Foods of Michigan Blog

News about food. Gardening tips. The latest on what's in season. Recipes featuring local foods.

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Coming soon: Our new cookbook, "Foods of Michigan - fresh, local and seasonal"

We are pleased to announce that our new cookbook will be available in time for gift-giving on Christmas 2009. The book will offer four seasonal menus, with recipes, as well as profiles of the Michigan farmers who produce food they are proud of.

Please type your e-mail address into the form below and hit enter to be notified when the cookbook is available. We will not share your email address with anyone.

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Find the Michigan farm market closest to you - MIFMA, the Michigan Farmers' Markets Association at Michigan State University, offers an online market locator to help you find a farm market in your area. Click here to learn the lingo and here for some farm market shopping tips.

Visit often for recipes, information, profiles of producers & for sharing

Breakfast on the Farm - Michigan State University Extension held a Breakfast on the Farm at Dutch MeadoWs Dairy in St. Johns that drew more than 1,000 visitors. (Video by Tina Sarkey) LITTLE GARDENS: Eat Really Fresh - Grow Your Own Food! - Lansing area gardener (and musician) Rob Klajda has started a how-to social networking group for people growing herbs and veggies in small spaces. Sign up and share information. LOCAVORIOUS (Ann Arbor) - A new wrinkle for the CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) movement that allows you to buy shares of frozen food from a group of local growers. SUSTAINABLE FARMER - This is for everyone who wants to grow food with respect for all living things Need to go gluten free? If you have celiac disease, eating any trace of wheat, barley or rye can do damage. Cookbook co-author Bonnie Bucqueroux shows how you can making your own gluten-free baking powder.

Make fresh mozzarella cheese from curd

Sean Hartwig, store manager of Morgan & York in Ann Arbor, demonstrates how you can make your own fresh mozzarella cheese from curd. The three-part video below captures Sean's tips and techniques based on more than a dozen years working with cheeses. Morgan & York specializes in fine wines and specialty foods.

Part 1 - The history of mozzarella

Part 2: Prepping the curd

Part 3: Elongating the proteins

Morgan & York sells the curd you can use to make your own fresh mozzarella. If you would like to make your own curd (and other cheeses), there is no place better to visit than the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. Cheese queen Ricki Carroll makes cheese-making easy. Ricki was even featured in Barbara Kinsolver's book Animal Vegetable Miracle, which talks about her efforts to become as self-sufficient as possible in producing the family's food. Ricki herself has a book on cheesemaking called Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses.

Videos by Bonnie Bucqueroux.