Pasties, the U.P. Treat

Most of us that reside in or used to reside in Michigan are familiar with the pasty. It is a staple of Michigan's Upper Peninsula popularized by Finnish miners working in the copper mines. When traveling the U.P. (or Yoop, as some refer to it) you can't pass through the tiniest of towns without seeing a sign offering up fresh homemade pasties. Until recently, there has never really been another food product to tag along with the pasty phenomenon. Wheat Carlson, from Munising, is working on changing that. He and his business partners have developed some pasty products that include – the Fudgie Pastie, a pillow shaped like a pasty, and “Toivo and Eino's Finnish Really Secret Pasty Sauce."

I have had pasties topped with gravy, sour cream, and once with nothing at all. Some folks prefer ketchup on their pasty, I haven't tried that one. I am looking forward to trying the pasty sauce. The sauce is thicker than ketchup and a bit spicy, but not hot. It is said to taste great on other foods such as french fries and hamburgers in addition to pasties.

You can order the pasty sauce online as well as t-shirts and other pasty-themed products at PastyPower.com.

Save our State Parks

Should we sell off our state parks that do not generate enough revenue to pay for themselves? Should our state continue to pursue short term fixes for long term problems? Our state parks generate an estimated $400 million annually for Michigan's economy. They are great places of recreation and relaxation. They are 97 reasons to get out and go someplace new.

When you sell a state owned parcel of land it is gone forever. It will melt into the homogenized, plasticized, and modernized “strip mall plague” of America. Or it will become some housing development with a stupid name like “Pine Tree Meadows” aka what this place looked like before we bulldozed it and threw a bunch of identical houses on it.

Another idea to help save our state parks is to scrap the park entrance fees ($6 per day) in favor of tacking on a few bucks to license plate fees. This would shift the burden to all Michigan residents and businesses and would generate much more than the daily entrance fees. I know that I would much rather pay a few extra bucks a year for my license plate fees and not have to see former state parks full of fast food restaurants and condos.

What do you think?