The Girl And The Goat (CHI)

Girl & The Goat is a rustic restaurant with a busy, busy environment.
The restaurant is open for dinner from 4:30-11pm and 12 on weekends.
Good luck getting a table unless you have some skills.
(not to brag, but I was able to get a table)
The owner and chef of Girl & The Goat is Stephanie Izard...
winner of Top Chef.
The restaurant has been open for less than 2 years but is filled to
capacity  every single night. The food is pretty amazing.
The portions are on the smaller side but filled with so much
savory flavor- you feel lucky just enjoying the first bite.
Now when I say filled with flavor... you almost want to pick up
your plate and lick every last drop of sauce or seasoning.
Now, that's tasty. If you ever make it to the windy city of Chicago-
you must stop by at The Girl & The Goat even if you have to stand or
sit by the waiting area to get some food.

The menu is filled with vegetables, fish and meat that are locally grown
on farms along with the bread that is baked daily.

Now, when you look at the menu.... you think... hmmm I'm not sure if
I want anything from here... it's kind of weird... very different but
in a good way. You might think... there are ingredients I'm not sure
if I would ever eat or have ever heard of. 
But, you take a deep breath and tell yourself to be brave and you order
anything off the menu... but you should definitely order and try the
"Pig's Face"  yes, I said pig's face.

                                             

It is slightly pricey... but worth every bite & dollar.
The Pig's face is very tender and it basically melts in your mouth
especially with the egg mixed in along with the 2 dominant flavors of
cilantro and almond butter with tints of the tartness of tamarind.
I can't say enough about this dish!

Simple Sauce That You'll Crave !

I have a really simple recipe for a good sauce that is so tasty!
I really enjoy this sauce with steak but it can be good
with chicken, grilled or sauteed veggies.

You'll have to make this sauce by sight and taste.
Simply take some Miso paste(the paste you make Miso Soup with)
and some almond butter and scoop some into a bowl that is
large enough to take a spoon to mix the 2 together in.
I usually start with 1-2 tablespoons of the almond butter
and about 1/2 of the amount of Miso paste because the Miso paste
has salt in it and you don't want your sauce too salty. I also add
a few drops of soy sauce and some water so the sauce isn't a thick
paste but has the consistency of a thicker salad dressing.
Sometimes I add a little Splenda or agave nectar if it's a little on
the salty side. That's it though- Miso paste, almond butter,
a few drops of soy sauce, water and a sweetener.

LCF's Twist On A Quesadilla

Making food you like is always a plus. Cultivating it- is even better!
(when you make it your own by adding things you like)
Why add ingredients you don't have or like just because it's in a recipe.

With that thought... I decided to cultivate a quesadilla.
First, take some...

tomatoes, peppers and cilantro and dice it all up.  (You can also add a red onion) 

Then, take some watermelon and dice that up. 

You might think... watermelon in a salsa with veggies...?   Don't diss it unless you've tried it. 

Once it's diced up- it works well if you put it in a colander to let the liquid out.

Next, you want to cut your corn (I prefer cutting it from the cob because it tastes better) 

and chop some cilantro and saute it together with a little oil in the pan and some chicken stock.

 

 I add some steak seasoning or you can just add which ever seasoning you like! 

Take some burrito wrappers and place your tomato-watermelon salsa, 

cilantro corn and any type of cheese  you'd like and fill half of the burrito wrapper.

I decided to use Brie Cheese, shredded cheddar out of a Kraft bag, diced smoked Gouda 

and Beemsters Valaskas Cheddar for this quesadilla.

 

    

It can be a little tricky flipping it over, BUT- you can do it!

I will say it is pretty tasty! 

You can add some chicken or pork if you'd like as well.

What's One Of The Best...

What's one of the best things in the summer?
An ice cream cone of course!
Excitement starts with which flavor should I get?
Chocolate, mint chocolate, strawberry, french vanilla,
coffee, hmm- it's so hard to decide with soooo many
flavors these days.

So, as your waiting in line....
you finally decide between 2 flavors and then...
oh, the excitement... you are next in line...
If you decide to get a cone with a tip... ask the counter
person if they can smush a small marshmallow in the bottom
of the cone- before they scoop the ice cream in there...      
 

Why? ....
so that when your cone starts to melt, and you can't
lick quick enough- the marshmallow will at least stop the
bottom of your cone from dripping through onto your new
shorts!

I Keep Hearing...

I've heard or talked to at least 5  people in the past 2 weeks about
trying to basically eat less meat or no meat for different reasons.
Here is a dish for no or less meat eaters to try!

Have you ever heard of spaghetti squash?
It almost looks like a big Korean melon.

A simple way to cook it is to- cut the squash in half and
throw it into a big pot of hot water,for the purpose of
getting a head start in making it softer.
Then place it on an oven safe tray or pan cut side down.
Drizzle a little olive oil and some sea salt on it and
let it sit in the dry sauna (oven)on maybe 375 degrees
until it gets softer and almost a little brown but not burnt.
Once it's softened... you'll be able to simply take a
fork and literally fork it off.
It works well for a substitute for spaghetti-
hence the name: spaghetti squash.
You can have a side salad or other veggies with your
vegetarian spaghetti!  You can toss a little
Italian dressing for a little more taste if you'd like!

What Do You Do...

What should you do when you have some
hot dog buns left but no hot dogs? -
(especially since the number of buns never seem to match
up with the number of hot dogs in the package)

You can simply make.... burger dogs!
Take some ground beef and instead of making
a patty... you can mold it into a cylinder shape
to fit better on the hot dog bun.
You can put the same toppings you would for your hot dog
or whatever you might put on your burger but...
sometimes the same food in a different shape strangely
tastes different. Our minds are so unique.
Just cultivate & make it your own!

Where Did The Name Gatorade Come From?

I'm sure you've all drank Gatorade at some point-
but have you ever wondered where the name came from?

In the summer of 1965, University of Florida's assistant coach met with physicians
to try to figure out why the football players, (Florida Gators) were being so
affected by the heat during the summer.

Dr. Robert Cade, Dr. Dana Shires, Dr. H. James Free and Dr. Alejandro de Quesada
quickly discovered that the players were losing fluids and electrolytes.
By losing fluids and not having them replaced- they in a way started to "wilt".
They soon made a formula that balanced carbohydrate-electrolytes that would replace
what they lost by sweating. They quickly called their beverage "Gatorade"

Here are a few questions and answers regarding Gatorade:
Q: what is the shelf life of an unopened bottle of Gatorade?
A: should be consumed within 9 months

Q: within how many hours or days should an opened bottle be consumed?
A: within 3-5 days

Q: when you are busy being a jock, P90Xing or just playing some co-ed
basket-weaving  is it better to drink water or Gatorade?
A: Gatorade- b/c it has the electrolytes that water doesn't have to help
sustain the fluids

Q: how is Gatorade different than other energy drinks?
A: Gatorade helps replenish fluids while most energy drinks are filled
with caffeine and sugar as we all know


Q: can diabetics drink Gatorade?
A: Yes, diabetics can actually benefit from Gatorade to prevent hypoglycemia
but with everything... moderation is the key