on the first snowfall of the season..

i took a little walk..

i only slipped on the ice four times..

i paid tribute to a great man..

i shocked my yoga instructor by actually coming to class on a saturday morning..

i attended a cooking demonstration by julia della croce..

and i ended the day with friends, spiked cider, dancing and, of course, ugly sweaters.

i love this time of year. bring it on, winter.

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!

oh, those colors

on nights like this, i miss living downtown. you miss so much by not living in the middle of the city. i had no idea that nick's fish market was moving to the mart. i had no idea federal plaza, home to the post office by my beloved mies van der rohe, was completely torn up in the middle of a renovation. i completely forgot about all the festivals and markets that converge upon daley plaza this time of year. that restaurant closed? that shop moved? it's strange how much has changed in the 2 years since i've lived in the loop.

but what i miss most is living on the 44th floor of a high rise and having the most amazing view of the sunset. this was my view circa 2007:

this last week we have had some gorgeous sunsets. when i leave work the city is awash with different colors: bright orange at first, then pink, and finally a deep purple before going black. the sky is clear except for thick clouds in the west, clouds that literally look like cotton candy. i honestly can't imagine a pinker pink. i may be on the train, sitting next to that cute guy i see every morning at the belmont stop, but all i can do is look at those colors out my window.

by the time i actually get off the train, the sun is already gone and the chilly wind hits me a teeny bit harder than it did when i got on the train 25 minutes earlier.

i'm enjoying the the sunsets while i can because after sunday (daylight savings time) my commute won't be nearly as beautiful. at least i'll have the twinkling lights of the city to keep me company as i head home.

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!

recently in my kitchen

i've finally been able to get into my kitchen and try some new things. it's been great.

last week i went grocery shopping for the first time in a long while. i'm not sure why i have had such a hard time getting to the grocery store lately. luckily, most of the things i needed were on sale, including eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini.. when i got home, it was go time in the kitchen!

first i made eggplant pasta.

i went low maintenance with the sauce and just smashed it all up in the pan instead of using my food processor. the chunky sauce fit the rigatoni just right.

this was the first time i've ever cooked with eggplant and possibly the second time i've ever eaten it (is that weird??). i was intimidated at first but eggplant is fairly easy to work with, especially in this recipe. all in all, this was a good meal. perfect for this time of year. i would really like to try this again with slow roasted tomatoes. i used fresh cherry tomatoes since i didn't have time to roast any. i would have preferred a deeper tomato flavor to go along with the eggplant. final verdict = success!

later in the week i made couscous and feta stuffed peppers. holy smokes, these were good. full of lovely vegetables. and the colors! so many pretty colors. color is important, people. but beware: this recipe makes a lot of food. i ate stuffed peppers for four meals. i'm kinda peppered out. next time i'll make sure there's a crowd to devour these puppies. final verdict = success!

i also bought a whole chicken during my excursion to the grocery. i tell ya, when i go grocery shopping, i go GROCERY shopping! i had no idea what i was going to do with this chicken. i have never even bought a whole chicken before. i thought about putting it in the crock pot and letting it sit for a few hours with some random spices. that's easy, right? i finally decided to take mark bittman's lead and roast the thing.

honestly, i wasn't expecting much. i was afraid i would under-cook it or over-cook it or it wouldn't have any flavor. i'm not sure if roasting a chicken is just easier than i thought or if i'm some kind of culinary genius (i doubt it), but when i took the finished chicken out of the oven, man, i don't really have words for it. actually, i can think of one: delicious. for reals. i just used butter, garlic, some italian spices, salt and pepper, but they all blended together wonderfully. i had a difficult time carving the thing but on the whole, the roasting process was fairly painless.

as my mom told me while i called her to rant and rave about my fabulous roasted chicken, "if you can roast a chicken, you can roast a turkey... so you're hosting thanksgiving this year, right??"

we shall see, mother. final verdict = success!

and lastly, friends, i made this for breakfast a few saturdays ago.

i started with nigel slater's basic instructions for a fritata. i then added some spinach and shallots. simple. quick. satisfying.

in other news, the jewel-osco on southport reopens tomorrow. i am ecstatic. now that i once again have a grocery store less than half a mile from my apartment, i doubt i will ever be lacking groceries.

cheers to that!

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.

reds and oranges and yellows

i do believe peak week is here, my friends. i always feel bitter sweet when we reach peak week. i get so excited because almost every tree is bursting with color but i know that in a few weeks most of the leaves will have fallen. and the first big storm will most likely tear down the remaining leaves.

i took a long walk this past sunday afternoon. (aka i went to sweet mandy b's. their pumpkin cupcakes are delicious!) these pictures are from my afternoon.

i hope you all are enjoying the fall colors!