I am trying to make Treetown Vittles the kind of business that you can feel good about patronizing and a business that I will be proud to own. As I build my business, it is important to me to establish relationships with local folks that produce high quality products. By using local vendors and producers, especially those attentive to sustainable practices, we reduce our environmental footprint, support the local economy and offer the highest quality products to our customers.

I am so pleased to welcome Silvio’s Organic Pizza to our group of fine Ann Arbor vendors. I think Silvio’s has the best pizza in Ann Arbor and I am very fortunate to be able to offer you Silvio’s fresh pizza dough in our meal kits each month. Silvio Medoro, chef and owner of Silvio’s Organic Pizza, is well-known and respected in the local slow food community. He is a delight to chat with and I have much to learn from Silvio.

According to their website “Silvio was lovingly taught to produce the highest quality breads and pizza dough…The flavorful crust incorporates fine olive oil and is made with organic flour exactly the way Silvio’s father made it.” Please take advantage of our monthly ‘Make your own pizza nights’ to use this uniquely high quality pizza dough in your own kitchen.

I’d also like to introduce you to our newest vendor, Nancy Tatara, owner of Neverdone Farm in Dexter, MI. Nancy is supplying us with wonderful eggs from free range hens. Look for them soon in another frittata offering in March. This spring I will begin purchasing all of our garlic from Nancy as well. We can’t wait to visit the farm this spring to see what other goodies we can include in our meal kits (and I want to play with those cute goats!). Here’s a note from Nan:

“Neverdone Farm has some very fancy hens a laying, Speckled Sussex, Polish Goldens with Top Hats, Araucanas that lay blue-green eggs and the usual reliable Barred Rocks. We also have Boer goats that are only contributing wonderful fertilizer and hours of entertainment for our grandchildren. They are meat goats and we initially thought we’d breed them. However we became rather fond of the girls and we haven’t found anyone interested in goat meat. Worldwide, goat meat production is higher than cattle or hogs. We might still consider this a possibility. This year, having read that 80% of America’s garlic comes from China, I planted many beds of various types of garlic. We’ve a large vegetable garden, herb garden and many perennials. We have raised turkeys, ducks, geese and Guinea Hens in the past and have found them all interesting. I plan to have chicken eggs, herbs, garlic, flowers and fall decorative plants such as broom corn, gourds and Japanese Lanterns available.

Caring for God’s green earth takes time, patience, knowledge and way too much energy. I feel that caring for our lives and the life all about us matters. It is never done, it touches on the eternal and there is time enough.”

Nancy Tatara

Neverdone Farm

Ntatara@aol.com

Cooking a delicious dinner together, sharing a terrific bottle of wine with the one you love. What could be better?

We are happy to be offering special menus for Valentine’s Day. We’ll be working with Morgan & York, Ann Arbor’s premier wine merchants, to select wine pairings that will ensure a wonderful meal for you and your loved one. The following menus have been posted on our menu page and are available now for you to order in advance for your special Valentine’s Day meal. All meals will be delivered to Morgan & York by 4:30 pm on February 14th.

Champagne Cream Potato Leek Soup

Entree Choices:

PAN SEARED MAHI-MAHI served with lemon pepper oil, couscous and Meyers lemon marmalade

OR

WILD MUSHROOM NAPOLEON served with herb cream, sauteed swiss chard and fresh cranberry mostaza

SALAD OPTIONS:

Radicchio salad with sweet roasted beets, onions, fresh pears and Roquefort cheese

Petite caesar salad, the classic served with anchovies and homemade croutons

DESSERT OPTIONS:

Deda’s Bakery Chocolate Overload Cake

Vanilla Pear Clafoutis

Cheese and Fruit Plate

Hi all,

Our shopping cart and checkout are now working flawlessly again.  As some of you noted, it was not possible to use PayPal to checkout with our shopping cart for the last couple days.  Thank you to our web designer/developer, Dan Shields.  Dan tracked the problem down to a change made recently by PayPal.  Dan quickly made the adjustments needed on our site to accommodate the change and we are now back in business and happy to take your orders!  Thanks so much for your patience.  -ellen

I have never won a contest and I don’t plan on entering one anytime soon. But my friend Mary Bilyeu is one of those very talented folks who is not only a great cook and baker, but she also has a knack for winning those cooking contests that encourage you to be creative with a sponsor’s product. Mary has won (or been a finalist) in more cooking contests than I can count, she is such a winner! Last May, she was featured on the CBS New Early Show presenting her prize winning Cappuccino Cupcakes which took the top prize in the Taste of Home national recipe contest. Check it out at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/24/earlyshow/living/recipes/main2850080.shtml

Recently, she brought yet another honor to Ann Arbor as the first place winner of the Near East Recipe Contest with a dessert using plain couscous. I’ve reprinted it below, I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Toasted Almond Coconut Pudding

Submitted by Mary Bilyeu of Ann Arbor, MI

Bilyeu’s recipe won over the judges with its subtle flavors, unexpected texture and versatile taste when served either warm or chilled.

• 1 can (13.5 oz) lite coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups water, divided
• 1 package (10 oz) Near East Original Plain Couscous
• 3/4 C packed brown sugar
• 1/4 C cornstarch
• 1 t salt
• 2 C half and half
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 t rum extract
• 1/2 t almond extract
• 1/2 C sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/2 C sweetened, shredded coconut, toasted

1. In 2-quart microwave-safe bowl, combine coconut milk and ½ cup water. Cook on HIGH 5 minutes until boiling. Stir in couscous. Cover bowl and let stand.
2. Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, salt and remaining 1 cup of the water in 2 ½-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. When mixture begins to thicken, reduce heat; whisk in half-and-half. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.
3. Place eggs in small bowl and whisk in ½ cup of hot half-and-half mixture. Pour egg mixture into saucepan and continue to cook custard 1 to 2 minutes until very thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in extracts.
4. Fluff couscous; pour custard over and stir to combine, breaking up any lumps. Transfer to serving bowl.

8-10 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes

NUTRITION INFORMATION: 1/8 of recipe Calories 400, Calories From Fat 140, Total Fat 16g, Saturated Fat 8g, Cholesterol 75mg, Sodium 360mg, Total Carbohydrates 57g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Protein 10g.

©Copyright The Quaker Oats Company, 2008 All Rights Reserved.

I hope that you had a wonderful holiday. As you are aware, I took quite a bit of time off at the end of last year. During the last few weeks Treetown Vittles moved to a new kitchen and we successfully secured our retail food license. I am so excited to begin the new year with exciting plans for expansion and wonderful new menus that I’m sure you will enjoy. Please check out our new menus for January and February.

One of my resolutions for 2008 (there are many, but you know how that is . . . .) is to communicate more frequently with you via this blog and to offer more recipes and practical food tips that you might find useful.

To start off the year on the right foot, I’d like to call your attention to a terrific local food blog by Kim Bayer, thefarmersmarketer.com.

It is a very thoughtful site that is filled with useful information and discussion that will prompt you to more carefully consider your eating habits as well as your food purchasing choices. The more that I give consideration to the complex food issues that confront us, the more convinced I am that businesses like Treetown Vittles could provide busy people with the extra help that they need to eat healthy foods and to take a small step toward repairing our world. We aren’t there yet, but I believe it is a worthy goal, even for a small business like ours . . . and it’s so exciting to be a part of this change. I look forward to working together with you, our customers, to enliven our effort. As always, I welcome your suggestions and comments.

I wish you a peaceful, happy, healthy new year.

Ellen

Now that we are finishing up our Thanksgiving weekend, it’s time to go through the post holiday ritual of putting away all the winning recipes and trashing the less successful ones. One of the new desserts we tried this year that received rave reviews was a pudding cake. If you haven’t had pudding cake before (is that possible?), this is a good one to try to initiate you to the pleasure of this classic comfort food. It’s a no fail dessert and it is dairy free for those of you on special diets. This gingerbread version was new to me, but it will now become a standard since the kids liked it so much. It yields a moist spicy cake with lots of syrupy pudding underneath. Give it a try.

Gingerbread Pudding Cake Bon Appetit December 2007

6 serving

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (I used margarine)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons beaten egg (from 1 egg)
• 1/2 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Whipped cream (or non-dairy vanilla ice cream or topping)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter 8×8x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in egg. Stir molasses and 1/2 cup water in 1-cup glass measuring cup. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 2 additions alternating with molasses mixture, beating to blend between additions. Transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle brown sugar over.

3. Stir 1 1/2 cups hot water and melted butter (I omitted butter) in 2-cup glass measuring cup. Carefully pour over top of batter (there will be lots of liquid on top of cake). Bake until gingerbread is cracked on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Scoop warm pudding cake into shallow bowls. Serve with whipped cream.

Hi folks,

Since several of you have requested the recipe for the risotto, I thought I’d post it. You can also find it on the Cooking Light website at http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=230841

I’m so glad you enjoyed this type of comfort food. I’ll try to include more risottos in the winter menus.

Vidalia Onion Risotto with Feta Cheese

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 2 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio or other short-grain rice 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans vegetable broth 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese, divided 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese Freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in rice. Add 1/2 cup broth; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is nearly absorbed before adding the next portion of broth.

Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup feta cheese, parsley, and Parmesan cheese. Spoon rice mixture into a serving bowl; top with 1/4 cup feta cheese and pepper.

5 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Cooking Light, APRIL 1997

Hi there,

I haven’t written in quite a while so there is a lot to report. First, I’d like to introduce customers to Deda’s Bakery: http://www.dedasbakery.com/index.htm. Consistent with our effort to support local producers, I have selected Deda’s to be our preferred vendor for baked goods. All of the ingredients used in their baked goods are fresh and natural; preservatives and additives are never used. I’ve received enthusiastic feedback from you about their unique soft biscotti. Chris and Catherine offer very high quality baked goods and I look forward to working together with them to offer you unique desserts that are worth breaking a diet to enjoy! If you’re going to have dessert once in awhile, make sure it’s something special. Next week, be sure to try Deda’s Key Lime Tarts—-they promise to be a real treat.

Attached is a list of ingredients for the menu items this week:Ingredients Oct 10

Also, I’ve received several requests for delivery of special meal kits to seniors. I know from my own family experience that grocery shopping and meal preparation can be problematic for some seniors (and for their families!). Although I’m not able to make special meals for seniors at this time, please take a look at our menu offerings for kids. These meals have smaller portions and are mildly seasoned. They usually require very little cooking and could, in some cases, be helpful to seniors. As always, please feel free to contact me to see how we can be helpful.

Well, I’m off to do shopping for tomorrows meal kits! See you at the Farmer’s Market tomorrow morning!

Ellen

In case you missed it, there was an article in last night’s Ann Arbor News, “Once-a-Week Vegetarianism” that you should check out: http://www.mlive.com/annarbor/stories/index.ssf?/base/features-0/1190731602161520.xml&coll=2

The article described the efforts of Josh Mugele and his daughter, Eleanor, to give up eating meat for one day each week. Eventually their project evolved into ‘Vegetarian Wednesday’ with an associated weblog: http://vegetarian-wednesday.blogspot.com/. The site offers very interesting discussion about the various reasons that folks are trying to move to a more vegetarian diet, as well as some hints and recipes.

Hats off to Josh, who by the way is a UM medical student (where does he find the time!). Eventually we hope to support Josh and Eleanor’s effort to raise awareness of the benefits of eating less meat by selling ‘Vegetarian Wednesday’ t-shirts on our website.

Let us know what you think.

Ellen

Good Morning!

If you didn’t have a chance to read the NYT article last week about Alice Waters and her new book, “The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons and Recipes From a Delicious Revolution” (Clarkson Potter, October) check out the article online: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/dining/19wate.html

Among other things, the article makes brief mention of the Edible Schoolyard project in Berkeley: “Her pioneering Edible Schoolyard project, in which schoolchildren grow their own lunch and teachers use gardens for science lessons and recipes for social studies, is thriving in Berkeley, has been planted in New Orleans and may expand to Pittsburgh and Brooklyn. But in more than a decade the concept has not permeated the nation’s thinking on education.” Well, it has permeated into Ann Arbor.

Ann Arborites should be proud of the local initiative called “The Agrarian Adventure,” online at: http://agrarianadventure.org/index.html . Look over their website and see what the Agrarian Adventure is striving to accomplish.

This organization is working out of Tappan Middle School. They are creating programming in the K-12 public schools that reveals to kids the very fundamental connections between the food they eat, their health, their environment, and their community. Among other activities, this organization helps to run the Tappan Food and Garden Club where the kids, parents and community volunteers maintain an organic garden and greenhouse. It is really quite impressive; take a walk over to the Tappan field and look around.

I am inspired by the wonderful people who volunteer their time and expertise to such a vital program for our kids and our community. I’m committing to volunteer with the Agrarian Adventure and I hope you will consider supporting this organization as well.

Their website isn’t up to date, so be sure to make it a point to volunteer or support the “Agrarian Adventure Harvest Dinner,” Friday, October 12 at 6-8pm. To volunteer or get more information, email: info@agrarianadventure.org

Ellen