Pro Bono Baker

Holland, Michigan

In early July Nick and I took an Amtrak train from Chicago to Holland, Michigan.  We were met at the station by a very sweet young woman who was the keeper of the Dutch Colonial Inn where we had two nights reserved. We had decided on Holland thanks to the New Holland Brewery.  Nick and I are fans of many of their offerings, though most notably their Dragon's Milk.  The bed and breakfast is only about a mile from the brewery and we walked straight there after checking in to our room. 

There were a large number of IPAs on the chalkboard that we had never heard of, so we decided to start with a sampler tray:

Klomp Hatter IPA:  This one reminded us a bit of Gumballhead, with the hops kicking in at the end.  It was pretty good. 
Urele Heavy: A Scotch ale with a light front, a sweet end and a malty roundness throughout.
Nitro Hatter IPA:  This tasted bland and thin to us.
Belgian Hatter IPA: Smelled a bit like cough syrup and had a sharp astringent finish.
Imperial Hatter IPA: Very sweet with a muted hoppy-ness.  Full and luscious at the end.
Black Hatter IPA: This may have been the favorite of the bunch. Very dark in color and had a full earthy taste of toasted barely.  Not terribly complex, but strange and tasty.
Czarist stout: A very chocolaty stout with a frothy mouth-feel that finished pretty thin.
Existential: A sweet and hoppy barleywine.  Very good.

Their food was decent.  I ordered the annoyingly named "Treehugger" for eight bucks ("Vegetarians delight in this display of roughage! Served on a toasted focaccia bun, we pile hummus, cucumber, red onion, Roma tomato, sprouts, chipotle ranch dressing and dill havarti cheese.")  We learned, to our surprise, that the New Holland Brewpub does not own a deep fryer, so no fries...

After we ate we decided to move out back to their patio and ordered some tried and true full sized beers: the Dragon's Milk and Existential.  We had planned our trip around the brewery hours, and were well aware that the website claims the brewpub is open until 2 am on Saturdays.  However, again to our surprise, the kids who run the place (seriously, they all looked about 17)  closed up shop around 12:30 even though the place was packed.  This resulted in a mass exodus of very intoxicated patrons wandering out towards their cars and calling it a night.  Yikes. We walked home with a 22 to share in the garden.

Overall we weren't sure what to think of the New Holland Brewery and Brewpub.  Perhaps we just had bad luck, but no one seemed to know much about beer or really be old enough to drink it.  Their food was mediocre and they seem to be in need of a new manager if closing up shop an hour and a half early when the place is packed makes sense to them.  We were somewhat underwhelmed with the new beers we tried, but we do love the Dragon's Milk and Existential.  All in all I am quite glad we made the trip to the brewery, but I think in the future we will stick to those beers that the New Holland Brewing Company has deemed worthy of distribution. 

Oh, and one more thing, Holland doesn't allow beer or wine sales on Sundays --only liquor... This was an unfortunate surprise to us when we went back for one last try on Sunday afternoon.  Plan accordingly if you visit.  They neglected to mention this on their website we visited, but they now have a small button asking for help in repealing Sunday prohibition.

We really weren't heartbroken to use our time in other ways.  Holland is a charming little town and thanks to the Dutch Colonial Inn, we were able to fully enjoy it.  The Inn had two bikes that they allowed us to take all over town.  We biked the seven miles to the shores of Lake Michigan where the "Big Red Lighthouse" sits.  The views were breathtaking and the weather was perfect.

We then biked over to Windmill Island on the other side of town.  We paid the small admission fee and went straight to "De Zwaan," a 240 year old working Dutch windmill.  Our tour was run by a sweet and knowledgeable young woman dressed in traditional Dutch attire. We were able to climb all around the windmill and learned quite a bit about the tradition behind various decorations and how the milling process works.  Flour is still milled at De Zwaan and visitors can buy the flour in the gift shop.

We then spent about an hour laying around on the lawn and framing shots of Nick fighting the windmill.  Other attractions at Windmill Island include: a working antique carousel, homemade fudge, a working antique Amsterdam street organ, a miniature village and old-time klompen dancing performances.

We returned to the bed and breakfast to lay around and plan for dinner.  Our options were very limited on a Sunday night in Holland, Michigan.  We were going to order a pizza and call it a weekend, but our lovely inn keeper once again came to the rescue.  She scoffed when I asked for delivery recommendations and basically made us take her car back out towards the lighthouse to have a civilized dinner.  She recommended the Piper Restaurant on the water.  They had a lovely balcony overlooking the docks and the cool evening felt wonderful. 

We were both still in the mood for pizza, especially now that we had found a place with a wood oven.  Nick ordered the Meaty Medley: Italian sausage, smoked ham and pepperoni with a five-cheese blend and tomato sauce.   

I designed my own with asparagus and goat cheese.  It was all very tasty.

Holland, Michigan is a beautiful town.  We experienced some great food, interesting beer, gorgeous scenery and unbelievable hospitality.  This was an easy trip from the city and one I would highly recommend.

BlogHer Conference

I am listening to the keynote breakfast talk: What Humans Do with Artificial Intelligence on day two of the BlogHer Conference here in Chicago. 

Last night I met nearly 40 food bloggers from around the world at Lao Sze Chuan for dinner.  It was quite an experience to meet the authors of some of my favorite food sites in person.  I will post more on Waupaca, the food blogger dinner and BlogHer soon.

(Above: Chinese Eggplant in Garlic Sauce and Garlic Spinach)

Vacation and BlogHer

I will be in Waupaca, Wisconsin with my family for the next week. You can read about this lovely place in some older posts.  I intend to consume my fill of cheese curds, Ting pop and New Glarus beer. 

I will be returning this weekend for the BlogHer Conference here in Chicago.  I only have the time and money to attend the second day, but I am quite excited to meet so many other bloggers, especially food bloggers that I have been reading for quite some time.  I will be sure to post about the conference while I am there.  You can still sign-up if you are interested in attending. 

Chicago Botanic Gardens

Last Friday Nick and I both took the day off from work and traveled north to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. We took the Metra Union Pacific North line to Braeside and walked about a mile down Lake Cook Road (there are sidewalks).  The area had a large cicada population which made the walk quite entertaining.

The gardens are truly stunning and we had the perfect weather to enjoy them.  Of particular note, we most enjoyed the Fruit & Vegetable, Japanese, Bonsai and English Walled gardens.  As we entered the Fruit & Vegetable garden a woman gave us a tiny potted zucchini plant to take home.  I am happy to say that the zucchini has sprouted and appears to be happy sharing the planter with our tomatoes and basil.

I highly recommend a trip to the gardens this summer for all of those that live in the area, especially those in Chicago proper.  It is a simple trip, and an inexpensive one too (they ask for donations, but there is no real entrance fee). 

Hot Doug's and Broken Bones

Last weekend Nick and I made plans to finally eat at Hot Doug's together.  However, when I woke up that morning my right hand was twice it's normal size.  I determined that I must have broken my wrist the night before when I tripped over the television that isn't normally in the middle of our kitchen whilst carrying two deck chairs in the door, backwards.  Knowing that the impending emergency room visit would take at least 5 hours, I decided that enjoying a fried veggie corn-dog (which they only offer on weekends) would make the gloomy looking end to the weekend somewhat rewarding (to much protest from Nick, I should add). 

We walked to Hot Doug's from Logan Square, and after a spell where I had to take a break on their lawn because I was sure I was going to faint, we sat down with our selection. 

Nick ordered an elk sausage with a mustard sauce and mustard seed cheese, I enjoyed the aforementioned veggie corn-dog and we split a giant basket of duck-fat fried french fries. 

It was all very greasy and very good.

We also bought celery soda.  I had never tasted it before.  It was definitely sweeter than most things I enjoy, but the taste was so unique that I hardly minded.

We then traveled to my HMO approved hospital where we spent the next many hours. (Conveniently located next to Binny's at least!)  Nick was sweet and put up with the crazy old men and poorly behaved children in the ER waiting room while those tending me decided I might have a novicular fracture. I spent this last week at appointments with my general practitioner and orthopedic surgeons, getting enough x-rays to take a year off of my life, and the verdict is still out.  They basically told me to wear a wrist brace and if it hurts in a few weeks it is broken, if it doesn't hurt in a few weeks it isn't broken.  Ah, modern medicine.  I'm glad I ate first.

      

meat

Nick started a food blog.  It's all about meat. 
If you tire of the vegetarian fare at Pro Bono Baker, go read his first post about a very special ham sandwich.

Return from hiatus with delicious muffins in tow.

Hello dear readers!  I am back in action after fixing my computer problems.  Thank you for sticking with me.  I have received many sweet emails asking if I am throwing in the kitchen towel on my blog, so to speak.  I am not.

i have at long last been offered a well paying and challenging job.  After the Thanksgiving holiday i will once again be working in the Chicago loop for a wonderful organization pursuing cancer and leukemia treatment research.  Not only does the work promise to be personally gratifying, but socially as well.  As some of you may know, I have an interest in one day pursing a joint law and public health degree program.  This opportunity will help inform my decision to go ahead with the latter.

I wanted to remind you of one of my all-time favorite recipes that I have been baking in high volume recently:  Bonnie's Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins.

I usually do not use grated chocolate and never add the nuts that this recipe calls for, but rather extra chocolate chips.  For a special treat use a high percentage cacao dark chocolate with a handful of regular milk chocolate chips.  The dark chocolate will not melt as much as the milk chocolate during baking and will provide not only a deeper flavor, but a pleasing texture as well.

One other bit of advice.  I recently used a baking spray to coat my muffin tins before baking and the muffins came out a bit tough.  Ditch the spray and use the old-fashioned method of coating the tins in butter for a more luscious final product.

Ting Pop

While I receive a number of emails concerning things that I post on Pro Bono Baker, one of the most popular topics is Ting pop.  I initially posted about my love of this pop when I reported on my yearly family vacation to Waupaca, WI last year.

In an effort to assuage those of you who have written to me for more information on Ting, and for others who might be curious, I offer you all the knowledge I have.

When my family is in Waupaca we always take a short bike ride, or an even shorter car ride, to the Weller Store in Rural.  From Waupaca head southwest on CR-QQ which becomes Old WI-22.  22 jogs west in Rural and becomes Rural Rd.  This should send you past the Weller Store which sits next to the Crystal River in Rural.

A very sweet older man runs the Weller Store. (There he is above serving my father ice cream.)  Here you can find water-logged pulp novels for 10 cents, Ting pop for a quarter, ice cream cones for the same price (50 cents for some premium flavors; I am fond of the maple nut), inner-tube rentals, and fascinating conversation about local lore, river water levels, and how the community has changed over the years.

As far as I know, there is no way to contact the Weller Store.  I cannot locate a local listing for it and I do not recall having ever noticed a phone in the establishment.

While at the Weller Store recently, I learned that Ting is bottled by the New London Bottling Co. in New London, WI.  They can be reached at (920) 982-2337.  It sounds as if they will continue to bottle until they run out of bottles.  Therefore, when you purchase a pop at places like the Weller Store you will kindly be asked to consume it around town and to return the bottle. Please do.  It will be a sad day when I head to Rural and am unable to enjoy a Ting while watching the Crystal River canoe trips float by in the summer sun. Therefore, those of you looking to have Ting shipped or to take it home with you are out of luck.  Please cooperate.

Ting can also reportedly be found at Cheesie Bob's Bleu Cheese House in Waupaca proper. Follow the link for a map or contact the Bleu Cheese House at (715) 258-0900.

*Update*

Thanks to Mark for another Ting pop location, also in Waupaca:

Cas Liquor Store

226 W Fulton St
Waupaca, WI 54981

(715) 258-3127

AND for this fantastic link!

Birthdays and Broken Computers

Today is my 25th.  I had a lovely lunch at Lula Cafe with my mother, grandmother Schwab, and dearest friend Eileen.  This evening Nick and I are having dinner at the Green Zebra which I am very excited about returning to.  This will be a very delicious day indeed.

My apologies for not posting recently.  My computer isn't letting me upload any photos.  So, while I have about 2 months worth of things to post about, it will be a bit before you can see the evidence.  I will hopefully have the issue resolved soon.

In the meantime here is a photo of my family last Christmas standing in Kraków's Rynek Główny.  I love them very much.  Thanks for your care and patience these last 25 years.

Flux.

It has been a while, huh? I have had a lot of changes occuring in my non-food life over the last few weeks--some good, some bad. I have several posts to put up and many new posts from food blogging friends that I have yet to view and comment on. When I have more regular internet access I will be sure to get back in the game. Thanks for your patience during the interim.

Above is a photo from our widly successful first round of CUDGEL- Urban Golf. Check out this fabulous music video that my friend Peter put together with video from the event. We will be holding the next round on July 15th. Details can be found on our website.

Ready for Spring

I spent the day with my friends and fellow gardeners in our community garden.  We have 2 and a half plots this year which we have prepared for planting over the last few weeks.  Chicago has had a few perfect Spring days in the last 2 weeks, though every Chicagoan knows it could well snow tomorrow and that we shouldn't get our hopes up just yet.

We adjourned for coffee and sorted through our seeds while mapping out where each would go. It is going to be a delicious year.

John and I returned home and started some herbs on our windowsills: lemon basil, dill, sage, watercress, and cilantro.  He just left to watch the White Sox opener and I am about to take a sleeping pill to get to bed so I am somewhat energetic when I wake up at 3 am to have my first day of training at a local bread bakery. Life is nice right now.

Menu Database

Perhaps I simply overlooked this resource in the past, however I was thrilled to stumble upon the Los Angeles Public Library Menu Collection today.  I am attending a murder mystery party this Saturday night set in a 1920s speakeasy and the guests were asked to bring a small dish.  This has opened up a multitude of options!

Changes

As you can see I have tweaked the site a bit. I may be doing so a bit more over the next few days as well. I would appreciate hearing about any problems viewers might have in different browsers. Thanks!

Home.

We have returned to Chicago in one piece and with most of our belongings. It is disorienting to be in familiar surroundings after so long in so many new places. These last 5 months have been some of the most fascinating of my life. We met amazing people, tasted delicious foods, and saw breathtaking sites. I am a very lucky person to have had such an opportunity.

I wanted to post to say hello to everyone, that we have made it home safely, and to ask for a few days of patience while I get organized, unpacked, and begin to look for work. I hope to start putting some serious time into the site soon.

Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes, hellos from around the world, --and in some cases-- even your hospitality these last few months. It has meant a lot to me.

xxoo,
g

Pro Bono Baker turns 1!

One year ago I published my first post on Pro Bono Baker. While attempting to make naan and searching for recipes, I stumbled across Alberto's site, Il Forno. Never before had I found such a site, but I immediately knew I would enjoy such an endeavor of my own.

I began on Blogger, but soon moved over to Typepad where I have been happily posting from since.

A lot has happened in this past year. When I began I was living with three lovely roommates and the world's greatest dog in Chicago, working at a law firm in a fairly undemanding job, and yearning to do something different. Lo and behold I am now in Tallinn, Estonia (though I will be in St. Petersburg when this is published), traveling from London to Beijing with my boyfriend John. I sure found my change.

I have no idea what my plans will be when I return to Chicago in February. I will be looking for work, a place to live, and I will be trying to decide what to go back to school for. Will it be law school, the San Francisco Baking Institute, or something far away from either. . .? Perhaps I will be able to answer that question by the time this blog's 2nd birthday rolls around, but for now I will leave you simply with the promise to post more after the completion of this long and wonderful journey.

Thank you to everyone who has made me feel at home in this unmatched community of food lovers, to everyone who has commented on my site, to everyone who has quietly passed through its doors, and to all those who will in the future. This is a fun past-time, but even more so when you know others are sharing it with you.

(The photo above was taken at Balthasar in Tallinn, Estonia-- A restaurant devoted to garlic! It was pretty expensive for our dwindling pockets, but we did enjoy some --gasp-- garlic ice cream! It was very good and has reinstilled my desire for my own ice-cream maker. We also tasted some delicous house-infused garlic vodka.)

Travel Update

As my more faithful readers have noticed, I have not been posting as frequently since the beginning of our overseas journey. I apologize fervently, however even doing so will not increase the number of wireless connections at our disposal. I know that I could post text and forgo the pictures, but I feel that the pictures are half of the fun, so I can't bring myself to do that.

I have added a sidebar list to the left that chronicles where we have been so far and I will do my best to keep this up to date. Hopefully this will pique some interest and you won't forget about me. Over the next few weeks we will be traveling through Hungary, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Russia, and China. If anyone lives in these areas, it would be lovely to meet up and sample your favorite food in the area, to be made aware of wireless connections to be utilized, or if you have space, I bet we could use a couch here and there.

Goodbye Garden

Since John and I have left Chicago and our garden will look substantially different when we return in February, I wanted to publicly thank it for turning it's back on the drought and producing tasty things. Also, thanks to Ben Spicer for sharing his plot with John and I. I learned a lot about gardening and I now hope to have garden space wherever I live next.

We are in Paris at the moment.  I have had no luck finding a way to get pictures up.  Thanks for your patience.  I have so much I want to post!

At last.

I have my new digital camera! (A Canon Powershot S70.)

More Exciting News

I ordered a new camera last week and it has arrived!  It was shipped to my parent's house so I will not get my hands on before this Saturday --but soon, soon dear friends, I will once again bring regular posting and pictures of food to all those who graciously allow me to bend their ear, so to speak.

I originally had a Canon Powershot S45 and after hemming and hawing over what to replace it with I realized I was at a point where I really, really wanted and could learn a lot from a camera in the upper echelon, but in reality I'm still just a recent college graduate who is quitting her job to run around the world soon and I have no business having (or resources to obtain) something so nice and expensive at this point. 

I decided to get the newer model of the Canon Powershot, the S70.  The reviews I read were good and comparable to those of other cameras in the same price bracket and I had the added benefit of finding a very good deal on one.  I would like to thank all of you for your kind words when I was feeling really bummed, for your advice on cameras, and your patience during this unplanned hiatus!  I would especially like to thank Melissa of cookingdiva and the Panama Gourmet for being so unfathomably sweet to me.

The picture above was taken in Central Park when I visited New York in June.  I love this picture.  If I had caught this scene a split-second earlier it would have more fully captured the little girl's energy and shown her in mid-air, though it still has some sweet and sunny innocence that I was lucky to snap at a great moment.

I didn't feel it was appropriate to post a full account of my trip to New York when I returned due to it being more autobiographically oriented rather than food oriented, but I have had such an itch to post recently I have been doing so on a separate site.  If you would like to read about the trip, I have begun posting accounts of each day with a small smattering of restaurant critiques.  I only have the first two days up at the moment, but I will post the remainder as time allows.

Take care all and I will be back in full swing shortly (and have more free time briefly after I quit my job this Friday and before packing gets really rushed)!

Food Blog Map

I stumbled across a neat map that Tana at the Small Farms Blog has set up.  If you have a food blog feel free to add it to the map.  Even though I already know where most of the food blogs I read are based out off, this seems like a great way to get introduced to new ones.

Exciting News

Exciting News!

I have officially given notice at my job and I will be leaving my place of employment in a matter of weeks.  Shortly thereafter John and I will be boarding a plane to London and setting out on six months of traveling. (The impetus for all of this is a result of our landlord selling our apartment to a mean guy who wants us out by the 1st. . . )

It will be hard to say goodbye to so much, but I am greatly looking forward to this opportunity.  The general plan is to see a portion of Western Europe in a timely fashion (so as to avoid spending as much money as possible) and head to Poland where we will hopefully be staying for about a month, then on to the Baltics and eventually to St. Petersburg.  Finally, if time and money allow, we hope to take the Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Beijing.  We will be flying out of Beijing, but if time (and again, money) allows we hope to visit Vietnam or Malaysia first.

We hope to be doing all of this as cheaply as possible.  We have some things set up, but if anyone would like to give us advice (we are going to remain fairly flexible for the entire trip, so advice on almost any location would be helpful) on where to stay in a particular city, offer us a place to stay, offer to let us use your internet connection for an afternoon, show us around, tell us where to find some not-to-miss cheap food, or give us advice on what you would encourage a guest to see or do in your town we would be grateful.  Feel free to post as a comment if you think others might find your advice useful as well or email me at probonobaker@gmail.com .

While we are traveling I am hoping to be able to continue posting regularly.  We still have about a month here in Chicago, so hopefully I will get a camera soon and I can quit these mainly autobiographical posts and get back to what we all really want:  pictures and descriptions of food!

RIP: Canon Powershot s45

(me circa 2003)

Some asshole mugged me last night and made off with, among other things, my treasured digital camera.  Our time together was short (a gift from my family this past winter), but I became quite attached.  I was finally starting to get the hang of all this macro-food-photo business too.  I am fortunate to be fine with only a few cuts and bruises, it could have been a lot worse. 

I have a few pictures for you from Waupaca that I will put up soon, but the asshole made off with most of them still in the camera.  For the moment Part-Time Pro Bono Baker will be on hiatus with less frequent posting.  I will probably be able to borrow a friend's camera here and there, but I certainly can't afford to buy myself a new one at the moment.

If someone from say, Canon, Minolta, Olympus, Sony, Nikon, etc. is reading this and would like to donate a digital camera to the Pro Bono Baker cause, feel free to email me at probonobaker@gmail.com (you can also send me Paypal donations to this address if you feel so inclined) and I will be sure to advertise like mad for you.

Short of that I will have to consider this an "opportunity" to upgrade my camera.  Now that I have learned a bit about digital cameras, I find that perhaps a camera with better macro capabilities or the possibility to change the lenses would be pretty awesome.  It will be quite a long time before my broke self is able to afford another camera, but I will cross my fingers that it will be before John and I leave on our trip.

In the mean time, I would be quite happy to hear recommendations from other food bloggers and my readers in general as to what camera I should buy next.  As I said, I am not exactly rolling in cash, so the price would have to be a few hundred dollars or less.  Please let me know what you would suggest, I would be grateful for the advice.

People can be pretty lousy, huh?

Waupaca

I will be out of town for the next few days.  I am going to Waupaca, Wisconsin for our annual family vacation.  My parents have been going up to this chain of lakes since college.  It is quite beautiful and relaxing.  My brother took this picture of me there about two years ago.  He is a superb photographer and you can see more of his work on his website.  I will be happily grazing on pizza from the Wheelhouse, Swedish pancakes from King's Table, fried cheese curds from Clearwater Harbor, ice cream from Scooper's, and New Glarus beer while pondering what to make for the upcoming IMBB with the matcha powder that an excellent woman from the LTH Forums recently sent me in the mail.

Meme: The Cook Next Door

Zarah from Food and Thoughts tagged me for one of the many memes running around the food blogging world of late:  The Cook Next Door.

                               

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
It was 1987 and I was 6 years old and on vacation in Waupaca, Wisconsin with my family.  I slept a bit late and woke up to an empty cottage.  Our van was not in the driveway and there wasn’t a sound.  In a profoundly calm and collected manner, I recognized that I had been abandoned and that I had to fend for myself. I cried a few tears, pulled myself together, put Michael Jackson’s Bad on the tape deck, fast-forwarded to Liberian Girl, and decided the most responsible thing to do would be to eat a decent breakfast.  (I mean, I couldn’t allow myself to disregard all semblance of order simply because I was unsupervised.)  I then put some Cheerios in a bowl, topped it with milk, and in a particularly classy addition, sliced some strawberries into the cereal.  I went outside to eat on the stoop in the sun, only to find my entire family lounging out on the pier doing the same.  Embarrassed at my dramatics, I went inside washed off my tears and re-entered my childhood world.  So, it’s not really cooking, but it was the first time food registered as something important and comforting and something that I could have agency over.

Who had the most influence on your cooking?
I remember baking cookies and muffins with my mother growing up and I will never forget how good my dad’s pancakes, eggs and spaghetti are, but there was never a lot of cooking occurring in our house.  Most of the things we ate were from Market Day: frozen and ready-to-pop-in-the-oven Midwestern food.

The biggest influence on my cooking was not through a person necessarily, but occurred when I stopped eating meat.  I have never liked meat, I’m somewhat hyper-tactilely sensitive and the texture has always been intolerable for me.  I tried to stop eating meat in middle school, but was forced to eat fish and chicken until the beginning of high school because my parents had no idea how to cook for a vegetarian, and frankly, neither did I.  This was before the prevalence of the obligatory portabella burger that can now be found at many restaurants in the Midwest, therefore there really weren’t that many options to be had on the occasions that we went out to eat either.  The desire to eat tasty things that were not meat or side dishes propelled my interest in cooking and baking.  So, to answer the question, I would say my parents have influenced me the most, yet through a lack of cooking.  If my parents had been vegetarian culinary wizards, who really knows if I would even care about food that much today.

Since then, my boyfriend John has taught me a lot.  His intuition is much better than mine with spice usage and some cooking technique.  I think I have learned that it is good to experiment in the kitchen, but one must also have a vague plan to make something work well. (When I first started cooking, I would often go in headfirst and come out with some pretty bizarre flavor combinations because my vision of the dish had changed substantially from the beginning to end.)  We now have a lot of friends around us who are amazing cooks and we all have strong points.  It has been fun to attempt to use the skills we all bring to the table (pun).

Do you have an old photo as evidence of an early exposure to the
culinary world and would you like to share it?

I will look for an older photo to scan while I am visiting my parents this weekend. This picture is from the birthday celebration that my grandmother and I shared this past fall. In the center is my adorable cousin Sydney.

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that
makes your palms sweat?
Meat, since I don’t eat it and haven’t for so long, I have no idea how to make it taste good.  And honestly, it would take quite a bit to convince me to cut up raw chicken or mold bloody beef. . ick.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was
the biggest letdown?
The most valued: I had a post on this very topic a while back.  I am in absolutely in love with my flat, tough whisk.

Biggest letdown: I bought a bunch of farina rice flour a while back and have yet to touch it.  I had grand plans of baking gluten free bread in order to see how it worked and to learn more about the gluten breads I currently make.  It is still sitting on my shelf.  Confessing this is a good incentive to use it soon.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like -
and probably no one else!
I’m obsessed with nutritional yeast.  No one else I know cares for it.  I have a little bag of it at work and sometimes I will just eat it (in small quantities) from the bag. . . 

I like making savory baked goods a bit sweeter than they perhaps should be.

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
Bread. Cheese.  Avocado or good apples.

Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to
answer? Well then, feel free to add one!

Three quickies:
Your favorite ice-cream?
Simple: Good vanilla or chocolate.  I also have a soft spot for green tea flavored ice cream.

You will probably never eat?
I make a point to try everything once, but I would have a hard time rationalizing my adventurousness with the horrible things I have heard about Veal or Kobe beef.

Your own signature dish?
Hrm. . I don’t think I necessarily have one.  I make quiches and savory tarts often, breads of course as well.  I guess the thing I often make in a pinch would be a red bell pepper, spinach, and goat cheese quiche.

On average, how many times a week would you cook something to satisfy your sweet tooth?
I have been slowly losing my sweet tooth in the last few years, so I don’t often create something just to satisfy it. I would instead be more likely to find some sweet thing to munch on (some chocolate, a cookie, a bit of ice cream).  I think I cook more often to satisfy my, um . . . savory tooth?

And, last but not least:
Tag three people!

Sera at Culinary School Diary

I will post the rest as people accept the tag.

Renn Fayre/Portland

(More pictures coming soon.)

John and I returned from Oregon last night. It was refreshing to see so many people I have missed this past year, to revel in the general mayhem of Reed and Renn Fayre, and to smell the crisp mildewy Portland air whilst adoring unbelievably green foliage. In order to ensure this post isn't entirely off topic, I will give you a brief description of some of the bars/restaurants I was able to reacquaint myself with this weekend while also telling a bit about Renn Fayre.

Thursday: We flew in late, ran around campus enjoying the decorations and gave our greetings, then we went to The Pub at the End of the Universe with Meg, Harold, and Skye. The Pub is a bit of a hike from campus, but was close to my apartment senior year. They have some of the best Northwest beers on tap including my favorite, Terminal Gravity. The selections rotate often and the clientele is laid back. I wish I still had such a dreamy local bar.

Friday: I woke up at a decent time and went to Meg's for breakfast. She made Harold and I delicious blini. We then met John and headed to campus with many pounds of champagne and proceeded to partake in thesis parade. Soon after Urupan opened it's tent and we were all able to happily coat our stomachs with the best burritos in Portland. The beer garden opened at 6. The beer garden is a classy endeavor run by the excellent kids that make up Beer Nation. Beer Nation is a smoothly (and legally!) run student organization with the express purpose of getting of-age Reedies drunk (and on top-quality beers too). Here's to those that make it all happen! Aesop Rock put on a great show in the SU. That night I stayed out too late in the beer garden.

Saturday: We slept late and tried to go to Putter's for breakfast. However, they had just stopped serving breakfast when we walked in. We went across the street to the Village Kitchen, this adorable hole in the wall diner next to the giant Safeway. I paid for my wild night by not having the ability to consume my lovely looking scrambled eggs, toast, and potatoes and then we went back to campus and proceeded to drink more. Oh Renn Fayre.

We watched the Jigsaw Gentlemen and the Jailbait Philosophers play on the lawn during feast, played some pool in the pool hall, and watched the Black Peppercorns. That night was filled with the fireworks, glo opera, more beer garden, and sitting on the front lawn for a long time waiting for something to burn. John and I are old and went to bed early.

Sunday: I woke up super early (well, 9) and met a friend from high school, Jessica, at Fat Albert's for breakfast. Ask any Portlander what their favorite place for breakfast is and you might get as many answers as there are reproductions of tight Motorhead t-shirts, but mine is Fat Albert's. I used to go nearly every weekend when a past boyfriend lived near the place. It is tiny and you have to wait during peak hours for bit, but they make the smoothest, fluffiest eggs, and bar-none the best biscuits I have tasted. It was lovely to see Jessica again, I miss her.

I then went back to campus where they were giving hot air balloon rides and found John who had just gotten up. We then finally made it to Putter's where I attempted to drink a too-spicy-for-me bloody mary. Then back to Reed and back to the beer garden. We watched some lube wrestling and some high-profile Reedies get wet in the dunk-tank and, um. . back to the beer garden. Then sadly, as all things must do, we realized Renn Fayre was ending as we were ushered out of the beer garden and into a confused mass by the Urupan stand. We collected a few people (John, Erik, Leah, Elly, Meg, Harold maybe. . It's not my fault, they had Old Rasputin on tap in the beer garden.) and walked up the hill to the Delta for some greasy southern food. The Delta is great. Nice decor, delicious food (the southern sampler is a steal), and 40s of Pabst served in a bucket of ice. Now that's class. If you can wade through some of the hipster pretension it is one of my favorite restaurants in Portland (even though the formerly mentioned past boyfriend broke my heart there). We then moved on to the Lutz . I was pretty out of it so I didn't stay long, but the Lutz is a highly frequented bar just up the hill from Reed. I spent quite a bit of time here during my college years. They served $1 Pabsts, a good juke box with Neko Case on it, and familiar faces. I hear the Pabst is now $1.25. Whew, it seems I skipped town just in time. We went to bed very early.

Monday: We woke up early and said a quick goodbye to Noah who was leaving for his orals. We then met Meg, Harold, Dan, Leah, and Sam for breakfast at the Cup & Saucer . I didn't go here that often as student, but it is a nice place. Reasonably priced and inventive options, daily specials, lots of vegetarian dishes, and crummy diner coffee. And we were off. I miss Portland. I didn't really love the city while I was there, but of course I am nostalgic now.

Finally, thanks to Scott Foreman-Murray, Leah Johnston, and Dan Morrell for a great Renn Fayre. (Especially Dan, I remember how hard running Renn Fayre AND finishing a thesis is--an amazing feat few have attempted.)

Renn Fayre

I won't be posting for the next few days as I will be in Portland, OR for Renn Fayre.

This will be my first time back since I graduated and I am greatly looking forward to seeing people. 

I ran Renn Fayre with Mike and Tamara last year and I really wish Tamara could make it out this year.  However, I am sure South Korea is cooler than even Renn Fayre.

Photo Gallery

I will post the next (and final) chapter of our Wisconsin Odyssey soon.  However, in the interim I would like to announce the addition of a Photo Gallery which includes all of the photos of food that can be found throughout the site as well as a few others.  Ideally, I would like to eventually have each image serve as a link to the post it is from, however I have been unable to figure out how to do this in TypePad.  Any advice on this topic would be appreciated.

Chicago Foodies

Josh of Chicago Foodies has invited me to contribute Chicago bakery reviews and the occasional Hyde Park restaurant review to his fantastic site.  You can currently read about my recent trip to Argo Georgian Bakery as well as a wide variety of posts by other authors about the Chicago food scene.  I'm flattered to become part of such a great Chicago resource.

Spring

Spring has finally graced Chicago with it's presence. I'm sure of it this time. I can't wait for the fresh produce, the farmer's markets downtown, sitting in the sun at the point, and being able to enjoy some daylight after work. This was a long winter. Spending the last 3 years in Portland, Oregon spoiled me.

Food Photography

Since beginning this blog I have learned quite a bit about baking, cooking, and photography.  I still have a long way to go in all three categories, but especially the latter.  A few months ago I combed Google for some food photo advice and I thought I would share some of the sites I culled.

Please feel free to send me links to sites that you have found particularly helpful on the same subject and I will add them to the list to share with others.

An Insider's Look at Food Photography:  Includes information on food styling and tricks such as creating artificial steam.

eGullet-Digital Cameras: A forum on digital cameras where, if you dig, you can find some very helpful advice.

eGullet-Shutterbug: A forum where one can read peer critiques on food photos.

Food Photography Blog: A useful site with some 'tricks of the trade' advice.  However, the author's suggestion that perhaps the reason most photographers are men is due to the fact that the gear is so heavy (!) is less than enlightening.

How to Photography Food: A lengthy article with great pictures and some unique advice.

Kiplog: A quick tutorial on correcting color casts in Photoshop.

Photo Tips: A list of pointers.

Silverlace: Short article.

Tasteful Food Photography: Lovely pictures, a clear and concise article.

Lastly, here are the blogs of my two favorite food photographers.  Hopefully their pictures will provide you with the same inspiration to start cooking, baking, and shooting as they have for me.

101 Cookbooks:  Heidi's photos are gorgeous and plentiful.  This is a great resource for anyone who might need examples of superb and uncluttered food presentation as well as how to frame a shot well.

Nordljus:  These photos are absolutely breathtaking. Keiko is clearly both a master chef and photographer.  Certainly the best food photos I have yet to see.

New Year

newyears
Originally uploaded by dumin.

While searching for advice on baking naan for dinner with my housemates I stumbled across il forno a fantastic baking blog that links to several others. I decided that although I am a beginner, I would attempt to offer my baking experiences up for consumption as well.