How to Make Bread and Butter Pickles

Posted on August 3, 2020 by

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Growing up, I was surrounded by women who spent time in the kitchen canning and making anything from jams and pickles. The tradition carried on from one generation to the next. While my great-grandma and Meeme would make their pickles or jam alone, it\’s become a tradition that my mum and I make them together – at least when I am in town anyway. 

A few weeks ago my mum and I made up a batch of my Great Grandma Bea\’s Bread and Butter Pickles. These pickles are canned and take about four months to get to the proper pickle flavor. You can either can these pickles or place them in your refrigerator to enjoy sooner than later. 

You can make this recipe with traditional cucumbers that are not too long, and you will use about five of them. That is how my great-grandma would make them. My mum and I prefer to use pickling cucumbers, and grow them in her garden. You can typically find pickling cucumbers at a roadside farm stand and/or your local farmers market.

Grandma Bea\’s Bread and Butter Pickles

this makes a single batch 

Ingredients
5 cups sliced pickling cucumbers (See step 1)
3 medium sweet onions sliced
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon clove

Directions
1. Wash the cucumbers and cut them into thin slices.
2. Peel and slice the onions thin.
3. Combine the cucumbers, onions, and salt in a large bowl, and add ice. Let stand for 2 hours. 
4. After two hours drain. 
5. In a pot add vinegar, water, mustard seed, sugar, turmeric, cinnamon, and clove. Taste the mixture to make sure that is the flavor you want your pickles to be. If it is not the flavor you are looking for add more spices to get to your desired pickle flavor.
6. Once you have your desired pickle brine flavor, bring the mixture to a boil. 
7. Place cucumbers and onions into canning jars and pour the boiling brine mixture over them. 

*At this stage, you can prepare them for canning, and can according to canning directions. These pickles taste best canned and sitting for a couple months. Typically we make our pickles in August and open our first jar at Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does.
** Use something down the side of the jar all the way around it to go up and down and remove the air bubbles. In turn, this will force you to add some more brine.

31 Things to Do in August (Quarantine Edition)

Posted on August 1, 2020 by

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Hello August! Summer is flying by, and the arrival of August is a reminder that summer will soon be coming to a close and I need to soak up as much of it as I can. Thanks to COVID, this hasn\’t been the most exciting summer, but I am trying to make the best of it. Instead of venturing out of state for travels like planned, I have stayed in locally. Even though I am not traveling, I am spending more time outside than ever before. I have spent hours in a kayak or on my paddleboard, gotten lost in the woods, and really just branched out. I hope you\’re having the best out of your summer and are able to truly savor what is left of it.

Even though life looks different right now, there are still plenty of things that you can do safely. While restaurants are allowed to be open here, I am still not ready to dine-in. I know some of you are doing more than others and if you\’re like me and avoiding people I hope you enjoy these 31 things to do in August will inspire you to soak up what is left of the season.
1. Take a hike on a trail you\’ve never been on before.
2. Grill pizza on the BBQ. My favorite is fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil on Naan bread. 

3. \”I carried a watermelon!\” Today is National watermelon day. Enjoy some fresh cut melon while you watch Dirty Dancing.

4. Go for a bike ride around town or a new city. 
5. Peach season has started here in Michigan and it\’s the perfect opportunity for homemade peach ice cream.

6. Sunflower farms are all the trend this year, and the perfect way to add some sunshine to your day.

7. It\’s national lighthouse day. If you live in the Great Lakes state make sure you visit one of the 124 beautiful lighthouses before summer ends. Note: due to COVID many lighthouses will not let you climb inside this year.

8. It\’s tomato season! Head to a local farm or farmers market to pick up some delicious Michigan grown tomatoes. 

9. Wake up early and head out to catch the sunrise over the water.

10. Support small and do some shopping locally instead of online.
11. Head to the beach for a relaxing day listening to the waves crash.

12. Take in the sights of a nearby city that you\’ve never visited or have not visited before. 

13. Go kayaking down the river. It\’s not only a great way to social distance with friends, but a fun way to enjoy the end of summer and take in some great views.

14. Summer ice popsicle and ice cream season and the iconic creamsicle is the perfect blend of both. So why not celebrate national creamsicle day with one. You can bet Jack will be getting some licks of an orange creamsicle.

15. Don\’t miss your chance to watch a sunset or two. 

16. Print out your favorite pictures or make a book of your favorite pictures from this year. 

17. Have a picnic in the park.

18. Send some snail mail to friends. 

19. Grab some ice cream from a local shop.  

20. Catch a movie at a local drive-in theater. 

21. Have a backyard bonfire and don\’t forget the s\’mores!

22. Get out of town and do some car camping.

23. Go for a bike ride around town or a new city. 

24. Make a signature dessert from a place you want to visit. My mum and I will be making some traditional macarons…yum!

25. Clean your car out (mine has a lot of sand in it).

26. Support small and do some shopping locally instead of online.

27. Sit on the end of a dock and go fishing.

28. Paint an art project.

29. Give horseback riding a try.

30. Visit your local zoo.

31. Take a scenic drive. 

Five Things

Posted on July 31, 2020 by

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Can you believe today is the end of week 20 in quarantine and the last day in July? Despite staying home and safe and doing no traveling, summer is just flying by. I have been doing my best to enjoy simple pleasures.

Temperatures have been holding steady here in Michigan in the upper 80s and 90s plus humidity, therefore I have found myself spending plenty of time indoors-where Jack discovered his love for fans. 
This week my aunt and I adventured to Detroit to grab another lobster roll, and I ended up skipping the lobster roll and getting the smoked fish club, which was an amazing decision. My mum and I went on a little day trip to Port Huron and I received a fun stained glass package I won from Cellar Door Trades – if you have not discovered their work yet I highly recommend checking them out. 
I hope you had a wonderful week and enjoy your weekend!

Coming to DTE Energy Music Theatre: Jurassic Quest

Posted on July 30, 2020 by

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313 Presents is excited to bring entertainment back to families who have been patiently waiting since early March. Dinosaurs are ready and raring to return from extinction, and following sold-out weekends in San Antonio, Dallas and Oklahoma City, Jurassic Quest will be migrating to the parking area of DTE Energy Music Theatre on Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 16 with the first-ever JURASSIC QUEST DRIVE-THRU! 

What is Jurassic Quest?
The nation’s best touring dinosaur exhibit has been transformed into an interactive drive-thru experience, featuring over 70 moving and life-like dinosaurs, as well as the 50 foot-long Megalodon! Although the drive-thru experience means guests will stay safe inside their vehicle, they will still need to watch out for the swinging tail of the 80 foot-long Spinosaurus!
The Jurassic Quest Drive-Thru is the only place to encounter some of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the earth, and some of the eeriest marine creatures to ever lurk the ocean’s depths, from the safety of your family vehicle. Guests will be among the first in the nation to go on a quest with an online audio tour that will lead them throughout the thrilling dinosaur safari. Your dino crew can time-travel and enjoy about an hour-long ride back in time. Guests are texted a link before their time slot, which will open on their cellular device upon arrival. The audio tour can play through phone speakers and through car speakers if your device connects in that way. The online audio tour link is also available at http://www.jurassicquest.com. 
Jurassic Quest worked in collaboration with leading paleontologists to ensure each dinosaur was painstakingly replicated in every detail. Guests will have the chance to drive through realistic scenes, without leaving their own vehicles, depicting how dinosaurs looked and moved.
In addition to the life-like dinosaur exhibits, there will be opportunities to visit with a one-of-a-kind baby dinosaur and Jurassic Quest‘s team of dino trainers as well as the chance to capture the moment with a safari-style photo of your vehicle and family transported back in time via a Jurassic setting complete with a dinosaur backdrop. All attendees will leave with the same bragging rights, “We Survived Jurassic Quest 2020!” One photo per family is FREE and included in ticket purchase. 
Jurassic Quest Safety Measures:
Jurassic Quest will continue to take extra precautionary measures to provide a clean and safe event. Food or beverage will not be available for purchase onsite, so guests are encouraged to bring their own snacks to enjoy during the ride. Merchandise will be available for purchase at the Dino Store, and all transactions are cashless and touchless, as staff will deliver items to vehicles. Guests are to remain in vehicles and wear masks in the event they exit the vehicle in allowed areas to use the restroom prior to or after the ride. Social distancing rules will be requested of all guests and maintained by Jurassic Quest crew, who will be sanitizing equipment, dinosaurs and workstations more frequently and thoroughly throughout the entirety of the event. Employees will be applying hand sanitizer and washing their hands regularly throughout each day, in addition to wearing masks. Guest safety and enjoyment is Jurassic Quest‘s top priority.
Guests must travel through the drive-thru in the comfort of their own vehicle – no rentals or golf carts will be provided and walkers are not allowed. To ensure participant safety, all guests must ride inside their vehicles (yes, pets inside vehicles are allowed), no riders in truck beds, however. Trailers are also not allowed – as they might tempt the hungry dinos too much. Oversized vehicles and vehicles with more than nine riders are allowed (at $80 per vehicle plus fees), but vehicles must be under 10 feet tall and under 25 feet long. A full list of Frequently Asked Questions can be found online at www.jurassicquest.com/drive-thru-faqs. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit www.JurassicQuest.com. 
Whether they are big or small, young or old, guests of Jurassic Quest have a dino-mite time!
Jurassic Quest Performance Schedule:
August 7 – 11:00 AM
August 8 – 9:00 AM
August 9 – 9:00 AM
August 12 – 9:00 AM
August 13 – 9:00 AM
August 14 – 9:00 AM
Purchase passes here: https://313pres.co/3g9CMTW 
JURASSIC QUEST SPECIAL OFFER:
Save 10% on passes with code DINO10

Movie Review: The Secret: Dare to Dream

Posted on July 30, 2020 by

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The Secret: Dare to Dream is a classic romantic movie based on the bestselling self-help book The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The book explored the law of attraction, a belief that thoughts positive or negative can impact your life. As someone who has read the book, I went into this movie with big hopes and let me tell you from the moment I started it, I didn\’t want it to end. 
Why was I excited to watch The Secret: Dare to Dream?
The Secret: Dare to Dream is directed by Andy Tennant, who is best known for some of my favorite romance movies, Hitch, Ever After: A Cinderella Story, and of course my all-time favorite movie Sweet Home Alabama. 

Who are the main characters in the film?
Miranda a struggling widowed mom of three and played by Katie Holmes.
Bray a traveling gentleman is in town visiting and spouts New Age wisdom and is played by Josh Lucas (who is one of my favorite romantic film actors).

The storyline of The Secret: Dare to Dream
The movie begins with Miranda calling the bank to get put on a payment plan, which is something I am sure a lot of people are familiar with. Struggling to make ends meet, this single mom of three works at a busy seafood restaurant in New Orleans. 

To make matters worse, Miranda finds out that she is in need of a root canal, which will cost her even more money – and unfortunately she does not have health insurance. And, just when you think things cannot get worse for Miranda they do when you learn a storm is brewing. 

Miranda leaves works and heads for the school top pick up her kids, but before she can even make it home she encounters yet another obstacle when she crashes into the back of a stranger\’s truck. The crash causes her bumper to fall off

What Miranda does not realize is that stranger is Bray who has come to town looking for her earlier in the movie and was carrying a large yellow envelope. At this point, you assume the envelope is just another bill Miranda has to pay as she has been getting herself into quite a bit of debt. 
Mystery man Bray offers to fix her van, and Miranda invites him back to her place so he can fix it there. Sure a single mom of three kids should not be inviting a stranger that she drove her car into back to her home. However, this part right her teaches us a lesson of allowing others to help us when we need it. Remember, positive thoughts negative or positive can impact your life. 

The storm arrives in the middle of the night, and Miranda finds herself moving her children into the bathroom for shelter. In the morning, Miranda and the children wake to find a tree in their kitchen and a huge hole in the roof. 

Miranda and the children both make remarks about why do bad things always happen to them, and honestly at this point you really want something good to happen for once. Take note that things tend to seem to go well for Miranda when Bray is around. 

Bray comes back the next day with a coffee in hand and to check on the family, he even offers to fix the hole in the roof for only the cost of supplies. 

Where things get complicated in The Secret: Dare to Dream
You start to fall in love with Bray and wish that he and Miranda would be together. Then you learn that Miranda has a wealthy boyfriend, who is also her boss at the restaurant and Bray seems to have a wife at home awaiting his return. The plot thickens when Miranda\’s boyfriend becomes her fiance. 

Meanwhile, the three children are growing attached to Bray, who is helping their family. The eldest daughter is during 16 and another girl is having a party that will have food trucks. Bray asks her if she would rather have 200 Instagram followers or a few close friends, and the girl replies a few close friends. That right there, was so powerful, and something that as a society we could really learn from. Another powerful saying Bray says to her is \”what do you want?\” and the girl responds that she does not know. Bray then says \”if you don\’t know what you want, how can you ask for it?\” Have you ever heard anything truer before? 

Later, the secret that ties Miranda and Bray together is revealed. The discovery infuriates Miranda and she sends Bray away from her home. The viewer is left to answer their own questions as to what happens to Bray and Miranda next – and I can\’t wait for you to discover the secret and what happens next. 

Final thoughts about The Secret: Dare to Dream
As someone who is a huge Nicholas Sparks romantic film buff, anything that is not by him I always set to an extremely high standard, and The Secret: Dare to Dream delivered. While Byrne\’s book The Secret had worldwide success when it was released and was extremely impactful – I don\’t think the movie led to that impact. However, I absolutely loved the movie and the lessons that came along with it. 

We are going through a year like never before, and while some of us are doing great, others like myself are struggling. I lost my job back in April and have applied to over 150 positions with no luck getting a job. Due to my unfortunate situation, I have found myself in the mindset of why do bad things keep happening to me. The movie was a good reminder that positive or negative thoughts can impact your life, and it really resonated with me. 

The Secret: Dare to Dream is the perfect summer 2020 release and as someone who loves romantic movies, this one is definitely worth watching over and over again. From the time to start the movie you do not want it to end.  
The Secret: Dare to Dream will be available to rent for $19.99 through On Demand platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, VUDU, and cable providers starting tomorrow Friday, July 31.
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