Black and White Checkered Chili for dinner tonight!

It’s fall, which means Pumpkin Beer and colder weather in the Midwest.  I’m going to try not to think about weather and focus on pumpkin beer instead!

The recipe calls for a can of diced green chili peppers, and I couldn’t find one at the grocery store this afternoon. My grocery store caters to the neighborhood population which is largely Mexican-American, so there are a zillion different varieties of canned peppers, unfortunately, none of them were labeled “green chili peppers.” Honestly, the green chilies were probably there somewhere—but I had no clue as to what green chili is in Spanish. I walked through the produce section to grab some cilantro, and saw a big display of peppers labeled “Serranos”, then, underneath that, in smaller letters, “Green Chili Peppers” and thought, “Great! Fresh Green Chilies AND now I know how to say Green Chili in Spanish!” I bought enough peppers for my chili and went home to cook!

Turns out, “Chili Pepper” is a really generic name used for all kinds of peppers. Serrano peppers are a variety of Chili Pepper (that happen to be green) which are, according to Wikipedia, “notably hotter than the Jalapeno pepper.” The canned green chilies you buy in the American grocery store are generally pretty mild. So I accidentally made good, but really spicy chili tonight. It’s good that I had some sour cream to tone it down a bit.

Delicious!

This week, Stephanie and I found the Chicago Chick-fil-A! There’s only one in the entire city, but it’s an actual Chick-fil-A restaurant—not in a mall food court!

Now, if only Chicago could get a Waffle House…

Shrimp and Corn Chowder. I know it doesn’t look so pretty, but it was DELICIOUS. Thanks for the recipe, Marmy!

Tonight’s dinner: Apricot Glazed Porkchops, Grandmom’s Brown Rice, and Green Beans!

Exactly what I needed after a long week.

The pork chops and green beans are from the Pilsen Farmer’s Market. I’ve been buying as much of my produce as possible there. I’m going to be super sad when it ends at the end of October.

Tonight’s Dinner: Polenta Pie with a Spinach Salad! Polenta is super easy to make, so I think I’m going to try to find some more recipes for vegetarian night. Suggestions?

Sunday Lunch: Honey Mustard Glazed Chicken and Roasted Brussels Sprouts from the Pilsen Farmer’s Market! Not the most beautiful meal I’ve ever made (the Brussels sprouts got a little burnt), but it was definitely delicious.

Yesterday, Stephanie and I took advantage of beautiful weather and explored the Lincoln Park Zoo. We found a cupcake place nearby for a snack and a bar and grill for dinner. I had a burger with avocado, bacon, and mushrooms for dinner with a Metropolitan Krankshaft Kölsch. Metropolitan brewery is in Chicago! Its website claims my beer, “Goes great with fruit salad, sailing, pot stickers, graduation parties, gyros, kick ball, pistachios, cole slaw, Star Trek marathons, miso, rye vodka, canoeing, dinner waffles, dal, gelato, star gazing, popcorn, beach combing, barbeque, lawn chairs, chiles rellenos, muenster cheese, Black Jack, hummus & pita, pinball, guacamole, gardening, French Onion soup, and yoga.” I can’t speak for most of those things, but it certainly did go great with dinner. Yay for local beer!

Chai Latte Frozen Yogurt from the Yogen Früz, near UIC. The Fro-Yo was delicious, but I’m not so sure about the restaurant name. Yogen Früz? Yophoria was a way better name!

Today, I had my first encounter with crime in the big city! I didn’t get mugged or have my apartment broken into or my bike stolen. I did, however, purchase onions from the grocery store down the street. The packaging on these onions was clearly labeled “Vidalia Onions;” however, the onions themselves have stickers reading “Luna County, New Mexico,” which is nowhere near Vidalia, Georgia (or it’s surrounding onion region). I was a victim of Illegal onion labeling! At my own neighborhood grocery store! A quick search on the interwebs tells me that this mislabeling violates the Vidalia Onion Act of 1986, and, apparently, penalties for such violations have been as high as $50,000.

Weekend explorations with some math friends. Fish tacos by the beach and drinks overlooking the city!

Almond Sour Cream Pound Cakes! Plural because I never have the right sized pans.They taste delicious, but I guess I should have buttered and floured the sides of the bundt pan because they came off with the pan. Ah well. Maybe next time.

Also, to any of my math friends who might happen to be reading this: Join my Algebra and Topology party, and I’ll share.

Salad with leftover tilapia, strawberries, blackberries, feta cheese, and lettuce from the farmer’s market!

Citrus Baked Tilapia and Asparagus from the Pilsen Farmer’s Market!

I did modify this recipe a bit. It calls for orange juice in the sauce for the fish. I didn’t have orange, so I substituted with peach mango juice. It turned out really well.

Greek Stuffed Peppers and Spinach Salad! I’m going to have to work on splitting this recipe to be suitable for just a few people. I attempted to split it but still ended up with enough stuffing for a family of 8. I guess there will be more stuffed peppers next week, which may well be a good thing since it’s my first week of classes.

Sunday morning pancakes for breakfast!