Debajo del Sol

Debajo del Sol at Mix Market Ypsi today

2012-01-14T06:12:00.000-08:00

Chef Jay will be at Mix Market in Ypsi with delicious spinach, raisin and pine nut empanadas, saffron and almond chicken sandwiches.
Mix Market is located in the J Neil's Mongolian Grille building on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Washington Street, across from Mix, the store. The owner of Mix, Bonnie Penet and Leslie Leland, came up with a wonderful use for the empty building across from their shop by creating an indoor market that features locally made arts, crafts and foods.
We are really excited to be a part of something so wonderful happening in Ypsilanti, our hometown.

Debajo del Sol still cooking up good stuff at Wolverine State Brewing

2012-01-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all of our friends, new and old. We have enjoyed becoming part of the Ann Arbor/Ypsi food community. We are excited for the upcoming year all the wonderful things that await us. As we gear up for a busy summer season, we are doing anything but taking a break during winter.

Chef Jay is setting up shop regularly at Wolverine State Brewing at 2019 W. Stadium. He will be there Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays starting tonight. Tonight, he will feature his infamous lamb burger. He also is heating up the fryer for his crispy patatas with brava sauce and aioli. As is Chef Jay's way, he loves to experiment with merging Spanish flavors and classic Midwestern comfort foods. He has recently done just that with his Manchego-chorizo mac and cheese. Sound good to you? Then, drop on by Wolverine State Brewing tonight. Enjoy the great microbrewed beers Matt, Trevor, E.T., a.k.a. the Beer Wench, and crew are making and serving.

Production Day

2011-11-30T19:08:00.000-08:00

Cristina's almond cookies (amaretti) packed and ready to go.

Jay hard at work.

One empanada, two empanada, three empanada, four...

Thank you, Ann Arbor! See what's in store for winter.

2011-11-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun in our first season at Mark's Carts. We weathered some storms, literally. The September rain definitely put a damper on things, excuse the pun. Still, we loved the many regulars who stopped by and all of the people supported us this summer. It was an exciting time. We met so many great people who love food as much as we do.

We will hardly be stopping for winter. Jay will be around town with Debajo del Sol. Look for him. We know for sure we will be at KindleFest Market at Kerrytown on Friday, Dec. 2, from 6 to 10 p.m. and at Tiny Expo in Braun Court, across from Kerrytown, Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Until then, have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Capturing a sunrise, a 9-11 meditation

2011-09-11T06:26:00.001-07:00

Love this miraculous world that we did not make, that is a gift to us. --Wendell Berry

This is a photo of a sun rise I took a few weeks ago. It's not a fantastic photo by any means, but it represents a rare moment of peace in my life, a moment of watching something I have not really stopped to see in many years. After all, there are deadlines to meet, bills to pay, and all that jazz. Even now, I often wake up in a panic thinking about it all. But, today is a day of remembering, remembering that we are still here, remembering that day 10 years ago when we got the wind knocked out of us. We watched a door slam hard, shutting behind it our innocence and perhaps our naive "that could never happen here" thoughts out forever.

It's a different world, now. There is no going back. We hear talk of threat levels and wonder what that means for us. We see crazy ebbs and very few flows in the economy and wonder what that means for us. We hear chatterboxes on television trying to tell us to beware of this or beware of that and wonder what that means for us. In all of it, it can be hard to find a moment like the one above, a moment that brings clarity and makes me really see what truly matters.

We have all heard the stories of 9-11 survivors who were headed off to work, were on autopilot in their morning routines, as we all are so apt to be, when something, a sick child perhaps, made them stop and take a few minutes longer. In essence, we are all like those survivors. If nothing, the tragedy should not make us always fear the fact that this could happen again, but it should remind us of our fortunes, should make us stop more often and take in a breathtaking sunrise or take in, as I saw yesterday from the window of my food cart, a tender moment when two young parents are enraptured by the beauty of their sleeping infant. With the victims of 9-11 and their families in my heart, I choose to see more of these moments from here on out. I choose to capture more sunrises, to capture more smiles from my teenage children (yes, I am aware that means I have my work cut out for me), choose to worry less, to love more, to sing more, even if I can't carry a tune. Yes, our world has changed, but it can change again. Peace.

Catching Up

2011-07-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

Ann Arbor Art Fair was long and hot and long and hot. Now that we've managed to get through the hottest of hot days we feel like we can handle high 80s, low 90s no problem. While sales weren't quite what we'd hoped that week, our Kiki had a good week. She set up a display of her paintings and sold a few of hers as well as a painting by our dog Maynard. Proceeds from her art sales will be donated to the Humane Society of Huron Valley where Maynard lived before we became his forever family.

A couple weeks before art fair we hung out in Kerrytown for the Bacon Festival. I meant to post the photos of our cart friends who participated.

Ji Hye of San Street assembles a steamed bun.

David and Blake serve up some pie at the Eat cart.

Angie and Keith of Humble Hogs.

Ann Arbor Art Fair anticipation and our menu

2011-07-13T08:41:00.001-07:00

The weather is getting warmer and that can only mean one thing. The Ann Arbor Art Fair is nearly upon us! There will be lots of fun things happening down at Mark's Carts. We will have music, including our friends Jason Magee and Erik Santos of 16 More Miles. They performed once already for our Friday Night Live series and, as always, it was great! If you missed that performance you can catch them playing here during art fair along with a bunch of. Other great musicians.
There also will be youth art displayed and sold. Our daughter, Kiki, will be selling her animal paintings. Her intention is to donate a portion of her proceeds to the Humane Society of Huron Valley where our dog, Maynard, came from.
For art fair we'll be cooking up some great stuff. We've already rolled out our chicken paella. Jay is marinating the chicken in garlic and herbs. Yum! We'll also be throwing in some fresh local vegetables.
We'll also have our staples, chorizo corn dogs and our decadent and delicious duck fries, featuring crispy hand-cut potato, chorizo duck gravy and blue cheese. We have been around these parts for a good number of years and are well aware of how hot art fair days can get. Our watermelon gazpacho with cucumber, basil and local goat cheese made by our friends at Four Corners Creamery in is just the blast of refreshment needed after a day of taking in all the wonderful art coming to town. Our Spanish-style potato salad made with a sherry vinaigrette also is refreshing. Can't forget our other menu favorite, the lamb burger with pear mustarda and blue cheese. Should make for a fabulous time. We look forward to seeing you down at the cart. We'll post art fair deals and music schedules soon.

Late night and other stuff

2011-06-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Ann Arbor,

The past couple weeks at Mark's Carts courtyard have been exciting. We celebrated our first month of operation as the first food cart courtyard in southeast Michigan on June 9. We are finally in a groove at Debajo del Sol. We feel a lot more organized. It could have something to do with the iPad we got to help us with the cash transactions. That makes Cristina and happy girl.

We had some visitors last week. Congressman John Dingell came to the courtyard last Friday. No one wears Searsucker like Dingell. That same evening the courtyard enjoyed its first Friday Night Live event. We held a drawing for a free paella dinner for two. Our winners, Peter and Jean, returned Thursday night for some tasty rabbit and chicken paella.

Thursday, The Detroit Free Press ran a front page story about Mark's Carts. We were excited to see a photo of Jay's paella on front page of the entertainment section. More photos of all kinds of fun stuff at the food courtyard are at the Detroit Free Press website.

Tonight, Jay and our friend Scott G., are doing late night service from midnight to 3 a.m. I am definitely no going to be doing that. My hope is that all goes well. Well, I thought this blog would be more descriptive, but I think fatigue is blurring the letters on this blog.

We look forward to more fun at the courtyard. Come join us.

Yours,

Cristina

P.S. Blake is the pie king.

Celebrating Cristina's Birthday Wednesday with a mini-fundraiser for the Pink Fund and looking forward to Friday Night Live

2011-06-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

I was on my way back to the courtyard today from a bread run when I realized how I wanted to celebrate my birthday on Wednesday, June 8, at the courtyard. I am all about birthdays and I'm all about helping women and men with breast cancer, especially helping an organization that helps women and men with the financial burden created by breast cancer treatment and recovery. That's why Debajo del Sol will be holding a mini-fundraiser for The Pink Fund, an organization based in Michigan that provides financial assistance to men and women who are going through breast cancer and have lost income because of it.

I know all too well the financial burden caused by a breast cancer diagnosis. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and even with a good amount of vacation time and disability, five months of chemotherapy really did zap that all up and more, making it difficult to keep a full and steady paycheck while paying the mounting medical bills. That's why I think organizations such as The Pink Fund are as important to the fight as organizations that raise money to find a cure. Finding a cure would be great, but in the meantime women and men are living with the burdens cancer diagnoses ultimately cause.

My plan is to match whatever we collect tomorrow with the number of my age. We also will be running a special. The first person to guess my age correctly will get a free paella.

Here's to birthdays!!!!!

We'll also be open at the courtyard during Friday Night Live. There will be live music featuring the band Me and Ryan. Also, we'll run some specials. Look for details in Thursday's post.

We saw the sun

2011-05-30T19:15:00.001-07:00

It happened today. The sun came out in Ann Arbor. That's after a week of storms, tornado warnings and snow. Well, the snow wasn't real. The snow was part of the movie set for Five Year Engagement, starring Emily Blundt and Jason Segel, which is shooting in Ann Arbor. I saw the fake snow as I walked up Washington to get some fresh bread at Cafe Japon. I had no idea there was a movie being shot in Ann Arbor until last Thursday. That was the day Jay and I made the executive decision not to open our cart as rain and thunder storms were forecasted for the entire day. We decided to make up for it and remain open throughout the holiday weekend.
Friday, Jay debuted the outdoor paella cooker, making his life a little more hectic. He now works the line in our cramped little mobile kitchen and simultaneously has paella cooking outside, so I'm learning a bit more about the line. In essence, I'm learning how not to destroy chorizo corn dogs. I admit I had no idea what I was doing when he left me alone in the cart for the first time a couple weeks ago. It wasn't pretty. I'm a quick study, though, and I haven't destroyed anymore chorizo corn dogs since. Knock on wood. Fortunately we have some great help in the form of our friend Scott G.

We love the community that is growing around our little food cart courtyard. We've had so many interesting, food loving visitors. Last week, Davis Smith posted a video blog about our courtyard. He said some wonderful things about our home away from home.
Jay's duck sausage with a pear mustard preserve and blue cheese foam, a little homage to the traditional Spanish duck and pears, proved popular, even if our whipper was a little ouchy.

We have more friends visit our cart. Jay's friend from high school Tim Ganun visited the cart. Jay took a brief break from all his cooking to say hello.
We also had a visit from one of our Kickstarter backers, Brian Steinberg, of Inchworm Bakery and Inchworm Microgreens. He'll be part of the Westside Farmer's Market opening at the Zingerman's Roadhouse parking this Thursday at 3 p.m. We wish him well and hopefully we'll get a moment to go check him out there. We look forward to seeing more of our friends and meeting so many new friends as the months progress. We also hope the sun will stick around for a while. Well, we'll see you at the cart. Ciao for now.

Kickstarter goal met, two weeks down, many friendly faces at the courtyard

2011-05-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

We have met our Kickstarter goal. We are so grateful to those who helped us and look forward to seeing everyone at the cart. We do have a few more backers to mention, including Catarana Triacca, Winston Yu and Carol Souchock.

We've had an exciting first couple of weeks. We would never have gotten through the first week without the help of our moms, Mary (Jay's mom) and Maria (my mom). They helped out in Union Hall Kitchen as Jay and I figured out our groove. We are still figuring it out a bit, but we have a better handle on it now that we have a little bit of an idea of how things work. We even managed to deal with my car that decided to have issues this week.

We've enjoyed seeing our friends. Some even helped to do the dishes. Our friends Corrine, Ellen, John and Arik stopped by last weekend.

Our friend Piero has visited the cart every day.

Our friends Steve and Jason helped Jay wash dishes yesterday.

Can't resist putting this picture up of Jay with paella.

Well, we are resting up for the start of another week. We are expecting rain, but we'll still be down at the courtyard making some delicious fixings. See you at the courtyard.

A poem by David Julius Ceasar Salad for debajo del sol

2011-05-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

Estoy muriendo de hambre
y nadie quiere ayudarme
My estomago esta vacio
Y mi boca esta secando
Debajo del sol

Caminando en la calle
Yo miro un fantasma
Llamando mi nombre
Con comida fresca
En las sombras

**********************

I am dying of hunger
And nobody wants to help me
My stomach is empty
And my mouth is drying
Under the sun

Walking in the street
I see a ghost
Calling my name
With fresh food
In the shadows

Life at the Courtyard

2011-05-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

We've been fortunate as far as weather goes. The sun has given life at the courtyard some great ambiance. We were busy today. We love being busy. We love being at the courtyard. Right now, it's all about finding our groove and ways to improvise to keep our customers happy. Ann Arbor has given us a warm welcome, though, and we are grateful for that.
Me, I love being in the city and seeing the streets of Ann Arbor wake up as I run morning errands. I'm getting to know Miyoko at Cafe Japon, where we get our delicious bread. I feel like a city dweller again, a far cry from what it felt like working in a small town for 12 years. Still, I did love the small town, but there is just so much going on in the city.
Just today, I walked by poet Keith Taylor. I said hello, though he probably doesn't know me from Adam. Still, it made me all happy inside just knowing that on any given day at the cart I can run into a poet. In fact, on our first day at the courtyard I walked by a guy who goes by the name David Julius Ceasar Salad just sitting at a small TV table writing poems for a few bucks. I asked him to write a poem for our cart. He wrote it in Spanish and translated it. I'll have to post it tomorrow because I keep it at the cart for our friends to read.
Well, it's time to get some rest and gear up for a few long days in a row. See you at the cart.

We love Ann Arbor!!!

2011-05-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

We finished our first two days at Mark's Carts. So many of our friends came out to see, and we met so many wonderful people. We thank everyone for their patience on our first day. Jay and I were a bit overwhelmed on our opening day but grateful for the strong interest in our cart. Needless to say, we are exhausted but very happy to be part of this project. We've had fun getting to know our fellow cart owners. We've had fun sharing our food with everyone. Our moms have both helped us get our footing. We are still trying to find our groove a bit, but we are closer than we were Monday. Tomorrow, we are transitioning our piquillo pepper dish into a piquillo pepper goat cheese tapas on bread. We want an opportunity to share our goat cheese mousse made with goat cheese from Four Corners Creamery in Tecumseh.

While we've been busy a few more people have given us a nudge on Kickstarter.

Thanks to Phil Dokas, Antonietta Trapani and Joeri Maas, and little Enzo Maas (Cristina's little sister, brother-in-law and their little guy), Aunt Trisha and Uncle Whitey Kuhn (Jay's aunt and uncle), Laura Gramlich, Fred Corbett and Ji Wu.

We greatly appreciate your support.

In Memoriam

2011-05-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

While we are celebrating the start of our new venture, we are devastated by the sudden and unexpected loss of our golden retriever Maggie. She fell critically ill on Friday night and was gone by Saturday morning. This has been especially hard for Jay who got Maggie as a puppy. We all decided that the best way to honor her memory is to dedicate our opening day to Maggie Scott. She was a wonderful dog who loved to run through the woods and loved to go fishing with Jay. She went everywhere with us. We miss you girl.

Down to the wire in all senses

2011-05-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post because we are headed down to Union Hall Kitchen. The cart is in place. We have had many people stop by to check out the activity. There is a lot of work to be done before we open tomorrow. We've had Mama Maria in the kitchen the past couple of days. That has helped immensely. We will have Mama Mary (Jay's mom) helping us out today. Pictures will follow soon. We also have a special opening day dedication post coming soon. We are dedicating our opening to a family member, but I can't reveal her identity until later tonight. We are grateful for all the help we are getting. Our friends Steve and Missy Cunningham and their daughter Leah came down yesterday just in time for Steve to give us a little extra manpower in moving our cart. I'll have photos of that later, too.

It seems like everything is down to the wire. Our Kickstarter campaign is down to the wire as well. We have a week to go and we are less than half the way to our goal.

We have more folks to thank for their support. Thanks so much to:

Jim Le Moine
Leeann Berry and Paul Trapani (Cristina's sis and bro)
Marilyn Newton Schebil

I will have more to post later tonight.

Day 1 at Union Hall Kitchen and more shout outs

2011-05-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

Union Hall Kitchen was abuzz with activity today. This was the first day Jay and I spent a good amount of time at Union Hall Kitchen. We waited for orders to come in and couldn't do much more than bake a bit and organize our goods. We weren't the only ones prepping. Phillis, of the Lunch Room, Keith, of Humble Hogs, and Paul, of Darcy's Cart, were all in the kitchen with us getting ready for our opening on Monday. The cement has been poured and our courtyard looks fabulous. We hope to move our cart in on Saturday.
In all the excitement I was initiated quickly into the cook's life as I burned my arm good on the convection oven door. That darn thing gets hot! Oh well. Live and learn.
Along with getting a few things prepped, we got our wonderful chalkboard sign put together. The sign was a collaborative effort between our mothers. Jay's mom, who with many years experience at finding innovating and inexpensive ways to create sets and costumes for plays, found an innovative way for us to create our chalkboard sign. My mom, with her exceptional painting talent, gave our sign some Spanish flair. Thanks to the both of them for their extraordinary talents.
More thanks goes to those who have helped push our Kickstarter campaign forward. We have only 10 more days and we are a little more than one third of the way toward our goal.

Thanks go to:
Darren Kuhn
Aunt Debbie Rood
Jeff McCabe (of Selma Cafe, check it out)
Steve Russie
Harold Taylor
Brian Poore (of the most excellent band 16 More Miles, check them out)
Nathan Scott (Jay's brother)
Leslie Larkins
David Barnett
Jim Lincoln (of the Tecumseh Herald, check it out)

A few thoughts, kickstarter progress and shout outs, waiting on the rain

2011-04-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Since my last day of work on Friday, Jay and I have been systematically checking off items on our long to-do list. We think we are close to being prepared for the day when Mark's Carts and Debajo del Sol opens. Everything is going well, with the exception of the rain. Still, it is giving me time to regroup after leaving the newspaper job I've had for the last 12 years. It was a bittersweet ending. My coworkers at the Tecumseh Herald are family. I'll miss them. I'll miss the people in the communities that I covered. I won't necessarily miss going to village council meetings and school board meetings on Monday nights, but I will miss the feature writing.
As much as I will miss my family there, it was time for a change. I want to work closer to home. I want to do something else besides write all day and then come home and write some more. Cooking with my husband is that thing. We are incredibly excited to have this opportunity. We already have made our first paella in the cart, trying to get a feel for how it will go.
We are still running our Kickstarter campaign. We are 21 percent of the way toward meeting our goal with only 18 days left in the campaign. A few thank yous are in order for those who have backed us already.

Since my last shout out the following people have backed our project:
Ashley
Mary Scott (Mom)
Chris Lord
Don Hewlett
Nancy Ross-Flanigan (Ycnan!)
Alicia Densel
Tamsyn Sweetman
Brian Steinberg
Jeffrey Holden
and John Elway (We think this may really be someone who knows that Jay holds a deep-seeded grudge against the former Denver Bronco for his hand in beating Jay's beloved Cleveland Browns in the 1987 AFC Championship game. Then again, maybe it really is Elway.)

We'll see you soon--at the cart!

Help with Kickstarter Backer Confusion

2011-04-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

It’s come to our attention that many of our friends want to pledge but are having trouble because of Kickstarter’s pledge set-up. I am posting a quick tutorial to help everyone get their pledge through.

How to pledge to Debajo del Sol

1. Go to our project page here http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1841355572/debajo-del-sol-a-cart-featuring-spanish-street-foo?ref=live

2. Click ”back this project” and enter the amount to pledge and pick the corresponding gift, and then click continue to next step at the bottom of the page.

3. It will then ask you to sign up for a Kickstarter account. Follow the directions; all you have to do is enter your name, email address and a password you make up.

4. It will then automatically take you to Amazon payments, if you have an Amazon account enter your login info and it will automatically take you to the credit card page, fill it out, click continue and your pledge will be made.

5. If you don’t have an account with Amazon check, “ I am new customer, enter your email and a password you make up, and it will take you right to the credit card page where you can enter your credit card information, click next and the pledge will be made.

This should do it. I know it’s a little confusing but it’s the only way to pledge with Kickstarter. If you have questions just email us at debajodelsolaa@gmail.com and let us know or message us on Facebook.

Thanks again for helping us out,

Jay Scott

Logo and Kickstarter shout outs

2011-04-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

We'd like to put a huge shout out to our talented friend Hollie Smith who came up with our fantastic logo. All I did was say here are the words and this is kind of what I'm thinking and she ran with it. We are so pleased with how it looks. It's already up at the Mark's Carts website.

Also, we want to give a shout out to those who have gotten our Kickstarter campaign kickstarted.
Thanks to--
Chad and Stefanie Mentzer
Jason and Deb Magee
Loreen Niewenhuis
Robert Campbell
and another supporter we don't know

The Cart is Home and Kickstarter is Kickstarted

2011-04-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

We ate our first meal from the cart, just to break it in and celebrate its homecoming. The excitement is building. There is no turning back now. Jay and his dad returned from Connecticut Wednesday not. They did the trip Scott style, of course--no stops. Maybe they did stop, but they got there and back in two days. Jay wasted no time getting it set up and he was eager to get all the things together and to test the mobile kitchen. There are still a few things we need to help us outfit the truck for the summer, so we started a Kickstarter campaign. We appreciate any help we get, and we are happy to offer some our tasty fare in return. Check out our campaign at the link above. If nothing, check out our silly little video.

The Poetry of Food

2011-04-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

For those who find themselves at this here blog and don't really know us all that well, Jay is the chef and I am the poet, or so I think anyway. Regardless, I hold a Master of Fine Arts in Writing degree with specialties in poetry and fiction. I know that doesn't really make me a poet, but I do have a few poems scattered about, and I work constantly to get more scattered out there. So, I always look forward to April, because it is National Poetry Month. Today, in fact, is Poem in Your Pocket Day, and that got me thinking a bit about the intersection between poetry and food, at least the way they have intersected in my life.
I truly believe my poetic life had its beginnings in my mother's kitchen where my sense of taste was nurtured with the great love and care for the culinary traditions of her own native Sicily. Back then, she would have modestly said that this was just the way she grew up eating, but our house was always the one kids in our neighborhood flocked to to taste whatever she was cooking.
The foods I ate growing up certainly opened my senses up to the world around me and could very well have been the reason my poems are so image driven. I mean, just thinking about my mother's stuffed squid, a Christmas staple, conjures up the images of a bubbling savory tomato sauce with the smooth bodies of each squid stuffed plump with breadcrumb and real fresh grated parmigiano. The squid is so tender you wouldn't know it for the squid found fried up in restaurants, today. While my friends talked of the standard Christmas glazed ham, corn and mashed potatoes, my mother filled our table--extended to its full length--with fennel sausage purchased at Cantoro's Market, the best outside of the sausage she stuffed herself, her glistening lasagna and her eggplant parmigiano. Then there was the tender octopus salad, with onions, parsley, lemon, salt, pepper and fennel for taste and texture, coated liberally with olive oil, a staple of my childhood.
Another staple, one I looked forward to having every time my mom made a trip to Cantoro's, was sardines packed in brine, not the ones you get in those little cans at the grocery. No, those are mild and, for lack of a better word, wimpy compared to the salty crunch of the sardines I ate with a hunk of fresh crusty bread. This is the poetry of my childhood. These are the first sensual moments that I can associate with all that was good about my childhood, all that was vibrant, flavorful and rich.
It's fitting then that I celebrate the homecoming of our food cart, our future in food, by sharing links, on this Poem in Your Pocket Day, to poems about food.

"The First Artichoke" by Diane Lockward

"Eating the Pig" by Donald Hall

"The Melon" by Charles Simic

"The Emperor of Ice-Cream" by Wallace Stevens

Holding Down the Fort

2011-04-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

I'm at home, working on Debajo del Sol stuff while Jay is on the road with his dad. They are heading east to get our food cart. They'll tow it all the way back. We had planned to get the thing over the weekend. Jay would drive. I'd sleep, because I still hadn't caught up on rest since returning from my trip overseas. Of course, along with chocolate and stroopwafel, I brought home a nasty dutch bug. I was certainly down for the count, but feeling much better by the time we were to leave to get the cart. The problem was that the nasty bug was very contagious, so just as we were getting ready to leave Jay got sick. He's better but not all the way better as he treks across country on the way to getting our livelihood.
I have to stay back and work. I'm only a week and a half away from my last day at the Tecumseh Herald, where I've been working as a reporter for the last 11 years and nine or so months. As I've walked through my beats these past few days, I can't help but feel a little nostalgic and a little sad. I've loved my beats and I've loved working as a newspaper reporter. Still, it's time for a change. The paper needs someone to look at those beats with fresh eyes, and it's time for me to have an adventure of sorts. Also, it's more than time for Jay to have is own canvas, if you will. He's been cooking for others for a while now. He's liked that enough, but he just hasn't had the chance he's longed for to create the food he loves for others, the food we love.
We've been testing our paella a lot and are ready to try it in our new cart. Hopefully, the next post will include a photo of the cart, but for now here is our paella

Here we come

2011-03-25T01:20:00.000-07:00

Jay's hard at work securing our cart. Thanks to Mom and Dad Scott for helping us make our food cart dream come true. I'm currently of little help, as I am in Den Haag, Netherlands. I'm visiting my sister, who lives here, and meeting my new nephew. The travel plans were made shortly before we knew about Mark's Carts and our part in the new food cart garden opening in Ann Arbor. This all has been a whirlwind development for us, an exciting whirlwind development.
Jay has Mama Maria and Papa T helping him perfect our paella while I'm away. I'm sure they both are also listening to him list all the things we have to get done in the few short weeks until Mark's Carts and Debajo del Dol opens. Along with our primarily Spanish cart, we will be throwing in some of Mama Maria's specialties along the way. Mama Maria is my mom. She was born in Sicily. I was raised on her authentic Sicilian cuisine. I guess we'll be playing a little with the Catalan and Sicilian culinary crossover. One thing I remember well about some of the Catalan cuisine was the familiarity of some of the flavors and textures.
Well, before I get too long winded and before I go tour another museum in Den Haag today, I'll leave you all with the press release we received for Mark's Carts:

March 22, 2011
For more information contact:
Mark Hodesh, mark@downtownhomeandgarden.com, 734-662-8122

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mark’s Carts eyes late April opening

Downtown outdoor food cart garden in Ann Arbor will offer gourmet street food ranging from breakfast burritos to pulled pork sandwiches to vegan treats.

With the warmer weather has come stepped-up construction on what is poised to become Ann Arbor’s premier street food scene. Workers are currently installing utilities and pouring concrete in the West Washington lot that will house up to ten food carts and a covered eating area. At the same time, work on a new commercial kitchen adjacent to the cart garden is in its final stages. Mark Hodesh, owner of Downtown Home and Garden and originator of the cart garden, predicts that Mark’s Carts will be up and running by late April.

“I am really pleased with how construction is shaping up,” said Hodesh. “At this pace, we will greet the spring by offering the community a wonderful new street food scene and attractive, affordable options for downtown dining.”

So far there are six food carts signed up for the cart garden. Hodesh is still accepting applications to fill the final four spots. Confirmed vendors at present include: San Street (Asian street food); Debajo del Sol(Spanish paella and tapas); The Lunch Room (vegan entrees, sides and baked goods); eat (locally sourced hearty sandwiches); Darcy’s Cart (breakfast burritos and more); and Humble Hogs (hoagies, braise-in-a bun, and other savory and sweet offerings).

Hodesh encourages other potential food cart operators to contact him. He is especially seeking vendors of Indian food, Jamaican food, and wood-fired pizza.

The idea for the food carts originated when Hodesh visited his daughter Jeanne in New York City last year. Impressed with the breadth of street food available there and the joyful, entrepreneurial spirit of the people running the carts, Hodesh decided to bring the concept home. Hodesh notes that Mark’s Carts also has an interesting historical connection: it is located on West Washington between Ashley Street and First Street, on the site of the former home of Herman Hertler. Hertler was one of the founders of Hertler Bros., the business that Hodesh bought in 1975 which is now Downtown Home and Garden.

A date for the cart garden opening will be announced in the coming month, as construction progresses.

Hyperlinks:

Debajo del Sol - http://debajodelsolaa.blogspot.com

The Lunch Room - http://thelunchrooma2.com

eat - http://eatannarbor.com

Darcy's Cart - http://darcyscart.com

Humble Hogs - http://humblehogs.com

Mark's Carts - http://markscartsa2.com

Downtown Home & Garden - http://downtownhomeandgarden.com

More recipe fun

2011-03-05T18:42:00.000-08:00

Some women get to wear their husband's Carhart. I get to wear my husband's chef coat. I am in the kitchen with him after all. It's my first time in such garb, but not my first time working in the kitchen with Jay. I'm trying to be a good assistant. With this test we worked on a garlic chicken dish and patatas brava. I made the tomato sauce for the patatas bravas. That was my test. Jay had me dive right in and work on something on my own. We also tested a secret dish that we plan to unveil when we open. I can only give you a photo of something fried on a stick, but I won't say what it is. You can guess away at what it might be, but I will never tell. All I can say is that it tastes fantastic. I may be partial, but our son's friend Matt doesn't have to be. He downed every bit of what we gave him and said he definitely wants to hang out at Debajo del Sol. I told him he could be our guinea pig any time. The night of experimentation is helping us figure out what we will need for equipment and how we will need to prep. I still feel like we need to do a lot more practice, but we are confident in our menu items and always enjoy testing recipes and trying daring and fun flavors. Of course, it came at the end of a sort of big day. Our daughter, Kiki, participated in a pageant and did extremely well, bringing home prizes for the prettiest eyes and best personality. We worked up an appetite with all the excitement, so we were happy to come home and find Jay in the midst of prepping for an evening of great food. Now, we are sitting and resting, satisfied with the flavors we've had fun playing with and looking forward to much more testing.

PHOTOS BY CRISTINA TRAPANI-SCOTT

Recipe testing fun

2011-02-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

We are busy trying to secure the food cart. Jay has been hard at work calling various vendors. It's an exciting time for us. Tonight we tested some recipes, but mostly we had fun. That's what this is all about--having fun and making some great food.
Jay made scallops with a Spanish tomato jam and garlic cream. The blend of savory and sweet made a tasty start to the little Spanish meal we shared tonight. Reading all of the books and coming up with ideas for Debajo del Sol inspired us to create a meal together tonight. And, it makes us eager to have the cart in our hands.
The scallops were followed by a Catalan cannelloni filled with spinach, pine nuts and raisins and topped with a white sauce.
Cannelloni sounds Italian rather than Spanish, but this is indeed a Spanish dish with an Italian flair. The rich sauce, coupled with bit of sweet from the raisins made for a delicious paring. Could this be a possibility Debajo del Sol special? We'll see.
For now, we are having a great time. We enjoy our research. We enjoy our time together in the kitchen. I'm learning new things. I've spent the last many years writing news and I have a lot to learn, but Jay is a great teacher. In fact, he'll be teaching a class at Jackson Community College. He will be busy, busy, busy, but food is what he loves, food is what we love.
Now, we wait for the snow to melt. We hope that happens soon. As we wait, we are gearing up for working hard at building Debajo del Sol and enjoying our time together.

photos by Cristina Trapani-Scott

We are in

2011-02-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

Six years ago, my husband Jay and I traveled to Barcelona for our honeymoon. We loved everything about Spain, including the food, and we were inspired to bring paella and tapas back home to the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area. Our dream of doing so will be realized this spring when we join other food carts as part of Mark's Carts in Ann Arbor.
We learned that our concept, a food cart featuring Spanish cuisine, was accepted on Valentine's Day. We are excited about the opportunity to become part of the Ann Arbor business community. We've begun organizing all of the details--lining up a food cart that fits our needs as well as lining up food vendors. We'll be updating our progress here at this blog and be sharing our journey.