It’s cold and dark in the north country, and the cheery onslaught of tourists is many months away. But those of us who stick around through the winter still deserve to eat, and eat well. Thanks to a bevy of deals and discounts offered at local restaurants, we shall not starve.
From staff reports Firearm hunting season on Northern Michigan’s deer population commences on November 15, with leaves resting on the ground and a pre-winter chill hanging in the air. But Mike Walker, a retired educator at Glen Lake School and realtor at Coldwell Banker, has already been on the hunt for weeks. Walker and Greg […]
How our broken immigration system hurts Leelanau County farmers By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor Rosa Valenzuela and her family look forward to their annual trip up north, to see old friends, to prepare picnics in the park and to swim in Lake Michigan when the waters warm by mid-summer. But the Valenzuelas are not your […]
Nadine Gilmer narrates, and reflects on, the Northern Michigan autumn tradition of pressing apples to make apple cider. It’s hard to imagine apple cider making not being a community event. Aside from the sweet promise of fresh apple cider, this is a labor-intensive job. One person washes the apples while a couple of other cider-makers set up the press. Then one person holds the bowl at the end of the spout to make sure none of the juice is wasted. One feeds handfuls of apples into the machine while a sturdy volunteer turns the crank.
Corporate giants Huffington Post, owned by AOL, and food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill have collaborated on a new blog about food named Food for Thought. A small 18-year-old food company in Northern Michigan, however, trademarked the name Food for Thought years ago, and has been writing a blog about food for some time. Is this a case of a huge company stepping on the toes of a small business, or is it simply corporate oversight? Timothy Young, of Food for Thought, Inc, has launched a campaign to get his trademark recognized by the corporate giants.
From staff reports Schools throughout northwest Lower Michigan are cooking up locally grown foods for lunch this October as part of National Farm to School Month celebrations. In 2010, the United States House of Representatives declared October National Farm to School Month, recognizing the strong role Farm to School plays in promoting good health and […]
Once you know what it looks like, you see it everywhere — along roadsides, driveways, fences and the forest’s edge. The branches of Elaeagnus umbellate, a shrub more commonly known as Autumn Olive, droop over each other and create an umbrella of shade. Beginning in September, that umbrella is showered with small, olive-shaped, red berries which attract birds and wild food foragers.
Chef Jeff Colby tries to run out of fresh ingredients he prepares each day and serves from his food counter inside Horizons ‘n Sunsets, a new destination in Empire for food, gifts and fresh produce. “An all natural food experience,” is how Colby describes the business he owns and runs with Dick Colbath and Susan Mekula, and which opened July 1.
“Harvest is the long-awaited moment when we pluck plump, ripe fruit from the vines. The grapes are handpicked after long months of carefully tending to the vines to ensure a vintage of quality wines with the unique character for which our region is known for,” says Matt Gregory of Chateau de Leelanau and President of the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail. “It’s an exciting time in the winemaking process, and we invite you to celebrate with us during our Harvest Stompede event.”
It’s just after 7 a.m. and a milk-hauling truck is slowly climbing the gravel drive toward the milking parlor at Garvin Farms, north of Cedar. Two or three times a week, John and Anne Hoyt of Leelanau Cheese make the trek in their truck, aptly named “The Milky Way,” to the Garvins’ immaculately-kept dairy farm along Lakeshore Drive. Here, the Hoyts draw two test samples of the farm’s fresh milk from a stainless tank before loading the truck with what will soon be made into Swiss Raclette and, in summer, Fromage Blanc cheeses.