Key-Limoncello

Do you know how difficult it is to skin a whole bag of tiny key limes?  Check back on June 5th to see how the cordial turned out.
I'm thinking of a drink using the key limoncello and eagle brand milk.

Anniversary Celebration at LoRusso's

We celebrated our 36th anniversary by using our gift certificate to LoRusso's.  We had never been there, but we were very impressed with almost everything about the restaurant.  The atmosphere is very romantic complete with a piano player.  We had a great table that was tucked into a cubby-hole with drapes surrounding it for nearly complete privacy and low-noise.  The food was awesome.  Dad had some sort of halibut with conch and a chili reduction glaze, and I had a filet with asiago cream sauce.  I've got photos of some of the food, which I'll post later.
Since it was our anniversary we received the free dessert and a photo to take home.  The waitress was extraordinary.  A perfect evening.

Chicago Week-end

We had a great time in Chicago with Rachel and Josh.  It was the week-end of my birthday and they treated me to a fabulous breakfast/brunch at Orange - which is a very cool place that I definitely would like to patronize again.  The Field Museum was remarkable and not do-able in one day, or even one week-end.  Josh took us up to his office and we got to see where he works (or pretends to work :-)).
That casserole that Rachel is holding was a yummy breakfast casserole that we had before we went to the Field Museum.  She has a nick-name for it, but I have forgotten what it is, so maybe she'll remind me here.
Lots of fun -- thanks to our hosts!

Happy Birthday John!

Happy Birthday John!  I hope you have a wonderful birthday.  Wish we could be there to celebrate with you.

Christmas Ham Bean Soup

Christmas Ham Bean Soup

1 bone from a ham
6 beef boullion cubes
1 bag brown beans
1 large onion, chopped
1-2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
Salt
Pepper - LOTS
Curry Powder, to taste.

Bring the beans to a boil for 20 minutes and then allow to sit for 2 hours with a lid.  (Or put the beans in the crockpot the night before).

Place the hambone in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or longer.  Remove the ham bone to a serving platter and allow to cool.

Add the chopped onion, carrots and celery to the simmering ham broth water.    When the ham bone cools enough, remove all the little pieces of ham.  You'll be surprised about how much is still left on that bone!  Discard the bone and return the ham bits to the soup.  Add the softened beans to the soup.  Continue to simmer on low for about 1 hour.  (Or place into a crockpot on low).
When the beans are tender, add the beef boullion, salt, pepper and curry powder.  We use about 2-3 tablespoons of black pepper.

This makes a huge vat of delicious soup which can be used for lunches or dinners and there is enough to freeze for later.

Cutter says....

"Just because you haven't been bitten doesn't mean you can't start today."

Source:  The Bad Dog Calendar

Happy New Year and Birthday!

All -- have a great and happy new year. Here's a health to 2010. And Dad, happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, Melissa!

Happy Birthday to my pretty princess.  I hope that all your wishes come true.  We love you!

Quote of the Week, November 23, 2009

Thanksgiving Day comes,

 by statute, once a year; to

the honest man it comes as

frequently as the heart of

gratitude will allow.

~Edward Sandford Martin
Humorist, Journalist, co-founder of "Harvard Lampoon" and the national humor magazine "Life."

Pizza Chefs!

Rach and I became pizza chefs last night. We found a "pizza cooking class" held at a restaurant near our apartment called Frasca. It was really fun. The head chef (who owns several restaurants around the City) demonstrated how to make dough from scratch. He then gave us our own dough balls, which we stretched and placed toppings. Rachel's before and after is below. The class was complete with two glasses of wine each - yum!

A Beautiful Chicago Fall Day

More things to be thankful for...

1. Sunshine, especially after a week of relentless rain.
2. iTunes. :-)
3. Music -- all kinds.
4. Hot water heaters
5. Dogs -- they like you even when nobody else does.
6. Instant pleasures -- Digital photos, e-mail, MP3's, on-line movies, etc. -- you get the idea.
7. Plenty food to put in the pot for "Soupy Sunday"
8. Clean clothes -- and the ease with which we can acquire them these days. (My grandmother did laundry once a week on a ringer washer, hung them out to dry, sprinkled them and then ironed them -- but they were clean in the end, just a lot more work!).
9. Bold hot coffee in the morning. Any morning, but especially on Saturday mornings.
10. Beautiful colors in our world, and the ability to see them.

Green Tomato Cake?

That's right! CAKE!

We were wondering what to do with all the green tomatoes that were left at the end of this year's harvest, and although I love green tomato pickles, I didn't have time to deal with all of that, so.....

Thanks to the internet, I found an alternate solution. The cake turned out yummy. We baked one to try and one to freeze. I wish you were here to try it!

I think I just entered middle age...

Pandora served up Regina Spektor, and, against my will, I gave the song a thumbs up.

Pathetic.

Next I'll be sipping hot tea and listening to Michael Buble.

Jon Stewart Lampoons CNN for Fact Checking SNL

I think CNN has redefined the definition of absurdist humor.

Note: The best stuff is from about 1:12 to about 2:42.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
CNN Leaves It There
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Little things to be thankful for...

Fall is my favorite time of year. In addition to the many BIG things we have to be thankful for, I decided to start a list of the little things, that we often take for granted, that I am thankful for.

1. On a cold fall morning -- when you take a shower the water is warm and you know it will warm you up right away.

2. Extra blankets at the foot of the bed when it's cold.

3. Electricity - when you flip a switch, the light comes on

4. Library books

5. Gas stations in close proximity

6. Easy access to an airport

7. The curious thrill of advancing technology.

8. Advil / ibuprofen

9. Warm socks

10. Hot coffee on a saturday morning

11. Getting up extra early, and while driving to your destination, observing all the houses that are still dark with their residents still dreaming inside.

12. Clean clothes.

Anyone care to add to the list?

Leftover Soup

When it comes to soup, I tend to throw ingredients together and forget about a recipe. Here's one I did on Saturday that turned out well, so I am going to try to put the list of ingredients down before I forget. It is basically leftover soup...

Drizzle of olive oil.

Onion, chopped

Garlic chopped

3-4 cups defatted chicken broth

2-3 tomatoes chopped (or one can)

1-2 carrots sliced, or a handful of the mini carrots sliced

Celery, including leafy tops -- chopped (about 1 cup?)

1 jalopeno, seeded and chopped finely

Left over taco meat (about 3/4 cup?)

1 small can tomato sauce

a healthy dash of seasoned salt, cumin, and chili powder.

Cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add broth and all the other ingredients and simmer until the carrots and celery are tender. Add the seasonings toward the end of cooking.

There's no science to this -- you could add other vegetables (corn, green beans, cabbage --whatever you have leftover).

This combo turned out nicely!

CNN Outdoes SNL

Is a parody of a parody a paradox? I don't know either, but when CNN fact checks Saturday Night Live -- really! -- I'm pretty sure I'm living in a parallel universe. I keep glancing nervously at my office door to see if evil Kirk and evil Spock are here to kidnap me (and, by their clothes, force me to perform in an evil intergalactic version of the Village People.)

For CNN, it's a move so desperate it reminds me of a girl from high school, Sally, whose nickname shall not be repeated in the family blog (let's just say it rhymes with nutty).

Right Track/Wrong Track/Laugh Track

(Ignore the Youtube user edits -- text on the screen)

Black Bean Soup...YUM!

Soup-ey Sunday is Soup-er Fun and here's one that's Soup-er Easy! Last week we made the South Beach Diet's version of Black Bean Soup. I was a little nervous because I had to admit to Joshua that yet again, this was going to be another "vegetarian" soup. I had made it before and he scoffed at it and wanted nothing to do with it. However, this time he was surprisingly optimistic about it, so I went with it. Good thing, too, because HE LOVED IT and SO DID I! It's a very filling, very healthy, very yummy chilly day kind of soup. It's a little spicy, but not bad at all...I'd go for more spice if my hubby's spicy food tolerance was a bit higher!

Anyway, here's the recipe! We tripled it and wished we had made more (we like to take it to lunch throughout the week). Also, I pureed the beans beforehand (the recipe says after you cook it for a while) and it worked fine...it just takes out an extra step towards the end.

Enjoy!

Serves 2
Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh tomato salsa (plus extra for garnish)

1 (15.5-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 can fat-free chicken broth2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream (optional)

2 teaspoons fresh cilantro

Instructions

Heat the salsa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans and broth, then heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Cool slightly, then spoon half the soup into a food processor or blender and puree. Be very careful pureeing hot liquids. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan and heat through. Serve with 1 tablespoon of sour cream per person, cilantro, and additional salsa.