tournee

I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving, and I hope that the foreigners enjoyed themselves.

I went home to see family & friends. It was a good time catching up with past acquaintances! For some reason, I did not eat excessively though.

I am currently going through a reading slump right now, so if others have good recommendations I would be interested in hearing...
Read More

The cookbook of a restaurant I was working at finally got published. I am very curious about how much the recipes have been changed for the public. The cookbook is Osteria.

And in memory of a recent visitor to our fair city, . . .
"You feel what you feel. Some people go for sailors, some go for men in rubber suits and feather...
Read More

I went back to St. Louis a bit for a visit. It was fun to be there, and I was able to do most of the things I was wanting to do. However, I was not able to see a friend who was in a motorcycle accident: both legs, left shoulder, and right thumb are all broken. It was pleasant visiting with those I was...
Read More

"Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absudity are not worth a regret."
Jane Austen

A good hummus recipe:

1 can of garbanzo beans/chick peas drained, 1/2 cup od tahini, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 3 to 4 garlic cloves pressed/finely minced(or to taste), salt & pepper to taste. Puree in a blender (cuisinart works well also) until smooth. Taste for further seasonings. Let set for a couple of hours for the flavors to fully...
Read More

"We must act with imperfect knowledge." Gregory Benford

"You learn, you analyze, you act." Orson Scott Card

It has been fairly uneventful with my current happenings for the Chicago area, along with other areas internationally. Not eating out as much, which I miss, so that is why I have not done a review blog for a while. Reading a lot, as usual. Exercising a lot more.

"When I refuse to obey an unjust law, I do not contest the right of the...
Read More

"I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."
Robert A. Heinlein

Quiet time in the old town currently.

"I wanted to know more about the world. That's the only smart way to stay alive. Believe me, I know how dead you can be inside if something stops you from - if you stop trying, learning, changing."
-Gregory Benford

A lot of reading as well as thinking going on. Samuel R. Delany has some very nice insights, and William Woys Weaver explains some wonderful old-school hard-core Amish culinary techniques.

It is so nice to experience, and work with, seasonal food items; there is nothing better, culinary-wise, than to work with local seasonal ingredients. Due to the long lasting cold weather of Chicago this year,...
Read More

I went back home and visited family last weekend, and I was able to see more than expected since others came to town as well. It was also good to see friends who are still there.

Back to the grind.