Illinois Harvest Dinner 2017

Wow.

Hey, blog world...it's been a while.

A lot has happened, and maybe some day I'll get into all that, but today is not that day. Because last week, I attended an amazing event, and I have to share all about it!

Somehow, in the vast sea of karma that I ride in life, I have been blessed with the opportunity to get to know people in many areas of the food industry, and in particular, farmers. One of those people that I am so thankful to have gotten to know better, Mary Faber, a dairy and grain farmer in central Illinois, invited me to attend the Illinois Harvest Dinner last week. The Illinois Harvest Dinner is a fantastic event that brings together crop and animal farmers, food industry workers, people in the health industry, educators, government officials, and consumers and invites them to have an open and free-flowing discussion about, well, whatever the night brings up.

Strawberry Bonanza Part 1 - Quick and Easy Strawberry Malts

This post is going to be short and sweet.  You see, the kids and I went strawberry picking today, and I may have been a little greedy...we picked 8 buckets of berries, roughly 54 pounds in all, in just under an hour out in the fields.

Turns out, 54 pounds is a LOT of strawberries.  So I've spent most of the day in the kitchen, trying to get them taken care of, because fresh strawberries don't keep well for very long.  So I'm pretty beat.

But after we got home from picking, I made a special treat for the kids.  All right, it was as much for me as it was for them.  Strawberry malts.

Cheers! Root Beer for Grownups only!

There are several things, culinary-wise, that blow my mind.

This weekend, at Old Sugar Distillery, I had a drink that falls smack into that category.  Root beer.  But not the soda pop kind...a fully adult, packs-a-punch cocktail.  I couldn't wait to try making my own version at home!  I still can't wrap my head around the idea that the ingredients that you put into it end up creating the taste sensation that it does.  But somehow, they do. 

3 ingredients, plus ice.  Go for quality here.  If you, in any way, can get your hands on Old Sugar's Americanaki Ouzo, do it.  It is the smoothest, most delicious ouzo that I have ever had, and I'm pretty sure it contributes to how fantastic this root beer turns out.  The hubs is not a fan of ouzo, and even he enjoyed sipping on the Americanaki.  

Discovery World, Milwaukee

In case you don't know, I'm a Chicagoland gal.  And, for as much as I love the farms and my soul is bonded to the land, I also completely adore the offerings of a city as great as Chicago.  I'm also a bit of an experience junkie, and I love exploring museums with my kids.  Chicago has a ton of great museums, including the Museum of Science and Industry, which we visit so often that we have a family membership.

One of the great parts of our membership is that it gives us reciprocal privileges at many other science museums around the country.  So, when we found ourselves looking for something to do in Milwaukee, we decided to check out one of those museums: Discovery World.

Discovery World is located right on the shore of Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee.  It's 120,000 square feet of amazing discoveries.  From the moment you step inside, you are immersed in innovation.  Science and art combined to create an intriguing environment that you can't help but explore.  Interactive exhibits are practically falling over each other to draw you in, to teach you their lessons, to let you experience their offerings.

Great Lakes Distillery, Milwaukee

So, the hubs and I have been on a bit of a distillery bender lately.  I just find it so cool that there are so many people so passionate about making their own spirits!  And it's amazing to see the heart and soul that each distillery shows in their product, their atmosphere, even their employees.  Every distillery we've visited, I've walked away thinking, "Wouldn't it be amazing if everyone loved their job THAT much?".

In the midst of a quick 24 hours in Milwaukee, we took a quick lunch break from the museum we were exploring with the kids to head over to Great Lakes Distillery for a tour.  Kids are allowed to join you on the tour, free of charge.  Ours grabbed a quick kiddie cocktail (with house-made grenadine!) from the tasting room bar before we headed on the tour.  Adults are encouraged to grab a drink on the way too, but since we had just had our *actual* lunch and I knew the kids would leave me juggling their half-finished sodas, my hubby and I held out for the tasting part of the tour.

Great Lakes is serious about their craft.  It's small batch, with a lot of attention to detail put into each run that they do.  Their tour takes you into the lower level of the building, where you can see that all their production is basically done in one big room.  They've got their still, storage for ingredients, space for bottling and packaging, a storage cage for kegs to age, and a tasting bar area.

It was really interesting to hear our tour guide talk about their process, especially because we could compare and contrast it what we learned when we visited Koval Distillery.  Some things were similar, and some were quite different.  While Koval focuses on whiskeys, Great Lakes, while they do make whiskey, has a number of other spirits that they make, including vodkas and (the one I was most excited about) absinthe.

Honestly, I was so caught up in what the tour guide was telling us that between that and kid-management, I forgot to take photos during that part of the tour.  But if you visit their website, you can actually get a virtual look around the distillery!

I learned a lot of interesting tidbits on the tour, but for some reason, the ones about tax laws stood out in my head.  We were told that around a third of the price you pay for spirits is tax...can you believe that?  It's almost enough to drive me moonshinin'!  And the cage where they store the kegs plays a role in that, because the distillery doesn't get taxed on them until the moment they exit the cage, even if they are staying in that room.  That just fascinated me.  Maybe it's because I'm always extra money-aware on vacations, who knows.  The kids were very into learning about prohibition and the history part of the business.

Art + Nature + Indianapolis = 100 Acres

When you think of cities full of great art, I'd be willing to bet that Indianapolis isn't one of the top ten to cross your mind.  Maybe not even top 20.  But if you want a place to enjoy art and nature with your family, Indy has a fantastic place to go!

The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres is right off of 38th Street, not far from the highway, and connected to the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  It's simply amazing!  A park filled with art that you can interact with, connect with, and fully enjoy.  In fact, it's one of the largest museum art parks in the country!  

My husband used to have an annual show to attend in Indianapolis for his work, so the kids and I would tag along for the hotel room, and then have fun adventures in the city while he was busy working the show.  Unfortunately, that hasn't happened in a couple of years, but fortunately, we managed to get back there for a long weekend this past spring break.  100 Acres was on our list of places we loved and knew we couldn't miss visiting again.  In fact, my youngest (who was 3 the last time we were there), heard that we were going to Indianapolis and ran to pack his basketball...because he remembered this park.

So, what does basketball have to do with art?

Traveling Tuesday: Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee

For several years now, my kids and I have enjoyed tagging along when my hubby has business trips, making the most of the hotel room, whenever we can.  It just so happens that he has an event in Milwaukee annually, and we've found a ton of fun things to do in this city.

One of our can't-miss Milwaukee moments is the polka fish fry at Lakefront Brewery.  Well, the fish fry and the brewery tour, that is!

Lakefront Brewery started in 1987 when one of the founders gave his brother a "Beer Brewing for Dummies" book.  Which makes me love it that much more.  They worked on their beers, started and grew production, gained fans, and eventually ended up where they are now, in an old Power Plant building on the river in Milwaukee.  And as grungy as that may sound, it's actually a gorgeous place.

Hard Boiled Egg Cookies? Believe it or Not...

Once in a blue moon, I run across a recipe where I just stop and have a total WTF? moment.  This is the story of one of those recipes.

It started as I was internet surfing, and I stumbled upon a this site, which seemed to show hard boiled eggs being used to make cookies.  But it was completely in Spanish.  Which I don't know very well.  No bueno.  So I used the translate button, which then changed the title to "Do not eat: eggs.  Cookies boiled egg".  Ummm...is that a warning?

Making Mozz

I tend to have big ideas and then slack on some of the follow through.  I also tend to be a little spoiled by my husband, and if I mention (or, say, e-mail a link to) something I'm interested in, he will often buy that thing (within reason) for me for the next appropriate holiday.  Enter the cheese making kits.

Last year, right around Mother's Day, I saw that Williams-Sonoma had DIY cheese kits available.  And my inner food geek went a little nuts.  I started dropping hints, like, "Wow, with all the tomatoes and basil that we have in the garden, wouldn't it be nice to have fresh, homemade mozzarella to make caprese?", and "Grilled pizza is the bomb.  The only way it could be better is if we had some fresh, homemade mozzarella to top it with!".  You know, subtle.

These Eggs are for the Birds!

Easter is nearly here, and I know that you guys are desperate for some egg-citing ideas!

Ugh.  Okay, that's the only pun I am going to throw out today...it actually made me physically gag to type it.  I am so, so sorry.

Seriously though, Easter and eggs go hand in hand.  And, for my first time, I'm joining in on a Tinkerlab Creative Challenge!  Every other month, Tinkerlab extends an open invitation for kids to create with a common inspiration, and this month, it's eggs!

Malibu Coconut Nuts

I am all about nuts lately.  I know, ha ha, "nuts", but at any given moment these days, my kitchen smells like one of those irresistible vendor stands with cones of deliciousness wafting their siren song as you walk past.  I've been really hooked on this recipe for Lavender Rosemary and Cinnamon Spiced Nuts from Redpath Sugar.  It's great, and I've been bringing it to lots of friend and family gatherings.  This has lead to may, many mature jokes about my nuts, how delicious they are, how people can't stop putting my nuts in their mouth...basically, my nuts have been all over Facebook.

Anyhow, a lot of people have been asking me to put my nuts on my blog.

I'm sorry, I'm still snickering.

Field Trip! Koval Distillery Tour

Today, my hubby and I did something that I've been wanting to do for a long time.  We went to Koval Distillery in downtown Chicago for a tour and tasting.  We had been familiar with Koval's great whiskeys and liqueurs for a couple of years now, after finding them at Green City Market; a little booth with a policeman overseeing the sale of beautiful bottles filled with amber-colored concoctions tucked among the sea of farmers selling fresh produce and artisan foodies marketing their wares.  I was intrigued by their story.  The first distillery in Chicago since Prohibition, certified organic, kosher, and dedicated to their craft.

Berries Are Red, Berries Are Blue...

Summer is just awesome, food-wise, here in the Midwest.

Once June hits, we know we're usually in for a stream of local fruits and veggies for the next 3 or four months.  From June's strawberry festivals to October's pumpkin patch adventures, it's all delicious.  And mid-July marks one of my favorites: blueberry season!

I've been going blueberry picking as long as I can remember, and started dragging my husband to the fields even before we were married.  (He should have known back then what he was getting into!)  Time went on, and one by one, we started taking the kids too.  Last year was a rough year for fruit crops, and the farm we usually go to was hit hard and had very little harvest, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because we discovered a patch with certified organic berries not too much more of a drive than then patch we usually went to.

Lilacs Lilacs Lilacs

I love lilacs.  A lot of people that I know love lilacs.  I think it's hard not to.  They are purple, which is one of my 8 favorite colors.  They smell divine.  And when they appear on their bushes, you know that summer is on its' way.

My personal love of lilacs may slightly have been influenced by the town that I grew up in: Lombard, Illinois. Otherwise known as the Lilac Village.  And let me tell you, they are very VERY serious about lilacs.  Hardcore.  I'm talking a Lilac Ball, a Lilac Queen crowned, and even a Lilac Parade.  It sounds like something you'd find in a quaint country town...and it feels like it too...but it's smack dab in the middle of the suburbs of Chicago.

Drink Your Citrus!

Some of you may follow From Scratch on Twitter or Facebook, and you might remember that I was experimenting a couple of months ago with making my own limoncello and blood orangecello.  Which was one of those ideas that could either turn out awesome or a horrible failure, with very little in-between.

I'm happy to say that, at least as far as the blood orangecello goes, it was a huge success!

So, I'm proud to share my method with you, so that you too can get a delicious, orangy (or whatever flavor you decide to try) buzz from your own homemade liquor.

I started by googling "homemade limoncello".  I know, total creative genius.  But, as it turns out, there are at least 487,000 different recipes on the internet in English for "homemade limoncello".  Huh.  So, not as easy as I thought.  Some of these called for Everclear.  Which my well-stocked liquor cabinet does not have.  And I was feeling too thrifty (i.e. cheap and lazy) to go out and buy some.  We did, however, have an overabundance of vodka, as a couple of friends of ours always seem to come over with a new bottle, drink a couple of drinks, and then leave the rest at our house.  Some of the recipes mentioned that you could substitute vodka for the Everclear, so good to go there.

Jelly From the Weeds

I love that saying that talks about how you can think of a field of dandelions as a field full of weeds, or you can see it as a field full of potential wishes.  Not that I want that field to be my yard, personally, but it makes me smile to think about it when I see a field of dandelions somewhere else.

Dandelions also make me think back to high school, where they were the focus of a well-intentioned school project gone awry.  You see, in my advance literature class one year, we divided up into groups, each group was to read a chosen novel and then create their own project to present the novel to the class.  When I saw the title "Dandelion Wine", it called to me.  Baby, I was born this way. So, spearheading my group, I instigated several courses of dandelion edibles that we would serve as our final project.  This was back in the day before Google, so I was largely dependent on some Native American cookbooks hidden in our library.  We had crispy fritters made from dandelion greens and cornmeal, a lightly dressed dandelion green salad, candied dandelion flowers, and, the grand finale, our dandelion wine...which was a few bottles of sparkling grape juice that we shoved dandelion flowers into.  I mean, you can't being alcohol into school, duh.

The Balance

Something bothered me the other day.  Since I have a blog, and simply because I can, I'm going to work through it here.  Sometimes I just need a sounding board to bounce my thoughts off of.

It all started when a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook about lies that moms are told.  You know the kind of article.  Witty, funny, but still true enough that you feel like you've got a slightly new perspective on life...but one of the points really hit me wrong.  "Life is about balance."  As a lie that moms are told.  I think that the point the author was trying to make was that you shouldn't try to juggle everything possible, but instead, maybe focus on what matters most to you.  Which is not invalid, I guess.  But saying that life isn't about balance seemed so wrong to me.

I guess part of it is who I am, as a person.  I'm very much about balance.  I like fun, I like work.  I enjoy time alone, I love to be around others.  I pinch my pennies, but make some indulgent purchases.  And the article hurt me, because one of the things that I, over and over, tell friends of mine who are looking for advice, or who are in a hard spot in life, is "You'll find your balance, it'll be okay.".  So, have I been lying to them all this time?

How Does Your Garden Grow? Part Two: What to Plant

Okay, so if you read part one of my gardening posts, you should have an idea of how to set up your garden, in terms of structure and soil.  Next comes the fun part: picking out what to plant.

Picking plants for your garden is going to be different for each one of you, depending on your garden's location, light exposure, size, and what foods you will use.  It's best to start simple and then add in as you have more experience.  I have some standards that I know will do well in my garden, and then I try a few new things each year to find new favorites.

There are great books out there, like Square Foot Gardening, The Family Garden, and others, that can give you a structured plan to help you design and set up your garden.  Like I said in part one, I'm more of a trail-and-error, learn-through-experience kind of gal.  But either way, the easiest way to find out when and how to plant the plants you like is by reading the packages.  They will give you planting dates for your zone, seed depths, and any other special requirements that the plant might require.  It will also tell you about how long it will take for the plant to be ready for harvesting.

St. Louis Adventures - City Museum

If you could live in my head, I imagine that it would look a lot like City Museum.  It's eclectic, it's creative, it surprises you, it has its' dark sides, it's filled with joy and excitement, it's always changing and evolving, and you never know what you're going to find.  Maybe that's why City Museum is one of my favorite places that I've ever visited.

These Kids Are Picky P-P-P-Picky Picky Piiiiiiiiiiiicky

Run DMC anyone?  Or else I may have already lost you.  It's tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time...

You know what else can be tricky?  Getting your kids to eat.  I'd say getting your kids to eat healthy food, but sometimes it's just getting them to eat ANYTHING.  Human nature tells us that everyone is unique,and therefore, I can't give you a straightforward answer on how to get picky eaters to eat better.  So what I'm going to do instead is suggest a few strategies that I've found helpful, and hopefully one or more of them can work for you and your picky eater.