Creamy Carrot Soup

While most soups tend to be 'comfort' foods and make me think of winter - this soup is all about spring. It was a simple recipe of carrots, shallots, ginger, and sesame oil. I topped it off with a dollop of greek yogurt and a few sprigs of mint.

And it was a good excuse to finally use my immersion blender (yes, the blender that I 'so needed' for Christmas two years ago, but had actually never used - until now, that is.)

Zucchini Bread

No - it's not zucchini season yet.

But, lucky for me, I had grated and frozen some from last year. I'll be eating this for breakfast this week and longing for the summer weather and the next crop of zucchini.

Two-Pepper Mac 'n Cheese

I used the wonderfully creamy 'butter cheese' that I purchased at Green City Market as a sauce for this Two-Pepper Mac 'n Cheese. The cheese melted so easily that I hardly needed to whisk it into my milk & roux mixture. The pasta and cheese sauce was combined with green onions, red peppers & jalapeno peppers and then topped with bread crumbs. Yum!

Green City Market

Although I've lived in Chicago for nearly four years now, Saturday morning I made my first trip to Green City Market. I don't know why I've waited so long to visit this little gem! Sure, I've been to the neighborhood markets in both Lincoln Square and Logan Square - but I've always heard that Green City Market is "the" farmer's market in Chicago. Since it is still the "off season" the market this weekend was indoors at the Peggy Notebart Nature Museum - but it still had a lot to offer.

I had secured a reservation for one of the chef demos, so I started my visit by watching Michael McDonald of 'one sixtyblue' prepare a yummy dish of green eggs and ham and basil flan. The green eggs & ham consisted of a duck egg, prosciutto iberico, watercress pesto and basil foam - what a treat! And the basil flan was great, too - it was topped with strawberries & rhubarb and a piece of fried pork skin.

After the demo, it was time to do a little shopping. I bought a block of 'butter cheese' - aptly named because it is so soft and creamy, it nearly has the consistency of butter. So wonderful! I also bought a couple of pretzel rolls and a croissant. I'm excited for the coming months as the seasonal produce starts to grow - I think visiting the market will be a nice Saturday morning treat.

Upon leaving the market, I walked south to catch the Armitage bus back home. I wasn't in that much of a rush, so I made a pit stop at the Lincoln Park Conservatory. It was so neat to see the mix of patrons visiting the gardens - other farmer's market shoppers, runners taking a break from their exercise, parents & children, a couple taking engagement photos and a painter with her watercolors. This is another place that I need to visit more often!

Chicken & Broccoli Rabe with Sun-dried Tomatoes

The other night, I made this lovely creation - both the main course and the side were very easy to prepare. While they were two separate recipes, they both called for sun-dried tomatoes - so I thought they would pair well together. And they did!

The broccoli rabe was steamed, shocked and then mixed with sherry vinegar, shallots and sun-dried tomatoes. While I was boiling my egg noodles, I sauteed the chicken breasts until they were golden brown. I removed these from the heat and then make a pan sauce from cream of mushroom soup, shallots, red wine vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes. I added the noodles to the sauce, coated them well and then added the chicken back to the pan to meld the flavors. So yummy - and I was excited that I had three dinners worth of leftovers, too!

Steppin' into Spring

I got some new, springy accessories for my living room - very appropriate since Saturday was the first day of spring (although one might not have thought so - since it was snowing!).

I was excited to find this bright & cheery paisley-printed table runner for my coffee table.



And I also found this matching pillow. At first, I thought I would put this pillow on the floor and let Otis use it for a nice cuddle-spot. But, I guess, I was more excited about the pillow than he was. So, I decided to put it, here, on my chair. It's already starting to put me in a springy mood.

Asian Slaw

I had some leftover cabbage, so decided to whip up a simple Asian slaw. I made a dressing out of sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, siracha and red pepper flakes. I added some chopped cilantro and topped it all off with some toasted sesame seeds. Yum!

Chick 'n Rob

I think I am becoming obsessed with chickpeas - I have found so many wonderful recipes where they are the star ingredient. But, if I was to find a boyfriend for my gal, Chickpea, I could not have found a better one than, Rob (otherwise known as Broccoli Rabe or Rapini).

This recipe combines blanched broccoli rabe, chickpeas, sauteed bacon, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and a topping of parmesan cheese. So amazing!

Jeggings - Je t'aime

Jeggings (jean leggings) have been a fashion trend for a while now, but I have been resisting giving in to them. I like to see myself as more of a classic dresser and tend to not be much of a trend setter or trend follower.

But, jeggings - you have lured me under your spell and I now love you! I purchased two pairs of jeggings this past weekend and wore a pair with my new brown Steve Madden boots the other day to work. Multiple times on that day, I was given compliments on both my pants and my boots - and was even told a few times "how skinny I looked". Jeggings - I am forever indebted to you. :)

Espinaca con Garbanzos

I follow a couple of different cooking blogs and one of my favorites is Smitten Kitchen, http://smittenkitchen.com/.

A recent post revealed the recipe for Espinaca con Garbanzos - or in layman's terms - Spinach with Chickpeas. It was amazing and so simple!

The dish was a simple blend of spinach, chickpeas, and for the yummy sauce - tomato sauce, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, garlic, red wine vinegar and toasted bread.

I can foresee that this will be one of my go-to dishes go-forward. :)

Chicken Experiment

For the longest time, Catana has been raving about her simple way of preparing a chicken breast when she's in a pinch and needs to make a quick dinner.

All she does is simply sprinkle the chicken with seasoning salt and puts it in the microwave for a few minutes.

Really.

She swears by it and says that it's the "moistest chicken she's ever had."

So, I figured I had to try this out. I used some garlic seasoning salt and popped the chicken in the microwave for two minutes - flipped it over and zapped it for another two minutes.

Somehow, I managed to over-cook it. It wasn't terribly dry, but it wasn't terribly moist, either. And if you notice in the photo, the bottom part of it managed to overcook & burn a bit.

I think I'll skip the convenience and stick with my normal chicken-cooking methods. Sorry Catana. :(

Bottles & Brushes

Last Sunday evening, I had a "Bottles & Brushes" party at my condo.

While I was bummed that Stephanie's hot husband, Nick, wasn't our instructor - I was pretty excited to paint a replica of a painting by our artist, Marta.

Here are some pics from the evening.

Food Geek

You know you're a true food geek when.......

you start taking photos of your ingredients prior to making the dish.

Oh well. I am a food geek.

I made potato rosti last Sunday and I just thought my cutting board looked so pretty after I had prepped my bacon lardones, parsley and red onion. So, I set out the rest of my ingredients before I mixed them all together.

Here's a shot of the final product - so yummy with a dollop of sour cream on top!

Rain, Rain Go Away...but not too soon!

I'm actually excited for it to rain ---

so I can wear these fabulous new rain boots!

It's the little things.

These boots are made for walkin'

I went shopping last Saturday and was on a mission. I wanted to find a pair of jeggings and some boots to go with them. I made a stop at DSW and hit the jackpot. They were running a huge fall/winter clearance event and I walked out of the store with these fine pieces of footwear!

Banana Bread Beer Breakfast!

I went to a beer tasting at Lincolnwood Wine & Spirits a few months back and came home with a bottle of Banana Bread beer. It sounded really good at the time, but a struggled to find an appropriate time to pop open the bottle and try it. Until, that is, last Sunday.

I love to "putz" around the kitchen and make a leisurely brunch on Sunday mornings. So, this past Sunday, I made a batch of potato rosti and a dozen banana muffins. This sweet & savory brunch was a perfect complement to the banana bread beer - which, as I found out, was a fine balance of sweet & savory, as well!

Balsamic Chicken & Peppers with Polenta

I had a bunch of bell peppers to use up and found this great recipe for Balsamic Chicken & Peppers in my Cooking Light magazine. I made a dish of polenta, as well, and used this as a bed for my main course. It was excellent!

Trippin'

Last weekend, Tara, Veronika & I drove down to Champaign-Urbana to visit our dear friend, Erin and check out her new life as a full-time grad student. Both the road trip and the actual visit were a blast. Erin was a great hostess & it was wonderful to check out some of her favorite haunts.

Stop #1: A BBQ & beer lunch at Black Dog Barbecue - both the brisket & the beer flight were wonderful!

Stop #2: A tour around campus along with a pit-stop for some much needed caffeine at Espresso Royale. Here we all are in the quad - apparently near this spot you can stand and here someone clearly from all the way at the other end of the quad (thanks for this quirky tip, Veronika). Our campus tour consisted of seeing Erin's library science building (very cute!), a few local t-shirt shops and a quick stop in the union's art museum which had a very interesting Mexican art display.

Stop #3: Appetizers & cocktails at Boltini's - a very cute & chic lounge within walking distance of Erin's place (bonus!). Here's a pic of our first round of drinks - mine was a very strong bloody mary martini in front.

Stop #4: The Blind Pig. If I lived in Champaign, this would be my go-to hang-out spot. I loved the decor and, most importantly, the beer list. How can you go wrong when they have "Katie's Stout" on tap?

We finished off our late "college night" with the requisite Papa John's delivery...yum! Being the crazy person that I am, I "slept in" until 7:30 the next morning - which gave me lots of reading time while the rest of the girls slept. :) We rounded out our U of I experience with a quaint brunch at one of Erin's favorite spots, Courier Cafe.

U of I - I'm looking forward to visiting you again!

Courtside!

Granted, it was just a college game - but I felt pretty VIP sitting courtside for the DePaul vs. South Flordia game last week. Thanks Beth!