Eat local in support of local theater this Saturday

Wondering how to spend your Saturday morning?  We present a clever idea: gather a few favorite friends for a meet-up or wake your family for some quality time and enjoy a Yellow Door brunch experience.

* Tasty dishes crafted with the freshest local ingredients
* Casual, hip atmosphere at Chelsea Alehouse
* Guaranteed good times
* Feel-good fundraiser for Chelsea High School Theater Boosters

Yellow Door 'farm to fork' brunch
November 8, 2104
8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Chelsea Alehouse
$15 per plate donation suggestion

{Breakfast menu coming soon... it will be flavorful and seasonally fresh.)



Chef Todd of Wesley's Catering will be in the (ale)house dishing up breakfast dishes.  Learn about Todd here: wesleyscatering.com/about-the-chef/

Discovery Center boardwalk update

Moose and I took a walk on the wild side this morning to check out the progress of the new boardwalks at the Discovery Center in Chelsea. Looking good from our vantage. We're excited to see work is underway and are eager to walk the full Bog Trail soon.

Last year, Yellow Doorers helped raise a lot of money to aid the Discovery Center with the new boardwalks. No need to wait, though, as there are plenty of trails to enjoy. 
 

Spring has sprung! Go see the dainty Trilliums.

Chelsea Farmers Market - this Saturday

Our recent Yellow Door gathering at Smokehouse 52 BBQ helped raise $2,800 for Chelsea Farmers Market. The market will use the funds to promote the featured farmers and artisans, as well as plan special events. The market opens for the season on Saturday, May 3. Find the market in the Palmer lot on the west side of Main Street.

Look for asparagus, greens, hummus, baguettes, greens, meats, cheeses, maple syrup, locally roasted coffee and other delicious fare. See you there!

April 26 YD Menu: Cajun French Toast & Smokehouse Scramble

This Saturday, April 26, dine at Smokehouse 52 BBQ from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to support the Chelsea Farmers Market. (The market opens May 3 - yippee!)

Your brunch donation of $15 (or more) goes directly to help bring regional farmers and artisans to Chelsea every Saturday between May and October.

Saturday's menu:

(1) Pain Perdu - Cajun French Toast - not spicy, just southern-style

Served with: Homemade whipped cream and Michigan maple syrup
Plus: A side of Vernors-glazed sliced ham and Michigan cherry spinach salad with smoked Bleu cheese and house-made apple cider vinaigrette

(2) Smokehouse Scramble or Smokehouse Veggie Scramble

Made with: eggs, potatoes, Manchego cheese and ham or veggie sausage
Plus: Michigan cherry spinach salad with smoked Bleu cheese and house-made apple cider vinaigrette


Beverages: Coffee by Fresh and Calder Milk


Featuring ingredients from the following Chelsea Farmers Market vendors:

Fresh, Zatkovich Pastures / Tantre Farm / Goetz Farm / Mama Mofoods / La Baguette, Greystone Creamery / Ruhlig's Produce / Kelly Farms / Golden Fleece Farm / Kapnick Orchards


LIVE music by Swizzlestick with special guest Joe Uzarski

A BIG thank you to our event sponsors:


Stephanie and Larry Doll / Pat and Sandy Merkel / Chelsea Community Kitchen / Vendors of the Chelsea Farmers Market / Phil and Jen Tolliver of Smokehouse 52 BBQ / Chef Warren and Gabe of Smokehouse 52 BBQ

 

Next Yellow Door: April 26

Mother Nature's antics can't stop the inevitable: Chelsea Farmers Market opens next month.

The market managers and the farmers and purveyors who tend the market -- and who will bring us hoop-and-greenhouse greens, carrots, radishes, rhubarb and other early season veggies over the next month or two -- can use assistance in underwriting costs to promote the market.

Celebrate spring and all its finery with a freshly sourced Yellow Door breakfast featuring the produce and meats of the market's participants.  


April 26, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Smokehouse 52 BBQ 
125 S. Main Street, Chelsea

* Menu coming soon
* $15 suggested minimum donation
* Bring a friend or two or the entire family
 

Thank you to our sponsors:

Stephanie and Larry Doll
Chelsea Community Kitchen
Chelsea Farmers Market vendors

*Email Janice or Jane if interested in sponsoring this event.

Thank you to our hosts:

Phil and Jen Tolliver of Smokehouse 52 BBQ
Chef Warren

Yellow Door at Chelsea Alehouse Tonight, 5 to 7 p.m.

Please join us for yummy soup at the Chelsea Alehouse between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Your $15 dinner donation will go directly to aid the Caselli family. (Read all the details -- menu, supporters and more -- in previous posting.)

See you tonight @ 420 North Main Street, Chelsea!

February 24 Yellow Door to aid local family

Please join us at Chelsea Alehouse on February 24 between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to eat and raise money to aid the Caselli family.  Unexpectedly, Tony Caselli is enduring a long-term hospital stay.  This special dinner will help the Caselli family with Tony's care and recovery.

As always, the community has rallied with the assistance of local purveyors and farms to present a scrumptious "soup's on" dinner.

Choose a soup crafted by Zou Zou's Café using Tantre Farm veggies and Ernst Farm pork sausage:

Vegetarian Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup 
- or - Potato, Kale, Sausage Soup

plus:Tantre Farm Watermelon Radish Slaw

&


Assorted Zingerman's Bakehouse Bread



A minimum donation of $15 per dinner is suggested. Checks will be accepted. Please make them out to: Jeanne Caselli. Yellow Door will deliver all funds directly to Jeanne. (Please note the Caselli family may not be in attendance.)


*Thank you to Chelsea Alehouse for donating their space and for hosting the dinner. The alehouse is located at: 420 N. Main, Ste. 100, Chelsea, in the clock tower complex.

*Thank you to Zou Zou's Café for soup preparation and to Tantre Farm for slaw preparation.
*Thank you Zingerman's Bakehouse for donating the bread.

Community Rallies to Raise $5,000 for Chelsea's At-Risk Kids

"It's like Cheers," said Misha, as she finished her Yellow Door meal on New Year's Eve.  "Where everyone knows your name," was my instinctive comeback.


The vibe at Yellow Door's NYE breakfast was lively, bustling and full of laughter and conversation. Chelsea Alehouse overflowed with familiar and new community members who enjoyed unique British-influenced dishes (thanks to Zingerman Chef Kieron Hales, who originally hails from England). CHS Students took the lead greeting and serving customers with a handful of regular YD volunteers filling in the gaps.

"It was fun and delicious... everybody knows each other," said nine-year-old Stella.

New to Yellow Door, Fawn (of Columbus) was thrilled to stumble upon the alehouse and the breakfast to help the area's at-risk kids. Chef Kieron had run into Fawn and her trio of friends, Derrek, Monica and Charles, the night before and had encouraged them to attend. It was a great introduction to Chelsea and its community spirit, particularly for Charles who just relocated here.  

We learned about and savored "Bubble & Squeak" -- an Irish/British tradition of frying potatoes with cabbage and other vegetables -- and dug into the sustainably farmed salmon, which Chef Kieron smoked the night before in his Chelsea backyard. The salmon topped a fluffy crumpet and rich-tasting scrambled eggs. Chelsea Alehouse offered beermosas and many customers enjoyed a glass -- and some even enjoyed a flight of Brewmaster Chris Martinson's brews.

"An integral part of our mission from the start has been to offer the alehouse as a community space," said Chris. He's thrilled with the  informal "partnership" with Yellow Door and the ability to offer the space to Yellow Door to aid nonprofits in the region.

The doors opened at 9:00 a.m. and the first order was already in play. Community members filed in through the morning and filled the alehouse until after Yellow Door's 'official' closing at noon.

At the end, when Janice and Jane, Yellow Door co-founders, did a final tally of funds raised, they realized they were $100 short of $5,000 ($1,000 above the original goal). In a "George Baily" moment, said Janice, the hat was passed and everyone chipped in pocket change -- from $7 to whatever -- to reach the $5,000 mark.

Chelsea School District Social Worker Beth Morris was overwhelmed with the breakfast's success, and is thrilled the funds will be used to provide living essentials -- such as coats, lunches and hygiene products -- and funds for field trips, yearbooks and caps and gowns for school-age kids.

And that, my friends, was a great way to wrap up 2013 and toast the New Year.

Enjoy viewing an album of photographs from the breakfast at: facebook.com/yellowdoor









 

Zingerman Chef Whips Up New Year's Eve Breakfast

Tomorrow morning, New Year's Eve, join us at Chelsea Alehouse from 9 a.m. to noon and eat a scrumptious breakfast in support of Chelsea's at-risk, school-age youth.


Feel good eating freshly sourced menu ingredients from local farms. Feel GREAT knowing that one hundred percent (100%!!!) of money raised will go toward providing daily essentials to kids in need. How so? We have an impressive number of impressive underwriters for the breakfast. Check them out below and check out what Yellow Door is dishing up tomorrow, thanks to Chef Kieron Hales of Zingerman's Corman Farms:

 

Menu Options: ($15 suggested donation/$10 student donation with ID)

• Bubble & Squeak: Rich, scrambled eggs and Nuekes Applewood Smoked Bacon
• Eggy Crumpets & Smoked Loch Duart House Smoked Salmon and sour cream
• Heirloom Roasted Tomato Bread Pudding & Rich, Scrambled Eggs (gluten-free available)

Refreshments:

• Fresh Zingerman's Roundhouse orange juice
• English Breakfast tea from Harvard Square
• Zingerman's Roadhouse Joe Coffee

Sources:
 

• Eggs -- collected from Homer farm
• Vegetables -- Cornman Farms
• Cream -- Calder Dairy
• Flour -- Westwind Milling Company
• Salmon -- cured and smoked at Cornman Farms
• Crumpets -- made with Michigan wheat bread from Zingerman's Roadhouse

Meet our super AMAZING sponsors:

Chris & Aubrey Martinson - Chelsea Alehouse (in kind sponsors) / Larry & Stephanie Doll   / Mack Ruffin & Kathy Carter / Torrance Learning / Mark & Pam Powell / ExcellenceQuest, LLC / Cobra Aero / Rick Taylor - Reinhart / Moore Pediatrics & Associates / Surface Dynamics USA / Dr. Jim Duncan - Family Health Center Chiropractic / Zingerman's Cornman Farms / Jeff Klink - Klink & Associates

Buy two knits (one @ 1/2 off) and one goes to a child in need of cozy gear

Need a gift for the holiday season? Get cozy knits at Global Marketplace. Buy a scarf, hat or pair of gloves for a family member or friend and get a second one for 50% off. Local Business Owner Kevin Frahm of Global Marketplace will deliver your second purchase to Yellow Door to donate it to a child in need of cozy cold-weather gear. And... unemployed global artisans get a dignified wage. Cool, eh?

Kids' School Needs Add Up

I have two children -- a nine year old and a 17 year old.  While I consider myself a 'starving' artist (I'm a writer after all), I'm blessed with a husband who is celebrating 21 years with a successful automotive supplier. We may moan a bit (sometimes a lot) when our girls need new boots, gloves, jeans, pants, notebooks and other school supplies. (All needed this year.) Plus, this year, we had to order senior photographs, a high school yearbook, cap and gown, and pay for multiple college admission fees (as well as testing fees). Christmas presents and 18th birthday presents (just 12 days after Christmas) wrap up the school year... THUS FAR. It adds up!

Please, please, please help Chelsea's 30-to-40 at-risk kids. Many cannot afford hygiene items, clothes that fit well, boots, gloves, coats, backpacks and essential meals. Caps and gowns and yearbooks are luxury items. Christmas presents and school fields... a dream.

Join us at Yellow Door @ Chelsea Alehouse.
December 31. 9 a.m. to Noon.

Thanks to our amazing list of sponsors (see post below), your donation at the door will aid Chelsea's At-Risk Kids.

Trust me, you'll have fun and LOVE the fresh tastiness of the locally sourced entree choices.

December 31 YD to Aid At-Risk Youth

Roughly 30 to 40 students in the Chelsea School District are considered 'at-risk' kids. They're in need of such essentials as toothpaste, deodorant, meals, backpacks, winter gear and, for seniors, caps and gowns. Beyond this, they need financial support to attend school field trips, such as the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip.

Wind down your year at Yellow Door with a delicious, freshly prepared breakfast. Together, we can fill the school district's coffers to aid Chelsea-area students in need.

Read the article posted on Chelsea Update to learn more.

Yellow Door New Year's Eve @ Chelsea Alehouse

{Aaaah... delicious entree choices}

December 31, 9:00 a.m. to Noon

*$15 per adult donation requested
*$10 special CHS student plate (bring ID) for high schoolers to show their support
*$5 wee child plate


Thank you to our amazing sponsors, who help underwrite food costs:

Chris and Aubrey Martinson of Chelsea Alehouse (in-kind)
Moore Pediatrics and Associates
Mark and Pam Powell
Cobra Aero
Mark Ruffin and Kathy Carter
Anne Williams/CEO Excellence Quest
Torrance Learning
Rick Taylor/Reinhart Realtor
Larry and Stephanie Doll

Yellow Door Volunteers & CHS Seniors Julia & Madisen

Plus, thank you to CHS seniors Julia Porter and Madisen Powell who are rounding up a group of excited CHS volunteers to work the breakfast.

Meet and Eat at Chelsea Alehouse this Saturday

Meet at Chelsea Alehouse this Saturday, November 23, from 9 a.m. to Noon. You'll enjoy fresh deliciousness and the camaraderie of Chelsea-area folks. Yellow Door volunteer chefs are whipping up the following brunch options:

* Michigan Smoked Trout Benedict served with O'Brien Potatoes and spinach salad

* Ryan's Breakfast Sausage Casserole served with O'Brien Potatoes and spinach salad

* Pumpkin-spice Pancakes with Cranberry Orange Maple Syrup served with O'Brien Potatoes and pork sausage

{Local foods supplied by Tantre Farm, Ernst Farm, Back Forty Acres, Calder Dairy, Mighty Good Coffee, Westwind Milling, Kelly Farm, Dexter Bakery, Chelsea Alehouse and Michigan Trout.}


Your breakfast donation of $15 (or more...) benefits the Chelsea Community Kitchen, an educational resource devoted to developing and growing the sustainable food culture in the region.  

{A super HUGE thank you to Kathy Carter and Moore Pediatrics for co-sponsoring this breakfast.}  
 
More good news: Chelsea Alehouse is featuring a special libation called Bloody Beers. This concoction is made with McClure's Bloody Mary mix and the Alehouse's Silo White brew. Please note that this drink and all brews are extra (not included in the breakfast donation); however, the Alehouse is donating 10% of beer purchases all day to Yellow Door. Yay!

Yellow Doors to Benefit CCK and At-Risk Youth

So happy to share the news that Yellow Door is hosting two breakfast events. The first, November 23, will benefit the Chelsea Community Kitchen. The second, our traditional New Year's Eve gathering, will benefit the emergency fund for at-risk students in grades Pre-K through 12th grade in the Chelsea area.

Mark your calendar now and plan to join us on November 23 and December 31:

 Yellow Door
9 a.m. to Noon
Chelsea Alehouse



Menu planning is underway and will, as always, feature the best ingredients of the season from regional farmers and producers. You know it will be good, so plan on attending these community gatherings and support worthy initiatives.

More details to follow once the menu is determined.

Sponsorship Opportunities

In the meantime, we're seeking underwriters for these two events at $250 for partial sponsorship or $750 for underwriting an entire event. See your name in lights -- well, rather, on large displays, in emails and here. Your goodwill will go a long way to help bring the community together to raise funds for Chelsea Community Kitchen and at-risk students. Contact Janice if you'd love to be a sponsor.


Chefs, marketing pros, food prep and servers have already committed their time. More volunteers are needed for various duties. Get in touch via facebook/yellowdoor to volunteer.

Make the Discovery Center trails your happy place

One of the big selling points to relocating to Chelsea 10 years ago was the easy access to miles and miles of woodland trails. Today, I can honestly say that the Discovery Center trails are my happy place. Every week, at least once a week, Moose (my dog) and I make the 10 minute drive to the trails and enjoy morning treks. The fresh air and solitude of these morning hikes have been vital to my healthy life outlook. We've enjoyed the trails and boardwalks through every season and every type of weather.

Family hikes (I jokingly call, "forced family fun") around the trails have also been critical to my family's outdoor connection and health. I'm hopeful that most Chelsea families have enjoyed the Discovery Center trails and programs. (For fun, attend the upcoming Maple Syrup fest on March 9 and 10.)
 
Now the Waterloo Natural History Association needs our help in replacing the boardwalks, which were first built in the 1970s. The boardwalks are rotting and, in some cases, breaking apart. Some folks have even been injured by breaking boards.


You can write a check directly to the Waterloo Natural History Association. And, you can also enjoy a delicious Yellow Door lunch on Saturday, March 2, which benefits the association and will help pay for new boardwalks so that many more generations will enjoy this regional gem.

The scoop:

* Saturday, March 2  / Noon to 2:00 p.m.

* @ Chelsea Alehouse in Clocktower Complex

* $15 or more donation / Write check directly to Waterloo Natural History Association

* Goal is to raise $5,000 with 100% of proceeds helping to pay for new boardwalks

Eat local foods this Saturday to raise funds for new Discovery Center boardwalks

~ Waterloo State Park's Gerald E. Eddy Discovery Center needs new boardwalks. You can help by eating a delicious Michigan-inspired lunch this Saturday. ~ 
 

* Saturday, March 2  /  Noon to 12 p.m.

* @ Chelsea Alehouse (in Clocktower Complex in downtown Chelsea)

* $15 (or more!) donation for lunch
* Goal: Raise $5,000. Donate 100% of money to the Waterloo Natural History Association to replace boardwalks

Lunch choices:

1) Michigan Roast Beef Sammie on a Baguette with horseradish cream cheese spread 

&

2) Pulled BBQ Pork on a Challah Bun

Both sandwiches are served with Kettle Cooked Great Lakes Potato Chips and The Brinery's turnip pickles. Beverage options included are Mighty Good Coffee and Calder Dairy Milk. (Chelsea Alehouse brews are also available for an additional cost.)

Local food sources (coordinated through Lunasa.us):
Back Forty Acres, Calder Dairy, Ernst Farm, Great Harvest Bread Company of Ann Arbor, Great Lakes Potato Chips, Greystone Creamery, La Baguette, Mighty Good Coffee, The Brinery

A big THANK YOU to the following donors: Jim & Nancy Paul, Dave & Joanne Rowe, Rick Taylor (of Reinhart Realty)

December 31. Nine to Noon. Eat good food and support Faith in Action

Say bye-bye 2012 with a belly full of yummy local food. Wake up, stretch, gather your family together and meet friends at Chelsea Community Fairgrounds to support Faith in Action. Yellow Door is open and delighted to serve you!

Monday, December 31 
9 to Noon
Chelsea Fairgrounds
$15 donation per breakfast suggested
All proceeds benefit Faith In Action
*checks may be made directly to Faith in Action*

(We're also collecting paper bags, canned goods,
non-perishable items to donate to Faith in Action.)

Yellow Door New Year's Eve Breakfast Menu:

1) Paul Cousins Signature: two poached eggs on country toast rounds with creamed leek sauce, maple glazed bacon and a side of Michigan winter greens

2) Yellow Door favorite: Blueberry bread pudding with pork sausage links and famous Tantre Farm shredded kale, beet and carrot slaw

3) Red Quinoa salad with shaved Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes and a plain yogurt parfait with Michigan blueberry compote and homemade granola
 
Drinks: coffee, tea and milk

Thank you farmers, volunteers and underwriters!

All of Yellow Door New Year's Eve breakfast proceeds benefit Faith in Action, you say? Yes -- thanks to local volunteers and these awesome businesses:

* The Common Grill -- eat here for great food
* Susan Jacobs, CPA, P.C. -- hire Sue to get your taxes done right
* Raymond Howe, D.D.S., M.S. -- go here for straight, pearly whites

Thank you, Larry and Stephanie Doll and the Chelsea Fair board of directors, for making the event location possible.

Thank you food team: Jane Pacheco of Lunasa.us, Paul Cousins, Jen Alford, Melissa Johnson, Dennis Crawley and Deb Lentz

Local food sources (purchased through Lunasa.us): Back Forty Acres, Calder Dairy, Eden Foods, Ernst Farms, Great Harvest Bread Company of Ann Arbor, Greystone Creamery, Hammberberg Garden, Iceni Tea, Kelly Farm, Mighty Good Coffee, Pleasant Lane Farm, Tantre Farm, Terry B's and Thomas Creamery

Thank you breakfast workers: Tracey Weir, Marijane Nelson, Janice Ortbring, Todd Ortbring, Janet Kuras, Jim Randolph, Mary Randolph, Marie Stanyar, Julia Porter, Sharon Kegerreis

Invite friends to Yellow Door's New Year's Eve breakfast

(Wow, two postings in one night. I've tripled the postings for 2012!)

Recently, I attended a holiday gathering and Yellow Door came up and, specifically, the topic of the upcoming New Year's Eve breakfast. A handful of ladies were keen to learn more about Yellow Door and, it made me think... there are many people who missed Yellow Door's heyday... and, therefore, may miss these every-so-often, truly amazing breakfast fundraisers.

So, Yellow Door friends, let's spread the word, shout the news, tweet, post, share, instagram, whatever...you get the picture.

Together, let's raise a ton of money for Faith in Action at Yellow Door's New Year's Eve breakfast (9 to noon @ Chelsea fairgrounds).

Savor Local Foods for Faith in Action on December 31

Hi Yellow Door friends!

We're cooking up a scrumptious local breakfast on December 31 to help our friends at Faith in Action. 

Please join us at the Chelsea Fairgrounds  from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Thanks to the support of Common Grill, Susan Jacobs, CPA, and Dr. Raymond Howe, all Yellow Door proceeds on New Year's Eve benefit Faith in Action.

Mark your calendar now to ensure you don't miss a delicious morning feast and the opportunity to support families in need in our community and the surrounding region. 

The menu will be posted soon. Stay tuned!