The Cure For Everything Is Salt …
… tears, sweat, and the sea. (Dinesen)
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First Slice Cafe Comes to Andersonville
17 August 2011
I ran into Mary Ellen Diaz at the First Slice Cafe on Ravenswood yesterday. She told me that she just signed a lease for the space that was occupied by Sunburst Flowers on Ashland and Balmoral. She’s not sure yet when the grand opening will be, but I’m thrilled to have a First Slice so close to home!
Eight Days Away
16 August 2011
Was it already a year ago that I realized my passport had expired the day we were supposed to leave for Amsterdam?
We leave for Barcelona and a Mediterranean cruise in eight days, but I’ve been counting down the time for the last three months. I’m loading up my iPad with reading materials and collecting restaurant recommendations from well-traveled friends and making lists of everything I need to do before I completely unplug. I’ve also ordered a new lens for the journey. After spending a bunch of time researching more expensive options, I decided to get a kit lens that Ken Rockwell highly recommends on his terrific blog: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-55mm-vr.htm.
Every vacation begins and ends with new resolutions: I will enjoy every minute, I won’t think about the office, I won’t eat or drink too much, I won’t feel bad about not working out every day on the trip … I’ll keep a sense of balance, I’ll get away more often, I’ll get back to my hobbies, I’ll read more, I won’t work on the weekends. The only promise that I’m making to myself this trip is that I’m not going to have any eleventh-hour passport emergencies. Thankfully, I’m covered for the next nine years.
City Provisions
15 August 2011
Come see about this place:
City Provisions
1818 W. Wilson Avenue
Chicago IL 60640
773.293.2489
info@cityprovisions.com
www.cityprovisions.com
Doug and Cindy introduced me to this place a few months back, and I’ve become addicted. If this place were any closer to home or work, I’d happily bankrupt myself going there daily for everything from breakfast pastry and americanos to deli sandwiches or cheeses, charcuterie, fresh meats, gourmet packaged goods, or artisan spirits.
Fusion Night at the Chez
16 July 2011
Grilled lamb rib chops, sweet potato fries dusted with cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne, and collard greens sauteed with ginger, garlic, soy, sesame, and sriracha.
I love how cooking inevitably brings me back to the basics. All the gadgets and appliances are great, but just as satisfying is a meal made over an open fire and in an old, seasoned, wok.
Chicken Thigh Recipes Slideshow: bonappetit.com
28 May 2011
Chicken Thigh Recipes Slideshow: bonappetit.com.
I haven’t decided whether I like the new Bon Appetit as much as I miss the old one. When the magazine moved from California to Manhattan, it lost long-time editor-in-chief Barbara Fairchild. Adam Rapoport from GQ took over. It’s now a decidedly different magazine.
I can take or leave the infusion of testosterone and swagger, and cooking with/for children is a feature completely lost on me (though that may change as my godchildren get older).
I’ll tell you what, though. I used to read Bon Appetit from cover to cover, clip one or two recipes, and recycle the rest of the magazine. I’ve saved the last two issues–May’s tutorial on perfect pasta was fantastic, and this issue’s segment on chicken thighs is also really good. It’s become my weeknight go-to meal.
Eight Days Away
13 March 2011
Peaceful Sunday, and the return of daylight savings time. We read the paper, pruned the front yard, and spent the afternoon in the living room with the dogs and stacks of books and magazines. The air outside is cool still, but spring feels so close …around the corner, at the turn of another week.
56
27 February 2011
Forty didn’t feel a milestone. I always thought that life didn’t really get into full swing until one turned 40. But 56, this feels big. Or, rather, small. I’m not sure what surprises me more–the fact that I’ve lost 56 pounds, the reality that I could lose another 10 to be in “ideal” range, or the impression that 32-inch jeans are really small (especially coming out of the dryer) and now, just my size.
The real secret of the ruby slippers is not that “there’s no place like home” but rather that there is no longer any place such as home: except, of course, for the home we make, or the homes that are made for us, in Oz, which is anywhere, and everywhere, except for the place from which we began.
- Salman Rushdie, Step Across This Line
Oz
6 February 2011
The best couples fall in love with each other several times throughout their relationship.
Peter
