Puzzled: When Food Could Be Art

I can't be the only one that thinks this would make a beautiful puzzle, yes? It would be hard, but what a lovely image to stare at on a rainy afternoon.

I took this photo last week at Cedar Sol Hydro Farm in Cedar, Michigan. I came for the tacos, but I was captivated by the tomatoes. The farm is king this time of year and I am a happy subject.  

Honeycomb and Roasted Grapes Make For A Luscious Cheese Tray

Want to know the #1 thing I look for at a farm stand or farmer's market? Honeycomb. A beautiful block of "made by the bees" honeycomb.  A marvel of nature that I don't think gets the admiration it deserves.  The structure is beautiful, the contents delicious and it is made by instinct - fascinating.

I bought one of these clear boxes of honeycomb (above) at the Shadowland Seed booth within the Sara Hardy Farmer's Market in Traverse City.  It was of the highest quality and I served it several times with cheeses and roasted grapes on an appetizer tray.

Roasted grapes, you say?  Yes, a new favorite of mine to keep appetizer hour interesting.  This particular night, I roasted seedless red grapes on the vine. Placed a piece of nonstick aluminum foil on a rimmed cookie sheet, wash and then drape the grape clusters onto the tray, drizzled them with a touch of olive oil and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar and roast the grapes at 450 degrees for approx 8-10 min - watching closely.

The grapes were delicious - very lush and sweet; they took on the flavor of a roasted apple, believe it or not.  I did find that "plucking" the roasted grape from the stem often resulted in loosing the inside of the grape - the skin came off but the flesh clung.  

Now I remove most of the grapes from the vine and roast them scattered on a cookie sheet, with just one small clump left on the vine for effect.  That makes the grapes much easier to pick up and eat.  

The next time you are hosting a party, try roasting grapes! Thanksgiving, perhaps?  

Leelanau Peninsula: A Classic Summer Moment

I brought a friend up north to Leland with me for a few days and while we were there we made 3 batches of homemade strawberry jam.  Yum!  We had barely started our 5-hour drive back home when we came upon a farm stand on County Road 651 with a van idling in front.  Strawberries!

A flat of strawberries instantly became the perfect souvenir from our time up north.  I pulled over and we shouted greetings to the girl delivering boxes of strawberries right from the field.  As my friend grabbed her purse and climbed out of the car, the girl in the van drove away.  "Where is she going? I really wanted strawberries," my friend said with dismay.

I showed her the cash box and the price sheet.  The look on her face told me that she hadn't seen a farm stand with the honor system ever.  It was a great moment, really, because coming from the hustle-bustle of a city, it shows that people are good and can be trusted.  Chose your box of berries, consult the price sheet, pull out the right amount of money, drop it in the cash box. 

That feeling you get is called satisfied customer.

Artists Everywhere

Saturday afternoon on a little dirt road, I found a farm stand gallery. Each pumpkin was displayed just so.  There were dried herb bouquets pinned up like a garland.  Even the walls of the stand were lined with burlap to set off the colors in each little vignette. The owner of this stand is truely an artist - making her little corner beautiful - letting each passer-by see the world as she does.