St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette, Michigan at dawn

Also caught St. Peter Cathedral during this morning’s golden hour. Mornings like this in Winter here feel rare (cloudy, intense shades of grey, or snowing more often than not).

Marquette, Michigan’s historic Ore Dock framed by a vivid peach-colored sunrise sky, with a snowy foreground.

Beautiful sunrise this morning at nearly 8am. Added a nice highlight to the old Ore Dock.

Prep: Slice 1 fennel bulb, 1 large clove of garlic, 1 jalapeño, 1 shallot Chop 1 yellow bell pepper, a handful of cilantro Cut morel mushrooms in half lengthwise, cut a handful of grape tomatoes in half Peel and grate a thumb-sized piece of ginger Trim asparagus Juice two lemons

Mushroom risotto: We used dried morels. Soak in hot water for 30 mins to rehydrate, then drain/rinse prior to cutting them in half lengthwise. Heat 3tbsp butter in a pan on medium-low heat until melted. Add 1tbsp minced garlic and sautee for about 1-2 mins. Add mushroom slices and sautee for another 3-5 mins (until tender). Set cooked mushrooms to one side. Rest of risotto recipe is at link below (add mushrooms at the end): https://www.afamilyfeast.com/mushroom-risotto/

We used frozen scallops. After thawing, the scallops (12) were marinated in a mixture of half of the lemon juice, the grated ginger, salt and pepper for about 30 mins In a cast iron skillet, heat 3tbsp of butter on medium-low heat until melted. Add the sliced fennel bulb. Cook until it starts to soften. Move the fennel to the outer edge of your skillet, and place your scallops into the pan. Place the shallot, yellow bell pepper, tomatoes, and jalapeños on top. Cover and let it cook about 6-7 mins. Uncover, then use tongs to flip all the scallops (move veggies if you need to for direct contact between scallop and pan). Add 1/4 cup white wine. Cover and cook for about 5 more minutes. As a final step, turn the broiler on your oven to high during this last 5mins of cooking. Uncover the skillet after 5 mins, then move to top rack of oven under the broiler. Keep a close eye on it with the oven door cracked. Once you notice scallop tops browning and edges of veggies crisping, it’s ready.

The asparagus: Take 3 thin asparagus stalks, wrap around the middle with one uncooked strip of bacon, and spear the bundle together with a toothpick that has soaked in water for 5 mins. We have a Philips Indoor Smokeless Grill that we keep next to our stove. The asparagus and scallops take about the same amount of time, so I did both, while my wife worked on the risotto. I turned the asparagus bundles on the grill once, halfway through the process, and seasoned with salt/pepper/lemon juice while they were on the grill. The cilantro was used to garnish the scallops after plating.

A tandem recipe for cooking with a partner (recipes in alt text). Scallops, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and mushroom risotto… we got fancy for a special occasion.

I’d recommend one partner take on the scallops and asparagus as the cooking time is roughly the same, and another be the risotto stirrer. 🍽️

In this case it was quick and easy. We had an open jar on hand in the fridge. If I’d had a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger freshly grated, I’d have happily used it.

I so often do this with jars of minced garlic, too. Could crush/mince my own, but it’s just too easy/convenient sometimes.

We have quite a cookbook collection. Enjoy just reading them sometimes. Can inspire something even days or weeks later. Might run across a fresh ingredient and run with an idea I otherwise wouldn’t have had thanks to browsing.

Very cool. Thanks!

Prep work: Chop 1 large shallot, and half a small onion Peel an entire head of garlic, trim and cut the cloves into large chunks Chop three carrots into rounds Juice a lemon

Prepping spice mix: Grind 1tsp mustard seed, 1tsp caraway seed, 1 tsp coriander Add 1 tbsp Garam Masala, 1tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/4tsp fenugreek, 1/8tsp ground cloves, 1/8tsp chili powder (I used Guajillo) Have a star anise pod, a cinnamon stick, and three curry leaves on hand

In a large pot heat 1tbsp mustard oil and 1tbsp coconut oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot, drop in three boneless/skinless chicken thighs. Brown on both sides. Remove chicken from pot, dry, and place on cutting board. Add 3 curry leaves to hot oil still in pot. Stir for about 1 min. Add onion/shallot to pot and stir/mix. Reduce heat to medium-low. Once onions/shallots soften, add 1tbsp of minced garlic and 1tbsp of ginger paste, stir/mix. Add in carrots and large chopped chunks of garlic cloves. Cover pot and let the vegetables simmer. Slice chicken on the cutting board into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to the pot, add in ground spices, stir/mix thoroughly, and re-cover pot to allow mix to simmer. After 5 mins, go to recipe steps on final photo.

After uncovering pot, add a can of coconut cream, 3/4 cup crushed tomatoes, and 1 cup water. Leave uncovered over medium-low heat until it starts bubbling. Add in cinnamon stick and star anise pod. Cover pot and let it simmer on low heat. The longer you cook on low heat, the more all the flavors meld, but it’s ready to go after an hour. We serve over basmati rice made in a rice cooker.

We don’t have a local Indian restaurant. I miss Indian food. We like to experiment with different spice blends and vegetables and do different curries every once in awhile. Slightly more prep work than many of our meals, but worth the effort. Recipe in alt-text. We enjoyed this one.

Great ideas. Have used one of those thermometers before, but don’t have one of my own. Really helpful for unfamiliar offset smokers, where I don’t know how it propagates and retains heat. Have been meaning to order one. Will have to give it a try on a weekend when I’ve got extra time.

🍽️ Our dinner recipe got me thinking. I usually ignore oven temp/time suggestions in recipes. All ovens are different. Target an internal temp for the food.

Our oven sweet spot for poultry/pork is 350F, and I build my recipes around that. Likewise, for my smoker pit I like 275F. Experimenting is fun

Roast veggies: Quarter (or eighths) a red onion and a fennel bulb, place in roasting pan. Chop three carrots into rounds (I like to leave the skin on), add to pan. Halve and remove seeds/strings from a delicata squash, then slice into half-moon rounds and add to pan. Coat bottom of pan in equal parts mixture of chicken or vegetable stock, mixed with Marsala, until bottom of pan is just covered. Crack salt and pepper over veggies. Roast at 350F/175C for ~1:45 (or desired crispiness). I do veggies on bottom rack with duck just above. The liquid layer absorbs into the veggies, and you get a mix of soft interior and crispy edges. All ovens are different, so finding your ideal temp/rack settings may take experimenting.

Roast duck: Halve two lemons, and stuff duck with the lemon halves (mandarins/clementines also work). In a measuring cup add 1/4 cup white cooking wine, 1/4 cup Marsala (or Sherry or flavored vinegar of choice), 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (or preferred umami flavor), and 1/4 cup light, pourable honey (or molasses/sugary syrup of choice). Stir until blended. Pour 3/4 cup over duck in roasting pan, ensuring you get a good amount into central cavity w/lemons. Drizzle skin with additional honey, then crack salt/pepper over it. Roast at 350F/175C for ~1:45 (until internal temp of duck is 165F/75C). About an hour in I briefly take the duck out and pour the remaining 1/4 cup of liquid in the measuring cup over it.

🍽️ Last night’s dinner. Simple roast duck and veggies. Recipes in alt text. Temps/times are specific to our oven, but you may already know the sweet spot for poultry and veggies in yours.

Kind of a salt/fat/acid/umami approach to flavoring.

Sometimes it acts like a lake, sometimes it acts like a sea, and sometimes it acts like an angry sea that’s been possessed. I’m convinced that Superior has moods instead of weather.

A Jeep Cherokee on tracks known as “Chaga Tracker,” for accessing off-road areas in winter to find Chaga

We are just getting started with this mushroom 🍄 stuff, but inoculated a shiitake log at the beginning of Fall. Slowly getting drawn in. There’s a guy up here with a Jeep Cherokee on tracks for Winter Chaga hunting. Sells his stuff locally. Goes great in coffee.

A Fox News infographic depicting Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as part of Canada

Some of us are even connected to Wisconsin. Although the media struggles with this. With snow on the ground, it’s now a long wait until May for (hopefully) morels.

Full moon over Lake Superior

A long-exposure shot of clouds over Lake Superior at night, with moonshine and the aurora backlighting the clouds.

Aurora Borealis is over Lake Superior. Mostly shades of green.

Fun with long exposures. Caught the aurora before the moon rose and outshined it.

A pink/tangerine sunset over snowy terrain

If it’s going to get dark at 5, at least nature put on a show first.

20F (-7C) and windchill of 7F (-14C) this morning. A few flakes of lake effect ❄️ drifting in from a nearby band. NW wind snowbelts get it today, so we are mostly passive spectators (need N or NE winds here). I actually enjoy this point in late Fall. The transition between colors and ❄️ can be bleak.

A dusting of snow covers the dunes along Lake Superior’s shoreline. The full moon is visible just above the horizon.

A full moon visible at dawn above Marquette, Michigan

Snow is starting to stick to the dunes. Winter is on its way. Nice full moon visible at dawn this morning.

Thank! Got tired of the snowplow guy driving through my potato patch, and decided to formalize it as a small garden. Big box store happened to have a pallet of western red cedar fence posts on clearance this Spring. Has some L and flat brackets for stability, with metal stakes through the postholes.

Pastel pink tones in the sky over Lake Superior at sunset

Took a break from the electronic world. Lovely sunset colors this evening. For whatever reason, in Winter the sunset colors briefly concentrate in the NE sky on the rare uncloudy days. My WAG is it’s something to do with low sun angle and reflection off the lake, but whatever causes it, it’s cool.

Beautiful kohlrabi!

Good to know! Am going to try again with onions/leeks next year. Have had limited success so far (potatoes, beans, peas, peppers and tomatoes have been my most successful outdoor grows so far).

Planning a new raised bed in the Spring. Hopefully they will thrive there.

Patchy snow covers a garden plot

And that’s the official closing bell for gardening season 2023. 🌱 ❄️

National Weather Service Area Forecast Discussion for October 30-31: “- Bands of moderate to heavy snow will shift south over Ontonagon/Gogebic Counties late tonight into Tuesday morning, which could result in travel difficulties. - Additional bands of moderate or briefly heavy snow are expected to develop over the north-central and eastern Lake Superior shoreline counties during the late morning into the afternoon hours, possibly lingering into the evening in Marquette County.”

Seems like a proper Halloween forecast. Here comes the ❄️

1. Core, slice, and chop approximately 10 cups of fresh pears. Marinate in a large mixing bowl with juice of three medium lemons.

2. We use an automatic jam maker that heats/stirs, but this can also be done in a pot on the stove. Add marinated pears and heat (medium-low if stove) approximately 5 minutes. 3. Add 4 cups granulated sugar (I used maple sugar),16 tbsp pectin, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground mace, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp salt. 4. Pour in 1 cup apple cider, 1/4 cup unsweetened cherry juice (I used Montmorency cherry juice), 2 tsp vanilla extract. 5. Cook down (stir regularly if on stovetop) for about 25 additional minutes (medium-low heat on stove).

6. We used a water-bath canner after filling five 10 oz jars. The remainder could have filled another three jars, but was set aside and refrigerated to make pear pastries.

🍽️ Still have a lot of pears, but making some spiced pear preserves put a bit of a dent in the pear bucket. Recipe in Alt Text. Looking forward to having some of this over Winter.

Roasted Brussels sprouts and Carmen Peppers: Wash, trim, and slice (lengthwise) Brussels Sprouts, add to roasting pan. Wash, remove top & seeds, and slice (lengthwise) Carmen Peppers, add to roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil and hot honey over vegetables in roasting pan. 1/4 tsp salt & pepper. Mix everything well in the pan, place in 375F oven for 40-50 mins (until outer part of Brussels Sprouts are crispy) Sprinkle truffle salt before serving.

🍽️ Made some roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carmen Peppers as a snack. Under an hour. Recipe in alt text.

A 5 gallon bucket mostly filled with Comice pears

Fully ripe Comice pear, fresh from the tree

Cored, sliced Comice pear, sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with honey

Dropped below freezing briefly last night. Rigged up an extension to the fruit picker and got nearly another 5gal bucket of 🍐 from the top of the tree. Today’s project is spiced pear jam, but couldn’t resist carving up a perfectly ripe pear for a snack.

Fall colors and the waters of the Tahquamenon River under a blue sky with a few clouds. Part of the Lower Falls is visible at center-left.

Vibrant yellow Fall colors at Tahquamenon Falls State Park

Tahquamenon Falls upper falls, with Fall colors along the banks of the river, under a blue sky with scattered clouds

A bright yellow tree at Tahquamenon Falls State Park

Made it out to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Was not disappointed. Perfect crisp Fall day. 🍁

Fall colors along the shoreline of Munising, Michigan

Bright Fall colors along M28 in Munising, Michigan

Beautiful Fall colors in Munising today. Hoping for similar color at Tahquamenon Falls

It’s the time of year when I start reading the National Weather Service Area Forecast Discussion daily. Looks like it’s time to put the snow tires back on the car. ❄️

A typo, LOL. Should read maple sugar. Any dark sugar (brown, coconut, etc) should work