The March of the Morels (They’re Almost Here!)
No matter our politics, our beliefs, our values, our faith, there is at least one matter on which we can all agree: WE ALL LOVE MUSHROOMS. Right?! No? Many mushroom lovers really love mushrooms, though, and for an even smaller subset of people, the morel mushroom is just about the most exciting food in existence. The emergence of the morel heralds the coming of spring, and many Michigan foragers guard their morel hunting spots closely. Right around now, they’re beginning to check their secret spots for the first signs of the mushrooms, because once the heads are visible, there is a harvest window of only a few days.
No matter our politics, our beliefs, our values, our faith, there is at least one matter on which we can all agree: WE ALL LOVE MUSHROOMS. Right?! No? Okay, maybe not everyone - mushrooms are actually one of the most polarizing foods we eat, right up there with cilantro, smelly cheese, and olives. In our own cooking adventures, we have marveled at the near-surgical precision mushroom-haters can employ to extract mushrooms from a risotto or a soup. Many mushroom lovers really love mushrooms, though, and for an even smaller subset of people, the morel mushroom is just about the most exciting food in existence. The emergence of the morel heralds the coming of spring, and many Michigan foragers guard their morel hunting spots closely. Right around now, they’re beginning to check their secret spots for the first signs of the mushrooms, because once the heads are visible, there is a harvest window of only a few days. Skilled (and/or lucky) foragers can sell morels to chefs eager to put them on menus, but most morel hunters are just hoping to put morels on their own plates. Morels are notoriously difficult to cultivate, so for the most part, they are only available during their brief growing season (late-April to mid-June in Michigan). More than a few poems have been written about the morel, and they read like Victorian love poetry - morels are elusive, mysterious, shy, bashful, and precious gems whose beauty goes unnoticed by all but the fastidious few.
We are perched on the cusp of morel-hunting season here in southeast Michigan; there was a sighting just south of us earlier this week! If you want to give morel-hunting a try, check out some of the resources we have linked below. Morels are fairly distinctive looking, but there are a few toxic look-alike species which are generally lumped together as “false morels.” And be prepared to channel your inner criminal persona, as one writer described morel hunters thus:
“These are the… people who, if you come upon them in the forest, always look suspicious and paranoid, like someone waiting for a drug deal. They walk slowly through the pines, heads bent. When they see you they try to look casual, like they just happen to be taking a little stroll. Never mind the basket they carry or that funny, curved knife in their hands. They barely offer a wave before scooting off to a quieter part of the forest.”
Should you be so fortuitous as to find a morel or two (or even a patch!), you’ll find countless recipes for cooking them. We think that the best way to prepare them, though, is to simply sauté them with a little butter and salt, and eat them right out of the pan! It’s certainly not a complicated recipe, but it’s a shame to hide this mushroom’s flavor with elaborate preparations. If you do want to get a little fancy, the great chef and food writer J. Kenji López-Alt recommends a sauté with a few more ingredients that highlight the morel’s delicate earthiness. López-Alt’s recipe post also includes some excellent graphics if you’re not sure how to clean and trim your morels.
Let us know if you get lucky!
Resources and reading:
The Great Morel is a blog dedicated exclusively to the morel, and it has a sighting map that tracks the emergence of morels so that hunters can be prepared.
Modern Forager shares a great deal of information on foraging, including burn maps and gear lists. Kristen and Trent Blizzard’s book, Wild Mushrooms: A Cookbook and Foraging Guide, is a great resource!
The Michigan Mushroom Hunters Club shares information with beginners and hosts several public hunts to help hunters get started.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has lots of information on how and where to get started hunting.
The poem Morel Mushrooms by Jane Whitledge is just one of the morel mushroom genre.
Boyne City hosts the National Morel Mushroom Festival, which includes cooking contests, tastings, seminars, morel giveaways, and a competitive hunt. It takes place May 18-21, 2023.
MichiganMorels is a Facebook page where enthusiasts gather, but as previously mentioned, they are not likely to share specific locations.
Tonight! First Fridays Ypsilanti Returns!
Just when you start to wonder if this might be the year that winter sticks around forever, the gray skies start to crack and the sun begins to warm us up. Those determined crocuses and daffodils begin to unfurl, and we start looking through seed catalogs, filled with giddy relief that spring is happening again! Alongside those crocuses, another sure sign of spring in Ypsilanti is the beginning of First Fridays Ypsilanti.
Just when you start to wonder if this might be the year that winter sticks around forever, the gray skies start to crack and the sun begins to warm us up. Those determined crocuses and daffodils begin to unfurl, and we start looking through seed catalogs, filled with giddy relief that spring is happening again! Alongside those crocuses, another sure sign of spring in Ypsilanti is the beginning of First Fridays Ypsilanti. First Fridays is a monthly event (held on the… first Friday of every month!) that strives to connect Ypsi businesses and community members with arts-related events and celebrations. This year marks the program’s 10th anniversary! The overall event runs from 5-10pm, though individual venues set their own hours. Tonight’s theme is Ypsi in Bloom, and the attractions include swing dancing lessons, fairy door supplies, ice cream, art shows, an Easter egg hunt, a makers’ market, and so much more! (See the detailed event listings, as a few events have age restrictions and/or a small fee.) Shake off the winter dust and come on out, Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor neighbors! We’d love to see you there! We’ll be there! Keep your eyes peeled for our Innkeeper, Chef Allison Anastasio, and ask her what she did with this rhubarb that got her so excited! She’s really excited for local fruits and veggies to start showing up in the garden at The Newton, and at local farmers’ markets!
May the Road Rise to Meet You: St. Patrick’s Day and Irish-American Heritage Month
Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you! St. Patrick’s Day is an important holiday in Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland), but it has historically been a solemn occasion - the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
Sláinte! Cheers to St. Patrick and to Irish-American Heritage Month!
Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you! St. Patrick’s Day is an important holiday in Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland), but it has historically been a solemn occasion - the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick was a 5th century missionary who is credited with spreading Christianity throughout the previously pagan Ireland. Since its establishment by the Catholic Church in 1631, St. Patrick’s Day activities included morning Mass and a family meal. No parties, no corned beef and cabbage, no parades, and most definitely no green beer. How did it evolve into the raucous, secular, green celebration that it is today? Let’s look at the potato…
Though the potato was not native to Ireland (it is native to the Peruvian highlands), once it arrived in Ireland in the 16th century, it was quickly adopted across the country as a cheap, hardy, nutritious food source. It became the staple food of Irish peasants, who made up the majority of the Irish population. Potatoes mashed with a small amount of buttermilk commonly comprised an entire day’s food. Irish peasants consumed between eight and fourteen pounds of potatoes per day, with potatoes accounting for nearly eighty percent of their caloric intake! This total reliance on the potato meant that the Irish diet was highly vulnerable to agricultural threats, and indeed, in 1845, a fungal infection led to three years of failed potato crops. This was the Great Famine, and the Irish people suffered immensely - between 1845 and 1852, over one million people died of starvation and illness, and an additional 2.1 million emigrated. This poignant exodus built one of the biggest diasporas in the world; today, there are more people of Irish ancestry living abroad than there are in Ireland. Almost 1 in 10 Americans (31.5 million) claim Irish ancestry (per the 2020 census). The millions of Irish immigrants who arrived in America over the last 200 years brought their traditions and sensibilities with them, often combined with a longing for their homeland. They settled in Irish enclaves in big cities, and celebrated their heritage. They were often discriminated against, and found a defiant solidarity in their underdog status. Eventually, discrimination was directed at new immigrant groups, but Irish Americans continued to cultivate and celebrate all things Irish. Thus were born the parades, feasts, and parties of St. Patrick’s Day. Even corned beef and cabbage - that quintessential St. Paddy’s dish - was born out of necessity as 19th century Irish American immigrants looked to cook with the cheapest meat they could find (which was salted beef from trade ships). Today, Irish Americans many generations removed still find great solidarity and pride in their Irish heritage (Like me! Three generations removed, but raised with big Irish American pride! My great grandfather immigrated to western Ohio, where he was an undertaker known to all as Black Mike. The lore around the family knows no bounds, and it frequently ties back to ancestors in Ireland.).
Today, Ireland hosts an enormous St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Dublin, and the celebration includes some of these distinctly Irish American traditions like corned beef and all things green (blue was originally the color associated with St. Patrick’s feast day!).
Irish immigrants came to southeast Michigan in the early 1800s - many of them settled in Detroit, and many settled around southeast Michigan (including in Ypsilanti), finding work in the lumberyards, the mines, the paper mills, and in agriculture. The Irish Hills region to the southwest was so named because of the Irish immigrants who settled there between 1830 and 1850.
This St. Patrick’s Day, see if you can track down some traditional Irish music (there is definitely some playing in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor!); try some corned beef and cabbage, or Irish stew, or shepherd’s pie; raise a pint of Guinness or Harp’s Lager (or a cup of tea if that’s your… cup of tea). Sláinte! As the traditional blessing goes: May the road rise beneath you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, may the rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we one day meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
We have cooking classes here at The Newton of Ypsilanti - Chef Allison would love to teach you how to bake the most delicious Irish soda bread, mash up the silkiest colcannon, roast the most tender corned beef, and bake the heartiest shepherd’s pie! Stay for the weekend and alternate a cooking class with some gorgeous chef-made meals! We can’t wait to meet you :)
Check out the White House’s 2023 Proclamation of Irish-American Heritage Month
Consider the Pasty: Michigan’s Favorite Meat Pie
Stop for a minute and ponder: can you think of a food culture that doesn’t have a cherished item of meat wrapped in bread? Pretty much every food culture includes a handheld meat pie, and many of them claim to have invented said pie. In truth, the earliest references to a handheld pie stuffed with vegetables and meat is from ancient Persia, around 100 BCE.
Behold!
Stop for a minute and ponder: can you think of a food culture that doesn’t have a cherished item of meat wrapped in bread? Pretty much every food culture includes a handheld meat pie, and many of them claim to have invented said pie. In truth, the earliest references to a handheld pie stuffed with vegetables and meat is from ancient Persia, around 100 BCE. Shepherds and travelers carried them because they were portable, hearty, and inexpensive. The spread of handheld meat pies is a fantastic illustration of the way that colonialism spread food and ingredients around the globe, and then those foods evolved and were often assimilated into their new culture. Italian calzones, Indian samosas, Scottish bridies, Malaysian karipap, Jamaican beef patties, Australian meat pies, Chinese xian bing, Nigerian meat pies, Russian and Ukrainian peroshky, Lebanese fatayer, Bolivian salteñas, Puerto Rican pastelillos, and of course - empanadas, which show up in Columbian, Salvadoran, Filipino, Puerto Rican, Spanish, Mexican, and Portuguese cuisines.
Here in Michigan, we have inherited the pasty. The pasty (pass-tee) is one of the most well-known and ubiquitous of Michigan foods, especially in the Upper Peninsula - you can buy them at gas stations and corner markets, and in many restaurants. Pasties came to the UP with immigrant miners in the late 1800s. The tin and copper mining industries collapsed in Cornwall, UK just as copper and iron mining entered into a boom period in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Cornish miners brought their mining expertise to mining locations in the US - initially in Michigan and Wisconsin, and later to the western US - and along with that expertise, they brought their food traditions. The pasty was a perfect miner’s lunch in the same way it was for shepherds and travelers - portable and inexpensive (and delicious!).
In the UP, pasties are typically made with beef and a mixture of hardy veggies such as potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, and onions - all wrapped in a sturdy pastry dough that is braided along the rounded edge to create the perfect handle! Today, you can find a multitude of flavor combinations, but the pasty is a food that incites great debate over ingredients, condiments, and even the way the crust is crimped. If you want to see for yourself, just google “pasty debate” - but brace yourself for the fiery exchanges you’ll encounter. Carrots, ketchup, and lard are all hair trigger topics.
Come visit us at the Newton of Ypsilanti and we’ll bake some delicious pasties for you, or teach you to bake them yourself! If you’re local, you can also find excellent pasties at Big City, Small World Bakery in Ann Arbor, and Argus Farm Stop carries frozen pasties from Uncle Peter’s Pasties in Lake Orion. You can also order frozen pasties from Uncle Peter’s Pasties and get them delivered anywhere in the country! They are delicious, and they make a great gluten free version.
(Illustration by Melanie Chadwick Design and Illustration)
If you want to try your hand at baking pasties at home, here are two great recipes:
A classic recipe from the Yooper Pasty Facebook page, with a sturdy shortcrust pastry.
This more contemporary recipe, which calls for butter and shortening instead of lard, and goes so far as to suggest the addition of peas or asparagus.
Michigan: Water and Winter Wonderland
In the winter, Michigan is magical! It does get cold, but there’s so much to see and do, for both city lovers and nature lovers alike. The Newton of Ypsilanti Bed and Breakfast is the perfect place to stage your Michigan adventures; you can start the day with a beautiful breakfast, head out for snowy adventures, and return to unwind with a cup of tea and a cozy fire in the fireplace, followed by a gourmet dinner created for you by the innkeeper, Chef Allison!
Michigan has got so much to see and do in the winter!
Michigan is a beauty in the summer, with freshwater inland lakes and most of The Great Lakes themselves forming the boundaries of the state. But in the winter, Michigan is magical! It does get cold, but there’s so much to see and do, for both city lovers and nature lovers alike. The Newton of Ypsilanti Bed and Breakfast is the perfect place to stage your Michigan adventures; you can start the day with a beautiful breakfast, head out for snowy adventures, and return to unwind with a cup of tea and a cozy fire in the fireplace, followed by a gourmet dinner created for you by the innkeeper, Chef Allison! Here are some of our favorite ways to venture out in the colder months:
Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding (4 great hills within an hour!)
Winter Festivals in Southeast Michigan and Metro Detroit (no shortage of ice carving festivals here!)
The world-class Plymouth Ice Festival is this weekend!
Events at the Washtenaw County Parks:
Kids can Hunt for the Yeti on February 4
On Feb 11, there is the annual Ice Carving Festival at County Farm Park
A certain sort of person might enjoy the Ice Fishing Derby at Independence Lake on February 12 - hats off to you if you’re that sort of person!!
We love local, independent bookstores, many of which host author events and book tours. Bring a cup of coffee and browse or cozy up with a book! Some of our favorites include: Black Stone Bookstore & Cultural Center, Literati Bookstore, and Booksweet Bookshop. Both Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor have a wide variety of cozy cafés and libraries.
And of course, there’s always a day trip to Detroit! On Feb 24, you can learn about the history of Rum-Running in Detroit at the Michigan Outdoor Adventure Center (the OAC has lots of other events to check out!). There are countless museums and events in Detroit and we can help you plan your day!
Days of Yore: Immerse Yourself in History at The Newton of Ypsilanti
Do you love a good story? Are you a history buff? Really into the days of yore? Come for a visit at The Newton, and fill your cup! The inn itself has a fascinating history, and there are so many nearby destinations that share the stories of the people who have lived in and traveled through Ypsilanti and Southeast Michigan since prehistoric times.
Do you love a good story? Are you a history buff? Really into the days of yore? Come for a visit at The Newton, and fill your cup! The inn itself has a fascinating history, and there are so many nearby destinations that share the stories of the people who have lived in and traveled through Ypsilanti and Southeast Michigan since prehistoric times.
Here is a general history of Michigan.
A day trip will take you to the excellent Grand Rapids Public Museum, which hosts the permanent exhibition Anishnabek: The People of This Place. The Norton Mounds are some of the best preserved burial grounds of the prehistoric Hopewell people. (The mounds do not currently have public access.)
Read about the Native Americans who first lived in the Ypsilanti area.
Here is a brief history of the City of Ypsilanti. There are three historic walking tours that will take you to see some of the interesting spots in the city’s history.
The Ypsi Historical Museum and Archives has an extraordinary amount of information on regional history, and fascinating exhibits.
The Ypsi Automotive Heritage Museum highlights the automotive and labor history of Michigan.
The Michigan Firehouse Museum, located in Ypsi’s 1898 firehouse, shares the history of firefighting.
Yankee Air Museum, located at the historical Willow Run Airport. (You can take a flight on a historical plane May-October!) Grab breakfast at The Bomber Restaurant to get in the spirit! Here is a great history of the Willow Run Bomber Plant.
The African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County has exhibits and events.
The Ypsi Black Heritage Project includes a walking tour with informational signage.
Explore Black history in Ypsi via the South Adams Street @ 1900 project.
Go antiquing!
Take a history-filled day trip to Detroit! The Detroit Historical Museum, the Wright Museum of African American History, the Motown Museum (reopening Feb 2023), and the Ford Piquette Plant are all excellent.
The Henry Ford Museum has an incredible permanent collection and rotating exhibits, and Greenfield Village (open seasonally) is a living history village showcasing 300 years of American history.
Washtenaw County has a rich agricultural history, and this Historic Barns driving tour will take you through beautiful farmland. This Foodways virtual tour uses historic recipes to highlights important moments and people in Washtenaw County history
Best things to do in Ypsilanti, Michigan
Here at The Newton we feel lucky to be part of Ypsilanti, Michigan. There are so many places in which we could have settled, but this fits just right. Not only is our home full of history being owned by Charles Newton, but the city itself has so much to offer.
When you stay at our Bed and Breakfast, you can easily get to any of these spots for an entertaining afternoon.
A little history anyone?
Fancy a walk?
Fun for a problem solving group?
Decode Ypsilanti & GO Ice Cream
On the hunt for a vintage find?
Ypsilanti Water Tower