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By Joshua Elie

As a builder and even as a cook, I love my tools. I have spent my whole life accumulating tools and learned early in life about the importance of having good tools and the right tools for the job.

As soon as I was big enough to “swing an ax” (around 14), it became my job to split all the firewood. Did I have a wood splitter? No! According to my dad that would be way too expensive, so every morning before leaving for school, and every night before going back to my studio, I was in the woodshed with a split maul and a sledgehammer held together by duct tape.

When I first began, it took two hours every morning and two hours every night to keep the fire going. Sometimes my dad would come out to keep me company.  He would sit on the tailgate and tell me everything that was wrong with my life …  In time, I got better. Actually, I got really good and had it down to 45 minutes each session.  I was about 19 when I went to the Dublin General Store to buy a new maul and Tom Fischer (the owner of the hardware at the time) asked, “Is your dad still making you do that by hand? I don’t know how many times I’ve told him he could borrow one of our rental splitters free of charge any time …”

Advertisement for Kaleva Art Gallery reads: Celebrate Kaleva's 125th. 1900 to 1925. Monthly artist shows at Kaleva Art Gallery. Saint Urho's Day bake sale, march 15, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kaleva Art Gallery. Bottle House Museum open Memorial weekend through Christmas. Depot Railroad Museum, open Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m. Kaleva Art Gallery is located at 14449 Wuoski Avenue in Kaleva. The ad is in the blue and white colors of the art gallery logo which is also red and black. Click on this ad to be taken to the website or Facebook page.Advertisement for Stapleton Realty. The heading reads Outdoor Enthusiasts. There is a photo of a new-looking pole building with a tall bay door and a regular entry door. There is a cement pad with a picnic table in front of it. The ground is flat and there is a line of evergreen trees behind the building. The description reads: 2 Acres. Minutes to Crystal Mountain. 37-foot by 47-foot pole building on the Benzie Manistee snowmobile and A.T.V. trail. Finished inside. Well and septic and a full camper hook up. Insulated, Paneled and heated 29-foot by 28-foot shop area with an exhaust fan and a new furnace. 12-foot side walls and a 10-foot bay door. 14-foot by 8-foot heated, carpeted office or bunk area and a shower in the bathroom. Also a utility room with a utility sink and washer and dryer hook ups. near the Betsie River and M-115. $189,900. m.l.s. number is 1926929. Contact Christine Stapleton on her mobile phone by text or call. 231-499-2698. Click on this ad to be taken to the website. Equal Housing Opportunity. Designated REALTOR.Advertisement for the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts. On the left is a print by Glenn Wolff that is mostly black with some white outlines of trees, spiraling tree roots, a partial moon, prayer flags, stars, comets, spirals, birds flying in the night sky, the backs of a woman and her dog next to a lake. On the right is a painting by Nancy Adams Nash of a whimsical white figure with small head and huge hips and a heart-shaped red area over where the heart would be on a person. Next to the figure are a series of almost square boxes. The largest box appears to be on the ground next to the figure and subsequent boxes are smaller and appear to recede in the distance or climb the wall next to the figure. Each box is hooked to the one above it by one corner. Inside each box is a small line, and each line inside the box is a different color. The art exhibition is called: Glenn Wolff and Nancy Adams Nash: Land and Myth. Showing now through April 13. Hardy Hall Gallery open Wednesday thru Sunday, Noon to 3 p.m. Free Admission. Ramsdell is located at 101 Maple St. Click here to be taken to the website.

I had this feeling of giddiness come upon me, and not in a positive way.

Looking back, though, those years of splitting by hand, often in the most blistering of northern Michigan weather, gave me a sort of beyond-average work ethic that has served, and still serves, me very well. I have never needed a boss to make me feel accountable or bills looming over my head to be productive. Being productive is what makes me feel good about myself. I can look around at my family’s property and see so many of my accomplishments. There are five structures and I defy anyone to find one square inch that I haven’t built, installed, fixed, worked on or am working on.

I find great joy in the culinary arts, too, especially with others — sharing the mouth-watering scent of garlic and onion frying in butter, the peaceful calm after a big turkey dinner, and the anticipation of fresh baked goods. To make this happen, you first need the desire and second, the right tools. The basics are pretty much the same for everybody’s kitchen, but I have two multi-purpose food processors that I couldn’t live without.  If you really want to get into baking, you will need something that whisks, mixes and kneads, like a Kitchen Aid.  If you try to do this by hand, you will quickly lose your desire.

September is National Bourbon (the “Spirit” of America) Heritage Month. This year, why wait until “5 o’clock” for a drink? Have a bite instead at any time because this bourbon glaze works well on almost any pastry, even cookies.

Bourbon Glaze

In a tall, wide-mouth drinking glass (for easy pouring), combine 2 tablespoons of double-strong coffee, a half tablespoon of bourbon (Boss’s choice: Evan Williams), and one-and-a-half cups powdered (confectioners) sugar.  Stir with fork until smooth.

Image for Bourbon why wait 'til 5 o'clock story is of cinnamon rolls on a cooling rack flanked by a bottle of bourbon and an espresso maker, presumably for that double-strong coffee mentioned in the recipe. Photo by Joshua Elie.
Bourbon glaze ingredients beside cinnamon rolls.

Elie’s “Morning After” Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

2¼ + cups flour
3 Tbs sugar
1 pack of yeast (2¼ tsp)
½ cup water
¼ cup milk
2½ Tbs salted butter
1 large egg

Filling

3 Tbs room temperature salted butter
1 Tbs ground cinnamon
¼ cup sugar

In a Kitchen Aid mixer bowl, mix flour, sugar and yeast, then set aside. Heat milk, water, and butter to 115-120 degrees. Whisk until smooth, then pour into flour mixture. Start kneading and add the egg. Continue kneading, adding flour slowly — a little at a time — until the dough does not stick to the bowl. Roll into a ball, then set back in bowl for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix cinnamon with sugar. Roll out dough to an 18” x 8” rectangle. Use a spatula to smooth softened butter flat on top of dough. Sprinkle all cinnamon sugar on butter evenly. Roll dough tightly and cut into nine 2-inch pieces. Set inside greased (I use fingers and butter to coat) 10” cake tin. Cover with aluminum foil and let rise 90 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Egg wash and bake rolls for 10 minutes with foil on. Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from cake tin and let cool. Drizzle with coffee/bourbon glaze.

Read more stories by Joshua Elie HERE and his bio HERE

 

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