Hayes State Park - Irish Hills

We went this weekend and had a great time. It wasn't crowded (but I could see that it could get crowded during the MIS season) and the sites were all pretty nice. They have some fishing docks, and the kids got to go fishing, plus there's all the Irish Hills kitschy stuff like the Mystery Hill (and it's AMAZING FORCE OF GRAVITY) and mini golf etc. to visit. It is near MSU's Hidden Lake Gardens, which we didn't visit, but I'd like to do so sometime. We had lunch at Jerry's Pub on Wamplers Lake on the deck, and the food was good and the view was wonderful. It was a sunny warm day - perfect for an Oberon, which we had.

For dinner, I tried Dutch oven cookery, because we're going to be doing it next weekend at Girl Scout camp. Our service unit has cast aluminum ovens - I am wondering if it is easier to burn food in aluminum, because I burnt the pineapple upside down cake I tried to make. Then again, the recipe said 8 coals on the bottom, 14 on top and I put way more than that on top and bottom. My bad! I invented the beef stew recipe I followed - and it came out pretty good:

Mom's Camping Beef Stew
1 lb new potatoes, cut in half
3 cloves garlic, slivered
1 lb baby carrots
2 lbs. beef stew meat
1 onion sliced
3 cans beef broth
(add one bottle beer if you are not camping with Girl Scouts)
salt and pepper
Spring of rosemary or a couple bay leaves

Stuff to add later:
small bag of frozen peas
1/2 c. flour and enough water to fill a cup

Heat a charcoal chimney with about 20 briquettes of charcoal. While it is getting hot, line the inside of the dutch oven with aluminum foil, and add ingredients in the order listed. Cook with 10 coals on the bottom and 14 on top for one hour, check to see if potatoes are soft and beef tender. I was using a 12 inch oven. The general rule of thumb to produce about a 350° heat is to take the size of the Dutch oven in inches, double the number, and use that many total briquettes. Add peas and flour water and stir, replace lid and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Make sure not to drop ash in your pot!

Chico Bags

At the beginning of 2008, I decided to quit using grocery bags. I was shocked to discover that the average American uses between 300 and 700 plastic bags per year and that
according to the American Forest and Paper Association, in 1999 the U.S. alone used 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring 14 million trees to be cut down. I checked out all the reusable bags for sale in Ann Arbor, and I found them to be bulky.

I had asked many people for advice on what is the best kind of reusable grocery bag and someone suggested Chico Bags . I fell in love with them! I'm participating in this year's Dexter Relay for Life, which is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, and my team is selling Chico Bags for a fundraiser for our team. If you are interested, please let me know.