Our family has always had the most fun on our official “Fab Five” outings and events. (If you’re new here, the Fab Five is made up of me, Jim, our sons, and my sister Julesie.) One of our best-known adventures here on the Scrawl was the time when (two years ago) we got together to make international burgers–including a German burger with mustard and sauerkraut on it, which my German twin Kat was disgusted by–in honor of the premiere of “The Amazing Race”, one of our favorite shows. This past weekend, the older boy came home from college for a special Fab Five event: attending a live performance of the…
-
-
I’ll Tell You What’s Yummy: Cold Spaghetti and Room Temperature Snowballs.
Those of you who know me well probably read last night’s post about the food we ate in Germany and wondered if I was holding something back, because I only mentioned a dessert (Black Forest cherry cake) once. You’d be right. We had lots of sweet treats while in Europe, and I thought I’d tell you about two of the standouts. The younger boy’s German teacher (who used to be the older boy’s teacher when she was at his high school), a really cool woman who is a real, live, native German, told him all about “Spaghetti Eis”. Eis is the German word for “ice cream”, by the way. Once…
-
They* Made Eating Fun.
A few years ago, Jim went on a week-long business trip to Japan, accompanied by a co-worker friend. This co-worker had never been to Japan before, and drove Jim crazy with the massive amounts of pictures he took, all along the way. He took a picture of EVERY SINGLE MEAL he had while in Japan, too, and the idea of that was pretty funny to us. But then again, when I think about it, it’s not really as silly as it sounds. If you’re going to a foreign country, it’s not any less silly to take pictures of the food than it is to take pictures of the buildings, right?…
-
Apparently I Should Be Eating More Marshmallows.
You might be surprised at what I have chosen to write about today. On second thought, you might not. In spite of the castles, the Alps, the colorful town squares in the Altstadts of Bavaria, and all of the other local flavor we experienced, what I’ve decided to tell you about first are… THE GROCERY STORES. Yes, the grocery stores. I loved going to the grocery stores in Germany. Let me back up a bit. Some of you new readers may not know the extent of my foreign fetish: you can read about why foreigners make me giddy by clicking here. Anyway, I let Kat know ahead of time that…
-
Salsa-Off!
We had a very important competition in our house this week, something that was a long time coming: a Salsa-off. No, not this kind of salsa: I’m talking about the kind that goes well with tortilla chips. We over-planted tomatoes this year, and there has been much trash-talking between Jim and the younger boy about who could possibly make the very best salsa with our abundance of tomatoes (and jalapenos, which are also in the garden). Finally, it happened. Of course I documented it. Innnnn the red cornerrrrr…the Younger Boy!!(The crowd goes wild!) Innnnn the blue cornerrrr…his Dad!!(The crowd goes equally as wild!) Gentleman, start your engines… As you can…
-
Tin Roof! Rusted.
I had the pleasure of revisiting the 80’s personally last week when I went to see the B-52s play at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, a northern suburb of Chicago. My “date”? None other than my friend and virtual training partner for the BlogHer 5K, Michelle from Honest and Truly. Ravinia is a Chicago-area tradition. All summer long, a wide variety of musical and dance groups perform there, from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (every year!) to acts like (this year!) Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Four Tops, The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo Yo Ma, Counting Crows, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Beach Boys, Nelly Furtado, Vince Gill, Jethro Tull, Sheryl…
-
Just Dessert.
Yesterday I attended the annual Wilton Tent Sale in my neck of the woods with Michelle, who–amazingly–is an area native and just found out about it. I was amused when she told me that because I often call her when I need advice or suggestions for things in the Chicago area. In fact, I’m just remembering that, when I had to drive to Wooddale (a suburb I had to look up on Mapquest because I had no clue about its location) on Thursday to pick up a new glass microwave plate for work at Magic Chef because I refused to pay the $10 shipping in addition to the cost of…
-
Fruitastic Summer Salad
I’m headed over to my sister’s place this evening. We’re going to watch “Billy Elliott” (I’ve never seen it but it’s been on my list!) and enjoy dinner. I’m bringing what has become my go-to, easy-as-pie-and-tastes-just-as-good-too dessert this summer, the recipe for which actually came from my sister. “Fruitastic Salad” (she made up that name, but it fits!) 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint5 tablespoons sugar or splenda*juice/pulp of one lime Pulse mint, sugar and lime juice in blender or food processor until mostly liquified. You want the mint to be small. (You can use whatever fruit you want, fresh or frozen, in whatever amounts, but here’s a good guideline):1/2…
-
Here’s The Secret To Having A Super Passover Seder
Lean in so I don’t have to shout… Closer… Closer… Ready? Here’s the secret: That’s right. The secret to a super Passover seder is to serve MY charoset*. Seriously. Want the recipe? It’s in this post. Not Jewish? No problem: I feel confident that you could impress your family if you just put this out on the table one fine spring evening, just for kicks. If you are Jewish, I hope you have a Happy Passover! *I must add, out of respect to my good friend who is hosting the seder tonight (as she does every year) that the other secret to having a super Passover seder is good company,…
-
On Judging Books By Their Covers: Don’t.
Just a reminder: You have only SIX DAYS LEFT to enter my $500 Visa Card giveaway, sponsored by Lincoln and the MKT. I know a bunch of you regular readers have not yet thrown your hat into the ring: WHYYYYY? I would totally enter if I could! Do it…for me? (Was that convincing enough? Click here for details.) Lately, I’ve been keeping track of what I eat on the iPod Touch I received for my birthday last November (thanks, Jim!). Keeping track of every crumb that goes into my mouth makes me think twice about my food choices. The last couple of days have been rainy around here, and instead…