#6 - Bike 100 Miles

 

While I was back in Michigan during the pandemic, I did a lot of biking. There are bike paths for miles and miles near my parents house, so many and well placed that one could go 10 miles or so and only cross one major road. It got me back in the habit of biking as a form of transportation when I went back to the city. The exercise is certainly nice, but it also allowed me to skip trains, buses, and ride shares, saving money and keeping me away from enclosed spaces with strangers.

I don't often take pictures while biking, but on my first bike ride back in Chicago, in May 2021, I did some exploring, finding myself on the peninsula that surrounds Montrose Harbor. I paused my ride to marvel at how pretty Chicago is and to enjoy that even after 12 years and living in 5 different neighborhoods, I still get to explore new places. In addition to what's pictured here, there are sand dunes, wooded paths, and a bird sanctuary, on on this tiny strip of land I'd always thought was just a concrete bit that wrapped around the harbor and protected the boats. 

Cheers to mundane habits that lead to adventures and more miles in 2021.

#45 - Help Someone With Their List of Goals

I didn't even realize that I was helping someone with their goals when I sat down around a campfire for s'mores. The idea of singing camp songs was poo poo'ed by some in the group, but it turns out three of the kids needed to lead a group in some songs for merit badges. I mean, camp songs, s'mores, and merit badges? Yes please.

We quickly realized how morbid many, many camp songs are. Lots of harm and death. Even eating family members. (Herman, I'm looking at you.) So fun... but also weird... which made it more fun.

#24 - Make XO Sauce

I'd seen a video on Serious Eats about this sauce and made it a goal to make some to flavor-up plain meals. It has so many ingredients (15) and so many steps (7) and takes so much time (3 hours, 1 hour of which is actively working). Most of the ingredients I do not keep around regularly (e.g., dried scallops, dried shrimp, Jinhua ham, oyster sauce), so it was a pricy undertaking.

All of it was worth it. 

Damn is this an amazing condiment.

I tried it with poached fish, with rice and a fried egg, in fried rice (the best use I've tried so far), and a few other things. 

Next time I make it, I'll likely halve the amounts because I couldn't get through that much of it by myself (and my parents are allergic to scallops, so they couldn't help), but I will definitely make it again! What a fun way to add SO much flavor to some basic, economic meals!

#3 - Read 3 More Books From the Top 100 of the 20th Century List

1- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

4/7/21, for class, for the second time

I enjoyed the writing more the second time I read this but hated the racism even more.

2 - Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

5/6/21, for class

Maybe I didn't like / didn't get this because I haven't read Jane Eyre? How is one of the 100 best books of the century dependent on reading another book though?

3 - Passage to India by E. M. Forster

7/23/21, for class, for the second time

I read this for the first time after reading that Salman Rushie wrote Midnight's Children in response to this book. The first time I read it, I was like, okay, fine, some English dude's trip through India. The second time I read it, I was in a postcolonial literature course and realized how much colonial nonsense was in the book--mostly on purpose. In addition, there were deeper themes about the effects of colonialism and relationships. I actually liked this one more on my second read and look forward to reading Midnight's Children again to catch more nuance there.

#9 - Watch 3 Films That Have Won the Best Film, Actor, or Actress Academy Awards

 1 - Judy 

1/13/21

I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would. Renee Zellweger was brilliant, yet the film itself wasn't just a vehicle to win her an Oscar. It was a lovely, thoughtful, touching film. I recommend it.

2 - The Iron Lady

2/25/21

I was expecting this film to be a Meryl vehicle and to be impressed by her undeniable abilities. I was not expecting to be affected by it. Yet, in the final scenes, I sobbed. It was a very different story than I expected, and I thought they did a fantastic job of presenting Margaret Thatcher as a whole human. Gorgeously acted.

3 - Nomadland

6/2/21

I thought a few other films deserved the Best Film win over Nomadland, but Frances MacDormand was incredible. She was her character and carried the wandering narrative with her. She made me think of all of the anonymous people I have seen in small towns on road trips throughout my life. While I adored Carrie Mulligan's performance in A Promising Young Woman, MacDormand deserved this Oscar.

#22 - Cook With 10 New-to-Me Ingredients

 1 - Barley Malt Syrup

The recipe I found for bagels called for barley malt syrup to get that nice texture on the outside of the bagel. Barley malt syrup is not easy to find in a regular Michigan grocery store. I looked in a few different places and then ended up ordering some online. It definitely seems to have made a difference, in the texture of the surface and in getting the everything seasoning to stick during and after the baking. 

You can read about the bagel-making experience here.

2 - Anchovies

I've never worked with any canned, whole fish, and for a long time, believed they were likely gross. After a lot of food and cooking reading and research, I've learned that's not at all the case. 

I needed one tin of anchovies to add to a recipe, and I cannot for the life of me remember what that recipe was, so I'll update this if I remember. 

As I had leftover anchovies, I decided to give an authentic Caesar salad a go. Using a Serious Eats recipe, I wound up with a fantastically flavorful Caesar dressing with lots of punch. I tossed the dressing with fresh, chopped Romaine. Then, I improvised with the croutons, tossing them with vegetable oil and garlic salt, and then topped it all with some Parmesan cheese. Even my dad liked it, and he claims he's never had a Caesar salad he liked before. Anchovies for the win!

3 - Rice Noodles

I tried out a shrimp pad thai from Jane Hornby's What to Cook & How to Cook It. My dad loved it. I thought it could use a little more pasty texture in the sauce, but the flavor was great. 

One issue was the rice noodles, even though I read the recipe multiple times and watched a Gordon Ramsey video on a simple stir fry with rice noodles the night before. I did as instructed and poured boiling water over the noodles, letting them soak. What I didn't do, was make sure they weren't stuck together. The noodles that were stuck together were definitely undercooked, and al dente pad thai isn't a thing. So, I learned! Even while doing the rest of the cooking, make sure to check on the noodles to be sure they're not sticking!

4 - Bok Choy

While I was making the pad thai, I found some bok choy in the veggie drawer, which was curious because I don't recall ever finding bok choy in my parents' house. My mom was planning to use it for another recipe, but she okayed me using it as a side for the pad thai. I quickly blanched it and then finished it in the wok with soy, sweet chili sauce, and cornstarch. It wasn't the most impressive thing I've ever made, but it was quite a tasty side for the pad thai. The acid was a nice balance to the richness of the pad thai. I will totally play with this veggie again.

5 - Rainbow Chard

I think I've cooked with chard before, but I'm still counting this, as different varietals can have different tastes and preparations. I did a simple saute and marinate with olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Really delicious. 

6, 7, & 8 - Dried Scallops, Dried Shrimp, (Vegetarian) Oyster Sauce

I knocked off a whole bunch of new ingredients by making XO sauce. Ever since I saw a video about this luxurious sauce on Serious Eats, I wanted to give it a try. It was certainly a pricy and time-consuming sauce to make, but dang, this thing can elevate the most simple, inexpensive meals. It took me several hours to complete and many, many steps and ingredients--something I usually try to avoid--but I'll definitely make it again when I eat all this batch up. I tried it on just a plain piece of fish (barrimudi) poached in chicken stock. It felt so fa
ncy and delicious. I had no idea what else to use it with, and my old camp friend suggested white rice, XO sauce, & a fried egg and then just adding the sauce to fried rice. Both were wildly simple and so so so good, like I felt like I was eating something special. I am going to keep this sauce around to add to stir fries and fried rice, which are some favs of mine because I can just throw in any veggie I have around and wind up with a quick, fantastic entree.

Also, I used vegetarian oyster sauce instead of regular because I have a food intolerance to oysters (yes, it's true, and it's tragic), and I didn't want to risk wasting all of the ingredients needed for the sauce if I had a bad reaction to regular oyster sauce.

9 - Green Garlic

Green garlic looks a lot like green onions, so I gave it a taste when it first arrived in my Irv & Shelley Fresh Picks box for the week. It is kind of like a mild garlic, and I was able to use it in a variety of ways. First I used it just in a breakfast sandwich and later integrated it into a rainbow chard saute.

10 - Dover Sole

I picked up some frozen dover sole at Trader Joe's one day, and then it just sat in my freezer because I didn't know what to do with it. Then, this year, on Fridays, I have been eating pescatarian meals, and one Friday, the sole was the only fish I had. I looked up some recipes and tried two versions: one with brown butter and one with lemon pepper. The lemon pepper was fine, but the brown butter was excellent. It was so rich and tasted like buttery shellfish. I can't wait to make it again.

11 & 12 - Fava Beans & Pea Shoots

My Fresh Picks box came with fava beans and pea shoots, and I was like, um... What do I do with these? I looked up a recipe with pea shoots and found one that included really any blanched green veggie and poached eggs on top of a bed of greens and a vinaigrette. It was so damn good. I wish it were easier to get pea shoots because the rest was so easy and flexible, but the pea shoots had a perfect sweetness to add to the veggies, acid from the vinaigrette, and the creaminess of the eggs. Such a great, easy salad with layers of flavor.

#87 - Visit a New State Park

This was so easy and pleasant to do that I'm embarrassed I haven't explored Illinois's state parks sooner.

To pick a park, I went to the Illinois State Park website, clicked on the most northeast region, and then went alphabetically through the parks... and stopped at the first one because it looked pretty and was only a 45-minute drive. 

I taught an (in-person) class on a Monday morning and then jumped in my car to head up to Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, IL.

There was a chance of rain, but instead, Mother Nature gifted me a gorgeous 70-degree, sunny day in the park. On my drive in, I managed to sight a snowy egret standing in the river. Over the summer of 2020 in Michigan, I had very casually started bird watching, so I was pumped to enter a new bird in my app so quickly. 

After a quick stop in the Nature Center, I eagerly started with a walk along the river to look for more birds. There were a ton of small ones who were too quick for me to identify without binoculars, but then I saw a huge bird gliding over the other side of the river: a Great Blue Heron. I wished I had binoculars, as it landed on the other side, a good 50 meters or more away, so I could only just make out the size, shape, and color. So cool.

After walking one of the river trails, I walked to the beach, which seemed so calm in comparison to the often choppy Lake Michigan near my apartment.

The park is full of trails and bike paths, and I'm eager to take my bike up there once I get it tuned up a bit.

On my drive out, I spotted two huge (like 4-5 feet tall) brown and black birds wading through the shallows, but my bird app was no help in identifying them. 

I'm stoked to head back someday with my bike and some binoculars. It was such a quick, pleasant road trip, just 3 hours total away, and a nice afternoon escape from the city.