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!
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.
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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!
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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!
The Art Institute of Chicago is free to Illinois residents on the first 2 Wednesdays of the month, so I went back to the museum on Wednesday to see some exhibits that I missed when I went with Lily and Caleb. This installation, by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, is displayed in the contemporary art wing. They encourage you to try a piece of the candy. Mine was pineapple flavored and in a blue wrapper.
Did I eat a piece of art? If so, this type of behavior is probably why my kindergarten teacher didn’t think I belonged in the gifted program.