things that make me happy: milwaukee

the more i visit milwaukee, the more i like it. granted, i've only been there twice; both times in the spring and both times i've only been downtown and closer to the lake. regardless, my affection is growing.

last wednesday, i drove up for the day. i had a couple presentations for work and my free time was limited, so i tried to make the most of it. i had to stop by and visit the calatrava designed art museum. and alterra was definitely a must. i actually went to two different cafes, the cafe in the 5th ward and the repurposed river flushing station by the lake. 

i spent some time driving around the 3rd ward trying to find a cafe or restaurant for a late lunch. (normally when i travel i'm prepared with a list of food places but this time i decided to wing it.) luckily, i found the coquette cafe. later on i found out that my friend allie has been there before and it has her approval. lovely! i enjoyed a quick, delicious, solo lunch and had the place to myself. seriously, nooo one else was there. (well, it was 2:00pm after all.) before i left i stopped by the milwaukee cupcake company which is right next door to the cafe. 

the weather couldn't have been more perfect and spring-like. it was wonderful. 

milwaukee, you're pretty great. i can't wait to visit again.

p.s. sorry for the link overload. sometimes i over do it.

things that make me happy: winging it

saturday night i had it all planned out. i was going to relax, catch up on my tv watching and make homemade pizza. i went to the store and got everything i would need: pizza dough, mozzarella, etc. it was only after i got home i realized i forgot pizza sauce.

i thought about scrapping the pizza until another time but then inspiration hit me. i had some leftover cherry tomatoes in the fridge that were starting to wrinkle. what if i slow roasted them and then made some kind of pesto? i had a bag of spinach i could use. i also had some leftover prosciutto. i could throw that on top.

so i did.

slow roasted tomato and spinach pesto

i didn't really have a recipe for making this pesto but the following is what i ended up doing. i kind of winged it, which seemed to be the theme of the evening.

1/2 pint of slow roasted cherry tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic (slow roasted with the tomatoes)

2 handfuls of fresh spinach (give or take)

1 tbs of tomato paste (again, leftover)

1 tbs of olive oil (give or take)

earlier in the day i slow roasted my wrinkled cherry tomatoes. i followed deb's recipe. half the tomatoes, lay them out on a foiled cookie sheet with two or three peeled garlic gloves. drizzled olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit and allow tomatoes to bake for a good 3 hours. the tomatoes should be wrinkly and dry but still juicy, if that makes sense.

let the tomatoes cool for 15 or 20 minutes. in a food processor, combine the tomatoes, peeled garlic cloves that were roasting with the tomatoes, olive oil and one handful of spinach leaves. after blending, add the tomato paste and the rest of the spinach leaves.

follow the directions on the store bought pizza dough (i used trader joe's). preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. if using a pizza stone, allow pizza stone to heat up in the oven while oven is preheating. once heated, remove the pizza stone and stretch the floured pizza dough onto stone until it almost meets the edges.

drizzle olive oil onto the dough and spread all around. then spread the pesto onto the pizza dough. cover with mozzarella. add your toppings. (i used two slices of prosciutto, sliced.) sprinkle some more mozzarella over your toppings.

bake for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese and dough has browned. cool, slice and dig in.

things that make me happy: checking one off the list

if it wasn't apparent, i'm really into food. big time. i enjoy eating it, cooking it, cooking it for others and eating it with others. food makes me happy.

living in chicago i've had the opportunity to eat at some amazing restaurants (charlie trotter's, rl restaurant, shanghai terrace at the peninsula hotel). i'm constantly adding restaurants to my "you must eat here!" list. last night i was able to check one off the list: cafe ba-ba-reeba!

it was a spur of the moment thing. my friend alex was performing at a comedy theater in uptown and a few of my friends were going to support him. my friend allie and i decided to grab dinner in lincoln park before going to the show. we were walking down halsted, trying to decide where we should go, when we saw bright red neon lights spelling out "tapas bar." we didn't even have to have a discussion about it, we were getting tapas. easiest decision we had to make all night. figuring out what to order? that was a different story..

we started with a jarra of martin codax "ergo" wine and then concentrated on the tapas. it took a while to decide because everything sounded so good but we settled on:

-roast dates with bacon and apple vinaigrette

-spicy potatoes with tomato alioli

-mushroom empanada with porcini alioli

-prime sirloin, asparagas, shitakes and yukon potatoes

-scallops with bacon (they were like butter)

needless to say, we didn't have room for dessert. it was a wonderful, wonderful meal. wonderful night too since we had dinner and then a show! i would love to go back for a cooking demo.

here's to checking one off the list!

things that make me happy: black and white horror movies

i always forget that my roommate and i get turner classic movies. i'm not sure why. it must be my old age..

this weekend tcm is showing old black and white horror movies and i'm having a hard time watching anything else. today they are showing the horror films of william castle. to be honest, before today i had never heard of william castle but he was a very prolific movie director and producer who focused on the horror/thrill genre. he was particularly known for using gimmicks in his movies and to promote his low budget movies.

i just finished watching "homicidal" and now we're on to "mr. sardonicus". i'm always surprised that these old horror movies are so good! i mean i know they're classics for a reason, but sometimes the effects are so obviously fake, it takes away from the movie. so far the movies i have seen have not been diminished by poor effects. i have found myself on the edge of my seat with my hands covering my mouth, eyes wide, waiting for something dreadful to happen, and then screaming aloud once something dreadful does happen! it's great!

"strait-jacket" is next!

things that make me happy: the chagall windows at the art institute

they're coming back!

when one thinks about the art institute, one may think of american gothic or a sunday on la grande jatte or at the moulin rouge or water lilies. and while my mind may also conjure up these images, i think most about these gorgeous blue windows. i still remember the first time i walked down the long hall housing the museum's collection of medieval suits of armor and seeing the windows at the end. the hall is now filled with stunning indian art, in case you were wondering.

if you have been to the art institute in the past five years, you may have noticed the absence of chagall's windows. the first time i visited the museum and they were gone, i was a little heart broken. they were removed for safety reasons while the new modern wing was under construction. they were also in need of a good cleaning.

but as of november 1st they will be back! and better than ever, if i do say so myself. it's been a while since i spent some time at the art institute. i have a feeling i'll be visiting in novemeber.

things that make me happy: fresh flowers from the farmers market

being a recent college graduate on a limited income, i have to be selective with how i choose to spend my money. at the farmers market this morning i told myself that i didn't really need these flowers, but in the end i gave in and bought a bunch. aren't they gorgeous?

i also bought some peaches, potatoes and basil. kind of a random mix, but i already had some other produce at home.

i hope you're enjoying your saturday. i'm off to do some reading and then hit the bike path along the lakefront.

cheers!

things that make me happy: montrose harbor

i try to take my camera with me everywhere i go. i wish i had a fancy canon or nikon, even a holga would be extremely nice. but i have a simple olympus that i got for christmas 5 years ago. (yeah, i did not mistype that: 5 YEARS AGO!) i think it's seriously time for a new digital camera.

anyway, until i am able to get my hands on a pretty new camera, i live with what i've got.

yesterday i went for a bike ride down by the lake. that's my usual answer to "man, i'm bored. i want to do something."


i usually ride past montrose harbor while going north on the bike path. but yesterday i decided to slow down a bit and explore. i'm glad i did.


at the end of montrose harbor is a little piece of land the park district has reserved for native prairie plants. i took some time to walk around and snap some pictures.


i wish i had a garden. i guess i'll have to wait for that one too.

things that make me happy: seeing this on the way home