First Night in New Orleans - Galatoire's

On the way to the Omni Hotel, our airport shuttle driver remarked, "If you don't like the food in New Orleans, then you just plain don' like good eatin'!"

Baird had roses waiting in the hotel room for me - they were beautiful!

We picked Galatoire's for our first dinner. Galatoire's is old school New Orleans Creole and has been open since 1905. It's got a dress code but the atmosphere was lighthearted and warm - not the least bit stuffy. Trina was our waitress and her knowledge of each dish was impressive.

Shrimp Remoulade. It's supposed to serve 6. We were supposed to share. I singlehandedly devoured it all!

Fried Eggplant. I'd always eaten fried eggplant in thinly sliced rounds, but this way is delicious too.

Baird's entree: redfish topped with crawfish etouffee

My entree: crab yvonne

Baird's dessert: sweet potato cheesecake drizzled with honey and garnished with spicy pecans His was the better dessert

My dessert: caramel custard

No Mercy

The Shattuck clan is pretty competitive when it comes to card games. This afternoon Drew and I were taking a break from the heat and playing Uno Spin in the comfort of our air-conditioned living room. Drew soundly defeated me 7 hands in a row, at which point I was begging for mercy. He replied, "Mercy not spoken here!"

T-Ball Championship Game

Tonight was the t-ball championship game between the Yankees and the Padres.

The Padres came out strong right from the beginning, building a 10-2 lead.

The Yankees battled back, scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the 6th (last) inning.

But alas, the Padres wouldn't be denied, and won the game in the bottom of the inning.

Drew played his heart out, having some key at-bats. He also had 2 flawless innings at 1st base.

The thing I love most about Oak Park is that sense of community we have. Several of the Yankee and Padre families knew each other. While we each cheered our hearts out for our respective teams, when it was all over there was an awards ceremony for both teams in the infield, and a combined picnic afterwards. Families stayed around for over an hour after the game was over. The parents chatted and the players from both teams practiced their pitching techniques, with Yankee Coach V using his new radar gun (a gift from the Yankee families) to measure the speed of the pitches. It was a great ending to a great season.

The Thunder Rolls

When it looks like this outside, you know you'd better take cover!

The Chicago Tribune captured this dramatic photo of the storm clouds over Soldier Field this afternoon, shortly after the storm had passsed through Oak Park.

We thought we were in for a hot, sunny day. Drew was looking for playmates. I had just checked the online weather forecast, which predicted absolutely no rain until well after dark. Drew started calling friends to see if someone could come over and play catch. All of the sudden it got very, very dark outside.

This is what true "lake effect" weather is all about. Cold air from Lake Michigan began swirling around oppressively hot, humid air and a very intense, 90-minute thunderstorm ensued. So much for playing catch!

So, what to do with unexpected rain? Invite the Renny family over to make a batch of those perfect chocolate chip cookies. Add Emm&R to the mix, and it was a blast!

R thoroughly enjoyed the cookies, and got almost as much on his face as he did in his mouth!

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day was today, the end of a crazy busy weekend. In addition to everything else, I was up late last night participating in the 2nd Annual Southeast Oak Park House Walk - I was a house captain -- and while the after party wrapped up fairly early, the after- afterparty was still going strong when I left well after midnight.

All Baird wanted to do today was go to church, BBQ at the Renny's afterwards, go see Up, and then get ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, and that was ok by me. I must admit, however, that I've been dragging my feet on seeing Up. I'd read the reviews that said it was great. I'd listened to friends tell me that I'd laugh and cry and walk out with that warm fuzzy feeling. I still wasn't convinced. I mean, come on - a house floating away by balloons with a main character that's pushing 80? How is that funny? Or sad enough to make me cry?

All I can say is, if you haven't yet seen this movie, you must make plans to do so right now. I'm not a big cry-er at the movies, but this one caused me to well up not once, not twice, but three times! Who knew?!

To my own dad, happy Father's Day. And thanks for everything you've taught me over the years. I know you've always believed in me.

To Baird, the father of my children, thanks for all you do to be a positive influence in the kids' lives.

A Dream Come True

All Erin's wanted to do for the last 4 years is participate in Brookfield Zoo's Deckside with the Dolphins program. This morning her wish finally came true. The program allowed her to go behind the scenes at the zoo and work with the trainers.
Her day started with practicing husbandry with the dolphins.  She gave a fake ultra sound and pretended to test for blood.  She learned that these practices are woven into the trainers' daily care of the dolphins, so when the animals truly need these things done, they are not spooked.

Erin was up close and personal with the seals...

...and the dolphins.
We were allowed a private showing of the dolphin show area to observe Erin working with the animals.

She learned the hand signals to use to get the dolphins to do their tricks. I don't think I've ever seen her smile so big!

Erin was the only one doing the Deckside with the Dolphins program on Saturday, so she had the trainers all to herself. They were impressed with the insightful questions she asked, and told her she's well on her way to becoming a marine biologist.
Erin said it was the best day she's ever had!

A Walk Across Asia

It seems like so much of my life is taken up with the mundane routine of being a suburban housewife, it hardly seems worth mentioning. Weeks can sometimes go by without too many eventful moments, and then all of a sudden there's a huge flurry of activity packed into a few days. This weekend is one of those that's packed with notable events, starting off with this evening.

A few months ago, I made a deal with my friend J. Renny that if she would keep my kids while Baird and I went to New Orleans for our 20th anniversary, I would cook her and her husband a rather memorable Asian-themed dinner, and keep her kids overnight afterwards. Our anniversary's in a couple of weeks, and tonight I held up my end of this bargain. I cooked and served the Rennys a total of six courses.

I learned to make this meal at Mel's cooking class last year, and as I've mentioned before, Mel's an amazing cook and a great teacher. While my camera battery died before I could photograph each dish, here's a peek at the first few courses:Shrimp toast with spicy cucumber relish and wheat grass garnish

Korean bulgogi. The Rennys said this was their favorite dish. I went easy on the kimchee.

Wild mushroom dumplings with spicy dipping sauce

Vietnamese salad roll with choice of spicy dipping sauces

And the rest of the menu, sans pictures:

Pineapple cilantro marinated pork tenderloin with orange rice and peapods

Five spice tea cake with cardamom cream and berry garnish, served with hot jasmine tea

Preparing this meal and serving it to dear friends was truly a joy!