Tasty Travelling

I have great news! There has been a ton of cooking as of recent, as I have officially taken on my first client as an (unofficial) personal chef and I could not be more pleased!

However, as I am still a student and working thirty hours a week, plus still becoming accustomed to being a new home owner, I have not had the foresight to take pictures of what I have been making. I know right? Perfect opportunities and no sense whatsoever to photograph any of it.  Not that I am making excuses, I am simply not help-able sometimes. This is one of those times. Fear not, I have a sticky note on my fridge right now to remind me to record my escapades in the kitchen this weekend.

I do, however, have pictures of my family's recent trip to Michigan to share with you all. So vacation vicariously to the northern trip of the mitten state and tune later on this weekend for a much more detailed synopsis of my escapades in my new (!) kitchen.

Here we go. Grab the keys. Buckle in. Head north.

We went to Michigan the week before my mom's birthday, and on our way back home we stopped at a fruit stand on the road side and picked up these Michigan cherries.

When we arrived home, I made her this birthday dessert!

Michigan cherry compote over vanilla  bean frozen yogurt, topped with toasted almonds, and garnished with crisp pastry.

Also on our way home, we stopped by the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit - which was absolutely amazingly fascinating. I think my dad loved it most of all of us though, being the gear head that he is.

A modern day slow plow on the front of a cargo train. Notice the plow's size in comparison to my six foot dad standing next to it... utterly amazing!

 We had the opportunity to find out what find of car we would be based on our personalities. I, according to this very scientific index, would be a 1956 Ford Thunderbird Convertible. I'll take on in blue please!

I don't know if any of you watch Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network with Guy Fierie, but my family and I love it, so we took in one of Guy's finds while in Michigan called the Clarkston Union Bar and Kitchen. It was absolutely fabulous, and only two people manned the completely visible kitchen for what looked like 100 seats, so I was dully impressed and gitty. Check out their webpage for their menu: http://www.clarkstonunion.com/#!/main

Dad got their sausage sampler (which I, of course, tried all three) with a warm potato salad. They make all their own sausages and thus this is what they are known for, so when you go, check out this plate.

Shelby, being the smart culinarian that she is, order a special, which was nothing more than a cracker crust pizza topped with mashed potatoes, bacon bits, cheese, and ranch dressing. Does Shelby know how to order or what?

 Charlevoix was one of the quaint yet incredibly charming lake towns we visited while up north. Known as one of the premiere yachting and sailing locations on this part of the globe, it was so neat to walk up and down the piers, talking to the boaters and gazing at their rigging and such. I, of course, acted like I knew exactly what I was doing and appreciated the what seemed like very hard work from afar with mixed consideration and appreciation.

We saw this food truck while in Charlevois, which was unfortunately closed when we came through, but I couldn't by-pass this sign without a picture.

I also had to snag a picture of this poster - all of the native flavors of Michigan. Cool, eh?

Even the rest stops in Michigan are beautiful! Seriously, I have never seen a prettier state.

Lastly, you will never guess what I got to cross off my bucket list while on this trip. Learn how to milk a cow? Nope. Keep a garden? Nope. Master driving a stick shift? Hardly. Nope, we all went ziplining! How freaking cool is that?! It was mom's idea, and this is something I have always wanted to do, so off we went to fly through the trees in the picturesque Michigan ski resort forests. Not only were the view spectacular, but the experience was something I have never felt before and will definitely be doing this again.

Afterwards, I treated myself to some victory food, as my first bucket list item had been checked off. Maybe next I will concentrate on paining a room in my house blue, or perhaps take guitar lessons. I shall keep you posted. 

Seared ahi tuna, seaweed salad, and umami dipping sauce with classic wasabi and pickled ginger accompaniments.