Admire A Garden Growing

Have you ever pulled off the road in order to photograph something? I couldn't resist this huge garden in the sunlight. There is a thriving business (farm, cafe, bakery) called 9 Bean Rows on the Leelanau peninsula. This is their farm and if bounty like this doesn't entice you to buy their produce, I don't know what will. Beautiful rows of rich soil and healthy green plants. 

Sometimes you need to stop and make the perishable permanent with a photograph. That is delight.

#momentsofdelight #photography #leelanaupeninsula #garden #vegetablegarden  

9 Bean Rows Pastries are a 10

It was the right thing to do.  When my dad and I stopped into the new 9 Bean Rows location in Lake Leelanau and saw their bakery case full of homemade French pastries, he said he thought that we should sit at a table and enjoy one right then. Amen.  

I had an apricot pinwheel and this sticky-chewy-buttery masterpiece got us talking about how it would be easier to turn down other pastries in the future, now that we have had the best. 

Did you notice the green magazine cover called "Edible Grand Traverse" in my photo (above)? I love this free foodie magazine that is printed by region (I found Edible Seattle in Washington) and spotlights the best and brightest in food and farms. Look for one in your area.

There are a lot of croissants and pastries in the world and I give you my word, the pastries at 9 Bean Rows rival the best I have ever had.

I also wanted you to see baker Jen's beloved baking books.  This is the well worn library of a master.  The most tattered cover belongs to The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg.  If you want to learn the craft, I would start here.

Leelanau County: 9 Bean Rows

Even the natural lighting makes the new 9 Bean Rows cafe in Suttons Bay feel French.  You see it too, right?

We were some of the first to eat at the new cafe.  I have been tracking down the 9 Bean Rows croissants for 2 summers now (remember this?) and when I heard that they were opening a lunch spot in a nearby town, I could hardly wait. 

My first lunch at 9 Bean Rows was a hot croque monsieur and an order of french fries with garlic aioli, that I shared with my friends. We savored our lunch and enjoyed a chance to linger.  This would be the perfect place to duck in some afternoon and have some wine, bread and cheese before a movie.  

I am really happy that another great restaurant has opened on the Leelanau Peninsula. Beautiful fresh bread, tender pastries and fresh-from-the-farm (their farm!) ingredients.  Simple and delicious.

Coffee and Croissants by 9 Bean Rows

Nope, it's not an egg yolk...it's an apricot!  It was Fourth of July weekend and we wanted to get out of the house and spend the morning at the farmer's market, but not before some coffee!

The luck was that there were still "9 Bean Rows" apricot pinwheels left at The Pedaling Beans coffeehouse in Lake Leelanau.  Yum yum yum yum yum.  I recently watched a baking show on making croissants from scratch and I can honestly say that it's never gonna happen.  Baking these kind of pastries from scratch is just too labor-intensive for me, so I will leave it to the experts!

All summer long, the 9 Bean Rows bakery drops off fresh croissants on certain days of the week (Weds, Fri, Sat?).  If you want to make sure that you get one, you can call and place your order ahead of time.  When the shipment comes in, they dole out the pastries into the pre-order bags.  That's why I felt lucky that there were some left when we came in on this particular Saturday!  

On other days I have placed an order, and there is something wonderful about walking up to the counter and seeing a bag that says, "Anne Reeves" on it.  It just makes me feel smart...and still pretty lucky.

A hot latte and a fresh apricot pinwheel...this is a moment of delight.