Just a Minute: May Edition

exciting...My parents came in for Memorial weekend. This was the first time they've been up to Chicago in the summer, so I had all sorts of plans (and yes, I realize that many of them involved food). When they got in on Thursday night, we had some dinner, then I took them to Lickety Split for some custard. We went to the beach, then on to Chinatown for lunch, bubble teas, and some exotic grocery shopping on Friday and then on a sunset architectural cruise on the Chicago River downtown. Saturday, we headed to Lincoln Park for the farmer's market and then got some Thai banh mi sandwiches for lunch from Ba Le on the way home. Saturday night we went to Smoque for ribs and then headed to the Hideout for an evening of live bluegrass. On Sunday we had lunch at Glenn's diner, explored Architectural Artifacts (an architectural salvage place in Ravenswood), and then grilled out with all the neighbors that evening. On Monday, we had leftover ribs and fried chicken for breakfast before taking a walk to Andersonville in the morning before they headed out after lunch.

  
loving…Cut the Rope Experiments is free in the app store this week. I love that cute little creature. Go get this for your iPhone while you can. Not sure if it's available for Android, but if it is (or if the original Cut the Rope is), it is worth the money because they update and add 25 new levels every couple of months or so. Great puzzles with clever themes.

reading…The City of Dreaming Books, which is quite possibly the weirdest book I've read in a long time. I don't want to give anything away, but the blurbs on back describe it as a "kaleidoscopic vision" and "equal parts J.K. Rowling, Douglas Adams, and Shel Silverstein." Guess what? That's pretty accurate so far. Luckily, I'm a big fan of all three of those authors, so I'm enjoying it.
 
watching...the finale of House was truly great. I have rarely seen one that fit all the show characters so well and actually left me feeling like the show was wrapped up.

drinking…the Pimm's Cup. The perfect summery adult beverage. It actually convinced me to like gin, which was quite a feat! Stay tuned this week for my recipe.

making...new art to go above our fireplace. I'll be showing that off later this week or early next week.

image from the marion house book

baking...For the picnic on Sunday night, we made these Salty Caramel Brownies that I found on the marion house book ages ago, but hadn't gotten around to making. They are delish. I think they would be perfect made in individual small ramekins the day before and then topped with vanilla ice cream right before serving. Small because they are crazy rich and decadent. The great thing about these brownies is that they're so gooey, their consistency seems fresh out of the oven even when they're completely cool. DO NOT top with ice cream right out of the oven or you might as well just pour milk on top.