Every Day Anew

Pastry-palooza!

2009-08-24T07:11:00.028-05:00

My brother and sister-in-law are so creative. Because they live in a smaller town, they enjoy the chance to come to Chicago and experience the bigness and variety of it all. On their most recent trip, they thought it would be fun for Isaak, their eight-year-old son, to experience different cultures through food. Baked goods, specifically.

So before arriving in Chicago last Sunday, they looked up a bunch of bakeries in Chicago from various backgrounds: Greek, Italian, German, Mexican, Chinese, Jewish, Palestinian, Polish, and Swedish. And because my work schedule allowed it, I was able to visit eight of the nine bakeries with them.

Upon entering each bakery, Susanna would mention that she had never before been to a bakery of its type (excluding, of course, the Swedish Bakery) and asked what would be most typical for that culture -- and what would freeze well. We were, after all, planning to taste all of these goodies later in the week.

Everyone was very nice and helpful, and we came away from a few places having been offered a free sample to taste. At others, Pete and Susanna bought a little extra for us to divvy up in the car.

In addition to all of the sweets, Isaak made a flag from each country that would be represented at Pastry-palooza, and Peter helped him find them all in FarMor and FarFar's atlas. They also put little Post-It note flags on a map of Chicago to show where we had gone throughout the week.

After a few days of bakery hopping, some of which were quite long for the very patient Isaak (he was asked to stand in front of each for a photo op, holding the purchase from that bakery), the day finally arrived. Pastry-palooza was finally here!

Below is a picture of the spread -- and it was a spread! -- before we descended upon it.

And here is each country's display, complete with what was bought and information on where:

Israel

Tel Aviv Kosher Bakery
2944 W. Devon
Chicago, IL 60659

Rugelach: chocolate and cinnamon

Palestine

Nazareth Sweets
4638 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL 60625

Various baklava
Fried dough

Greece

Artopolis
306 S. Halsted
Chicago, IL 60661

Melomakarona (cinnamon cookie with honey and nuts)

Kourambiathes (butter cookie with powdered sugar)

Italy

"Original" Ferrara
2210 W. Taylor St.
Chicago, IL 60612

Cannolis

Mexico

Bombon*
36 S. Ashland
Chicago, IL 60607

Conchas

* Note: The 18th Street location is no longer open.

China

Chiu Quon Bakery
2242 S. Wentworth Ave.
Chicago, IL 60616

BBQ pork buns
Coconut buns
Red bean paste cakes

Poland

Pasieka Bakery
3056 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60618

Kolackys: cheese, apricot, and raspberry

Germany

Dinkel's Bakery
3329 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657

Cherry cheese strudel

Sweden

Swedish Bakery
5348 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60640

Marzipan log

Susanna's Aunt Claris joined us, as did our friend Krista, for which we were thankful. Krista took home a plate of goodies to her husband and kids, and when my parents' neighbor Larry stopped by to drop something off, he was pulled in, as well, and walked out the door with two plates of his own treats for tasting. David and I also came home with two plates filled with leftovers.

I enjoyed the preparation for Pastry-palooza, as it brought me into areas of my own city to which I rarely go and gave me the opportunity to taste things I might not otherwise try. Chicago is a big place, and I'm glad to know more about it than I did a week ago. All thanks to Peter, Susanna, Isaak, and Pastry-palooza!

Two tremendous years

2009-06-10T08:49:00.013-05:00

Yesterday was David's and my second anniversary. We celebrated by exchanging gifts -- the theme this year was cotton -- before heading off to our first church softball game of the season (which we won, by the way).

After the game, we cooked up one of our new favorite meals, pasta with caramelized onions and bleu cheese, from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook, Simple Suppers. I didn't get a picture of it because we devoured it so quickly, but here's the recipe:

1 pound chunky pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups chopped onions
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup dry white wine, vegetable broth, or water
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese (1 cup) [I'd use at least 6 oz.]

In a skillet on medium heat, warm the oil and cook the onions with the salt and pepper until soft, golden brown, and lightly caramelized. (The larger your skillet, the process may take less than 10 minutes. In a smaller skillet in which the onions are crowded, it could take 20 minutes.) Add the wine, broth, or water, and continue to cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is done. If the onions begin to stick, add some pasta-cooking water.

When you see that the onions are getting close to being done, bring a large covered pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

When the pasta is done, drain it. Place the pasta in a serving bowl, add the onions and the bleu cheese, and toss together to melt the cheese and coat the pasta. Add more of the pasta-cooking water if you'd like it saucier. Serve hot.

* * * * *

Today, David took the day off and we took the El down to the Adler Planetarium. The forecast called for rain, but we took our chances and left our umbrellas at home. Glad we did, because look at the day we had:

The museum was free, so we paid to see a film called 3-D Universe, which used Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as the background music. It was a bit over my head, but David loved it, and that was the whole reason I wanted to go to the Planetarium in the first place. I feel like we do so many things that I like to do; I wanted this to be a day that would make David smile.

It took us a good hour to get home from the Planetarium, so we relaxed for a few minutes as our wine chilled before walking to Tre Kronor, the location of our engagement, rehearsal dinner, and first-year anniversary dinner. We probably won't go there every year, but the delicious food (and the close proximity to home) can't be beat after a long day.

Happy anniversary, David! I am so glad that I get to walk through life with you.

My motto

2009-02-03T09:33:00.010-06:00

I used to collect things. Silly things. Sentimental things. Space-stealing things. I had boxes upon boxes of . . . STUFF. I moved said stuff from Chicago to Sarasota almost nine years ago, and a quick eight months later, I moved it all back.

After returning to Chicago, I lived with my parents for a while. During that time, I began to evaluate what was important for me to hold onto and what I could live without. Determining to lighten my load, I adopted a motto: Clean Out the Crap. I took trips to my storage unit every few weeks and pulled out boxes of the aforementioned stuff that was my life. And when I went through each box, I asked myself the following questions:

Have I used/listened to/watched/benefited from this item in the past six months? In the past year?

Has this item added anything to my life?

Did I even know I still owned this item?

Would any future generations of my family want to see this item when they get to be the age I was when I used/created/listened to/watched/played with it?

If the answer to any of those questions was "no," I pitched the item in question. In the case of old VHS tapes and CDs , I sold them at Disc Replay (though today I would recommend going to Half-Price Books, if there's one near you). And in the case of old clothing, I gave it to The Friendship Center.

In a similar vein, one of my mother's colleagues was forced, much too early, to go through her own mother's things after her death. This woman was overwhelmed by all that she had to sift through and was finding it difficult to part with much of it. Her aunt, knowing that her niece wouldn't have space to keep everything, suggested this: Have your moment, and move on. This allowed her time to reminisce, but it also kept her from taking with her more than she could accommodate. It also sounds much nicer than my previous motto, so I have now adopted these words as my new motto (though I can't say there won't be times when the first one will be better-suited to a situation and, therefore, resurface).

This isn't to say that downsizing is for everyone or that it's the "right" way to manage one's belongings. It's just what has worked for me. But if there are other people out there who are in need of some major purging -- and I'm guessing there are -- leave me a comment. I'd be more than happy to assist you in going through your things.

And I promise to refrain from referring to your belongings as "crap."

Memory lane: What a trip!

2009-01-28T16:52:00.050-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I went over to my parents' house this week to look through boxes of my things that have been stored in their attic for the past few years. My mother, bless her heart, pulled out the ones she knew I'd want to go through, making it that much easier for me. Of course, I wasn't in my "blogger" mindset, so I didn't bring my camera to take "before" and "after" shots. I wish I had.

When I arrived, there were four boxes of varying sizes and shapes and a bunch of plastic garment bags protecting (more or less) some old dresses. I jumped right into the boxes, curious as to what they held. The first was full of books. I went through a phase where all I read were books by L.M. Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables series. Did you know she wrote upward of 20 books? Well, I think I read all of them, and most of them were in that box. I have kept the eight Anne books with me as I have moved from apartment to apartment, but the rest of them? Not interested.

On to box two. Old stuffed animals, random toys, and a petrified rubber ball. Toss 'em! The only keeper? My Rubik's Cube.

Box three? Cabbage Patch Kids and their clothing. Despite the fact that I pined mercilessly to have one Cabbage Patch Kid -- and ended up with two because we put them on hold at different stores and one was regular and one was a preemie and how could I not have one of each!?!? -- I have no interest in keeping them. My poor, dear mother. I bade farewell to Claudia Trista and Rona Joy, who I'm sure will enjoy being freed from their box as they are given to The Friendship Center.

Growing tired of boxes, I switched to the dresses.

The first one was a sweet little pink deal with lace at the neckline that I wore for my brother and sister-in-law's wedding in 1992. So, as pretty as it is, it's out of date, and I don't see myself wearing it again. Plus, the lace at the neckline has yellowed considerably (I'm still not sure I ever washed it after the wedding). Pass.

Second was a purple velvet-and-taffeta number I bought at a re-sale shop to wear for Chamber Singers during my junior year of college. Not an altogether unattractive dress -- the back view is shown here -- it's still in decent shape, but I won't have a use for it now. It definitely evokes its era. Perhaps North Park would like to have it in their theatre costume shop?

The third dress I came across was my second Chamber Singers re-sale shop dress. Looks like I got a little more daring my senior year. Black velvet, off-the-shoulder bodice with a green and black tapestry-like flowered skirt. Kinda fun, but the color has faded near the bottom of the skirt. I'll ask NP if they'd like this one, too.

Fourth was my junior dinner-dance dress. The dress was Laura Ashley, periwinkle blue with pink flowers on it. Jon, a childhood friend, brought me a single pink rose, and we drove to the dinner in his parents' old Chevy Nova. We spent a better portion of the night comparing eyebrow-maintenance techniques. (Well, not really, but we could have! Look at those things!) I'll keep this dress on the off-chance I ever have a daughter who will enjoy laughing at it (and, thereby, me) when her prom days come around.

Dress five. Senior prom. An emerald green Jessica McClintock mini-skirt dress with huge bows on the off-the-shoulder elastic straps. I still can't believe my mother bought it for me. Really. She tried to get me to find something else, but I would not be swayed. This one's a keeper. Not that I'd ever wear it, but again, any daughter I might have will certainly get a kick out of it. My date was Bob, a boy who attended high-league at my church.

Another bridesmaid's dress was included in the pile, this one from the wedding of friends Valerie and Greg. This dress is probably the most timeless of all of them, a true classic in style and color, and it's in perfect shape. I'll probably hold onto it for a little while longer.

Finally, dress number seven. My college graduation dress. Also Laura Ashley, this black silk dress screams 1996 with its shapeless, over-sized overlay. At left, I'm wearing it on graduation day as I stand on my parents' front porch with friends and fellow grads Katherine, Chris, Jennifer, and Gus. It's in perfect condition, so should it come back into style some day, I'll be all set. Another keeper.

Okay, the last box. A long-and-low storage box containing old school papers belonging to my brother and me. This was fun. I found old report cards, honor roll and good citizenship awards I don't remember receiving or deserving, and plenty of drawings done, photos taken, and stories written during the years of kindergarten to third grade. Enjoy!

Laurie and me on the first day of kindergarten

My first kindergarten project

Who isn't?

Sunday school, 197? I still remember that dress.
(I included this one more to display the stellar framing skills
of the photographer -- sorry if it was you, Mom --
and the stunning curtains in the background.)

Peter's response? "HA! Fat chance!"
(That was two days ago, by the way. Not in 1979.
In 1979, he just shrugged and went to eat dinner.)

At the end of the evening, I had whittled everything down from four boxes and seven dresses to half of a 12-inch-square box and four dresses. Strolling down memory lane is fun, but the trip becomes burdensome if you keep everything you find along the way.

Clutterbuster

2009-01-26T09:08:00.015-06:00

Cathy, a girl after my own heart
(click to enlarge)

Every now and again, I feel the urge to organize. Okay, I pretty much always feel that urge, but every now and again, I feel it on a monumental level. For example, last weekend, I pulled out everything from my closet, re-organized and re-allocated things, labeled my bins, and put it all back so things are much neater and more user-friendly. I also got rid of a couple of things in the process.

This weekend, we spent a day with David's parents. While in their home, his mom brought out a couple of containers filled with old papers and projects from David's grade-school days. Marty asked if he would be so kind as to go through them, saying she was perfectly willing to store whatever he chose to keep until we have a place for it (whew!).

I was inspired.

Yesterday, I tackled my file drawer. Now that so much of our info is available online, there's no need to keep piles of paper in files that are so cluttered I can't fit anything else in them. And there was no reason to have held onto pay stubs from 2006. Or to have kept the remote control and manual for the radio that is in the car we sold in September.

After purging the unnecessary, I re-organized the files and created new labels, as I had done away with some old categories and added new ones. What you see above is the pile of papers I must now shred. The pile to be recycled is minuscule in comparison.

The best thing about this -- aside from it just being done -- is that I enjoyed it. Later this week, I plan to go over to my parents' house and pull out my boxes from their attic. I don't even remember what's there, which probably means a lot will get tossed out or given to those who can use it. I can't wait!