Getting back on the horse: Blogging again.

But the horse never bucked me!  The problem is life.  A demanding job.  A longer commute. Facebook.  Too many things happening!  I've missed blogging dreadfully, and I have so much to share that I'm making a promise to myself not to be gone so long in the future.

Since food is fun, comforting, and emotionally easy to address, I'll start with that:

Here was last night's dinner - Chicken Tortilla Soup.  It was truly delicious.  I followed The Pioneer Woman's recipe, more or less.  I've been turning up the heat in my kitchen a bit more for the last couple of years after reading of all the many health benefits chili peppers offer.  I know, I'm late to the party.  In addition to Vitamin C, carotenoids, and antioxidants, they are great to help regulate insulin in the body, and even helps break up gallstones!

Can you tell I'm getting older?  Now food not only has to taste delicious, but it has to have some redeeming healthy quality, if only to justify it to myself.  My heat tolerance is still low, compared to that of most of my friends, but it's definitely improving.  If you attempt to make this recipe, take it nice and slow with the hot spices, until you find the level of heat with which you are comfortable - and be sure to have some sour cream on hand to cool things down in a hurry!

Our interest in Mexican food was rekindled recently during a visit to Rick Bayless' "Topolobampo" restaurant here in Chicago.  We waited for our table next door at "Frontera Grill" sipping sangría (we are not into margaritas), admiring their alebrije - a Mexican folk art sculpture of a fantastical creature. 

. . . and enjoying the most unusual, but delicious Chef's Choice Guacamole, made with mashed avocado, infused with morita chile, grilled onions, oregano, chorizo and queso fresco.  It was fabulous!

And that was only the beginning because the 5-course meal that followed at Topolo's (as the name is frequently shortened) was inspired.  The courses were described elaborately and presented with flare, but when it came down to it, the food was of the utmost freshness and simplicity.  It took us three and a half hours to finish the meal.  I felt like I was in Europe, in one of those delightful suppers that never seem to end, and in which the conversation flows like good wine.  If you have the opportunity to visit one of Rick Bayless' restaurants, don't miss it!  It's definitely worth it!

Martha Stewart posted the beautiful picture above of  her Leftover Salade Niçoise, and it spoke to me because it reminded me a bit of my grandmother's salad  - Carmela's Salad, of which I have previously written.  I felt like Martha was challenging me to take it up a few notches, so, of course, I had to try making it . . .

. . . even down to making up a batch of my own Roasted Red Peppers.

Voilà!  I omitted the anchovies, because neither my husband nor I will eat them (although I don't mind them in a Caesar Salad Dressing, where their fuzzy texture is obliterated by the blender, another day, perhaps). Everything was Martha-worthy - organic, locally grown, grass-fed, antibiotic-free, pesticide-free, and wild-caught.  We feasted on it for two days.  Challenge met, Martha!

North Carolina Pulled Pork was another new entrée to feature at our table in a recent weekend dinner.  I convinced myself that because it was dressed with apple cider vinegar and honey, it had to be healthy. The pork came out very tender, but we decided we really missed the barbecue sauce, so I'm not sure if I'll be making this one again.

My attempts at healthier eating aren't always successful, but sometimes they are.  Dr. Hyman's Green Breakfast Smoothie, which he touts as probably "the healthiest smoothie in the whole world" has been part of my breakfast for the last few months, and I'm enjoying it! It is actually very tasty, and easy to make with the help of a good Vitamix blender, and my wonderful husband, who prepares the veggies for me.

Since our recent trip to Hawai’i we've welcomed papayas back into our lives.  I don't know why we've ignored this delicious fruit in the past.  My mother was very fond of it.  In Cuba it is generally known as "Fruta Bomba" - Bomb Fruit.  In Havana, especially, the sophisticated town mice would never utter the name "papaya" which in Cuban slang represents the female genitalia.  This article will help explain this Cuban idiosyncrasy.  I guess it's better that it look like a bomb than a part of the female anatomy.  We humans are so sexually repressed!  Ha!  In any case, they've been exceptionally good this year, and we have indulged.  Go buy a papaya before the season runs out!

Ah!  Food!  We can't avoid dealing with it daily.  And what joy it brings when we do it right!

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” —Virginia Woolf

I'm back!

2008 Highlights

The Best and the Worst of 2008

• January 2008 - I turned 50! We had dinner with my brother, Al, and his family at a French bistro, Mon Ami Gabi, in Oak Brook. Low-key celebration but hugely meaningful to me.

• January 2008 - Our minivan, affectionately known as Moby Dick, gets a flat tire on the coldest day in January; then gets rear ended by the garage that was installing new tires. I drove a rental for two weeks while the van was being repaired. Another innocent victim was my purse, which was run over by a car while I was transferring "must-haves" from the van to the rental.

• March 6 - I fell during work hours while attending an off-site meeting and fractured my left wrist. I spent the evening at an immediate care center brooding that my son, John, was celebrating his 19th birthday sitting in the Waiting Room while his mom was being treated for her injury.



• April 2008 - My office moves to Elmhurst, Illinois, from Oak Brook, into the renovated factory formerly owned by Keebler (yes, the cookie factory). Now, whenever something goes wrong, we blame it on the elves.


• June 2008 - The Dining Room gets a fresh coat of paint. Nobody paints like my husband, Lee. No one is as patient and meticulous.



• July 2008 - John's room makeover. John's bedroom gets new laminate flooring, paint and bedding. John has put his personal touches in the room which now feels very Zen.


• August 2008 - David gets his first part-time job at Jewel, straightening shelves in the grocery store, and helping customers.



• September 2008 - John begins his second year at College of DuPage, he is hoping to transfer to NIU and complete his Education degree.



• September 2008 - David begins his senior year in high school. Yikes! Where has time gone?



• October 11, 2008 - Moby Dick was hit again, this time on the left side, while my husband, Lee, was backing it out of a parking space at our local supermarket two days before our trip to Italy. We filed a police report and decided to deal with the problem after our return.



• October 2008 - Lee and I, with Lee's brother, Robert, and his wife, Barb, travelled to Italy and stayed in Rome seven days. Lee and I arrived a day earlier than Robert and Barb, so we could attend a Papal audience at the Vatican. The trip was wonderful but exhausting. We visited countless sites, and enjoyed many delicious local wines with our meals. We found the Italian people absolutely warm and friendly and very interested in the upcoming American elections. We definitely want to go back.



• November 2008 - John gets accepted to NIU for next fall, and wins their Centennial Scholarship. Go Huskies!



• December 2008 - I get my very own computer and begin a blog!!!