going eating going cooking going
Hi Friends.
Guess what started?
I’ll give you a hint….
So happy but so tired. Enjoying my Friday morning off catching up on blogs with my feet up and coffee in hand. I love culinary school! I never knew my life could change so drastically in just 4 days, but I am so excited to get back into the kitchen,.
I’m still getting hits on my little old blog, so I think it’s time to give a brief update.
“Transitions are weird.” That is my quotable statement referring to the first half of 2009. Expect a reworked blog soon, with its own address (not some dot-something-dot com bull)
Things are going well, but taking longer than planned. This ish takes discipline, and that has never been my strong suit. Some things are in the oven, they’re just not ready yet.
So, give me another month and it’ll all be good.
I go through of fits of eating the same thing all the time. I believe most people do this. Some friends who have other blogs write about what they reading, wearing, or thinking. Since I’m mostly interested in making and consuming food, I am going to start a part of my blog called “What I’m Eating”
For the past few days, I have been eating Grape Cilantro Almond Salad.
It is seriously the easiest thing in the world to make. You can make one serving or 40, and it is still easy. My recipe is for a single serving.
Ingredients:
1 cup grapes, cut in half
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 handful almonds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
dash salt
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Eat up.
It is 15 minutes before my lovely roommate comes to pick me up for our first EAT THE IDES dinner party. The ingredient is lemon. I am making a riff on Moroccan Tagine. Instead of making a stew, I bought lamb shanks, marinated them in Moroccan spices and preserved lemons. I am cooking them in a cast iron skillet at the party house. I’m serving the lamb over a bed of couscous with lemon peel, as well as with a carrot puree, hummus, and a small salad of sunflower greens and lemon. I know it will be good, but I am not sure if it will win because it has so many flavor components. I’m guessing I should have stuck with something more simple, that really only hi-lighted lemon. No one else is making a dessert, and I am sure I could have knocked that one out of the ballpark with a creamy lemon ice cream. Now that I am thinking about desserts I am getting a little wistful about all the time I’ve spent making a savory dish. I always need to remind myself that simplicity is not a bad thing. I’ll keep you updated with the next ingredient. Wish me luck!
OBAMA WON! Heck yea! I’m so proud of my country and of my generation… I made it down to Grant Park on Tuesday November 4, 2008, and stood with my fellow citizens, dancing to Stevie Wonder, waiting for McCain to concede. I felt such pride in singing along to the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance. I am so proud, happy, hopeful, and anxious for Obama to begin his term as our 44th president. I know the road won’t be easy, but I feel like we picked the right way to go (see Robert Frost)
In other news, my camera is down for the count, as of November 4, 2008. I guess she couldn’t handle the energy of Obama’s election.
So, I’ll leave you with this tip.
Adobo is great, used sparingly, especially in freshly popped popcorn (like on the stovetop style)
Peace, out. I’m about to have a date with Liz Lemon and some Adobo flavored popcorn. The high-flying lifestyle of a 26 year old in Chicago on a Friday night. Super cool.
One time, in April, I went on vacation. Since then, I haven’t exactly been to the grocery store, in a real way. It is really cramping my style. Sure, I’ve picked up some anchovies and tomato sauce, but not any breakfast foods or ingredients for delicious treats. This has meant a lot of falafel, hotdogs, and pizza (and cheese curds). But here’s the thing… eating crappy food makes you feel crappy and lethargic. So tonight, after work, I am going grocery shopping. I’m thinking lots of fresh veggies and nothing fried. On the agenda for the week is ceviche, pizza, and soup to take to work for the week.
i am having a massive brunch gathering this sunday. details to follow. watch the menu planning.
the band’s name was 98 degrees, right?
anyway, global warming is taking an obvious toll. it is hot and windy, like the sahara in chicago currently. riding my bike around, i’m constantly slanting. it’s too hot to really do anything productive, and its only may. talking about the weather is boring. but i hope it gets to the mid 70s soon.
well, you can listen to r kelly and leave your house at 7 pm in this kind of weather. seriously i looked like a cartoon riding own milwaukee today, i was leaning so far over. i want to only eat cucumbers and sun tea.
1. “lip gloss” by lil mama
2. “ima flirt” by r. kelly featuring t.i. and tpain
3. “whose that lady” by the isley brothers
4. “watch the tapes” by lcd sound system
5. “one two three four” by feist
6. “cish cash” by basement jaxx
7. “jolene” by dolly parton
8. “keep the car running” by arcade fire
obviously this list will grow as the weather gets warmer and my brain melts and only appreciates heavy bass with loud thumping.
pros and cons.
you want the bad news first right? (doesn’t it always seem that bad news is always way heavier/ more important than the good news? like when your mom asked you this question, and you said bad news first, and then she told you that your dog died, but she got you some new socks) not true in this blog entry, my friend.
so, cons.
1. on sunday morning i woke up after a night of bachleorette party-ing and loft/ back porch jumping, later than usual. haven’t slept past 9 in a good long while. i went downstairs to go to cozy corner for some morning-ish meal and saw a real live crime scene in front of the citibank, replete with blood filled syringes and police tape, as well as a bent electrical pole and lots of glass. and the seat from a car, not a child’s car seat, a real live seat of a car.
2. tonight, after arriving home and sitting in my living room, listening to the conversation of two police officers over too close two-way radios, talking about back up and support and shitty funding.
3. my newly loud neighbors. they are always fighting on the sidewalk. loudly, accusing each other of terrible things. and then later in the night they do the same thing on the back porch. i want to tell her it’s ok if she leaves. there are no kids as far as i can tell, and they seem to despise each other.
pros
1. some of my favorite friends now live an 8 minute bike ride away, after 3 years of 45 minute/hour train rides or $20 cab bills. huzzah!
2. cozy corner
3. my old man neighbor who doesn’t speak english and calls me chica bonita and offers me cold cans of bud light no matter what time it is.
