Monthly Archives: June 2011

Greens, Greens, Greens! My First CSA Produce

Posted on June 15, 2011 | 6 comments

Midway through last summer, I discovered that some lucky people get boxes of produce delivered to them every week. These Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes include a variety of whatever is at the peak of freshness. And buying a “share” at the beginning of the season helps the farmers by ensuring they’ll have enough income to work throughout the year.

It really sounded like a win-win situation. Supporting local farmers, buying locally AND getting the freshest veggies? Sign me up! I’ve always made frequent stops at farmers’ markets, from Chicago’s Daley Plaza, Elgin’s Downtown Harvest Market, or my own local Klein’s Farm Stand. But the during-the-week markets can be tough to get to. (In the case of Daley Plaza, it’s a truly fantastic market – the mind reels with possibility – but it’s tricky transporting delicate produce home via train.)

Over the winter, I discovered Trogg’s Hollow, a very, very local farm. Their field is barely a mile from my house, in the midst of an older neighborhood like mine. They were sold out of shares by the time I found them, but then a neighbor got in from the waiting list. The shares are designed for four people, so she offered to share her share with me. Serendipity!

After a cool spring, I finally got my first batch of produce: lots of lettuce, spinach, a radish and beet greens.

So how to use those veggies?

Part of the reason I signed up was I wanted to branch out beyond what I usually buy and cook. It’s easy to get in the trap of buying the same things every week. For me, it’s usually a bunch of spinach, a couple of bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and whatever a recipe requires. (On the fruit side, it tends to vary more, based on what’s on sale and in season.)

The lettuce and spinach are easy. As soon as I got home with my bag of veggies, I made a giant salad, and I’ll have several more over the coming days. I also add spinach to scrambled eggs.

I had just found a recipe for spicy stir-fried eggplant and beef that called for radish greens, something I had never  considered existing. But suddenly, I had some in my fridge, so I made the recipe last Thursday. (And wow, was it fantastic!) I ate the radish itself while I made dinner. (For some reason, radishes always make me think of Fraggle Rock.)

The beet greens posed a bit more challenge. My cooking guru, Jenn, suggested sauteeing them with garlic and onions, and the Trogg’s Hollow newsletter suggested a similar treatment. Easy-peasy. But tonight’s dinner was a clean-out-the-fridge type meal, so I managed to work the greens into a skillet of Italian sausage, new potatoes, bell peppers, onions and garlic. I added some fresh parmesan – divine.

And just in time, as I’ll get my second share tomorrow.

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At Last, Summer

Posted on June 14, 2011 | 2 comments

It finally feels like summer. Sure, I may need a hoodie, and it’s too cold to leave the windows wide open, but tonight I reprised one of my favorite summer activities: the Tuesday night concerts at Wing Park.

Every Tuesday night, a different band plays at the Wing Park Bandshell. A group of neighborhood folks stakes a claim on the lawn, bringing snacks and treats and bottles filled with “magic water” or “kool-aid.” I bike over – it’s about three miles each way – with a blanket and snacks in my backpack.

We listen to music, but it’s not about the music. Tonight, one of my favorite local bands, Seventh Heaven, played a very laid-back set, perfect for the crowd. Kids play, running around, blowing bubbles, and dancing to the music. Some people bring fast food –  I smelled pizza and fried chicken tonight – and others pack picnics. My group usually brings some combination of cheese, crackers, fruit and something sweet.

We chat and visit and just enjoy being outdoors. Sometimes it’s very hot for the first few songs until the sun dips behind the trees, but that wasn’t an issue tonight, as I pulled out my hoodie and zipped it against the chill.

And then, when it’s over and the band says good night, everyone packs up and hugs and vows to return next week. As the cars line up to get out of the lot, I glide past them on my bike, zig-zagging through quiet neighborhood streets as the streetlights come on and the fireflies lazily flicker my path home. The chill feels good.  Night riding is such a treat, unimaginable 8 months of the year. I feel free and swift and content with the world.

Tonight, as the moon rose higher in the sky and I coasted home, REM popped to mind.

I went to an Iron and Wine concert last week in Chicago’s Millennium Park , and it was a completely different experience. Overly crowded, with battles over turf, and the crowd was louder than the music. It made me appreciate my Wing Park crowd even more.

We’ve fought through a cold, wet spring, but I’m so glad it’s summer.

What’s your favorite summer tradition?

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Posted in Elgin

Ready for Demo: The Bathroom Project Finally Begins

Posted on June 12, 2011 | 4 comments

I’ve wanted to re-do the main bathroom since I first saw this house. The plastic tiles on the wall are ugly, the “pedestal” sink has rusted metal legs and lacks storage, and the mini-size bathtub is too short to allow for an actual bath. And don’t get me started on the Hollywood Barbie light fixture!

So much ugliness

But an old house has all kinds of fun limitations as far as sizes and walls. The ceiling slopes with the roofline, so I didn’t even notice that the tub was miniature (4 feet, compared to the standard 5 feet)  until the first time I tried to take a bath and my knees stuck up in the cold, cold air.  But the water for the tub is run in the wall that creates a strange little dead space around the window. I can’t fit a standard 5 foot tub in that space without running into the window – and the room isn’t long enough the other way, either.

My dad suggested a corner tub, but my research found that most of those are at least 5×5. Except for one. Menards carries a 4×4 ft corner tub (with a hypotenuse of 4 √2 – just long enough for a proper leg stretch, as I tested in the store). Just after Christmas, it went on sale, so it’s been sitting in my parents’ garage since mid-February. We’ll destroy that wall entirely, which should open up the room greatly. Since you can’t put plumbing in an exterior wall in northern Illinois (at least, not in an old, under-insulated house), we’ll leave the shower plumbing external, which was pretty common in old houses. It should look really nice. And the rest of the room will have so much light!

I had to replace the window before I could begin. The old window leaked terribly – not what you want in a bathroom – and never stayed up without a prop. I ordered windows in January, and they were installed in mid-March.

The color matched perfectly, and the "euro-style" sink would have let me get away with a skinnier vanity but a full-sized sink: ideal in a small room

Once the quarter ended, I finally had time to think straight. I had been looking for a vanity off and on ever since January, and seen a couple of styles I liked. I really wanted to match the character of the house, and the honey-cherry shade of wood prevalent throughout my house. I have a large built-in linen closet across the hall from the bathroom, and I wanted to mirror it if at all possible.  I really liked one I saw at Home Plus Outlet in April, but it was a bit too wide.  (You can see above how the wall indents about two inches – since the walls are solid, I’m assuming that’s how previous owners were able to add electric and plumbing, since my house was built before either of those novelties were common.) My dad and I examined the wall and determined that yes, we could build up the wall and make the vanity fit, but by that time, it was no longer for sale. The same thing happened several more times. Every time I would find one I liked that would match, I would discover that it was no longer being made and didn’t exist, except in dead listings on websites for the three Big Boxes.

Finally, I found one that, while nonexistent in every Home Depot near me, was still in stock (albeit discontinued) at a couple of HDs in Chicago proper. Since I was heading into the city for brunch today anyway, I could pick it up, and it would fit in the new car. So I did, thankful I bought a car with cargo space.

I may swap out the hardware, but the color and Mission styling fit pretty well. And drawers!

On my dad’s advice, I carefully measured everything in the room and am making a scale model on graph paper, including every water  spout, vent and more. I had a momentary panic when I realized that the new vanity (with a real cabinet! And storage!) would block my only outlet, but Dad pointed out that the existing outlet is against code and needs to be several feet higher, anyway, so we’ll move it when we tear open the wall.

Not visible: the rust stains on the "legs" of the monstrosity.

And really, having storage and wood will be so much nicer than this “pedestal” sink.

A plumber is coming this week to give me an estimate on replacing the bathtub, as it will entail moving some pipes. Once that gets rolling, my dad and I can do the rest – hopefully with a minimum of shower-less days. I’ve been looking at toilets, faucets, light fixtures and tile –  I can’t wait to get started!

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Posted in House projects

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The Sweaty Fox Trot

Posted on June 10, 2011 | 2 comments

I’ve finally been running long enough that I’m repeating races!

My very first race last year was the Elgin Fox Trot, and I treasure the experience. This year, it was nearly an afterthought. I had registered plenty early, but then got busy with school and the crazy two half marathons. Suddenly, it was the end of May, even if it didn’t feel like it.

It was such a cool spring, too, that I didn’t have a single run under my belt where it was over 70 degrees. But the night before the Fox Trot, after a day of heavy storms, the temperature began to rise, trapping the humidity.

By the time I left for the race, at 7 AM, it was nearly 80 degrees with 93% humidity. I slathered on the sunscreen, grabbed my sunglasses (as my friend Brady learned, you can burn your eyes!) and set off.

I love having a race so close to home that I can walk to the start line, though it does complicate things a bit. I had to wear my annoying belt that bounces as I run, even though it had only my phone, ID, housekey and a few dollars inside.

The race was hot and sticky, and I quickly realized how unprepared I am for hot weather running. Of course, I started too quickly – damn adrenaline – and ran the first half mile at about an 8:00 pace, effectively cooking my lungs as we ran up the Chicago Street hill. By the time we turned onto the shady residential section of the course, I was thankful for the water station at mile 1. And again for the Near West Neighbors-sponsored station at mile 2.

I ran the entire thing, save for grabbing water, but it was not an easy run. My legs felt strong, but my lungs fought me as my allergies flared up. The last mile along Douglas Avenue – a slow, gradual downhill grade mostly shaded by grand, old trees – should have been easy, but the strong breeze was blowing southerly hot air straight at us.

So I finished just slightly worse than last year’s time. But I’m pleased, given the day and my preparation. I had a blast. Hanging out with friends afterwards,  it was downright pleasant sipping beer in the shade.

Too soon, I had to head home, grabbing an iced latte from Domani on the way, ready to face the Statistics exam that had been at the back of my mind all day. After a shower and lunch, I settled in for a long, frustrating afternoon, staring wistfully outside at the sunshine. When I finally finished (or rather, realized that staring at it longer wouldn’t help), I did get back outside, but only to mow the lawn.

It’s amazing how productive you feel on a day that starts with a race.

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Posted in Elgin, Fitness

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Surfacing

Posted on June 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’m on summer vacation! Well, I still have to work, but I have two weeks – two glorious weeks – before classes start again. (I’m very glad I pushed through and got my last final – which wasn’t due until tomorrow – done on Sunday.)

Every time I’ve had a break from school, I’ve felt the same elation, the same thrill.

Don’t get me wrong. I adore school. I love the program. I love what I’m learning. I love my classmates and the professors and the readings and even the assignments. They’ve completely shifted how I see my job, my career – and the world.

But there’s still a shiver of glee that runs up my spine when I face two weeks – two full weeks! – where my life is my own again. (Well, except for that pesky “work” thing.) I think I appreciate the break even more because it is so short. I want to soak up every last second of potential.

When I’m in the throes of school, I sometimes feel like I’m underwater, just treading water, trying to keep up and balance work, school, SWAN and other commitments, all while trying to still see my friends and have a life. But I remind myself that a life, however busy, is still a life, and far better than boredom and monotony.

Winter quarter was brutal – dark and cold and bitter, with a double whammy of Stats and Finance, plus a blizzard for good measure. This quarter – Stats 2 and “Strategic Process,” which is essentially applied statistics – was rough, too, with math coming at me from both sides.

But now I’m surfacing, inhaling the fresh air, waking up before the alarm to sneak in a run or – gasp – read for leisure. Monday night I went to an ill-fated Iron & Wine concert at Millennium Park (far too crowded – I couldn’t hear the music over the chatter of the crowds). Last night, I pedaled to Gail Borden for a bag full of books of my choosing, then biked farther down the Fox River Trail, towards South Elgin, disappearing into the quiet and peace where you forget you’re in a town of 108,000. Tonight, I had dinner and fantastic conversation with friends, and came home to devour a book.

And the cooking? Oh, the cooking. It’s fabulous. Dancing and singing in the kitchen, playing with eggplant, chard, papaya, fennel, cubanelle peppers… and I get my very first CSA share tomorrow.

Sure, there are real catch-up projects I need to tackle. I really need to do some heavy-duty cleaning, and I hope to get a good handle on the bathroom project before classes start again.

I’m really enjoying catching up on life, though.

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