Mailed with love

You know that lovely, warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you receive an unexpected care package?

I came home yesterday to find a box waiting for me on my doorstep. The tidy, little package lifted my spirits. One look inside the box, packed with old Chinese newspapers, and I knew immediately it was from my 86-year old grandmother in NYC. It was stuffed with assorted dried goods – Chinese sausage, scallops, various kinds of sweet and salty plums, ginseng, and black mushrooms! I just wonder how she got to the post office to do all this!

Green Paella - Sunday dinner

I was at a loss for what to make for Sunday dinner last night. It had to be fairly painless and quick, as I had a splitting headache since Saturday afternoon. Using whatever ingredients I had on hand, I modified Tyler Florence's "Ultimate Paella" recipe. (As you'll see, I didn't have about 50% of the recipe's ingredients.) It quickly evolved into what I term "Green Paella", as I happened to use a lot of green ingredients: green peppers instead of the traditional roasted red ones, and plenty of mixed herbs from my garden buckets instead of just parsley.

Here's the scaled-down version with the substitutes/quantities I had available. It was delish, and a 3 on the Easy-Peasy scale (5 being the most difficult):

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup of smoked ham, cut into chunks

1/4 cup ready-made sofrito*

4 cups yellow rice

6 cups water, warm

Generous pinch saffron spice or threads

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

A handful of littleneck clams, scrubbed

1/2 lb shrimp, cooked

A handful of mussels

1 green bell pepper, sliced in strips

Huge handful of mixed herbs (Greek oregano and lemon-thyme)

Lemon juice

Lime juice

Directions

Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the ham until browned, remove and reserve.

In the same pan, heat the sofrito on medium heat until bubbling. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add ham, saffron, clams, and mussels, tucking them into the rice. Arrange the green peppers in a circular fashion around the pan. Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes. 

During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the cooked shrimp and mixed herbs. (Since the shrimp is pre-cooked, it just needs to warm through near the end.) When the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it's perfect.

Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Squeeze lemon and lime juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook's note: The ideal paella has a toasted rice bottom called socarrat. 

Cook's tip: You can boil the mussels and clams in advance to ensure that they open a bit, before adding them to the paella pan for finishing.

*Sofrito – this is a tomato, pepper, and onion mixture, often used as a base for soups and sauces.

{ quick paella made in paella pan, brought all the way home from Granada, Spain }

Hamburger heaven!

There are times that I love the variety in my job, such as going on press checks outside of the city. It forces me to get out of the office and slow down (if it were entirely up to me, I probably would stay chained to my desk the entire time, doing work). 

Today I drove wayyy out to a new print vendor in Lombard, going through Elmhurst to get there. I passed by... Hamburger Heaven!? I made a mental note to hit it on my way back. It looked *awesome*, in all its 1950s brick, shack-esque glory perched on North Avenue just before you hit 290, and red neon signs advertising "Hamburgers, Root Beer, Soft Serve." And you order through a window! It was the quintessential, small Illinois town experience I always imagined.

For $9.56, I walked away with a Double Decker Cheeseburger (the smallest they had!), Onion Rings, and a to-die-for Root Beer Shake. Yum-yum.

P.S. And this is what I really went out to Lombard for. Work. Oh yes, that.

{ print shop }

The weekend, succinctly

The weekend was jam-packed with activities. I don't know what it is about the start of summer, but the city is absolutely buzzing with all kinds of celebratory events and fun happenings. Just because.

Including spontaneously having dessert before dinner, when we happened upon a grand opening of a new frozen yogurt place on our walk to dinner. Free fro-yo for everyone today!

{ coconut yogurt with fresh pineapple and kiwi, coconut flakes, and chocolate chip cookies } 

Enjoyed an uh-MAZ-ing three-course dinner at Spring in Wicker Park for Yelp Restaurant Week. Great company with our friends H & A, modern Asian food with a gourmet twist in an understated, zen-like setting, and wine pairings.

 { crispy pork belly steamed buns }

 { Atlantic skatewing }

{ white chocolate dome }

Celebrated with McLovin (yes, that McLovin!) for his 21st birthday at En-Clave. There were sparklers, birthday cake, and scantily-clad dancers. Happy Superbad birthday, McLovin!

A morning jaunt with M & H to Orange Beautiful, a handmade stationery studio + shop in Lincoln Square, transpired into a leisurely lunch at Aroy Thai restaurant and an even funner ride all the way home with M & H!

{ feltidermy by Etsy seller, girlsavage, at Orange Beautiful!
(This is just what it sounds like – taxidermy made out of felt!) }

A swanky fundraising gala for lupus research at the Ritz-Carlton downtown (before you imply that I'm old, stuffy, or rich like my 21-year old intern did, we were given free tix!). It was a beautiful night at the Orchid Ball: sit-down dinner, dancing to music by the Bradley Young Orchestra, and silent auction. Needless to say, The Fella now has an "Aviator" leather bomber jacket with a lamb shearling neck trim by Marc Jacobs. We justify this by telling ourselves it's for a good cause.

{ finally had somewhere to wear my traditional Chinese wedding gown to! }

{ silent auction items }

 { i swooned over this black wool cape with fox trim }

 { candle-lit dinner at The Ritz-Carlton }

{ perfectly cooked filet mignon } 

And a long trip to... Naperville, the 'burb consistently ranked high among the Best Cities to Live in America, to pick up The Fella's silent auction winning from last night.

{ downtown Naperville, home of Evan Lysacek }

{ one of the picturesque parks in downtown Naperville, pure suburbia }

P.S. I couldn't resist taking home this brown and white polka dot frock! Yes. I said frock.

{ Naperville boutique. Sorry for the bad lighting. } 

{ Not pictured – me wearing my top inside-out to the stationery shop, after rolling out of bed and into the closest, nearby thing Sat. morning. I must have walked around town like this for 40 minutes, taking the bus to the train, and even hanging out in a coffee shop, until M told me. Clearly, what the universe is trying to say is that my soon-to-be-29-year-old-self is too old to party with 21-year olds! } 

Dali-Lamb Museum

Checked out the new Dali-Lamb Museum in River East today. Matt Lamb, the world-renowned artist and founder of Umbrellas for Peace, is our new client. We're embarking on a strategic brand plan for him, so I decided to strap on a camera and do some research. Also, to enjoy some time out of the office on this sunny, summery Friday afternoon. (Very important stuff.) Exciting art awaits!

{ Matt Lamb artwork }

 

{ artwork by Sheila Lamb, daughter of Matt Lamb }

{ my sister, in town only for half a day }

{ Matt Lamb's Umbrellas for Peace }

 

{ peace wall }

Apartment Therapy book signing + awesome chairs

lnspired by the Apartment Therapy book signing last night at Ligne Roset in River North! 

I swung by after work, lounged in Ligne Roset's AWESOME and comfy Pumpkin chairs (sadly, it's "$2K awesome"), chatted with author/designer/blogger Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, sipped sauv blanc, and bought the book. Hope I can make my Small Space a Cool Space, too!

{ raspberry "Pumpkin" chair + Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces }

{ with Maxwell, book signing party }

{ Ligne Roset's stylish furniture }

Russian oatmeal

Turns out, Russian instant oatmeal tastes just like American!

{ Oatmeal imported from Russia (a.k.a. taken from our B&B breakfasts in St. Petersburg) }

Moscow - what to eat, drink, and shop for

Order: (Try everything. It's all delicious. And always served with creme fraiche and fresh dill, so how could you go wrong?)

Caviar with blinis (delicate, thin pancakes). Caviar in Russia is delectably sweet, it's like biting into perfect little bursts of sweet & tart.
Pelmeni. Traditional dumplings stuffed with pork, beef, and something else. Don't be scared, it's good. Promise.
Soup, any kind. Russians sure know their soups. It must be a perfected art, born out of the necessity to stay warm in the winters. The borsch is always good, but be adventurous and try some other kinds. They're hot, flavorful, and served up in cute, little individual crocks. That's all you need to know. Trust me.

Drink: Russian vodka, straight up. But that's stating the obvious.

Surprisingly, Russians also make good beer! Check out some of these, which The Fella enjoyed thoroughly, such as Kozel or Tinkoff. You can even bottle up your own micro-brewed beer at some grocery stores in Russia. Now, THIS is a concept we need to bring to the States!

Shop for: matruyska dolls in Moscow, as opposed to in St. Petersburg. It's far, far cheaper, says our new friend, Alex, because they are imported from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and sold at an exorbitant mark-up. I'm glad we listened, and bought 10 lovely, fine-detailed sets of matruyskas as gifts from him. We found out just how true this was when we arrived in St. Petersburg the next day – vendors were selling the dolls at upwards of $75! For the small, dinky, generic ones. (And don't even think about the exquisite, 10-piece matruyskas we bought from Alex – in St. Petersburg, these were at least $125.00!)

Also, pick up high-quality, stylish fur hats at the markets in non-peak season and/or on weekends. I scored a beautiful mink hat for around $50 USD. (These are normally upwards of $100.) I imagine the same holds true of fur hats in Moscow as it does the matruyskas.

To get around: Moscow Metro. It's efficient, safe, clean, and a sight to check out! The Metro is completely underground, and the tunnel ceilings are covered in ornate crown moulding, mosaic tile, or gold, held up by stately marble columns, and decked out with chandeliers, bronze sculptures, and stained glass. It's also helpful if you have an English/Cyrillic language map so that you can identify which stop you need, as the Metro signs are only in Cyrillic. Not good. 

One extra note, do not – and I repeat, DO NOT – pause in the walkways as the throngs of Russian commuters WILL sweep you away en masse.

To Moscow, with love

{ Disclaimer: I tried to make this post shorter, but failed miserably. If you're not interested in reading, skip down and scroll through to see the pretty pix. I won't be offended, promise.
Will share bits about St. Petersburg later. } 

I lingered over a lovely beet soup the other day, reminding me of Moscow. The idea to go to Russia began as a crazy joke about visiting The Fella's ancestral roots, but became a reality once we realized it really wasn't soooo crazy. 

The city had me positively enamoured. 

Twenty-four hours+ of traveling, and then we sleepily stumbled off the airport express train and entered an era of 1950s grandeur. Strains of classical music was broadcast over the lofty courtyard, flanked on all sides by a sweeping, palace-like metro station painted in what I can only describe as "Soviet-era green", a sort of ethereal, soft green shade. It's somewhere in between Easter egg pastel and that glowing green hue from the Wicked musical, and I feel the need to describe it so fully because this majestic color followed me all throughout Moscow. A Russian guard in a uniform of the same color motioned passengers to keep moving. 

Such stately elegance, a wonderfully stark contrast to the rows and rows of leftover Communist blocs seen on our way into the city. I sure was groggy, but this surreal first impression of Russia will be forever imprinted in my memory.   

{ "Soviet-era green", essence captured as best as possible. Sadly, I was too groggy to assemble the D90 to snap a pic of the Metro station described above, so this will have to do. }

Once in the city, we ooh'd and aah'd over the curious, framed art on the sides of walls and the beautiful buildings, like the Bolshoi Theatre (sadly, it was undergoing renovation so we couldn't peek in), indulged in vodka and caviar, and hit the shops of high Moscow fashion.  

 

{ pretty building, aglow }

{ framed art on the outside of buildings }

{ interlacing architecture at the Ritz-Carlton }

We zipped around underground in the ornate public Metro, doing our best to interpret Cyrillic along with our English-only map. Surprisingly, few people here spoke any English at all, but we managed.

{ Metro map + logo }

{ Moscow Metro, 12:00 a.m., the calm before the storm }

{ Moscow Metro, 9 a.m., morning rush hour }

The weather heated up, quickly. We spent our days exploring the city: jaunted over to the Red Square, explored the whimsical St. Basil's Cathedral, and attempted to visit Lenin's tomb 3x, unsuccessfully (first time, walked right by it, too distracted by the festival happenings; second time, closed on Mondays; third time, got there with 15 minutes to spare, but the guards wouldn't let us in – seriously, what national attraction is only open 3 hours a day!?). But, we did manage to shake hands with a Lenin look-alike.

{ Lenin }

{ St. Basils Cathedral }

 

{ detail, St. Basils }

{ church dome detail in the Red Square }

 

{ Red Square, nighttime }

An evening out at the Stanislavsky-Danchenko theatre for a perfect Russian ballet.

{ Don Quixote ballet }

We visited the Kremlin on a sunshine-y day, perfect for casting the whitewashed cathedrals and gold domes, aglow and lovely. Babuschkas were out in full-force today. If there's one thing I learned on this trip, it's that Russian women 1. like to walk arm-in-arm in pairs or threes, and 2. carry flowers around. Long stems, bunches, buckets of flowers, it doesn't matter.

 

{ cathedral inside the Kremlin }

{ babuschkas }

A side trip to a Russian market, to ogle the handcrafted dolls and fur hats, where we made friends with a matruyska vendor named Alex. He asked if we were diplomats, then bought us tea and merchant cookies while we chatted. We received a warm invitation to his family's village, a three-day trek, for some Russian barbecue and songs. We did more than ogle, in the end, we also bought many gifts. There was a serious matruyska party in my suitcase!  

{ rosy matruyskas on a ledge }

Some high-heel-watching action in the city. It's all true, Moscow women dress up, rather than down, and wear high heels EVERYWHERE, to boot. I saw stilettos and 5-inch platforms on the Metro, the cobblestone streets, in the rain, far and wide. My perspective on commuting in heels has been forever changed.

{ high heels + short skirts, everywhere }

A romantic stroll in the rain by the riverfront and we happened upon this tree-lined row, made of layers and layers of locks.

 

{ trees of locks (love), riverfront }

We were enamoured by Moscow's intriguing old-meets-new-world culture, full of romantic traditions amidst a new-found, relative wealth and indulgence in high fashion and food. Somewhere, in between the alluring bits of Soviet-era green and warm bowls of red borsch, we fell in love with a city.

{ traditions }