Trip To Eastern Market & DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit

Eastern Market & Devries & Co. 1887 - Our Visit To Detroit

If you are local to the Detroit area, chances are you have been to Eastern Market at least once in your life. If you are a foodie like me then chances are you have visited several times. Eastern Market is a bustling area of visitors looking for the best deals on fresh produce, other food items, and flowers. Through Groupon, we have also discovered a miraculous place nestled down there in all of the action, DeVries & Company 1887. We regularly purchase Groupons to get some good bargains there and we went equipped with one yesterday to stock up on some unique foods.

Each and every time you visit Eastern Market it is a different experience because there are different vendors.

Give It A Whirl Girl in Eastern Market with a rainbow rose

Rainbow roses at Eastern Market in Detroit, MI

Our trip to Eastern Market in Detroit and DeVries & Company 1887

My family of three really values these trips down to the city to explore all of the foods that Eastern Market has to offer. Yesterday it was just my husband and me on a little day-date while my daughter hung out with her friends. Our first stop was DeVries & Company 1887 and we got a wonderful haul there. Then we stopped into the sheds at Eastern Market with our canvas shopping bags and filled those bags up with a plethora of foods. When I come home from these trips I unload my bags and marvel in all of the glory of having these available in the Give It A Whirl Girl kitchen. My day is always made on these trips and I treasure them in my memory and mind.

There are beautiful murals all over the Eastern Market area

Eastern Market in Detroit, MI - The home of many food vendors selling produce, meat, cheese, plants, and flowers. — Eastern Market in Detroit, MI – The home of many food vendors selling produce, meat, cheese, plants, and flowers.

First stop – A visit to DeVries & Company 1887

DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit, MI

Cheese and Meats at DeVries & Company 1887- What they are best known for

DeVries & Company is a large historic building with three levels of fun finds. Yesterday we only explored the lower level where a majority of the foods are kept. The other two levels are gift shops where you can obtain some neat things.

This place is well-known for their cheeses. We have bought some in the past from DeVries & Company 1887 and had a cheeseboard full of them at a Wine & Onesies party and the cheeses were a big hit. There are numerous to choose from here and if you like cheese there is a cheese for everyone that can be located here. Check out their Facebook page to see their cheese offerings which are regularly posted. They also have a variety of interesting meats to pair with your cheeses. You will have the best cheeseboard in town if you stop in here to stock up!

DeVries & Company 1887 cheese station

DeVries & Company 1887 meat station

DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit, MI

Not just meats and cheese

DeVries & Company 1887 is more than just a meat and cheese shop. This place is like a little grocery store with gourmet foods and uncommon, specialty food products. Pro tip: grab a Groupon and save some money here. You can get a $50 voucher to shop with for around $20-$25 and get more bang for your buck here.

Balsamic vinegars & oils

If you recently stumbled upon my 100th post on the blog I discussed two different, unique balsamic vinegars used to create a chocolate-raspberry nice-cream. This is the place where you can pick up some bottles of those (there are several to choose from and they are all imported from Italy). There is also a wide variety of various oils by the same brand (Fanchone Gourmet) that you can sample here. You won’t leave empty-handed after trying these out. They all have interesting flavor profiles and they will help take your cooking to the next level. The Meyer Lemon oil was fascinating and I really should have bought that one because that would likely result in the greatest chicken piccata known to man!

Various oils to sample at DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit, MI

Various balsamic vinegars to sample at DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit, MI

A few items that I took home with me

I am a curious eater and I live for the adventure of trying new foods. You all know that. That’s why my blog is titled, “Give It A Whirl Girl”. In the photos below I am letting you see a sneak peek of a few things I took home with me. I am super duper pumped and excited to experience these foods.

Raspberry salsa

I have a major mad addiction to anything raspberry flavored and I couldn’t pass up this Traverse Bay Farms Raspberry Salsa. This was my first time seeing a raspberry salsa so I had to swoop this up! My husband also talked me into bringing home some mango salasa bag of chips from Aunt Nee’s.

Hibiscus sugar

Then I spotted this Mr. Gigglepants Hibiscus Sugar. I was instantly intrigued by this sugar made by Beautiful Briny Sea. It is described as:

A fun, tutti fruitti treat for your cupcakes, French toast, fresh fruit fancy drinks, just about anything that needs a giggle.

I really don’t have a plan for this sugar just yet. It was my big splurge item at DeVrie’s. It was $11 for a 14 oz can. I will figure something out soon though. Maybe I can whip up a batch of cupcakes next week and incorporate Mr. Gigglepants into it.

Root-beer BBQ sauce

Let it be known, I think Guy Fieri is annoying as hell. (insert lols here). I spotted his Root Beer Barbeque Sauce and could not pass it up. I bought it with the intention of making some pulled pork sandwiches with it. Whenever I made pulled pork sandwiches I always cook my pork in root-beer. Sounds weird right? But it is so good!

Our Visit To Eastern Market

When you go to Eastern Market there is a ton of stuff to take in and see all around you. There are tables set up with fresh fruits and vegetables, there are people selling their homemade salsas, honey, fresh pierogi, succulents, and flowers, etc.

There are two different ways to visit Eastern Market. You can arrive early when everything is all set up and available. Or you can arrive mid-afternoon when the vendors are about to close up for the day. They want to sell what they brought with them so you will be walking by and the vendors will be shouting out deals to you. It happened to me yesterday. We came late in the afternoon and I scored some great deals. I got a carton of strawberries for a dollar. I also got some blackberries for a dollar. Those prices sure do beat the local grocery store prices.

I do realize I made a bit of a boo-boo with my photos here. I must have been just vegetable obsessed because I just realized I did not shoot any photographs of fruit and Eastern Market has a huge load of fruit to choose from at really reasonable prices. So I am very sorry about that. Next time I visit I will be sure to snap some photos of fruits.

Ornamental Indian corn at Eastern Market

Bundles of rainbow carrots at Eastern Market – I can not leave this place without taking home some purple and white carrots

Jumbo stalks of Brussels sprouts at Eastern Market

Purple kale at Eastern Market – what a gorgeous color and it appears to be so fresh!

Quail eggs and duck eggs for sale at Eastern Market – now that is something you do not see every day!

Spice Miser at Eastern Market – This vendor is a must-see! Spice Miser offers a huge variety of seasonings and spices. Be sure to take home a bag. I always make sure I bring something home from the Spice Miser.

Mushrooms galore at Eastern Market! Many exotic mushrooms to choose from that are grown in Chesterfield, MI. Give and Grow Mushrooms LLC

Give and Grow Mushrooms LLC offers a wide variety of exotic, gourmet mushrooms at Eastern Market

This was a first for me! Black garlic but $5 a bulb. I was tempted. Eastern Market - Detroit, MI — This was a first for me! Black garlic but $5 a bulb. I was tempted. Eastern Market – Detroit, MI

Flowers and eggplants at Eastern Market in Detroit, MI

Fresh and local honey at Eastern Market in Detroit, MI

Pepper obsessed! Eastern Market, Detroit, MI

So much to choose from and great prices on vegetables at Eastern Market

Be sure to see the murals

There are gigantic murals painted on the buildings all over the Eastern Market area. Be sure to take a stroll around and snap some pics of the art.

Eastern Market in Detroit, MI – The home of many food vendors selling produce, meat, cheese, plants, and flowers.

Mural in the Eastern Market area of Detroit, MI

Eastern Market in Detroit, MI – The home of many food vendors selling produce, meat, cheese, plants, and flowers.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Here is my haul from both DeVries & Company 1887 and Eastern Market

As you can see here I have a pretty decent haul from both DeVries and Eastern Market. I love getting home and unloading all of my newly acquired foods. I am already looking forward to my next trip back.

Haul from Eastern Market and DeVries & Company 1887

Have you ever visited DeVries & Company 1887 in the Eastern Market district? Will you be purchasing a Groupon to shop there?

Have you ever went to Eastern Market in Detroit, MI? What is your best memory? Please share by leaving a comment.

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September 23, 2018 3

Caulipower Veggie Pizza Doctored Up And On-Point! Gluten-Free and Low-Carb – Frozen Pizza Product Review

I have been wanting to try out this cauliflower crust pizza for quite a while now from Caulipower. Maybe you have been curious about it as well if you are looking for a gluten-free or low-carb pizza? I located a $1 off coupon online so I decided to put this on my Kroger ClickList order and give it a whirl! I had some pepperoni, black olives, onions, and pesto sauce on-hand too so I figured I could use the pizza as a base and doctor it up with a few extra things. This cauliflower crust pizza absolutely blew my mind… it was that great! I really hope this post will inspire you to give it a try.

Caulipower Veggie Pizza with some extra toppings

I was a bit nervous and hesitant to try this pizza because last year I attempted to make my own cauliflower crust pizza and it was a bit of a fail on my part. The crust was soft and a tad on the soggy side. It tasted great but the texture was way off. I was afraid this would happen with Caulipower but that’s not the case! The texture of this crust was on-point… no sad, soggy pizza here! For me, the crust of this pizza really did taste and feel like a regular pizza crust, maybe not 100% but for the most part!

Toppings

Let it be known that this pizza would have been completely perfect without the addition of extra toppings. The Caulipower Veggie pizza comes equipped with a medley of bell peppers in green, red, and yellow. It also has the right amount of mozzarella cheese topping it. The sauce really, to me, is what makes a pizza great. The sauce can either make it or break it and Caulipower comes through and delivers a fine sauce made with vine-ripened tomatoes, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and a blend of Italian seasoning.

Continue reading “Caulipower Veggie Pizza Doctored Up And On-Point! Gluten-Free and Low-Carb – Frozen Pizza Product Review” →

September 13, 2018 6

Pineapples Stuffed With Sweet Teriyaki Chicken and Ginger/Orange Quinoa RECIPE – Gluten-Free – One Last Summer Meal

Pineapples Stuffed With Sweet Teriyaki Chicken and Ginger/Orange Quinoa - Gluten-Free

Pineapples Stuffed With Sweet Teriyaki Chicken and Ginger/Orange Quinoa - Gluten-Free - RECIPE — Pineapples Stuffed With Sweet Teriyaki Chicken and Ginger/Orange Quinoa – Gluten-Free – RECIPE

It really is starting to feel like autumn now and I have been craving this Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken dish all summer and I finally got around to whipping this dish up a couple nights ago. I created a pineapple dish with a sweet honey teriyaki sauce (the sauce is paleo compliant) with chicken breast and some ginger & orange quinoa. My daughter, Chloe, was super duper excited to chow down on this dish. It is so fun to eat your food out of a pineapple, right? This dish is gluten-free and will also be paleo if you just leave out the ginger/orange quinoa.

Dishes served like this are always memorable. It’s not too often that the opportunity arises to eat your meal out of a pineapple. I truly get joy out of preparing meals like this for my family. Not only is this dish super cool but it is also healthy and nutritious, most importantly!

Create something amazing and memorable for your family to enjoy! This dish will make you feel like you are swept away to an exotic tropical location.

Continue reading “Pineapples Stuffed With Sweet Teriyaki Chicken and Ginger/Orange Quinoa RECIPE – Gluten-Free – One Last Summer Meal” →

September 12, 2018 6

The Importance Of Teaching Children How To Cook – Educating Chloe On How To Make A Pizza From Scratch

My daughter, Chloe, whisking up some eggs for our pizza crust

Last night we came home from the Dally In The Alley (a music and art festival in Detroit) and decided it would be a great night to make a from-scratch pizza. Instead of having my 8-year-old daughter, Chloe, sitting around killing time on her Ipad I told her to put my apron on and get busy in the kitchen with me. Making a pizza like this is quite the task and I figured this would be a wonderful opportunity to teach my daughter a variety of useful things in the kitchen. Today I will be talking about a few good reasons why it is of utmost importance to get your child busy in the kitchen as well. I think it is essential to teach children how to cook so they know these skills later in life. Teaching children how to cook is a huge responsibility that comes with parenting.

I remember when I was a young girl like Chloe. My mother attempted to get me interested in cooking and I had zero interest in it and did not want to participate in it. My mom was trying to teach me some valuable life lessons at the time but I guess I just chose to ignore it and did not think of it as being important at the time. Even when I was a teenager I didn’t want anything to do with it.

What I did not realize was that I was not allowing myself to learn one of life’s most important lessons.

My only real memory of “cooking” that I have is when I used to go over to my grandmother’s house and she would have my sister and I help with making instant pistachio pudding. The extent of my cooking skills from doing this was just learning how to operate an old-fashioned, manual hand mixer and a soft spatula.

So what was I to do when I moved out of my mother’s house and lived on my own for the first time? I think I did what most college students do… live off ramen noodles, spaghetti marinara, Velveeta Shells & Cheese, and frozen dinners! I really would love for my daughter to have better than that when she decides to go on to college and move out and be on her own. I have ten more years, at least, to teach her things that she needs to know about preparing herself a healthy and nutritious meal. Continue reading “The Importance Of Teaching Children How To Cook – Educating Chloe On How To Make A Pizza From Scratch” →

September 9, 2018 0

Homemade Pizza Night & A Couple Of Smoothies To Wash It Down

Yesterday was an enjoyable day spent with family. We went to the beach, had from-scratch pizzas, and had a couple of smoothies for dessert. It was another full day in the kitchen making things for my family to gobble up.

The day kicked off with my paleo and vegan version of Unicorn French Toast for my family. I promise I will do a recipe post on this in the future. I just need to tweak my recipe a bit. I had an unfortunate situation happen with my loaf of bread when I got it out of the pan. My bread broke into pieces. I was determined not to let it go to waste so I just ended up dipping the chunks of bread into the batter and cooked it up that way. This was my first time ever using candy sprinkles from Mr. Sprinkles. I sure do love the fun bottle that they are contained in. I am, and have always been, down with clowns!

I had quite an amazing lunch too. I really had a hankering for apples. I don’t know about you but I am ready for fall! I want hoodie weather, apple picking, and Halloween to hurry up and get here soon! For lunch, I tried out a new salad dressing. I used Hilary’s Apple Fennel Dressing. For my salad, I used baby spring mix as a base and topped it with grilled chicken, thin Honeycrisp apple slices, and walnuts. This salad was exactly what I needed yesterday. I think I will be loading up on some apples with my next shopping trip.

Chicken Salad with apples and Hilary’s Apple Fennel dressing

After lunch, we packed up the beach bag and got Stormy ready to head out to Metro Beach for a day of fun and relaxation. Chloe and Joe went to the pool and Stormy and I made our way along the lake and got our steps in yesterday. My focus was on fitness because I have been somewhat slacking on meeting my step goal lately.

It was a very hot day yesterday and thank goodness for the little bit of breeze coming off of the water. Stormy and I had a great time together and I know that Chloe definitely had a blast in the big pool and slide with her daddy.

I must be getting old because yesterday I wore an inspirational shirt and I think that maybe old people do that?? LOL! I am 37 years old and I whine about aging quite a bit. Anyway, I sure do love the shirt. I got it from Nordstrom and it is gray with pink lettering on it. The shirt is by the brand Desert Dreamer.

I feel that the shirt really speaks volumes to me at the moment. It says, find what you love and do that”. I started this blog up on June 6th so my 2 month anniversary is approaching and let me tell you this~ I absolutely LOVE blogging! I really wish I would have gotten into this years ago when I first set out on my cooking and baking expedition. As many of you know, cooking and baking are hands down my #1 passion in life. I am always in the kitchen and I am always researching ways to better my food and technique.

Me and Joe at Metro Beach

Me and Stormy at Metro Beach

Chloe and Joe at Metro Beach

Stormy at Metro Beach

After our little day-trip to the beach, it was time for me to crank out dinner for the fam. I will let you in on a little something, my pizza is in high-demand! Joe and Chloe absolutely love my homemade pizzas. They are a lot of work but totally worth the time and effort when I hear ooo’s and ahh’s at the dinner table.

I created two pizzas last night. One was made for myself and the other for Joe and Chloe. They prefer a more traditional pizza with pepperoni on it. I have never been a fan of pepperoni but I sure do love to have mushrooms in every single bite of my pizza.

I had a little carton of shiitake mushrooms to work with. I figured I would be better off with some sort of white sauce rather than a tomato sauce. I searched a bit online for a good recipe and came across one from Primal Palate. It was a dairy free sauce that used full-fat coconut milk as the base. Honestly, you would never know the sauce was made with coconut milk! There is not one hint of coconut flavor in that awesome sauce recipe. The recipe also called for some nutritional yeast, which I did add because it lends a taste of cheese to the sauce.

For my pizza I used some grilled chicken pieces and the entire carton of shiitake mushrooms. I sauteed the mushrooms in a bit of olive oil with some Italian seasonings. I have never had a pizza with this type of mushrooms and I am pleased to say that the taste of this pizza was glorious! Every single morsel of that pizza was thoroughly enjoyed by me!

For both pizzas I used the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Crust Mix once again. I used it last week and it produced a phenomenal crust! I am trying to eliminate as much gluten as I can from my diet but Joe and Chloe really don’t want to be on-board with a gluten-free diet. It is like hitting the jackpot when you come up with a gluten-free dinner that can win over anyone.

Shiitake mushroom and grilled chicken pizza

Gluten free pepperoni pizza

For dessert I really had a craving for some froyo, it’s been awhile and I’m dying for a heaping cup of it. But we have a bevy of beautiful fruits over here in the Give It A Whirl Girl kitchen so instead of froyo I ended up making a couple of smoothies for me and Chloe to share.

The first smoothie I made had a golden dragonfruit in it, a banana, and a splash of full fat coconut milk. The second smoothie that I made had strawberries, raspberries, a baby banana, splash of coconut milk, and I also used a scoop of acai powder. Hard to say which smoothie won the battle of being best. It was like comparing apples to oranges, they were two completely different drinks.

The weekend isn’t over. Joe’s two days off from work are over though and he had to go in today. Me and the Pearl Girl have an exciting day ahead of us in the kitchen so stayed tuned because you can bet your booty I will be blogging about my day today!

Did you do anything exciting this weekend? What’s cooking in your kitchen that you are proud of? Leave me a comment and let me know because I love reading comments from my beloved readers!

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August 5, 2018 2

Collaboration With The Hubby- First From Scratch Pizza

Well, take a look at that! My husband and I love to work together on the weekend with our Sunday dinner. Last weekend (I’m a little late posting about this) we collaborated on our first from scratch homemade pizza. We made a lovely gluten-free supreme pizza chock full of yummy toppings.

I will say that making the dough was awfully frustrating but it was still quite amusing. We were using a recipe for a gluten-free crust made with almond flour and boy was it ever sticky when I tried to make my big dough ball. We had to adjust the recipe a bit to get it right. It required quite a bit of critical thinking and problem-solving. It also had a lot of laughs while trying to get the consistency of the dough correct.

Once we got the dough figured out we worked on creating the zesty sauce. We used some organic sauce, tomato paste, minced garlic, and seasonings to create it. I love making my own pizza sauce. I like to be able to adjust it to my liking because I am very picky when it comes to sauce. The sauce is either going to make or break the pizza.

I have this thing for peppers right now. I stocked up on all the colors. I had some green, red, orange, and yellow. I once tried a purple bell pepper and it didn’t agree with me. It was a huge letdown! I also sliced up some red onion to top it with.

The Italian sausage was my meat of choice. That is another food that I am totally digging right now… just can not get enough of it! I have never been a fan of pepperoni. I don’t consider myself a picky eater at all but I do usually pick the pepperonis off my pizza.

So once everything was prepped and prepared, including the initial baking of the crust, it was ready to be popped into the oven. We used Till amook mozzarella cheese on this pizza. That cheese looked the best out of all the shredded mozzarellas at Kroger. I had a bit of anxiety while waiting for it to cook. It was quite a big project (more than I anticipated). I was wondering the entire time if all of our hard work was worth it.

Guess what! All that hard work and effort that we put into this was worth it. I poured my heart and soul into this gluten-free supreme pizza (like I do with all of my meals) because my husband is a pizza addict and he is so picky about his pizzas. Because this was a gluten-free crust I didn’t know if it would be well-received with him. When I heard that “mmmm” come out of his mouth with that first bite, it totally made my day. We managed to eat all of it except for one lone piece. I had two slices and he ate the majority of it. So I gave myself a little pat on the back.

Do you have any traditions for Sunday dinners? They are kinda a big deal to me and usually reserve Sundays for the best meal of the week. I also love to partner with my husband to make it come together.

July 15, 2018 0

Tag: peppers

Trip To Eastern Market & DeVries & Company 1887 – Detroit

Our trip to Eastern Market in Detroit and DeVries & Company 1887

First stop – A visit to DeVries & Company 1887