Weller-Black Wine Celebration

Weller-Black Wine Celebration
A "Wine Cellar Celebration" catered by Chef Robin

Sunday, August 28, 2011

FamMenu for August 29th to...SEPTEMBER 4th (ouch!) (and some other stuff!)

Can you believe how Summer is coming to a screeching halt?! NOOOOO!!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Fall, the great abundance of superb produce here in Michigan rocks, and I love the return to routine with the kids and school, but I will surely miss lounging by the pool and Pickeral Lake, BooHoo!
Ok, my whining is officially done....My Chef Robin's Triple Herbed Hummus sales are going phenomenally well! Everybody is loving it, Hummus lovers, Hummus haters, Hummus What?ers, they are all digging it!
So here's the scoop-We will be at:
Tuesday: Ada Village Farmers' Market , noon-6pm
Thursday: Wealthy Street Farmers' Market, 8am-2pm
                MetroHealth Farmers' Market, 9am-1pm
                Plainfield Farmers' Market, 2pm-7pm
Saturday: Rockford Farmers' Market, 8am-1pm
                and POSSIBLY Grand Haven Pier Farmers' Market, 8am-2pm

Busy busy Hummaliciousness!!! See you there!

Soooo, the FamMenu is going to be quite crazy this week, with all the Hummusness, kids school curriculum and open houses and life in general, I'll be whipping up stuff on the fly, as well as making food ahead of time, going to be crazy (kind of the way I like it!!!)

Monday: homemade tamales, with chicken, onion garlic and more, chips and salsa, Peach crumble pie (thanks for the peaches Benny!)

Tuesday: BuffaloChicken Chili- the kids are superpsyched about  this, they LOVE it! I am going to add the recipe to the blog this week, great huh? corn muffins, blue cheese dip with veggies

Wednesday: Fish tacos with mexican crema, slaw and salsa with avocado, watermelon

Thursday: Crouton Chicken Casserole (yes, I am ACTUALLY making a casserole---we will be at THREE farm markets this day, HELLO!)

Friday: Pizza and hummus making craze!

Saturday: Rice and venison stuffed bell peppers, and whatever else I decide to put in there! probably some delish bread from Great Harvest Bread Co. (the POPEYE is fantabulous) or Little Rooster (the Wild Rice and Onion is awesome! tastes and smells like an everything bagel...but has a great soft texture) some fresh fruit from the Farmers' market

Sunday: Venison Roast with lotso' crimini mushrooms and caramelized onions, sweet potato bake (it's topped with a pecan streusel, and you can eat WAY too much of it!) steamed green beans, rolls

And that's it! Have a grrrrreat week!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

FamMenu for August 22nd-28th

Well, it has been a crazy week (gee, that NEVER happens!!! :o))! I wasat the Rockford Farmers Market on Saturday selling my hummalicous Triple Herbed Hummus, and it went very well, so we (my hubby, me and the fab five chitlins) will be hitting a few more this week! Plainfield on Tuesday and Thursday, from 2-7 and Rokford Saturday am from 8-1, so come see us!
We have lots of other goings on this week, so dinners will be crockpot creations, or quick and simples, or leftovers, or prep aheads!!! So on with the menu...

Monday: Chicken Corn Chowder, yum yum:0) with THE BEST corn from the farm market from Saturday, fresh peppers from my Fancy Nancy (;-) and some yummalicious corn bread

Tuesday: Busy day...so venison chili and tortilla chips, SEEDED watermelon- hey they were the same price as seedless at the grocery store, and the seeded one was GINORMOUS comparatively speaking, so we will have seed spittingcontests!

Wednesday: Pepperand onion brats from Bird's crazy market...they are delish! and some homemade baked beans, fresh fruit and chips and dippy do

Thursday: Cheese and beaner tostadas with all the fixings, chips and salsa

Friday: Pizza, of some sort!brownies, yum. 

Saturday: Grilled Chicken Shwarma on pitas with garlic sauce, fresh veggies, fresh fruit from the farm market

That's alllll folks! Don't forget, registration is open for my fall set of classes! Go to www.rpssignmeup.com or call the Rockford Community Services office at (616)863-6322.
Sunday: A pasta dish, Maybe pesto with whole grain penne...homemade bread,

Monday, August 15, 2011

FAMMENU for 2nd week of August, PLUS registration OPEN for Fall Cooking Classes!!!

Hello all! Had a great last three weeks with my brother, nieces, and the rest of the fam...now it is onto business as usual! SO what exactly does that mean for a family of SEVEN?!?! Controlling the chaos....earlier bedtime (tried that last week while at the cottage and cousins were here...UM, did NOT happen!!!) so we are getting back at it this week. Back to the gym, YAY this makes me very happy:)) earlier dinners and a cleaner house, YAAHOO for routine!!!!
......................AND I am very excited that everyone can now register for my fall classes! go to http://www.rpssignmeup.com/ and click on "Adult Enrichment"...then "cooking/home/gardening"...and you will find all of my Cooking Demonstrations at DreamMaker, as well as my Hands-On Cooking classes athe High School... or  call the Rockford Community Education Office at (616)863-6322

Here is what the Menu is looking like for the week........

Monday: We had tacos and watermelon, easy peasy lemon squeezie!!!

Tuesday: Chicken Shwarma....yum, in pitas with yummy garlic sauce, and some tabouleh, DElish, fruit...((AND hopefully we find out the kid's teachers!!!))

Wednesday: English Roast with roasted garlic mashed taters and honeyed carrots, cauliflower salad

Thursday: Mongolian Pork with broccoli over rice, nectarines (during the afternoon, I just may be at the Plainfield Farmer's Market, seeling my One of a Kind Triple Herbed Hummus...chock full of garlic, parsley, basil, mint, lemon....and topped off  with toasted pine nuts, smoked paprika and extra virgin olive oil.....DELICIOUS!!! details to come soon...)

Friday: Pizzzzzza! and a movie

Saturday: Pasta, baby,...maybe fresh basil, tomato, mozzarella, garlic with linguine: quick and delish!...Bread & nana's salad, too! Mmmmmmm

DON"T forget! Mitchell's Run Through Rockford is this Saturday AM in Rockford!!! I hope to be at the Farmer's Market there, as well, selling my hummus! Come see me and say hello!!! You can also buy all kinds of wonderful Michigan produce and local breads, yummy kettle corn, beautimous boquets of flowers, jerky, and MORE!!! 8am to 1 pm   see you there!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

YAY Summer PRODUCE!!!


I was just suprised with a goodie basket from a friend! THANK YOU BENNY!!!!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Well lookie here...an EARLY menu for next week!!!

Amazing to have a little free time...a rainy day in August will do that! The girls  are watching Indiana Jones, the boys are out running errands with Daddy, and I am choosing to forgo cleaning the house- just because!!! :0) (the mess will LIKELY be there tomorrow, for me to deal with!) I am thinking Monday will begin a resemblance of a schedule for myself and the kiddies...this unscheduled Summer business is getting a tad crazy for me! So...earlier bedtimes (for them AND me!!!) and earlier wakeups- getting in the routine of school...starting in just a month. I had some ankle issues, so 15K training was forgone. I am going to push for another 10K this fall, anyone know of a fun one??? Let me know! And PLEASE tell me what is everyone eating this week at YOUR house? Just wondering :)

 Well here is the plan for this weeks menu...

Monday: Seared Bistro Style Sirloin with greens & creamy blue cheese dressing and bacon...baked taters, watermelon
Caroline cookies:0)

Tuesday: Hungarian- style venison stew over creamy polenta , crisp green salad with fresh pickled beets, cukes and vinaigrette, homemade caraway rye bread

Wednesday: Spaghetti and  Nana Rose's old-world italian meatballs, italian style green beans(sauteed with olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, crushed red pepper &  fresh basil from my herb garden), Italian bread

Thuirsday: Grilled Barbecued chicken thighs, cole slaw, homemade baked beans, fruit- cherries, I think!

Friday: Homemade create your own calzones, yum! Movie night! (any FamFave movies out there??? We watched "Radio" last week...a GREAT movie with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris...Debra Winger AND one of the newer doctor's from Grey's Anatomy, can't place her name...the new head resident this season- Dr. April Kepner!)

Saturday: Really hoping to have some fresh salmon to use my Chef Robin herb rub and dijon maple drizzle on, yum. brown rice, fresh veggies from the farm market, and some delish fruit, too! (love summer produce!) (and Ssshhh, she doesn't know this yet, but Constance is getting an award for most improved reader in her class this year! Congrats, baby!!!)

Sunday: Chicken Galliano for my BIG twelve year old- oh my!!! with sauteed mushrooms, wild rice & broccoli and a carrot cake for my lovie:0) (and STOP growing up, would ya'?!)

So there ya' have it! Hope you all have an OUTSTANDING week!!! :0)

Monday, August 1, 2011

FamMenu for the first week of August

Well, we have had a gorgeoso long weekend at the "cobbage"... my bro and nieces are in town, so spent lotsa' time tubing, jet-skiing, swimming, fishing and getting sun- drenched with them and the parental unit- Gigi & Grampy- at the lake. I suppose we will get back to reality on Tuesday! Made some super delish linguine carbonara and homemade grilled garlic bread, sauteed yellow squash & zucchini- yummy! So here is the FamMenu plan for this week:

Monday: Bri-Guy ((my bro))and I are going to whip up something fancy- he has a culinary flair, too- about to hit the local fruit & vegetable stand to see what we can come up with!:)- the verdict?nana's irresistible tomato salad, sour cream & dill cukes, roasted carrots & beets, grilled porkwith garlic, parsley & crushed red pepper, an' some grilled bread, too!

Tuesday: Venison tips(thanks to Vic Rinckey!) stroganoff with crimini mushrooms & egg noodles with fresh parsley & butta' baby, cauliflower salad

Wednesday: two kids shy tonight- they get to go see "James and the Giant Peach"- live! Cool beans, thanks Maureen! So the rest of us will be chowing alone- some delish buttery bacony quiche with smoked gouda & fresh cut fruit

Thursday:I am thinking grilled garlic pepper sausage kebabs with grilled veggies, rice pilaf

Friday: Fam Fish Fry and pool night! The boys caught a lot of fish so we are stocked up with yummy blue full, perch and bass! Going to go the beer battered route- seasoned with garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt & black pepper- plus some waffle fries, homemade tartar sauce and some good ol' watermelon, & probably a granparent-supported dessert:)

Saturday: going to a Whitecaps game- is the plan, man! SOOoo, probably ballpark food- that's okedoke once in a while...right!:)

Sunday:Mongolian Beef with broccoli & rice, some fruit- whatever I cab get my hands on that's fresh!

Enjoy this first beauteous week of August! The beginning of the end of Summer.....NO!!!!... Boo:(

Taste of Summer!

Taste of Summer!