I ate far too many meals out this week, but most of the time I used my calories wisely. Above is the exception. The photo was taken of my chicken & waffle (no bacon) lunch at Inspiration Kitchen. Chicagoans, take note: this is not only a place to get a delicious meal, but by dining there, you are supporting a wonderful cause. I got to witness another awesome cause in action right before my co-workers and I ate lunch there: Fresh Moves. Fresh Moves is a converted CTA bus that serves as a mobile produce market that goes from food desert to food desert, supplying affordable vegetables where there are none available. My birthday is coming up on 5/10. I don’t want anything for my birthday, but if you want to spend money on me, please donate to Fresh Moves here instead.

This week, my friend Brandy said goodbye to the midwest and headed down to San Antonio for a new job that sounds perfect for her. It seems like a mass exodus is happening with friends/acquaintances leaving the Chicago-area. Everyone has good reasons, but what a bummer!

I am once again at my lowest weight. I swear to you, if you want to lose weight, My Fitness Pal, helps so much! Holding myself accountable is what has really worked for me. Also, having my friends egg me on has been motivational.

Also of note: We went to see our friend Derek’s theatre company, Chicago dell’Arte perform Comm-80s-a. A very fun and short show if you loved 80’s movies and well-choreographed dance numbers!

Films watched 17th week of the year:

Anna
Candyman: The David Klein Story*
Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement*
Leaves of Grass
Colombiana

*documentary

This week there was only one dud and it was Leaves of Grass. Every other movie was fulfilling and worthwhile in different ways. Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement was the clear winner this week. Seeing people so genuinely in love makes me so happy. I bawled my eyes out. Anyone who believes that being gay is a “choice” should see this movie. It is rare that I see straight people love one another the way that Edie & Thea do in this documentary. If you like food history, then you should see Candyman: The David Klein Story. David Klein got the short end of the Jelly Belly. Zachary and I went to the Jelly Belly factory in WI and they literally had written him out of their history on the tour we went on. David Klein has a new gourmet line of jelly beans here if you’d like to support the real genius with the jelly belly.

Z and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary twice this week. On our actual anniversary (Monday), we went to our beloved Bite because we wanted to do something on the actual day and it was lovely, as always. While we were in the DC area for the Chickfactor shows, we went to a fancy dinner at Birch & Barley. It was one of *the* best meals of my life. Stuff of dreams was my appetizer: ricotta dumplings wrapped in duck prosciutto with fried capers and olives and there are two elements I am missing. Creamy and salty and the texture was just amazing. Duck as my entree was excellent also, but I wasn’t wild about the wild rice on the side. The goat milk cheesecake was flawless. One of the pricier meals we have eaten, but definitely worth every single penny and then some. Photos are above. You should probably have a napkin handy to wipe the drool from your mouth.

RE: Chickfactor at Artisphere (Arlington, VA). Seeing Stevie Jackson and Black Tambourine were the highlights for me. Spending time with Z and my family and friends this weekend was fun-filled and we ate and drank like kings every day. Truth: I ate duck Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We got a nice long walk with my parents in over the weekend, but not much other exercise. We are definitely going back to Lean Cuisines and Wii-ing every day this week!

Films watched 14th week of the year:

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia*
Sleeping With the Enemy

*documentary

Being so busy, we didn’t have a whole lot of time to watch films, but all of them were enjoyable in their own way. This is definitely a must-watch doc and it’s on Netflix instant viewing!

Most of this week was awesome, but I experienced a giant pitfall in there. Took a co-worker pal to Podhalanka. Attended my first ICNC networking breakfast. Went to a reading that was part of Chicago Zinefest and went to Chicago Zinefest itself. Went to my first Paper Machete at Horseshoe. Made chicken and waffles from scratch with friends. Saw Stacy of Paper Doll’s new pug Rhoda Morgenstern twice this week!

The pitfall experience was failing to get tickets to Radiohead. We tried and failed on both the w.a.s.t.e. pre-sale and the WXRT presale. During the proper sale on Saturday, I had 200 level tickets in my cart on Saturday and I just could not pull the trigger. I can’t see my favorite band since 1995 from that far away. I just can’t. So, if anyone stumbles upon this blog post and can help out, my friend (old school IRL #permanent_daylight name internautte) and I (old school IRL #permanent_daylight name madflowr) are looking for two Pit or 100 level tickets. Crestfallen is the best way to describe how it feels not getting tickets to your favorite band for over half of your life. I am fairly certain it will work out in the end and we’ll find some way to see them, but currently I am feeling gutted. I had to force myself to leave the house Saturday, but I made it out and it was a good thing I did.

Adapted from the recipe I found here:

Lemon Butter Sauce:

1 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, quartered and chopped
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 cup 1% milk
2 cans artichoke hearts, quartered
1.5 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine the wine, lemons and shallots in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing the lemons with the back of a spoon to break up into pieces. Add the milk and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Add in two cans of artichoke hearts, quartered. Whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, adding each piece before the previous one has been completely incorporated. Continue until all the butter is incorporated and the sauce coats the back of a spoon, removing the pan from the heat periodically to prevent the sauce from getting too hot and breaking. Add the salt and pepper, and whisk to blend.

Remove from the heat and serve immediately over your favorite type of pasta or cover to keep warm.

Yield: 5 servings

I removed the couple steps I did not follow. I know this would have been better with cream, but all I had on hand was 2% milk. I would also recommend using only 1/2 or 1/4 of the lemon, depending on your tastebuds. This sauce was extremely tart and had way too much lemon incorporated into it.

Films watched 10th week of the year:

The Exploding Girl
A Fish Called Wanda
The Gate
Dirty Country*
From Prada to Nada
Waste Land*

*documentary

Winners this week were the two docs. I love documentaries. Wasteland felt especially pertinent to my job and I’m going to recommend that my co-workers watch it. Anyone who is a fan of art, living green, or a good doc would enjoy it. Dirty Country was Z’s pick, but I ended up loving it. Prudes, beware! I want to go see this guy Larry Pierce play a show in his garage one day. Watch it: Dirty Country.