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Archives
Author Archives: steve
Why Are Concerts So Loud?
I’ve never been to a concert that wasn’t too loud. But last night’s One Republic concert set records. Even though we always wear earplugs, our front row edge seats were right in front of the sub woofer, and we were … Continue reading
Easy Salmon Cakes
I’m not a fan of crab cakes, which I usually find boring. A lot of places brag about “very little filler,” but I actually think the filler is the only thing that makes them interesting. So I was skeptical of … Continue reading
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Oil Painting Class
I took a one week break from my sculpture classes to attend a five day oil painting class taught by Ken Minami. Each day we spent the morning drawing and he afternoon painting. I leaned to use gray paper and … Continue reading
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Bisquick Coffee Cake
Since Bisquick isn’t the most healthful stuff in the world, I hadn’t had it in about ten years, but got in the mood to make some waffles. That reminded me of the delicious coffee cake we used to make. … Continue reading
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Quinoa and Mango Salad with Lemon Ginger Dressing
I heavily modified this, and have modified it more since testing it. Quinoa and Mango Salad: 1 cup quinoa 1/2 cup lentils Water to cook quinoa and lentils 1 container of fresh mango from Whole Foods (slicing mangos is a … Continue reading
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Vegetable Ceviche
This salad was billed as “Vegetable Ceviche” in a vegetarian magazine I was reading, and it sounded good. It actually does taste quite a lot like ceviche. I used completely different vegetables than they did, however. Ingredients juice of 3 … Continue reading
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Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox Twenty at Ravinia
For the Fourth of July Dani and I took the Metra up to Ravinia Park for dinner and a concert, rather than watch the Evanston fireworks from her balcony. The timing on the train worked out pretty well, because we … Continue reading
Sculpture Class at the Evanston Art Center
This summer while Dani is at work I wanted something to do, so I went up to the Evanston Art Center It’s in the three-story house on the lake, next to the lighthouse north of the Northwestern University campus. I intended … Continue reading
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Jackson Browne at Ravinia
We have a full summer of concerts planned, mostly at Ravinia, the wonderful outdoor venue north of Evanston. We usually sit in the pavilion, but for this concert we could only get lawn tickets, which turned out to be lots … Continue reading
Northwestern University Graduation
Dani graduated from Northwestern University on June 21st, 2013, with a BS degree and double majors in Communications and Psychology. Linda, Nicole and I travelled to Evanston for the festivities. It was an activity-packed few days. We began at the honors ceremony … Continue reading
Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup
This recipe includes changes I made to the original on manifestvegan.com and also some procedural changes I would make next time: 1 large head cauliflower olive oil grapeseed oil spray 1 Tbsp garam masala 3 medium peeled sweet potatoes, cut … Continue reading
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Chilled Cucumber Soup
Libby posted this recipe on Facebook, and I decided to try my own version of it, substituting for buttermilk and adding cilantro. It was quite good. 3 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks 3 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped … Continue reading
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New York Dining
We tried quite a few new restaurants during our week in New York, and returned to many old favorites. Here they are, in order. Le Rivage This really authentic French Bistro is very popular with locals, but just a block … Continue reading
Broadway Shows
This trip we fit in four shows: three new ones and one favorite. Newsies This Disney show is based upon a movie from the 90s that flopped but became a fan favorite. The Alan Menken score was resurrected and Harvey … Continue reading
Charleston
We spent two days at sea, sailing from San Juan to Charleston, South Carolina. The Atlantic was fairly calm, and the sailing smooth. We had booked Priveé, the private dining room, for Thursday night. It’s located between Toscana and Polo … Continue reading
Puerto Rico
Since San Juan is a commonwealth of the US, we cleared immigration before disembarking. Last time I was in San Juan, Dani and I went into the countryside on a horseback riding excursion, so I’d never really seen the city. … Continue reading
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St. Barts
St Barts is by far the nicest island port on this trip. It is French speaking, the currency is the Euro, the residents are French citizens, and the cooking is French/Island cuisine. We tendered over to the small marina and … Continue reading
La Reserve, St. Lucia, Barbados
La Reserve The finest meal served during the cruise is a one-time event called the Connoisseur Menu. It’s served in the Wine Spectator branded La Reserve, a 22 seat restaurant that is only open three days out of 20, and … Continue reading
Granada
Granada is a charming port that fits the quintessential image of a Caribbean island. A circular bay shelters a multicolored harbor that rises into steep, green hills dotted with homes. 95% of the GranadaÕs houses were destroyed by hurricane Ivan … Continue reading
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Colombia and Aruba
We’ve spent a relaxing few days, mostly on board ship, beginning with two sea days that took us through the Panama Canal to Cartagena, Columbia. The shore excursion we had booked sounded like it was going to involve a very … Continue reading
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Panama Canal
Today we passed through the Panama Canal, traveling east to west, from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean. That’s not a typo. The canal actually runs almost north/south, but because of the S shape of Panama, we emerge somewhat west … Continue reading
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Ecuador
Panama hats aren’t made in Panama. Who knew? They’re actually from Ecuador, which is convenient, because that’s where we are today, and I needed a hat. Yesterday we had a great day at sea. I spent some time in the … Continue reading
Chan Chan, Peru
Salaverry is a northern port in Peru near the city of Trujillo. Our tour took us on a short drive through Trujillo to the Dragon Temple, a pyramid surrounded by a high wall. Our guide, Elver was quite informative, as … Continue reading
Lima, Peru
For this year’s trip Linda and I set our goal to visit the last continent on our list, South America. (We’re not expecting to get to number seven, Antarctica, any time soon.) It seems ironic that the only inhabited continent … Continue reading
Peperoncino
A dinner at Dellagio’s Peperoncino with Ron, Bev, Andres, Paula and Linda, noted here because of the inclusion of a 100 point 1934 Burgundy from Ron. Peperoncino serves authentic regional Italian cuisine in a fairly boisterous atmosphere. Because the place … Continue reading
France Conquers Italy
Not since the days of Napoleon has it been so clear who ruled Europe. Keith Edwards organized an extraordinarily informative tasting designed to compare ten Italian merlots with ten Bordeaux wines consisting of at least 75% merlot. In attendance were Keith, … Continue reading
Blind Pairs at Luma
Ron organized this interesting tasting in the downstairs room at Luma. Attendees were Ron, Bev, Keith, Parlo, Andres, Paula, Linda, Dani, Jacques, and Alison. As usual at Luma, the downstairs room was fabulous, and the food was variable. Standouts were the cauliflower … Continue reading
Olivje (Оливье) Recipe
Dmitri brought this Olivje (Оливье) to Glen’s St. Patrick’s Day Party and we really liked it. (makes 1 medium-sized salad bowl) Ingredients 4 potatoes 2 large carrots boiled and peeled. 6 eggs hard boiled and peeled 5 medium sized dill pickles … Continue reading
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Tesla Model S
I’ve had the Tesla Model S Performance Sedan for two weeks, and wanted to share my thoughts with prospective purchasers. In short, it is extraordinary. It perfectly combines the features of a luxury car, a sports car, a station wagon, and … Continue reading
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Wine Lunch on Hillstone’s Dock
Ron arranged this lovely Saturday afternoon event for a fairly large group. The weather was cool and blustery, but plastic panels kept out most of the wind, and it was a delightful venue, with great service by Laura and delicious food by … Continue reading