Bye bye Sue

The boys were keen to visit the Field Museum before we leave Chicago, so we made a visit today. The Field Museum is a brilliant 'old school' museum of curios, artifacts and animals, with something to appeal to almost everyone. We have barely scratched the surface of what this museum has to offer. Possibly something to do with being trapped in the dinosaur section too many times.

We said hello (as we do when we arrive at the museum) and then goodbye to 'Sue', the 'largest, most complete and best preserved' example of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever found. With some speed-viewing, we even managed to fit in a couple of more exhibits than we usually do, including the Underground Adventure exhibit, the Real Pirates, The Ancient Americas and Water. The Pirate exhibit was extremely popular but required too much reading for this young family, making it a very slow moving experience, compounded by a couple of bottlenecks (where a number of patrons were beginning to lose their patience). This was a shame as 'pirates' appeal to all ages, and there would have been great scope to provide some more kid-friendly exhibits, or at least a fast route through.

We are going to miss the Field Museum, but are also very excited at the prospect of being able to explore all the Smithsonian has to offer.

Molly's Cupcakes

There are several establishments - just around the corner - that we are going to miss BIG TIME! We just LOVE our neighborhood and the fact that we can live without a car (we did for 18 months) as so much of what we need is within walking distance. Living on acreage in a more suburban - less city-like environment is going to be a big adjustment for us.

We visited one of those establishments yesterday. Molly's Cupcakes. Although we are not super-regular visitors, we do visit from time to time - particulary during our very brief Chicago-Winter-walks, when it is just TOO cold to walk any distance, but we need to get outdoors before we succumb to cabin fever.

A selection of games including Jenga and Connect 4, keeps the boys occupied while I have a warming cup of coffee. The success of the lattes served here totally depends upon the barrista, but they do use the local Intelligentsia blend, so it bound to be better then the chain stores... and they use ceramic cups. YAY.

I love the ethos behind the cupcakes baked here: using a recipe from a favorite grade-school teacher, with a portion of profits benefiting local schools. The photo shows Master 3 eyeing our selection: Cookies-n-cream, Coconut Cream and Lemon Meringue cupcakes.

What to do with abundant corn and coriander?

Recent trips to the farmers markets have left us with a fridge full of corn and coriander (cilantro). I was wondering what to cook for the kids dinner and remembered that my brother's partner Amanda*, a committed vegetarian, used to make great corn cakes. I dug out the recipe and set to work...

AMANDA'S CORN CAKES

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 3 to 5 corn cobs)

1 small red onion, chopped

2 eggs

1/4 cup fresh coriander/cilantro (including stems and leaves)

1 cup plain flour

salt and pepper to taste

3-4 tbs peanut oil

Method:

In a food processor, place 2 cups of the corn kernels, onion, eggs, coriander and flour. Process until combined.

Stir in remaining corn kernels and season to taste.

Heat peanut oil in in non-stick pan over medium-high heat. In batches, drop heaped tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil and cook for approximately 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towel once browned both sides.

Variations:

I used olive oil instead of peanut oil. I used a brown onion as I didn't have any red onions. I used more coriander than specified. I used a soupspoon to drop the batter into the oil.

Amanda served these with a chili sauce (1/2 cup sweet chili sauce, 1/4 cup lime juice, 1 tbl fish sauce).

Little Miss 11 month was happy to eat the corn cakes, but the boys were not so enraptured (preferring the honey-glazed chicken I served them with). Interest did peak however, with the addition of tomato sauce (ketchup).

I think these corn cakes would be great as a brunch item served with some crisp bacon and perhaps a creamy but spicy tomato sauce. They would also make a fantastic appetizer if made teaspoonful size and topped with a hearty guacamole, pico de gallo or perhaps a mango/avocado/chili salsa.

I'm not too sure where this recipe came from, but I guess the absolutely brilliant Australian delicious magazine, or perhaps Good Taste.

*Our whole family fondly remembers, and misses Amanda. Amanda was a beautiful soul who succumbed to a nasty and virulent melanoma cancer... way before her time.

What else we will miss about Chicago

Today the boys had their last art classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music. This has been an excellent venue for us over the past three years with the kids attending various art classes, Wiggleworms French classes and piano (although this last one wasn't as successful!)

The wonderful Laura Reyes has seen both boys for art. I love the way Laura begins each class with a physical exercise to get the kids in tune with their bodies, this is followed by a story, then a multi-media artwork representing a theme from the story. Artworks are assembled using a variety of media with quick changes between each media type to ensure the children do not become bored. Artworks might consist of modeling dough, beaded pipe-cleaners, sparkle paint, crayon, markers, paints using a variety of brushes, found objects, etc. All children are given the same materials and I love the way artworks are expressed in many different ways depending upon the child's predilection. No child is ever told what to do or guided towards completing their artwork in a defined manner. The class ends with a clean-up. Children immerse their hands in a tub of soapy water, filled with toys and objects relating the the theme used in class. This is a fantastic ploy as the children get cleaned without even knowing it! Classes were super motivating for Master 5 (who wants to be an artist when he grows up) but just a really fun opportunity to eat play-dough, drink paint and be reckless with a paintbrush for Master 3.

Something else I will miss from Chicago is Argo Tea. For someone schooled in the world of independent coffee shops and who really does not like Starbucks coffee (and only goes there in an emergency), Argo Tea has been a very welcome alternative. Originating in Chicago, there were only three Argo Tea stores when we arrived in 2006. This has recently grown to 15. Argo serves a good cup of coffee as well as their substantial range of tea drinks (using white, green, black, red and herbal tea varieties). I particularly like their Mojitea iced tea on a hot day. I dislike drinking coffee from paper cups unless it is to-go. I give full marks to any business that serves coffee in a ceramic cup - this seems to be a rarity in the States. Whenever we attended classes at Old Town School of Folk Music, we would patronize Argo Tea's flagship store at Armitage and Sheffield for a coffee and snack.

What we will miss about Chicago

We trekked along to Chicago's Green City Markets this morning - for our last family visit. I love being able to walk to these markets, grab some wonderful produce and have picnic snack with the kids (mostly a croissant or danish, perhaps a berry smoothie, some sorbet, fruit, tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers or anything that catches our collective eye). We then have a lunch using our finds when we return home.

The kids are really going to miss their 'hot cheese' from the Brunkow cheese stand. I am going to miss their delightful horseradish raw milk cheddar - so creamy and tasty on a crusty Bennisons baguette*. The Brunkow man is going to miss the boys asking for 'hot cheese'. He always makes them repeat their request as he likes to hear their accent! We always have a block of this 'baked' cheese in our fridge (plain, jalapeno, garlic or the new tomato and basil flavor). Served warm, I fry it in a pan for a 'bits and pieces' dinner, throw it on a warm chicken salad or thread it on vegetable kebabs (marinated with fresh herbs).

As we are attempting to empty our fridge before our move, I had to make some prudent purchases today. We walked away with two quarts of peaches, a punnet of super sweet tomatoes, two punnets of blueberries, an epi loaf, 'hot cheese', curd cheese and fresh mozzarella, a bunch of basil, a bunch of coriander (cilantro) and a couple of cherry scones (devoured on site).

*I had to have a quick break after writing this - to have said snack - as I was salivating rather severely.

More than meets the eye...

Master three comes into the room dressed as a Transformer. I say to him "Oh, I just saw your Mummy and she said you should be having a nap." "I don't have a Mummy" he responds. "She was power-cuted."

Summer on the go... Part 2

Our second Summer vacation included a road trip out east in July. We really enjoy taking road trips to explore our surrounds. We like to get off the interstates wherever possible to witness a more ‘authentic’ and less-franchised America. We missed out on a road trip last year due to my appendicitis and pregnancy with Mietta, so this trip felt way over-due. One of aims of this road trip was to catch up with friends that live in Virginia, namely: David and Bernadette and their kids, Aiden and Mikayla (great friends and our road-trip companions in ‘06 and ’07) and Gabrielle and Craig and their kids James and William (our best friends and school buddies who recently moved from Chicago).   

Leaving after one of Paul’s phone conferences, we had a short travel day down to Madison, Indiana. We arrived at our hotel and I was immediately disappointed. The hotel was located in ugly-Americana-strip-mall-parking-lot-dominant-anywhereville. I had specifically chosen Madison as it was touted to be one of America’s best preserved towns. A trip downtown restored confidence with a brilliant and historic main centre, devoid of chain and franchise stores (I did notice however, that a Subway had snuck in).  Arriving late, we had a choice of precisely one eatery in the downtown precinct: the Hong Kong Kitchen. Thankfully, the owners were very welcoming and accommodating for our little ones. In the morning, we had more of a look around and visited Roger’s Diner and Soda Fountain for a milkshake in a retro and long-established diner. Madison would be a lovely day-trip or weekend destination from Chicago. Full of lots of boutiques and curio shops, the stores opened late and closed early. 

Our second day saw us drive through northern Kentucky and into West Virginia. We were really taken by the lush, green and very dense forests - just beautiful. We would love to explore the Glen Ferris area a little more - looked gorgeous with the wooded hills, winding roads following a river and sections including swimming areas and rapids. We found our hotel at Fayetteville and went in search of something to eat. When I researched and discussed possible destinations with Paul, I asked him “Who would eat at a place named Dirty Ernie’s Rib Pit?” “I would!” he answered without hesitation... so this is where we had dinner. What an experience: a very full car park was a good sign; a very basic building (not unlike a barn) with screened porch with a number of would-be patrons waiting for tables. The interior was festooned with flags and sports pennants, the floor covered with peanut shells and walls plastered with signed one dollar bills. It had DIVE written all over it - and it was great! Fayetteville is extreme-sport central, with whitewater rafting, mountain biking, rock-climbing and, once a year, bungy-jumping and base jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge. Fayetteville sported its fair share of Nimbin-types!  We had breakfast at the very comfy Cathedral Cafe in the morning. We were super-impressed with the cafe’s toy chest - where children were invited to select a pre-loved toy and take it home with them. This helped keep the boys amused for some time over the long car journey.

Our day’s journey saw a re-emergence of Luc’s motion sickness (had not seen this for some time!) We arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia around lunchtime and we headed straight for Monticello, the house, gardens and plantation of America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson. We had a highly-organised tour of the house and learnt a little of how incredibly brilliant a man Jefferson was. We enjoyed the gardens and stretching our legs for a bit. The boys tried their hand at writing with a quill and ink. Back in the car, we headed for Fredericksburg to stay with David, Bernadette and family. 

Photo: The boys try their hand at writing old-fashioned-style with a quill and ink. 


POST NOTE May 2013: 
This post originally appeared in my previous blog: gearon.org