Breaking Out the State’s Finest Wines

with local wine expert Joel Goldberg!

A “Michigan wine” wine-tasting? Really? Yes. Hell to the yes! It’s time for the Mitten state to love it’s wines as much as the rest of the country loves our wines! Lately, mitten state winemakers have been rolling in gold medals and trophys at competitions from New York to California. Wines made from Rieslings, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc grapes are some of the nation’s tastiest cool-climate wines. Ask Barack Obama! He’s served Michigan Ice Wines at the White House—twice.

Please  join us at Hathaway’s Hideaway

310 South Ashley, on Tuesday, Nov. 9, from 6:30-9pm.

We’ll be tasting wines from eight of Michigan’s finest producers. In addition to a dry Leelanau sparkling wine, Old Mission Cabernet Franc, and a sweet Lake Michigan Shore ice wine, guests will also enjoy an assortment of foods, produced by top local chefs, including Eve Aronoff, from eve the restaurant; Brandon Johns from The Grange Kitchen and Bar; and Thad Gillies from Logan Restaurant, as well as from EAT and Tranche de Vie catering companies. Proceeds will benefit Selma Cafe’s development goals, including our 20 Hoops in 2o Days project for this summer.

The suggested donation for tickets is $60.   Reservations and pre-payment are required as space is limited.

Click here to make your reservation

or contact Lisa with any questions at lisa@selmacafe.org

or  734.417.1144

We are so excited, and look forward to seeing you there!

~Lisa

Lindsay-Jean Hard, and Cara and Karl Rosaen, of Real Time Farms, smashed the previous Selma Cafe record (156 guests) by 26 guests (that’s right, 26!).  If I had my calculator handy, I’d tell you the exact  percentage of  the smash.  But being the math-avoidant/word-lover that I am, I’ll tell you a story instead.  I’ll even throw in some pictures.  So settle in, and listen up.

Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, in a not so faraway land, a smart fellow and his bride (or, if you prefer, an amazing lady and her groom) who had travelled far and wide, decided to return to their village to reunite with family and friends,  in a place the peaceful inhabitants of the land sometimes called the Mitten.  This lovely young couple had a great idea for a way to share local, fresh produce and food from nearby farms, markets, dairies and mills with hungry townsfolk.  Along the way, they met up with an old friend, and the three of them set to work, sharing their message far and wide around their little village, and other small hamlets nearby, calling  their business Ye Olde Real Time Farms. (a little creative license here please, it is a story after all) 

Although the townsfolk in the village had everything they could possibly want to purchase at their nearby village super grocery stores, some of these good and gentle folk were beginning to feel a little dismayed by the ugly and greedy giants that had control of these super stores.  Some of the villagers even felt that an evil spell might have been cast by these ugly and greedy giants to draw them in and lead them to buy things that weren’t even really food, but were sold in brightly covered boxes, and put in shiny easy-to-open-and-heat packages to make them more appealing to eat.  In fact, some of the items had a nearly magical pull over them, especially the village youngsters, who cried, stomped their feet and tore at their hair and clothes in desperation, for the things they wanted in the stores.  In true evil-spell form, the items the villagers purchased at these super stores even made them sick sometimes.  Word spread that some townsfolk in other places had gotten so sick from eating things from these stores that they died.  It was a sad and scary time for food security across all the lands, for those that survived found themselves growing weary and sad.

Are you still awake?  You can nap in a little while.   While Ye Olde Real Time Farms was getting started, at the same time on the western edge of the village, there was a friendly older couple who had lived in the village for many, many years.  They liked to raise chickens,  garden and share food and drink with their friends.  The old man was somtimes known as a rabble rouser and sometimes a bit gruff, but he had a warm smile, a welcoming attitude, and he was good at fixing and building things, which made him handy to have around.  The old woman, who at times could be willful, was generally kind and generous, as long as you didn’t cross her, or get things done too slowly.  It was also said around the village that she could make a mean bread pudding, which gave her a bit of leeway to be a beeatch now and again.  The old couple, along with many other  townsfolk and  villagers, wanted to take away some of the power and influence of the ugly and greedy giants, so they started a weekly breakfast party that focused on using local ingredients and supplies to feed their community.  Every week many townsfolk and villagers would meet at the old couples home, share toothsome and delectable foods and make plans to keep the town’s gold pieces right there in their own villages, and out of the hands of the ugly and greedy giants who tended to live in large cities and behave as if they were kings or other royalty. 

It became clear that many townsfolk hungered for a lost connection with the earth, with real produce and real ingredients, and with good farmers and country folk who were growing and producing all the local and wonderful things that were included in the breakfasts each week.  It was as if a charm had been cast in the community and many wonderful things came out of the weekly breakfast party, but I’ll save that story for another time.

Eventually, the three lovely young townsfolk from Ye Olde Real Time Farms, and the nice old couple met, and they made a breakfast so delicious, so yummy, so fabulous, and so fun that 182 of their friends and supporters came to sup at the old couples table that week. Here is what they enjoyed.

cheesy crusted apple galette topped with creme fraiche, served with greens and a side of bacon

cheesy grits topped with roasted pulled pork and tomatillo salsa, served with a side of greens

curried potato medly, served with vegan pumpkin bran muffin and gingered apples, made by Phillis Engelbert

  As was usual around the old couples kitchen, the helpful volunteers worked long into the evening, and began before sunrise the next morning, and deserve the praise of all those who enjoyed the fare. Thank you Alex Brise, Janet Max, Erin Fitzpatrick, Megan Savel, Sam Facas,   Marika O’ Connor Grant, Melissa Pilat, Duff Mahan, Alyssa Ackerman, Shane Beers, Lindsay Partridge, Rich Kato, Melanie Adams, Susie Baity Stearns, Michelle Fortin, Lisa Dugdale, Cynthia Edwards, Murray Edwards, Robbie Moore, Megan Zlatos, Jules Cooch, Sarah Schwimmer, Katherine Globerson, Scooter Merrins, Phillis Engelbert, Sarah Shouhayib, Olivia Gramprie, Mirac Boga and Jennifer Jensen.  

Volunteers and guests ate and drank their fill, the coffers were filled with gold, and everyone went home full and happy.

THE END.

Looking forward to seeing you around our kitchen soon, Lisa

Yesterday, 10-10-10, motivated by the Ann Arbor Ecology Center and 350.org, 8 students from U-M co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega dedicated their day to getting the garden ready for spring planting at the Washtenaw County Youth Center where I work as the school social worker.  Along with Faye Ogasawara, and Jeff, the students worked hard most of the day, and hard work it was!

First, the volunteers turned over the garden bed, (which had sat fallow for a year) loosening soil, pulling weeds, and getting rid of large rocks.

in all, seven boxes were built

Boxes were installed and filled, then tree mulch was brought in, one wheel barrow full at a time, dumped on the paths and raked out.

Check out these beautiful garden beds and neatly created paths.  Thank you Jeff, Faye, and Jess Dreicer, Melissa Fasteau, Mark Bradey, Matthew Merlo, Brock Grosso, Kelli Malott, Lindsay Hamilton and Sarah Liao for the hard work and wonderful attitude!

It’s a little hard to describe the delight we experience when Thad Gillies and Scott MacInnis come round to fix us all breakfast.  There is just something really way cool about their food collaboration, and the fun they bring to our kitchen.  Is chillicious a word? How about relaxcellentlyummy? Or maybe groovibeautifulucious?  Take your pick, they all mean the same thing in my thesaurus– low key high taste breakfast that makes for some happy full bellies.

Their Hash 2 ways had the best of both omnivore and vegetarian approaches.  The beef brisket hash was meaty-rich, super flavorful, and bursting with that perfect combo of meat and potatoes, made even more tasty with a buttery fried egg on top.  The vegetarian sweet potato and herb hash, also topped with a perfect egg, equally met the comfort-food quotient, and both were served with a side of arugula with balsamic vinegrette, which was a refreshing and a lovely balance for the richness of the hash.

In addition to our standard weekly specials of fruit bread pudding and whole grain waffles (both made with fresh eggs, Calder dairy cream, milk, and butter) this week we introduced a new Selma Cafe special to be more inclusive of our vegan friends.  Vegan pumpkin bread pudding, served with a cashew “creme” topping and a side of fruit was the start of this new tradition.  Of course, you can ask for it with a side of bacon if you want–we are equal opportunity enjoyers around here!  Thanks to the baking wizardry of Kate Mathews, the special was sold out by 8:30am. Kate, along with Joel Panozzo, Phillis Engelbert, Olivia Roumel and Amanda Schott will be taking turns to bring us a variety of vegan specials from now on, so tell your vegan friends to come to breakfast soon.

Kate, here with her sweet daughter Tess, has generously shared the vegan pumpkin bread pudding recipe with us:

Vegan Pumpkin Bread Pudding
2 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
2 3/4 cups non-dairy milk
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 cups cubed bread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix all ingredients except cubed bread in a large bowl until smooth.  Arrange bread cubes in a large baking dish.  Pour pumpkin mixture over bread and make sure each piece is fully coated.  Let sit for 15 – 20 minutes so bread can soak up some of the custard.
Bake for 35 – 45 minutes until the top is browned and the custard has set.
Serves 10 – 12

Thanks to all the volunteer crew who helped out both Thursday evening and Friday morning: Quinn Davis Vollink, Olivia Gramprie, Elizabeth Olenzek, Alex Briske, Natasha Krol Mauskapf, Kim and Gabrielle Kunoff, Charles and Simone Racine, Susan and Evelyn Hunsberger, Katherine Globerson, Jules Cooch, Jennifer Jensen, Nevon Clark, Michelle Fortin, Susie Baity Stearns, Ginny Weingate, John McCauley, Melanie Adams, Mary Rock, Codi Sharp, Anne West, Gary Mazzeo, Rich Kato, Kim Leung, Scooter Merrins, Joel Panozzo, Phillis Engelbert and Andrew Bozzio.  Thank you one and all for all your efforts!

Next week we have Tammy Coxen back in the kitchen again, whipping up some fantastic specials– we’ll have a mushroom cheese strata, and a savory pancake with shrimp and sweet potato, both served with a cabbage slaw.  Tammy really rocks out the goods, so be sure to come on by.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and looking forward to seeing you in our kitchen soon, ~Lisa