The Best Carrot Dogs
Let me be frank, your friends might think you’re nuts for eating a carrot dog instead of a traditional ballpark frank—but once they try these carrot dogs they may never go back.
The Best Carrot Dogs
Ingredients
4 large carrots, clean
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp roasted sesame seed oil (not raw)
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp cayenee pepper
Directions
1. Fill a pot the width of your carrots halfway with water and bring to a boil.
2. In a large bowl whisk together: water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, onion powder, ginger powder, cayenne and black pepper. Set aside.
3. Add carrots to the boiling water for 6 minutes or until they’re fork tender.
Note: DO NOT OVERCOOK. If they get mushy they are ruined.
4. Make an ice bath: fill a large bowl with ice cubes and cold water.
5. Remove carrots from boiling water and transfer to the ice bath immediately. This stops them from cooking. Allow to cool in the water for 3-5 minutes.
6. Using a fork slide it down the side of the carrot to make some holes.
7. Add cooled carrots to the marinade which you have placed in a plastic bag or container. Shake for move around to coat.
8. Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours. The longer you marinate the better they will be. I usually marinate them for 48 hours.
9. When you’re ready you can grill the carrots on a barbecue or cook them on the stove in a pan.
10. Serve like a traditional hot dog with your favorite condiments.
*I like mine with ketchup, mustard, onions and sweet relish.
Note: You can also freeze the carrots once they’re done marinating.
Coming to Detroit: Beyond Van Gogh
Michiganders, get ready to immerse yourself in the artwork on Vincent Van Gogh when Beyond Van Gogh is comes to TCF Center (Cobo Hall) in downtown Detroit June 25 – August 15, 2021.
Get your tickets to see Beyond Van Gogh today!
Beyond Exhibitions proudly presents “Beyond Van Gogh: An Immersive Experience” coming to TCF Center in beautiful downtown Detroit, produced in partnership with 313 Presents. Opening for a limited engagement Beyond Van Gogh: An Immersive Experience was created by French-Canadian Creative Director Mathieu St-Arnaud and his team at Montreal’s world-renowned Normal Studio. This immersive experience features more than 300 of Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic artworks and takes the art lover into a three-dimensional world that exhilarates the senses.
After tremendous successes in Europe, cinematic Van Gogh exhibitions have crossed the ocean to great North American acclaim in recent years. In a rich and unique multimedia experience using cutting-edge project technology developed by some of the world’s greatest AV designers, Beyond Van Gogh takes on the challenge of breathing new life into Van Gogh’s vast body of work. Using the artist’s own dreams, thoughts, and words to drive the experience as a narrative, guests move along projection-swathed walls wrapped in light and color that swirls, dances, and refocuses into flowers, cafes, and landscapes.
While journeying through Beyond Van Gogh guests witness over 300 masterpieces, including instantly-recognizable classics such as “The Starry Night”, “Sunflowers”, and ‘Café Terrace at Night”, now freed from their frames. Van Gogh’s art comes to life by appearing and disappearing, flowing across multiple surfaces, and heightening the senses with their immense detail. Through his own words set to a symphonic score, guests come to a new appreciation of this tortured artist’s stunning work. It’s no surprise that millions of people all over the world credit Van Gogh with enhancing their relationship with art. Beyond Van Gogh will only deepen it further.
As immersive art installations deeply resonate around the globe, “Beyond Van Gogh: An Immersive Experience” will stay in Detroit for a limited engagement before moving across North America. Art lovers near and far will have the opportunity to live this unique, unforgettable experience.
Movie Review: Spirit Untamed
Spirit Untamed heads to a theater near you Friday, June 4 and I can’t recommend it enough.
DreamWorks takes you on an epic adventure in their new animated film Spirit Untamed. After the tragic loss of her mother Lucky Prescott finds herself growing up with her wealthy grandfather and aunt. A few “mishaps” and little miss Lucky finds herself and her aunt Cora on a train to stay with Lucky’s dad (Cora’s brother) for the summer.
Lucky becomes friends with local girls Abigail Stone and Pru Granger. Both girls ride horses like a boss, and that is what first catches Lucky’s attention. At Pru’s families barn Lucky is not impressed with a heartless horse wrangler, and decided to try and get Spirit (named for all the “spirit” he has) to get used to her. Pru and Abigail give Lucky all the tips that they know to get the horse comfortable.
Little did Pru and Abigail know that this would result in an unforgettable adventure where Lucky needs to learn how to trust Spirit if she wants to survive the adventure. The girls fearlessly ride over the sides of mountains, battle bad guys, and teach every female out there that you can do anything you set your mind to.
DreamWorks Spirit Untamed is packed with adventure, strength, confidence, trust and so much more. When it ended I started the movie again—yes it’s that good!
Check out Spirit Untamed when it hits theaters Friday, June 4th.
Spirit Untamed Synopsis
An epic adventure about a headstrong girl longing for a place to belong who discovers a kindred spirit when her life intersects with a wild horse, Spirit Untamed is the next chapter in the beloved story from DreamWorks Animation.
Lucky Prescott (Isabela Merced, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) never really knew her late mother, Milagro Navarro (Eiza González, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), a fearless horse-riding stunt performer from Miradero, a small town on the edge of the wide-open frontier.
Like her mother, Lucky isn’t exactly a fan of rules and restrictions, which has caused her Aunt Cora (Academy Award® winner Julianne Moore) no small amount of worry. Lucky has grown up in an East Coast city under Cora’s watchful eye, but when Lucky presses her own luck with one too many risky escapades, Cora picks up stakes and moves them both back with Lucky’s father, Jim (Oscar® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal), in Miradero.
Lucky is decidedly unimpressed with the sleepy little town. She has a change of heart when she meets Spirit, a wild Mustang who shares her independent streak, and befriends two local horseback riders, Abigail Stone (Mckenna Grace, Captain Marvel) and Pru Granger (Marsai Martin, Little). Pru’s father, stable owner Al Granger (Emmy winner Andre Braugher, Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine), is the best friend of Lucky’s father.
When a heartless horse wrangler (Emmy nominee Walton Goggins, FX’s Justified) and his team plan to capture Spirit and his herd and auction them off to a life of captivity and hard labor, Lucky enlists her new friends and bravely embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to rescue the horse who has given her freedom and a sense of purpose, and has helped Lucky discover a connection to her mother’s legacy and to her Mexican heritage that she never expected.
Spirit Untamed is the next chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s beloved franchise that began with the 2002 Oscar-nominated film Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron and includes an Emmy-winning TV series. The film is directed by Elaine Bogan (Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television’s Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia) and is produced by Karen Foster (co-producer, How to Train Your Dragon). The film’s co-director is Ennio Torresan (head of story, The Boss Baby), and the film’s score is by composer Amie Doherty (Amazon’s Undone, DreamWorks Animation’s Marooned).
Cast: Isabela Merced, Julianne Moore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marsai Martin, Mckenna Grace, Walton Goggins, Andre Braugher and Eiza González
Director: Elaine Bogan
Producer: Karen Foster
30 Things to do in June
And in the blink of an eye, we’re welcoming warmer weather, sunny days at the beach, water activities, spontaneous trips, and sunsets with open arms. To kick off the new month, I am sharing 30 things you can do in June.
- Make you sure have a full take of propane, grilling season has begun! Pineapple and veggie kabobs are on repeat over here.
- Grab some ice cream from a local shop.
- Today is World Bicycle Day! Grab your bike and go for a ride at your local state or metro park.
- Happy National Cheese Day! Put your skills to the test and create an epic charcuterie board, or a low-key charcuterie board for dinner tonight.
- It’s National Trails Day. Why not venture outside and go for a hike on a new trail?
- Flowers are blooming and produce is growing, head to a local farmers market and grab some goodies.
- Get out on the water and kayak, paddleboard, or canoe.
- Give your besties some love today, it’s National Best Friends Day! Send them a little snail mail, drop off a gift on their porch anything that works to show some love and appreciation today.
- Drive-in movies are still going strong, and one of my favorite ways to enjoy a flick. Don’t forget to pack a bunch of snacks.
- Have a picnic in the park. You can go traditional with sandwiches or get creative with a charcuterie board.
- Get your flippy flops out and celebrate National Flip Flop Day. Or go grab a new pair, because who doesn’t love cute new shoes?
- Plan a camping trip. I look for campgrounds that are close to water sport rental places and have good hiking.
- Catch a sunset on the beach.
- Visit your local zoo, or skip town and check out a different zoo. I am excited to see the new polar bear at the Detroit Zoo.
- Make homemade popsicles.
- Hit the road for a day trip somewhere new. Bonus boats if you make it to the lake.
- Find a new you trail and go for a hike.
- Drop that bobber in the water, and watch it go up down as you wait to catch a fish on Go Fishing Day!
- Go horseback riding.
- Celebrate, the first day of summer has arrived. Take a trip to the beach or rent a cute paddle boat at a metro park (that’s my plan). Just get out and enjoy those summer vibes.
- Give an outdoor workout a try.
- Have a bonfire, and make s’mores.
- Grab brunch from a restaurant you’ve never been to before.
- Go berry picking.
- Now that things are opening back up, it’s time to get back to the ballpark and root for your favorite team.
- Spend the day being a tourist in your city.
- Get up early and watch the sunrise.
- Do something you haven’t done before—go ziplining, take a hot air balloon ride, go sky diving, surf, kayak, paddleboard…the possibilities are endless.
- Lounge in a tube and float down a lazy river.
- Build a sandcastle.
How To Make a S’mores Charcuterie Board
You thought cheese boards were good, but then came dessert boards, themed board—and you swoon. Just when you thought food boards had peaked, i’m here to bring you something even better—s’mores boards. That’s right, there’s no better way to enjoy s’mores and a fire than with a s’mores charcuterie board.
How to make a s’mores charcuterie board
- Make a list of everything you want on the board and head to the grocery store.
Pro Tip: Add things you like. The possibilities of what you can add to a s’mores charcuterie board are endless. - Pick your board, plate, platter—or anything that is relatively flat.
- Place your graham crackers/cookies, chocolate, marshmallow and anything else you’d like onto your board. If you’d like to design the s’mores board with minimum effort, make a pile of items in one section of the board and try to mirror it on the other side of the board with something of similar color. For example a pile of graham crackers on one side and a dish of peanut butter on the other.
Pro Tip: I always start with the largest items first—graham crackers, anything in cups and fill in with everything else from there. - The board is meant to be fun so let your imagination run wild—especially when you’re making your own s’more.
What can you put on your s’mores charcuterie board?
Remember the possibilities are endless, get creative, try new things. Below you will find some of my s’mores dessert board favorite additions:
- Graham crackers: original, cinnamon, chocolate
- Chocolate bars: from traditional Hershey bars to gourmet chocolate the choice is yours. I like to include dark, milk, cookies+cream, white chocolate
- Marshmallows: original or gourmet, marshmallow brands have really stepped up their game
- Peanut butter cups (traditional and white chocolate)
- Fruit: I love the addition of strawberries
- Peanut butter
- Cookies: fudge stripe, chocolate chip, Girl Scout Cookies, Oreo—go nuts in your local groceries cookie aisle!
Fashion meets Food 