Bistro Newsletter

During Dream Cruise Michael and I got away on our annual Pine River camping trip. The Pine, near Cadillac, is one of the fastest cleanest rivers in lower Michigan. This year the weather couldn’t have been better, and the water was crystal clear due to lack of rain. No water fall made the river lower, and we had lots of sandy beaches to stop at and enjoy the river’s beauty with our friends.

This year 17 of us made the trip! For some of us, this was our 27th year together. We’ve come a long way as a group, we “glamp” now a days. Most of us have large tents, bed frames, air mattresses, fans and lots of lights. It still is a ton of work and every year I feel like it is getting a little harder on the old bones, but so worth it! I love being with my friends, building a fire, walking down to the frog pond and seeing the most amazing stars at night. Playing music and swapping stories around the campfire, sharing a great bottle of wine.

Other than the river, my favorite part of camping is cooking outdoors. This year we had homemade Lox  with bagels and Crepes cooked to order for breakfast. Tinned fish and a mezza platter for lunch with lots of salads and fresh fruit. My dinner menus consisted of a Seafood Stew (this weekend’s chalkboard feature inspiration) that I cooked over the fire one night, Ginger Chicken over Udon Noodles with Broccoli and on the last night I “punched out, got off the clock” and Michael and Tim (former chef of Forte Restaurant in Birmingham) made a fabulous Grilled Ahi Tuna. No franks and beans for us!!!

There will be a few more weeks of warm weather, I hope you get out and enjoy it!​

Cheers,
Sharon

view photos