Add a little greenery, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a bumpin’ twitter feed and a few thousand of my closest friends, and this is the making of a beautiful evening.
There’s the mad dash from the gate. The in-fighting over the shaded spots close to the Pavilion. The pop up tables, real crystal, and vases of flowers. Everything you’ve heard about Ravinia is true. It’s at times chaotic and dripping with wealth, but the North Shore folks in khaki pants and claustrophobic lawn quickly fade away once the music kicks in. You settle into your bottle of wine, gaze up at the trees, and all your worries melt away.
For just ten bucks, you can sit in the most beautiful back yard in the tri-county area and hear some of the best musicians in the world. This particular Sunday it happened to be Idina Menzel with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Admittedly sniffly, and suprisingly crass, that bitch can sing.
With being in San Francisco since Tuesday, most of my CSA box is still at home in the fridge. But I managed to make some bang up meals before I left.
Ravinia date with myself:
An on-the-fly Spinach Artichoke Dip used up all the spinach I had left over, plus cream cheese in anything is delicious. Simply sautee the spinach until wilty (add a little water to the pan so it doesn’t burn. Mix with a jar of drained artichoke hearts and equal parts cream cheese and sour cream. I took this beauty on my Ravinia picnic before attending the live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion and paired with grapes, crusty bread, homemade pickles and a bottle of red.
Shrimp Something-Or-Other
In an attempt to throw as many of my box ingredients as possible in the same dish, this delight (not being facetious) started off with sauteed onion, kohlrabi, garlic scape and kale with a bit of soy sauce and a bit of adobo seasoning. I added ramen noodles and shrimp that were sauteed separated in butter, and was pretty much the envy of my Facebook newsfeed for the evening.
I’m thinking that at some point it would be helpful to find actual recipes to complement the ingredients that I find in my box, but honestly, I’m short on time and seem to be doing just fine throwing a little of this and a little of that into a pan and seeing what comes out. Maybe that’s the beauty of having fresh produce around all the time… it tastes amazing no matter what you do with it.
If only baking was that easy… but what with it’s chemical reactions and such measuring cups and recipes come in quite handy for that…
Each time I visit Midnight Sun Farm my back hurts less.
Although, I have to say those ladies who spend all day long bent over in rice paddies must have hamstrings of steel. My typically workload on farm this time of year consists of weeding…. lots and lots of weeding… and after a few minutes of bending over my legs start to bark and I’ve now started in on the “crawl on your hands and knees” technique. Very elegant.
What really excites me, though, is when I see the things that I’ve weeded (and a few things I’ve harvested and washed) showing up in my CSA box.
In my box this week were:
getting the rainbow chard ready
salad mix
two heads lettuce
one bulb fennel
green onions
rainbow swiss chard
Hakuri sweet turnips, and
spinach
So, what became of this random box of green goodness?
I made several salads and another stirfry, but the true prize of the week was Frittata Night with my friend Kelly.
I totally made this recipe up based on something I’d seen Chef Giada do on the food network….. this is not really at all close to the recipe, so, it’s a Lauren original, and delicious.
Lauren’s spinach and chard Frittata
Ingredients:
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, sliced or diced (depending how onion-y you like it)
3 sweet turnips, peeled and cubed
1 small bunch rainbow swiss chard
1 small bunch spinach
4 eggs
1/4 C. half and half
salt and pepper
2 – 4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
bacon bits (the real stuff, not Bacos, people)
2-3 green onions
4-6 sprigs fennel leaves
Directions:
Add 2 TB vegetable oil to a high sided saute pan and heat over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook until slightly softened and translucent (maybe about 5-7 minutes… just prep the other stuff while you do this and check on them occasionally, turning down the heat if they are starting to brown).
wilty greens ready for the eggs
Meanwhile, separate the leaves of the chard from the woody stem and chop the stems. Add chard stems, onions, and turnips to the pan and cook another 2-4 minutes. Add the spinach and chard leaves by the handful, and mix until the greens become dark and wilty.
Whisk the eggs in a bowl with half and half and and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and lower heat to low. Cook about 5 minutes, covered, and add shredded cheese, bacon, fennel and green onions. Return lid and cook until the cheese is melted and eggs are set.
I served this gorgeous thing with a side salad of spring mix, kidney and garbanzo beans, strawberries, sunflower seeds, leftover radishes and dried cranberries. That, and about a bottle of red wine….
And it looked like this:
Lauren’s spinach and chard frittata with strawberry salad
This week was exciting for a number of reasons. The weather in Chicago has been absolutely perfect, so I took my first of what I hope will be many summer jogs on the lakefront. I put in my first shift pulling weeds as a work-share at Midnight Sun Farm in Grayslake, and the resulting CSA box fed me all week long.
Throughout the summer I hope to give you a peak into what’s in my CSA box and the resulting gastronomical feats I achieve each week.
The overall goals are:
To not let anything rot and have to go in the compost
To not buy produce from the grocery store all summer
To get that healthy glow that can only come from eating multitudes of fresh, local, seasonal produce all summer long
In my box this week were:
salad mix
one head lettuce
one head curly endive
asparagus
Carola spring potatoes
pea shoots
Prize bok choi
mixed radishes
So, what became of this random box of green goodness?
I used the potatoes to make a German Potato Salad with some leftover bacon, and substituted fresh arugula from my friend Ann’s garden in place of parsley. I discovered about three days ago that it’s really delicious for breakfast with melted cheese on top.
Pea shoots and bok choi went into this stir fry with some sauteed tofu and onions, soy sauce, a slash of red wine vinegar, and a little bit of H20.
My favorite meal of the week has to be the grilled asparagus with black forest ham and pinapple skewers. Ok, so I know pineapple didn’t exactly come from a farm in North Central Illinois….. In my defense I bought it a week ago before I got my first box and it was on its last leg. The whole package deal of this meal, combined with my first time grilling and a glass of Cabernet made for a lovely, lovely dinner.
Lots of salad is in store for tonight and tomorrow to use up the greens and radishes, and then we do it all over again…
I certainly didn’t need coffee in my state’s capitol. This store just off the expressway showed little to no evidence of the Land of Abe Lincoln, but made for a great place to pee. My travel companion got me a bottle of Tazo iced tea while I paced nervously in front of the retail shelves waiting for the lady in front of me to finish. This was the first time in quite awhile that a barista tried to upsell me a pound…
“I see you looking at some of our coffees there.”
“Oh, I’m just waiting for the ladies room” I said.
“Well, you should pick up some anyway!”
I’ll think that over, guy, but really, I just need to pee.
All retail attempts aside, the staff at this Starbucks were lovely. They were friendly and it was a nice, cool respite from a hot and sunny Route 55 to St. Louis…. and so I give it a thumbs up.
Ok. So, being two blocks from one of my five jobs, I visit this Starbucks quite frequently. But this particular visit was purely for personal gain and healthy snacks from the adjacent Jewel prior to a day’s car trek to St. Louis. I made it one of my standards… Iced coffee with a pump of peppermint and soy milk (try it! it’s delicious!). I was delighted to find one of my former students behind the counter, who not only gave great service but informed me he was running four races this season (2 of which are half marathons). Way to go, Alex! And way to pick an honorable place of employment that gives nice benefits, free coffee, and a snazzy apron. Even though it was packed when I walked in, the line moved fast and overall the South Loop store gets a thumbs up from me.
Disclaimer: Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing old entries to you slowly, but surely, through good, old-fashioned (and painstakingly arduous) Cut-and-paste.
July 30, 2010
Quite before the crack of dawn, this Starbucks stop is at O’Hare International Airport at the beginning of our beautiful trip to Oaxaca, Mexico in the summer of 2010. It was so early I don’t even remember what I drank, but I assume it was caffeinated and included a yogurt parfait.
I am rather glad to report that Oaxaca has no ‘Bucks, so you will only witness two entires on this adventure, both in airports. However, coffee was still prevalent on this trip-I witnessed an up close and personal view of for real “Shade Grown Mexico” on the side of a mountain near Pluma Hidalgo, Oaxaca.
Brie.
Lauren Warnecke 
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