Weekend and food reset, day 11
This weekend was excellent, food and fun-wise. After work on Friday, Carey, Greta and I hitched a ride with Shana into the city. We had cocktails at Shana's place and planned our night. We went out at around 9 and drove to the Chicago neighborhood of Bucktown, where Carey's friend was playing with The Idle Rich http://www.myspace.com/theidlerich that night. They wouldn't be on until nearly midnight, so we went for sushi at Coast: http://www.coastsushibar.com/v2/gallery.asp . I picked sushi because I had gotten seafood back and I wanted a real treat. It was wonderful. I had tuna tartare in ginger wasabi sauce with a sesame chip and hamachi carpachio, which was 5 pieces of yellow tail sashimi style drizzled with galic olive oil, jalapano, and cilantro. That came with mixed greens with garlic balsamic dressing. We ordered a side of edamame as well, and because the place was BYOB, it was surprisingly affordable.
It was a good 15 minute walk to The Mutiny http://www.chibarproject.com/Reviews/Mutiny/Mutiny.html . I'm not sure how much drinks cost because I didn't order any, but there was live music, clean bathrooms, and no cover, so I was quite happy. The band played well but wasn't as tight as the album I'd heard. I really REALLY enjoyed the night.
On Saturday morning Carey and I hung out in the park across the street from White Sox stadium waiting for our train back to New Lenox. We used our backpacks as pillows and stared at the clouds and chatted. Seven years together, and I just never tire of Carey's company.
Back at home, Carey made us huge garden salads with Boca burger and chickpeas, and we watched a mediocre movie starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston.
Sunday was a food triumph. After a lovely Carey brunch of hash browns and omelettes, I got started making artichokes the way my Italian ex's mom taught me. I takes all day and you only make them for someone you love. You take your artichokes and put them in a big pot. If you're making them sinfully, you fill the pot with vegetable oil. If that frightens you, you use half oil half water. I like to add some garlic to the oil to get the flavors going right away. Simmer the artichokes for an hour or two until they darken and the leaves loosen up a bit. The take them out and start stuffing each leaf with Italian parsley and sliced garlic cloves:
Hold your hands around the stuffed artichoke and press the whole head together and place it gently back into the pot, not letting any of the stuffing fall out. Then simmer them for at least another 3 hours. You want it low enough that the artichokes stay right-side up.
About 10-15 minutes before you're ready to eat, take the artichokes out and gently place them in a strainer to let them drain and cool. If you've cooked them right, the artichoke will be about ready to fall apart, so I use big strong tongs and two hands to keep them together when I lift them out of the pot. What you have is an artichoke with every leaf so tender that after you sprinkle with salt and pepper, you can just stick the leaf in your mouth, and as you take it out you trap the meat of the artichoke with your teeth.
In addition to the artichokes (which aren't terribly filling), I made my own falafel for the first time. It was quinoa falafel and I had to kind of break it up after I made it because the pieces were too big. Otherwise, it was excellent. I served it over greens with diced onion, cucumber, tomato, and hot sauce:
It was a good 15 minute walk to The Mutiny http://www.chibarproject.com/Reviews/Mutiny/Mutiny.html . I'm not sure how much drinks cost because I didn't order any, but there was live music, clean bathrooms, and no cover, so I was quite happy. The band played well but wasn't as tight as the album I'd heard. I really REALLY enjoyed the night.
On Saturday morning Carey and I hung out in the park across the street from White Sox stadium waiting for our train back to New Lenox. We used our backpacks as pillows and stared at the clouds and chatted. Seven years together, and I just never tire of Carey's company.
Back at home, Carey made us huge garden salads with Boca burger and chickpeas, and we watched a mediocre movie starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston.
Sunday was a food triumph. After a lovely Carey brunch of hash browns and omelettes, I got started making artichokes the way my Italian ex's mom taught me. I takes all day and you only make them for someone you love. You take your artichokes and put them in a big pot. If you're making them sinfully, you fill the pot with vegetable oil. If that frightens you, you use half oil half water. I like to add some garlic to the oil to get the flavors going right away. Simmer the artichokes for an hour or two until they darken and the leaves loosen up a bit. The take them out and start stuffing each leaf with Italian parsley and sliced garlic cloves:
Hold your hands around the stuffed artichoke and press the whole head together and place it gently back into the pot, not letting any of the stuffing fall out. Then simmer them for at least another 3 hours. You want it low enough that the artichokes stay right-side up.
About 10-15 minutes before you're ready to eat, take the artichokes out and gently place them in a strainer to let them drain and cool. If you've cooked them right, the artichoke will be about ready to fall apart, so I use big strong tongs and two hands to keep them together when I lift them out of the pot. What you have is an artichoke with every leaf so tender that after you sprinkle with salt and pepper, you can just stick the leaf in your mouth, and as you take it out you trap the meat of the artichoke with your teeth.
In addition to the artichokes (which aren't terribly filling), I made my own falafel for the first time. It was quinoa falafel and I had to kind of break it up after I made it because the pieces were too big. Otherwise, it was excellent. I served it over greens with diced onion, cucumber, tomato, and hot sauce: