Self, you should be paying attention to this wise advice.

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I originally saw this picture listing a "Note to Self" a while ago, but it has been weirdly more sound advice since I am growing a person inside me.  I mean, if there are all these rules like I shouldn't eat fish with mercury or pesticides, or I should get enough sleep, or I should wear a seat belt, then I suppose there is some truth that I should treat myself well regardless if there is a little person growing inside of me.  These things seem to be advice that everyone knows, but no one does for themselves.  Honestly, when did we get so bad at taking care of ourselves?

It seems like we only remember these simple ways to take care of ourselves after we learned the life lesson somehow, like relearning a healthy relationship with food after an eating disorder, making a baby, or surviving a close call with your health.  How sad that we can't make better decisions to take great care of ourselves, right?

(Sigh) I wish it were that easy.  Don't get me wrong, I just ate a lot of Pringles chips today, so I haven't mastered the art of self care.  At the very least I hope to make plenty of right decisions throughout the day like get plenty of sleep, or drink organic tea (rishi tested without chemicals).  Next stop, the gym.

Hopefully I can remember to take of myself once I am worried about taking care of some other little peanut.  I don't want to wait until another life event serves as a reminder to avoid eating hot dogs.  Even if we all do only one of these nice things for ourselves, that is a step in the right direction.  I have the naps down, but will focus on not saying mean things to myself as my pants stop fitting.  Which one are you going to work on?  Take care, my loves - I would like us to be friends a while longer.

The Weekend Edition: A Weekend in Chicago

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It has become a bit of an annual trip for us in January to take a weekend trip to Chicago and mix friends, shopping, and food.  We have gotten pretty good at this, and we made a few great stops to recommend to the world.  First, here are the necessary ingredients to a great weekend in Chicago:

1. A fun and funky hotel for your stay
2. Some shopping on and around Michigan Ave.
3. A delicious restaurant for dinner
4. A purely Chicago brunch joint on your way out of town

We accomplished all of this and more!  Let me share my favorite spots from this weekend.

Hotel: Hotel Monaco, Chicago
I love to stay at Kimpton hotels in general, and Hotel Monaco in particular.  The décor is colorful and worldly, the entire staff is so friendly, and as a pet-friendly hotel, they lovingly provide me with a goldfish during my stay as a travel pet.  Meet Sven, my pal fish for the weekend:

I also love that I get to raid the mini bar with a free $10, drink wine during the daily happy hour in the lobby, and lounge around in my animal print robe.  The Monaco always has great rates during these slow weeks of January, and it is an awesome value.


Shopping: Michigan Avenue and the surrounding area
I make sure to do two things to prioritize my shopping time: I only go to stores that I can't shop at near home, and I make sure that I don't stay in one place for too long so that the hubs doesn't get too bored.

Dinner: Eataly, Chicago
The Chicago location of Eataly (a play on the word Italy) opened recently and has been incredibly busy ever since.  It is an all-things-Italian marketplace/restaurants/café/bar.  And it. is. INCREDIBLE.

The restaurants are so busy, you need to go put your name in and expect to wait 90 to 120 minutes.  While you wait, you can get a coffee, wine or beer, some prosciutto and fresh mozzarella, or buy anything from pasta to fresh meat and fish, cheeses and meats that you've never heard of, chocolates, or cooking utensils.  We ate at the pizza and pasta restaurant area, and everything we ate was incredible.  I have an entirely new outlook on what pasta should be, and I can't wait to experiment with my new found pasta respect.

Make sure you save room for dessert because the night would not be complete without a delicious LavAzza coffee and a gelato, artisan dessert, or crepe from the Nutella bar.  I bought a giant bag of beautiful Italian treasures that I have never seen before, and the next week will continue my culinary adventures.  Eataly serves as dinner and entertainment for a full night out.

Via Eataly

Brunch: Eleven City Diner
This cute, totally Chicago-type restaurant feels like a hybrid between an old school diner and a Jewish delicatessen.  And the food is impeccable. 

The challah french toast is a great staple to the menu, and the Bad A** breakfast sandwich was a perfect breakfast sandwich with perfect potatoes.  Intelligentsia coffee tops off the menu with love. While there are a lot of fantastic brunch restaurants in the city, this one continues to deliver every time I am there.

Bonus!
Mariano's Fresh Market, Halsted and Monroe
Even though we were so full from breakfast, we still managed to buy a ridiculous amount of fresh food.  Why go grocery shopping anywhere else when you can go buy lots of deli salads and pot pies, topped off with delicious gelato, oysters, fresh sushi, or bulk spices in the same place?

This was my own suggestion for a weekend in Chicago, but there are lots of other great weekend ideas for the taking!  If you need an idea starter, check out a book like this for your path of travel:
The New York Times - 36 Hours

Eat pasta, and all of the cares of the world go away.

Via the-girl-who-chased-the-moon.tumblr.com

So, we are T minus 4 days to moving, and it has been a bit of a bumpy ride.  In an effort to soothe our moving woes and to continue our crusade to eat down the pantry, we continue to make dinners from only things available in our fridge, freezer, and pantry.  You know, like an episode of "Chopped," but without fancy meat, and a distinctly Midwestern set of ingredients (think, "hot dish" and usually with cheese).  Today we thought pasta would do the trick; a huge pile of carbohydrates on a cold winter day.

As usual, we have complete inability to appropriately measure how much pasta should be made for two people, and our attempt at "one pot" cooking also proved to be a bad idea.  If the delicious crack noodles work as they should, we should be blissfully carbed up straight on through moving day.  Success!

Food phases: Part II

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It is a new season of food phases - holla!    As you may remember, I get really excited about a few foods and tend to eat only those until I overdose.  Here is the recent food phase menu:

Blueberry Kale Smoothies: In an effort to eat down random ingredients in my house, and new favorite was born.  Banana, apple cider, kale, and blueberries.  Yum!  I have used my blender more in the last three weeks than I have probably ever.

Chocolate Lucky Charms:  I thought they stopped making these, but it just turns out I couldn't find them.  Thanks to my current employment in grocery, I got the hook up.  It is my dinner of choice.

Apple Cider Doughnuts: Ok, I know total carb fest, but so help me if the seasonal apple cider doughnuts from the Pick 'N Save stores in Milwaukee aren't the best ever.  I bet the cameras in the stores see me darting into stores and doing a full arm sweep to gather all of the remaining doughnuts in my cart.

Soup Season: What's the soup du jour? It's the soup of the day.  Mmm, that sounds good, I'll have that.

Malbec: This requires no explanation.

Any other foods need not apply.

Super secret Starbucks drinks, and some "Adult Beverage" recipes

Via Starbucks Secret Drink Menu

There is something undeniably delicious about a handcrafted latte or beverage, and Starbucks has figured out how to keep us coming back to their extremely customizable menu with incredible consistency.  I commend their ability to gain my addiction.

There are two things that you can learn here about your Starbucks drinks.  First, if you didn't know that there is a whole secret underground menu created be inventive baristas, you are missing out.  Second, you can keep warm through the winter months by mixing a dash of booze and really make your delicious latte pop.  Of course, disclaimers, don't drink and drive, don't drink boozed up coffee at work, etc.

Check out these drinks from the secret underground menu:

• Thin Mint Frappuccino: Green tea crème Frappuccino, chocolate syrup, java chips, and a dash of peppermint
• Fall-in-a-Cup Latte: Pumpkin spice latte with caramel syrup, chai syrup, whipped cream, caramel drizzle, pumpkin powder
• Red Starburst Frappuccino: Blended strawberry lemonade, vanilla bean powder, raspberry syrup
• Holiday Apple Spice: Apple juice, gingerbread syrup, spiced whipped cream, caramel drizzle

Here are some ideas to try with an extra shot:

• Pumpkin Spice Latte with Captain Morgan
• Chai Latte with Rumchata
• Coffee with Frangelico or Bailey's (recommending the Christmas blend)
• Hot Apple Cider with caramel vodka
• Caramel Brulee Latte with vanilla rum
• Hot Chocolate with marshmallow vodka
• Peppermint Mocha with McGillicuddy's

Special thanks to my friend Abby who helped imagine some of these delicious concoctions.  I can't wait to Starbucks-hop with her and a pocket stocked with airplane-sized booze bottles.

Nailed it.

One of my favorite memories of my dad as a kid was Sunday mornings.  These mornings generally meant one of two things: either my dad would go out golfing early and bring back doughnuts as if to pay the fee to his daughters for letting him golf, or there were bunny pancakes.  Yes, that hot mess of a pile of pancake batter pictured above is the making of a bunny pancake.  I need more practice.

I love bunny pancakes.  I am practicing them now because it is important to have memory-making skills.  To me, bunny pancakes represent some of the best childhood moments.  Not only did my dad cause me an unhealthy appreciation for carbohydrates, he showed that he cared through hand-crafted flapjacks.  Occasionally, he even went for the retro square-shaped waffle iron, and to this day I refuse to eat waffles that aren't square.

 This one turned out a little better:

 At any rate, I am pleased to make Sunday morning pancakes (or, as an alternative, square waffles) a tradition in our house.  In the tradition started by my dad, I of course need to make enough pancakes to feed me and twenty of my closest friends.  That way, I can eat pancakes for days after.  I have been eating one long meal of pancakes going on 48 hours now.

Happy memory making... Dads, start practicing your bunny pancakes.  Your daughters might blog about it some day.

If cheese is wrong, I don't want to be right. (A public service announcement)

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I don't think I feel this way just because I am from Wisconsin (that would be so cliché).  I think I feel this way because cheese is made with magic.  I work for a grocery company, and today I spent time discussing delicious cheeses and just how much gouda one can sell in a weekend.  This must be how my friend Rick, a cheese sales guy, feels.  Elated to be surrounded by cheese.

Here are a few things you maybe didn't know about cheese, that you should.  You're welcome:

New Juusto cheese with Nueske's bacon:  Best served warm, with crumbles of the best bacon ever.  I discovered this today, and feel more whole as a human being as a result.

Raclette: This is a type of cheese, and an actual dish made with melted cheese and a raclette grill.  I have one, but need more friends besides myself to fire up a cheesy grill.  This would be the equivalent of me eating a whole pot of fondue by myself.  Totally possible, but my stomach would surely revolt.

Mac and Cheese secrets:  For a good macaroni and cheese recipe, you'll need a good béchamel sauce, breadcrumbs, and don't overcook the noodles.  Also, mustard is a secret delish ingredient.

Don't try these all at once, unless you want to risk your intestines imploding.  I am starting to wonder if I am lactose intolerant as I type this...

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. And invites diabetes.

It's here!  Caramel apple season is here!  This kicks off my incredibly ridiculous fall habit of eating, oh, say, one caramel apple a day.  There, I said it.  And it is on the internet so it must be true.

Here is the making of a quality caramel apple:

1. Green apples: Normally they are too sour, but this is a critical balance to the caramel.
2. Jimmies: You can get them covered in all sorts of toppings, but I tend to eat only one kind - caramel with jimmies.  I don't eat nuts, and some of the chocolate ones are too much.
3. Good caramel: I don't make them at home because it is messy, but please, don't get the kind with those sheets that fold over the apple.  That's gross.

Where do I get such a large quantity of caramel apples?  I will tell you, but do me a solid and don't buy them out before I get there.

1. Amy's Gourmet Apples: Based in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, these are the absolute best apples that exist.  If you live far away though, don't fret because you can buy them online.  I can't eat these every day because I would have to start donating plasma just to afford it.  But they are totally worth the money.
2. Pick 'n Save: A much more affordable option for a daily apple, but still quite delicious.  I once trolled around the produce department for 45 minutes waiting for the guy to start hand dipping the apples on a Sunday morning.  I am sure the loss prevention people had me pegged for a creeper.  At another Pick 'n Save near my work, I had to start diversifying my route after I interrogated the guy about what time and how often he makes the apples, and then he said, "Hey, you're the caramel apple lady!" a few weeks later after he had seen me clean them out of the jimmied apples for a few weeks straight.
3. Local orchards: Buyer beware, you have to ask questions regarding the type of apple they use, it is not usually green apples.  And, if you plan to buy in bulk like I do, test one before to buy many.

Now that you know my dirty little fall secret, you can join in too.  You also know what sort of currency I accept for bribes.  Whatever, I don't apologize for it at all.  I only do it for like, three months out of the year.

Food phases: What do you mean I shouldn't eat a bag of grapes in one sitting?

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This is not me, but this is how I look when I eat grapes.  Like, all of the time.  I tend to only want to eat a handful of foods at any given time (e.g. about five things), and in my world we refer to these as "food phases."

 

As a result, the hubs and I have to frequently do what we call "choose your own adventure" for dinner because he doesn't always want to eat pizza for five days or only eat grapes for dinner.  The food phases do tend to have a seasonal effect to them.  For example, most summer I single handedly keep the blueberry sales afloat, but as soon as they get scarce, caramel apple season gets into full swing.

 

And go big or go home, I say.  When I say I really only want to eat those foods, I mean it.  I am not making this up when I tell you that I eat a pint of blueberries every day.  Currently, these are the five things I am eating:

1. Blueberries: Lots of them.  Instead of cereal I dump the whole pint of blueberries in a bowl and pour milk on them. You're welcome, Michigan.
2. Frozen pizza:  And by frozen pizza I mean Palermo's sausage with the little tomato pieces.
3. Jamwiches: This is a J-Ra (the hubs) original of itty bitty sandwiches made with big Wheat Thins and a key ingredient, strawberry jalapeno jam.  And that's reason #486 why I married him.
4. Grapes: This is a bit of a year round item, but I certainly look like that kid in the picture.  I ate a whole bag of grapes yesterday until the hubs guilted me into saving him one bunch.
5. Hot fudge sundae with cherry topping: This is why I have to go running.

By all means this will give way to a caramel apple phenomenon the minute they start hand dipping them at the grocery stores.  The good news, is that I have an inside track to the people that make the caramel apples now, so this season is going... to get...cray.  Stay tuned.





Fooding: Why I tend to only make salads

I don't cook a lot because I often do not have very much time, or it seems unnecessary to cook a lot of food for only two of us.  And since practice makes improvement, I am also not very talented.  I also don't cook meat usually, because I can't stand touching it and I make sure there is absolutely no moisture left before serving it.  And so, my one true skill is salads.

I love making salads because they are so versatile, and it is usually something good that I can bring to a large gathering as well.  The picture above is of yesterday's dining on the patio, made of herb salad mixture, grape tomatoes, fresh corn off the cob, shaved black pepper parmesan, and of course, a French vinaigrette.  Summer in a bowl!

French vinaigrette is the key to awesome salads, and it is what they put on basically every salad in France.  There is no thousand island dressing to be found in the land of gourmet food, and that is good because it makes all of the other salad dressings embarrassed to be in the same food category.

Here are your necessary ingredients for incredible vinaigrette:

• Olive Oil
• Vinegar - Sherry vinegar, or champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar is ok)
• Mustard - choose Dijon, preferably from France
• Shallots - finely chopped
• Lemon - squirt of real lemon
• Pinch of salt, and fresh cracked black pepper

I am not giving you how much of each, because I am sure that you can make good life choices based on how much salad you are making.  Also, it is half the fun to feel like you know what you are doing by not measuring.

People often ask where I got the recipe for the salad that I made, and I say, in my head.  You can just put together components that are tasty together, and then decide on a complementary dressing.  Here are some other good salads:

• Spinach, pomegranate seeds, pear slices, green onion, feta cheese, vinaigrette
• Romaine or red leaf lettuce, apples, grapes, dried cranberries, shallots, parmesan, poppy seed dressing
• Arugula/spring mix, avocado, tomatoes, chevre goat cheese, bacon, vinaigrette

Milwaukee Restauranting: Wolf Peach review

Via www.wolf-peach.com

The hubs and I like to try different restaurants in the city, and I also like to pass on this information to others so you can make educated decisions for your dining experience.  Our most recent stop was at Wolf Peach restaurant near Brewers' Hill in Milwaukee, located in the old Roots restaurant location.

The décor and food is described as "rustic European," and the service style is "como viene" where they basically bring out the food as soon as it is ready, and all dishes are meant to be shared in a communal fashion.

Here is what we ordered:

• Watermelon Salad: Watermelon salad, mizuna, feta, pistachios, coriander & brown butter vinaigrette
• Fried Broccoli: Fried broccoli, parmesan, pickled jalapeño aioli
• Hawaiian Blue Marlin Sashimi: Sashimi of Hawaiian blue marlin, banana peppers, garlic oil, cilantro, grilled peaches
• Pork Sausage Wood-Fired Pizza: Pork sausage, tomatoes, mozzarella, onions, fennel, pecorino, fennel pollen

For dessert, we tried the chocolate polenta cake with salted caramel ice cream and caramel sauce and the zucchini bread french toast with a sort of fruit compote.  Both were delicious as well.  To see the full Wolf Peach menu, click here.

Overall, the food and the craft cocktails were very good, but overall the service bothered me.  The servers were nice, but there were a few key details that detracted from the experience.  First, they neglected to bring out new plates with every dish that they brought out, nor did they notice that this was an issue so I had to ask for new plates.  For example, my little plate covered in marlin sashimi and olive oil was not the appropriate spot for my pizza.  Also, I didn't like the t-shirts the servers were wearing, and they almost felt too casual.  I know that sounds minor, but we both actually picked up on the weirdness of it so I know it was not just me!  I would also note that the volume level was somewhat loud in the dining room.

I would certainly go back, but I don't feel the need to do so.  I miss Roots a little bit.