Cranberry Apple Pie

Happy Fall Everyone!

This past week I was out at my Great Aunt & Uncle's farm helping them do some fall sorting and repairs before winter sets in. As we were cleaning we ran across some old cookbooks and recipe cards that belong to my Aunt. These recipe books & cards are from the 60's and 70's the pictures on them are absolutely brilliant! There's nothing better than some older home cooked family favorites! She handed over these recipe gems for me to use in the Cafe Aroma bakery!

So, the next time you're in you'll have to check out the homemade apple cranberry pie and brown sugar candied walnut muffins! They're amazing and are sure to bring on that comfy cozy fall feeling!

Come by for some great food, drink, & community!

Peace,
Rach

BREAKFAST BUFFET RESUMES!

Hello Cafe Aroma Friends!

This Saturday our weekly Breakfast Buffet returns! Unlimited cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits & gravy, french toast, hash browns, coffee & juice for just $7.99! (KIDS: 6-10 $4.99 / 5 & under FREE!)

8am to 1pm, every Saturday, August 28th through December 18th.

See you there!  

Lindsay

Closed for 2 Weeks / Reopening August 16th!

Hello Cafe Aroma Friends!

Just wanted to let you know that we're closing down for two weeks for staff training, rest, & construction projects.  

We'll miss you!  But in the meantime, we encourage you to take advantage of Macomb's other fine locally-owned coffee shops & restaurants.

See you August 16th!  We're stoked for another great school year!

Yours,

Lindsay 

GM

Orange Zest

Taste buds craving something sweet & light? Try the new orange zest tea ring. This is one of my family's favorite recipes. My dad - awesome guy that he is - started volunteering to help with baking. We'll be bringing you more of our family favorites soon.
joyfully bringing you yuumy treats,
Rach

tantilizing & delicious

Want a satin smooth chocolate flavor for you taste buds to savor? Try the new chocolate coconut tea ring. It's light fluffy and full of chocolate coconut goodness. Stop in and try some. It's an excellent compliment to a cup of black tea or coffee treat. Hope to see you soon!
Peace, Rach

SERVING WHEAT BREAD!

Hey everyone,
Hot out of the CA ovens... wheat bread. Homemade from scratch yummy healthy goodness! You can choose to have wheat bread for any of our sandwiches now instead of our white flavorful focaccia. Right now I'm enjoying a Chicago on wheat and it is quite delicious and very filling!!!! Stop on in and enjoy!
Peace, Rach

p.s.

also new... fresh out of the oven in about 30 min.... zesty orange cranberry muffins! stop by and enjoy!

party for your mouth!

Hey Cafe Aroma followers!
It's been awhile since I blogged so I thought I'd say hi and get your taste buds watering.
As the manager of our bakery, I've been working on some recipes to bring some creative variety into the bakery case. You'll have to stop by and try some of our new Oatmeal Apple Muffins. Your mouth will not be disappointed!!!! It's oats, apples, & cinnamon goodness! I hope you enjoy this healthier sweet choice!
Also look forward to autumn when we'll have some new lovely treats fall into our bakery case!
Rach

This Thursday: Aracely & Hilde at Cafe Aroma!

Beautiful indie/acoustic/folk/roots music by Aracely & Hilde from Chicago. 

Check out Aracely at aracelybock.com or myspace.com/aracelybock.

As far as Hilde, she's a member of celtic band The Crossing. Enough said?

They collaborate to make BEAUTIFUL music!

If you missed them at Cornerstone, now's your chance! If you saw them, you'll want to see them again.


Thursday, July 8th, 8pm.  Admission by donation.

Lyndsey Manuel - a eulogy

A eulogy written for Lyndsey Manuel, a former volunteer at Café Aroma. You will be missed Lyndsey.

Shortly after his highly publicized conversion to Christianity, one British writer named C.S. Lewis was wed to one Joy Davidman. The tragedy of this circumstance? Ms. Davidman was at her deathbed of bone cancer as they exchanged vows. While Davidman would make a brief recovery, she would die of her cancer only four years afterward, a period not much shorter than Lewis’ life as a Christian. In a series of reflections that eventually became the volume we now know as A Grief Observed, Lewis writes this:

Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. A ll nonsense questions are unanswerable. How many hours are there in a mile? Is yellow square or round? Probably half the questions we ask-half our great theological and metaphysical problems-are like that.

Such a simple phrase with such profound implications, and today we find ourselves asking questions like these. We find ourselves asking why such a beautiful soul was taken from us so horribly, why when surrounded by such a supportive community that one less of us is present here today. Perhaps we may be asking why it is so easy to submit to despair, rage, or indifference. In the same volume, Lewis gives us an answer:

Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.

The reality is that we are in the same position as Lewis, forced to live in the misery of bereavement. Each time we gather by the fireplace, scoop eggs during the breakfast buffet, or pour a cup of chamomile tea over ice we are reminded that we live in the absence of one and that she lives in the absence of us.

I stand before you today not really knowing necessarily how to react to our present calamity but knowing we must react. I find hard to comment about Lyndsey; while I worked with her each Saturday on the breakfast buffet, I find myself feeling not a small amount of guilt having not gotten to know her much beyond those moments when her cool exterior yielded to the intensely spiritual woman within.

And yet, the grief we share reminds us that as we grieve, we rejoice in the fact that we were privileged to have been graced by such a person as Lyndsey Manuel. To have known such a woman who despite her own battles sought the heart of God is truly an honor. To have lived alongside such a soul is to have shared in her joys and her sorrows.

And that is what we remember today. So, henceforth, friends, we must remember both our joys and sadnesses. To continue in the life of the community is to continue in the life of Lyndsey Manuel. Her story is our story. Her life and death are ours too. Lewis once again sums it best:

“Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process. It needs not a map but a history…”

We commit to continuing on the journey with you. We lift you to the one who answers our unanswerable questions, the one who ultimately has written our history and continues writing, the one you pursued, the one who pursued you. Godspeed, Lyndsey Manuel.

Ha! Reopening! YAY!

Hello all you out there in the blogosphere! Don't forget that we reopen for the summer next Tuesday, June 1. Can you feel it brewing...

aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh...EXCITEMENT!

Pitcher Rinser: Yes, Please.

Our water bill at the cafe was high this month.  It makes me want one of these even more:



I love it when saving the earth & saving money walk hand-in-hand into the sunset.  I should write more about all the ways that has happened here at Aroma.

Closed for 2 Weeks / Reopening June 1st!

Hey Friends,

We'll be closed May 17th - 31st for some R&R after a great semester.  

We'll reopen June 1st and our summer hours will be M-S, 11am-9pm.

See you then!  

Musicians that have graced our ears, in alphabetical order.*

908 Crafford

Andy Zipf

Aracely & Hilde

Audrey

Ben Harris

Bethany Dillon

Crowd of Voices

Damion Suomi

Esterlyn

Feinix

Gabriel Kelly

Glen Kaiser

Infidel Castrones

Jake Hopping

Joie De Vivre

Justin McRoberts

Kasa Del Phunk

Lauris Vidal

Leaving the Boats

Leith & Kindsay

Listener

Liz Thielemann

Mark Wheeler

Matt Warnock

MHS Jazz Band

Nalani Proctor

Never Say When

Noellen Brown

Photoside Café

Rue Royale

Scott Savol

Selepri

The Fembots

The Good Tangerines

The Unfortunate

The Weary Travelers

The Wiitalia Brothers

The Wrecking

Warren Franklin

Waterdeep

Wild Moon

WIU Guitar Duos

WIU Jazz Combos

*This list does not include Open Mic performances.  Please let us know of any additions or corrections.

FINALS: Open late for Massages, Breakfast, & Caffeine

Hey Cafe Aroma Friends,

It's that time of year again!  Make Cafe Aroma your safe haven in the storm of finals.  

(And even if you're not a student, come on over to get in on this great stuff.)

SUNDAY, MONDAY, & TUESDAY NIGHTS:

• Open until 1AM 
• Chair massages by a professional masseuse (just $5 for 10 minutes)   
• Breakfast Buffet (10pm to midnight)
• As always, great atmosphere, free wi-fi, delicious coffee, etc.

Email us if you have any questions!

See you soon!

Bloggin Pregnant Style

Hello All!!! Becky Holland here. As some of you know, I am currently 8 and a half months pregnant. Woah! I just can't believe we will be having a baby in just a few short weeks. In the mean time, here I am, many many more pounds than I was just a few months ago and a whole lot more tired. Being on my feet for a whole shift just isn't as easy as it used to be, so I've been taking a lot of sitting breaks during my shifts. What better thing to do while I am sitting here getting my energy back than blog!! :)

First thing to blog about: Grandma Nanny's Cucumber Dill Salad

We first served the Cucumber Dill Salad last summer and it was a hit, so we have brought it back for this summer season. Lindsay asked me to write a blog about it since it is a recipe from my family. Here it is. :)

Grandma Nanny is my great great Grandma on my mom's side of the family. Her name was Emma Huehl Steinbis. Her family immigrated to the States from Germany in the mid 18oo's. Emma was born in Minnisota, then moved to South Dakota at the age of 2. In 1898 she married Ernest Steinbis, a farmer. They homesteaded a farm in Tular, South Dakota. That is where this recipe was created. Emma kept cucumber in her garden and created this recipe as a refreshing summer snack. Emma and Ernest had one child, Walter. He married Ruby and they had 4 babies on that same farm. The eldest of those babies is my Grandma Dorothy. Grandma Dorothy is who passed this recipe down to me. Grandma Dorothy was raised on the farm in South Dakota where this recipe was originated and raised by Grandma Nanny, her grandma and the woman who created this recipe. At our last family reunion one of my cousin's created a Steinbis family cook book with this and MANY other amazing family recipes, many of them created by Grandma Nanny. Hopefully I will be able to bring more of her recipes and share them with the cafe, but for now you will just have to enjoy this one!

Here is a picture from 1946 on the farm in South Dakota. The man all the way on the left is Ernest Steinbis, to the right of him is my Grandma Dorothy (she is holding my Aunt Sandie, my mom's oldest sister), to the right of her is Grandma Nanny, to her right is Ruby (my grandma's mom) and to the right of her Walter (my grandma's dad - intimidating looking man, right?).

Hope you enjoy this story as much as I do and I hope you enjoy the cucumber dill salad even more!! :)

Good luck with finals.

Beck

New Food Offering - The Tuscan Chicken Wrap!

Hello all you panini patrons, you Chicago chewers, you Kansas City nibblers, you Southwest gobblers! Once again, we are offering a new sandwich that will tickle your taste buds! Introducing the Tuscan Chicken Wrap, a tantalizing wrap that combines our grilled chicken breast with fresh red onion, roasted red pepper, pepperjack cheese, and our sun-dried tomato spread! This incredible taste experience of sweet and savory is bundled together in a garlic and herb wrap and can be enjoyed grilled or cold. One of the best parts? It goes for only $5! Try it with our ever popular parmesan garlic chips or tomato bisque soup!

My First Blog!

Hello friendly Cafe Aroma followers!
Have to admit something... this is my first blog ever! I have been a life long journal writer so this probably won't seem much different other than I don't really open my journal for public reading =)

So with that said on with the blog!

Since we at Cafe Aroma are all about community it might be interesting to find out how some of us made it into the community here. So there's a question - answer away!

I found my way to the Cafe Aroma community when the community was just a concept and a dream. We had an idea/vision/dream to provide Macomb a wonderful place to hang out that would be an alternative to the bar scenes, a place to hang out with friends over coffee and enjoy life together. When I was a college student I LIVED in coffeehouses. I rarely saw my dorm room/apartment, so when I moved to this area it was sad to me that Macomb was missing a late night coffeehouse. We took the idea and ran with it. A friend and I got together and designed it, my husband Nick helped build and a few years later here we are!

It's so exciting to now see an idea/vision/dream become reality. You guys are that reality, you - college students, musicians, locals, and everyone in between here living life together in the cafe! This is just what we had hoped would happen here with the community!

It's great to see familiar faces on a daily basis and very exciting to make new friends and establish new relationships. To those of you I have already met thanks for allowing me to serve and converse with you I look forward to many more opportunities to share life together. To those I haven't met yet I look forward to meeting you, next evening you're in, pop up to the bar and say hi!

Blessings and Peace,
Rach

Closed for MLK Day / Hours for the New Semester!

Hello Cafe Aroma friends,

We're so excited about the new year & wanted to let you know our hours for the spring semester!

11AM to 11PM

Monday - Friday

Saturday Breakfast Buffet

8AM-1PM

We will be closed Monday January 18th for MLK Day, so these hours will start Tuesday, January 19th.

Stay updated on our hours & events anytime at CafeAromaMacomb.com.

See you soon!

Lindsay