To Love Me is To Know Me
Barb and I have been together for a very long time. Which is why she knew I would absolutely love this tee shirt she got me for Christmas. Is this all me or what?
Instead of piles of gifts, we mainly went for experiences this holiday season — which included finally seeing Hamilton live. It was brilliant. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see it live, it’s around for a couple more weeks and you should.
OK, now back to food. Our Thanksgiving turkey dinner was such a success that we decided to do the same thing… with one notable exception… for Christmas.
As was the case in November, I cooked everything over a couple of days before the holiday to ensure we had a stress-free day. On the plate is your classic turkey with roasted sweet potatoes (prepared with maple syrup and cinnamon); brussels sprouts with bacon; mashed Yukon Gold potatoes; and dressing from a recipe on which Barb grew up. And oh that pan gravy.
Two different kinds of homemade cranberry sauces (one with apples and one with mandarin oranges) didn’t make the photo, alas.
The one major addition to the menu was this scrumptious pumpkin soup, made with fresh roasted pumpkin.
But wait, Bob, this is Local Food Forum. Did you walk the walk? Sure did. Most of the ingredients came from either directly local or Midwestern regenerative farms.
The turkey came from 99 Counties (Iowa), as did the bacon on the Brussels sprouts. The potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes were all from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois). The Brussels sprouts were from Wholesome Harvest (Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin). And the pumpkin for the soup was from Smits Farms (Chicago Heights, Illinois).
And, since everything was prepared by Christmas Eve, we cheated a little and made leftover everything sandwiches even before we had the full dinner.
And Christmas morning breakfast? French toast and bacon.
Pan-Euphonium
What the heck is this? It’s the annual Tuba Christmas concert, performed on a wide variety of instruments in the tuba family by about 300 musicians at the Palmer House hotel on Saturday (December 23). It was fun and definitely different, and it sure was popular — the main room was full and we watched it live-streamed in an overflow room.
Bob’s World, and Welcome to It
My hopes of capturing the first sunrise and sunset of winter were thwarted by a siege of cloudy weather that is still ongoing. Fortunately there was just enough of a break on Christmas morning to capture these pretty pastel hues.
A major improvement over Saturday, when we were totally socked in with fog. Even on a cloudy day like today, we have a clear view of Navy Pier and the skyline four miles away and the factories of northern Indiana in clear relief on the horizon about 30 miles away. On Saturday we could barely see across the street.
It’s Day 5 of winter and I’m still waiting on my first photographable sunset.
Hobbes’ World, and Welcome to It
We brought our Big Orange Boy home from the Anti-Cruelty Society shelter just before Christmas last year. It looks like he’s settled in quite comfortably.