#15 - Try all of Ruhlman's 20 Techniques (Fail)

This is my third year trying to knock off practicing these 20 techniques. I still have 2 to go! The only reason it seems to have taken so long is that this book has gotten me so into cooking that I can't stop learning and trying things, not wanting to stick solely to one book. I watch and read Serious Eats. I have bought and read several other technique-based cookbooks. I've tried other styles. I love cooking. And I eat damn well now.

I only had 5 left this year, so I put links to previous years where appropriate. The ones from this year are in bold.

1. THINK: 2017 

2. SALT: 2017 & 2018

3. WATER: 2017  & 2018

4. ONION

There are basically always onions in my kitchen nowadays, and I use them quite often. Somehow, though, it took me until this year to try one of the onion techniques in Ruhlman's book. I kept it easy and mascerated some shallots. It sounds fancy, but it's literally just chopping shallots and then soaking them in (red wine) vinegar. Done. While I haven't mascerated any shallots since my delicious first attempt, I do now often mascerate onions. In fact, I've been mascerating onions for years and calling it "marinating." The nice thing about masceration is that you get raw onion flavor but all of the harsh bite of the onion is soaked out, so they go great on salads for a bit of acidity. 

I should really try some of the other onion recipes, playing with this vegetable a bit more, as every new technique I learn with them expands my capacities as a cook!

Beautiful popovers!

5. ACID: 2017

6. EGG: 2017 

7. BUTTER: 2017

8. DOUGH: 2017 

9. BATTER

I've been wanting to try making popovers ever since K Rob introduced me to their airy, gooey, crispy, butteryness a few years ago. They come out of the pan with drama, puffed up with air and richness. The recipe in Ruhlman's book seemed to easy to be true. Good news: it's super easy. I tried them at one of our Sunday night dinners with Chris Zann and Holly Zann. Success. And a delightful complement to our lasagna soup and bright salad with lemon vinegrette. Yes. 

10. SUGAR: maybe next year

11. SAUCE: 2017  & 2018

12. VINAIGRETTE: 2017 

13. SOUP: 2017 

14. SAUTE: 2018

15. ROAST: 2017

16. BRAISE: maybe next year

17. POACH: 2018

18. GRILL: 2018

19. FRY

I finally used Ruhlman's rosemary-brined fried chicken. While I have to say that my modified K2FC sandwich was better, this recipe is effing awesome. I made the fried chicken for a dinner with international students at DePaul. DePaul offers faculty and staff the opportunity to host international students in their home for a dinner on Saturday or Sundays each quarter. I was lucky in that my budy Stephanie Souvenir agreed to be my cohost, which was important because (a) I needed to cook and I still haven't mastered the cook/entertain combo, and (b) I hate small talk. I mean, I will totally do it again, but it was awkward. I then made it more awkward by smoking up the apartment with my frying and the pieces warming in the oven dripping oil into the over and smoking more. L

Luckily, the fried chicken itself was well received, as was the orange-balsamic salad and the messed up pop overs (which still tasted great but weren't super impressively popped over). I was quite happy that I made too much chicken (as one student no showed) for leftovers and then was bummed that most of the thighs were eaten up, as they were clearly the best pieces. Note to self: More thighs, fewer breasts and wings, same amount of legs.

So thrilled to have this recipe in my arsenal, particularly for smaller groups!

20. CHILL: 2018

#4 - Read 36 Books (Fail)

13 books short, but still quite a lovely reading list this year!

**1 - Becoming by Michelle Obama
1/2/19 (audiobook)

2 - Duma Key by Stephen King
1/12/19 (audiobook)

**3 - Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
1/13/19

*4 - I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
1/21/19

5 - The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
2/26/19 (audiobook)

*6 - The Humans by Matt Haig
3/6/19, lended to me by Kathleeen Krone and Jerry Krone

*7 - Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
3/11/19 (audiobook)

**8 - Educated by Tara Westover
3/12/19

9 - Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon
3/13/19 (audiobook)

**10 - Different Seasons by Steven King
4/20/19 (for the 2nd time since high school)

*11 - Missoula by Jon Krakauer
6/1/19

**12 - GMorning GNight! Little Pep Talks for You and Me by Lin Manuel Miranda
6/19/19

*13 - Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut 
6/22/19 (for the 2nd time)

**14 - The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
8/12/19

*15 - Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
8/8/19

**16 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
8/15/19, loaned to me by Chris Zann

17 - Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
8/16/19

**18 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Sephen Chobosky
9/13/19, for the second time

19 - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
(audiobook), 9/14/19

*20 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
10/6/19, gifted to me by Jerry Krone and Kathy Krone

21 - The Wrong Way to Save a Life by Megan Stielstra
10/6/19

**22 - Circe by Meredith Miller
11/6/19 (audiobook), recommended by Chris Zann and Elizabeth Pearson

**23 - The Best American Short Stories, 2018, edited by Roxane Gay
12/21/19

#95 - Go to a New Country

Yes, I knew I'd be going to a new country this year, but also, it's not cheating because this item is always on the list. But let me paint the scene.

I'm having Christmas dinner with my family. It's just the four of us (my parents, my brother, and me) for the first time in a long time. We're back to our old tradition of fondue, which is fairly easy for prep and clean up after a lot more effort the previous day for the Polish Christmas Eve dinner celebration.

We're finished eating, and my mom puts the palms of her hands flat on the table in front of her, and solemnly says, "We need to talk to you about something..." and I feel a little dread but have no idea what this information could possibly be. "There's some time to decide... But next year, probably between Thanksgiving and Christmas... " What terrible thing could we possibly know is coming a year in advance? "Do you kids want to go to Costa Rica?"

My brother jut our jaws out in awe, stare at her, and say, "YES" but with a definite tone of frustration.

"Why are you saying it like that?" she asks.

"Why did you ask it like that?!" we ask.

Apparently she was just bracing herself for us to say no. Not only was everything fine, but we were going to Costa Rica.

"There's one condition."

"WHAT?"

"I want to see a sloth. Last time we were there I didn't get to see one. So I want to see one."

I'm pretty sure Chris and I exchanged glances at this point. Because, yeah, duh, we all want to see a sloth.

We were there for 10 days, and they all kind of blend together until the end, so here is what we did, to the best of my memory.

KRONES

Wednesday

We landed after sundown and were staying in San Jose the first night. Before we even made it to the hotel, we experienced our first Tico time incident. We must have waited, along with others, over an hour for our rental car. Then, they didn't have any full-size cars that were automatic, so we had to decide between a stick shift and a smaller car. We could tell they wanted us to take the stick since we'd watch many other tourists attempt to drive sticks out of the parking lot only to end up in the bushes or not actually get anywhere at all, and my dad and brother could drive stick. However, the plan was to have me drive in the city since I'm the most used to aggressive drivers and also get pretty dang car sick pretty easily. So we crammed into a Corolla and headed to the hotel.

Costa Rica is the most biodiverse country in the world, and while I knew we were going sloth spotting and would likely see monkeys near the house, I was curious about what else we'd see. In the morning, while waiting to leave for the Pacific coast, I read all about Costa Rican wildlife: at least three species of monkeys, sloths, jaguars, macaws, toucans... harpie eagles (terrifying)... tarantula hawks (wasps that stun tarantulas, drag them away, lay their eggs on them, and then bury them so that their hatchlings have a fresh meal upon arrival to the world)... butterflys, leaf cutter ants... bullet ants (their bite ranks a 10 on the pain scale)... very few spiders and none toxic... but then ALL the toxic snakes: pit vipers, fer de lance (described as quick and excitable), boa constrictors, coral snakes, and all kinds of scary things. I was now less excited to go be in the middle of no where.

Thursday

On our 2-hour drive from San Jose to our little spot on the coast (near Parrita), we saw a ton of animals before arriving at our house: La Villa Dos Gatos. My mom found what turned out to be a fantastic VRBO in the middle of the most beautiful no where. It was 4 bedrooms; 2 full baths; a decent kitchen; a living room; a gorgeous, huge, second-story front porch; and a pool--plus they had surf boards, boogie boards, and floaties. Supposedly, there were also monkeys (capuchin) and sloths that hung out in the trees. I hoped there were no pit vipers hanging out with them.

Thanksgiving day we had a great meal at the little restaurant down the road, Mar y Sol: a perfect name for a Costa Rican restaurant with a great view of sunsets over the ocean. My dad and I had red snapper, pulled fresh from the mangroves just a few dozen yards away, and it was one of the best fishes I've ever had. The servers were great. Everyone was happy with their meals, especially my brother who had the first of what would become his daily arroz con pollo meals. We spent the rest of the night playing board games and debating whether or not it was the geckos making the barking noises. (Spoiler alert: it was.)

SO GOOD

Friday

I kinda don't know what we did. I think we just hung out at the house, reading, napping, watching the iguanas, later playing some more games. I made breakfast tacos, and I cannot remember what we did for dinner because I don't think I cooked twice in one day.

Saturday

We drove to Jaco, a nearby beach town, to catch the Michigan-Ohio State game. We wound up at a sports bar called Cheerleaders that caters to tourists and ex-pats, showing just about any game, match, competition, etc. from the states. The bartender (Bee) was stellar, and the only down side was that it was 11:00am, and they didn't serve food until 1:00pm, so we were quite buzzed by halftime and needed to take a walk. The upside is they had arroz con pollo, so Chris kept up his streak. The other downside is the game sucked. But we had a nice time wandering Jaco after.

Mom's bff: Gator

I think it was on this day that I made dinner: two types of roast chicken (one with a random spice packet I couldn't translate that we'd picked up from the grocery store and one with just olive oil, salt, and pepper) and some roasted potatoes. I had planned to attempt using a yuca root I had bought, but the power was out and there was no cell service in our area, and I had no idea how to prepare that giant vegetable.

Sunday

Because the beach is so steep and rip tides are so prevalent in that area, we were advised to only surf at low tide. However, at low tide, the waves were pretty meh the whole time we were there. Finally, on Sunday, they were closer to the 3-4' range one afternoon, so we gave it a go. On foam boards, I think we both would have caught some decent rides, but with new boards and small waves, the best I could manage was a few seconds in a kneel before I'd run out of wave or onto the beach. It was Chris' first attempt at surfing, and he had that new surfer smile on his face, that one that says, I'm terrible at this--but I can't wait for the next swell. I was just happy to be back and excited to be able to manage a new board on a new beach in a new country. Super lovely.

I think the furthest from the house we went that day was Mar y Sol, our neighborhood restaurant, where three of us tried something new and Chris had chicken and rice again.

Monday

I believe this was the day that we hung at the pool for a bit and then eventually ventured to Quapos, a city in the opposite direction of Parrita and Jaco, just because after so much relaxation, I was finally getting the bug to be active. My parents recommended the zip line tour at Manuel Antonio National Park, and it was too late in the day to do that, but I figured scoping out the rest of the town so that we could return the next day would be fun. We ended up having apps and drinks at the touristy-sh marina/shops/restaurant complex, but it was still a mix of Ticos and non-Ticos, plus there was a gorgeous view of the sunset over the water, so I enjoyed my margaritas and the breeze and didn't worry too much about it. I think this was the point where that Costa Rica vibe was finally in me, and everything felt so relaxing and pleasant.

Tuesday

Chris and I went zip lining with a company that goes through Manuel Antonio National Park. There were 13 lines, some of which were very long. I love a good zip line, and this was the best zip line experience I've ever had, by far. Of course, the place made a huge impact: huge trees in a dense jungle. However, the guides also made the experience that much better. It was clear on each short trail and on each platform, one of them was scanning the forest, searching for wildlife to share with us. They pointed out poison dart frogs and the sleepy plant. They seemed disappointed at one point and mentioned there are usually monkeys in a particular tree. They shared with us a fruit that kind of reminded me of a bitter pomegranate. I was fascinated by the leaf cutter ants, and they joked, "Yes, the Costa Rican army." At points, we were so high up, really zipping along the tree tops of the jungle canopy. Once they noticed I liked zipping fast, they'd give me little comments about which rides were the fastest and telling me not to brake unless someone motioned from the platform. One of the guides took beautiful pictures, and while there was a cost, we could purchase all photos of us and the scenery (including the frogs)--probably 20 or so photos each--for around $20 a person. Once I viewed the photos, it was clear they also messed with us a bit, like during the rappel when they encouraged each of us to put our arms out and then dropped us quickly, resulting in big, open-mouth smiles with arms stretched wide, to encourage really fun photos. It was really well done, and I would highly recommend it. I would also love to try other zip line tours to see the canopies of other areas of the country.

That evening, we went to a new, small spot for dinner, where everyone else claimed they had their best meal while there. My meal was good, but I couldn't stop thinking about that snapper.

Chris' bff: this cricket

Wednesday

Feeling eager for more movement, I suggested we go on a "short, pleasant hike" to a waterfall (according to our host's binder of activities). It wasn't quite a tourist destination as it was in the middle of nowhere on land owned by no one, but apparently we just had to park in this woman's yard, pay her $4 per person for the parking, and then hike in.

It was certainly in the middle of no where, including one-lane dirt roads through farmland. We eventually found the spot and indeed, a woman came out to collect for the parking and pointed us in the right direction, saying the fall were just 1km away, a 10-minute walk. Perfect.

The ground was a little saturated from the rainfall and bumpy due to apparent cow tracks, but the trail was fairly well marked, and there were leaf cutter ants to honor on the way. And then we had to cross a creek, which we did not anticipate, but whatever. (I was doing my best not to think about how the fer de lance snake hangs out near riverbeds and along trails, especially where cows hung out.)

Then, on the other side of the creek, there was so much mud that it was unavoidable. The kind of mud that makes it impossible to keep dry feet. The kind of mud that sucks off your shoes. And there's my poor mom, not the sportiest of the family, trying to be a good sport while her sport sandals kept slipping off and she needed one of us to lean on for balance.

But finally, we made it to the falls. They were called the Tres Piscinas, which we saw was because there were really 2 small waterfalls that fed one big waterfall (three pools). We waded in, and eventually my brother and I climbed up to the second pool. We almost climbed up to the top pool, but we were making my parents nervous by using the makeshift vine rope to aid our climbing.

Cleaning Mom's shoes

The way back was much smoother though we had a long stop at the creek for everyone to wash their shoes. (Again, not thinking about snakes, not thinking about snakes, not thinking about snakes.)

Thursday

Chris and I had signed up for another adventure: horseback riding. I'm not actually sure I've talked much about my riding experience on this blog, but I'm a fairly experienced rider. I mean, I took weekly lessons growing up, was part of the equestrian club in college (usually weekly rides still), and even now still ride most years at camp, so at least a few times a year. So, I was stoked to ride on trails in Costa Rica. Chris had never ridden before, but he was game, so we signed up for a tour I found from our host's binder.

Chris' other bff: Jalisco

We met the tour's van at a gas station and followed them there because we'd booked late and weren't staying at a hotel (where they did pick ups). That was a really good thing, as I mentioned earlier, I get motion sick easily, and we wove up some windy hills to get to the site. Once we got there, they fed us a Costa Rica breakfast (black beans, rice, scrambled eggs, and a tortilla, a breakfast I learned is right up my alley), split us into two groups, and prepped us for the ride. While I'm an experienced rider, I know that riding is a risky activity, so I only make my experience known when making reservations and when asked. As I knew I had a beginner with me, I didn't mention my experience at all while we were being given instructions, but it was clear the guides had read my reservation email and also put in a slight test. When introducing their very docile horses and how to direct them (not that many needed directing as they were practiced trail horses), the guide told us the slowest speed was walking and then asked what was next. I answered "trot." Then he asked the next and next (canter and gallop), and when I got those right, he said, "Megan, you have some experience riding, would you like a horse who likes to go a little quicker?" And I eagerly said yes.

It was a phenomenal ride through a secondary forest with a stop at a beautiful waterfall for a quick swim. Also, our guide told me that my brother and I seemed much more comfortable in the jungle than the others, and that's one of the best compliments I've ever received. Just a really lovely morning.

Views from Ronnie's place

We finished the day with dinner at this spot in Quepos I'd read about on Trip Advisor. If only we'd arrived just a bit sooner as it was the most beautiful spot to watch a sunset over the hills and the Pacific. We caught the last 10 minutes or so of daylight and then enjoyed our dinner with a view of the darkness. None of us got our hopes up for the quality of the food, as this was clearly a spot for tourists, but we were all pleasantly surprised with some fantastic food and lovely drinks.

Friday

Some of these suckers had to be
around 15 feet

It was finally time to leave La Villa Dos Gatos. We packed up, said goodbye, and drove off with the feeling that maybe one day we'd be back. We stopped in Jaco for some gift shopping, but the whole town was clearing out to make room for a festival of lights that night. We found ourselves at lunch at the taco shop we'd seen signs for during all of our drives, a tourist-friendly eatery. Again, we were shocked at how good the food was. The seasoning on their potato slices, fried chicken, and fried shrimp was bananas good. And yes, we had tacos in Jaco.

On our way back to San Jose, we came to a bridge that had been swarming with tourists when we were headed in the other direction. Suddenly, it hit me. "Is this the crocodile bridge?" We pulled over at one of the tourist traps and walked the bridge to gaze over the side at so very many humongous crocodiles. They were terrifying. And beautiful. And so creepy. I was so thankful we did this on the way home because I knew that there were crocodiles in the mangroves that were just dozens of yards from both our house and Mar y Sol. I would have been terrified at every step outside of the house and car.

NOT ARROZ CON POLLO

Back in San Jose, my mom and I walked to the mall while my dad and brother returned the rental car. Then, we all had a light dinner in the hotel, too tired and too aware of our 4am wake up calls to venture out again.



Saturday

I kinda dig the San Jose airport. There are so many shops for last-minute gifts, and the rum at duty free was cheap. And then we were off. And then we were home.

And yet, the Costa Rica vibe still isn't totally out of my system, almost a month later. It's a magical place, and I keep thinking about souvenirs that said, "I went to Costa Rica and all I got was happy."

#PuraVida

Actual photo my dad took at the beach we could see from our porch

#8 - Watch 3 Academy Award-Winning Films I've Never Seen

1 - Chariots of Fire (1981)
11/17/19
I don't know if I've seen this before. I also don't know if I liked this movie. I'm drawn to it as a The Poisonwood Bible as much as I do, you might feel that missionaries are putting themselves in pretty vulnerable situations. And then, on top of all of my lack of connection because everyone's rich and White and okay, they don't really have any major challenges. I mean, things are presented as challenges: Abrahms gets second place one time (to Liddel), and Liddel can't run in the 100m qualifying heats because they're on Sunday and he doesn't believe in work on Sunday (though I guess he does believe in watching other people work on Sunday as he watches the races), and then someone just gives up their spot in the 400m so he can run that instead and still win a medal... even though those are two totally different races with often totally different runners. So... everyone wins a medal. And then goes home with their White, blonde, light-eyed girlfriends. Because obviously, Jewish men are already super exotic, so we definitely can't handle any sight of Jewish women. There's just no weight to the story when you think about how the worst that happens to anyone is that they get second place; they all go home with Olympic medals, mostly gold; and they all find themselves happy in love. Oh, and the Olympics is only for White people. But they get lauded for being the fastest men in the world. I just... yeah, I guess I didn't like it. Also, how many takes did it take to shoot that opening/closing scene? Also, I think the song from the movie has more excitement than the movie itself. If at least one scene could have been slow motion running drama to that song, I might have been swayed. Nope. I like watching runners run. I like the drama of it. But also, I don't know that I cared much about any of the runners by the end of the movie. Both of the main characters were likeable. But then, it's also just a movie about rich, White people. I mean, Abrahms is Jewish and certainly there are undertones that things will get bad for Jewish people in the next 10-20 years. But also, spoiler alert, Abrahms ended up being some Athletic Minister, so... he was fine. And Liddel, spoiler alert, dies in China after WWII on a missionary trip--no other information given about how or why--but also, he was all super religious and decided he needed to go save people in China. So like, that's his choice, and if you enjoyed

2 - In the Heat of the Night (1966)
12/13/19
I mean, it was 1966 and kind of exploring the dynamics of race, so I suppose I should have expected this film be a little cringey. It was also about a police force in a small town, so I suppose that should have clued me in even more. I think what made me the most uncomfortable, however, was that this same film is still getting made. White people are still writing films (and books and TV shows and other forms of media) about racist White people and how if the situation is right, sometimes a White person can unlearn racism thanks to a charming yet unemotional Black person who is unreasonably calm when along and threatened with violence. I mean, Greenbook won the Oscar THIS YEAR. I've refused to watch that film because the family of the Black man portrayed in the film does not support the film written by his White counterpart and produced by that White man's son. Just another story about how White people can be the hero by just being decent human beings toward individuals of another race. At least this film didn't really have a White savior thing because Sidney Pontier's character had a successful job in a big city, and that was never questioned. I mean, how bizarre is that? THIS film, in 1966, did a better job of not making the racist White guys the heros for "saving" the Black man. I mean, the main White guy was the hero and the actor won an Oscar for his role, but in the film itself, all he did was recognize the expertise and experience of a fellow professional... who then saved him from arresting the wrong person and letting a murderer go free even though Pontier's character really didn't have a valid motivation for doing so other than proving these racists wrong... at the risk of his own life. I was not surprised to read that the writer of the book and writer of the screenplay were White men. The racial aspects were obvious, and then also the toxic masculine ones where a 16 year old is pregnant and later physically controlled by a group of older men when she tries to get an abortion from a Black woman who is trying to make some extra money. I was surprised to read about the convoluted storyline created to introduce the TV show, one where Pontier's character MOVES to that town to work with his buddy? on the police force. Like, that guy almost lost his life multiple times just in a few days, and he's going to move his family there? Nah. Then, it's also been revived in 2010 and 2014-2015 in LA for stage productions. Ya'll, there are better stories to tell out there! Maybe if we're going to learn about race, we do so from people who have experienced racism? So overall, I dislike this film but mostly because it likely was important in 1966 and yet so little has changed 53 years later. Ugh.

3 - Tom Jones (1963)
12/31/19
Oof. This film is terrible. Stupid, rich, sloppy drunk White men just do whatever the hell they want, hurting people along the way, and somehow we're supposed to find it charming, as supposedly every woman in the film does. Just gross.

This is the film that made me change my list item for next year to watching nominees because I just can't take much more of movies made by rich White men for rich White men. And that chicken eating scene... So effing gross.

#17 - Eat Vegetarian for 7 Days

Vegetarian eggs benedict

Well, I was getting a little anxious about what I could actually get done before the end of the year, so I thought I'd pop this one in the mix to knock one down.

Missing Costa Rica

The reason I have add items related to vegetarianism and veganism--in combination with eating animals I've myself caught/slaughtered--is that I've been doing my best to be come a more ethical omnivore, an idea inspired by reading The Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. While I believe that with small, ethical farms, it is possible to be an ethical omnivore, I also understand the impact that eating animals has on the environment. So, this effort to develop a less meat-needy palate comes from my desire to eat more environmentally ethically.

Tofu and root vegetable bake, a standard for the winter

Breakfast tacos!

I've always assumed that I am a person who is very protein needy, and finding vegetable-based proteins has always seemed cumbersome to me. Like, I don't want to eat every 15 minutes just because my proteins have less calories and now I'm hungry again.

After trying this for one, two, three... seven days, I can tell you, that did not happen. With some thought and creativity in the kitchen, things I'm already working on, I was very happy and satisfied with my meals, and in fact, am so glad I froze so many leftovers to eat later.

I won't describe each meal I had, but the photos included here are some shining examples of the delightful meat-free meals I had over the week--and one at a restaurant that was a bit lacking.

Lemony lentil soup

I am so glad I did this and can't wait to incorporate more meat-free meals, soon completely animal-free meals, into my diet in an effort to do my part for this beautiful earth.

Just a pretty salad

#21 - Try 12 New Restaurants in Chicago

**1 - Summer House Santa Monica
1/7/19 with Nicole Garton

I managed to grab lunch with Nicole for Chicago Restaurant Week at Summer House, a gorgeous, space that I've always wanted to try but didn't want to spend the money. Well, thank you Restaurant Week because I learned that Summer House is really reasonable. While my $24 Restaurant Week lunch included an amazing butternut squash soup (I know, so basic, but I'm a sucker for soup), a great turkey burger with shoestring fries, and dessert, I could have gotten the soup and turkey burger for under $24, which means that an actual, one-course lunch only would have been around $15, with tip. Plus, the staff is cheerful, the space is bright and summery, and it just has a nice vibe. Can't wait to go back!

Goat dumplings
I LOVE DUMPLINGS

**2 - Duck Duck Goat
1/9/19 with Elizabeth Pearson and Michael Bigelow

As soon as I realized Restaurant Week was coming up, I found a list of the best places to try, and there I read, Duck Duck Goat was doing a $24 dim sum menu on the weekends. Um... WHAT. I LOVE Stephanie Izard and I LOVE dim sum. I made reservations immediately. I After amazing experiences at Girl and the Goat and Little Goat, plus my love of Asian flavors, I was SO stoked to try Duck Duck Goat. I was getting back from a conference the night before, so I could be sure to get plenty of sleep and then enjoy some dim sum with 3 other lucky people.

And then I checked my schedule. I was getting back from my conference THAT day. I panicked. I went to change my reservation. NO MORE AVAILABLE. Nooooooooooooooo!

Then, something happened. That something was the polar vortex. You didn't know a polar vortex could do good, did you? But it did. Due to the terrible cold in Chicago this year, Restaurant Week extended a week. And my delightful coworker, scratch that, REAL FRIEND, Stephanie Souvenir snapped up a reservation for me... but she made it for 1:30pm. And that day, I had the Whaddayaknow Trivia Tournament of Champions. At 1:00pm. I went to find another reservation. No luck. This was not meant to be.

And then, Stephanie said she looked again and there WERE earlier reservations. Once last try, and, SUCCESS! 11:00am! I texted my trivia team, and Elizabeth and Michael, were all like, HELL YES (or something like that).

So we went to brunch fully expecting to study over our delightful meal. But no. We could barely speak to each other the food was so good. And it felt like it wouldn't be enough, but then, somehow, it was. It was the perfect amount of tasty bites. We took our time, enjoyed our meal, and then quizzed each other on musicals on the Lyft ride to the tournament.

Delightful.

Possibly the best dessert I've ever had:
Seasame doughnuts with a seasame whipped cream

**3 - Dancen
1/9/19 with Ashley Russell and Chris Zann

So I did the Duck Duck Goat thing and then the Whaddayaknow Trivia of Champs thing and then some post-tourney celebrations and socializing, and then Ashley demanded food, and he wanted Korean food, and specifically Korean food at this spot he'd heard about. It was quite out of the way, but damn, thank you, Ashley!

We entered this weird little spot with a huge bar/grill and a few tables with a few people at them. Ashley and I both had eyes bigger than our stomachs and ordered food enough for five people, some of it too spicy for Zann, so it was like two people trying to eat four meals. It. Was. Good. All of it.

I went home with plenty of leftovers and was curious if it had been the drinks in my system that made the food so good. I warmed them up the next day for lunch, and nope, even leftover, everything was awesome. I will definitely be going back.

*4 - Two Lights Seafood & Oyster
4/11/19 with Laura Masters

It's hard to give this place an honest rating because I had a frustrating day, and all of that was relieved by the company. I was so happy to spend some time with my friend after many months of only seeing each other in groups or not at all.

We had some nice, light cocktails and split a few different dishes: some octopus, a crab dip, and a lobster roll. All were nice.

The rest of my joy of this night was lots of time catching up with my dear friend!

5 - Labriola
7/17/19 with Stephanie Punda, Sarah Hardin, Shaun Cooley, Danielle Arens, Maureen McGonagle, John Washo, Scott Vandermoon, Sabrina Wilson, Leanne Surmin, Stephanie Souvenir, and Gale Stewart

Another lovely staff retreat with DePaul! This time Stephanie Punda made a reservation to have us try the real "best deep dish in Chicago." Turns out, I think I really  just don't like deep dish. I like Lou's the best because it's the least deep dishy. Gimme dat Detroit style, New York style, or woodfired any day. But enough with the deep dish. It's heavy. It's bready. It's not that flavorful.

I said what I said.

Other than that, the salads were tasty and the ambiance was much nicer than most of the deep dish chains in the city. It was fine.

*6 - Francois Frankie
8/1/19 with Laura Masters

Laura made us another fun reservation prior to a show (Come From Away--HIGHLY recommend) at a very new restaurant in town, Francois Frankie. It's a playful French restaurant with a carousel bar, which rotates incredibly slowly, making a full revolution every 88 minutes.

I had some great wine and Laura and I both tried the French onion soup and then shared a few smaller plates. The French onion soup was soooo good. The broth was flavorful and soaked into the croutons perfectly. The melted cheese on top was toasted just enough and was the most creamy cheese I've ever had on a soup. Then, we shared the hummus platter, which was presented like a seafood tower and actually had more crisp veggies than we needed. The garlic shrimp was quite a delight, arriving in a hot skillet and brimming with crispy garlic goodness.

Everything was great and just in soup and sharing two other small plates, were were stuffed.

We did, however, come back after the show for more drinks and were lucky enough to meet the owner. It was fun to be able to rave about our whole experience, including the servers by name.

I will totally come back.

*7 - Cochon Volant
8/19/19 with Chris Zann

We'll, I'm free now. I work wherever, whenever, so that also means I can go whenever, wherever, which means I can lunch wherever, whenever, with whomever, so I had my first remote working lunch with my best of buddies, Zann. We classed it up and went to Cochon in the Loop. I had a fantastic BLT and ice tea. Zann had a Cuban. It was the perfect lunch to set the tone for my new, free life. He even pointed me to a cool spot to work for the afternoon: Revival Food Hall. I'm pretty stoked to connect with friends and explore new places in this very delightful city of ours.

*8 - Chicago Q
8/21/19 with Clint Ruch

Yep, two lunch dates with two good buddies in one week! This time I met up with Clint at a nice barbeque spot on the near north side. I had a delightful pulled pork sandwich and coleslaw, snacked on the homemade chips, and pickles, and had yet another delightful iced tea. I certainly shouldn't make it a habit to have my lunches at such nice places, but goodness, was it ever nice to splurge on good food and good company in the middle of a work day twice in one week.

*9 - Cafe Kanela
11/7/19 with Nicole Garton

As Nicole has a new work space in Old Town, we tried out a new lunch spot in Old Town. Cafe Kanela is rumored to be the best breakfast in Chicago. I can't vouch for that (Tweet is pretty spectacular), but I did have a fantastic lox-bagel breakfast, and Nicole loved her food too. Plus, it was pretty laid back for a late lunch on a weekday. Definitely worth going back!

#46 - See a New Animal in the Wild

I kinda set myself up for this one, but I'm so glad I did and I'm going to keep this on my list for every year!

When I created my list last year, my family already had a tentative plan to visit Costa Rica. My mom's only dealbreaker was that she could see a sloth. It was asking a lot, but well, yeah, Mom, we can make that a priority. Sure.

While I knew we would be sloth seeking, I had no idea how easy it is to see wildlife in Costa Rica. I suppose I should have figured it out after reading about how Costa Rica is only 0.03% of the Earth's surface yet contains 6% of its biodiversity.

Maybe I just had in my head that most of that biodiversity would be plants I wouldn't recognize. That was surely true, but the animals were everywhere too.

We arrived in San Jose late the first night and stayed at a hotel in the city. We heard some chirps and such outside but didn't see anything besides plants on the grounds. In the morning, while waiting to leave, I read the wildlife section of the book on Costa Rica I had brought. It started out great. Sloths, monkeys, birds... wait, harpie eagles... vultures... Wait, we're okay, not many venomous spiders. Tarantulas, yes, but those that mostly hunt from the mouths of their dens at night and are even fairly safe to handle. But then, there was the tarantula hawk. No, it's not a flying tarantula. It's a huge wasp that stings and paralyzes tarantulas, buries their LIVE bodies, and then lays eggs on the body so it's hatchlings can have a fresh meal. AHH! And bullet ants, the ant that has a bite that registers a 10 on the pain scale. And a couple other ouchy ants and things. Nothing that can kill you though. Oh wait, but then there are SEVERAL snakes there that can kill you. Some brightly colored and living in trees (feeling pretty good about avoiding them by not climbing trees at night) and others that are leaf colored and hang out on the ground, including the fer de lance that was described as quick, agile, and excitable--and the most deadly snake in the country. Great. And it hangs out along trails. Great. Great. Great. (Not great.)

On our drive from San Jose to Parrita, we saw plenty of farm animals (mostly cows, horses, chickens, a few goats) and dogs. Then, as we traveled further toward the coast, we started looking more carefully. We saw an iguana. Then the striking red of a scarlet macaw sitting in a tree.

When we pulled up to our house, we learned that green iguanas pretty much owned our yard. I would say they were like squirrels, but if there were that many squirrels in your yard, even in the Midwest, you'd likely be concerned. They sunbathed and chased each other around the yard, bobbing their heads at us and each other. I know they are super common in some areas of the world, but I still think they're really cool.

At night, our porch roof swarmed with geckos who feasted off the insects our lights attracted. They were some of my favorites, just these little lizards that rotated around, sometimes barking at each other at a level that my mom still doesn't believe could have come from such small creatures.

Every now and then, a pair of bright red macaws would fly overhead. We never caught them sitting still enough to take a photo, but we'd catch them yammering and flying sometimes.

We didn't see any up close, but we saw lots of frogs bounding across the road when we drove at night.

One day, we saw some capuchin monkeys in a palm tree across the road. We used my dad's smartly packed binoculars to watch them jump from tree to tree. We were even able to see one tear apart a coconut and drink its water by scooping its little hand into the fruit and dribbling the liquid into its mouth.

We still hadn't seen a sloth. Then, one afternoon, my brother was looking into the trees and said, "There's a sloth." It was tough to see as it was nestled into a dense set of leaves, but sure enough, there was a sloth just about 15 feet from our porch. It didn't move much (shocking), so we just got glimpses of its long limbs. Then, the next day, I looked out and said, "There's another sloth." There was one sitting with its back to us about 30 feet away, again, not really moving. We'd see the sloths shift, but rarely saw them move. Until one day, we found they were both in the dense leaves together, and my mom managed to catch one climbing out a tree limb and then back. The next day, one of them hung right out in the open, sometimes moving slightly to allow us to see its cutey face. We kept trying to catch them in more action, but mostly we could see them between the leaves, just chilling, as sloths do.

The same day the sloth climbed out the branch, I also missed a little monkey mini-migration across the yard, including moms with babies clinging to their backs.

Chris and I went zip lining in Manuel Antonio Park with some really fantastic guides with Titi Canopy Tours. Because we'd gone in the afternoon, a lot of the bigger animals were out of sight, but the guides pointed out a couple poison dart frogs, and I managed to catch my first glimpse of what skyrocket into my Top 5 favorite bugs: leaf cutter ants. Yes, the poison dart frogs were bright and small and awesome. But these leaf cutter ants, which I would see multiple times on trails on this trip, were so fascinating. They are incredibly organized, not just working together to cut and gather leaves to take to their nests to feed the fugus they eat, they also clear trails to make the work easier. It's really quite impressive. They march in little lines back and forth, carrying pieces of leaves 3-4 times their size. So busy. So focused. Unphased by people stomping about near them. The guides also showed us a sleepy fern that folds up on itself to look dead whenever it feels nearby vibrations. Awesome.

The next day, my dad and I went out to watch the sunset from the beach. It was just an okay sunset, but while there, I saw a little creature peek out of a hole in the sand and then dart back in. I waited patiently to watch a small crab crawl out and then dart back in when it saw me again. I went to tell my dad and then realized the beach was basically swarming with these small crabs, who darted away from me as fast as they could. My brother and I agreed that they must be thinking, "Ahhh!!! Don't catch me! I'm so delicious! Why do I

have to be so delicious?!" I mean, they were too small for people to get much out of, but I totally get why birds eat those suckers. They way they run means they must be scrumptuous.

The next day, we went on a short, pleasant hike as a family. We're pretty sure we saw some spider monkeys, though they weren't as used to people as our neighborhood capuchins and move away from us quickly. We also saw more leaf cutter ants. Yay!

The day after that, Chris and I went horseback riding (another fantastic choice). Our guide point out a huge termite nest and told us that if, just in case, we were ever lost in the jungle, we could eat termites, and 50 termites is the equivalent to the amount of protein in a banana. As Costa Rica also has bananas, I think I'll stay vegetarian if ever lost in the jungle. He also showed us a plant that holds told of water and grows in trees, so if we need fresh water, that's the place to go for it. Honestly, he was great.

As I'm an experienced rider, the guide had given me a horse with a lot of pep in his step and insisted on being first in line, so I often found myself about a dozen meters ahead of everyone else. At one of those moments, a blue morpho butterfly fluttered along with me. I turned to share it, but no one was near enough, so I just watched it move alongside us and then flit out to a field.

When we got home from our little adventure, we were still gabbing and then Chris turned to a tree next to the car and froze. "Oh, hey guys." There were two capuchin monkeys baring their teeth at him. We realized there were monkeys all through the trees, so we slowly moved inside. (It reminded me of that scene in the second Hunger Games, which I have watched WAY too many times.)

Up on the porch, we watched as this barrel of monkeys (yes, that's one of the acceptable terms for a group of monkeys, so why would I use anything else?) bounced around in the trees, then crossed the yard to mess around in the other trees, get upset about something they saw on the ground that we could not see, and then move back over to the first set of trees. It was pretty flippin cool. They kept their eyes on us, but they did not seem concerned now that we were on a porch.

We also saw lots of bugs: leaf bugs, moths, crickets, all kinds of things. I saw one spider in Jaco, just a little guy in a web, though we did see some bigger webs on our drive.

Oh and vultures. Vultures all the time.

Crocs below

On our last day, we drove back to San Jose. We came to a bridge that, when we had crossed it the other way, was filled with tourists. We figured it was just a vista and just an okay one. On this trip, however, I said, "Wait, is this the bridge where all the crocodiles hang out?" Someone had posted a video of this bridge on my facebook feed when I first asked for recommendations for Costa Rica. So, we stopped, and Chris, Mom, and I walked out to see HUGE crocodiles in the river below us. They were quite, quite scary. I'm super thankful that the scariest thing we saw was on the last day. Because nope. Nope nope. And people take tourists on mangrove tours to see these things from boats. No. No no no.

So... good news: We saw mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, crustaceans, arachnids, insects, pretty much most categories of animals except for live fish, though we did see some very, very freshly caught fish, delicious red snapper pulled from the mangroves.

So while I set myself up, knowing I'd likely see a sloth on this trip, since that was everyone's #1 goal so that Mom would like the trip, I had no idea what other animals I'd see in the wild, truly in the wild, just hanging in the jungles/beaches of Costa Rica. What a truly incredible country, and I'm so thankful for them for embracing ecotourism where they preserve the beauty of their country and the things that live in it while also allowing others to learn about the wildlife without disturbing it. The more I think about how much I loved it there, the more I want to go back. Except for the snakes.