Geeky Cat Miusings

You may recall from an earlier post that in the fall of 2009 I started a project in which it was my goal to make 100 new recipes. By the end of 2010 I had surpassed my goal! It was very easy to follow through and go beyond my expectations. Since I enjoyed the process so much and found that I learned a lot about cooking, including finding a lot of new recipes that I like and will be happy to make again, I decided to continue on the new recipe project but in a way that did not have specific defined goals. I don’t currently have a specific number of new recipes that I’d like to make but as of today, March 29, I have made 148 new recipes. The last one that I made is a vegetarian french onion soup made with miso and I absolutely LOVE it. I’ve been dreaming about it ever since I have made it so I think I’ll have to make it again soon. I saw another recipe for french onion soup - this one had no miso but had wine instead. It was very different than the first one I made so I promise myself that I will make it and compare the two.

This is a great project for anyone who is interested in cooking and looking to explore new cooking options. The danger is that sometimes you wonder why you bother going to mediocre restaurants and pay heavily for doing so…

It is hard to believe that it is almost one year since my lost blog post! So much has happened over the year but I find that without writing a diary or blog, many of the details fade from memory.

What has happened since then? I had a pretty good trip to Chicago. Getting there was quite a challenge. I took the over night bus and faced 11 hours of an uncomfortable journey — not being able to sleep because it was too cold on the bus and it was also pretty smelly. Getting off the bus at the US border was unpleasant in its own right - it was the middle of the night so the mind is no where near being alert enough to handle the questions asked by the suspicious of everything border guards.

Fortunately, Chicago is a gorgeous city and my architecture loving heart was so filled with joy that I did not notice the lack of sleep when I slipped into town and set eyes on the gorgeous Harold Washington Library. I couldn’t take my eyes of the owls.

I had barely got off the train when I signed up to become a member of the Chicago Architecture Foundation and immediately took Architecture River Cruise along the unexpectedly beautiful Chicago River. It is lined with buildings that makes this girl say *wow* nonstop. There are so many pleasant surprises on the relaxing boat ride on a very beautiful and warm day.

During my stay I took as many of the architecture tours that I could fit into my schedule. There were some areas that I just fell in love with and visited over and over again. Millennium Park is one of my favourite places in Chicago with the BP Pedestrian Bridge, Lurie Garden, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Bean, and a nice artificial waterway where I cooled my travel-worn feet. They seemed to have free concerts there every day and I was happy to enjoy them which was easy for me because I stayed in a place just across the street from that marvelous park. I really enjoyed the Crown Fountain too - it is a must see. There were many wonderful places to eat in Chicago and I did more than my fair share of eating. I also loved taking the subway there, especially the elevated L which takes you away into a bygone era. Such a lovely view and well worth taking even if you don’t need to go anywhere. There are times for aimless travel and sometimes those travels are the best you’ll ever have.

A couple of things to consider when going to Chicago: make plans to see theatre (it didn’t work out for me because of circumstances) and bring mosquito repellant (they really went after me, even when I dined inside downtown restaurants).