It was a really sweet post-Thanksgiving Selma Cafe Friday.  We had Roos Roast coffee, Arbor Teas tea, hot cider with cinnamon, and donuts.  Lots and lots of donuts.

We offered ‘em two ways: pumpkin, and cake, with powdered sugar on top. The pumpkin donuts were flavored with pumpkin pie spice, and for both kinds I added home made creme fraiche  instead of the buttermilk that the recipe called for.  This wasn’t because we were trying to be fancy. I just hadn’t ordered enough buttermilk from Calder Dairy, but I had lots of extra heavy cream.  So, mixing them together Thanksgiving morning and letting the mixture sit on the counter overnight saved me a shopping trip, and added a wonderful richness to the batter.   I think in all, we fried up at least a hundred of each.  And nearly all of them were gone by noon.  Yeah, they were pretty stunningly delicious.  Several folks asked for the recipe, so here it is:

Cake Donuts (this recipe makes about a dozen or so donuts)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspons baking powder

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg ( I like nutmeg so I used a 1/2 teaspoon)

1/2 cup buttermilk (or creme fraiche, or any other delicious dairy concoction)

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 beaten egg

canola or other high heat tolerant oil for frying, avoiding peanut oil as the flavor is too strong

powdered sugar for sprinkling on top

(For the pumpkin donuts, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked and pureed pumpkin to the liquid ingredients.  You can use canned, but I used fresh because it is so much better. Also add 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice to the dry ingredients, along with the nutmeg. Follow the directions for the cake donuts, though you may need to add a touch more flour so they aren’t too sticky to roll out.)

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Mix all the liquid ingredients, including the egg, together in a smaller bowl.  Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together until all the ingredients combine.  The dough will be sticky.  Sprinkle more flour on the dough so you can more easily handle it, turn it onto a floured surface, and knead a few times so that you can roll it out until it is about a 1/2 inch thick.  You can pat it out if you don’t have a rolling pin.  Actually, a wine bottle can make a good rolling pin if you don’t have a rolling pin and you don’t want to pat it out with your hands.

Using a donut cutter make donut shapes and set aside until all the dough is used.  If you don’t have a donut cutter, you can cut small strips with a knife, and pinch the ends together to form a small donut shape.  But really, the donut cutter is so much fun and they only cost a few dollars at Ace Hardware on Stadium.

Heat the oil in a sturdy, high walled, thick bottomed pot until it reaches 365 degrees.  If children are helping make the donuts, this is a good time for them to do something other than standing near the hot oil.  The oil gets burning hot, and it can spatter so please be careful.

The temperature of the oil is extremely important to the success of the donuts, so a cooking thermometer is worth investing in if you don’t already have one for your kitchen.  Once the oil reaches 365 degrees slowly slip a few of the donuts in the oil.  Don’t crowd them, and keep an eye on the temperature.  It will likely lower a bit after you add the donuts, then shoot up again when you take out the first batch.  The more you can keep the temperature consistent, the better your donuts will taste.  Cook them until they are golden brown, turning them once.  As you remove the donuts from the oil using a slotted spoon, set them on a cooling rack with a few pages of newspaper under them to catch the oil drips.  Once they cool for a few minutes, sprinkle them with powdered sugar, and enjoy!

Of course, huge thanks to the volunteers who showed up to help, including  Andrew Bozio, Dorran Dihle, JD Rubin, Christine Duecher, Rich Kato, Mike Green, Michelle Fortin, Lisa Dugdale, Nevon Clark, and our nephew Nicholas Gottlieb, who came all the way from LA to spend Thanksgiving weekend with us.

Next week we’ll be back to our regular Selma Cafe hours, with Thad Gillies from Logan Restaurant bringing us another fabulous breakfast.  We’re looking forward to seeing you in our kitchen soon,

~Lisa

There was something unusually pretty about the sky Saturday morning as the sun lifted over the horizon.  The long view of gently scattered clouds, pale peach and golden yellow, a deepening of blue up high, and the bare trees jutting into view heightened my awareness of the day unfolding in front of me.  Loading up the car with pump pots full of steamy-hot Roos Roast coffee, Calder Dairy half and half, and stacked up Selma Cafe mugs, I started singing under my breath.  “People get ready, there’s a train a comin’, you don’t need no baggage, you just get on board.”  I love that song, because for me,  it’s a beautiful metaphor for how easy it is to make small changes in the world that are good and valuable by simply stepping up and saying yes.  And I knew, as I pulled the car out of the driveway, on my way over to Washtenaw Dairy for a couple of boxes full of donuts, that when I got to Stephanie and Joyce Phillips’ Family Farm in Belleville, there would be an amazing group of people right there, ready to get their hands dirty in that delicious soil, and ready to raise a couple of hoops as a way of stepping up onto that train.  And, that’s pretty much exactly what happened.  Check out some photos from the Phillips’ Family Farm hoop 1 build, followed by photos of the hoop 2  build at Kari Smith’s Black and Tan Farm. Double hoop builds on the same day.  Oh yeah. ‘Cause that’s just how we roll baby.

Here is Stephanie and her mother Joyce, standing in their new hoop house.  Keep scrolling for Kari Smith’s Black and Tan Farm hoop 2 build, starting from the the hoop footprint, all the way to the plastic pull.

We got the plastic pulled at Black and Tan Farm just before dark.  By then, all the volunteers at Phillips’ Family Farm had gotten themselves over to hoop 2, and we had a fab party with some Jolly Pumpkin beer, and tons of amazing food thanks to Stephanie, Kari, and their kitchen crew.  That’s about the time I put down my camera, grabbed a beer and settled into a chair for a good little while.  If you’re still interested, keep scrolling for some more photos from Phillips’ Family Farm and Black and Tan Farm, just for the pretty.

It was an incredible day on both these local farms.  Big thanks to everyone who came out to help make the 2-hoops-in-one-day dream a reality, including Tomm Becker, Chris Fraleigh, Dan Bair, Jose’ Alfaro, Misa Cady, Terrin Copley, Jim Jung, Kevin McGuinness, Andy King, Sandy Eyl, Valerie Syverson, Daniel Poon, Trilby Becker, Erin Loyer, Mike, Ian and Maya Claren, Mary Lemmer, Gavin LaRose, Meg Fairchild, Lucienne Cross, Gianna Fazioli, Ryan and Valerie Molloy, Codi Sharp, Anne West, Patrick Racine, Michelle Fortin, Walter and Jen Seibert, Juliet Edmonson, Megan Zlatos, Clint Grossnickle, Garret Ary, David Cohen, Gretchen Elsner-Sommer, John Galliet, Stefanie Stouffer, Julia Weinert, Courtney and Arthur Peterson, Kate Harris, Olivia Gramprie, Chelsea Cendrowski, Mirac Boga, Andrea Ridgard, Gen Howe, Caroline Francis, Greg Chojanacki, Andrea Pertosa, Joel Panozzo, Don and Amy Heath, Gary Mazzeo, Renee Henry, Janet Max, Devon Smith, Clair Leighton, Dung Le and Liz Durfee.  If you notice I left someone off this thank you list, please let me know!

We’re settling into deep autumn here at Selma Cafe, storing squash, apples, onions, and garlic for winter breakfasts, and sitting cozy around the fireplace, planning our latest Selma Cafe hoopla adventure–20 hoops in 20 days, beginning mid-June and ending on the 4th of July, 2011. Stay tuned for updates!

~Lisa

I took a look back in the blog archives to see when it was that Emil and Monica were last in the Selma Cafe kitchen.  It was early May–just six months ago, but in that time period they were world travellers.   I managed to keep an eye on their adventures through their posts on Facebook, and it was obvious they were having a blast. When I learned they were returning to Ann Arbor, I happily thought two things.  First, I thought how wonderful to have them back in the ‘hood, near family and friends, where I will have a chance to run into them, or share a few drinks, or see them at a party or two.  Then, I’ll admit it, about 2 seconds after that sweet sentiment, I thought how lucky we were to have them back, because I wanted them cooking again for Selma Cafe.  And, busy as they both are, they agreed to come back around our kitchen and make us up some breakfast specials.  166 breakfast specials to be exact.  Yes, that is a lot of specials.  There was so much to do, I never managed to capture a photo of Monica and Emil for the blog.   So, instead, I wandered on over to Facebook and captured a couple of sweet photos of these two cutie pies.

Take a look at what Monica and Emil, with the help of sous chef Grasso cooked up for us.

They started us off with a rich and flavorful autumn roasted vegetable hash, served with a buttery fried egg, a side of bacon, and some beautiful mixed greens.  The hash had all the good things you would expect this time of year.  Pumpkin, sweet potato, butternut squash, potatoes and parsnips.  Fried up together after a good long roasting, and they were delectable.  Eaten with bites of the warm egg yolk and greens and they were nearly too good to be true.

Their second special was a lusciously rich pumpkin and goat cheese filled crepe, topped with apple and onion compote and roasted walnuts, also served with a side of bacon and the mixed greens.  There is something so satisfying about the delicate crepe filled with thick, creamy pumpkin, made light and slighly sweet from the goat cheese.  Add the flavor and texture of the apples, onions and walnuts, and you got heaven on a plate.

The good news about the awesomeness of Monica and Emil’s specials is that they were incredibly popular.  The less than good news is that they were so incredibly popular that we, er, ran out of some ingredients before we served everyone breakfast.  I know!  I’m so sorry! In our defense, it is a bit difficult to plan the right numbers when we have anywhere from 120 to 180 guests showing up for breakfast each week. That’s a pretty big span we’re working with here folks!  We need a magic 8 ball or the Delphic Oracle to help us predict just how many people to plan for to make sure we have enough food, but not tons too much.  In any case, this photo of the pretty bowl of pears is a visual cue to let you know that when we ran out of pumpkin goat cheese filling, we switched to a lovely yellow pear compote to fill a few more crepes, and we fried a few more eggs and served ‘em with toast.  We had lots of waffle mix, and there was bread pudding to help round things out.  Thanks for your patience and understanding, we’re doin’ our best to keep ya happy.  And full.  Which leads us, naturally, to thanking everyone who volunteered this week.

Thank you Michelle Fortin for facilitating prep and the Friday morning after-party clean up, Grasso for sous chef duty, Annie Dugan for making the bread pudding, and Zach Kessler, Alex Briske, Gretchen Gehrke, Courtney and Aurthur Peterson, Duff Mahan. Roberta Knox, Linda Kidder, Dave Waterhouse, Cassandra Ballert, Mirac Boga, Olivia Gramprie, Jennifer Jensen, Chelsea Cendrowski, Nevon Clark,  Patrick, Simone and Charles Racine, Alyssa Ackerman for hosting, Codi Sharp, Mel Adams for all around kitchen angel, Lotus Yu, Dorran Dihle, Kris Kaul, David Rosenwein, Amanda Lussier, Rob Foley, Robbie Moore, Anthony Nitsos,  and Ajooni Sethi.  Thanks  so much for keeping the party going each week.

I spent a bit of time thinking of ways to make this sweet vintage fabric fit smoothly into the narrative of today’s post, but I didn’t manage to find a connection.  You know what?  I like it so much I decided to go ahead and use it simply for the pleasure it may afford.  That’s enough of a reason for me. 
Take care, and I look forward to seeing you in our kitchen soon, Lisa

It’s always great when Eric and Ines Storhok plan to chef for Selma Cafe. Plan being the operative word.  There’s something comforting about having engineers in the kitchen.  They make lists.  They have flow charts.  They have spread sheets.  And they know just how to use all that stuff to free up their creativity and their passion for good food.  This time around they decided to celebrate one of the Mitten’s best autumn go-to vegetables– the sweet potato.  Both of their specials featured this beautiful and tasty root which goes well with sweet and savory dishes.

Let’s start with the sweet. Eric’s focus was a delicious plateful of sweet potato pancakes, made with Calder Dairy buttermilk and Dry Bucket Farm eggs, these lovely cakes were served with apple compote and roasted walnuts, with a few slices of fresh pear and a side of bacon. Topped with a little maple syrup, these were warm and luscious.

Ines grew up in Puerto Rico, and she shared with us a Pastelon, a classic dish from the island. Layering zucchini, browned ground beef, and sweet potatoes, then baking it until it was perfect, this rich and delectable casserole, served with mixed greens and the last of the seasons fresh tomatoes, really hit the spot.  Thanks to both of you for sharing your love of sweet potatoes with us, each in your own way.

We had lots of volunteer help this week, which really makes this breakfast thing run smoothly. First, a huge thank you to our awesome volunteer Michelle Fortin, for facilitating both our Thursday evening prep, and our Friday morning post-breakfast clean up.  Each of these tasks is a lot to take on by itself, and Michelle has routinely been facilitating both these volunteer positions with grace and generosity.  Michelle has also taken on the Wednesday Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market shopping for Selma Cafe, which has been a real blessing and help.  Thank you Michelle for all you do!  And, of course, thanks to everyone else for doing all the big and little tasks that need to be done: Sarah Schwimmer, Marika O’Connor Grant, Sam Falas, Mark Chou, Lisa Huntington, Kristy Smith, Emma Kessler, Zack Kessler, Matt Lyon, Laura Partamian, Mirac Boga, Gretchen Gehrke, Jules Cooch, Anne West, Kendal Kuneman, Robbie Moore, Rob Foley (back from Boston for the week!), Melanie Adams, Lotus Yu, Rich Kato, Sara Shouhayib, Molly Green, Jose’ Alfaro, Andrea Ridgard, Nevon Clark and Anthony Nitsos.

Be sure to check out the Welcome page before you go to sign up for this Saturday’s hoop builds, and to get yourself some tickets to Vienna Teng’s Sunday evening benefit concert!

We’re looking forward to seeing you in our kitchen soon, Lisa

Last week’s Selma Cafe was a great way to start the Halloween weekend.  With cozy comfort food, jack o’ lanterns lit at 6am, and tea light candles nestled in mini-pumpkins on all the tables, we had it goin’ on.  Marnie Reid and Jennifer Kangas served us two specials.  The first was a roasted fall veggie medley topped with eggs and a slice of ham, and the second was a rich sausage, chard, and pumpkin quiche. Both came with salad and roasted potatoes, and both were deeelish.

Phillis Engelbert and Joel Panozzo gave us the vegan option this week, with home baked bagels topped with tofu herb spread and somosa sweet potato pancakes.  As usual, we also offered up the weekly bread pudding and whole grain waffles.

Thanks to everyone who helped out this week: Meg Sauel, Erin Fitzpatrick, Gabriella and Kim Kunoff, Mike Green, Mirac Boja, Mary Locey, Jyoti Athanikr, Chelsea Cendrowski, Rachel Chadderdon, Melanie Adams, Alyssa Ackerman, Rich Kato, Robbie Moore, Codi Sharp, Nevon Clark, Natasha Marskapf, Molly Green, Katherine Globerson, Sarah Schwimmer, Sara Shohayib, Lotus Yu, Andrew Bozio for expediting, and Michelle Fortin and Jennifer Jensen for staying until the kitchen was clean.

I’m happy to say the blog will have lots more photos soon–my old camera finally had enough of being dropped on hard floors, and I’m looking forward to my new Android X to take it’s place.

This Friday we have Selma Cafe return chefs Ines and Eric Storhok bringing us a celebration of sweet potato specials.  Hope to see you in the kitchen soon,

~Lisa