Food with Friends in A2

I love being friends with Christia and Peter for many reasons, and here is one more. Christia and Peter had Henry and myself over for dinner and made some crazy tasty HOMEMADE MACARONI and CHEESE!!! I LOVE my mac and cheese homestyle! The last time I had great mac and cheese was with Holly 1 year ago at, of all places, the Henry Ford Village Cafe!

Christia told Henry that she would give me the recipe and the following day Henry asked me 3 times if she had emailed it to me yet! Do I need anymore proof as to how good it was?
                       (sorry the photo is from a half eaten plate!)


In addition to the Mac and Cheese, Christia also baked up an AMAZING Cobbler! Local Michigan Rhubarb, Strawberries, Blueberries, and topped with Buttermilk Biscuits, then baked to perfection!

                      Jealous?!

Grand vs. Great

This is the Grilled Veggie Sandwich from the Bread Basket Deli in Ypsilanti. It includes cole slaw, Swiss cheese, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, green pepper, and Russian dressing served on rye.

This is the Black Pepper Vegilicious Sandwich from the Northside Grill in Ann Arbor. This sandwich includes, lettuce mix, tomatoes, cole slaw, Swiss cheese (I asked for cheddar instead), and house black pepper mayonnaise served on rye.

Now, these two sandwiches have many similarities, yet are completely different. The B.B. sandwich arrives to the table on a non-environmentally friendly Styrofoam plate and wrapped in butchers paper with a soggy pickle in a plastic bag. The bread is overly greasy/buttery in a surprisingly pleasant kind of way, yet makes it tricky to hold onto the thing that is about 4" thick!
The NSG. sandwich was delivered on a plate with a pickle, and amusingly, a side of cole slaw. The bread was fresh and thick, yet didn't scrape the top or corners of your mouth and the fresh cracked black pepper mayo gave off a subtle blast of flavor.

In the case of Grand vs. Great, I favor a sandwich that dares to be a little bit smaller so that each bite can be the perfect bite vs. a sandwich that either falls apart or triggers your TMJ! Not to mention, walking out of Northside where the staff waves goodbye with a smile trumps smelling like the bottom of a fryer at the end of the day for the rest of the day!

Happy eating!

Breakfast for my family

Being a frugal consumer that hates to waste, I made a mega Omelette for my family using up left overs! This one was really EGGstream:
Grilled orange peppers, red onions and asparagus from the night before, feta, pepperjack, white onions, tomatoes, and milk.  (Topped with sour cream and chalula)

"Testing, testing, 1 2 3..."

Hello and welcome to my first attempt at a Blog!

In the past, I have enjoyed traveling and sharing my stories and experiences through mass emails. I am hoping that with this blog, my travels will appear to be more animated and come to life in an organized setting with photos, a chance for feedback and interaction, as well as an archive that can be easily accessed for readers.

!!Warning!!
These posts may make you HUNGRY!
Be advised that I REALLY enjoy the art of food (and eating), and therefore will probably post MANY photos and comments about what I order, make, and eat. When I return home from traveling, I hope to continue adding posts about food.

Well, with that said, I hope that you enjoy sharing my experiences along with me. Please stay tuned throughout the next few months as I embark on a journey to Australia, Thailand, Nepal, Ukraine, Germany, and to Boston.

Safe Travels,
Melissa