Peter.Food.Travel.Musings

tonight's dessert

2012-02-10T20:40:00.004-06:00

Conrad heads off to LA on Sunday for a week of work, thereby missing Valentine's Day. Oh, it's not a big day for us. I worked too many years in restaurants to have an appreciation of such the day. I don't mind missing out on February 14, especially since we might have date nights otherwise.

Anyway, as I might have mentioned on the blog before, there are four key foods to woo Conrad: chocolate, raspberries, salmon, Pinot Noir. I managed three of the four tonight. Up first: some Whole Foods sushi and sashimi. Salmon? Check. With that we had a bottle of a New Zealand Pinot I'd found on sale the other day. A Central Otago Pinot. We were excited. Alas, it was... meh. Thin, weak. Fine for a few sips with dinner, but we ended up chucking most of the bottle and turning to a Hahn blend that was far more delicious. Oh, and I cooked up a bit of asparagus, too. So, two out of four magical ingredients.

We sipped a bit of wine, made some social plans for the next several weeks, then I got into the kitchen and whipped up dessert. Item #3: chocolate. Mexican chocolate this time, in fact, some souffles. Guilty admission: we had one each and then, because the half-batch I made resulted in more than 2 souffles. Don't judge me.

No raspberries tonight, sorry Conrad. Perhaps I can work some in to some baking before you leave on Sunday.

best thing I've eaten this year

2012-02-08T22:28:00.004-06:00

Yes, yes... the year is all of 5 weeks old. Is it really too soon to declare a best of the year so far? If not, then I humbly suggest this appetizer at our home away from home, Yoshi's:

Octopus carpaccio. So very good. I've ordered it the last two or three times we've been in there, and I have a feeling I will order it again and again, provided it is on the menu.

I should add that the rest of the meal was also very tasty.

:-)

using up some leftovers

2012-02-07T19:14:00.002-06:00

Sunday we stayed in. And ignored the Super Bowl (though, good gay that I am, I caught Madonna's performance online on Monday). I made us shrimp tacos, a dinner of several components. That left me with some things to play with for lunches and dinners later in the week.

Today I took leftover homemade tortillas layered with a tomato-green chile sauce and black beans and cheese in to work. A filling lunch. But this blog isn't about plastic containers of food reheated in a staff lounge at work, no. Instead, let's talk about dinner tonight.

Look, I love my husband absolutely. Totally. Adore him. A wonderful man, a wonderful husband. But not perfect - who is? Turn him loose in a grocery store, and, well, be prepared for a little improvisation. Even when he's equipped with a list. He did fine today, though, picking up some salmon for dinner (he LOVES salmon, and he knows my disdain for Atlantic salmon) and a few other things. I might have steered away from the chard if I'd seen it, but I asked him for it, and though it wasn't as tender as I prefer, it was fine. No, he did a good job, and the reward was a reasonable dinner.

The salmon I dusted with masa harina. The smell of the flour was really something. I told TK this morning in an e-mail that I'm on a Mexican kick with dining thanks to recently reviewing a book on the cuisine. That crept in to the dinner tonight. The coated salmon I pan-fried, simple as that.

The salmon went atop some of the leftover tomato-green chile sauce. I wish the sauce had more heat, but as I usually do, I found the chiles fairly mild. I swear the chiles we got at the store back home in NORTHERN CANADA had more bite to them. Ah well. It was a fine sauce under the salmon.

The other leftover was a bit of lightly pickled vegetable around the plate. A different sweet-tangy taste from the sauce, and a welcome bit of crunch.

The chard went on the side, and then atop it all was some guacamole. Maybe not traditional, but heck, salmon really isn't Mexican either. Plus, the avocadoes needed using up!

A filling meal, a decent one. Not my best effort, but good for a Tuesday, to be sure.

before I head to bed...

2012-02-05T21:46:00.003-06:00

A busy weekend here, though not so hectic as not to be relaxing. In fact, I found the hours spent in the kitchen today to be quite what I needed. Some cooking (things needed for dinner, dinner for tomorrow to be reheated, cookies), a couple of XMen movies, and a couple of letters written. Conrad took care of laundry behind the scenes.

I've been thinking lately about what I cook. I've been in a rut, and it's time to try some new recipes. The cookies are a small first step. I keep supplies of dried cherries on hand constantly nowadays, and in searching for a simple cookie recipe, I came upon one for oatmeal cookies studded with the cherries and semi-sweet chocolate chunks. I think they turned out tastily.

Not exactly a New Year's resolution - I don't do those, and this IS February (already!). But yes, an ongoing effort to try some new dishes. Not obsessively so, but expect to see some on the blog from time to time.

so... that was Dallas...

2012-01-26T18:23:00.024-06:00

I've been to Texas a handful of times before. San Antonio for Midwinter years back, Austin (and area) a few times more recently with Conrad (he's a UT alum). I liked San Antonio. I LOVED Austin. This time around it was Dallas. Not a vacation, however. No, this was conference travel, ALA Midwinter 2012.

I don't comment on work on this blog. I just won't do it. I will say before anything else, however, that no matter what I feel about my workplace (good or ill), I absolutely love my involvement with the American Library Association. I mean, seriously, there are so many good and interesting people I've met and continue to get to know. I find conferences rewarding on so many levels: content, networking, committee work, friends, dining, sightseeing. So let me point you to the report I posted in an official capacity and move on from there.

I would normally start off this post with talk of TK, my best friend. Assuredly, he will appear. But Midwinter in Dallas marked a milestone: ten years of knowing Martin. We met at the GLBTRT all-committees meeting in New Orleans in 2002 and started rooming together the next year in Philadelphia. Over the years we've become good friends. I cannot tell you enough how very much I like and respect this man (and do please vote for him as ALA Councilor-at-Large!). He puts up with all my high maintenance drama in the hotel room, and he has gotten me into some really terrific receptions and other social events. And we've killed many hours late at night talking about the Association and many other assorted bits of gossip. Dallas was the latest chance we had to spend time together, and I'm grateful for that. Did I mention that you should vote for him?

Added to that mix: TK. Yes, yes, I just saw him a handful of days before the conference when Conrad and I were in Baltimore. I don't care. I will happily take any opportunity to spend time with TK, and if it means that we can add in the library gossip to boot, then great! Plus, as lovely as it is to have our husbands added to the mix with us, the conference rooming together means that he and I can rattle off names and concepts without worrying about leaving them out of the conversation. TK had a very prestigious awards committee appointment that culminated in Monday's Youth Media Awards, and it was genuinely thrilling to see how bubbly he was over the whole thing. I couldn't wait to hear about it all after the award was announced and he could finally talk about it. I'm so very proud of the work he did.

I didn't dine out especially well in Dallas, I have to admit. In part it was because I had a working dinner one night, catered in to the hotel room of the ALA President-Elect. Another night I had three receptions all on different floors of the Dallas Public Library,

so that took care of dinner there. Lunches were usually pretty casual as well - assuming I even had lunch. I did manage pizza one day with my friend Peter, though. Other than that? Some mixed experiences.

A Thursday dinner with TK at Wild Salsa.

Reportedly, the librarians almost drank the whole place out of tequila on Saturday. I'm unsure why we're supposed to be so proud of ourselves for consuming booze. Big deal. Ah well. We had tasty food there, and it was a very good price. A belated celebration planned for TK's birthday. There was a Saturday dinner with TK, Martin, and CG at Dream Cafe. That took a hotel shuttle to get to, and it was a curiously quiet restaurant. Nonetheless, we had a good meal, again not too pricey. Enjoyable! On the Monday night, TK, Martin, and I headed to Samar.
I liked a few of the shared small plates, but the table we had near the bar was awful, there were a few not-so-great dishes (the whipped walnut oil on one was kind of disgusting), and by the time we left, I was in a foul mood.

Happily, there was a little place near our hotel that had just opened very late last year. More of a bar than anything, but they had a small and decent menu. It's called The Chesterfield, and if you want to have fun with cocktails, then check it out some time. In two days I managed to get there four times. ;-)

I didn't see much else of the city. It was hotel ---> conference centre ---> hotel. Repeat. I got to swim once with Liz over at an amazing fitness centre at the Baylor Medical Campus, but that was the farthest afield I got. On the other hand, the conference centre did have good coffee at the Starbucks, and it was convenient for meeting friends (like David). And as the days went on, I found myself busy at Council and happily engaged.

I don't know that I'm keen to get back to Dallas, but that's quite unfair given how little of the city I saw. It would be good to see Liz and Peter again, and get back to Chesterfield. And maybe dine at some new and better places. Ah well. The conference was fine, however, and now I just await Conrad's return from his own work travel.

More photos in the Flickr set, and do check out the photos others posted from the conference.

birthday surprise

2012-01-18T19:14:00.023-06:00

No, not my birthday - that's months off, and given my advancing age, let's keep it there, thank you. No, it was a surprise for TK that took us to Baltimore last weekend.

Backing up a moment, I should assign credit. If I remember correctly (and never assume that I will), it started back in December when TK's partner, Michael, called to say that Mark and Maureen
were coming for the weekend in January. Did we want to come too? Mark and Maureen, by the way, are Todd's brother and sister-in-law, and their visit was to be a surprise, too. So it was that I spent about 5 weeks hiding the truth from the man whom, other than Conrad, I consider my best friend. It ultimately devolved into outright lies about me taking a trip downstate for work last Friday just so he wouldn't wonder why I wasn't showing up online at all through much of the day.

Oh, TK, I am so sorry.

Judging, however, by his reaction when he got to Roy's, I think I'm forgiven.

He was stunned, quite simply. Oh, in a good way. He was happy to see us. But it was a real surprise for him. Curiously, for all that I hate surprises done to me, I loved this one. Again, sorry TK.

It was a terrific weekend. Michael had done a great job of selecting some restaurants. Dinner at Roy's on the Friday night.
Brunch at Wit and Wisdom the next day (few photos from that, but the food was quite tasty). A party at Phillip's on Saturday night with much to nosh on.

A generous brunch at Langermann's on Sunday.

Oh, and gelato in Fell's Point on Saturday afternoon! Conrad and I left Baltimore with full bellies, I tell you.

But best of all was just getting this unexpected opportunity to see TK, see Michael, see Mark and Maureen. Get some quality time with two of my favourite dogs, Coney and Buster.
Belly rubs!!! I got a bit of a lakeside walk with TK just so we could talk a little together, enjoy that quiet and easy friendship. After the cheerful hubbub of the party the night before, it was a real pleasure to find a sunny, peaceful moment together on Sunday.

I very much hope it was a good birthday for TK, a fitting celebration for his landmark. Tomorrow night will be one more celebration, a dinner we'd planned for in Dallas well before this surprise weekend was thought up. No surprises this time, though. TK, I promise.

this blog will be back tomorrow

2012-01-17T19:48:00.002-06:00

I do want to chime in on the surprise birthday weekend in Baltimore with TK, but more than that, I want to enjoy an evening with Conrad before he heads to Dallas tomorrow for a week and a half. So yes, this blog will be back tomorrow. Or some time soon. After all, it's not like this blog hasn't experienced some gaps before...

winter arrives

2012-01-12T19:34:00.005-06:00

It's been a funny season here in Chicago. I think we may have dipped below freezing this close to the lake once before Christmas. Perhaps twice. On the other hand, so far this winter ("winter"?) we've had multiple days reaching well into the 40s and even the 50s. That's the 10+ range for my friends in Canada. That's not winter.

I think, however, winter arrived today. For how long, I'm not sure (and I'm already escaping it with a week in Dallas ahead), but by gosh, we're getting some snow. Oh, nowhere near the Snowmageddon (Snowpocalypse?) of almost a year ago, but the ground is getting covered now, ad it's clearly not the quasi-spring day we were having only a few days ago. Time to get the boots on!

When the big snow hit in February, I had the great timing of having planned to work at home. Winter hits today, and here I am, working on a book chapter at home. I haven't been out of the building since 10:35ish this morning, not long after the snow had started and the neighbourhood was only lightly dusted, and even then it was only a jaunt to Starbucks for decaf latte #2.

halibut, lightly curry-flavoured

2012-01-11T20:11:00.005-06:00

At the end of a very good day where I got a nice bit of work done at home, had a tasty lunch of leftovers, and celebrated my best friend's birthday, dinner capped things nicely. A piece of halibut (gosh it's been a while since I cooked some halibut up) coated with rice flour I'd mixed with curry powder, salt, and pepper and then sauteed so that the coating crisped up. Red chard on the side (though I should have had kale in honour of the day) and a pea puree. Conrad was fresh from swimming and cute as ever. We sipped the rest of a nice Chardonnay and watched some Big Bang Theory on DVD. And capped it all off with the very last chocolates from the wedding reception.

Gentle readers, I am content.

a landmark for TK

2012-01-11T13:05:00.001-06:00

A few years ago, at a library conference in Denver, I almost threw away something incredibly important without yet knowing how very important it was. Scurrying away to the safety of pretzels as soon as I could, I essentially blew off TK when first I met him.

Let me explain. Yes, for all my bluster and blogging, I'm actually a little shy. No, really. And I get intimidated by people I think are waaaay out of my league somehow: looks, talent, smarts. So picture it, meeting Todd for the first time at a conference social, and frankly being awed by him. He's articulate, he's got it all together, he's (let's be honest here) a handsome man. Whoa, why is this guy talking to me, of all people? Where are those pretzels?

We joke about it now, but once in a while I stop to think, what if. What if TK hadn't made an effort after that (thanks to the magic of Facebook) to get to know me? What if he'd not bothered at all?

You've seen the blog, you'll know how things turned out. TK and I got to know each other better and better, roomed together at conferences, visited each other in Baltimore (where he lives with his partner, Michael, and their two wonderful dogs that I adore so greatly) and Chicago (where I live with Conrad, of course!), and even spent time together in Vancouver last fall where he was a part of my wedding party and where he offered a reading. We're in touch pretty much daily. On top of all of this, I must add, he is an excellent librarian, and I value his professional insights immensely.

In the few short years I have known him, he has become my closest, most treasured friend, and it's hard now to imagine how things were before I knew him.

Todd, you are 40 today, a landmark birthday. A very happy birthday to you, and may our friendship bring us many more to celebrate.

restoring normalcy

2012-01-08T22:00:00.005-06:00

Sunday, it has long been established, means Yoshi's. Travel, other plans, life in general - things keep us from getting to our favourite restaurant more then we might like. But it is good to be back.

We returned tonight, our first meal there in 2012. Some salmon for Conrad, a Cornish hen with mustard for me. A bottle of a Cotes du Rhone between us. Best of all, the company of other regulars and friends: Michael and Laura, Gil and Rakhael, Chris. Banter across the bar. Extra wine poured. An enjoyable night that recalled to us why we go there so very often.

For one weekend, normalcy restored to our lives. And thank goodness for that.

taking down the tree

2012-01-07T19:07:00.012-06:00

Early January is a sad time of year (aside from a very big day next week, that is). Christmas is over, the gifts have been given, our dietary habits are more moderate, and I cannot play carols again until October. And as is our custom, the first weekend after New Year's Day we take down the tree. So it is tonight. It kills me a little inside.

Oh, sure, it was a sunny and lovely day out. A decent swim. Some tidying around the house. The fragrance of the chicken stock I spent the afternoon making in the kitchen. We're re-claiming our living room! Still, it's a melancholy evening in a way, and here I sit, deliberately drawing it out by blogging it.

Setting up the tree was odd and different this year. We set aside a the first Sunday in December (as opposed to American Thanksgiving weekend) to do the tree ourselves. No one helping. I can't even recall what I cooked or if we might have ordered in. One big tree in the corner, and a small feather tree on the dining table.

A little closer to Christmas we had those who might have been our recruits over for a nice meal: some curry turkey pot pies, biscotti, a steamed pumpkin pudding.
No work on the tree, just enjoying it and the other bits of holiday decor.

A fine night. There were too few of those this past Christmas.

And now it comes down. We started prepping the apartment before dinner, and then Conrad went to get the boxes from storage. A dinner of a chicken tortilla soup in us,
and now we're at it. I refuse to play Christmas music, however. Better to get this done and get back to the normalcy of the rest of the winter in the apartment.

I sound bitter, I think. Sorry for that. I do love Christmas, it's well known. Ah well. 9 months until the music comes creeping back into my playlists, and for sure, I'll be on the lookout for good gifts well before then.

dinner with Eric

2012-01-06T21:26:00.006-06:00

It freaks me out a little that Eric was last my officemate 11 years ago. I've been in Chicago that long. Longer. On the other hand, I've had an office to myself ever since, and that's meant my own music at the volume I like and getting to sing along with all the Christmas carols I love so very dearly.

But back to Eric.

He hasn't been too involved with library associations in recent years, but - happily - his area of research brings him to Chicago with some regularity. On those visits, we do try to get together and catch up over a meal. Tonight, in fact, was his treat to me and Conrad (we should have had the super-premium margaritas, darn it!) in honour of hour wedding. Even more graciously, he let us show him pictures at the dinner table!

Very good to see him, though, and oh, the food was fine, too. I think I may switch back to fajitas when next we go to El Mariachi, but the shrimp in pipian rojo were fine, and the chips and salsa, as always, are my joy and my bane.

Flickr counts

2012-01-05T19:13:00.008-06:00

Perhaps it all relates to the work that I do, dealing with digital images at my library and assessing the use of them. I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just a geek at the superficial aspects of social media. Feel free to speculate quietly on your own. The fact is, though, I'm altogether fascinated by the hits on our Flickr albums.

(full disclosure: the album I am referring to is the one for things Conrad and I do together - I have another account wherein I post things of my own, mostly conference photos)

I think it started a couple of years ago or so when I noticed that a picture - not even a very good one, not much descriptive metadata with it - was getting hits day by day it seemed. Oh, not a lot. Go look for, say, naked people on Flickr - those are likely the photos that are getting thousands of views. But no, this one photo was popular, and the referrer data suggested that people Googling "chocolates" were coming to it. Fair enough. Eventually interest tapered off, and while there have been 156 views in total (and two in the past month), the photo has gone from being #1 down to #8 in terms of all-time views.

In fact, it didn't remain #1 for long. Later in 2009, Conrad and I visited with Jeph (and his boyfriend, Brett, on whom I still unabashedly have a crush) in Ohio. Among the activities that weekend was wine tasting. And at a certain point after the visit and the posting of the photos, one image started getting hit. A lot, relative to my album. 15-30 hits a day for days on end. After a month or so, the hits stopped. I am not sure it's been viewed since. More mysteriously, the referrer data gave me no clue whatsoever as to why. It's #4 on the list now with 453 hits.

#3 comes from earlier this year while Vancouver was in the midst of Stanley Cup fever. Conrad and I were in Granville Island Market, and in a bakery we like to shop at, we noted some Canucks pucks - brownies with the hockey team logo on them. I tweeted the link to the photo, and it was retreated soon after by someone who evidently had a good number of followers. In two days views soared. Since then there have been occasional views, and it now sits at 873.

#2 is another mild mystery. I haven't been able to determine why a photo from last year of the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver has been so popular. No one source. General searches I suppose. It's a very grey photo, though it's a mildly interesting shot of the hotel tower. It's slightly ahead of the Canucks pucks with 878 views.

No photo has made it to 1000 views (although the photostream, collections, sets, and images together have surpassed 100,000), but a 2009 photo has reached 962. Not too far off. Here's the caption: Post-dinner chocolates, Shanghai Terrace, Peninsula Hotel. That's it. It's an odd, slightly blurry iPhone photo of chocolates on a Chinese soup spoon in a wooden cage. No, I can't explain it either.

I thought I might be in for another such curious anomaly a few days ago when I noticed that photos of eggs Benedict with smoked salmon (breakfast two mornings in a row near the hotel in Pasadena last month).
Alas, after two or three days, views of those images have tapered back off. Perhaps something else will make a run for the top in the future. We'll see.

So far 19 out of 8000+ images have been viewed 100 times or more. In the end, it's rather gratifying that at least a few of the images have been enjoyed so well.

cooking like Conrad

2012-01-04T19:57:00.007-06:00

My kitchen. It's my kitchen. For ten+ years with Conrad, I've been the one to do the cooking. In the past year, though, our patterns have changed. Conrad has been in charge of dinners on a more regular basis than previously, and his evil influence is starting to rub off on me.

To wit: dinner on the Tuesday after Christmas in Vancouver. I was off at swim camp that evening, and we'd pretty much taken care of the turkey leftovers from the Friday dinner with my parents. Dinner was up to Conrad, and he performed admirably. I don't know where he got it from, but it was entirely reasonable sushi. We plated it up nicely and enjoyed it with Marie.

Fast forward a week or so, and it was my turn. Takeaway sushi, this time from WF.

I jest and exaggerate - we dine like this often. Weekly, in fact. Not pizza, only occasionally Thai or Mexican. Lazy me, since I'm the one responsible for the kitchen. But who am I kidding? Same time next week?

simple dinner

2012-01-03T19:36:00.003-06:00

I didn't feel in a rush today, but I also didn't want to spend a lot of time making dinner. I have a book to read, after all, so no fancy preparations tonight.

Also, no dairy, interestingly. No, I'm not forgoing my morning decaf latte, but I am trying to eat a little healthier so as to be in not such dire shape when I get to Dallas for conference later this month. Yes, I really am that vain.

A long, flat piece of sockeye salmon, skinned and cut in two. I coated the pieces in a mixture of rice flour, salt, and pepper, then crisped up the coating in a large skillet with some canola oil. On the side were some Brussels sprouts halves, tossed with a little mustard. Underneath the fish was a parsnip and leek puree.

I liked the coating on the fish, I liked that it was light and thin and crispy. A decent effort. Conrad ate it appreciatively, too. Not a hearty dinner (and hmmm... what shall I cook tomorrow, I wonder), but a moderate one capped with a large Asian pear shared between the two of us.

I do, however, think a lovely glass of wine (which I'm taking a few days off from after the holidays) would be lovely right about now.

a few recent cooking observations

2012-01-02T12:01:00.006-06:00

Blood orange souffles, by the time you get to the bottom of the dish, start to become a bit of a marmalade-y chore. I'll stick to other souffles in the future.
Why would anyone go for microwaved nachos or nachos with "cheese" sauce when oven baked are so much better. That's a rhetorical question, no responses need, you know I'm right.
I may no longer eat baby back ribs, but apparently I haven't lost my ability to cook them.
Chocolate cake good.

looking back

2012-01-01T11:13:00.020-06:00

I don't do New Year's resolutions. I don't like the idea of committing to a life change just once a year and that's that. Better to reflect on what needs changing in life through the year and make it happen. Mind you, I don't begrudge others their resolutions. Everything needs a starting point, right?

So let me not call this a resolution, just a starting point for blogging again. I've recently been enjoying seeing some 365 albums on Flickr, and I realized that I would like to get back to blogging. Nothing serious. Food. Travel. Musings. With me?

At this time of year many media outlets pull together top lists or year in review stories. I'm a bit of a sucker for those if only because my memory is so remarkably sieve-like that it's good to have some reminders. I made a list yesterday. Here, then, is a year in review.

But not chronological, because 2011 was all about the wedding. Yes, ten years together, and on the first Saturday after what Conrad and I consider our ten-year anniversary of our first date, we were married in Vancouver. Family and friends came from as far as Sweden and the UK, and there was a healthy Chicago contingent. Allison looked gorgeous as my best woman, TK continued to demonstrate how awesome a best friend he is by standing in my party and doing a reading, and my big sister Marie gave me away. Actually, Marie did a ton more than that - she was the point-person for so many things here in Vancouver, and we really do owe her so very much for all she did in ensuring the day was a good, smooth, and marvelous one.

Anyway, the wedding was lovely, as was the reception. People ask what the best moment of it was. I never can answer that well - so much was a blur in the moment and all the more so looking back. A happy blur, but a blur. I guess the best part is every time I twiddle with the ring I now wear on my left hand and can revel in all that ring stands for and the day when it was given me.

There are many photos from the wedding week - the lead up, the time in Vancouver, the event, the honeymoon (Hawaii, of course) in a Flickr collection. Enjoy.

The end of 2011 saw Marie buy herself a condo, which means that this has been the last year of her living at our Vancouver condo. It's been a good arrangement all along, and we will miss her. On the other hand, we now get to furnish and decorate the place the way we want, and that excites us. The issue was almost forced a little earlier in the year when I found myself applying for and interviewing for a job in Vancouver. I didn't get an offer, and in terms of timing, that was likely for the best. I won't deny it's not disappointing not to be the first choice, but I have a secure position in Chicago, and I'll be grateful to have that job. May I do it well in 2012.

I swam a lot in 2011. I raced a couple of open water swims (fun!),
I did some timed distances in the pool (fun!), I closed the year with a 17-mile week at the English Bay Swim Club swim camp. In all, I was several miles short of 400 miles for the year, but good enough for a mile a day. I'm pretty proud of that. I am not proud of where my waistline is at the end of the year, but I haven't had to go out and buy bigger clothes, so I'll just eat moderately now that the holidays are over, and exercise regularly. About all that can be asked of us, right?

We have dined well this year, at home and elsewhere. Yoshi's has been our cherished regular place as always, of course. Safari Cafe is our coffee spot of choice in Vancouver. I had an unfortunately memorable meal at the Getty Museum in LA - a rare instance where I complained about the food. Best meal? Oh gosh. I ate a lot of very good things this year, not least of which were the deep-fried octopus chips at Boneta a few days ago. I might point to the wedding rehearsal dinner at Campagnolo for its combination of company, energy, location, and food. I still rave about that squash risotto with hazelnuts. Yum!

An interesting thing, though - if you go back earlier in 2011, you'll see some blogging about the cleanse that I did. I kept a few things going post-cleanse. Decaf only - I sleep much better now, seldom cursed with insomnia. I tried to add red meat back to my diet and found it just didn't agree with me much. With exceedingly rare exception, red meat remains out of my diet. Yes, I include pork in that, too. Nope, no bacon for me.

There have been good conferences, swimming events, trips to LA while Conrad has been working there. Thanksgiving in the UP with the in-laws (now officially that) and Christmas in Vancouver with my family and our friends here. Allison and Marie have stayed with us. TK joined them for a bachelor party weekend that still makes me shake my head in happy amazement. That led to one of the concerts we got to this year - the Debbie Gibson/Tiffany reunion concert. What a blast! Call it cheese, call me cheesy, I don't care. It was fun. Right TK? Oh, and there was the night we went with Smelts friends to see Florence + the Machine, and then there was the Dick Prall show Allison and I took in. I even got Conrad to a few movies this year, plus he went with me when I saw a pro-tennis match for the first time (Fish d. Harrison).

I'm forgetting things from 2011. That's fine. I blogged irregularly, but there is evidence of the year that was if you read back. Besides, it's now time for 2012. Which doesn't mean I won't look back again, but this should launch a new year of blogging nicely. In 2011 I hit my 1000th post. 1366+ by the end of 2012?

Best of 2011 (music)

2011-12-31T14:34:00.003-06:00

My sister and I were talking while at dinner at Chris' last night, and it seems she likes the top music lists I put together. On occasion, they've been useful to her for finding new things to listen to. And what the heck, I never mind exposing my taste in cheese and other stuff for what it is.

I have every good intention of revitalizing this blog in the year ahead, so perhaps closing 2011 with a posting or two will be a good segue. While I have cake layers in the oven, then, a Top 25 songs of 2011 from me.

(Oh, and a word on how I came about with this list - I went to my iTunes, sorted it for 2011 releases, then sorted by most played and from that pulled this list. The result is presented alphabetically by song.)

Here we go!

About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All - Dan Mangan (lead track from the new album, which continues to grow on me, though not as quickly and easily as Nice Nice Very Nice did)
Blind Faith - Chase & Status (I also listened a lot to an older track by them, End Credits)
Bounce (Radio Edit) - Calvin Harris
Broken Record (Jacques Greene Remix) - Katy B (I also had Katy on a Mission on play a bunch)
Calgary - Bon Iver (never heard anything else by him despite all the Grammy nom hoopla – this was a free track I took a chance on and rather liked)
E.T. (feat. Kanye West) - Katy Perry (I am unashamed of my Katy Perry love acquired at the gym)
Leaves, Trees, Forest - Dan Mangan (my favourite track from Oh Fortune)
Lights - Ellie Goulding
Lotus Flower – Radiohead (terrific album through and through)
Marathon - Tennis
Moves Like Jagger (Studio Recording from "The Voice" Performance) [feat. Christina Aguilera] - Maroon 5 (I didn’t pay attention to this one until it got me dancing quite happily at my wedding)
Never Be Mine - Kate Bush (of all the re-recordings that made up The Director’s Cut, this was my favourite)
Party Rock Anthem (feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock) – LMFAO (come on, who didn’t enjoy this one?)
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People (I also liked a remix of Waste that I have on my iTunes)
Rolling In the Deep – Adele (though I confess I got tired of hearing it at the gym all summer)
Rows Of Houses - Dan Mangan (a nice rocking side to the man)
Set Fire to the Rain – Adele (great third single from the album)
Someone Like You – Adele (no, I don’t cry listening to this)
Swagger Jagger - Cher Lloyd (hilariously cheesy! And a great use of Darling Clementine)
The Tide Pulls From The Moon - William Fitzsimmons (I can’t remember how I stumbled on this, but a nice little strummer of a song)
Till the World Ends - Britney Spears (I am gay, after all)
ÜBerlin - R.E.M. (typical for them – one decent single, and then nothing more from the album)
We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) – Rihanna (I’m so-so on Rihanna, but this song hooked me)
What the Water Gave Me - Florence + The Machine (so glad I saw her live this past summer)
50 Words for Snow - Kate Bush (title track from a gorgeous album that will be on heavy play for months to come - my favourite from it will change again and again, I know)

Honourable mention to a song I only heard for the first time post-Christmas: Love You Like a Love Song - Selena Gomez & The Scene

the first year

2011-10-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Ten years. Today marks ten years from what Conrad and I consider our first date. Ten years.

That's, oh, 20 times longer than any previous relationship I'd previously had. Pats on the back all around.

In the run up to the Big Event (eat your heart out, Will and Kate), I've been casting backward from time to time. I thought it might be fun, then, to share photos from the first year Conrad and I were together.

Unsurprisingly, there are few photos of the two of us. There is this one, however, from about a month after we started dating. Our first appearance as a couple, I guess. It took some of our teammates another year to figure out we were together. We chuckle about that now.

That first year we traveled together: first San Diego (wow, another photo of us!), then trips to my homeland
and his (twice).
San Francisco followed on from that,
and then we capped the year in style, celebrating our anniversary (and his birthday the next day) with a trip to visit his cousins in Sweden.
I was a little afraid to tell him how much I wanted to go with him because I couldn't afford to buy a ticket, and I didn't think he'd use miles for me to go with him. I was delighted and grateful to be wrong.

It was from that trip that one of our household sayings came into our lives: As long as we have snacks and each other...

10 years, much snacking, each other. Enjoy a glimpse into our younger times together.

questioning the hat

2011-10-17T08:49:00.000-05:00

So, in an effort to be more grown up and emulate Martin's style (which I genuinely admire - do not read this opening sentence as snark, please!), I have added a couple of hats the wardrobe. When I bought this at an H&M in Toronto (yes, I was in Toronto, it happens), I thought it looked rather dapper. When I wore it Friday night to go out for dinner with Bradley, I found myself thinking it looked old and stuffy and like I was trying too hard.

I'm usually not so torn on my clothing (though Conrad and perhaps Todd and a few other close friends might dispute that), but with the hat, I am. I'll hold on to it, but I fear it may take up residence in a corner of my closet and not see daylight again for quite some time. Like when I'm truly old or something. Which may not be all that far off, come to think of it....

back to NOLA for conference

2011-10-16T10:29:00.009-05:00

It's turning out to be a pleasant Sunday here in Chicago. We've just been across the street for a second round of coffee, I've baked more scones and given most of them away. Still ahead: packing for the upcoming travel. But no rush. A bit of time to check in here on the blog first.

I've only ever been to New Orleans for conferences, and with a second conference there this year, my tally is now up to 4 visits. I know there is much of the city I have yet to see, and doubtless much to appreciate. Sticking close to conference hotels on and around Canal Street and the French Quarter, however, does not give the best impression of the city. I don't have a lot of scenic photos to share. My room at the Holiday Inn did have some good views, however.

I do have a few food shots. I kept them to a minimum this past trip, I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps not in the mood? I did eat some good things, though: a pizza at Domenica, dinner at MiLA (including a rice pudding with rum-glazed dates), dinner at the bar at Sylvain where the smoked salmon rillettes were a highlight of my meal.

The conference itself? Enjoyable and rewarding. I didn't have any committee responsibilities, so I was able to sit and listen and let ideas and research findings wash over me. I drank in what I could, and the rest of the time I tried to connect with some of the people I know, like Susan (no photo, alas) and Marisa. And Carolyn, with her fabulous mane of hair.

No more conferences this year, and the remaining travel I have is to the same old, familiar and welcome places. Which means, of course, more food photos to come!

something old, something new

2011-10-02T08:24:00.012-05:00

I wheeled out a couple of familiar recipes last night and tried a few new ones. Mixed success, in my brutally honest opinion, but a fine dinner overall.

Speaking of old and new, that was the mix at our kitchen table. Conrad and I have each been with the Smelts 10+ years. Brad and Matt are at about a year apiece. We have a great group of younger swimmers on the team these days, and it was a nice opportunity to get to know both of them a little better. The dinner started from a Facebook post by Brad when he was visiting a particular winery in California, Merry Edwards. I commented that Conrad loved the Pinot Noir from that winery, and Brad said he had picked up a bottle to share. I suggested he bring it for dinner, he agreed and invited Matt along to fill out the table nicely. A vegetarian meal to fit Brad's diet, and some good wine to enjoy. Oh, plus team gossip, of course!

Unusually for me, I did not force everyone out of the kitchen while I cooked. Conrad opened a bottle of Champagne for the four of us (why not celebrate anything we could?), and they munched on cheese, quince paste, crackers, olives, nuts, and caper berries. Me? I finished off a batch of rice cooked with the liquid drained from black beans I'd cooked up. Then I turned my attention to empanadas. Ah yes, fried food. Mmmmmm. A fine recipe, and one you've seen from me before.

I had roasted two types of mushroom (trumpet and hen-of-the-woods) and chopped those up. To them I added some cooked diced potato, charred garlic, diced goat milk gouda, and some chopped rehydrated red chile. This became the filling for the empanadas. While we chatted, I was pressing the dough and folding it closed around the mushroom mixture. A lighter set of flavours - a little earthy, but not too deep and rich - to go with the Pinot, or so I hoped.

But I'll be honest, I could have done better with the empanadas. The oil wasn't hot enough at first, and the slow cooking let the first several I made open up as they cooked. Grrrr. The last several were better, I'm glad to say, but it was a bit embarrassing to have kitchen mistakes on full view. Brad and Matt were very indulgent of them, thankfully.

I served the empanadas with the rice (which also was a bit less good than I would have liked, though I think the leftovers will go nicely with eggs and a chile sauce of some sort - it's been a long time since last I made that recipe, but I used to love it in the days back at the restaurant), red chard, and a sauce I'd made using dried red chiles, onion, charred garlic, dried mushrooms, and tomato. It turned out well, I think, a happy experiment.

And so we dined.

And the wine, I should add, was delicious.

After dinner, we remained in the kitchen. Matt had brought a Washington Cab blend, and we slowly sipped our way through that. Conrad helped tidy a bit, and I started on dessert. Here's where the new recipes came in, and frankly, I thought they were pretty darn good. I had made hazelnut shortbreads from Emily Luchetti's truly wonderful Stars Desserts cookbook (my hardcover edition needs rebinding badly) earlier in the afternoon. I also made a batch of hazelnut ice cream from a recipe I found online. It was well worth skinning all those nuts, I tell you. The nut flavour was subtle, and it would be understandable to think that the ice cream was a good, rich vanilla. There are a lot of leftovers of it, though, and I may find myself tempted in days ahead.

I went with hazelnut, though, because I think its a great complement to plums. The plum season will soon end, and I will be sorry to see it over. For snacking or for cooking, plums are a wonderful fruit, after all. I used 9 prune plums last night in making the showstopper: souffles.

There I was, in the kitchen, mixer running at high speed as I whipped up egg whites and sugar. I folded them in batches into a strained plum puree. Three ingredients, that was it. The mix then went into prepared ramekins and into the oven. A short time after that, Brad started getting excited, asking if I had made baked Alaska. He knew that I had made ice cream, and he thought that egg whites plus ice cream logically meant that classic dessert. Nope, sorry Brad. His excitement was cute, though. My own excitement came with the rising of the souffles. I had plates ready with a scoop of ice cream (for adding into the hot, sweet-tart souffle) and a couple of cookies. The souffles came out of the oven, a nice brown on top, pink around the sides. Onto the plates, onto the table, and delighted reactions all around (including from me). This was one of the best desserts I've done in ages - a little forethought on what to make and how to present it, a willingness to take a small risk.

We ate it all up, full as we were, and settled into contented conversation once the plates were clean.

two dinners in

2011-09-15T20:54:00.006-05:00

One drawback to vacation (yes, there are drawbacks to vacations) is all the dining out. My regular eating habits get a little out of whack, too many snacks sneak in, and I enjoy wine all the more than I do at home. Also, I frankly get a little tired of being waited on. Sometimes I want to eat on my own schedule and not have to tip someone afterward. I swear, I am not cheap. I just like to cook for myself.

Well, for Conrad, too.

I didn't photograph Tuesday's dinner, though I perhaps should have. A tasty green pea and eggplant curry with some brown rice and a bit of a slaw on the side. It made for good lunch leftovers. Yesterday made it two vegan dinners in a row (and two slaws, though last night's was a little less sweet and featured a bit of radish). On an evening when the weather was cooling off and when Conrad was home with something like a cold coming on, a stewlike thing seemed best. Chili, then. Three beans (black, pinto, kidney), a generous amount of garlic, and chipotle (powdered and whole) to add a bit of smoky kick. Nothing too hot, mind you. Bowls of this made for a comforting dinner.

I turned to fowl tonight. Not a bad result, though not as good as I might like. Here's something you won't hear me say often: I liked how the mushrooms turned out. I tossed some halved trumpet mushrooms with olive oil and a few seasonings, then put them in a hot oven long enough that they got a bit crisp on the cut side. They were a nice side for the oven-braised chicken thighs along with some red chard (yes, the chard-love continues!) and some kabocha squash that I let scorch while trying to get some caramelization on it. Bad Peter, bad.

Ah well. We aren't hungry here tonight. Perhaps some fish tomorrow, I'm not sure. The approach of autumn means some other fun vegetables to start working with...

1000

2011-09-09T23:41:00.024-05:00

I started this blog a little over five years ago, so on average, I've done 200 posts a year. Give or take. My audience is not large, I know. When Dad died in 2009, it got that little bit smaller. Since then, my interest in blogging has waned.

But I can't quite give it up. I'm not sure why. Vanity? Documentary? The pleasure of connecting however distantly and even anonymously? I thought I might get to 1000 entries then call it a day. I shan't do that. I like being able to lob my dining adventures out there, or my self-deprecating comments on my own self-obsession, or photos of lovely scenery I've enjoyed (usually with Conrad).

You, my few readers, are stuck with me a little while longer.

I promised an entry filling in the month+ gap during which I was too lazy to blog, so here we go.

After my birthday entry back in July, I flew out to join Conrad for a weekend in Los Angeles. A highlight of that weekend was getting to watch, for the first time, an ATP event. We saw Mardy Fish and Ryan Harrison play in a semi-final at the Farmers Classic at UCLA. Gorgeous weather, a match that had some compelling moments, and a great afternoon overall. Bonus points for shopping at the Penguin by Munsingwear store on the way back from the tennis.

Back in Chicago, I enjoyed a rare visit by Terraceites: Arjunna and Sonya.

There were meals at Yoshi's. Of course.

My sister came to town for the first time in years, and we were able to get her to a very good and indulgent dinner at one of our favourite places in Chicago, Topolobampo. I cannot speak in praise of sommelier Jill Gubesch often enough. Oh, and the food was pretty darn good.

Marie and I picked up my best friend, Todd, from Milwaukee, and once Allison joined us at Yoshi's that night, the four of us had a terrific bachelor party weekend that featured ComiCon and a Tiffany and Debbie Gibson concert. Yes, you read that right. Be jealous of me. That whole Saturday kicked serious ass.

Conrad and I joined teammates in Madison for an open water swim. He cheered, I swam (and came in second in my age group).

We continued to get to know our neighbour Jeff better. Good guy - a runner, but more importantly, someone who dines. We totally respect and appreciate that. We took him for a maiden voyage to Yoshi's. Of course.

I don't talk work on here, but oh heck. I will note that Val and I co-presented a well-received poster session at the Society of American Archivists conference in Chicago.

And then August came to a close, and Conrad and I made it to our second home, happily.

I won't resolve to do better with blogging, to be more regular. I will beg your indulgence. 1000 posts is a good milestone. But no, I'm not stopping. Care to join me as I press onward in my own particular way?

999 (knackered)

2011-09-06T22:44:00.006-05:00

Look, I got up and was out running 7.5 miles (and I'm not even training!) by 6:30 this morning, then tackled my fear of heights to go on the gondola and chair lift at Grouse Mountain, then made myself pretty to head to the Club for a short swim followed by some food and some very good New Zealand Pinot.

I'm tired, I want to read a bit and collapse into sleep. Can you blame me? Blog entry 999 is therefore short, somewhat to the point, and rolled out in anticipation of whatever strikes my fancy in days ahead for post 1000.

Night!

Labour Day dinner

2011-09-06T12:21:00.000-05:00

And I should stress, that's LaboUr Day, not Labor Day...

;-)

No cooking for me today. We've had travel back from the Sunshine Coast to contend with plus some other errands, and - frankly - I wanted to get in to one of our favourite Vancouver restaurants. That it's an easy walk for us is a bonus. That we can sit at the bar usually is another bonus. Just past 6:00, we wandered down to Campagnolo and parked ourselves there, Marie sitting between Conrad and me.

Pizzas. We never eat pizza in Chicago. Well, almost never, not unless work provides it for "free". Pizzas it was. I got a little cranky with the idea of sharing the mushroom pizza (cremini are just button mushrooms with brown caps, people, don't try to fool me), but quickly got over it. A bottle of La Frenz Viognier in front of us, some water, and some food - I was content.

Specifics:

Marinated olives
Salad of tomatoes with lomo (Conrad's appetizer, shared with Marie, though I had a couple of tomato pieces when the ham was eaten)
Summer vegetable salad with the cutest tiny speckled cucumbers you've ever seen!

Mushroom pizza
Smoked salmon pizza with creme fraiche (too lazy to figure out how to type diacritics in the browser, sorry)
Pizza Romana - tomato sauce, olives, garlic cloves, anchovies. This last one was mine.

Ah, we ate well. We chatted cheerily. We sipped. We watched the traffic behind the bar and made up our own running commentary on what must be going on elsewhere in the restaurant. We left without dessert and came home to sit on the balcony with a bottle of a Summerhill Merlot that Allison had given me (ahhhh, deliciously lush) and some cheese and chocolate.

sunset, Sunshine Coast

2011-09-05T22:49:00.012-05:00

Not much a post, I admit. Well, not much text anyway. A bunch of pretty photos to share instead.

Conrad and I had dinner up the coast last night, catching up with my stepmother, Bella, and my brother Carlos over a meal at Daphne Restaurant in Sechelt. After we'd finished, they headed home to Madeira Park, and Conrad and I continued south to our B&B in Davis Bay. It's a lovely little stretch of the highway there, along the water front. Beach, a pier, some small motels and B&Bs, a view across to Parksville on Vancouver Island. I rather like the place and wish we'd had a couple of night there. Ah well.

Anyway, as we drove toward the B&B, we could see that the colours of sunset were becoming more and more intense. I asked Conrad to pull over short of the B&B so that we could be sure to get some photos as the sun went down. We were not, assuredly, the only people to have that idea.

I don't wish to live on the Sunshine Coast, but evenings like last night make me wish I could visit a lot more often.

ling cod

2011-09-03T23:56:00.008-05:00

Yes, yes, this is an overdue post. I'll catch up on things later, I promise. It is, after all, vacation time. Conrad and I have a week ahead in Vancouver, and I should be able to squeeze out an entry or two in that time.

OK, given my recent history, maybe I shouldn't promise.

No matter: an entry for tonight at least. We're all post-dinner and relaxing on a fine Saturday night on the west coast. Much walking today, and some much-needed napping behind us, too. Vacation truly is when I get caught up on my sleep. We were home from shopping/errands/lunch at 2ish, and somewhere in between that and dinner there were a good two hours of dozing. Heaven!

Also nice? Ling cod. It's a fish I can't recall seeing on Chicago menus, nor in stores in Chicago. A shame, really. It's a lovely fish. On rare occasion we would catch them while staying with Grandma on the Sunshine Coast. Rock cod were more common, and though Marie says that we considered them garbage fish, my recollection is that they were a special catch. The flesh of the fish is often bluish, and not in an unappealing way. A diet of crabs, supposedly, and that just makes them sound more delicious somehow.

We'd had a couple of errands on and around Granville Island today, and I was determined to look for dinner items there. With over a week in town and fine weather in the forecast, not using the balcony would be a crime. After a good brunch at Edible Canada, we browsed the market, and I came upon the fish. I'd seen some halibut cheeks earlier, but no, this was a better option.

Some quick shopping later, and we had some cheese and bread and quince paste for before dinner, chocolates for dessert, and the fixings for a meal. I sauteed the fish, covering it to aid the cooking of the thick pieces. Alongside were some little nugget potatoes, corn "cobettes", and gai lan. I made up a quick batch of Szechuan butter to use for a sauce.

We sat outside and talked of wedding plans and past meals and travel we've enjoyed. A happy trio with a big plate of food. I hope to pick up more of that Church and State Merlot later this week.

More photos are already up on Flickr. For now, I'll grab a book and wind the post-cod evening down contentedly....

41

2011-07-28T18:26:00.014-05:00

Apparently I had a birthday yesterday. How old am I? 34. The title of this post? A typo. The white in my goatee? Bleaching effect of sun and chlorine.

Ah, who am I kidding? I'm as old as I am, and it bothers me not a whit. I put on an aloha shirt (it is an aloha shirt, more or less, from Tori Richard) and proceeded to open presents, have a nice little lunch with Max at our usual place,
then join Daniel for dinner at the bar at Yoshi's.

A day older today, not much wiser, and in possession of at least a few photos to prove that I had a rather nice birthday indeed!

does this now count as a rut?

2011-07-27T17:38:00.008-05:00

I don't know, am I in a rut? Or can I blame it on the heat for making me keep the stove and oven off and further ascribe it to wanting to enjoy the purity of seasonal produce? Or am I lazy?

(likely this last one)

Two more balcony salad dinners. Monday night, after swim practice. A bit of smoked mackerel this time for our protein, and a quick, thin and light gazpacho left chilling while we were at the pool. The soup made a return on Tuesday, enlivened with some diced cucumber, pepper, and onion, and some chopped parsley to boot. Our neighbour Jeff (I have a preponderance of Jeffs and Jephs these days, it seems) came up for dinner with us, sitting through the soup and on to a tuna salad nicoise (I'd had one at Yoshi's on Tuesday, and decided I wanted to do one at home). The yellowfin was a splurge, but a tasty one. I was pleased with the platter. Better still, Jeff baked dessert for us. His oven switched on, not mine! And it was a tasty dessert, too - cobblers made with blueberries and raspberries he'd picked the day before. Yum!

Dinner out tonight (it's my birthday, I am home alone, and I am not cooking). Tomorrow? Oh, salad sounds good, I think...

variations on a theme

2011-07-24T17:18:00.000-05:00

If I may, I will frame this entry by stating the obvious: I am pale, pasty white. To this I add that I spent my formative years in northern BC where - though it could get hotter than most people here can believe - cool and wet was the norm. My summers are ideally set no higher than 24 degrees (that's Centigrade - no jokes about sled dogs being needed once you cross the border into Canada). I loathe the heat.

And yet I live in Chicago (fast approaching my 11-year anniversary), and heat and humidity are the essence of summer here. My response? I turn on the AC as high as it will go and stay away from the oven and stove. I'd love to say that dinner then becomes a choice between ice cream and Popsicles, but no, I try to keep us eating something halfway decent.

Lately, given the heat, it's been salads, cold fish, nuts, cheeses, fruit. Things I don't need to cook. Wash, cut, plate, yes. But no cooking, not if I can help it. Wine as well with the occasional martini sneaking in. Call it a rut, but so be it if a rut means that I - pale, pasty, cold-weather loving Canuck that I am - can survive the Chicago summer!

Sunday dinner with Marie

2011-07-21T21:39:00.011-05:00

It's nice to have an opportunity to have dinner just with my sister, Marie, once in a while. A week ago she and I sat at the bar at the back of Campagnolo, just the two of us. Dissecting family politics. Talking wedding and real estate. Being the brother and sister that we can be when no one's watching. Sharing a good BC white wine, sharing two different pizzas,
sharing a couple of salads,
sharing some cheese. A very good evening in our favourite neighbourhood joint. Ah yes, it would have been good to have Conrad there, too, but every once in a while, it's a treat to reduce things down to the two of us who've known each other the almost-41 years I've been alive.

unexpected things in Vancouver

2011-07-21T21:01:00.009-05:00

Consult Google Maps. Look for Vancouver, BC. Found it? Good. It's in western Canada, you may note. Not the Deep South.

And yet, there is southern BBQ to be found there.

I LOATHE food chauvinism even if I'm guilty of it myself. I find myself wanting to smack people who think, for example, that the British cannot offer good food. I despair of the unwarranted bagel snobbery of New York City. I laugh at the notion that east coast blue crabs are superior. All of which, of course, exposes my biases (I think British food has many fine points; Montreal bagels rock; west coast Dungeness and snow crab are the best).

And so it is that I snicker at the idea that the South is the only place that can conjure up BBQ. Whatever. Insert eyeroll here. And still, I was excited this past weekend while I was on a quick trip to Vancouver to get to a place new to me, Peckinpah in Gastown. Southern BBQ... mmmmmm! And I've stopped eating pork and beef!

No matter, there were a few options on the menu for me. Good beer for starters - White Bark. I enjoyed two pints. Also, the best darn chicken wings I've ever had. Smoked, and I added my own sauce. Tender, salty, good.

But in the end, it was just fun. Food that encourages finger licking. Friends and my sister,

all of us lined up at the bar to eat. A fun evening, managing to dodge the on and off heavy rain last Saturday. A place to take Conrad to some time in the future. An unexpected delight, and thank goodness for that. A little culinary surprise now and then is much welcome, I have to say.

concert night

2011-07-10T20:10:00.008-05:00

Conrad
and I have been making more of an effort lately to actually take advantage of living in a big city. We get complacent, we know. We like holing up at home with a nice bit of wine and our lake/urban views from the balcony. Oh yes, pity us.

But we have been making efforts. I just renewed my membership to the Art Institute, and we make it there at least a few times a year now. I've been to a couple of concerts, big and small, this year and dragged Conrad to one. We've tried restaurants outside of our neighbourhood (with Nightwood being the most noteworthy). And last night, after too many years since our last go-round, we headed on down to Grant Park with a picnic in tow, taking in a concert and dining on the lawn on a summer evening.

We really need to do that more often.

First off, let me not hide my light under a bushel. I made some good food for us, specifically a torta rustica.
We'll be enjoying that big pie for days, but it really is an excellent dish. Swap out the chicken breast slices in it for some sort of roasted vegetable and you can have a delightfully satisfying vegetarian dish. We opted for the chicken, however. I had lightly cooked some asparagus, chilled it, and then dressed it with a simple vinaigrette when I plated it. We had cherries, chocolate, and nuts to snack on. Fizzy water. Wine. Ah, Felton Road - a snotty person running your wine room when we visited, but delicious wine, undeniably.

The music? I can't comment too intelligently on it. I rather liked the opening piece, a Mexican composition and a Mexican conductor. The rest? It was lovely background as I began re-reading The Rebel Angels (every few years I return to The Cornish Trilogy and The Deptford Trilogy). The skies darkened, and the skyline lit up.

It was a lovely evening, and we even caught a cab home without difficulty! As Conrad and I remarked to each other, we've had a very urban weekend, and one that we've enjoyed immensely!

ALA folks, hard at work, fabulous

2011-06-29T13:06:00.018-05:00

I had to put that last part of the post title in there given the outfits that certain people were sporting.

;-)

I don't talk much about professional activities or my workplace on this blog. I think I wouldn't write a blog if I had to write about the things I spend several hours a day or more paid to do instead of the things I spend the rest of the time enjoying or daydreaming about. Truthfully, there are others out there who have given librarianship and ALA better thought. Find them, and reflect as you will. Try Lauren, just for starters.

A few people at this conference asked me if Conrad was with me. No, he wasn't, and it's unlikely he will be with me at conferences in the future. No, don't despair: all is more than well between us. No, we simply realized that conference, no matter how much we may like the host city, is not a place for him and me time. It's a place for my time with the librarians I've connected with over the years, and drawing Conrad into that world is not easily done. It's enough, I hope, that I call and text him several times a day and update him in such exhaustive detail that hanging up is surely a welcome relief to him.

I now sit on Council at ALA, this time at the very back in the Social Media Trouble Makers corner, as Aaron put it. While there, I am reading documents, listening to reports, following debate, occasionally venturing to a microphone to contribute, and tweeting and Flickring and FBing and e-mailing all in hopes of pushing some sense of the richness of conference activity out to people who might be interested.

Good people at ALA, and I wish I had photos of more. I have at least some, though, and not just from the Council chambers. Wandering the exhibits, I bumped into others:

Aaron
Kate
Matt and Peter (with me!)
Bobbi, Courtney, Alexia (plus shoes!)

Courtney, again
Dale
Bobbi
Gina
Aaron
the aforementioned Lauren
Nanette (ALA staff - those staffers really do so much for us)
Dale (and TK - yes, lots of time spent hanging out with him this conference)
Jodie and Courtney

And finally, the crew of us trying hard not to see, hear, nor speak evil...

best things I ate in NOLA

2011-06-29T08:55:00.021-05:00

I'm going to say this: I dined well in New Orleans, but I was not blown away.

A case of going to the wrong restaurants? A case of choosing the wrong items? A case of needing to eat pork products to fully appreciate the cuisine here? I don't know. But I don't write this blog to disparage things (not often, at least). I prefer very much to celebrate instead. As I sit here watching Federer-Tsonga, a list of the ten things I ate while in NOLA that I would happily eat again. Oh wait, some of them I did go back for!

;-)

Grilled marinated artichokes at Rambla. I really wish I knew more about this restaurant. It's a hotel restaurant, it has vegetarian options, the food is quite good, the space is great for groups to gather. Why was it so very empty both times we went there? Ah well. We dined there twice, and this was a winner.

Even better at Rambla? The special: butternut squash gnudi. Fried crisp on the outside, creamy smooth inside. Only $5. Just yum.

And before we leave Rambla, the spiced Marcona almonds. Yes, I could see sitting around with these and some fino some lazy evening.

The first dinner in NOLA, TK and I wandered nearby to Capdeville. A loud little place, but possibly the friendliest service we had in NOLA (and I have to echo something I read on Twitter - for a town that thrives on tourism, NOLA does not have particularly good or polished restaurant service). Anyway, Capdeville proved to be excellent for two items, one of which I didn't get a good photo of in the dim light, the bread pudding. Topped with brûléed bananas and served with a rum caramel sauce, it was good enough that TK and I joked half-seriously about nightcapping with it on at least one other evening. The other item was our entree, crispy-skin salmon on a salad of curried lentils. $15? A steal, a delicious steal.

I had dinner alone last night, sitting at the bar at Sylvain in the French Quarter. It was on my radar thanks to a friend, Adam, who works for ACRL. Parked with The Rites of Spring, I sat a couple of hours, waiting out a mighty rainstorm, talking a bit with the bartender. Good food, but the thing I want more of? Fried eggplant. This was an appetizer. I am, evidently, a pig. But so very tasty!

We used to make the smoked salmon cheesecake from Emeril's first cookbook at the restaurant years back. It was a hit and miss thing - some people loving it and some people finding it weird. I actually thought it was best while still warm. Emeril serves it cold at his namesake restaurant, and his is better. Silky smooth, napped with a green onion coulis. it made sense on a hot day with a glass of chilled rosé. My favourite part of my splurge lunch there with CG, other than CG, of course!

I had never heard of John Besh before recent seasons of Top Chef, but now I've been to three restaurants that carry his name. I liked them all, but the one that I went to twice was Domenica in the Roosevelt Hotel. The second time, four of us had a very late meal of pizza to make up for a night of poor grazing on meager selections of finger foods. It was the first time, lunch with TK and Martin, that was most memorable. Two items for me. First, a chilled heirloom tomato soup with lump crabmeat. Cold, tart, some sweetness, a bit of zip. Good. After that came fried squash blossoms out of which oozed a goat cheese filling that was not at all too heavy for the blossoms themselves. I think, in fact, these may have been the best things all week here. The batter was impossibly delicate. I never imagined in a town that features to much fried food I would find something that was fried and ethereal. But I did, and I recommend it highly, and I wouldn't mind a last order before I leave town.

Oh yes, I dined elsewhere, and I will be sure to have another post with at least photos of some of the other foods. But ah, some things that I would encourage friends to try if they're down here. And if you feel a little jealous of me for this dining, well, that just makes me savour the memory of them all the more. ;-)

start of NOLA posts

2011-06-28T22:36:00.005-05:00

I've had my good dinner, I've posted photos to Flickr, I've called Conrad a few times. ALA is done, and with tomorrow's flight, I will be home. Happily.

I will write more on the conference, to be sure. It's been a very good and productive handful of days, and I know I have put on weight from the dining. Don't look at me askance, you know how much I love to eat. And certainly, there will be postings on food.

For tonight, though, just quiet reflection in my hotel room on how very good it was to not only attend professional association functions, be part of the work of the association, dine well, shop, and see many colleagues, but also to get to spend a so much time with the person I consider my closest and best friend (other than Conrad, of course!). Yes, you've seen him on this blog before, and here he is again: TK.

We shared a room and popped into vendor functions and wandered about and went to The Banana and talked about the wedding to come and other things important in our lives and other things unimportant in our lives and sometimes didn't need to talk at all as we just did our ironing or watched Wimbledon. And now I'm left to think how very lucky I am to have such an amazing friend.

I will blog more on other friends - I do not mean to give short shrift to Martin or CG or others. Just a nod to having had an excellent time on one of the all-too-rare opportunities that I get to.

Noblesville open water swim, third go-round

2011-06-19T20:44:00.015-05:00

I've really come to like the Indianapolis suburbs, it seems. I haven't set foot in the city itself since, oh 2001 I think, but I've now been to Noblesville three of the last four years. The nightlife? The shopping? (though I do not mean to disparage them, rather to plead ignorance of them in my singleminded focus) Nope: the reservoir. A great place for an open water swim, and so I sit on Sunday evening, somewhat aching, looking back on yesterday's race.

Back in 2008 I was part of a 5-person team, each of us swimming a 5km loop of the lake, that won the national title for our age group. Last year I went back to swim a solo 10km swim (two loops, of course), and took bronze in my age group. This year... well, we don't know yet. Results aren't yet posted because of some issues going on with the timing. Ah well, who cares? 6 Smelts showed up, four of us on one mixed gender 35+ team, and frankly, it was fun to do.

It didn't look promising first thing in the morning. Conrad, my cheering squad, and I were up at 4:45ish to be at the Morse Reservoir for the 6:00-6:30 check-in window. En route to the lake from the hotel, though, we hit heavy rain and saw lightning. Not good. No open water swim so long as there's a risk of lightning, and so it was when we got to the race site and I had numbers written in bold black marker on my arms and back that we learned the race would be delayed two hours. More sleep might have been nice, and I know some people did go back to their cars for that, but when I'm up, I'm up. A bit of a wait as the rain tapered and finally ended.

I was on a team with Ruth, Michael, and Liz - ah, we'll miss Liz when she moves to Dallas at the end of this month. Ruth filled in at the last minute, switching from an individual swim to our relay when our other teammate became ill (we hope she's feeling better quickly and in time for Pride!). Ruth also, I should add, went to a concert Friday night in Chicago THEN drove the 3-4 hours to the race site and slept two hours in her vehicle before checking in. More amazing? She stuck around a while after the race, drove home, went to Mass, then came for sushi and a concert with us. I am in awe. And in the end, we wouldn't have had a team without her. She deserves so much credit for all of that.

Heidi was there as part of another team, a trio of super-fast women. Chris was the sixth Smelt and the ironman among us, swimming the 25km. At least, we think he did. By the time we left, he had completed 15km, and we hope he made it the rest of the way. No matter, even 15km is a lot, and he had our respect and encouragement.

At 9:00ish, Chris set off, kayaker accompanying him.

At 9:30ish, the first wave of teams went off. Heidi was in this group. The rest of us were starting to get a bit antsy, wanting our turn.

They lined us all up to check us off against the registration list, had us enter the water to line up between a buoy and shore, and then bang! We were swimming.

One loop around one arm of the reservoir. Cool water, a terrific temperature that I wish the pools I usually swim in could stick to instead of being so much warmer. I started out close to the buoy, away from the crowd closer to shore and placed so that I'd be on the inside for going around the first marker. I was off, swimming well. Not bragging on that. It's the simple truth - I felt great. My stroke was feeling smooth. I was feeling the water, catching it well. I settled into a good, brisk rhythm of breathing that set up a song in my head for later in the race (you really do need something to get you through the swim when all sense of time is lost). Don't ask why it was International Velvet. It just was, and the chorus drove me through a good stretch of the second half of the race.

I felt fast going out, and I held my speed well. By 1/3 of the way into my swim, I was catching the tail end of the previous wave - they'd left about 7 or 8 minutes ahead of us. And I kept catching them. Not constantly (and there were a few from my wave carving their own way through the water faster than I was), but in groups every so often. It was great to have them ahead of me - something to strive for in catching them, and people to sight off of when I couldn't immediate see the next marker.

By the end of the race, I was a little disoriented. Either a bit of leakage in my googles, or perhaps some sweat from wearing a cap causing sunscreen (yes, I wore it - despite the clouds, it would have been easy to burn) to trickle down to my right eye. It stung some, and I was having trouble sighting. Also, there weren't that many people ahead of me. The last marker seemed too small to be a real marker, but I went for it, then kept going for where I thought the finish was. I wish I'd gone a little harder. I'm not upset at all.

I passed through the "chute" and continued on toward where a small group was standing up, wading toward shore. Mark from Indianapolis was there - he'd gone out in the previous wave and had just arrived a short bit ahead of me. Turning to look back toward the clock, I saw Heidi behind me - I'd caught her near the end and passed her. She and I congratulated each other and compared our experiences, walking in to shore to food and Conrad. Once there, we could cheer as Michael then Liz then Ruth all made it in. We even got to cheer for Chris as he looped by at his 10km mark.

I think we all were happy with our swims. Conditions were good, and I, for one, had no problems with crowding around me. My time according to preliminary results was 1:13:16. Not too bad. A minute slower than three years ago, I think but under two minutes slower than a timed swim at the natatorium at UIC where I had the benefit of turns and people to pace off of.

We ate, we waited for results, we left for Chicago and en route I slept a bit. At home, a good, long, hot shower was my first order of business.

It's a good swim, Noblesville. I know the timing is vexing them, and I hope they sort it all out. I hope they also know that now all of us really care too much - we just went for a fun swim with friends, our teammates and others. I'll keep an eye on next summer's open water schedule and see if a trip to IN is in order again. But for now and for once, I'll not be self-deprecating about what I have done. I swam well yesterday, and I'm simply proud of what I and my teammates did.

(for more photos, check out the set on Flickr)

Dinner Like No Other

2011-06-13T19:08:00.016-05:00

I should be in bed already - a late night last night after a big big dinner (with wine pairings and more to drink) and an early morning today to go to the gym. I will be glad of sleeping in this coming Sunday, I think.

Enough griping, though - on to the food discussion.

I love Frontera Grill (and Topolobampo and even the new place at O'Hare, but I've yet to get to Xoco). Love it. Conrad is with me on this, and you can be sure that at the wedding reception one of the tables will named for Frontera. And Yoshi's, of course. But definitely a Frontera. For several years now - the entire time they've staged it? - we've attended the Frontera Farmer Foundation dinner. The 2011 edition was last night.

A Dinner Like No Other is how they bill it, and this year it was a clever homage to Chicago neighbourhoods. Great idea! A Frontera spin on some of the foods found around town. The menu promised much... and delivered.

Conrad and I arrived in time to line up outside for the opening, and as we made the end of the queue, Jill, the sommelier, came outside. She was exhausted from a long day and much hard work on the event, and we were sorry not to enjoy her company that night. We'll make up for that, as I'll explain in a bit. Susan and Andrew were right behind us - they're part of a group of Saturday lunch regulars who have taken us under wing and with whom we've enjoyed this dinner (and others) several times now. A fine group, and who better to dine with?

Bob was the ringleader, and we all split up as couples so that we could mix well. I found myself between Sue and Glen (down from Milwaukee) and across from Susan. Easy, fun conversation all night long. At various points one or two of us (we were 9 in total) would go patrol the silent auction, so there were plenty of opportunities for chat with others. More on the silent auction in a bit.

The food. A confession: I ate meat. I'd really been trying not to. I found through the cleanse that I really feel better confining myself to fish and occasional poultry. I'm trying to eat a little healthier. Last night, though, was a set menu with wine pairings. No beef, happily - that's the worst on my system. Instead, I just ate it all, made no fuss, and felt off this morning. Ah well.

We were greeted with a strawberry-rhubarb margarita, an excellent cocktail, a great start.

The amuse was an homage to Greektown: mini lamb "gyros".

First course: Thai fried chicken, in honour of Argyle Street. Served with a local beer, the Goose Island Matilda. Ah, that crispy skin! A bit of zing. Mmmm...

Next: homemade bratwurst as a spin on the Lincoln Square fare. I was taken with the creamy chipotle mustard most of all. That's not a dig at the rest of the late, merely an appreciation for the condiment. Served with a delicious 2009 August Kesseler "R" Riesling Kabinett.

The fish course was the best. I honestly think Frontera does fish better than anywhere in town. Garlic marinated Alaskan halibut with canneloni. An homage to the Italian neighbourhood on Taylor Street. The wine was fine but the least remarkable of them all, a 2009 Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay.

The meat course was roasted suckling pig on a beautiful mound of Iroquois white corn grits. I admit, the pork was so tender. This tribute to a corner on the south side was paired with a South African red, the 2010 Boekenhoutskloof "The Wolftrap" Franschhoek valley. Lovely. I managed to score an extra pour of that.

Dessert was a lemony chess pie with strawberry preserves and a remarkable ice cream: hoja santa-vanilla bean. In honour of Chicago diners, a nice touch. Instead of a dessert wine, there was a lemon cordial made with tequila na infused with basil and hoja santa.

And then we enjoyed some decaf.

We did not leave hungry, that's for sure. We left with a goodie bag, though, and better still, two silent auction prizes. As a table, we successfully bid on a wine pairing class with Jill. Hooray! I can't wait for that one. And as for the other, well, a present for Conrad from me. Of course it's not a surprise. Of course I'll enjoy it with him. A 1.5 L bottle of a Central Otago Pinot Noir. Not inexpensive, but isn't he worth it?

We were giddy boys in the cab ride home, I have to say. June 2012 - what will that dinner like no other bring us?

(all of the photos from last night are on Flickr)

Vincent

2011-06-12T07:59:00.003-05:00

In lieu of coming up to watch the Tony Awards show with Fred and Roger tonight, Conrad and I went out to dinner with them last night, trying a place new to us all up in Andersonville, Vincent. And really, given that Conrad and I have been to one play in ten years of being together, a dinner out makes more sense. Any reader of this blog knows where our interests and sympathies lie.

Vincent features Dutch or Dutch-inspired cuisine. I'm not at all familiar with Dutch food beyond having had gouda and a beer or two, so I can't say for sure whether it was authentic or inspired. What it was, though, was fairly tasty. Rich - a good amount of mayonnaise or frying or dairy. Salty. That last one sticks with me - I like salt (too much for my own good, I am certain), so I tend not to mind its presence, its dominance, in the food I eat. This skirted to the edge at times, though, and if it does that for me, then I wonder how others perceive it.

I don't count that as a negative, though. What I might say works against the restaurant are the acoustics. One customer at another table had a voice that somehow cut through the general din, rose above it. Consequently, everyone else tried to keep up. We struggled until that person left (about the time we ordered, so blessedly early) to hear each other.

Many good things, though. A good waiter. I am embarrassed not to recall his name, but I thought he steered us well with menu and wine choices (an inexpensive white Bordeaux for the table, then a glass of a perfectly fine Spanish red for me with my meal). He was friendly, he wasn't overly familiar. If/when we go back, I hope he takes care of our table again.

The menu options are a good price, especially the three-course dinner Roger opted for. I'm still keeping red meats out of my diet as much as I can, but there were a number of options for me, too. I was tempted by the mussels, but went a different direction.

Soup to start: zaansemosterdsoep. Dutch mustard soup, but the base is carrot with chicken stock apparently. The waiter couldn't describe it to us, and I understand why. The tarragon pesto was notable without overwhelming, and the rest of it all just, well, made sense. Sweet, savoury, a bit of tang, the hint of the cheese in it. I couldn't pin it down. I simply liked it.

Conrad opted for an enormous piece of haddock atop pea soup so thick that it was moundable as his dinner option while I went for the Cornish game hen. I liked the bird. I preferred the go-alongs: fingerling potatoes, cheesy watercress, pea shoots. The salt was there (more so on the hen), but it all tasted great together. The bird itself reminded me of hot dogs in flavour. I don't mean that scornfully, though by the end I was wishing it reminded me more of hen. Again, I liked it, but I might choose the mussels on a future visit.

No photos of dessert, sorry. Be assured, it was good. Two rounds of chocolate cake sandwiching peanut butter mousse. Atop it? Other than a chocolate glaze, a sprinkling of sea salt.

I wonder what the Dutch word for salt is.

;-)

A good meal, a good time, and a place we need to get back to. And now to get ready for another fine meal tonight!

big swims

2011-06-09T19:45:00.008-05:00

Two down, one to go!

It's summer, and for some of us on the swim team, that means open water/long distance season. Me? I don't swim in the lake all that much, but I do like a swim where I can just go and go and go.

Case in point: the 10 km timed swim at the UIC Natatorium late last month. 2 hours, 29 minutes, 48.61 seconds of go and go and go. I paced off Adam as best I could, and even clawed back a bit of distance from him in the later stages before cramping calves forced me to stop to stretch a few times. I was afraid the cramping would keep me from my goal of making a sub-2:30 swim. Happily, I squeaked in under the wire. Parts of that swim weren't pretty, but I was quite pleased with the second wind after 5000 meters.

And then I went home to nap followed by eating everything I possibly could.

This past week I took a longer lunch and shared the pool with John (who also swam the 10 km with me and Adam) and Seth (who has yet to do the 10 km - have fun Seth!!!!). We each did a 5 km timed swim. A maddeningly erratic swim for me with a switch to a modified single-side breathing pattern to restore some good technique to my stroke. The cramps held off. I know I took the swim out far too hard, but I did want to, well, go for it. 1:11:38.54 was my time, and frankly, I'm pleased. Not too bad for almost-41!

May and June are crowded with long swims (and in March, April, and May I put in over 40 miles a month in the pool, I should add). Up next is Noblesville, a team event with Liz, Dana, and Mike. I'm looking forward to it greatly - I've done swims there twice, and I've had a good time in each case. I've also had a national title and record, but that's a high bar to reach again. I'll settle for a good swim, a good time, and no sunburn.

After the 10 km, one or two people joked that it was odd to see me wet, in a swim suit. Yes, perhaps. I tend to swim mostly on my own early in the morning rather than with the team, I know. Still, there really is nothing like doing the events with the Smelts - the swimmers I know and like so well.

One more to go, then a week away from swimming while away at conference. I have no other summer events planned, but you can bet I will be keeping regular hours at the pool. I have to look good for that wedding later this year, after all!

chilled dinner

2011-06-08T19:46:00.004-05:00

Temperatures well into the 90s? Look, I love Chicago and all, but this is stupid. It's not yet the middle of June. Honestly? Bring on the winter weather - I can just pile on a nice thick sweater.

Jeepers!

I did not want to cook tonight, but I had some vegetables and fruit to use, and I dislike wasting them. I stopped at Whole Foods for a few more items, then came home and put this simple meal together:

Shrimp, barely poached, cooled, chopped. Toss them with chopped mango and red onion and red pepper and cilantro and jalapeno. Add lime juice, salt, and pepper. Let sit in the fridge while enjoying a bit of rose wine. Plate atop a bit of arugula, take photos, then toss it together to make a juice, messy salad. A nice chilled meal for a warm evening.

It was either that or pick up sushi again for a second night in a row!

views of Vancouver

2011-06-07T06:41:00.000-05:00

One last blog post about Vancouver, and then it's time to move on. In any case, there are plenty of photos of the trip on Flickr, and I am perfectly happy to rave on to friends about how much we love the city and what a good time it was there.

Alas, it's almost a week now since we came home, so it's time to blog about life as it moves forward.

Many things to reminisce over from the trip, but I want to go back to last Monday night. Conrad and I had invited my sister, Marie, and our friends Chris, Brian, and Sherri to go to the Club with us for cocktails (and then wine) and light bites in Cuvee, the wine bar. Such a fine evening for it, and we had a terrific time. Chris and Brian went on their way after that, but the four of us ended up at the revolving restaurant atop the Harbour Centre.

It was a joking suggestion, but it turned out to be an excellent one. The weather was good, the view was gorgeous, and if the wine was a bit cheap and simple and the desserts were a bit pre-packaged in nature, that didn't matter. We had four people in a terrific mood and some outstanding views to match.

In fact, I hope that Marie might take our family members there for dinner the day after the wedding while Conrad and I start on our honeymoon. A fine view for them, and truly, I think the dinner will be quite fine.

Enjoy the photos, check out the others, and stay tuned for more Vancouver later in the year!

rare achievement

2011-06-06T18:17:00.002-05:00

Friends will know this: I am very critical of my own cooking. Badly and even unnecessarily so, but I think that's not unusual for people who enjoy cooking. I'm hard on myself, I know. Sorry.

Conrad is out of town for a handful of days, and rather than do my usual thing of putting together a selection of things I can nibble on idly while I sip wine and watch old episodes of Top Chef on my iTunes, I actually cooked and plated a real dinner for myself.

And you know what? It wasn't exactly refined, but by gosh did it taste good.

A nice piece of sockeye salmon, seasoned with kosher salt and ground cumin, sauteed in a pan. Asparagus cooked crispy-tender. A fresh salsa made with corn cut from the cob, tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice, salt, and pepper.

And there I sat, a bit of Pinot Noir, Top Chef on iTunes, a dish of fresh cherries (rushing the season - oh! I can't wait until the cherries are in the thick of their season) awaiting me for dessert. And a nod to myself, a silent mental pat on the back for a job well done.

favourite coffee shop

2011-06-05T21:03:00.028-05:00

One more post before heading to bed, and oddly (given the time of night), it's about coffee.

So much to write about with Vancouver, and each time we go there are some of our reliable favourites and new experiences. New this time? Bao Bei.

Good restaurant, nearby. We'll go back. Familiar to us? Campagnolo on the Friday night.

Shopping at Roots.
Granville Island.

And then there's Safari Cafe.

We go there everyone morning we're in Vancouver. A short stroll over for what we have come to think of as the best coffees in Vancouver.
They remind us of the flat whites we came to love so much on our New Zealand visits. It's not a big place, but there are some seats and free wireless. And regulars. We don't know them really, but the faces are familiar, and occasionally conversation flies across the room. Adam, the owner, takes good care of us. Breakfast items daily for us, though we are careful not to take that for granted.

And anyway, the banana loaves are quite satisfying.

I would find it interesting to know how many hours we've spent at Safari Cafe on past visits. It must add up into days, easily. I think it was 10-12 hours on this trip, though I tend to get there well before Conrad, who likes to sleep in a bit. My/our morning ritual in our second city.

By gosh, are those coffees good.

balcony dinner (Vancouver)

2011-06-05T10:59:00.014-05:00

As I sit here watching Roger and Rafa play, it's a good opportunity to catch up on some blogging. Vancouver isn't that far behind us, and there are a few posts I'd like to write in the next few days. And first up? Cooking, of course!

Brian left us earlier this spring, heading from Chicago and the Smelts to Vancouver. A big loss to us, though a great gain for Giuseppe, who was already living up in Vancouver. At least we can invite him over for dinner when we're in town.

Conrad and I had a bunch of running around to do up in Vancouver on Sunday, though given the slow pace of our stroll to Granville Island (a blog posting in itself for another time), running around doesn't accurate describe our day. Dinner prep, though, was confined to a narrow window after our meeting with our wedding planner. No worries - we'd purchased smoked sablefish and cheese to snack on, we had wine chilling, and we had a pie from the Market for dessert.

Spot prawns are in season, and I couldn't resist. Spring in BC, an emphasis on local products. Conrad set up the balcony for us to sit out there as long as possible, and I set to work on a wild mushroom risotto with fiddleheads. The prawns needed only light cooking right before serving. Brian came by, we sat with wine and snacks, catching up and enjoying the fine weather. A bottle of a Seresin Sauvignon Blanc to start with, then on to a Joie Noble Blend with dinner.

Dinner was nice. The risotto wasn't as creamy as I'd like, and it ended up seeming a bit too salty against the sweetness of the prawns, though it did introduce Brian to fiddleheads. But ah, the prawns. Yes, a bit of a mess to get into (and we all decided against sucking out the heads), but cooked nicely, and delightfully tasty. Also, they look kind of cool on the plate!

We moved on to a BC Merlot and dessert, and Giuseppe was able to join us for a nightcap (and egg balls that Conrad picked up from the Night Market on a quick mission in search of dark chocolate)(though given the size of the martinis Marie was pouring for Giuseppe and Brian, I am glad I stuck with sparkling water as my nightcap). Two good friends originally from Chicago now very much part of our Vancouver life, and a meal to share. A fine Sunday evening indeed.

easy dinner

2011-06-02T21:18:00.004-05:00

I feel like I'm a real throwback tonight, waaaaay back to the 80s or 90s when fruit salsas with proteins were the rage. We did that often at the restaurant, I can recall. And yet, there's something about it in warmer weather that is really appropriate.

I picked up a bunch of mangoes on the way home tonight, some fish, some other things. The mangoes have been good (and well-priced and plentiful) this season, I'm happy to say. I opted for some harder ones to give me time to figure out what I want to do with them all, but one was ripe enough (though still a bit hard and crispy, still somewhat tart) for me to cut into pieces, mix with red onion and pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper, and lime juice and call it all a salsa. It had zip to it, and if the knife skills were terribly imprecise, it still tasted fine. Some acid to cut against the sockeye and the sweetness of the corn I cooked.

We had this simple dinner in the kitchen - too cool outside to sit, though we hope to have balcony dinners soon! Just a nice, easy dinner together, a good way to return from vacation.

Friday dinner, Campagnolo

2011-05-29T08:55:00.011-05:00

It's a habit that we've nurtured over many years of dining at Yoshi's: we like eating at restaurant bars. Is it the high stools and counter? Is it the chance to have more casual interaction with the bar staff? I don't know, really. I just know that if we get the option, we often take it. And so it was Friday night at Campagnolo.

Busy place - we're glad to see it so packed if it's a sign that the neighbourhood will continue to develop nicely. When we arrived, we asked to sit at the bar. The backroom where the bar is had a table for four available, but not enough seats for us at the bar itself. Ah well, the table it was. And so we sat with menus and water a handful of minutes, and wouldn't you know it? The bar freed up! We moved quickly (I think the waiter was a little miffed, and I felt badly a moment or two), and soon Marie, Conrad, and I were parked with a bottle of red wine and an order of smaller plates submitted.

I like Campagnolo a lot. It's funny - we almost never go out for Italian food in Chicago or elsewhere. I'm not really sure why. But we like our little Vancouver neighbourhood place in all of its minimalism. In fact, we'll have our rehearsal dinner there this autumn, and I'm excited for that. In the meantime, though, here's a look at what we had:

Marinated Olives (cerignola, mantequilla, peppadew)
Crispy Ceci (chickpeas, chilies, mint, citrus)
Spring Vegetable Salad (crispy bread, bagna cauda)
Bruschetta (trumpet mushrooms,buffalo mozzarella, olive oil)

Conrad and Marie split the Margherita pizza (fior di latte mozzarella, tomato, basil) with prosciutto added while I enjoyed a plate of ravioli (wild nettles, soffrito, spot prawn butter). The butter was an especially sweet and delicious touch.

No dessert, we were well-enough fed (and two bottles of wine meant we were well-enough beveraged, too!). By the time we left, the bar was even more packed, and our spots were being eyed hungrily...

week without Conrad

2011-05-28T13:16:00.013-05:00

Hmmmm... maybe that's a little melodramatic. It wasn't a FULL week, though given his time out of town the week before this past one, it all added up to feel like so much more than a week.

Let me be kind of honest here and allow some light in on the relationship that Conrad and I have. We're together a lot. We don't need to talk much - I learned a long time ago that Conrad is a person who appreciates silences, and while I am a person who naturally wants to fill silences, I've come to enjoy the value of being quiet together. Even now, sitting in our favourite Vancouver coffee shop, I'm blogging and Flickring and Facebooking and e-mailing, and he's reading. We're close by each other, but we haven't said anything in some minutes. And really, it's very comfortable. When we're apart - usually his work, sometimes mine - it's odd to us. We have only phone conversations to share, and the warm silences we share just don't quite work.

So yes, I'm overly dramatic about his absences, and I miss him a lot. And, happily, I have good people in my life who kept me good company this past week. A rundown so that I can properly thank them:

Scot invited me to a beer and cheese pairing dinner at Kendall College on Monday, and along with his friend Larissa (I hope I have that right), our teammate and friend George came along while his wife was out of town. The College has a very nice culinary school dining room, and it's been far too long since last I had been there. A rare (this year, at last) , warm spring evening, good company, and some tasty food. I especially liked the tart apple salad. I still wonder what made the "sexy" gingerbread sexy.

Wednesday lunch I enjoyed the company of my former officemate, Eric, in town on research leave. We ended up at a Brazilian place on Taylor, and I was quite impressed by the bowl of moqueca - fish and shrimp in a coconut broth. A side of rice, and I was well-nourished. Plus, great to see Eric while he was in town!

Fred joined me at the bar at Yoshi's for half-price bottle night on Wednesday. A newer teammate, he's a sweet and funny guy, and I was delighted to learn that we both share a real interest in tennis. Bonus points for enabling my sweet tooth by agreeing share dessert with me.

Thursday (Conrad got in much much later that night), I ventured far south to Hyde Park to Chuck's place. Chuck - and his adorable dog Rex - were hosting a small gathering to raise funds for a literacy center.

I have no photos of the food, but be assured that the Indian buffet Chuck had had catered was tasty AND substantial.

I missed Conrad a lot while he was gone, I won't lie. I was glad, however, for people who kept me company and who ensured I did not go hungry. As if there's ever any fear of that last possibility.

weekend baking

2011-05-22T20:12:00.005-05:00

We've not been blessed with the most springlike of springs in Chicago this year. Rather, one might accuse spring 2011 of being altogether wintry at times. Cold, wet, miserable.

This weekend, however, the sun came out, temperatures, rose, and the air conditioning for our building is still not yet switched on. And so I, of course - wise creature that I am - turn to baking.

I'm still rusty at it, I haven't done enough of it lately, and I'm genuinely not being as consistent with it as I'd like. I also really have to wonder about the oven here - I don't think it bakes very evenly at all, and over time, that bothers me more and more. I'll soldier on for now, of course, and put aside the less-than-pretty efforts for eating at home or discreetly tossing away.

Yesterday morning I was up quite early, a fitful night of sleep behind me and a swim practice ahead. Scones for Smelts was the plan. One batch had golden raisins, candied ginger nibs, and walnuts. The other featured dried cherries (my obsession for a year now) and bittersweet chocolate. I gave extras to Heidi as advance thanks for timing me this coming Tuesday and distributed most of the rest to teammates. I ate one with a decaf latte after practice and saved one for Conrad's coffee today.

There was a team function today I'd intended to go to, but in view of Conrad's work travel last week and then today, I realized I wanted the time at home with him. He had packing to do, though, so I turned back to the kitchen and made two lemon loaves for the team to take with them. Simple quickbread cakes, scented with lemon zest and glazed with a lemon juice and sugar syrup. It was a favourite of mine when I was a kid, and Mum gave me the recipe some years back. I need to make it for Conrad's office one day.

After that I looked at some new biscotti recipes and settled on an almond crunch recipe. These were mostly to go with Conrad to the LA office. An easy enough recipe, but I think I would want the crunch to be less burnt sugar and more sweet/salty toffee or praline. I may swap out that part if I can find a good candy recipe. Still, the cookies looked nice enough, so that was good.

After Conrad left, I decided to do a bit more baking for friends. No photos from that effort - I simply forgot. I did get some chocolate chip cookies in the mail to a couple of people, though. I don't often make chocolate chip, I confess, and this was a new recipe as well. That sounds like an excuse somehow, right? I think they're fine, the cookies, but I might go to other recipes in the future.

The last batch of cookies are not yet complete. Chocolate ginger cookies a friend requested, and the dough needs a good chilling. Tuesday night I'll roll the dough and bake them up. I think that should be fine.

I've eaten a bunch of cookie dough, and we'll call that dessert. A bit more baking to come this week, and with forecasted cooler days and nights again, that should be fine.

halibut, Wednesday night

2011-05-20T11:51:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night I pulled a recipe, dimly recalled, from the dusty recesses of my mind. Not quite remembered right, I later realized, but it was tasty enough.

I had made a black bean stew on Sunday as a quick vegetarian dinner for after swim practice on Monday, and the leftovers were still haunting our fridge. Some of these reheated became the sauce and side for the plate. One part easily done.

The recipe I was trying to recall involved a tortilla crust for frying fish. I had it in my mind as tortilla chips, however, and the crumb was a bit drier going on for that. Not a bad swap out, mind you. A bunch of store-bought chips (Frontera brand, of course!), some chopped garlic, chopped cilantro, and salt all in a food processor, and in short time I had a crumb coating. Salty, garlicky, savoury, an elusive corn flavour underpinning it all.

I dredged two pieces of halibut in flour then milk, then pressed on the crumbs. These when into a pan with oil heated already for a nice browning on each side. I put a lid on part of the time, too, so that the steaming action could better cook the fish itself. It all turned out cooked through but fork tender.

I set out a simple romaine salad with it, and Conrad and I opened a bottle of a Pinot Noir. In the midst of two weeks wherein he will be gone a lot with work travel, we grabbed ourselves a tasty little meal midweek and enjoyed each other's company immensely.

two recent desserts

2011-05-19T19:24:00.005-05:00

Another evening at home alone, and with the fog rolling in and an early dinner in my belly, I've decided to be all cozy and catch up on blogging. A glass of wine, some photos from recent dining, and here I go!

If I may, let me revisit the fun weekend with Allison - a week now since she arrived. We picked her up at Midway, and by the end of the evening, we three were over at Hearty for a late bite. Conrad and Allison were ambivalent about dessert, but the table behind us on the patio (ah, patio dining - it's been so cold since then) recommended an item, and I decided we should all share it. Very worth it, I have to say: a Nutella pop tart with salted caramel ice cream. Go on, ask Conrad and Allison how much they declined and how birdlike they picked at it sparingly. As if!

That was a delicious treat, undeniably. Better still was the dessert the next day. Allison and I went to Terzo Piano at the Art Institute for lunch. She opted for the little lunch special while I had the papparedelle with turkey confit. The room filled up, we moved on from wine to coffee (decaf for me), and I ordered dessert.

Every time I go to Terzo Piano, I find that every dessert has at least one super-intriguing or appealing ingredient. Same thing this time. Allison guessed my choice on the second try: ricotta and green pea fritters with carrot caramel and orange sorbet. Peas? Interesting. And think about it: they are sweet. The peas were in the filling to the fritters, and they really were fresh and sweet and fine. The caramel? Lovely. The sorbet? A bright, tart-sweet, fruity counterpoint. Another winner.

After a month of cleanse, it was a good start to an anti-cleanse weekend. Mmmmm... desserts...

10 states

2011-05-15T09:15:00.011-05:00

A short post to congratulate Allison who, yesterday, reached double digits in the number of US states she has visited. Despite miserable weather on the drive to and from, we made it up to Milwaukee for a quick visit that included a stop at a coffee shop in the Third Ward
(Conrad and I have liked the soups there in the past, but the decaf latte was truly awful), a bit of a drive along the lake and past some fine old homes, and a stop to browse and buy at the Spice House.

I love the Spice House. On my first visit to Milwaukee - waaaaay back in 1995, before there was any hint of an idea that I would live in the US - I was taken there and went to town on bringing things back for fun at home and at the restaurant. Allison picked up a couple of things, and I somehow restrained myself, buying only some vanilla and saffron and true cinnamon sticks and a few other things. But ah, to smell that truffle salt or see a big jar of mace blades. Fun stuff.

Anyway, it was about Allison, taking her to the outlets at Pleasant Prairie (not a successful jaunt for the most part), and adding that tenth state to her list. Congratulations to my best woman, and may her future additions have better weather in store for her!

salmon, midweek

2011-05-14T20:14:00.000-05:00

I haven't been cooking too many great dishes lately. It feels like I've made dinner and nothing more. It's food, it's nourishing, it's not especially noteworthy or even pretty enough to be photographed. This past Wednesday, however, I took a little time and made a little effort, and the result was a fairly decent little meal for us.
Three components:

Salmon, coated with a bit of oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme. I seared it to a nice medium.
Corn and leek puree, made with vegetable broth and no dairy, sieved to a better smoothness.
Fava bean and tomato salad, tossed with a simple garlic and sherry vinegar dressing and mixed with some diced red pepper and sliced shallot.

Plated, it looked attractive enough, and I thought the meatiness of the fish, the sweetness of the puree, and the sharpness of the salad made for a balanced plate. A good meal, and one worth photographing at last.

"spring"

2011-05-14T11:04:00.004-05:00

I think many of my Chicago friends (all of them, more likely) will be displeased with this weather. I may not join them in that chorus. Look at me: I'm a pale and pasty guy from far north of here. Temperatures in the 80s, like the ones we've had this week, are not ones I enjoy, not in May. July? Fine. At least at that time of year the AC is switched on in our building.

I set out for a dental appointment yesterday in a lightweight H&M shirt (fun shopping with Martin in Philadelphia!), sticking to the east side of the street for shade so as not to burn. When I came out of my appointment later that morning, it was brisk out. By the time I got downtown to the Art Institute to meet Allison for lunch, fog or low cloud was obscuring the taller buildings.

Our shopping expedition turned into a search for the extra layer we'd neglected to bring along. H&M to the rescue, at least for me!

A sweater day today, and we'll be indoors or in a car much of the day. Were we not entertaining a guest this weekend, though, I suspect I'd spend much of today standing under a deliciously warm shower. And yet for all that, I am glad for this weather. Until the AC gets turned on, it means cool nights of good sleep. 80 degrees? Save it for a few more weeks from now, please!

guilty pleasures

2011-05-11T19:54:00.001-05:00

It invariably takes a trip out of town to bring out some of my guiltiest eating habits.

(We won't discuss the contents of the special drawer in the living room and all of their teeth-rotting capabilities.)

Conrad and I were up in the UP this past weekend, enjoying time with his family. And really, we didn't eat badly. Well, not too badly. I had a lovely piece of roast walleye on Saturday night, for example, and my poached eggs on Sunday morning were a perfect, simple breakfast.

On the other hand, I steered us to pasties for lunch on Saturday and willingly caved in to the joys of Old Dutch.

And then there were the onion rings at Culver's on the way home on Sunday. That salad? Not mine. Nope, not at all.

Bad Peter, bad. I foresee many days of diet soda and cigarettes ahead...

day at The Getty

2011-05-04T19:36:00.000-05:00

A spring Saturday in Los Angeles, a weekend with Conrad. We'd been looking forward to this, and our big plan (other than shopping at the RVCA store) was getting to The Getty Museum. After breakfast in Santa Monica, we did.

Ever been there? A gorgeous museum campus. Travertine marble all over, fossils in the walls, gardens, interesting collections, a terrific little gift shop, a mediocre lunch.

But let's hold off on that last one. Let's take that list in order.

Travertine. I'd never heard of it until I first visited the museum in 2005. Now, it seems, I spot its creamy spongy texture in many places and gravitate toward it. Much of The Getty is clad in the marble, and one of the fun things about it is just wandering the campus and spotting the fossils in the walls.
It might be poetic to suggest that the campus gleams like a castle on a hilltop, all creamy white, and if I lived in Bel Air and had a view, I might think so. We actually spent more time admiring the buildings and grounds than the collections.

The gardens. In spring bloom, perhaps not at their peak. Lovely, though. Conrad and I opted for an hour-long garden tour (and the accompanying sunburn) not long after we arrived at the museum. The most interesting things, I think, were the succulents,

but we enjoyed the whole tour.

We actually didn't see many of the collections. I was keen to see an exhibit on illuminated manuscripts, so we toured that. We also wandered through some of the European paintings, though we found ourselves distracted, thinking how very much we wanted to get back outside.

Gift shop! We visited twice: once to scope it out, the second time to shop. No photos, but a couple of people will find items from The Getty in their Christmas parcels.

And then there was lunch. Oh dear. You know, I generally do not criticize restaurants on the blog if I've had a bad experience, and I don't mean to rag on the dining room at The Getty too much. It was a handsome room, very bright. I thought that the menu looked good (though there was little that fit my cleanse). Our salads were tasty. Conrad's crab cakes looked really tasty. So, there were positives. Even the negative looked attractive when it was plated - that's a nice photo there.

The menu promised an English pea risotto with wild mushrooms, faro, and pea shoots. There was faro, there were pea shoots. Was it a risotto? No, not really - it was grains and stuff in a bowl with a thin broth at the bottom, not at all creamy from the rice starch. Once again, alas, I re-learned the lesson: if a restaurant calls them "wild" mushrooms without specifying what type they are, they probably aren't wild. No, I don't consider cremini or portabello mushrooms wild. They're button mushrooms deep down. What I received? Unabashedly button mushrooms. Lots of them. Easily a half cup or more left on the plate - pieces too large for me to just swallow without having to chew or taste. Worse still, there was a mighty long gap between the salads and the entree I disliked so. I will credit the restaurant for removing it from our bill, but I would be reluctant to ever go dine there again.

It did take us a handful of minutes or more after lunch to re-find the enjoyment in our visit to The Getty. Happily, we did. In all we spent some five or so hours there, and I wish we'd spent more.

More Getty photos in the set on Flickr.

yes, yes... LA stuff still to come

2011-05-04T12:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know: I was in LA with Conrad two weekends ago and really haven't blogged a thing about that trip. I will, I swear. Lots of excuses, and I have at least put up other blog posts. So let me keep you all (three of you? four? seven?) hanging a little longer - the thrill of the election Monday night and the end of the cleanse have me wrung out emotionally.

No, not true, but I'm feeling too lazy to blog about it all tonight (and this will go up during the day Wednesday). How about a photo for now and a promise of more to come?

(if only the good people at Sears knew of my catalogue modeling potential!)

cleanse, day 30

2011-05-03T20:32:00.004-05:00

Thirty days. Thirty days without consciously consuming caffeine, red meat or poultry, sugar (or honey or agave or maple syrup or the like), refined flour, dairy, or alcohol.

A few days in and I thought to myself how very daunting it would be. A week or more in, and I was expressing dismay with the beaniness of it all. At every meal shared with friends, I apologized profusely for being such a nuisance, such a bore. Still, I stuck with it. And now, tomorrow morning after I do my gym and swim, I will be free to ease back into a less-restricted diet. Frankly, I have reservations about how much I want to reintroduce. And given that Conrad is out of town for work, I may just stick close to the cleanse diet a day or two more.

You know, I've cooked many things, many meals in my life. I have never, so far as my sieve-y memory can recall, cooked tofu. Heck, I generally avoided eating it until Medgar offered me crispy fried squares of it when we lived in Montreal. I rather like it now, though as with many things, it also depends. Tonight? I liked it.

I started out by sauteing sliced onion and shallot with chopped garlic and ginger in a bit of vegetable oil. Along with the vegetables I cooked some green curry paste to remove the rawness. After the vegetables had softened, I added a can of light coconut milk, then let that simmer to develop the flavour. I can think of other things I would have added if I had them on hand, but some salt was all the seasoning I gave it.

I had pressed the tofu for about an hour to remove excess moisture, then I cut it into rectangular pieces, frying each a bit to lend some colour and bit of a crust to each piece. I added these to the green curry, then added in asparagus I'd cut up. Plump pieces - it's the season (though I'm not as mad for asparagus as I have been in past years). When the asparagus was just tender, I added a chopped tomato, stirred it to heat the tomato, then served it around a mound of basmati rice.

This, happily, was an occasion when my dinner pleased me, the harsh critic of my own cooking.

Also happily: leftovers!

A month of interesting dining and cooking ends, but the habits won't, not entirely. And by gosh, I think I may cook with tofu once again some day.

cleanse, day 26

2011-04-30T07:51:00.005-05:00

Oh so close to the end of this self-imposed diet, and funnily enough, I don't crave things. Oh, I wouldn't mind being able to have a sweet treat, and I think a glass of wine would be good, definitely. On the other hand, I doubt that, come Wednesday, I'll settle down to a big piece of red meat topped with cheese and served with a big wedge of cake for dessert and a martini to wash it all down.

Oh, wait, maybe I should give that a try...

Yesterday was a simple meal as usual, a one pan dish. Sort of a black bean chili, but I decided on a milder approach. I sauteed some cumin, oregano, salt, and chipotle powder to take some of the rawness out of the spices, then added chopped onion and carrot. Once I'd sweated that a little, I added two cans of black beans (mostly drained of their liquid), stirred, then added in some leftover roasted tomatillo sauce from the night before when I'd had our neighbour Jeff up for dinner. After letting this simmer a while, I added some chopped yellow squash and corn cut from a cob. Some water to thin it, some salt to season it, and I let it simmer until the vegetables were tender.

And then Conrad and I went for a walk to enjoy a fine (and finally!) spring late afternoon.

Once home, I set to work setting up dinner. Bowls heated. A simple salad of arugula tossed together with a dressing of olive oil, gently browned garlic, salt, and sherry vinegar. I chopped an avocado up for garnish on the stew, and we were soon eating. Best of all? Leftovers that will be great for lunch on Monday!

cleanse, day 24

2011-04-27T20:58:00.004-05:00

Wow, am I really embarking on my last week of this? Can I lose another pound or two? Can I move from this effort into a sustained, healthier way of eating? So many questions.

One thing is clear: the cleanse has not affected how fundamentally lazy I can be when it comes to preparing meals for myself. Salad tonight. Sorry: "salad".

I do this often when Conrad isn't home (he won't be back until tomorrow night, and he has more work travel next week). Usually eggs aren't involved, but often smoked salmon or some other similar protein is. Just so long as I don't need to cook, or barely cook anything. I've been known to make a big salad in a stainless steel bowl and just sit, eating out of that same bowl. Yes, I am bad.

A few veggies and the eggs tonight, drizzled with a little truffle oil (yes, mock me for that - it was a gift, and it tastes good!), seasoned with salt and pepper. Nothing too major. Besides, I'm still reeling from last night's abysmal effort at cookies (I salvaged some of the second type, but I'm not happy with them).

Last week of the cleanse, then. I'm saving the tofu for the end meal. ;-)

I am five

2011-04-24T21:03:00.004-05:00

Happy birthday to blog!

A short post, but one I was loathe not to write even if I'm only just in the door from a weekend in LA (and yes, I intend to blog that trip in days ahead). I had the realization earlier this month that I'd been at this blog since 2006, and in looking back, I saw that the anniversary was fast approaching. My first entry was April 24 (or did I misremember what I'd looked up? Ah well, no matter if I did!), and five years later and almost 1000 posts in, I'm still at it. Irregularly at times, but I'm still here, and so is the blog.

Who reads it? I've never really known too well, and it's never been a concern. Life has unrolled in ways unexpected and in many ways quite nicely. Perhaps in 2016 I can report the same.

More to come on LA and such. For now, a quick comparison of me from about the time I started the blog to what I am today (well, yesterday)....

Josh reads

2011-04-19T12:38:00.000-05:00

Look, it's a little after the fact, I know. I tried to prod some interest in hearing a young, gay author speaking about his latest book. Ah well. Maybe next time. Just the same, if you are in the mood for a GLBT mystery (or a series of them), check out Josh's books, please. He did a terrific job of reading and speaking at Gerber Hart on Sunday afternoon. Here's hoping he comes back.

I especially hope that so I can give him a better batch of cookies - sorry Josh. At least I did manage to feed you a not-awful meal on Friday!

Again, check out his books, and when he comes back this way, go give him a listen.

cleanse, day 14

2011-04-18T20:13:00.004-05:00

Sitting here on Monday evening, writing this halfway through this self-imposed cleanse, I realize that the toughest part of this process is not relinquishing the many foods (and wine) I love. No, the toughest part is the burden I feel it places on others to accommodate me, indulge me, humour me, enjoy a meal with me.

Frank invited us to dinner yesterday, and it took a lot of negotiation to set up. Poor Frank. I am sure he thought he could share a good chicken pie with us as he has before. No, no. I had to make it tricky. Ultimately we agreed that he would provide a salad and some berries for dessert (with ice cream for Conrad) and even some cold poached salmon to go on the salad in case he and Conrad wanted something more. Yes, I am eating fish, but I opted not to last night. Instead, I brought along a main course for all of us - they'd partake as they saw fit.

I actually spent much of a sunny and cold Sunday in the kitchen. I'd downloaded the most recent Harry Potter film and set to work on cookies for Josh (more on that in another post - Josh, that is, not the cookies, which were NOT my best batch ever) and dinner for me. I'd had some barley with black cod the night before at Sola, and that made me think to make a barley risotto and then fashion it into cakes for frying.

I infused vegetable broth with dried morel and porcini mushrooms and kept that on a low heat, close at hand. The barley I sauteed some with a bit of shallot in olive oil, then began stirring in the broth. At the end of the process, when the barley was tender but had bite and was in its own thick, starchy sauce, I added in diced trumpet mushrooms and more shallots that I'd sauteed and seasoned together.

Now then, people who know me well will know that I have a rule of mushrooms: the more expensive the mushroom, the better it tastes. Button mushrooms revolt me. Few other foods do. The mushroom broth and trumpet mushrooms yesterday? Added depth and meatiness to the barley. Yum!

I let the barley chill and firm up, then stirred in some coarse grain cornmeal to help bind it. I coated the cakes in more cornmeal, then sauteed them in olive oil. I think flour (not permitted on the cleanse, at least not white flour) and egg may have helped bind them more, but I wasn't displeased with the result.

I debated a sauce, but still really needed a protein. I had also considered adding fava beans to the risotto (none available at Whole Foods) or peas, but settled on a pea puree to act as a sauce and protein both. That was easily prepared, and two parts were done. The last bit, some fat asparagus spears, I brought to Frank's, and he cooked them for all of us. He cooks his more than I usually cook mine, to be honest, but I still like asparagus in any case.

Puree down on the plate first, the cakes atop, the asparagus atop/between. I thought it was pretty satisfying.

Best of all? leftovers for a convenient dinner tonight. I popped two cakes on some puree in the toaster oven to reheat gently and partnered them with some broccoli. In all likelihood, tomorrow dinner will be the same!

cleanse, day 11

2011-04-16T07:54:00.003-05:00

I am sure that there is little that a Moroccan would recognize or consider authentic about this one-dish meal, but the inspiration for it does come from that corner of the world somewhat. Not that I've ever been to Morocco - ah, to have gone to World Masters there in 1998... - but it does draw on the recollection of a vegetarian couscous I ate in London in 1994 and, more directly, on a recent browse through a Paula Wolfert cookbook. Our meal was a stew of chickpeas, cauliflower, carrots, and rutabaga with Moroccan spices, almonds, and apricots.

I was working at home Thursday, so after lunch I was able to get this cooking fairly easily and let it gently simmer a good while until the vegetables were tender. Here's the outline of the dish:

I sauteed a mix of paprika, true cinnamon stick, saffron, cumin, salt, and pepper to remove some of the rawness of the spices. To this I added diced white onion, then some slivered almonds and sliced unsulphured dried apricot. Next came the chickpeas and large chunks of cauliflower, carrot, and rutabaga. These were coated in the spice mix, then I added a can of diced tomato and some water. I brought the mix to a low boil then reduced to a low simmer, covered, and ignored for a while. Every do often I'd come back and stir and bit, but that was about it. The sauce picked up real sweetness from the apricots, so close to serving, I adjusted the seasoning with salt and pepper. The crowning touch was a bit of fresh cilantro chopped up and sprinkled on top of the bowls of stew.

It made for good leftovers for lunch on Friday, and there's enough left for one more lunch this weekend some time.

a last word about Baltimore

2011-04-13T20:36:00.000-05:00

Was it really a week and a half ago that I was in Baltimore? Philadelphia seems so long ago. At least I have now had a glimpse of Delaware, thanks to the MegaBus trip down to Maryland.

I wish I had taken photos at Charleston, but it did make for a good meal not having to pause everyone while I snapped. Alas, without photos, I shan't blog the meal. Just know that it ranks among the best meals I've ever had, and I hope to get Conrad there one day - with or without our Baltimorean friends. And thanks again to Michael for the very generous treat of dinner there.

I can't say much good about the brunch food the next day, but I can say that it was a treat to see Dale - at long last - in Baltimore. And an additional treat to see Michael. Good company, very much so.

Let me wrap up that visit by saying that brief as it was, it was good, special, and meaningful. Any chance I get to see my best friend, Todd,

is welcome - we've had conference time together in San Diego and, in June, we'll have New Orleans. It's so much better, though, to have no programs or committee meetings to attend, to just be able to hang out. What did we do that was so great? Watched NCAA basketball together, walked the dogs, went on a coffee run, rummaged through the clothes in his closet, strolled a bit in the Inner Harbor. And really, aren't those the sweet little building blocks of friendship?

I'll remember a short spring visit to Baltimore for a lot of reasons, and smile when I do.

bridezilla

2011-04-13T12:31:00.000-05:00

One thing I especially love about Conrad's office (and they know I love them by the baked treats I send in to work with him) is the happy, gently-teasing camaraderie. It's a good place to visit.

Apparently it's a tradition in his office for whoever has a wedding coming up to get the honour of hosting Bridezilla. And now it's Conrad's turn.

I won't comment on whether or not he's a bride (or, rather, groom) zilla. I do know that people generally assume that I am. Jump to your own conclusions. Just know that I don't have a similar guest sitting in my office at the Library.

;-)

cleanse, day 9

2011-04-12T20:18:00.003-05:00

It may not come as a surprise to people, but I spend a lot of time thinking about food. There was I, swimming a good 3.5 miles this morning, and keeping me company were thoughts of what to make for dinner. Throughout the day I thought of it from time to time, and on the bus ride home, I was still undecided. All I knew was I wanted to use what I had in the fridge, not buy more stuff.

Well, mission accomplished. A few disparate ideas pulled together, and I ended up serving us a fairly simple meal of four things that worked well together, or so I thought.

I got home and set to work. A can of cannelini beans, opened and drained. Four large garlic cloves, skins on, charred on each side in a hot, dry pan. Rosemary chopped. Put it all in a food processor, and a smooth puree was ready to anchor the plate.

I had some nice little grape tomatoes, so I tossed them with a little olive oil and salt, put them in a pie dish, and let them rest a bit in the toaster oven. Once they'd hit a certain point, I turned down the heat a good bit so as not to char them.

Half a cauliflower and a shallot went into a pan with some olive oil, salt, and pepper to caramelize lightly.

I washed a bunch of red chard, de-stemmed it, and tore it into large pieces. Close to time for plating, I put the still-wet chard into a hot pan and covered it with the lid to steam to tenderness.

I think the flavours worked well together. I also liked the variety on the plate and that I didn't resort to a curry or some vaguely East Asian stir-fry. We ate, pleasurably, and watched an episode of Coupling. When the dinner was done, I had a nice ripe mango for us to share. And so the cleanse continues....