Michigan Tech Favorites

 

It's getting to be that time of year again! Winter Carnival at Michigan Tech is my favorite winter thing.   Over the years, I've put together my favorite Houghton inspired recipes, so I thought I would share a list of them here so my fellow alums might find them all in one place:

Library Bar:

Red Chili This is the chili that Jon Davis used to serve out of the back of a van during the all nighter statue building

Swiss Onion Au Gratin Soup  An alum favorite!  

Ambassador:

Tostada Pizza  My take on their most popular pizza

Fishbowls  They are smaller now then they were in the 80s, but still good.

Jampot

Thimbleberry Jam They make theirs with added pectin, I don't.   

Mocha Cupcakes  So good!  It's my first choice when I am there.   

Onigaming Supper Club

Spinach Salad  The restaurant is no longer, but I sure love this salad.   Wish it would come back!

The Summer Place

Steak Marinade  It burned down years ago, but the food there was so good.  I was happy to finally get a copy of their cookbook they published in the 90s.  

Lemon Loaf   Perfect with some Chassell strawberries

Local favorites:

Pannukakku Kaleva or Suomi has the best!

Pasties  I am pretty particular about my pasties.   My favorites in the Keweenaw are Suomi Restaurant in Houghton, Kaleva in Hancock, Connie's Kitchen in Calumet, and the Mohawk Superette.   I used to love the vegetarian pasties they served at the MTU Union, so I tried my hand at making them.  The Keweenaw Co-op has the best ones currently in the Keweenaw.

Miscowaubik Club Potatoes  I never got to go there as a student, but have visited many times as an alum. 

Marinated Tofu

 

This is the recipe for the marinated tofu they sell at the Keweenaw Co-op.   It is so good!

Canning 2021: life during construction

We moved to the Keweenaw in March and most of my stuff was in a storage unit in preparation for our construction project.  I had no kitchen for most of the summer, so we cooked on our back deck on my propane canning stove or on the grill.   We also canned, so I am counting my pantry as my mason jar themed project.   Definitely UP themed....the green pickles were made from dill, cukes and peppers sourced from North Harvest CSA farm in Calumet, the lighter colored pickles were made from a cuke called "Salt and Pepper" from Minnie Farms (I'm not sure where they are located but were regular fixtures at the Calumet Farmer's Market) and the salsa made from tomatoes and jalapenos from Whispering Wild farm in Toivola.   Peaches were hard to come by locally, so I had the produce manager at the Keweenaw Co-op order me a half bushel from Traverse City.   One of the great benefits of being a co-op owner is you can buy things in bulk at 20% over wholesale.   It was a bad year for thimbleberries as we got no rain.   I never got around to making any Chassell strawberry jam with the berries I got.    

not much of a pantry!

I'm looking forward to more canning projects next year.    I probably should have made more salsa, from the looks of it.   Happy canning!