Pimm's Anyone?

Since moving to Chicago I've learned that winter lasts for about 13 months, spring lasts a few days and then the hot, humid, sticky summer arrives. This is when a cooling drink is desperately needed, and any alternative to 'lite' beer is greatly appreciated. This is where Pimm's comes in.

There is one drink that is more quintessentially English than a nice pot of tea and that is Pimm's. Ones first Pimm's of the year is the signal that summer is finally here and it is enjoyed in England at all of the best garden parties, social occasions, picnics, polo matches, regattas and Royal visits. Alongside strawberries and cream it is one of the things that you positively HAVE to order when at Wimbledon taking in a spot of tennis. We served it at our wedding and the American guests loved it!

So what is Pimm's? Well, it was invented in London in the 1820’s and it is a gin based drink. It’s one of those drinks that you forget contains alcohol and end up drinking a glass too many – so be careful! It can be difficult to get a bottle but I found 6 bottles at our local Binny's, so I bought them all!

Recipe

Fill a glass with ice. I prefer a tall glass but a shorter tumbler is fine.

Mix one part Pimm's to three parts lemonade (or you could try ginger ale).

Add a combination of sliced lemon, apple, orange, strawberries and most importantly cucumber.

Top with a sprig of mint!

It’s actually easier to make a large jug of the cocktail and then you get to fish out your favourite (English spelling!) fruity bits.

Celebrate Wine In The Garden

Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13,
Noon – 6 p.m.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $28/$35 at the door.

Summer is the peak time for relaxation, and what could be more pleasant than an event at the Chicago Botanic Garden combining fine wine, education, and you? This two-day event will feature wineries, distributors, and importers offering one-ounce samples of their products to consumers. There will be more than 250 domestic and international wines for tasting and for purchase.

In addition to the tasting stations, there will also be a seminar/music stage, and local restaurants offering food for sale. Wine and beer will also be available for sale by the glass.

New Summer Salad

School's out and summer is here....he writes with a slightly ironic smirk as it continues to rain outside while typing. Rain seems to have been the theme of the week as we headed to our first Ravinia concert of the season to see Earth, Wind & Fire (and Rain!!). The heavens opened for at least an hour and we were treated to an unscheduled light show as we sat through a lightening and thunder storm. Those that braved the weather were treated to some fine funky tunes and it was nice to get our first picnic of the season under our belt.

As with all of our trips to Ravinia the menu was impeccably planned and was washed down with a 2 buck Chuck Merlot and a fantastic La Crema Rosé. My favorite part of the meal was a rice salad with shrimp and cucumber and for the first time in this blog I'll give you the recipe.

Rice Salad with Shrimp & Cucumber

We cooked 2 cups of brown rice and let that cool. In a separate bowl we mashed 1 clove of garlic and 1/2 tsp of salt. We then added 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup white wine vinegar which we mixed well before pouring this all over the rice and gave it a good toss. To the mix we then added 1/2 cup of fresh (from our garden) mint, 1/2 cup of chopped green olives, a large de-seeded and chopped cucumber, salt & pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. This was topped with 2 lbs of cooked shrimp, 1/4 cup of chopped chives and 6 chopped green onions.

We Love This Store

Situated in Barrington is Norton's the cutest general store run by the loveliest woman, Debbie Leydig. It opened almost 3 years ago and has been selling 100% American goods ever since. It's one of those stores where it's impossible to leave without buying something. Our favorites are the "thěr'ə-pē"candles, and the Twinkle Baby bonding dolls that we have gifted to so many of our friends who have recently had kids.

Get on their mailing list and you will be sent offers, and check out their new website that will soon include an online shopping service. Norton's celebrates its 3 year anniversary from June 15th - 19th. There will be live music daily raffles, shopping specials, plus a viewing of Pinocchio outside the barn, bring a chair!

Poolside Snacks & Treats

I'm in that weird lull between the end of regular school and the start of summer school. Not enough time to go away, but certainly enough time to start on that long list of "to-do's"; get to the gym, file away those magazine cuttings, tidy the garage etc. So honoring my favorite pastime of procrastination I ignored those jobs and headed down to our new Whole Foods to join in with one of their classes. Remember, at the bottom of this page there is a list of their current offerings, yesterdays was "Poolside Snacks & Treats".

I guess one benefit of working at my school is that we finished a week before others, which means that when I headed down to the class....I was the only person that showed up. Which turned out to be excellent as I got to watch the excellent Tatiyana at work and generally shoot the breeze with a fellow foodie. As we talked about culinary influences and discussed food heroes Tatiyana put together four really nice, easy to put together treats.

First on the list was a Sweet & Tangy Melon Slaw. This fresh, mayo free slaw introduced me to Jicama (see the picture above). Kind of a cross between an apple and a pear it added great flavor and texture to the slaw.

This was followed with my favorite dish of the morning, a Black Bean Dip with Corn & Basil. Combining sweetcorn and black beans with basil, hot sauce and cumin my 'expert' created a really flavorsome (is this really a word?) dip that was perfect for tortilla chips. In fact I took a tub of this away with me as I was headed to a small gathering of teachers where the dip was an instant hit!

The last two dishes were fruitier in nature. A Fresh Fruit Salsa with apples, pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, banana and toasted coconut was a little sweet for me, but could be perfect for the neighbors 7th birthday party this weekend. I'll be trying that recipe out on the kids.

Finally Tatiyana created a Blackberry Lime Spritzer. It's the time for limes right now as they add a summery vibe to drinks (mojito anyone?). Blackberries, lime zest, sugar, salt and lime juice were heated through to break the berries down a little. Blitzed in the food processor and strained and then added to sparkling water. In itself it was a very refreshing drink, but maybe with a splash of rum it could be a hit at our next warm summer evening gathering at The Mansfield.

The hour flew by and I came away from Whole Foods having had a really interesting time. Be sure to check out other classes that are being offered, you can also check them out on Facebook where you will also be kept up to date with the daily specials at the store. Certainly more interesting than those infernal 'Farmville' postings!

Gotta Love The UPS Man

The Mansfield is already known among the neighbors as the house that always has parcels and packages on the doorstep and today was no exception. Thankfully I was in to meet the UPS man as he delivered our first delivery from Byington Wineyard. We were in California not too long ago for a wedding and took the opportunity to visit a number of local vineyards and partake in a flight or two. One of our visits was to Byington Vineyard & Winery, a relatively young winery (established 1987) that produces some cracking wines. A flight of 5 really nice wines loosened the purse strings somewhat and we joined their wine club, bringing our current total to four!

Todays delivery comprised a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. The tasting notes for the Cab Sav state that it is a supple wine with hints of cedar, baking spices, and a touch of blackberry. The notes for the white read: grassy with full ripe banana and tropical aroma.

We seem to be building up a bit of a backlog of wines so thank goodness it's summertime, ideal time for entertaining and cracking open an extra bottle or two!

Supergrain is the new superfood?

We subscribe to a number of journals here at The Mansfield, some foodie, some healthy, some a bit of both. I guess Men's Health falls into both categories, and like most of the magazines can be a bit hit and miss. This month's edition, with Lance Armstrong on the front cover, is a bit of a hit if not just for the following letter that was sent into Dr Bob. Someone wrote in and asked what was the fuss about a grain called chia, which is a form of the grain called salba? It turns out that this new grain has been around a while. The Aztecs prized it more highly than gold, and it is being hailed as a nutrient-dense super seed with remarkable levels of nutrition.

The University of Toronto have found that 100 grams of salba will yield 70% of your daily requirement of calcium and 50% of your iron requirement.

It also contains 10 times more magnesium than milk, 25% more fiber than flaxseed, twice the potassium of bananas, 30% more antioxidants than strawberries, and 50% more vegetable protein than soybeans.

Dr Bob said that by adding the grain, it looks like little poppy seeds but has a mildly nutty taste, he lost 7 pounds in just a month by incorporating it into his diet.

We bought a 1lb container of 'Ultimate Chia' from Whole Foods for just under $20 and will be adding it to our diets this week. We'll let you know how we get on with it!