Biking to Bridgeport

Pleasant House Bakery & Maria's are next door to each other in Bridgeport

Wednesday was a clear, cool spring day and the city was calling out for a bike ride. Lucky for me I had plans with my friend Jessica to head south for an evening of food and drinks in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.  I LOVE biking to eat, in fact it’s one of my very favorite activities (read about the sweet themed biking & food tour I did with my friend Erin) next to running and eating :)

Having a neighborhood, a bike-friendly route and a destination in place are key when you’re planning your biking and dining adventure.  We knew exactly where we were going. 

Beautiful savory pie (Pleasant House Bakery website)

We headed to the farm-to-table mecca Pleasant House Bakery for savory dinner pies. The savory pies including spinach and kale (my fave) and steak and ale. Lucky for us it was a cool evening so we welcomed the satisfying heat of the pie. We also ordered the mint peas and the deluxe gravy chips – perfectly cooked crispy potato wedges coated with a light gravy, bits of steak and cheddar cheese. We couldn’t say no to the house made ginger soda either.

Jessica was nice enough to treat me to a cocktail next door at Maria’s Packaged Goods. This neighborhood bar has been on my “list” for a long time! Patrons walk through a refrigerator door in the back of a liquor store and enter a cocktail bar with a tremendous beer list and a nice assortment of cocktails too.

This was my first bike outing of the season and I’m looking forward to many more in the coming months!

Celebrating the BIG NEWS

 I can't believe it's already May - there is so much blogging to be catching up on and oh so much that has happened these past two weeks.

Yeah for birthday celebrations!

The last week of April included some whirlwind travels for me - just the way I like it! I was in Ohio celebrating my Grandmother’s 90^th birthday (or her “milestone birthday” she didn’t want people to say just how old she was!), my Dad’s birthday and finally my birthday. There was as always a lot of eating out and celebrating with family who traveled from all over.

Celebrating my birthday with my Grandma

I was home in Chicago for all of a day before I headed out to visit the BF in LA. Anywhere I wanted to go he obliged saying “this weekend is all about you.” I knew something was up, but I let him keep telling me that as we ventured to Apple Pan for burgers, SK Doughnuts (twice!), a taping of the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, out for the MOST amazing tacos at farmers market fusion hot spot Komida, a hilarious comedy show at Upright Citizens Brigade and brunch at Hugo’s for the famous Pasta Mama.

Balance Bowl at Cafe Vida - brown rice, spinach, eggs, chicken, tomatoes & guac!

Korean bibimbap at BibiGo (courtesy of TastingTable)

 

Apple Pan Burger (courtesy of NileGuide.com)

SK Doughnuts - AMAZING (courtesy of Yelp.com)

Pasta Mama - yes, eggs & pasta for breakfast (courtesy of MyDailyFind.com)

All that eating required some serious stair climbing in Santa Monica - what a workout!

Let’s just say I did not go hungry on my LA trip. That Saturday I selected a brunch spot; we visited a farmer’s market and packed a picnic for Malibu Wines. We enjoyed our picnic, drank some good local wine and people watched. We then headed to the very swanky Geoffrey’s along the gorgeous Malibu coast line. The meal was good, but really the scenery was better. Shortly after dinner Jon proposed! I don’t think I do the description of his proposal justice as there were definitely some comedic elements involved, so please read his blog about how the proposal happened here.

With my Handsome Man Jonno at Malibu Wines

Geoffrey's of Malibu - site of our pre-proposal dinner (courtesy of Swell City Guide)

It was a truly memorable weekend! I look forward to many more LA travels and an eventual move to the City of Angels. If you have any LA must visit locations, please do let me know!

Foodie Pen Pals Take 2

I love Foodie Pen Pals! Who doesn't love getting packages in the mail, and it's oh so much better when you know that's it's going to contain yummy goodness and fun treats. There's a little surprise every month as you remove each item from the box.

For April I received a pen pal box from Lauren at Girls Gone Food. I requested she send me items that she enjoys eating and something that is local. She delivered!

She sent me a bountiful box of goodies! There were chocolate covered espresso beans (wow, those do pack a punch!); popcorn kernels with a garlicky oil treat (little did Lauren know that I am a popcorn goddess and have the beautiful old-fashioned popcorn machine to prove it); apple, rudebaga and ginger jam; rainbow sprinkles; nutella; and a local orange flavored soda. The cute cart of the dog with the wig was a nice extra!

I think that this British import of fruit preserves was my favorite! I love the packaging and am a fan of all its ingredients! I am planning to using it to dress up some chicken breasts, or perhaps as the jar suggests liberally spread it on some croissants! Thank you Lauren :)

If you'd like to learn more about foodie pen pals you can click on the link here. I can't wait to see what May has in store!

Birthday Weekend

I headed home to Ohio this past weekend to celebrate my Grandma's 90th Birthday. It's always been a pretty busy weekend because she shares her birthday with my Dad, and then my special day falls a mere three days later. It's always nice to celebrate the festivities together!

We celebrated her birthday with family and friends at one of my favorite suburban Cleveland seafood restaurants Mitchell's Fish Market (they always have very fresh seafood and the portions for the party were tremendous). We also enjoyed dinner at The Trout Club (our favorite local spot with a stocked trout pound - our family has been members there for almost 20 years now!) I had a lovely pre-birthday dinner at Potpourri with one of my best friend's Kate and her boyfriend. We reminisced about visiting the spot in high school and enjoyed creamy cheese fondue appetizers, meats and veggies cooked in hot oil, and of course chocolate fondue for dessert! We wrapped up the birthday festivities with some delicious Latin fare at Sarava in Shaker Heights - fantastic celebratory cocktails if I do say so myself.

Now I'm in LA with the BF celebrating again...updates on all the goodness I'm eating here coming soon :)

Passover - Matzoh Madness

Sundown Friday marked the beginning of Passover, the holiday celebrating the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. It's a festive occasion and includes some of my favorite foods and religious traditions. For 8 days all leavened breads, wheat products, barleys, etc. are verboten. Instead there are a bevy of matzoh (unleavened bread, similar to a cracker) products. It definitely forces me to be creative with my cooking!

I made a first night dinner (not a typical Seder, the festive holiday meal) with all the traditional Passover food for my brother and his GF. The foods of Passover are meaningful, each item we eat and drink bears a rich symbolize and tradition. I would not do any religious explanations justice in my short blog entry!

My homemade matzoh ball soup

There was homemade matzoh ball soup (slow cooker chicken stock is the way to go!), beef tzimmes (a traditional stew made with beef short ribs, sweet potatoes, carrots, honey and prunes), charoset (apples, nuts & cinnamon), matzoh for the table, salad (yes, need some greens in there!) and for dessert there was chocolate caramel dipped matzoh (I'll definitely be making that again) and chocolate macaroons.

Beef Tzimmes

Salad, charoset and matzoh

The second night I did go to a traditional seder with my BF's family. His Mom and his aunt are both wonderful cooks and made a true feast. It was wonderful celebrating the holiday with his family, because it's so important to feel like you are part of the tradition.

I'm sticking to my guns this year and am being good keeping Passover. I've been trying out some new recipes and would HIGHLY recommend the quinoa mac and cheese which I of course topped with matzoh meal :)

Living the Good Life in Wisconsin

After enjoying a truly delicious Sunday brunch with my girls Jackie & Annie

I celebrated my 3rd annual girls weekend at The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin with two of my college girlfriends.  The weekend is always uncomplicated and consists of eating, going to the spa, eating, running (yes, we've got to get some exercise in there), chatting, eating and catching up on "House Hunters". Good times with the girls!

I do love my WI root beer - Sprecher!

As you can see there was quite a bit of eating and I had my camera out at every opportunity! Breakfast and brunch in The American Club's well-appointed Wisconsin Room is my favorite. The room has old-school charm and prestige (it reminds me of the school I attended as a wee lass) and the food (included with our room package) is unbelievable.

The beautifully appointed Wisconsin Room

I visited the resort this past summer with my BF and could not stop thinking about the white chocolate raspberry waffles. They're on the regular menu and if you visit The American Club I HIGHLY recommend them!

White chocolate & raspberry waffles

The Sunday brunch is sumptuous. I've never seen anything like it in all my dining experiences. The sheer variety and quality of each item on the buffet is outstanding. My favorite (yes I went up twice) is the smoked seafood section of the buffet - there is whitefish, salmon, mussels, shrimp, two kinds of oysters - it's fantastic! I know the picture doesn't look exciting, but believe me I remember how fresh everything tastes from year to year and it never disappoints.

Brulee French toast!

Another favorite on the Sunday brunch buffet is the brulee French toast. The chefs use brioche bread and brulee the sugar to order. There is a divine berry compote made with rum and sugar. Yes, this two I got twice (I would like to mention that I did go tot he gym before this meal in preparation for my heavenly eats.)

Smoked seafood delights

I went to school in Wisconsin so I have an affinity for all things Badger State, but I have to say that if you're looking for a special getaway whether you're a foodie, a spa guru, a golfer or someone just looking to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Wisconsin, I would highly recommend a visit to Kohler!

Chilling after a gigantic brunch in the Kohler Design Center - until next year!

Foodie Pen Pals - Indian Style

When I was younger I had a pen pal that lived in Nova Scotia. This was back in the day when pen and paper were king. I loved the whole process of being a pen pal - picking out fun stationary and seeing the words move across the page, buying stickers (OK, if you've received a card or a letter from me in the past few years, you know I still get really into stickers!) It was such a comfort to write my pen pal about what was going on in my world and reading her responses to me. Fast forward some 15-20 years and once again I have a pen pal though not in the traditional sense.

Foodie Pen Pals - who wouldn't want to get a gift like this in the mail?!

Foodie Pen Pals was started a mere 6 months ago by fellow food blogger Lindsay. To date there are over 350 participants across the US, Canada, and now the UK too. Impressive, right? "Pen pals" change every month, and you don't write/buy gifts for the same person that has you as a pen pal (though I think this would be a fun way to do things, you might foster a stronger relationship if you're focusing on one another.) There's a $15 spending limit and items are geared towards food related products your pen pal would be interested in. I sent a box of chocolate and peanut butter themed treats to pen pal Cinnamon in Washington state. I had a great time putting the box together for her...it was just like my old pen palling days as a preteen!

I was spoiled by all the delicious Indian treats!

I came home about a week ago to see that I had received a large box. Huge. I knew it was my pen pal gift. Aurvi did a wonderful job creating an authentic Indian gift basket of goodies for me complete with homemade treats and mixes galore - chai masala, daal lentils and spices (I made a lovely stew for dinner and even sent my friends home with leftovers), cardamon cookies, biscuits, spicy snack mix (with rice krispies and chickpeas), tandoori spice mix, an addictive snack mix that I need to keep my little hands out of (it has shoestring potatoes, nuts and dried fruits - LOVE IT!) and homemade cupcakes. Wow, right? It was impressive and so lovingly assembled. I felt like it was my birthday! I made a delicious feast for two of my lucky friends and even had enough of the daal leftover for them to take home as leftovers.

Aurvi made this special blend of tea - brewed with milk & sugar it's fantastic!

I am a huge fan of this Foodie Pen Pal program as you can tell. It gives us food bloggers and opportunity to get to know one another and promote one another. It fosters a community that being digital can sometimes manipulate. It helps us to foster relationships.