muffins

Gosh, when was the last time I made muffins? Surely since the days of living in Halifax, making these leaden little round blueberry things that I ate but shared with no one. The word "leaden" should tell you why I don't make them often: more often than not (overmixing?), they turn out to be dense little balls of cooked batter with stuff in them.

Given rhubarb in the fridge, though, and also given that I'm alone until Thursday, necessitating making something easily stored or taken into work, muffins it was. A quick search online and Bob's your uncle: rhubarb buttermilk muffins.

Long time readers (all two of you) of the blog will be amused that buttermilk continues to be a key ingredient in my baking. Ah well. I also had bananas to use, but the banana bread I made (also using buttermilk) was rather less photogenic. Ah well.

The muffins have a sweet topping, but overall are less sweet than I expected from the quantity of brown sugar in the batter. The rhubarb adds a good sour note, and walnuts add a bit of wholesomeness to the mix. Not too bad a first time effort. A recipe to keep a hold of and play with in the future.

Indian Garden

You know those little twenty-questions quizzes that get forwarded around on e-mail? Find out about your friends, where they've been, have they ever toilet-papered a car, what was the name of their first dog, do they like rainstorms or snow falling? That sort of thing that we're all guilty of and that suck a little bit of the life out of our workdays every do often. You know what I mean?

I'm kind of a sucker for them, sorry. Invariably there are food/beverage questions, and a common one simply asks for favourite food. I never know whether that means a single item, a recipe, a style of cuisine. I usually respond, truthfully, that Mexican is tops for me. Indian, though, is close behind that.

Darth and Heidi (above) bookended my work week with Darth sharing sushi with us on Monday and Heidi in town last night. I met her and a couple of her friends up on Devon for dinner, and though (don't snicker, FXK) I was having a great day with data analysis for some research and kind of wanted to hole up at home and plug away at it, I hopped the Red Line north to Loyola


and caught a bus west from there.

Heidi always likes Indian Garden, they have her favourite dish. Me, I'm willing to give any place a go. I'd only been up to Devon once, dining at Hema's Kitchen with CG and Conrad after catching a movie in Evanston. I also tried Raj Darbar, in Lincoln Park, years ago.

Now here's the deal: I've never been hugely impressed with Indian food in Chicago despite such a large, vibrant strip of restaurants on Devon. Hema's Kitchen was good, but not memorable. Raj Darbar is easy to get to but wasn't worth me going back. Anyone back home reading this will understand: when you come from a place that has a large Indian population, and you can enjoy good food in people's homes, restaurants don't measure up well. I loved Haryana's when I lived in my hometown, and ViJ's has taken Indian to new heights in my view. Places like Indian Garden have a lot to live up to.

So, let's start with the really good: Heidi and her friends. It was a fun few hours with them. I'd met Alexis before, and Susan was great to get to know. Darth and Heidi live not too far away in Michigan, but we need to get over there and see them at little more frequently than we make time for. It's always terrific seeing them.

The food. Well, hmmm. One interesting dish and a few ordinary ones. I neglected to whip out the camera when the pakoras came, but they weren't the star of the meal anyway. As for mains, we had Tandoor chicken tikkathat had good flavour but was fairly dry. I did like to take the chunks and swirl them in some of the other sauces. Next up, a reliable standby, sag paneer.It was fine, I thought. My selection, the murg badami, sounded really good.I'd never seen it on a menu before, and the description of boneless chicken cooked in a rich almond flavoured sauce was intriguing. I fear, though, that it was a bit subtle, perhaps. Bland, maybe. The chicken wasn't as tender as I would have expected, and it seemed as if it had been cooked separate from the sauce as the meat didn't carry any particular flavour of almond. It's telling that the two chicken dishes were the ones we didn't finish.

Heidi's old favourite proved the crowd pleaser. The photo isn't great, and, in fact, it isn't the most appealing looking dish. It was another I'd never seen on a menu before, I don't think: navratan kormamixed vegetables in a gravy of cashew nuts and fruit. It was good. Different. Just sweet enough without being too sweet. Looked like canned pea soup but tasted better than anything else we had. Great choice Heidi!

Rice, raita, and naan (garlic naan here)accompanied the meal.

I feel like I'm pissing on Heidi's memories of all her good times with her friends at this restaurant. It wasn't bad, by any stretch. The navratan korma was a terrific surprise, and I very much enjoyed seeing Heidi and her friends. Plus, did I mention how inexpensive it was? All in all, though, it left me wondering what other restaurants on Devon to try.

quick, simple Easter dinner

Easter dinner, perhaps predictably, was at Yoshi's. You know, I did a decent amount of cooking/food prep this weekend: kick ass ribs on Friday night, a good dinner for Frank last night, casual brunch at Ray Ray's earlier today. Why not go for ease, comfort, familiarity, and enjoyment tonight. I was in the mood for fish, and something not too rich. I figured Yoshi could provide quite well.

No bonnets or finery for us, though Conrad looked handsome as always.We were the only ones at the bar, though it was an especially early dinner for us. I dream of lights out at 9:30ish tonight, so getting there not long after 6 tonight was ideal.

We kept it simple, each of us having fish. Conrad greatly liked his blackened tuna, and the bit I tasted had an appealingly smoky flavour.

I had the bento-style dinner of sea bass. The sides in the little boxes are half the fun, and I rather like the little mushroom and lotus root salad above all. The fish was fine, and the garnish of shiso was a subtle, sweet, basil-y, anise-y touch.

Good food aside, it's just nice to see everyone, like Yoshi, Nobuko, Dennis, Fernanadoand the others. They were worked to the bone with a crazy Easter brunch rush. We're not sorry we missed that.

Capping the night, a little serving of fresh raspberries. Not pictured was the little ramekin of chocolate sauce. Conrad is, frankly, a sucker for the two of them, and I don't at all mind helping him with them either.

Soon time for bed, I think....

Easter brunch

Yes, what better way to celebrate this most Christian of days than by going over to have a casual brunch at the home of a Jewish friend, Rachel. Maybe we should have kicked back with a DVD of Jewison's version of Jesus Christ Superstar just to stir the pot more.

(oooo, I think I'll switch to listening to that soundtrack on my iTunes!)

We hadn't seen Rachel's new place since she moved in some weeks back, so after taking care of various housework and errands in the morning, I packed up a bag of foodstuffs and we walked down to visit her. A completely enjoyable time spent with her, with two main things to comment on:

1. Great place she bought. Very bright, and as high up as it is, she has stunning views. We eagerly pointed out the various landmarks to each other.Boystown in general,Wrigley Field a little ways off,the few remaining fine single-family homes in the area,the north end of Belmont Harbor.It's sure to be even more gorgeous in the summer. I hope we can kick back with some food and drink and maybe a board game and just enjoy the long summer evening light and views.

2. Nice little brunch. I foraged in the fridge here at home for leftovers and simple items. A couple of cheeses, some smoked salmon, salad, nuts, flatbread, olives, capers, chocolates.
I also put out some dried apricot scones and leftover rhubarb upside down cake. We were all nap-ready by the end of the meal.

It's been a fine, low-key weekend of social activities with friends. Nothing too involved, happily. I don't think either Conrad or I felt totally rested from last weekend. And with such gorgeous weather, we're feeling ever so relaxed and content.

bouillabaisse and rhubarb cake

I'm kind of knackered here, so this will hardly be the most graceful prose I've committed to blog.

We haven't seen Frank much lately, so we grabbed an opportunity to dine with him tonight and ran with it. No sooner was I home from breakfast/groceries at Whole Foods than it was into the kitchen with me, baking up a rhubarb and anise upside down cake.
First attempt at the recipe, but I think it's a keeper. Not at all difficult to make, and ultimately fragrant and tasty.


All in all, it was an easy dinner to prepare for. I didn't have a lot to do in the kitchen, and that gave me plenty of time to tidy up around the place and get the table set for the three of us.


Frank came by at around 7, bearing gifts of cheeses from Pastoral. This was a little wicked of him, especially the Spanish blue, and we could have really spoiled our appetites badly just by munching all the cheese before dinner. As it was, we tucked in without too much difficulty. Bouillabaise tonight, or, at least, a simplified version. None of this buying $150 of fish and shellfish just to boil the carcasses and shells down into a stock. Clam juice was the base, and it turned out quite fine. We had had some Seresin Sauvignon Blanc with the cheeses, and we opted for the Seresin Tatou Pinot Noir with the meal. Both were lovely, especially the Pinot Noir (ah, to have the Marama Sauvignon Blanc again...).

Frank digs in.


I was pleased with the dinner. The seafood was not overcooked. The mussels were especially plump and good.I followed it up with a simple salad, and we polished off most of the rest of the cheese before dessert.

Ah, dessert. Upside down cakes rock. I'm not fond of the dry cake/syrupy pineapple things in a square pan that are a rare recollection from childhood. Oh, I'll eat them, but they aren't that remarkable. The plum cardamom upside down cake recipe I have is much better, if a bit sloppy. This is a good alternative for spring. I think I may make it again when Bradley and Dan come for dinner on Tuesday. Ooo, and we can take some to Rachel's tomorrow!

Served warm with a generous dollop of whipped cream - mmmmm.

This is spring, right?

Ah Mother Nature, such a prankster. Yesterday was the vernal equinox, and yet today you give us snow. Thanks!

I worked from home today (yes, I am allowed, and yes, I did work), so I slept in until 7ish. Imagine my consternation on waking up to find a heavy mist of snow blowing by, dampening the streets. Worse still, the forecast on the radio was for 3-6 inches.

Oh, I scoffed. We heard that sort of thing many times this past winter, and always things blew by, hitting Peoria or Ohio or other foreign places.

But nope, it's a-snowing today. Well, sleeting by the time Conrad came home from work, but snowing fairly well earlier. I was glad to be at home.

Around 2:00, though, a funny thing happened: when I looked up from my work and out the window, I noted bit fluffy flakes were tumbling down, and I thought it looked ever so pretty. So much so that I took a break, grabbed a camera, and headed for my second venti whole milk misto of the day. It wasn't that cold. It was kind of messy out. But it was lovely all in all.

So I'll have to settle for the vase of tulips on the table beside me here to make me think of spring. Winter hasn't yet relinquished its grip on us, and for the duration of a Starbucks run this afternoon, that was totally fine by me.

Sunday with out-of-towners

In the end, I don't think I had the most restful weekend ever, and I know I'm ungracious in saying that because it was a good weekend for spending time with friends and spending time at home with Conrad.

Yesterday was busy, though. Yoshi's (twice), Wilmette, Erik Estrada, and Bin 36. Small wonder I played the tired card this morning at 4:30 and instead of going to the gym I willingly submitted to an EC.

Let's start at the beginning.

Martin was in town for ALA committee meetings, so we picked him up downtown along with his friend/committee mate Kerry (Carrie?) and headed up to Yoshi's for brunch. It was heartening to see the first signs of spring: a bustling, full restaurant of brunchers. We had a great time there, really - the eggs baked in brioche are very tasty - and caught up on ALA gossip nicely.

I kind of covet Martin's shirt. Man, do I look tired and old. Conrad looks so cute, though!




After that, there was time to kill until both of them had to be at O'Hare. We decided it would be nice to head up to Wilmette, admire the handsome suburban homes en route, and visit the Baha'i Temple.

It's a wonderful structure, and I think even the non-religious would be awed by it. Despite overcast weather, it proved to be a good choice to stop by. We didn't stay long, though, and soon headed for the airport. Which was where we saw Erik Estrada, exiting a limo at the United departures level. Cool!

Conrad and I didn't have much time at home after that - off to Bin 36to meet Markand his BF Matt,both in town from Urbana for a concert. I met Mark at a conference a few years back through decidedly humorous (in retrospect) and slightly naughty circumstances. (Buy us each a drink and we may tell you.) The four of us had a bit of wine and snacks before the two of them headed to a concert nearby. That left Conrad and me time to get to Yoshi's for dinner.

Odd night there - it's been ages since we did two meals in one day at the restaurant, and I felt a bit out of it somehow. Been there, done that. I was out of the loop conversationally as well, in part because of where I was seated and in part because I found myself watching an ESPN show on the history of African Americans and basketball in the US. Fascinating. In any case, the food was fine as always, and I opted for a delicious duck breast dish with tamale.I like the little creep of Mexican flavours into the food there, and the tempura atop was a great touch.

For tonight, though, it's home late and a turkey breast still in the oven. And tomorrow I promise to get back to the gym!