Diving into the pool of excess- oh boy- gotta love it. Really, I'm going to have to make some friends who offer me Nutella. If I bought it for the house, B and I would eat it in a single sitting.
You won't believe how cool it is here in Chicago. It's been between 62 and 75 degrees for the last week. Although the early autumn is pleasant, the crisp weather is foreboding in its promise of 20 below oh my God this could actually kill me freezing cold. I imagine this is the reason people say "Why'd you move HERE?" when tell them I'm from Austin. Yeah cold is a deterrent, but there are an amazing amount of things to do here. It's not just margaritas, Tex-Mex and Barton Springs.
Evidence-
Edgewater Farmer's Market where we can buy:
heirloom tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, and flowers that I thought were pretty in their purpleness, but forgot to note the name.
Hosted by neighborhood store, Nature's Way, the market is a small, but effective, meeting place for neighbors and friends. Nature's Way also has this cool rooftop garden thing going on. They grow some of the veggies they sell on the ROOF. You can check out the details here. We weren't allowed to climb the ladder and get a sneak peak, but they were certainly nice about answering all our questions.
Afterward, B and I split the Cherry Custard Strudel and had a hot cup of coffee at Austrian Bakery.
Whenever we're there we make sure to pick up a loaf of Sunflower Bread (see picture with pork chop) and buy a pastry we've never had. See that sugar on top? It makes the crunchiest, yummiest texture ever.
Because all the above fun was so tiring and expensive, we ate in for the evening.
Pork Chops Saltimbocca (adapted from Gourmet)
2 (1-in thick) center cut pork chops
2 sage leaves, finely chopped
2 very thin slices Italian Fontina
2 thin slices prosciutto
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2) Cut a deep, wide pocket in each pork chop. Sprinkle half of sage in each pocket and stuff pockets with cheese and prosciutto. Pat chops dry and season with salt and pepper. I also like to add a little bit of sugar to the 1st pan down side.
3) Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a ovenproof skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers. Cook chops until undersides are golden, about 2 minutes, then turn chops and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until cooked through. About 5 minutes.
See, easy as pie. Although- I didn't make my pocket wide enough and the double pork goodness was centered in a very small area of chop. Also it says 5 minutes, but I shoulda put an extra 2 minutes on the meat, we couldn't eat close to the bone.
Did you get your Fulbright application sent? I keep thinking about how much I'll miss y'all if you go to Bangladesh.
Love,
Tia T
P.S. New word I will not say- Swab. Even the benign command "Swab the deck" sounds suspect.
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