I have got to admit, love that name: The Porcupine Press. Why is it that all the cool stuff comes out of the Upper Peninsula, and all we have is Kwame down here to deal with. This little gem of a magazine, dubbed the UP Magazine is published by the Porcupine Press.
I first read this magazine probably 15 yrs ago while visiting the cabin one August, and would pick one up during every trip since then. Now, since my aunt and uncle have retired to the area, they mail one down once in a while for all to read under the bridge. Its not only funny, but it contains some of those neat facts that are uniquely from the Upper Peninsula. Plus, there are some great recipe’s in there on everything you could imagine.
Even the LPC could get a few ideas for some new foods to prepare. I like the quote under the critics bi-line, ” Just shut up and eat it” , and that she “personally consumes at these fine eateries.” Kind of like a twist of fine dining and the SNL coneheads skit. It looks like some the recipe’s are sent in by regular folks, and cooks in bars, restaurants and lodges. This edition had crab ragoons, my favorite munchy at the Chinese places. If the slight Asian twist isn’t your thing, they had roasted garlic potato soup, toffee apple bars and some yummy looking pork chops this month.
The advertising comes in the form of those little squares that you find in a high school football program. Like oversized (slightly) business cards, they are kind of fun to read as well. You have small grocery stores from places like Watersmeet, The Buckhorn Bar in Wetmore or if you wanted to send a snowball to someone get this. Patticakes Bakery in Wailuku, Hawaii. Yep, directly from the islands you can send anyone a snowball through today’s modern means of shipping. Thing is, these are snowball “cookies”.
At the bottom of every page, there are these little fortune cookie type quotes (minus the lottery numbers) that are fun to read. I have a girlfriend who is this quote to a tee. “Willpower is the ability to resist temptation, until you are sure that no one is looking.”
There is always something included about hunting and fishing. Usually something to do with outdoor “facilities”. Some kind of flashback piece involving how hunting, fishing, and just general life was back in the 1880’s. This month they had a nice article on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Loved that song as a kid by Gordon Lightfoot.
So, if you are the Upper Peninsula, pick up a copy in Maki’s Mini Mart located in Republic, Michigan. Ok, seriously, I have no idea where this is at, and have never been in the “mart”, but you have to admit, Republic is one cool name for a town. You can actually find copies soon after getting off the bridge in just about any direction that you head to. Pretty sure you can get them mailed to the house as well. Enjoy