February 2015 – Me Tea and Lucy

Girl & the Goat

Published on February 23, 2015 by meteaandlucyLeave a comment

A few months ago we watched an episode of the Movable Feast on PBS about the restaurant Girl & the Goat. I forgot about it until I was looking for a place to eat in Chicago for a belated Valentine’s outing with Alec. I made reservations only a couple weeks in advance which is why the only time available was at 9pm on a Thursday night. After a long drive to Chicago, we weren’t terribly excited about heading out that night, but we went, and I am so glad we did.

The food was fantastic. The atmosphere was great. The service was phenomenal.

They serve small plates that are meant to be shared. We ordered 4 small plates and one bread. You are supposed to order everything at once, and your server will bring your dishes in the order that will most compliment each other.

seared diver scallops , "hotpot" broth, bamboo shoots, braised peanuts — seared diver scallops , “hotpot” broth, bamboo shoots, braised peanuts

crispy beef short ribs with avocado and grapefruit.

We also had some ham frites (Alec liked them, I thought they were okay) and wood grilled broccoli with blue cheese. I can safely say it was the best broccoli I have ever had.

If you look close, there is a table of Mennonites sitting behind Alec.

The meal was great. The price was reasonable for such good quality and creative dishes. If you find yourself in Chicago and want to go out for a nice meal, check it out. I highly recommend it.

I will have more on my trip to Chicago in future posts.

Valentine’s Day

Published on February 17, 2015February 17, 2015 by meteaandlucy2 Comments

Valentine’s Day is substantially less exciting when you are married. In fact, the images above and below demonstrate this well (they are from the Valentine’s Card I bought Alec).

We spent Valentine’s weekend taking Lucy to a birthday party, fixing a drain, and doing things around the house. Perhaps next year we should try to act like we are dating and actually do something! In all fairness to our ourselves, we are going to Chicago (with the kids), and have reservations for the restaurant the Girl and the Goat (without the kids), which is supposed to be fabulous. Its a bit of a belated Valentine’s Day outing.

However, in honor or Valentine’s Day, I would like to tell you about the new love in my life. No it isn’t a person; it’s coffee. A strange thing happened while I was pregnant. Well a lot of strange things happened; pregnancy is like a bizarre nightmare where you can’t believe things like this are happening to your body (unless you are planning on having a baby soon–pregnancy is great!). But this particular strange occurrence is how my tastes changed. It isn’t an unusual thing to happen to women; it is considered a normal symptom of pregnancy, but it is weird and unpleasant nonetheless. Foods tasted different to me, most notably was lettuce which tasted like dirt and tea which also tasted like dirt. Needless to say, I couldn’t stomach tea. It didn’t get better right after I had Emory either. And while I couldn’t stomach tea, I began to like coffee (don’t worry I drank half-caf or decaf). I always enjoyed a latte but for the first time, I liked coffee. We even bought a coffee maker:

His name is Monsieur Café. He was $29. And this picture is a bit deceptive because I do not drink my coffee black. I prefer it with a little Splenda and half and half. If you notice, my kettle is there on the side. I can drink tea again. It took a couple months, but I was able to start enjoying tea again. Though strangely I still can’t drink my favorite kinds from before. They still taste off. AND maybe the strangest of all, I drink herbal tea in the evening now (which I never enjoyed herbal tea). Maybe I’m old now. I could have a glass of wine but prefer a hot cup of herbal tea before bed.

Belated Happy Valentine’s Day!

Re-launch

Published on February 10, 2015 by meteaandlucyLeave a comment

Many things have happened while I have been gone. I let my domain name expire and stopped blogging for a couple of years, but I missed it; so I am back. The biggest news is my new baby Emory, born September 25, 2014. He is a delight. I had no idea babies could be this easy. Lucy has grown a ton. She is in preschool and loving being the big sister around here.

After four years of living in South, we moved to Northeast last summer. We have a great 1950s house that happens to be an obnoxious shade of yellow—we swear we will get around to painting it someday!

I am in the third year of my doctoral program, which means comprehensive exams. I have tons of books I am supposed to be reading right now. I am also working on a journal as the editorial fellow. I have no free time. None.

I have had to spend less time baking and more time inventing healthy food Lucy might actually eat. Flax seed crepes, pumpkin pancakes, and purple oatmeal are just some examples of my breakfast attempts.

This blog has gotten a bit of a makeover. I figured a re-launch needed to be exactly that. I freshened it up, and the content will be slightly different this time around. The strawberries on the header is a reminder it won’t always be the dead of winter here in good old Minnesota.