Introducing the Butterball turkey podcast

Lets talk turkey! From the folks who brought you the toll free helpline (1-800-Butterball) for cooking your Thanksgiving turkey comes the new wave of technology - the Butterball Turkey Podcast. The closer Thanksgiving gets, the more podcasts will be added to the Butterball website. Currently, there are three podcasts for you to listen to. Six podcasts in all will eventually be available for download.

Here is what is available as of today, November 15.

• Butterball Turkeytalk Preview - an intro to what will be covered in these podcasts
• Get Ready - Preparation 101
• Countdown Continues - Preparation 102

Oh the wonders of technology. See, now you can download these podcasts and put them on your MP3 player. While you are prepping your Thanksgiving meal you can have these podcasts playing and hopefully helping you cook the best turkey ever.

Visit Butterball.com and head over to the Turkey Podcast.

Via the Detroit Free Press.

Yum! Beaner's Gourmet coffee beans are coming to Michigan Meijer stores

Beaner's Gourmet Coffee, a coffeehouse chain that traces its humble beginnings to Lansing, will soon have some of their favorite blends on Michigan (Indiana & Ohio, too) Meijer store shelves. This is great news for me, a former three-year resident of Lansing, as Beaner's coffee has been one of the biggest things I miss about Lansing (in addition to Jersey Giant Subs, but that discussion could fill another post on a different day :) ). As I write this it seems that friends and food are the things I miss most about leaving Lansing. Weird.

Beaner's Gourmet Coffees that will be sold at Meijer -

• Beaner's Best Blend
• Black and Tan
• Mocha Java
• French Blend
• Rwanda
• Creme Brulee
• Hazelnut Cream
• Michigan Cherry

Oh happy day for me! Not sure when Beaner's coffee will make its debut on Meijer shelves, but more information is supposed to be available tomorrow.

Via the Lansing State Journal.

Thank you Meijer for bringing quality gourmet coffee to the masses here in Michigan. :)

Visit the Farm House Bakery near Vandalia

Thanks to my sister, Emily, for this review. A delightful little bakery can be found over near Vandalia, just north of town. Located one mile off of M-60, the Farm House Bakery has many treats to offer.

Open Thursday through Saturday, the Farm House has an array of delectable treats to offer. Starting at seven a.m., breakfast is served with surprising efficiency.

On a recent visit, my sister and I received our food quite quickly. We both ordered the Farmer’s Wife, which consists of their wonderful egg casserole; choice of French Toast, pancakes (both served with pure maple syrup) or biscuits and gravy; choice of meat (a mild sausage or bacon); and choice of pastry (cinnamon roll, glazed donut, bismark, apple fritter, or muffin). Each breakfast also comes with a dish of fresh fruit (grapes, melon, and pineapple). Beverages include milk, juice, and great coffee.

My sister and I both chose the biscuits and gravy and sausage, but she went with a cinnamon roll while I chose the blueberry muffin. Both are excellent choices and come icing drizzled all over the top. The muffin was FULL of blueberries, just the way I prefer.

I personally have tried the apple fritter, cinnamon roll, and blueberry muffin. (The bakery happens to be conveniently located on my way to work.) There are other varieties of muffins left to sample. Also available are fresh-baked breads and pies, as well as other sweet goods.

The Farm House also serves lunch. They offer sandwiches, regular and buffalo burgers and subs.

If you plan on going on a Saturday morning, go early in order to find a table. Hopefully you aren’t shy as tables are sometimes shared by more than one party. If you do have to wait, it will be well-worth the time.

The Farm House Bakery is open Thursday through Saturday, from 7 am to 4 pm, and is located at 59573 White Temple Road.

Yooper shows how to cook on your car's engine

I am not sure whether to put this in the Recipes, Travel, or Michigan Oddities category. This is a video from an Upper Peninsula television show featuring a local man and his love of cooking meals on his manifold. It's a bit campy, corny and unintentionally funny. I loved it!

If the video player does not show up you can view the video directly here. All Things Michigan and Gift Baskets From Michigan LLC are not responsible for content at YouTube beyond the video this link is directed to.

Java Joe's Cafe, My Favorite U.P. Coffee Shop

Way up north across the Mighty Mac and located in lovely St. Ignace you will find one of the many treasures of Michigan's Upper Peninsula - Java Joe's Cafe. The name says 'Java,' but there is more to Java Joe's than coffee. The first time I stopped in there was in the evening with my wife to get a Chai Latte. The place was packed with people eating pizza. Yes, pizza. From the looks and smells of those pies, I would say that Java Joe's must serve up a mighty good pizza in addition to their yummy breakfast and excellent selection coffee.

The proprietor of the cafe, Joe Durm, is a friendly chap who loves to chat with his customers and seems genuinely interested in where they are heading or where they are from. He offers suggestions on places to stop along your way after hearing which direction you are taking from his store.

I can't vouch for the breakfast (I have always just stopped for caffeine) at Java Joe's Cafe, but judging by the sights, smells, and crowds it must be pretty good. Some of my family ate there last summer for breakfast and they were quite pleased with the quantity and quality of the food.

You can even make up your own cappuccino or latte flavor with the wide assortment of flavors in Java Joe's inventory. We had him create Caramel Apple Cappuccino when we stopped in on our way to Wisconsin. Joe said that in all of his years he had never before served up a Caramel Apple Cappuccino. It was so good. I need to find some apple flavoring and try to create my own.

When Joe isn't serving up coffee and pizzas he substitute teaches at the school on Mackinac Island. How cool is that to be a substitute teacher on Mackinac Island of all places?

Prices and Such

• Breakfast - from the Shortstack Pancakes at $2.89 up to the Hobo Omelet at $7.89
• Lunch - from the Veggie Burger at $4.59 up to the Whitefish Sandwich at $8.95
• Pizzas - average price for a 16" pizza is around $14.95 (I have to try the Smoked Whitefish sometime!)
• Coffees are anywhere from $1.29 for a small coffee to $3.75 for large specialty drinks

If you go: Java Joe's is located at 959 North State Street in St. Ignace. The cafe is located in the outskirts of the parking lots for the Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Inn.

Michigan Blueberry Picking Time

After taking care of the orders early this morning we headed out to Locke's Fruitful Acres just north of Volinia to pick blueberries. The air was fresh and cool and the clouds helped to keep it quite pleasant for picking blueberries. We grabbed our buckets (which hold about 6 lbs.) and attached them to a shoulder harness which keeps your hands free for picking. I love how laid back they are at Locke's. The blueberry bushes are just behind the store (which is full of country-themed crafts that my wife loves to look over) and the owner's just tell you to head "out back" and find a good spot. They don't expect you to pick the bush clean before you move on. Machines will run through later and get the ones you missed.

We picked at Leduc Blueberries one time. My momma always told me that if I could not say anything nice then I should not say anything at all. So I will only say that we prefer Locke's Fruitful Acres to satisfy our blueberry picking needs.

It only costs $1.15 per pound for U-pick blueberries at Locke's. If you do not enjoy the picking experience you can purchase a 5 lb. box for $8.50 or a 10 lb. box for $16.00. I am not sure if we were there much more than an hour and between the two of us we had about 23 lbs. of the best blueberries around.