Wishful Slacker

Gorgeous

I was just going through some of the pictures I took this summer and had forgotten I'd taken this picture.  One comes upon this wall at the conclusion of the Evolving Planet exhibit at The Field Museum here in Chicago.  It is just amazing.   

 

Apparently I shouldn't have mentioned the weather

Friday turned into a fairly blustery and remarkably chilly August day and, after shivering at my desk with 2 working hours remaining, I decided to treat myself to a coffee from the hospital coffee shop.  An older woman behind the counter was chatting amicably with a man and his daughter.  When it became my turn, I placed my order and as the lady was ringing me up I cheerfully commented, "My goodness, it's so cold out today that I need a hot drink!"   

It was as though I had made some insensitive comment about childhood cancer.  Everything went silent.  The lady's congenial expression wiped away from her face and she blinked at me as she handed me my change.  Even the clink of my quarter in the hospital donation jar did not gain this lady's approval.  I slinked out of there while thinking, "What....?"  I keep replaying the interaction in my mind and still don't get how our relationship turned so sour.  Whatever happened, I guess I need to shape up in the future to improve my standing.  The weather won't be getting any warmer, and I'm going to be needing some hot beverages!

Chopping weather

I know many would disagree, but I have just loved the weather this summer. For those of us without the luxury of work-free summer days, these cool temps have made working in July just that much easier. Last weekend, the mornings felt so fall-like, sunny and crisp, that I expected to hear the Fox Sports football music coming across the television. I just love the fall...the crunch of leaves underfoot, the pilling sweaters that have been worn for years, chili on the stove, and the sight of one's breath in the air for the first time. Many feel reborn in the spring. For me, the world comes to life in the fall.

As the temperatures gradually dip over the next month, I look forward to making one-pot meals-stews and soups and chili. And, I have a fancy new knife to use on those carrots and celery and potatoes. We took the Knife Skills class at The Chopping Block a few months ago, and during that outing my husband treated me to a new Chroma knife. It's gorgeous. Designed by Porsche, it's got a nifty nubbin that fits under my thumb and its contours are perfect for my hand. When we have guests, all I want to do is drag them to our kitchen and say, "Let me show you my knife!"  But I don't, because that might be considered odd. :-P

Fig and Ginger Truffles

I've been meaning to post this recipe all week!  I made these truffles for our Iron Chef party last Saturday, and they were surprisingly good.  And- the recipe is Ellie Krieger's from the Food Network, which means it isn't all that bad for you.  While a bit messy to make (honey is fairly sticky after all), these come together pretty easily and you get many truffles out of one batch.  Try Whole Foods for the dried figs.  We stopped at every grocery store on our walk up to the Boys Town Whole Foods, thinking that if a closer store had dried figs we'd be saved having to make the remaining leg of the journey.  All that wandering was a big waste of time in the end!  

One alteration I made was rolling the truffles in crushed peanuts after dunking them in the chocolate.    

Fig and Ginger Truffles 2007
 Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved
 Prep Time:25 min | Inactive Prep Time:15 min | Cook Time:10 min
 Level: Intermediate Serves: 16 truffles, serving size: 2 truffles

Ingredients
2 cups dried black mission figs, or other dried figs (about 8 ounces)
1/4 cup crystallized ginger (about 2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 70 percent cocoa solids), chopped

Directions
Remove the stems from the figs and discard. Put the figs, ginger, cinnamon and honey in a food processor and process for about 45 seconds, until the ingredients are finely chopped and begin to stick together. 
Roll the fig mixture with your hands into heaping teaspoon-sized balls and set them on a baking sheet or plate lined with waxed paper. 
Place a small bowl over a saucepan, containing barely simmering water, over low heat.  Make sure the water is at least 2 inches from the bottom of the bowl. Place half the chocolate in the bowl and stir until it is melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the remaining chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate is melted.
Remove the bowl containing the chocolate from the pan.  Roll the fig balls into the melted chocolate 1 or 2 at a time, until they are all covered.  Place them back on the waxed paper and chill in the refrigerator until set, about 15 minutes.  Serve at room temperature.

Website of the Week

I chose passiveaggressivenotes.com as the website this week because it is a great resource to have when in need of a good chuckle!  And, with me being crazy, crazy busy at work, this is one of those times!

I will leave you with this picture of a very passive-aggressive cat. 

On-call crazy!

As of today, I am happy to report that my on-call reign at work is over halfway done.  Three-fifths completed.  Six-tenths.  Twelve-twentieths.  Sixty percent.  But who's counting? 

I went into this on-call period with no meal or grocery shopping preparation, and this has had dire consequences.  Even grocery shopping through Peapod has seemed too laborious a task.  Today I subsisted on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with the leftover heels of a loaf of bread (therefore making it about 2 inches in diameter), and two apples.  And, seeing as I used up the bread, this is no longer even an option for tomorrow.  My husband, who usually rallies for us during these times, is equally grocery-lethargic this week.  So, alas, we're relying on carry out options that have the promise of leftovers.  When I could not resist my continuous stomach grumblings at 4 pm today, I reached for the only snack I had at work--- fig newtons.  This is humorous because it was only last night that I vowed to stay away from figs for some time.  We probably ate about 4 pounds of figs and fig products over the weekend at our Iron Chef Battle Fig party.  Having to rectify today's moment of hypoglycemic panic with a fig newton gave me a chuckle...in a frenzied, slightly manic way.  It probably sounded more like a cackle. 

It makes me wonder how on earth I made it through graduate school, when I had such little time to cook and an empty wallet.  What I do remember is that there were plenty of tator tots.   

Part of the reason why we haven't devoted any weekend time to stocking up on food is that we've used these moments attending some really fun events the past couple weekends, definitely helping to ease the work dread that frequently oozes over me on Sundays (and yes, one of these fun times involved seeing The Wiggles).  Thrown into this weekend was a new arrival to our home- my husband's newly assembled bike, using a new bike frame and his old retro bike parts.  It's awesome.  And, Jim also won second place in Battle Fig with his Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Fig Compote.  All in all, the guy had a very successful weekend!

Hanging with The Wiggles:

Taking in the Air and Water Show:

Filling up at Battle Fig (pictures shown are of Chris's lamb and fig skewers, which won first place, and Christina's Fig, Apple, and Fontina Cheese Crostini):

And, last but not least, the new Black Stallion!

Cone of Shame

I picked up the cat this morning and my hand happened to find a bald spot over his right hip.  Tonight we've been watching him and he keeps going back to that area or his belly to lick or pull out fur.  He doesn't seem to be in any pain nor is he acting differently, but still, ripping out one's fur is not associated with optimal feline mental health.

Several thoughts are going through my mind: 1) This sucks, since there might be something wrong and he's never done this before, and 2) Why do our cats always acquire medical issues on Friday nights?, and 3) Why aren't we friends with any veterinarians?  Why do I only know geneticists or MFM's?
 
I am convinced that we will go to bed and wake up tomorrow to find the issue 100% resolved.  In the meanwhile, I thought that it would be a good idea to seek out some preventative care, and I dug out the medical cone that we used for our cat Oliver.  Major wasn't too pleased.

Cat: 1, Cone (and Human): 0. 

 

 

Website of the Week

I have been on call this week at work (and again next week), so my blog posts have dwindled slightly but not enough to miss the Website of the Week!  Come on, who do you think I am?! 

Today's website is for Chicago-based dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner and her Flexitarian Diet philosophy.  The Flexitarian Diet cookbook was featured in a Chicago Tribune segment several months ago and I ended up ordering the book soon after.  The premise behind flexitarian eating is to try and achieve the benefits of a vegetarian diet without giving up all meat.  She uses real food, and food that is truly satisfying.  Many of her recipes are included on her website. 

In addition to the book, Dawn teaches classes at The Chopping Block.  I went to her class in May and it was a lot of fun.  She's terrific in person.  At that class, we learned how to make these plantain chips with a bean dip, along with really delicious Mexican chocolate fondue.

Yum!

Two Years Later

We had a great afternoon today at the Metropolitan Club at Sears Tower (I will not refer to it as Willis Tower, no sir), where we watched the Thunderbirds practice in prep for the Chicago Air and Water Show this weekend.  Feeling the desk vibrate in a windowless office while the Thunderbirds roar overhead is enough to make anyone batty, so today I did something very unusual and left work at lunchtime to catch the practice.   

Sitting there absorbing the seemingly peaceful and quiet skyline (that is, after the Thunderbirds finished their run!), I remembered where I was this same week two years ago.  Let me tell you, it was far from sipping wine in the Met Grille on the 67th floor.  It was this week in 2007 that I took the Genetic Counseling board exam (the actual anniversary is August 15th and 16th, thanks to my savant skills at remembering dates), for which I had been studying since January.  On top of that, my husband and I trained the whole summer to complete the Chicago Distance Classic half marathon the Sunday before the board exam, raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of my sister, who had been undergoing cancer treatments during this time.  It was a summer of hyper-discipline and diligence, with hours of training and icing sore muscles and studying late into the night.  It was also the summer that my husband and I got engaged, and the time when, cruelly, we were under the happy impression that my sister's treatments had come to an end.

But today, two years later, I was sipping wine and staring into the city with my husband, with my sister healthy in Kalamazoo, my running shoes dusty in the closet, and the feeling of content.

 

Website of the Week

This week, I am posting the website for my favorite television show, Mad Men.  If you haven't yet tuned in to this show, I highly recommend giving it a chance.  Season 3 begins SUNDAY!  Yippeee!  It's on AMC at 10pm ET| 9 pm CT (I love living in Central Time). 

To get caught up (which is probably a good idea), Seasons 1 and 2 are out on DVD.  And, you can get them through Netflix, which I know firsthand because Disc 1 of the 2nd season is being delivered to our mailbox tomorrow!

You may have heard about the widely popular "Mad Men Yourself" feature on their website that allows you to create yourself circa 1960's.  I've pasted mine in below.  And yes, that's me drinking a martini at work.  Like my fancy eye shadow?