When Bryan and I decided to move to Oak Park, we were moving further away from our friends. It was the one part of the decision to leave our old neighborhood that we were agonizing over. For anyone not familiar with Chicago’s geography, Oak Park is the first town directly west of the city center. It is still connected by the same public transportation and the Sears Tower (I reject its new name) is a major part of the view from our apartment. Think of it as a Manhattanite moving to Brooklyn. Or Hoboken? The point being, we could easily have moved somewhere else within the city limits and been much further away from our old neighborhood and friends. But still, we worried. Ultimately we decided to go for it, and honestly have never found the extra 20 minutes of a commute to be a problem, and we love our new community. read more+++

Barbeque season is here. We don’t have an outdoor space for grilling, so we find ourselves traveling to friends’ backyards or porches to cook outside during the summer. I’m always on the lookout for a good salad that will transport easily and taste delicious alongside some grilled meats. This salad does the trick and is nice to look at, too.

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The elderflower cordial was a wonderful way of preserving some of my elderflower bounty, but what I really wanted to make were fritters. Yes, fritters. These dainty little blossoms can be deep fried into a delicious sweet treat that is as beautiful as it is delicious. read more+++

Elderflowers are difficult to come by in Chicago. So when Seedling Farms announced some were available, I jumped at the opportunity to try the ever increasing pile of elderflower recipes I have been collecting. A week or two later, lucky me had a giant box of beautifully perfumed elderflower heads in my hot little hands.

In the states, we’re probably most familiar with elderflower in the form the ubiquitous St. Germain liqueur that has managed to make its way onto every cocktail menu. Europe is better at appreciating these delicate white flowers that are most often used to perfume a sweet cordial. The elder tree is actually a pretty remarkable plant that produces both these flower and elderberries, which are also used in culinary applications. Perhaps most interestingly, the tree has long been associated with witches, and the wood of the tree is particularly well suited to making magic wands. Cool.

What is not to love? And why isn’t there an elder tree on every corner?

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It was so hot here last week.

Chicago experienced the hottest weather we have had in years. 97 degrees. It was kind of miserable. Streets were buckling, people were smelly and public transportation was a bit of a nightmare. I understand the environmental concerns regarding air conditioning, and I feel guilty every time I turn it on, but on days like those I am so grateful for the cool air filling our apartment—and for paletas. read more+++

Time for something savory.

This recipe comes from a really beautiful book, Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes by Andrea Reusing. Just when I thought I had enough of seasonal cookbooks, Reusing created something fresh. The book manages to keep one foot in the professional kitchen (she is the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Chapel Hill’s Lantern) and one foot in the home kitchen. The resulting recipes are home cooking inspired by professional experience and a real love of ingredients. It is a charming read and one of those cookbooks that I actually sit down and read from front to back. I have about ten recipes bookmarked to try. read more+++

I’m not sure how rhubarb and strawberry became such a famous couple. For me, rhubarb and raspberry are the superior pairing.

I know, I know- rhubarb and strawberries are the first “fruits” of spring and it makes sense that they hang out together. And yes, they are delicious. But raspberry adds a deep jamminess that really elevates the tart rhubarb and makes a perfect duo. I say this, in part, because of this insanely good raspberry and rhubarb crostata that helped make our memorial day weekend memorable.

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I think rhubarb is fantastic. Not only is it a harbinger of summer in the Midwest, it is so perfectly tart that I never grow tired of it. A couple of weekends ago, I bought about 4 pounds of rhubarb at the market, and proceeded to find delicious ways of using all of it up. This buckle was up first. read more+++

Two fun updates before I continue with regularly scheduled programming.

First of all, Bryan and I are two of the first-time homeowners profiled in the June/July issue of ReadyMade magazine. I love the issue (which is dedicated to first homes) and I really enjoyed reading about what others went through and the advice they had to share. There are some great photos of our apartment (mostly our kitchen!) and even a sweet shot of us eating breakfast. Eating your breakfast in front of a photo/design team and trying to act normal is not an easy task—especially for jokers like us.

This week was also my second dinner at Floriole. I had a great time working in the kitchen and getting to connect with those of you that joined us for our spring meal. It was such a pleasure to see/meet some of my fellow Chicago bloggers (Sara, Elizabeth, and Caroline!) as well as other readers and friends who made the trip up from neighborhoods as far away as Hyde Park (Katie and Octavian!), were sent to the dinner by friends in other cities (Melina!), or showed up despite feeling under the weather because they are true-blue friends (Katie!). And of course I had so much fun working with all of my friends at Floriole.

This time around, Melissa Yen (remember her?!) of Jo Snow syrups crafted us a beautiful rhubarb and basil syrup that we turned into a delicious beer cocktail. We all agreed we would be drinking this one all summer long.

We used Goose island Sofie (a Belgian-style ale that they describe as “tart, dry, sparkling”), a splash of soda water, and some of the rhubarb basil syrup. All of that on ice with a sprig of basil and a slice of rhubarb. A great contender for the official Drink of Summer, or at least of early summer.

Thanks to everyone for the good times this week! I’ll keep you posted on future events.

Next up, rhubarb mania sweeps my kitchen. Again.

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I didn’t know Imitation Strawberry Extract was in season.

That was Bryan’s response to the McCormick bottle sitting on our kitchen counter.

It’s always in season.

Admittedly, it was an odd sighting in our apartment. It was even an odd sighting on the pages of a Saveur. Most contemporary recipes don’t call for imitation anything—it just isn’t cool anymore. But not so long ago, it was very cool. So modern! I am sure we consume more flavorings and colorings now, we just don’t like to talk about it. At least not those of us that read magazines like Saveur. I don’t have any major philosophical issues with a teaspoon of artificial extract, so I decided to give this crazy strawberry cake a try.

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