Slow summer days

While I'm not a fan of retro-blogging, I do have to say, we had a nice weekend from my Monday evening vantage point. This blogger has published a book, has a strong following and is thin and pretty, and I still like her. I appreciate her love of family and friends and her positive outlook on life. Anyways, she has been doing more with video on her blog and has provided a tutorial on YouTube. She, along with the new desktop computer Jeremy bought us, inspired me to make this video from our visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden Saturday afternoon with a little something added to the end.  I literally followed the tutorial step-by-step; more creativity to come as I get more comfortable with my movie editing skills.

June 2012 from Jennifer Mullman on Vimeo.

Sunday was a day to rest and be lazy for my family. We thought it might rain; it didn't. We treated the day as if it was a rainy day anyways, reading books and doing inside things. Jack got into the cozy, lazy spirit of things by wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants (while it was nearing 90 degrees outside, mind you), and Roscoe the cat is always ready for a good snooze.

Jeremy and I tried a new slow cooker recipe from this blog Sunday night.

Easy slow cooker carnitas
2 pounds pork shoulder
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime)
7 cloves garlic (whole intact)
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 cup beef broth
corn tortillas
sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado, limes (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the salt and cumin. Rub mixture all over the pork, then plop into the slow cooker. Add whole garlic cloves. Squeeze on the citrus, and pour the beef broth evenly over the top.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork shreds quite easily with a fork. If your meat is still fully intact after 8 hours, remove and cut into chunks, then return to the crock and flip to high for about an hour or two.
Shred meat fully and serve on warmed corn tortillas with desired toppings.

One of our favorite appetizers is the guacamole from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which went perfectly with our pork tacos.

Guacamole
4 ripe Haas avocados
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
8 dashes hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, seeded, and small-diced

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh out of their shells into a large bowl. Immediately add the lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper and toss well. Using a hand mixer, blend avocado mix to your liking. Add the tomatoes. Mix well and taste for salt and pepper.

And for anyone who thinks I edit my life for my blog - well, okay, sometimes I do - and now I'm getting into video! Just to keep things real, here's a picture of my life taken by Jack.

Here's to slowing down to enjoy our happy, messy lives, gentle readers.

A summer favorite

Jeremy and I owned Chicago this past weekend - we were all over this town. We started Friday with the most awesome staff picnic ever - Openlands' picnic at our president's family home in Lockport, complete with a taco food truck and way too many desserts. Jack had a ball exploring the yard, which was resplendent with garden beds, and venturing to the neighboring school's playground.

Saturday, I had our entire day mapped out, minute-by-minute. First stop was an early run to the Green City Market, where we discovered Las Manas Tamales among the produce. Nothing like a pork shoulder tamale to get your day started!  Next up was a playdate with friends and then a trip to Costco (yes, lunch was samples throughout the store).

And the afternoon was a series of errands as I summoned up my parking and driving prowess through Chicago's insane Saturday traffic (coupled with a few malfunctioning stoplights from the storms the night before). This was while Jack and Jossie were taking epic naps at home for Jeremy. But of course!

Saturday night, Jeremy and I were guests at a benefit for Ravinia, one of my most favorite spots. As a fundraiser myself, it was so nice to be on the other side, enjoying good music, company and wine.

Sunday was a lazy day. We finally pulled ourselves together by evening to host some friends for dinner, and we made my mother-in-law's yummy crab cakes as an appetizer:

Baker's Tavern crab cakes

1/3 sleeve Saltine crackers
2 T. good mayonnaise (this is a nod to one of my brother-in-laws)
2 t. Old Bay seasoning
2 t. dried parsley flakes
1/2 t. yellow mustard
1 large egg, beaten
1 lb jumbo lump crab meat

Grind up Saltine crackers in a mini food processor. Mix in mayonnaise, Old Bay seasoning, parsley, mustard and egg. Stir in crab meat gently, making sure to not break up the lumps.  Shape mixture into patties. Broil 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly browned under the oven's broiler. Serve with cocktail sauce and enjoy.

Hey, I just entered this recipe in Santa Margherita's Pour & Pair Challenge.  If you have a recipe that pairs well with Prosecco, enter yours today. (Disclaimer: I am married to the man who is publicizing this contest. I was not - in any way, trust me - compensated for this post.)

The key is "rustic"

It’s Saturday night, and friends are coming soon for a glass of wine before we all head out to dinner. I happened upon this recipe online – crisp rosemary flatbread. It is simple and quick and will be great with a bit of cheese and glass of white wine.  Also, I’m a big fan of “rustic” fare – no perfect lines here.  And, gentle reader, they are good! If you make them, be sure to roll them out very thin for a cracker-like consistency. 

Honestly, the toughest part of this recipe has been trying to keep Jeremy from eating them all before our guests arrive at 7.

Crisp Rosemary Flatbread

From Gourmet, July 2008

Active time: 15 minutes; Start to finish: 45 minutes

Think of it as a cracker version of rosemary-flecked flatbread. But these are the easiest crackers you’ll ever make: Rather than cutting the dough into small pieces, you bake three large pieces, then break them into smaller ones to serve. The jagged edges invite nibbling.

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing

Flaky sea salt

Preheat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle.

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin).

Lightly brush top with additional oil and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide round (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flatbread (discard parchment) to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds (1 at a time) on fresh parchment (do not oil or salt until just before baking). Break into pieces.

Note: Flatbread can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

One word to describe this weekend: food

I can't believe it's Monday night; we have survived the weekend! Openlands had a great fundraiser lunch Friday, complete with talks by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Bill Kurtis and Donna LaPietra and a wonderfully inspiring talk by Rick Bayless. As Rick said, buy local (food); be happy! We had about 700 guests, which was extremely satisfying, given our economy.


On to the weekend...Friday night, after taking Advil for my aching legs (running in heels all day), I started pulling out my party plates and purple napkins. Our good friends Emily and Steve came in late that night and after Northwestern's Homecoming football game Saturday, we hosted a pre-reunion party at our condo that included grilled lemon chicken skewers, Emily's homemade beef wontons, hummus with fresh vegetables, brie en croute - here's one variation - Emily's included fig jam, walnuts and dried cranberries, garlic and cheese crostini and pumpkin bread.


Pumpkin bread
1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree
¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup applesauce
4 eggs
3½ cups all-purpose flour
3 cups white sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons ground allspice
1½ teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chopped nuts


Blend eggs and sugar. Blend in pumpkin, vegetable oil and applesauce. Sift together dry ingredients (including spices). Combine the two mixtures, blending thoroughly. Stir in nuts. Pour into 2 greased 9” x 5” x 3” loaf pans and bake at 300 degrees F for 1 hour. After removing from the oven, let the breads rest for 10 minutes before removing from the pans.


Sunday night, we went to Bon Soiree in Logan Square. It. was. wonderful. It has changed the way I look at food. The ingredients were seasonal and so fresh - the combinations were eye-opening and intriguing. Jeremy emailed the chef this morning, and he sent Jeremy back a kind note and a list of everything we tasted:

• Salad of shaved cucumbers, sorrel, kombu-tangerine vinaigrette, roasted peach, heirloom tomato
• Rabbit & duck confit motoyaki, torched ponzu aioli
• Kabocha squash soup with tart apples and yuzu citrus, white chocolate and bacon
• Lobster Sous Vide in wasabi duck fat with five styles of eggplant
• Braised Veal Cheek, Duck Breast, Chipotle Jus, Parsnip Potato pure with fines herbs, honey mushrooms and brussel sprouts
• Humboldt Fog, Pomegranate gelee, Thai basil tea puff, malted milk crisps
• Pear Gallette, housemade butterscotch ice cream

It was expensive but they are BYOB (and are committed to elevating the BYOB experience), which helped. I highly recommend! The chef is incredibly accommodating and invited us into his kitchen when we come back, which we surely will.