Peony Festival. Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor. May 23, 2012
This is the 90th anniversary of the donation of peonies to the University. The peonies are beautiful this year, and are in full bloom.
Last night, the Confusious Institute at the University of Michigan sponsored a concert featuring selection of Chinese songs about flowers and their roles in Chinese culture performed by the Xiangyin Choir.
Stopping by the Arb, and hearing the music, was certainly a nice treat after work.
Ice Cream and Beer Tasting. May 22, 2012
A new food trend, I suppose. I went to an ice cream and beer tasting last night. Actually, it was better than expected.
Favorite: Salted Caramel with almond garnish ice cream and Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier (because the ice cream was amazing).
Awful: Curry Banana Bread ice cream and Plank Bavarian Dunkler Weizenbock (banana curry ice cream AND banana scented beer. Yuck)
Better than expected: Blue Cheese ice cream with a stuffed blue cheese olive and Rogue John Juniper Ale-aged in spruce gin barrels (ice cream actually wasn’t bad, and the beer was good).
Pictured above: Mango sorbet and Bells Oarsman.
Beer and ice cream. Not all bad.
May 20, 2012. A pretty good Sunday.
We had a pretty good Sunday this past weekend. We have a smaller yard now, but still have lots of planting to do, between home and work. We went to Schwartz Greenhouse and bought $350 worth of flowers, and will still need to go back to get more vegetables and flowers for the rest of the gardens that we haven’t tackled yet.
The mild spring weather meant the weeds in the perennial bed were waist high by the time I got to them yesterday! It was quite a chore to get it all weeded. I managed alright though, and spent most of the afternoon weeding. Before dinner, I was lucky enough to get all 12 perennials planted in the front bed. Now, I just have to find the time to get the rest of the plants in the ground. It’s just a matter of finding enough time in the day to get it all done.
A painted turtle was my companion most of the afternoon. It was facinating watching her dig her nest and lay her eggs. Now, you cannot even tell where she was digging. It’s totally camouflaged. Mother nature is amazing.
We had a house guest, Bailey, over the weekend, and I bought the boys matching collars ( as the picture of them all lined up, patiently waiting to be released for their treats, tries to show). Because they are so furry, you can’t really see the collars, but they are cute, none the less.
After dinner, I took the three of them for a walk. After they settled down, we did pretty good with the excursion. Ted said he when he came back from taking Grandma home he saw us on the road and wondered who the crazy woman with three white dogs was, and then recognized it was me. All in a day’s work around here…
We had a great day with perfect weather, a lovely dinner, and a nice evening.
The weekends always go to fast, don’t they?
2May 17, 2012 and forever.
Overplayed? Amelia says she cannot listen to this one more time. Say this is not true…
C’ est impossible.
(Needs the big screen. If it won’t play, look at it on the dashboard. For your viewing pleasure. Popcorn optional-with real butter only. No substitutions…)
1 Mother’s Day 2009. At Silver Lake looking for wildflowers.
1
Contrast in texture and color. Saturday, May 5, 2012.
40’s era Chevy. Love the contrast in texture and color.
2
Back in the groove. May 5, 2012.
Everyone is probably focusing on the Kentucky Derby or Cinco de Mayo. I, however, am simply back in the Saturday groove.
We will be attending the 203 party this afternoon, and have Dinner Club tomorrow. So, in preparation, my morning was my typical Saturday:
Drive to a coffee shop for coffee and a pastry-like item to start the day, the farmer’s market (A2 today), thrift store finds, grocery shopping, and a nice lunch at home.
The farmer’s market had a nice selection today. Since we have Dinner Club tomorrow, I had a very specific list of items and found everything on my list, and then some. See the photo above for the highlights. Note the best find: a paella pan at Value World, like new condition for $3.92. We saw new ones last night at Barnes for $45. Not bad.
In additon to the paella pan, my best thrift store finds include 12 albums. I’ve already listened 5 albums since I got home (some I only sampled. Enough said.) which include the Soviet Army Chorus and Band Soldier’s Songs (actually quite good. Powerful), and two compilations: English Cats and Others (one favorite track with Van Morisson as the lead singer of Them singing Gloria), and Ktel’s Vintage Rock (1980) with Santana, Steppenwolf, Jethro Tull and too many other tracks to mention. Solid. I have a full afternoon of listening. All for under $15.
So, even though we have only been home two weeks since our Paris trip, Paris is just a memory today. I love every day for what it is.
Don’t get me wrong, Paris, however, is a great place to be…next year again maybe? We can only hope.
Until then: Detroit*-the Paris of the West. Not bad.
*and surrounding areas, of course.
1
Caffé Vito, Paris. April 16, 2012.
We popped into this restaurant in the 4e for a quick lunch last Monday. We had a marvelous pizza and salad, with a nice carafe of Montepulciano. The pizza had an egg cooked on the top, and it was delicious.
At this restaurant, the pizza was for one person, and it isn’t sliced at all, you eat it by yourself with a knife and fork. The pizza and salad were each huge, so we shared both the pizza and salad as inconspicuously as possible!
I’ve been thinking about it since we got home, and will try to make it tonight.
Here’s the dough recipe from the latest issue of Fine Cooking. We tried the dough a few weeks ago, and it is very good.
As for the topping, I think you make the pizza like you normally would, and 5 minutes before it’s done, you take it out, break the egg in the middle, and put it back in the oven. We may make 2 small pizzas instead of the one large one since it is difficult to slice with that egg there. Always fun to find something new, especially in a place where you didn’t expect to find it. Pizza in Paris. Who knew?
Make Ahead Pizza Dough
1-3/4 cups lukewarm water (about 100°F)
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
1-1/2 tsp. dry yeast (fast-rising or active dry)
1-1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
19 oz. (4-1/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
Pour the water into a 3-quart bowl or large, lidded plastic food container. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the oil, salt, yeast, and sugar. Don’t worry about dissolving all of the ingredients; just stir well to combine. Don’t bother “proofing” the yeast, either—it shouldn’t fail if used before its expiration date.
Add the flour and mix until uniformly moist. The dough will be quite wet; no kneading is necessary.
Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap or partially cover the plastic container (leave the lid open a crack to let gases escape). Let the dough rise for 2 hours at room temperature. The dough will fully expand and may even begin to collapse within this time.
Do not punch down this dough—it will collapse on its own and later shrink while it chills in the refrigerator; it will never regain its height, and that’s OK.
Refrigerate the dough, loosely covered, for at least 3 hours before using.
The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. After 2 days, tightly cover the dough in its bowl with plastic wrap to keep the surface of the dough from drying out. You can also freeze the dough in well-wrapped 1/2-lb. balls for up to 3 weeks. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
The Champagne Region. April 19, 2012.
We spend a wonderful Thursday on our trip by renting a car and driving from Paris first to Reims, then to Epernay
Getting out of Paris by car was one of the most terrifying things I have ever done. Six or more streets circle around a “place” (similar what we call a round-a-bout) with cars, motorcyles and scooters entering and exiting without regard to rules. It’s amazing more people don’t get killed or injured on Paris streets. Driving in Paris is not for the faint of heart.
Once we were on the expressway, the traffic was bumper to bumper for awhile, but it was bearable. Eventually the traffic eased, and we were on our way. We easily found Reims thanks to the GPS in the car. Other than not understanding the verbal directions because they were in French, the GPS helped a great deal. I would not travel without it.
It was a whirlwind of a trip to the area, with a quick tour of the magnificent Catherdal in Reims, a tour of Mumm Champagne seeing their caves, and back on the road for a quick bite and a some Champagne in Epernay, and finishing the trip by taking the small roads home through lovely, quaint, small villages where the grapes are grown.
The highlight of the trip was passing through the small villages, seeing the pruned hills with acre after acres of vines, looking at the astounding color of the golden colza in the fields, and admiring the interesting architecture. It was well worth the effort it took to get there.
Ted even managed to park on the street once we got back to our hotel, which is a feat in itself. Not only are the parking places on the street impossible to find, they are also miniscule. But, he aced it and found not only a spot, but managed to squeeze it artfully into the spot.
A trip to Champagne is a worthy side trip from Paris. I can hardly wait to visit other wine growing regions…Burgundy next?
2Paris views. April 15-21.
Of course there are the iconic landmarks of Paris that we have all seen many times. Different parts of the city provide different views of the landmark, such as the view of the Eiffel Tower from a boat on the Seine, the tower as seen from the Jardins du Trocadero, compared to the view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.
When we were walking around I took in the overall view, but didn’t forget to take in the small details all around me, like the detail in lion scupture at the Jacquemart Andre Museum, a flower sign above a shop, or the ornately carved door in the Marais.
What a wonderful city to explore and what a marvelous amount of images to absorb.
2
