June & July Yellow Door breakfasts raise more than $4,000

Wow, Chelsea residents and friends from surrounding communities! Together, we helped raise $2,200 for Chelsea's Sounds & Sights Festival and roughly $2,000 for Mission Marketplace. Isn't it amazing what we can do together for our community non-profits?

Thank you to the chefs, location preps, breakfast workers and diners! Yellow Door volunteers rock!!!!

Just look at these lovely crepes, topped with tart cherries and accompanied by a side of sausage. Mmmm... mmmm! Hope to see you at the next Yellow Door.

Slice of cake at Yellow Door triggers 25-year memory

Every taste tells a story or, at the very least, generates a feeling… such as a memory or feeling of pure delight, interest, disappointment, nonchalance and -- best of all -- romance. In June, amid chatter and enjoyment of a Chef Craig Common-cooked breakfast at Yellow Door, a vivid memory jolted to life.

At the invitation of Yellow Door Volunteer Marie, Brighton resident Joanne Daniels attended the June breakfast. It just so happened that Chef Paul Cousins baked a special cake in honor of Janice Ortbring’s birthday. Being the generous soul that she is, Janice shared her cake with Yellow Door guests, who embraced the idea of cake as the perfect ending to this delicious breakfast.

The cake surprised many for its layer after layer of flavors. Personally, I’m a simple chocolate cake kind of a girl, so when I tasted the birthday cake, I was amazed at the density and flavors that danced on my palate. After a few bites, Joanne expressed to Marie that the cake reminded her of a cake she tasted more than 25 years ago at the wedding of her friends Dave and Nancy McKenzie. It was quickly discovered that Paul, former restaurateur and pastry chef extraordinaire, made this cake only twice in his life – the only other time at Dave and Nancy’s wedding at Greenfield Village. So, of course, we had to share this story!

Paul shared that that the recipe for this Heritage Cake first appeared in a Betty Crocker cookbook in the early 1900s. Paul found the recipe around 1970 and was intrigued with its complexity and history as a wedding cake. It was intentionally crafted as a dense cake – a pound cake with layers of dates, raspberries, apricots, plums and cranberries – for transportation by wagon over rough terrain. When Nancy asked Paul to make a cake – any cake -- for her intimate wedding to Dave, Paul finally had his opportunity to craft this laborious cake – and what a memorable cake! An all day effort, the cake is topped with silky, coffee buttermilk icing after each layer is carefully crafted.

Janice's birthday inspired Paul to make the cake for the second time. Lucky girl! And, lucky us!

Potato utensils and corn plates... now at Yellow Door

A big kudos shout-out to Jane Pacheco for finding earth-friendly disposable utensils and plates for use at Yellow Door! Who knew you could make compostable forks, spoons and knifes from potatoes??? And plates from corn! The products are offered by Detroit-based Michigan Green Safe Products. Check them out here. We tested these durable serving items at the Mission Marketplace breakfast on July 16. Love ‘em and especially love dumping them into the handy compost bin at the breakfast. Very cool!

Yellow Door is on the road... to Mission Marketplace

Yellow Door is serving a farm-to-table breakfast at the new location of The Mission Marketplace in Chelsea on July 14 from 7:30 to 10:00 a.m.

**115 West Middle Street, Chelsea, Michigan**

With your help, we hope to raise $2,000 during this breakfast with all proceeds benefiting The Mission Marketplace in Chelsea, Michigan. So, bring a friend or two or three... We need your help to double our average attendance number -- and double our donations! Outdoor dining will also be available, weather permitting.

To tempt you to join us, guest chefs Angie Berent, Jen Alford, Dennis Crawley and Jane Pacheco have created a delicious menu.

On Thursday, July 15, this dynamite team is cooking up:

Michigan Mission Breakfast Burrito

Flour tortilla (Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory), stuffed with fluffy local, happy chicken eggs (Back Forty Acres/Ernst Farm), cheese (Greystone Creamery) and mild chorizo (Hiday Farms). Served with a side of sour cream (Calder Dairy) and homemade tomato salsa. Accompanied by fresh, local greens (Ferris Farms, Brines Farm, Wolfe Orchard), fresh berries (Ferris, Wolfe) and a bit of grated beet salad (Harvest Kitchen).

Cherry Crepes on a Mission

Michigan cherries (Wolfe Orchard) atop traditional crepes (Lake Star) filled with oh-so-slightly sweetened sheep’s milk ricotta (Greystone Creamery) and baked in a rich custard (Calder Dairy). Served with pork breakfast sausage links (Steinhauser Farm/Ernst Farm)

Small but Powerful

Slice of Sour Cream Coffee Cake (Zingerman’s Bakehouse) served with fresh berries (Ferris Farm, Wolfe Orchard)

Cold Beverages

Peach Apricot Iced Tea (Iceni Tea) & Milk (Calder Dairy)

Hot Beverage

Coffee provided by Mission Marketplace. Add cream from Calder Dairy.


The Mission Marketplace is a nonprofit, community marketplace that sells many handcrafted items made by economically impoverished people in developing regions of the world, both here and abroad.

[Shopping BONUS to all YD guests: Half off one item this morning only for YD guests!]


Also visit www.lunasa.us for easy online shopping of local farm ingredients and artisan products, and visit www.michigangreensafeproducts.com for environmentally-friendly products, like compost-friendly cutlery, recyclable plates, to go containers and more!