last of the (super long overdue) chicago pictures

Over a month ago, I wrote, "More on the trip soon." Fail. If I've learned anything about myself, it's that if I commit to doing anything on my blog, I don't do it. So, with that in mind, I will never post all our stops we made on our summer vacation.

A few thoughts on Chicago. I'm SO glad we had to travel through it twice (on the way out and on the way back to Minneapolis). I love this hub of the midwest for the people, the memories we've made there over the years and for all that it offers in terms of food and entertainment. At this stage in life, it's more about the people and the food.

We stayed with the Vander Griends. I met Kim in college and have already written a bit about her here and there. She's hilarious and intense. Her husband is also hilarious and intense, but in complimentary ways. They are so comfortable to be around. Even before they had children, they were really cool with ours. Kim has a very enchanting way with kiddos.



Our girls are very close in age. Lucy and Jillian are a few days apart. Lila and Phoebe are three months apart. I was a little obsessed with matching them. But getting a picture was tricky! It's hard enough to get ONE kid to look at a camera, let alone FOUR!!!

Kim reading to the girls.

The Dads took out the kids to Millennium Park (as I wrote SO long ago).

And we took out the babies. I have one request when I visit Chicago: cupcakes. If you're ever in Lincoln Park (am I right, Kim?), Go to Sweet Mandy B's. Get yourself a vanilla cupcake. (And then get another for the road.) It's AH-mazing. I have become a bit of a cupcake connoisseur over the years. I have not found a cupcake that competes with Sweet Mandy B's. (Okay, now I'm salivating. Cannot write about this anymore!!!)

next stop, OHIO. (but i will NOT post about it...reverse psychology works, right??!!)

yup, it was millenium park

What I really wanted to do, was follow up the last post with a "That's-RIGHT-it's-Chicago!" post, but then I got sick. Whenever I'm sick, I totally forget what it's like to be healthy. I can't possibly fathom being productive or cooking for my family ever again. And then when I start feeling better, I'm AMAZED at my new super powers. After I emerged from the rubble of illness this past week, I completely cleaned my hoarder-looking basement. It was simply amazing. For two days, my life was all about decluttering my basement.

And then I remembered the internet. And my blog and stuff.

I'm back. More on the trip soon.

In the meantime, I'll give you this menu item to noodle on. Seriously? I'm an adventurous eater, but this just does not sound appealing to me. You?

three reasons i shouldn't make coffee cake at noon

I had no idea that I doomed myself to many failures when I made this delicious Cranberry Upside Down Coffee Cake.

1. I hadn't eaten lunch, so the coffee cake said, "Hey, why don't you just enjoy me for lunch and forget fruits and veggies." So, I totally obeyed the coffee cake.

2. With no boys or Brent around, it was just sitting there on the counter taunting me with its crooked edges. No matter how much I tried to cut straight lines, it would crumble here (with help) or have a jagged pecan there (darn). It said, "please, could you do me a solid and straighten out my edges? thanks, babe."

3. After consuming a revolting amount of coffee cake (nearly a fourth), I lost any motivation to make dinner. Although the coffee cake serenaded me and whispered sweet nothings in my ear, I refused to serve it for dinner. Also, I wanted to take a nap. At 6pm.

three pictures from day one of the east coast tour

First stop: Ella's Deli in Madison, WI

This is Miles in front of some miniature carnival looking thing. The entire restaurant is packed with antique animated toy decor. It feels like the catch-all for all the retired toys from Santa's workshop.


Jillian had just ridden on the carousel they have out front. Ice cream + carousel = pre-meltdown joy!


See that milkshake? It was good, but it wasn't served with extra milkshake in a stainless steel cup. And it was almost $6, if I remember correctly. So, that was a disappointment, but nothing could really bring us down this early on in the trip.

the good the bad and the ugly pavlova

the good. (i think i baked this one a little longer)


the bad (real ugly)


they both tasted fine with whipped cream and strawberries. mm-mm-mmmm.


if you've never made pavlova, do yourself a favor and get on it! goes very well with summer strawberries! and i've heard it's good with kiwi. (is there a season for kiwi?)

summer brain guessing game

I'm not reading or writing much in the way of blogs these days. How 'bout playing Guess Who Ate That Bratwurst! with me. In our home, no two people share the exact same taste when it comes to dressing a dog...or brat in this case. (I can't decide if this post is funny or lame. Probably both. But, play along.) If you can match the right family member to the (highly NOT recommended) Cheddar Brat (from Aldi), you win. And what will you win?? Braggin' Rights. enjoy.


A.


B. (ummm...duh!)


C.


D.


E.

mein morgen mit miles

(felt like I needed some alliteration...had to borrow German)

This morning was the last morning for picking Summer raspberries. After dreaming that I slept in and missed out on the opportunity, I awoke at 6:30, got ready and crept into Miles' room to see if he still wanted to go. He was deeeeeep in sleep, but still nodded with sealed-shut eyes communicating that, indeed, he'd rather go than sleep. He loves nature. And eating right off the plant is one of his favorite things. It's so swiss-family-robinson...so adventurous for a city kid. By his own estimation, it appears he ate a pint of raspberries. (And, FYI, we picked 7.5 pounds!!)

We spoke almost nothing to each other while we picked. Here's the highlights from when we did talk:

On the way there
Me: "Are you okay? Do you want to sleep on the way?"
Miles: "No. It's just that my brain shrinks when I sleep and I can't think yet."

Miles' observation on the way home
"Mommy! That store's sign said 'polytheism' and that means that they worship more than one god...that's weird."
(I have no idea if he read the sign right...I didn't see it.)

Feeling hunger pangs on the way home
Me: "Miles, now that we're on Cedar, it reminds me of Fat Lorenzo's. If it were open at 9:30am, I'd totally go there. Pizza sounds awesome."
Miles: "Pizza sounds awesome because you're pregnant."

Me, "Mi"-guy and our fruity booty!

*mental note to self...do NOT wear favorite jeans while picking raspberries!!! Knees will most definitely be stained with raspberry juice!! This is a major bummer!

Oh...and for the local folk: We went to Lorence's Berry Farm just south of Lakeville. Fall raspberries will be ready starting mid-August!!!

berry productive

Don't you love those days when you accomplish more in three hours than you did all week? Okay. Maybe that's an exaggeration. But, a few weekends ago, the boys and I picked strawberries and that very same day the strawberries were transformed into a multitude of delights!

Six pounds of fresh-picked strawberries went towards one batch of strawberry freezer jam, a batch of strawberry-blueberry freezer jam (not worth it...it tasted the same, but had blueberry remnants suspended throughout), an amazing Strawberry Quick Bread (from Simply in Season), and a HUGE batch of Strawberry Bran Muffins. I improvised this recipe. Tasted good, but not because it tasted like strawberries. Despite the 2 or more cups of mashed strawberries, it tasted like really good plain bran muffins.

(And I'm not trying to brag or anything...but...it was the same day we made Guatemalan Stew with the Misners. I'm just saying...it was a rare and productive day.)

Great Helpers!

Savoring the jam, yo. I have ONE of these left!!!

ehhh...I was excited about these. See how pretty? But, really. Not much strawberry flavor. I'm confident they were healthier, though, since I used the strawberries in lieu of most of the oil. I didn't miss the fat at ALL, and I'm not one of the light/diet/no-fat types. I just wanted to use my strawberries.

Next up, RASPBERRIES!!!! I hope to pick some this week!

this is why i love aldi

All this for 15 bucks.

this is not a foodie blog, but...

I kinda forgot to show you how to fire-roast your tomatoes.


1. Slice your Romas lengthwise in half. And brush on a touch of olive oil on the cut side.




2. Grill them on the cut side first for 5-8 minutes. Then turn them over. Grill them until the skins get a little charred.




3. The skin should peel off easily. This is what they'll look like. Use in stews, chilis, whatever. Actually, I've enjoyed roasted tomatoes on hamburgers. Let me know of any other uses.

I really, really want you to try this at home. A second post about Guatemalan Stew...in pictures.

Okay. So, I wrote about the coolness of my sis Neely and the deliciousness of the stew she gave us a few weeks ago. I included the recipe, knowing full well it looked a bit complicated (read: lots of words). Plus, there was no personal testimonial or pictures to encourage you fine readers.

So, I had to make it myself to see if it was as easy as Neely said it would be. I found out this past weekend when we trekked up to the northern suburbs to dine with Sara and Josh that, indeed, it was novice-friendly.

It only has 10 different Ingredients. You can do that! Check it out...

40 oz. chicken broth (I use bouillon granules and water)
1 leek cleaned and trimmed, sliced in half lengthwise (I'm tempted to use a large white onion next time...I really think you could cheat here and go with the onion. If you do that, just cut it in half and toss it in like you would that silly ol' leek.)
6 -8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless whole
1 Tbls minced Garlic (If you must, go ahead and use fresh garlic...overachiever!!! purist!!!)

10 Fire Roasted Roma Tomatoes (canned or do this quickly at home*...it's EASY.)
5 -7 Tomatillos, canned
1 1/2 Tbls. minced Garlic (I'm stickin' w/the stuff from the jar. It's easy. And clean.)

1 dried ancho chili (Latin aisle) de-seeded, cut up a little bit (I only de-seeded)
1 dried guajillo chili (yup. Latin aisle) de-seeded and cut up a little bit, too

1 handful (or 1/2 cup) cilantro
1 handful (or 1/2 cup) mint

Ready? Here we go...


Put your chicken, leek (or onion), broth and garlic in a pot and bring to a boil. Then simmer on low for 20 to 30 minutes. (It's thighs, people...they won't dry out, so if you forget about them, don't worry. Quite honestly, I have no idea how long I simmered these thighs.)



After you get that going, put your tomatoes, tomatillos and garlic in another pot and simmer on medium-low for awhile...maybe 20 minutes as well. (Don't worry. Think: Chili. You can't ruin it.) See chicken on the left, tomatillo mixture on the right. Oh...and that's rice in the back left. I started that after I got the tomatoes going. You can do it all at once, pretty much. Nice. Easy.



Okay, so after the chicken/broth mixture has simmered awhile, throw those dried chilies in that broth to soften up. I don't have a picture of this, so here's me. Looking at the pots. Swell, huh? (or should I say swollen?!)



After the chilis soften up, use a slotted spoon to transfer them the tomatillo mixture. If you're using a leek, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the trash. I didn't know that and used it, but it was a little stringy. If you're using a white onion, put that bad boy in with the tomatillo mixture. While you're at it, transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board. You'll cut them up later, but not yet. Go ahead and add some of that broth to the tomatillo mixture, too. Oh...And now's about the time you add those delicious herbs. See how pretty?



I thought I was going to hate this next part, but it wasn't so bad. The tomatillo mixture goes in the blender (or food processor if it can handle soups). This was Sara's blender. It had a "veggies" setting. I alternated that with "crush ice". Remember, I put those leeks in there, so I needed the extra chopping power. But even without the leek, you want your chilis and herbs to blend thoroughly.



Return your blended mixture to the pot. The chicken should be cool enough to chop coarsely. Heck, you can shred it if you want. I don't care how big your chicken pieces are...that's your business! shoot. (okay. i'm getting punchy...let's wrap this up!!!) Okay...stir in your chicken. Now you're pretty much done!!!



Do we look stressed out? No. This recipe is totally do-able.



Sara was the first to taste it. I put her on the front lines, just in case it was horrible...or deadly. (I'm really kidding. I'd probably tasted it fifty times already.) She looks a little serious here. That's because awesome food is serious business.



Thanks to Sara's quick thinking at the grocery store and creative culinary skills, we had delicious black beans and corn bread to go with (or was it spoon bread? or both? anyway, it was awesome). Oh, that rice recipe is easy to follow and it was at the bottom of this post. It's really fun to make and would be a good addition to any Latin dish!


oh...almost forgot to tell you, we garnished with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.


Kid friendly? You bet!! Avery was the first one done!



Even Jillian approved.


And look at the joy on that face. That's right, Josh! That bite WILL be delicious.



This concludes my Guatemalan Stew propaganda. If I've convinced just one person to try this recipe, then I will have done my job.

food for all my thoughts

1. Probably 3 times a year, I buy natural peanut butter figuring it's better for the family. And then I remember that I hate it. Oily, horrible spreadability, flavorless. Skippy has a natural peanut butter that doesn't have any of those problems, but it's so expensive compared to the regular. Talk to me, people. Am I horrible for just settling for your regular Jif or Skippy? (In the meantime, I'll be enjoying its deliciousness.)

2. Ever since I was a kid, I've enjoyed this random recipe which was almost certainly made up by my sister when she was 10 years old: Toast with cream cheese and spaghetti sauce. I'm going to have it today with green olives. I am psyched.

3. I could NOT sleep from 4am until almost 6am this morning. I was sure I was going to get up and make homemade biscuits for the first time in 10 years resulting in surprise and delight for the boys. Much to MY delight, I fell back asleep instead. But, maybe tomorrow...

4. I just bought 10 lbs of sweet onions. They were such a good price, but seriously...10 lbs? I'm thinking this is just the thing to finally motivate me to learn how to caramelize onions. Any other sweet onion recommendations?

5. How seriously do I have to take this "no feta"/"no bleu cheese" thing??? I flippin' love my unpasteurized cheeses. Is there such a thing as pasteurized feta? (I feel so convicted. I shouldn't bother you with such a question when I could just google it.)

6. Why is brisket so expensive? It seems like something that would be as cheap as salt pork.

7. I never cook in plastic. Just weirds me out. When my Mom said "steamer bags" the other day, all I heard was "cancer infusers". It's not you, Mom, it's me.

8. One of my many fears of having another child is that this one will have severe allergies. My heart breaks for the many of you that have to deal with food allergies. There should be a tax break for people who have to live gluten/corn/soy/dairy/whatever-free.

9. I learned that you do not completely mess up granola if you accidentally double the wet ingredients, namely OIL. But, it just messes with my head when I eat my double-serving-of-oil-granola. ugh.

10. I officially get more sleepy-eyed when I plan our menu than when I read the Bible.