Foodie Lawyer

Some food-related (mostly) things we enjoyed this week:

Our patio-grown tomatoes are finally ready to eat, and we enjoyed the first batch with one of our favorite breakfasts: tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and crackers with cream cheese.

Tomatoes are in season at the farmer’s market as well, so we bought a bunch last weekend to make Sunday Sauce from scratch. Flash boiling and peeling the tomatoes was surprisingly easy to do, and the sauce turned out great. We plan on making more in the coming weeks and stocking our freezer with sauce to thaw in the winter to remind us that we will eventually thaw out as well, and summer will return.

The word “mancala” means “to transfer” in Arabic and refers to a strategy game that involves moving stones around a board. We first played it with our niece and nephew and have recently become rather addicted to it. We have electronic versions on our phones and on Dan’s iPad, as well as the tabletop version. It’s fascinating because no matter your strategy (or lack thereof, in my case), the outcome of every game is different. Each game is pretty quick too, perfect for several rounds at the bar attached to our local movie theater, with some popcorn and a couple glasses of wine.

 New Kitchen Toy Gadget Alert: We have purchased the spiralizer. For our maiden voyage, we used it to cut long, thin strips of yellow zucchini “pasta” (a/k/a “zoodles”) to serve with leftover Sunday Sauce. It was equally delicious and easy. We peeled 3 large zucchini (probably could have done 4), cranked them through the spiralizer, squeezed out the excess moisture with paper towels, sauteed the zucchini in hot olive oil in a skillet for about 2 minutes, then added a little of the heated sauce to the skillet, covered it and let the zoodles steam for a few more minutes. We topped the zucchini with more sauce and garnished with parmesean cheese and chopped basil. Zamazing.

We paired our zoodles with a Caprese salad made with our patio-grown tomatoes and basil, along with farmer’s-market-fresh mozzarella and olive oil. We’re eating well this summer.

Some food-related (mostly) things we enjoyed this week:

When our friends from Dallas came to visit a few weekends ago, they brought us a beautiful and unique vase as a housewarming gift. The vase is pretty enough on its own, but looks even better with some snap dragons from the farmer’s market.

Last weekend our home owner’s association hosted the annual “building social.” It was a nice way to meet and chat with some of our neighbors, one of whom brought this huge chocolate cake with a picture of our building on it. And peace signs. Let’s just say he’s kind of an eccentric guy.

Another summer weekend, another art festival. We certainly aren’t complaining, and we thoroughly enjoyed the Ethnic Arts Festival out by the lake.

One of Dan’s best friends from law school was in town this week and treated us to an amazing dinner at Tru. Although the restaurant is a bit on the formal side (removing your jacket is frowned upon, even while seated at the table), the service was impeccable and the 11-course meal was deliciously inventive. But the best part of the evening was Dan getting to catch up with his old friend and both of them regaling me with tales from their law school days.

Some food-related (mostly) things we enjoyed this week:

While walking to dinner one night, we randomly came upon a gathering of people listening to live music and dancing. On six Thursdays during the summer, our little city hosts a free event featuring a dance lesson with accompanying music in a different dancing style each week. We didn’t partake this time, but enjoyed the music and people watching as we dined al fresco at a nearby restaurant. Summertime here is pretty great.

Our dear friends and their two kiddos drove all the way from Dallas to come visit us this week, on their way to a family reunion in Wisconsin Dells. We had a great time showing them around our ‘hood and doing a little sightseeing in downtown Chicago, including the obligatory tourist trip to the Bean (I mean “Cloud Gate“) in Millennium Park. The kids had fun creating optical illusions with their reflections, exactly none of which I captured with my phone’s camera. All of our friends are what we miss most from Dallas (even more than Tex-Mex!), and it was wonderful to have them here to share a glimpse of our Chicagoland life.

Another must-see during our Chicago tour was the view from the observatory deck on the 94th floor of John Hancock Center. Our friend Matt was the only one of us brave enough to try the new Tilt! feature, which allows you to lean 30 degrees out from the building and look down to the street that is 1,000 feet below. Nope. Matt said it was awesome, and we sincerely took his word for it.

We recently tried the authentic Liege Belgian waffles from a little cafe near our condo, and they did not disappoint. The waffles are made with dough instead of batter and are dusted with pearl sugar (imported from Belgium) that caramelizes on the outside of the waffle when it is baked in a special waffle iron (also imported from Belgium). Topping options include homemade whipped cream, Nutella, and fruit. You do not want to put syrup on this waffle, lest you ruin the lightly crispy, sugary outer crust by making it soggy. We may never eat any other kind of waffle again.

Ever since we saw the movie “Chef” (which we highly recommend), we have been craving a good Cuban sandwich (also a good grilled cheese sandwich, but those are more readily available). We found exactly what we were looking for at the aptly named Taste of Cuba restaurant, and we’ll go back there the next time we are jonesing for that perfect combo of thinly sliced ham and roasted pork with cheese, mustard and pickles, expertly pressed between two slices of buttery bread.