Veronika & Peter's Engagement Party

Congratulations to Peter and Veronika!

It was wonderful to celebrate your engagement and looking forward to the wedding next year!

Anna & Joe Get Married!

A beautiful wedding and a wonderful couple! Congrats!

Who's the Fair-est of them All?

Who (or what's) the fairest of them all -

Cotton Candy?

Cheese Curds and Mozzarella Sticks?

Blooming Onion?

Ice Cream Cones?

Lindsay, Chad and I tried them all at the Walworth County Fair. Oh, and we also saw the Beach Boys and rode a few carnival rides.

Good times had by all.

ComaToast

Leisa, Jen, Lisa and I attended an underground dining event put on by Xmarx on Sunday. I'm intrigued by the whole underground dining / supper club scene and was excited to try it out. Our event was a "ComaToast" brunch - a play on the word comatose, which, I was by the end of this amazing five-course meal!

First course was a Foie Gras filled Wonton in a Maple & Sage Broth.

Second course was a BLT of Farm Bacon, Sprouts, Heirloom Tomato, Avocado Mayo on an Old Fashioned Doughnut Roll

Third course was a Thai-inspired Cereal. It was a base of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch with Diced Apple, Jicama, Boiled Peanuts, Thai Basil and some other "flavor bombs" - served with a generous pour of Coconut Milk.

Fourth course was Steak 'n Eggs: Grilled Sirloin with an Hour-long Poached Organic Egg and Bearnaise Sauce served over a Gnocchi Potato Pancake with Corn Salsa and Chimichurri. This was my favorite course, and also when my food coma started to set in. :)

Final course was a Toaster Strudel of Prune Plums and Goat Cheese Glaze.

Cubs Fest

Larry and Leia arranged for a group of 50 to cheer on the Cubs this past Friday (an annual tradition, aptly named Cubs Fest). While the game was a bit disappointing (Braves beat the Cubs, 5-3) - there was some excitement in the fifth inning. Congratulations, Larry & Leia!

Rick's Garden

Tara arranged for a group of us to go on a guided tour of Rick Bayless' garden last week. The produce section of the garden was actually much smaller than I imagined it would be - but it was still amazing - and it yields over $25,000 in produce annually!

I think I took over 50 pictures - here a few of my favorites. The third to last picture is a humongous, lush basil bush - this makes me sad that I can't even keep alive a pot of basil! But, the tour did inspire me to continue cooking - and perhaps try gardening some day (need to turn that black thumb into a green thumb)!