summery salads and ranch dressing

 

While I have certainly been enjoying the summer market bounty in the form of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries), peas (sugar snap, english shelling) and beans (favas), I think that the best part about summer is the salads.  I really do enjoy a salad with my dinner and sadly most of the year this means produce that had to be trucked many miles (probably from California, bagged) and it inevitably is tasteless and a little disappointing.  But for a few months out of the year, everything is different.  

red and blue

Happy 4th of July! I hope that you are out at a BBQ or watching a parade and gearing up for a night full of fireworks. Growing up the 4th of July holiday was always a hot and steamy affair. It would start with a July 3rd night at the Pavilion for the free concert complete with picnics and real cannons for the 1812 Overture. The next morning was the parade where I would dress up my bike with patriotic streamers and ride with the Indian Spring Village Float. The afternoon would be filled with cold watermelon, swimming pools and BBQ. Ended with a fireworks display over the golf course and the lake. I am unfortunately “celebrating” with some Contracts and Real Property review (but maybe I will throw in some Con Law for good measure) on a somewhat rainy and cloudy 4th. Today wasn’t a total bust because the farmers were out bright and early this morning at Green City.

many scoops

As I stated before, Summer is here in Chicago.  The markets are filled with glorious goodies.  The Pride Parade was held over the weekend up in Lakeview.  The Taste is in full swing in Grant Park leading up to the 4th of July and many, many firework shows from my West facing balcony.  However, supposedly the 4th of July holiday is also the tipping point between feeling comfortable with the schedule of steady subject area BarBri lectures and practice problems and the sheer terror of “the Bar is only X days away and I still have how many flash cards to memorize and laws from 26 legal areas to be able to regurgitate over a 2 day period?”  I will let you know if I feel this panic in about a week.  However, I do know that the combination of summertime and stress calls for one thing: Ice Cream. 

better than DD

[if you are clicking over from the strawberry gelato picture on TS the correct link is here...sorry for the confusion]

Summer has finally arrived in Chicago.  Today, as I headed to the market at 7AM sharp, it was already 80 degrees.  As someone who spent the first 22 years of her life in Texas (and most of those summers in unbearable hot and humid Houston) I wasn’t very happy about it.  Sure I was getting pretty sick of the 50 degree and rainy days in early June, but high of 93 in Chicago on June 24th?  No thank you.  However, the one perk (pun intended) of summer’s arrival is Iced Coffee.  

pickling

I have a bit of a confession to make. Even though my recipe index implies otherwise, I really prefer salty over sweet. For a while my “dessert” after dinner,would be a bowl full of salt and vinegar Lays (SOOO addicting and SOOO bad for you) rather than a couple of scoops out of a Ben and Jerry’s Pint. However, recently I have found a new way to get my salty-fix: jar pickles. Specifically, pickled sugar snap peas and spicy pickled carrots.

a homemade life’s banana bread

Have you read “A Homemade Life” yet?  If you haven’t, add it to your Amazon wish list and buy it as soon as you can.  I have been slowly enjoying Molly Wizenberg’s memoir over the past few months and I am just one chapter away from the end.  I almost don’t think that I can explain how truly lovely and beautiful this book is.  Molly has filled her book with stories and memories of her father, how she met her vinegar-loving husband through her blog Orangette, getting her heart broken in Paris and everything in between.  At the end of each story is a recipe or two inspired by the story.  They range from her father Burg’s potato salad to Little Corn Cakes w/ Bacon, Tomato and Avocado which she served at her wedding.  I have many recipes tabbed and listed in my “must make this as soon as possible” list.  

four layers

…for 25 years.

I turned 25 on Monday which gave me the perfect excuse to spend an afternoon baking a wonderful layer cake rather than learning the many exceptions to the hearsay rule and the difference between the common law and the MPC for murder. It is a little hard to believe that I am 25 because some how I feel like I would be more established, more adult-like. But I guess that is what happens when 3 years gets sucked away to law school. My Mom claims she didn’t really feel like adult until I was born (she was 37) so I guess I really have some time. But making a (successful) cake from scratch, rather than from the oh so simple (and what the hell is in it) box, makes me feel a little older and wiser.

sweet strawberries

Ever since strawberries came into season and started appearing at all my favorite booths at the market, a quart has made it into my basket with every visit.  While I did add them into an amazing cake a few days ago (which I will surely tell you about this weekend), I have mainly been enjoying them for breakfast.  These beauties are just perfect sliced up and mixed with greek yogurt and some cereal.  I generally will just buy the containers of 2% greek yogurt from Trader Joe’s but recently I had the opportunity to sample Oikos from the great people of Stonyfield by way of some free coupons.  While I probably will continue to buy the containers from TJs, I will definetly start treating myself to Oikos, especially the kind with Honey on the bottom.  

Historically, I haven’t been much of a honey fan. However, that has changed over the past year as I have used it in a Tofu glaze and in my granola recipe. I decided to be adventurous with my coupon and try the honey on the bottom variety and I’m glad I did, because it is really good. The sweetness of the honey matches perfectly with the greek yogurt tang. If Oikos is in a store near you, pick it up and try some out. Tonight I am heading to the Growing Home Benefit after winning tickets through a photo contest at Gaper’s Block. Growing Home is a great organization and I have enjoyed picking some wonderful produce at Green City. I also have a friend that is very happy with their CSA this season. I will try to tell you about it tomorrow, especially about the food (duh) and what Rick Bayless had to say.

Green Garlic Pesto

Last summer when I was just reading blogs and hadn’t yet taken the plunge to writing my own, interesting produce (Ramps! Green Garlic! Fiddleheads!) was creeping into my favorites which of course inspired me to seek out the unusual at the market. I have definitely embraced that philosophy this season.

Take these radishes for example.

Chicken Enchiladas

As you may or may not know, even through I write a blog called “Whitney in Chicago”, I am really a Texan through and through (except for my politics). One of the biggest adjustments to Chicago actually wasn’t the long, harsh winter, but the lack of true “Tex-Mex.” Sure you can get plenty of decent mexican and salsa all across Chicago, but really good Tex-Mex can only be found at the source, Texas. I’m not the only one who feels this way. Anyways, anytime that I do go back to Texas for any length of time, I always pack light so that I can bring back lots of Texas things (if only I could figure out how to get some Blue Bell Homestyle Vanilla back), most importantly…SALSA.