Mexican c/o Taqueria Caminos Michoacan

I walked to the train station after wine night with the boyfriend and four writing friends. We agreed that the best thing we could do for ourselves was to have a quick snack at the taqueria right next to the station. The chips were tasty and accompanied by salsa verde and salsa rojo. I liked the verde...the rojo was spicy like your mom.<---low and pointless your mom reference.

I had a Chorizo Burrito and found that the boyfriend has led me down a path of incorrect pronunciation for, well, most of our relationship. Meaning? I used to pronounce the Mexican sausage (is it Mexican?, is it limited to one country?) Chorizo like this: Cho-reez-o. But then the boyfriend came into my life and always pronounced it like this: Cho-reees. Last night the woman who took my order looked at me funny when I said Cho-reees and added the -o to the end for me. Lesson learned.
Admittedly, wine had been consumed at wine night. But we all agreed that it wasn't the wine talking...this was the best Mexican food we'd ever had. I stand by that...ooh, except for Bubby's Burritos in Red Hook, New York.
I don't know what any of this other food is exactly. Tacos?
Flautas?
Vegetarian Whozit?
Funny thing. After we all ate and some of us left to go back down town, a writing student and I smoked a cigarette while waiting for the boyfriend. When the boyfriend came out he stated that he had drank all the salsa rojo. I do that with my wasabi soy sauce mixture, but that was hardcore...I go out with a hard core motha.

Wine Night, Yee Ha!

Another super fantastique wine night. Thanks to our hostess and her housemate for their gracious hospitality. There was a larger selection of cheese than this photograph suggests.

So much fun.

Home Dinner

This is the Spinach, Pear, Avocado and Roquefort Cheese salad that the boyfriend made last night. Very good in my mouth.
These are the green beans I made last night. Steamed them a little in the microwave then put them in a frying pan with a little caper butter, ginger powder, salt, soy sauce, and cayenne pepper.

Dim Sum c/o Furama Part Nine

My dream! My dream! My dream has come true! Thanks be to all of those who made the dream come true!

The photograph above is blurry because I spun the lovely lazy susan for the camera!
Eight people, including myself, showed up for dim sum yesterday and I almost cried in happiness. Okay I didn't almost cry, but I did smile big happy crazy smiles.

Margaret Atwood Is The Shizzle

When I was a freshman in college my group of friends decided to have our own Secret Santa gift exchange. I got one of my housemates and gave her nailpolish and a gift certificate for a manicure...she took that as me telling her I thought she was superficial (which I did not). My roommate got me and she gave me Margaret Atwood's novel Robber Bride. I had never heard of Atwood before and am forever thankful to that roommate for pegging me as the kind of gal that would enjoy Atwood's work.
Yesterday I got to see Margaret Atwood receive the Chicago Tribune's Literary Award at the Chicago Symphony Center. She was introduced by the editor of the Tribune. The chairman of the Chicago Humanities Festival introduced the editor. I was a little unnerved/amused when he mentioned American Airlines' large part in making the festival possible. I believe his exact words were (no not exact...this is not a direct quote, but very close to it): This festival has grown on American Airlines' wings. Corporate sponsorship, oh my.
Atwood was charming. She joked about the concept of a lifetime achievement award, being Canadian, not being puffed up and 23 year olds' dish washing habits. She kept it light and interesting and took a few questions in the end.
Of course I felt a bit of despair as a writer. Margaret Atwood is so good. And I know that no matter how much I improve, I'll never not ever, be as good as her. It scares me a bit but I'm not going to linger on this subject.

Sushi/Gluttony c/o Hama Matsu

Terrible...this addiction to sushi...I think I overdosed on it about an hour ago...I started rapping about how I was a cuttle fish and it only got worse from there.

Sushi at Hama Matsu, also pure gluttony at Hama Matsu, was glorious. I ordered an Oyster appetizer, wasabi tobikko and spicy salmon maki. The boyfriend had a 'sushi mold' and a dynamite roll.
We were given an array of complimentary goodies that included miso soup, salad, kim chi, sesame vegetables and cute little pancake things.
Really, I know that this extreme. Sushi twice in one day! Who does that? Well we do. But we know we shouldn't. Eh. Or maybe we should. Mercury poisoning don't scare me none.
Hama Matsu is the best sushi in the whole wor-soh-Chicago!-The Boyfriend
Don't quote me. Stop that. I didn't say wor, just erase the whole thing!-Anonymous

Sushi c/o Kuni's Japanese Restaurant

The boyfriend and I went to Evanston today. For the last week we've been trying to find a set of drawers or some other storage option for all of our loose papers and crap. Tired of craigslist, I suggested we go to the suburban thrift stores for a change. We managed to get a nice set of drawers (picture will come in a later post) and two end tables.

We also had sushi. The boyfriend had the mixed Sunomono(below). The boyfriend says it was good and that he recommends it highly...it's like Chirashi Don, but with no rice.

I had a very reasonably priced spider hand roll (they were generous with the soft shell crab and that is fabulous), yellowtail/scallion/tobikko maki and ikura. Satisfied me to my very core.

We drove down a few side streets before heading home and were lucky enough to see this house. It's straight out of Sixteen Candles.

Movies Watched

Batman Begins was a thoroughly enjoyable film. I watched it, I liked it...I'm all about microwave emitters and villains that use psychotropic ((spelling?)) drugs to destroy a city.


Dark Days is a documentary about a homeless community living underground in NYC. The location is strange...the people are strange...and the film is strange. Good too. I wished for a little voice over and/or a bit more structure to the film. But that's just me.

Homemade Calzone

This is the calzone the boyfriend made last night. Pineapples, hot pepper rings, tomatoes, prosciutto and cheese, oh my.

Note, as of April 29th, if you'd like an actual recipe for making calzones at home go here...I wrote it...and please, just don't look at the photograph, skip it, pretend it's not there and go stratight to the recipe. It'll be better this way, I promise.

Early Man at Abbey Pub

Okay it was a long night and I'm not sure I am up to a full report. So excuse me if my writing goes wonky on your ass.

First off, the last time I went to Abbey Pub it was for a burlesque show and the place was P-A-C-K-E-D. It was surprising to find no line or mass of people waiting for the doors to open...but eh. The first band had maybe fifteen people watching them, two thirds of these people were either in other bands or worked at the pub. Maybe I'm being harsh.

The boyfriend and I went to the non-venue bar for a beer and texted TBSEX(short for the boyfriend's sister's ex). We met up with him and asked him how the tour was going etc etc. At some point he mentioned the band's 'merch girl'. The name was familiar. By familiar I mean there was this girl I went to college with who shares the name. So I, jokingly, asked him if his merch girl was from Australia...to which he said yes. I looked at him funny...he has a tendency to joke and poke fun. I asked him if her hair was blond on top and dark on the bottom...to which he said yes. Then I asked him if she had gone to my college...to which he said yes. So this girl I had gone to college with (we weren't friends...I most often came across her on late late bar nights) was the merch girl. This was made more ironic (maybe not ironic?) by my choice of shirt (a college shirt) for the night.

This is what the college/merch girl had for a meal...that's not her that's TBSEX.
We ate french fries to soak up some of the beer.
This was Murder Your Darlings, the opening band, playing to very few people.
Early Man plays heavy metal. It's not ironic. It's not what I would listen to on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, but they are very good.


Once again blogger thwarts the glorious vertical pictures I take...these, I think, are very good rocknroll photographs.
After the show we went to Lincoln Park and to a bar called Frank's. It was what it was. I took a really awesome photograph of their drummer but I'm saving it for when they're famous.

Painted Whore Part II

Painted whore or crazy person?
You decide.

Peppers

Yesterday I made these peppers. It would be blasphemous to compare them to chille rellenos and yet I think they are similar because the peppers are stuffed and covered with cheese. But the similarities end there. My peppers were not poblano peppers and they weren't stuffed with chihuahua cheese. Nope. Instead these suckers were stuffed with shrimp, asparagus, cheese and egg. I put a little milk into the filling, added an egg (which I made in my food processor...god bless cuisinart) then poured the new mixture over the peppers. Not spicy but not bland either.

Lil Markie

The coordinator of the writing department sent us a link today. Click on the title and you can see it yourself. It is important to wait out the first forty five seconds or so...it seems just awful but then it gets awful funny!



When I was trying to find an image to accompany this post, I found a site called showantellmusic.com. Also worth looking through if bored or full of despair.

Salad In Its Natural Habitat

This is the salad the boyfriend just made. Same as a salad I've made/posted a few times but with marinated garlic cloves and prosciutto added into the mix. I am currently sucking on a Halls vitamin C drop...good as candy and fights off death!

You Read, Don't You?

This is a request. This is a request. I already said that.
Anywho. I am in the process of researching/thinking about blogs for a popular culture class I am taking. I am interested to know if any of you have read any interesting non-blog articles about blogs...and if so whether you remember where and when you might have read them.

Please tell me. Databases are too overwhelming to explore when your only keyword is 'blog'.

My Charges

These are some of the dogs I play with at my new job at Urban Outsitters.
(Once again blogger has failed me/left me vertically challenged...tilt your head to the left) This is Buffy, she is sweet and can jump very high in the air. When we play ball she is always very proud of herself when she manages to get it. She's a cuddler.
This is Max. He is one part rotweiler (sp?) and one part chow. He is sweet as can be and excellent at catching a fly ball.
This is Folly. I just met her today. She is a St. Bernard puppy and I secretly like to call her a furry fuzzball of love.
This is Winston the super Boxer. He, also, is very good at catching flyballs. He likes to roughouse a bit...he and Max are super cool when they wrastle.
In the background is Chief, the most laid back Golden Retriever I've ever come across. Super cool, handles stress well...won't let go of the ball easily. In the foreground is Tanner, he's new to the group and still working a few things out...he doesn't really care about the ball at all.
Buffy and Beau. Beau is about six months old and is at least one part Irish Wolfhound. He and Maddie (another Golden to be seen at a later time) are best buddies.
Tanner's portrait.
The end. If you live in Chicago and have a dog, consider Urban Outsitters for all your petcare needs...we treat em good like.

Similar

This is pretty much exactly what the boyfriend made yesterday. The only differences are that this time I made it and I added a hard boiled egg. So: toasted whole wheat muffin, neufchatel cheese, smoked salmon, sliced red onion and capers.

The Boyfriend's Sister's Ex-Boyfriend's Band

Right, so, as it says above, the boyfriend's sister's ex is in a band. The band, Early Man, will be playing at Abbey Pub on Thursday. I just went to their site (earlymanarmy.com) and have concluded that this band is special. Special in a 'I'd never go see this band if it wasn't for the fact that the guitarist used to go out with my boyfriend's sister' kind of way. Though...if their titles are ironic then they have a little something going for them.
Sample titles:
Death Is The Answer To My Prayers
and
The Undertaker's Calling You

It's heavy metal...not hair metal...just heavy. But the ex in question is very nice and funny so I'll do my best to do my best. Abbey Pub, Chicago, November Third, 9:00.

Dinner c/o Me

Tonight I made dinner. Dinner consisted of whitefish (caught wild...supposedly) from Whole Foods, baked with a lemon caper butter sauce, baby bella and exotic mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with a dash of balsamic vinegar and a liberal helping of roquefort cheese...there was also left over risotto from dinner at Adria Mare, but I didn't make that so it doesn't matter...does it?

We drank Pouilly Fume with the fish and the boyfriend seemed particularly fond of the mushrooms.

Just finished watching Sin City. I don't know what to say about it. The narrative structure was interesting as was the cinematic approach. The boyfriend did not find it very captivating, after about half an hour he started reading the New York Times. Ah so.

Chicken Shawerma Sandwich c/o Oasis Cafe

Oasis Cafe is in the loop. Oasis cafe is in the back of a store in the loop. Oasis cafe is in the back of a jewelry store in the loop. I walked by cases of shiny trinkets and serious people looking after the trinkets. I passed a security guard and wondered how to look like I wasn't casing the place. I passed women in red pashminas trying on necklaces. I ate a chicken shawerma sandwich, it was good.

Wine Night...I Forgot to Take Pictures, Which Is Really Not like Me At All

These are the breakfast muffins the boyfriend was making for himself just moments ago...they looked so good I took one...greedy me.

Sorry to our host and hostess for being remiss at wine night. There were homemade cookies, a lovely plate of veggies and dip, not to mention (perhaps the best I've ever had) crostini (also homemade) and an excellent Trader Joe's spinach dip.

I hope the host doesn't mind, but he told a funny story last night and I'm going to try to recreate it...or summarize it.

When the dip came out, our hostess told us it was from Trader Joe's. I asked where the closest location was and then admitted I had never been. Other things were said, then our host told us this story:

A few years back he was in Wisconsin, where there are no Trader Joe's, but he had a friend in L.A. So one day he's talking to this LA friend and the friend says I just got back from Trader Joe's. The host asks what that is. Then the friend said (something to the effect of):
Dude, it's the coolest grocery store. You go around and put things in your cart then you go to the front of the store and there's this guy sitting on a throne with a crown, a cape and cane or whatever. So then, you make an offer for the food in your cart, like you'll pay sixty dollars for all the food. Then the guy on the throne either agrees and you give him the sixty dollars or he doesn't agree and he yells and pounds his cane and you have shop all over again!


Also, a new publication is in the works...names were being thrown around last night. I suggested Toilet Steak or Steak Toilet...Bunker seemed to be the forerunner, I was also partial to Just One Little Problem. We shall see.