Friday Favorites 10.23.20
The weather this week has been a bit chilly, and rainy, but today is supposed to be in the 70s and rainy. Jack and I plan on getting outside and dodging raindrops the best that we can to enjoy the weather. Did you do anything fun this past week?
This Weeks Favorites:
If you live local I highly recommend checking out Tillson Street in Romeo, Michigan
On Sunday from 3 pm – 7 pm, my favorite small shop Lottie Mae is having a Hygge Christmas-themed Open House.
I made a simple Halloween charcuterie board I think you will love it.
If you love macarons as much as I do, I recommend a trip to Le Detroit Macaron for the best macarons I have ever tasted – and we know I am a connoisseur of them.
I saw someone post that they spent $10 for a small jar of apple butter. Instead of paying that much on one jar of apple butter, why not make your own? I shared my simple recipe for apple butter – you can freeze it too!
Looking to make a simple sweet treat this Halloween? Checkout my pretzel Frankensteins, Mummy Rice Krispie Treats, Bat Bite Cupcakes, or Spider Web Cupcakes.
How adorable is this cabin plaid dog bed?
I definitely think Jack and I need matching PJ\’s this year for Christmas.
Need a fun craft? I am loving these DIY Ribbon Candy Ornaments.
How to Make a Simple Halloween Charcuterie Board
When I posted my Halloween charcuterie board on my personal Snapchat a few of my friends messaged me to ask how many times I rearranged the board and how hard it was to assemble. My honest response was I didn\’t have to rearrange anything, I had a process for how I assembled the board and thought I would walk you through my assembly process.
Assembling a charcuterie board 101
1. Choose your serving platter and utensils
Pro Tip: Start by deciding on the serving platter you want to use. Sometimes I use baskets and other times I use boards, it all depends on what elements are apart of the board.
2. Add any bigger items to your board – such as cookies, donuts, condiments…etc.
3. Now add your cheese
4. Then your meats
5. Now you\’ll want to add your crackers (you can remove them to keep them fresh this will just help you get the design of your board down)
6. Add any fruits or veggies you want to the board
7. Add your fill-ins where there is empty space – I like to use nuts and candies
Choosing your cheeses
Buy what YOU like. If you don\’t like fancy cheeses, don\’t buy them! For this board, I went with Colby, Extra Sharp Cheddar, Gouda, and White Cheddar.
Pro Tip: When selecting cheese for a charcuterie board, I like to have a mix of hard and soft cheeses.
Charcuterie board full in items
Even when I am making a charcuterie board for myself I do not like to see any gaps. I fill the holes with things like apples, nuts, candies, berries, pickles, and more.
Choosing your crackers
Just like cheese, choose crackers that you love.
Pro Tip: The crackers may get soggy from touching other ingredients for too long or go stale from being in the open air. I like to put them on the board right before I am ready to serve it.
Charcuterie board finishing touches
I use cookie cutters to cut out pieces of cheese that fit with my theme to add some dimension to the board.
Exploring Tillson Street in Romeo Michigan
When it comes to Halloween, one of my favorite traditions is to visit Tillson Street in Romeo, Michigan. Tillson Street is best known for elaborate Halloween displays that adorn the homeowner\’s front yards. With COVID-19 still lingering and cases increasing daily, I wasn\’t sure that my favorite Halloween tradition would be happening this year. I am excited to announce that a lot of things may have been ruined in 2020, but the spirit of Tillson Street was not one of them.
Terror on Tillson Street is in fact happening, and it looks a little different this year. About 3/4 of the houses are participating and the houses that draw the biggest crowds (my favorite display the ball for example) are not present. Even though the heavy hitters may not be up for your viewing pleasure there are still plenty of houses for you to checkout on Tillson Street to give you your Halloween fix.
Don\’t forget to check out the street over from Tillson Street, where you\’ll find even more spooktacular decorations to enjoy (I especially love the ghosts). Here is a peek at my 2020 Terror on Tillson Street adventure.
Michigan Autumn Tradition: Yates Cider Mill
With a history that dates back to 1863, Yates Cider Mill is one of my favorite autumn traditions in Michigan. The Clinton River cascades over the Yates Dam (located across the street from the cider mill), creates the stream that the cider mill uses for water power. In 1876 the Yates family installed a cider press and incorporated the press into their existing water-powered process where they began to produce the best Michigan apple cider.
Today you can enjoy the same kind of fresh 100 percent all-natural apple cider that folks enjoyed back in 1876 at Yates Cider Mill – seriously how cool is that?
What is a cider mill?
A cider mill is a location and equipment used to crush apples into apple juice for use in making apple cider.
Does all apple cider taste the same?
Nope, all apple cider does not taste the same. The taste and color of the apple cider will change over the course of the fall season. In late August or early September apples such as Ginger Golds and Paula Reds will make up the apple cider and give it a lighter juice color as well as a tart flavor. As the season progresses more apple varieties ripen and come available. By mid-October, as many as six different varieties of apples are combined to make the apple cider.
While I love apple cider from Yates Cider Mill from the beginning of the season to the end of the season I do have a personal favorite time to pick up some apple cider. I love the mid-October apple cider from Yates Cider Mill. As mentioned above as many as six different varieties of apples are combined to make the mid-October apple cider and it gives it a taste like never before. I typically buy multiple gallons so I can freeze them and enjoy a glass of hot apple cider all winter long.
How many apples does it take to make a gallon of cider?
It takes about 40 apples to make a gallon of apple cider.
Can you freeze apple cider?
Yes! I love to freeze mine, let it thaw out and then heat it up in the winter with some mulling spices on a chilly day.
Where is Yates Cider Mill located?
The historic site of Yates Cider Mill is located at:
1990 E Avon Road
Rochester Hills, MI 48307
Kroger Chefbot: Recipe Ideas from your Pantry Items
Figuring out what is for dinner, has become harder than ever – especially for those of us who are single. I have managed to cook my way through my Pinterest board and am getting sick of making the same thing weekly, so I have started to resort to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner.
While parents hear \”what\’s for dinner?\” my friends hear it from me, because I am always looking for new ideas. If you\’re like me and are completely exhausted in the kitchen there is a new solution. Let me introduce you to Chefbot.
Kroger recently launched Chefbot, a first-of-its-kind AI Twitter tool that delivers personalized recipe recommendations based on ingredients you already have in your kitchen. You simply tweet @KrogerChefbot three ingredients you have, and you will be provided with some delicious ideas for dinner. I have used the Kroger Chefbot a few times now, and it has definitely sparked some new inspiration.
I am loving salmon lately, but keep preparing it the same way, so I let Kroger Chefbot help with dinner. My kitchen was looking pretty bare and I only tweeted Chefbot two ingredients: salmon and rice. Kroger Chefbot came back with some delicious recipes and ultimately I decided on Crispy Rice Salmon.
If you\’re struggling with dinner ideas, I highly recommend giving Kroger Chefbot a try.
Snap: Users snap a photo of three ingredients from their refrigerator or pantry
Tweet: Users tweet their photo to @KrogerChefbot. Through artificial intelligence, Chefbot identifies ingredients and then scans thousands of unique recipes on Kroger.com
Cook: Within seconds, Chefbot responds to the user’s original tweet to deliver a list of personalized recipe recommendations based on the selected ingredients
Click HERE to tweet your ingredients to Chefbot
and begin cooking your next meal.
More about Chefbot right from Kroger
“Last year, we launched Kroger’s Fresh for Everyone brand transformation campaign to underscore our commitment and belief that everyone should have access to fresh, affordable and delicious food,” said Mandy Rassi, Kroger’s vice president of marketing. “Chefbot is one of the ways we’re delivering on that brand promise by making it even easier for our customers to achieve their meal aspirations, especially as the majority of shoppers are eating meals prepared at home multiple times a day during the pandemic. We’re thrilled to partner with industry thought leaders like 360i, Coffee Labs and Clarifai to bring Chefbot to our customers, and we look forward to this innovative technology inspiring fresh and delicious meals in kitchens across the country.”
Chefbot provides an interactive experience to help make life at home more manageable and reinforces Kroger’s commitment to Fresh for Everyone as well as encourages professional foodies and amateur cooks alike to utilize use all the food found in their pantries to help reduce food waste. Chefbot’sexperience includes multiple touchpoints, offering fun social engagement through Twitter paired with Kroger.com e-commerce integration. Over time with learned insights, Chefbot’s food recognition and recipe search technology will evolve and improve, allowing the possibilities of this powerful tool to advance.
\”Never has it been more necessary for people to be able to find quick, sustainable, and easy solutions for making meals at home – and no place makes it easier for food brands to engage directly with these people than Twitter,” said Dennis Bree, Twitter’s Director of Catalyst + Government & Causes. “Through the use of innovative technology, Kroger is bringing meal-time inspiration to the people on Twitter who are actively Tweeting about the need for new recipes more than ever before.\”
“Chefbot illustrates how marketers can tap into augmented intelligence to deliver true service and value,” said Menno Kluin, Chief Creative Officer, 360i. “Innovation often happens during times of seismic change. By leveraging visual AI in a bold new way, Kroger is bringing their promise of Fresh for Everyone to life while addressing pain points and helping shoppers maximize their purchases.”
Fashion meets Food 