Seth before he left for Germany. We had some smoked salmon his dad made and devoured a few growlers in the sun.

This is Seth's "I can't wait to get out of Spring Arbor" face.





He also busted out a really great port circa 1927. It was rich and creamy and tasted like really luscious raisins. When it comes to dessert wines I think I prefer late harvest Sauvignon Blancs and Sauterns, but this made me want to have port a little more often.










Then his parents made us a great early dinner of grilled lamb kabobs, ratatouille, lentils, and brown rice. To me, lamb is so much tastier than beef. It was a great spread.




Back at home, the most interesting thing I've cooked recently was some creamed Shitake and Portabella mushrooms with asparagus over farfalle. It was really earthy and delicious. We also had a bottle of Michigan Merlot from Lone Oak. I had this once before and was pretty impressed, but this time around I found it a little more mediocre. It has a big, fruity nose and strong notes of dark cherry. Still decent, especially for grapes grown in southern Michigan, but still leaving a little to be desired, although it may have just been overpowering the creamy pasta. It did open up well after a while and was good to drink after dinner.


















I suppose that's all for now.
Goodbye kittens.

Хайде на уикенд!

Summer weekends in Ypsi have been so great, it makes my Mondays-Thursdays drag a bit, but we won't focus on those days.



Seth leaves for Germany for another year in less than a week, so he (and his parents new puppy Kirby) came out one last time. Not only was I able to beat him in chess for the first time ever, but we also made a great dinner. We ran to the farmers market and food co-op, stopped by the Shadow Art Fair at the Corner Brewery and then started cooking.


I put together a fresh mushroom and Gruyere tart. It was rich and creamy with peppers and thyme. Seth manned the brussel sprouts and garlic scapes. I had never had scapes before, and I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. Too bad they only come out for a few weeks a year.












Luckily I was able to come across a solid bottle of Bordeaux to go along with dinner. I was really surprised to find this for under $15. 2005 has a reputation for being the best recent year for Bordeaux and for good reason. This mostly Merlot blend from Chateau Bertinerie was a well balanced, medium bodied red that went very well with food. For a while I was getting into big, fruit forward reds from California that smacked you in the face with tannins, but more and more I am enjoying old world, particularly French wines that are more earthy, subtle, and meant to be drank with a meal. This one met the criteria nicely.










This past weekend was the Michigan Brewer's Guild Beerfest at Riverside Park, which is about a block and a half from our house and where I walk my dog every day. Myself, Dan, Allison, and Quillen were able to volunteer at it for a few hours in exchange for free admission and beer. Quite a good deal.

Here we are, gearing up to give 5,000 people their cups and drink tokens. (Yes, they gave us beer before and during our shift.)



There were about 50 breweries from around the state, and a record number of people came.


I had a great time. And it's surreal to me that something this awesome happens less than a quarter mile from where I live. Here's hoping that the coming weekends are just as fun.