While my daughter and I wandered through the Art Institute of Chicago recently, I was on the lookout for doors and I found lots of them. I offer them for you today, especially for Norm and Dan as well as any other woodworkers.
I’ll be on the road or in Philadelphia until Tuesday, taking a last load of our daughter’s things to her before we move, so I don’t know how much I’ll be online. But I always appreciate your thoughts and I’ll respond eventually.
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Posted: January 22, 2020 in Nature, Wordless Wednesday
Tags: leaves, McDowell Forest Preserve, McDowell Forest Preserve in winter, Nature, winter, Wordless Wednesday
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Posted: January 21, 2020 in Nature
Tags: birds in fog, birds in winter, fog, geese, McDowell Forest Preserve, McDowell Forest Preserve in winter, Nature
Today you’ll be happy to be doing a virtual walk, as this walk was cold and windy, windy being a trademark of Chicago, and as I’m writing this, it’s also cold and windy. But you don’t even have to bundle up, whereas this poor lion in front of the Art Institute of Chicago was wearing nothing but a wreath. (He’s even blue with cold!) The enormous line of people waiting were bundled up a lot more.
We’ve seen part of the weaving exhibit at the musuem, but today we’re going to venture around the environs of the museum, heading toward The Bean, more formally known as Cloud Gate, in Millennium Park. But first let’s take a look at Crown Fountain, where the faces change regularly in all seasons, but no water comes out in winter. Wonder why? 🙂
Read the rest of this entry »What on earth is okonomiyaki? Nami, a Japanese cook based in San Francisco at justonecookbook.com defines it thus:
Okonomiyaki (literally means ‘grilled as you like it’) is a savory version of Japanese pancake, made with flour, eggs, shredded cabbage, meat/ protein and topped with a variety of condiments. Better known as ‘Japanese pizza’ in the US, you can definitely prepare the filling and toppings however you like it. A wonderful way to use up your leftovers!
In Chicago, Stephaine Izard of Girl and the Goat fame serves a marvelous okonomiyaki, certified to taste authentic by our younger daughter who’s been to Japan, at her Little Goat Diner. The first time I ate there, my dish was overwhelmingly voted the best of the three dishes, according to the other two diners. This time, we all ordered okonomiyaki (with a giant, homemade cinnamon roll as our appetizer!) and all agreed it was amazingly delicious. That’s a soft-yoked egg on top, ready to meltingly join the rest of the dish, which includes eggs, cabbage, pork belly, scallion, and tasty Japanese mayonnaise.
You can get Stephanie’s recipe and even watch her make okonomiyaki by clicking here. If you don’t feel like making it, you won’t be sorry to find a restaurant that serves it. If you’re in the Chicago area, make a reservation at Little Goat Diner. If not everyone wants to try this, they have plenty other delicious choices. Here’s a link to the diner menu, from which you can also access the bakery and coffeehouse menus and other of Stephanie’s restaurants.
There are other restaurants in the Chicago area serving okonomiyaki, including one that just opened and is dedicated to various styles of this dish, but I haven’t tried any of them, so I’ll stick with what I know and perhaps have a chance to try another place before we move.
January 21 update. One of my online friends tried this dish, putting her own spin on it and making it more user-friendly. Take a peek and see what you think (and what her husband thought): Down-home Okonomiyaki.
