hello!

The housewarming happened: 2×2 gallon containers of beverages (white sangria & watermelon margaritas) made it fun.

One of the best parts about having a new house is coming home and eating meals with my main man at our dining table.

Our first real meal (with chairs) was buckwheat pancakes topped with maple butter & homemade apricot preserves. The meal wouldn’t have been possible without our pals- maple butter from Danielle’s Montreal Trip, apricots for the jam from Annie’s back yard, and Cava for mimosas from Brendan & Rosie.

I went to the farmer’s market and bought this stuff

I made a healthy dinner of patty pan squash & quinoa fritatta with crimson carrot, fennel, & italian onion salad.

Dessert, sour cherry juleps

followed by a few rounds of card games.

And the view from our front room

city apricot jam

I am getting my camera back this weekend from Indianapolis, but I’m so excited, I’m going to post without pictures.

My friend Annie lives in Pilsen in Chicago. She has a fantastic backyard, which happens to include a real, live, fruiting APRICOT tree!

So, on Tuesday Gerard and I went to go pick about 10lbs of apricots. I’ve made apricot cobbler, 12 jars of apricot jam, and am using the rest to infuse some tequila…. and there’s still a ton of fruit on the tree! It’s so exciting to pick fruit from a tree in the middle of a huge city like Chicago. I know a lot of people in warmer areas often have this experience, but as a stalwart Midwesterner, it’s one I’ve never had. I’d suggest making friends with people who have fruit trees.

Making the jam has been an easier process than I originally thought it would be and I can’t wait to have it with crackers and goat cheese.

I found this recipe to be the simplest, and from what I’ve tasted, also the best apricot jam I’ve ever tasted!!!

I’ll post pictures of my babies when I get my camera back.

Also, when you’re canning, the jars make a really funny “ping” sound. Gotta get your kicks somehow.

Summer Vegetable Shrimp Curry

Although this summer has been mild and rainier than usual, there is still a typical Midwestern abundance of fresh and delicious produce. Last night, I invited my younger brother over for dinner. Don will say he has an uninformed palate, but he is really fun to eat with. He tries everything, finishes it, and usually seems to enjoy it. I’m leaving town for a few days, so I’m trying to use up any perishable things in my fridge. We were in the mood for seafood, so I came up with Summer Vegetable Shrimp Curry. This recipe has several parts, which I’ll divide up.

Veggie/Shrimp Mix
1 cup green beans
1 large zucchini, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 small onion chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, grated
3 tablespoons butter
15 large shrimp, shelled and deveined (keep refrigerated until you are ready to cook them)

Curry Sauce
1 15oz can coconut milk (use the sweeter kind)
1/4 cup (or to taste) Madras Curry Powder
1 teaspoon salt

Prepare 2 cups of rice, the way that you like to. I tend to use brown rice. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice, so if you decide to make brown rice, start it when you are beginning everything else, and the timing should work out perfectly.

Directions
1. Start rice.
2. Combine curry sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, it should reduce while you are cooking everything else. It is super simple to make, but sometimes boils over. Watching the heat will prevent this.
3. Now is a good time to set the table, since the veggies will cook quickly. Open a bottle of wine, or if you are Don, have a glass of Sol.
4. Melt butter in a large pan.
5. Add onions first and cook until they are translucent. Add garlic and once it is aromatic, add the rest of the vegetables. Saute for about 10 minutes, more or less depending on how cooked you like your vegetables to be.

6. Add the shrimp to the sauteed vegetable mix. It should not take very long for the shrimp to cook. I prefer to use raw shrimp because the texture is less tough than with precooked shrimp.

7. Once the shrimp is cooked, you can serve dinner!

I served the veggies and shrimp over a bed of brown rice and covered the whole thing in a little curry sauce. Gerard made a strawberry spinach and avocado salad partially inspired by my friend Gemma.

I don’t normally show sweet things, but this weekend I’m making some strawberry and lavender cupcakes for a friend’s baby shower. We’ll see how that goes.

Also, if you happen to be allergic to shellfish, you could easily substitute steak, chicken, or tofu. And, as always feel free to hold the onions!

Greek Veggie Burgers

Hi Friends. Sorry I’ve been MIA. As previously mentioned, I’m starting to post again. So, drumroll… Here we go.

This morning, my friend Jodie gave me part of her bumper crop of tarragon (along with rosemary and some chives)… Thanks Jodie, Have fun in CA!

I was particularly excited to receive such a wonderful surprise, since I had already decided to make veggie burgers for lunch, and needed some fresh herbs. The restaurant where I am a server has a fantastic house-made veggie burger. I’m a dedicated carnivore, and sometimes I still crave it. The basis of the burger is quinoa, which I’ve talked about on this blog before. I’m always looking for new ways to do old things, so when I had some left over quinoa yesterday, I knew what I’d be making today. Also, I’ve recently become obsessed with all things that fall into the category of Greek/Middle Eastern Food. Now, I know that’s a HUGE category, and I’m not strictly following recipes, but the things I’ve been making lately are definitely influenced by a Grecian sensibility- olive oil, feta, red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers; what’s not to like? As the weather gets warmer, refreshing food becomes a top priority and the Greeks seem to have figured it out pretty well.

Ingredients
1 & 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (I used red, but brown will work too)
1 can garbanzo beans
3/4 cup cracked buckwheat (you can use Bulgar wheat too, I’m just trying to stay gluten free)
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh oregano to taste ( I used 1/4 cup)
Fresh tarragon to taste ( I used 1/4 cup)

Supplies
Food processor (an immersion or regular blender would work too)
Sheet tray
Parchment Paper (BEST STUFF EVER!!!)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut parchment paper to size and place on top of sheet tray.
2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until mixture is combined. It should be thick but pliable and definitely not dripping wet.

3. Once the mixture is to your desired texture, stop pulsing it and remove it from the bowl.
4. Form into patties place on parchmented (? is that a word) sheet tray and cook for 25 minutes, opening oven to flip the burgers half-way through the cooking time.

5. Remove patties from the oven and serve on a bun if you like. I served mine on a bed of spinach with chopped cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. Iced green tea with lemon and ginger as well as Greek yogurt w/ honey helped to round out the meal.

*This will make much more than one serving. It freezes very well, just make sure you form it into individual patties before you freeze it.

**Also, it’s good to be back.

***Also, ginger, lemon, green tea is good.

cotton candy

nuff said

housewarming

Last night, Danielle and I hosted our housewarming party/ bbq. Since I work Saturdays and Fridays, and we both wanted something pretty low key, we thought a Sunday afternoon gathering would be nice and relaxing. We decided to provide some snacks and drinks, and asked people to supplement with their own. Danielle left the menu planning up to me, and I was stumped at first… and then I wasn’t. We decided to make samosas and gin and tonics.

I suppose you could try and find the ingredients for Indian cooking at Dominick’s, or pay too much for them at Whole Foods, but me being me, I decided to ride my bike up to Devon Street to get some authentic Indian ingredients for a reasonable price. On Saturday morning, I went on quite the bike ride, including the other errands in my neighborhood, calculations show that I rode at least 17 miles on my bike in the span of about 3 hours. I woke up early on Saturday, and I ended up going to Patel Brothers, because it was open. Patel Brothers has a lot of great stuff, but it can feel a little corporate, ala Trader Joe’s. Most things appear to be store brand, which allows for great quality control, but feels like… Trader Joe’s, not an awesome Indian grocery. Online, I’ve found that they have quite the network of groceries all over the country. The house brand name is “Swad…. The Best Taste In Town” which is a quaint tag line. I wonder if it sounds quaint on purpose, because if they’re being serious, maybe they should say the “Swad…. The Best Taste in North America.” Anyway, I digress. I picked up tons if Indian treats, for a quarter of what they would cost at Whole Paycheck. After trudging home on my bike, I went to pick up some gin and tonic for the party.

The problem with cheap gin is that it tastes like cheap gin. Most people have an aversion to this kind of gin, and I am cheap. What to do? We were making samosas, so I was intent on having gin and tonics, because they were invented in India by the British East India Company. I decided to buy cheap gin, and infuse it with cucumber. I only did this overnight, and it made a significant difference in the taste. I’m curious to see what happens if I let it sit for a week. To make infused gin:

Ingredients:
1 handle Seagrams or other inexpensive gin
2 large English cucumbers, peeled and chopped
3 drops rosewater
A small handful of fresh mint leavea (if you are infusing this over a longer period of time than a day, I would omit the mint.

Directions:
1.Chop up the peeled cucumbers
2. Put in a pitcher
3. Drip in the rosewater
4. Throw in the mint
5. Muddle it up
6. Cover with gin
7. Let sit covered in a dark place for at least 24 hours

While the gin was infusing, Danielle and I made a lot of samosas. Samosas, despite what you might have been told, are not hard to make, however they are extremely labor intensive. I was struck with how Samosa Kohl (dough) is very similar to Pâte Brisée but MUCH easier to make. Some other day, when I decide to eat wheat again, I will try to make a quiche using Samosa Kohl. I used this recipe, and found it to work extremely well.

We made 3 different fillings: potato carrot, potato pea paneer, and chickpea spinach paneer.

They fried up quite nicely and were a hit at the party.

We had quite the spread of chutneys and tasty snacks. I guarentee that Indian food has the best options in the world for snacking. Here’s a picture before the guests arrive

Some people also brought cool food to share.

Laryssa brought a pineapple boat

Ena brought a salad from her garden

Mary brought deviled eggs

This delicious syrup used with the infused gin, but I am still working on perfecting my recipe for a drink I’d like to call the Rose Garden…. Stay tuned.

Here’s me and D, in socks, so our dirty feet don’t mess up the floor that our main men cleaned for us.

mexican fried rice

Last night, my friend Natalie came over for a quick bite, cut short by a terrible headache on my part. We had a basic meal of rice and bean tacos while catching up a bit. She got some very good news while we were eating… congratulations all around! I was disappointed that I wasn’t more fun to be around, but after a nights’ sleep I am feeling a lot better.

One “problem” I always seem to have is leftovers. I only needed enough rice to fill 4 tacos, but I ended up with a whole container… enough to fill about 20 tacos. I decided last night that I would make fried rice today, and I was excited about the prospects. Currently, however, my pantry is lacking in typical Chinese ingredients. I could make you Italian, Mexican, Indian, or American food… but I believe no sesame or peanut oil is to be had. Instead of walking to the grocery store to buy more stuff, I just used what I had on hand, and came up with a palatable alternative to regular fried rice, Mexican Fried Rice.

We’ve been trying to buy brown rice, because it is an easy way to get more vitamins and nutrients in your diet. Danielle and I both eat a lot of rice, and it hasn’t been a hard adjustment. Yesterday evening, I made some salsa (again with what was around) using sriracha, onions, a variety of cherry tomatoes, salt, and fresh garlic. I let it sit overnight and added some carrots and candied ginger

I fried the rice in olive. After it had been frying for about 5 minutes, I added the “salsa”

I let that cook for a few, then added black beans and some eggs to the mix.

After the eggs were cooked, I grabbed put lunch in a bowl, sliced up some avocados, added some goat cheese and a little salsa verde.

Not bad for not going to the store.

homemade granola

A few years ago, while Division Street was flipping, a small restaurant opened named Milk and Honey. A harbinger of the changes to come, a lot of people have mixed feelings about the place. No matter your feelings, the food they make is low-key and tasty. Milk and Honey is probably best known for its granola, which it sells at tons of retail outlets in the city and beyond. There’s something special about M&H’s granola, and the price reflects it…. so I got to thinking. Oats, nuts, honey, raisins, and an oven… how hard can it be to make my own?

Now, before you get your panties in a bunch, oats are considered ok for most people with a gluten intolerance to ingest/digest.

To make my granola I used:

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 vanilla bean
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. I roasted the almonds on the stove top, and combined them with the oats.

3. I melted the butter and added the vanilla bean (split with the seeds removed), honey, brown sugar, maple syrup.

4. I poured the mixture over the oats and almonds, making sure that everything was evenly coated.

5. Then, I baked it in the oven for about a half hour, stirring it every 5-10 minutes.

6. I let the mixture cool, added the dried fruit, and am storing it in an airtight container.

Good on yogurt, by itself, or with a little milk.

PS. Thanks to the book Breakfast, Lunch and Tea for the inspiration.
PPS. I don’t usually have vanilla beans just laying around, this was special. Next time, I think I will add a little salt to the mix and use regular vanilla extract to cut down on cost!

sunday dinner

Mary and I have been friends since we were six years old and hiding in the bushes from bullies at our grade school. A few weeks ago, I helped her and her boyfriend, Justin move into their new (hugely awesome) apartment, which feels like a treehouse. They had us over for dinner as a thank you.

There is something really wonderful about being invited to a friends’ house when she is freshly moved in, and things aren’t settled, but you can see the shape that it is taking. Mary and Justin’s house feels calm and well thought out, kind of like the two of them.

They remembered my favorite cider, I picked up a bottle of wine, and the other guests made dessert. Sometimes, when you’re eating dinner, I feel it’s more important to relax and have fun than to snap pictures, so I only got a photo of the delicious vegan sushi that Mary made. She and Justin went to the Chicago Food Corp for the ingredients. If you haven’t been there, I’d highly recommend it.

The sushi was made with tempura sweet potato, English cucumber, inoki mushroom, avocado, rice, and a veganaisse/ chili garlic sauce. It was beautiful and tasty.

Mary just got a cypress rice bowl for cooling the sushi rice. I haven’t ever made sushi, but Mary’s skill made me want to try. It’s also something deliciously gluten free, which is really important at the moment!

pink rice

For someone who has extremely mixed feelings about the Loop (beautiful on a weekend night, sans other people) I sure have spent a lot of time there in the past 24 hours. Yesterday, lunch with Lisa to Oasis… a wonderfully bizarre Middle Eastern cafe in the back of a jewelery warehouse on Wabash… and today lunch in the park with my mom.

There are several nice things about the Loop; you realize you’re in a large city, you get to see a wider variety of people that usual, you get to go to Farmers’ Markets by just stepping outside of your office, there’s a Walgreens on every corner… Yesterday I bought some items at the Daley Center farmers’ market.

Flowers were a bunch for a dollar.

I also bought some green beans and yellow tomatoes, which I put to good use when I made Greek Rice Salad, inspired by Gemma. Rice salad is an easy, inexpensive, delicious, and filling dish. I used brown rice, green beans, yellow tomatoes, spinach, kalamata olives, beets, garbanzo beans, feta cheese, oregano, dill, garlic, and some salt. It also works perfectly if you can’t eat pizza, even if you want to… The beets made the rice pink, which was pretty great!

First you prepare your rice, however you like. Next you make your veggies. Then you put the two together, and presto… a tasty lunch.

Here are the green beans cooking with some onions and garlic

Here are some lovely yellow cherry tomatoes

Here are all the ingredients combined… kind of like Captain Planet.

Here is my mom enjoying her pink rice:

And for dessert, some strawberries in REALLY good balsamic vinegar that Mr. Barreto gave me as a present.