Reindeer Round Up - Christmas Edition - 12/28/18 - Wonderland Express, Santa Cruise, Forza Meats, BoBo & Bump Time, Cousin Love

Whoosh. For as much as I love Christmas - this past week was a bit of a challenge. Poor Lulu was sick, first with a stomach bug, then with a cold that then led to a double ear infection. If you have littles in your life you might or might not know that sick littles = not a ton of relaxing for their grown ups. Our week of fun, food, adventures with family, Ho Ho Ho, and holly jolly quickly turned into puke, snot, screaming at family (Lulu), How Are We Going to Make It, and not so holly jolly. We did have fun. We did have some hours that were mostly scream free. We did not have a lot of naps. We did not have a lot of fully formed adult thoughts or conversations. But we did have time with family, which took some of the edge off of the Bug being so upset/uncomfortable/flat out miserable.

It was humbling to have the Christmas week not go anywhere near as I planned.....we still did all of the activities we'd hoped/planned to. Just with a lot less joy on my part. It is hard for me to enjoy myself when my littlest Bug is monkey clinging on to me while also swatting me/screaming in my ear. I'm sure that seems shocking that I wasn't having the time of my life ;) That is life though, right? Things don't go as planned. Particularly with kids involved. But they still were great. Different. Louder. Less relaxing. But still great because we were together.

Without further ado, here are some of the merry & bright moments of the past week!

1. Wonderland Express at the Chicago Botanic Garden

What fun to see the train display at the Botanic Garden through the eyes of Lulu, Hennie & Neva!

The girls were super jazzed, Lulu kept saying "choo choo" "choo choo" which was really sweet.

These are the types of photos that truly show how sick Lulu felt :(

We all know how much Chris loves trains - I have to admit that I am beginning to fall under their holiday spell as well.

I love that we have traditions that are fun and appropriate for all 3 generations of our family, I'm pretty sure BoBo & Bump get a kick out of seeing the trains each year with the kids :)

2. Santa Cruise up at The Lake

This was our first time trying this fun experience; I loved it! The novelty of a winter time boat ride (our boat comes out of the water in October), festive lights along the way, a bit of caroling on the boat, a lakeside Santa cameo, candy canes, and just fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat!!

3. Delectable Sandwiches from Forza Meats

If you live or work in or near Glenview, run don't walk to Forza Meats. Having grown up in Glenview & watched the development of the Glen pull resources & interest away from the downtown area of my town, it makes my heart SO glad to see interesting new businesses making downtown Glenview home. I am aquainted with the guys who started the business & they seem to be quite heavily involved - in a good way :) Both were in the shop the day my mom & I popped in.

We tried 5 different sandwiches & they were all awesome. Oddly, I loved the vegetarian one - I realize that sounds ridiculous given "meat" is in the name of the business- but it was incredibly flavorful & full of different textures. Oftentimes the veggie sandwich option is a throwaway disappointment - not this one! From what we saw - you can't go wrong with the sandwiches.

My mom bought pork shoulder to prepare for Christmas Eve dinner (our "main" Christmas meal) - it was also top notch. Added bonus - one of the co-owners telling us about the farm where the pigs are raised.

I picked out some jarred delights for Chris' stocking, there were ready to bake pizzas, frozen sauces, fresh pastas, salads, olives, all sorts of delights waiting to be discovered.

Check out this new spot - I promise you won't regret it!

4. Imprint Music Concert

A classmate & close friend of Marg's is the VP of the newly formed non profit Imprint Music. They are awaiting their 501(c)3 status - but a cool idea for an organization! The group brings together alum from Glenbrook South (& maybe other places too) to perform beautiful choral concerts benefiting other nonprofits!

We grabbed dinner before the show and loved listening to Christmas carols sung by such talented people. Bonus - the concert was held at the church where I attended preschool 30+ years ago. Fun to be back in a place that I spent so much time when I was tiny!

 5. BoBo & Bump Time

There is so much to be said for the kids having time with their grandparents. My only regret is that because Lulu (& to be fair - Hennie & Neva too) really weren't feeling 100% - they were clingier than they usually are.

Wonderland Express fun with Bump & BoBo

Do you think the girls were getting tired?!?

In a normal day - the girls love to hang with BoBo & Bump. This Christmas they seemed to stick closer to mom & dad - but such is life. Thankfully they all got some time despite the germiness!

Taking a break from the ice skating adventure with BoBo

Lulu wasn't really enjoying Christmas morning - but had time for a heart to heart with Bump

6. Cousin Love

I'm not terribly close to any of my cousins, except those that live across an ocean in Ireland & Germany.

I suppose that is part of the reason it makes me so happy to see Lulu really developing relationships with her cousins.

Despite the fact that a bunch of our family got sick - the kids still really loved being together. If that isn't what this season is all about - then what is??

Walnut, Date & Chocolate Scones

I love scones.

Lizzard Loves chocolate, dates & walnuts

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you already knew this about me. Scones are a perfect pastry that can be made 1,000 different ways. Sweet? Savory? Crunchy? Soft? Indulgent? Quasi healthy? A scone can wear all those hats. Who doesn't love something so versatile? Did I mention it is a pastry? I am a sucker for a delicious pastry. 

Since I am thoroughly obsessed with scones, it would make sense that I am constantly on the lookout for new scone recipes. A couple of weeks ago I tried the new bacon date scone at Blue Sky Bakery. Not shockingly, it was delectable. The mix of sweet and salty will get me every single time. Side note- Blue Sky Bakery is one of those places that deserves to be visited by every northsider. It has awesome food, offers catering, has a cute cafe for enjoying their baked goodness or for private events and has a larger mission to offer job training to homeless teens in Chicago. Honestly - what could be better than a delicious bakery? A delicious bakery that is doing its thing to support teens who truly need it. Check it out, you will not be sorry!

There I go again, getting sidetracked. Blue Sky Bakery's bacon & date scone was still on my mind last week, so I wanted to take a stab at it. I didn't have bacon though.........and I didn't have buttermilk, which I need for my "go to" scone recipe. The world wide webs to the rescue again.

I adapted the recipe I found at Vegan Baking Mama's blog to my tastes and to what I had in my kitchen. Check out her original recipe & other delicious offerings at her blog. These are far sweeter than most scones I make, including the ones linked above. The combination of  dates and milk chocolate make for a great combination, but it is also very sweet! If you would like to try these but don't love sweet pastries, swap in dark chocolate, reduce the dates to 1/3 cup and increase the walnuts to 1 cup. I am so happy with the crisp edges and chunky texture these scones have. They have an awesome chew to them as well. Sigh. I do really love scones.

Walnut Date & Chocolate Scones
Makes about a dozen scones

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
3/4 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped
3/4 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
7oz milk chocolate, roughly chopped
3/4 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
1. Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mats.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, oats, sugar, flax, salt & baking powder.
3. Cut in the butter using a knife in each hand, a pastry cutter, or your fingers. If you use your fingers- work fast do you don't melt the butter! You should have a crumbly mixture with small pieces of butter remaining.
4. Mix in the dates, walnuts and chocolate.
5. Add the soy milk and vanilla and gently mix until incorporated.
6. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop out the dough and place it on the prepared baking sheets.
7. Put the baking sheets into the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
8. While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and wash some dishes if you're feeling particularly motivated! 
9. Bake the scones for 20-22 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through cooking time. The scones will brown at the edges and on top when they're done!
10. Slide the scones onto a wire rack to cool, then enjoy.  

Lizzard Loves Walnut Date & Chocolate Scones

Long lunch on a rainy day

I love long lunches.

Lizzard Loves Homegrown Cafe

It is wonderful to luxuriate in a delicious midday meal with a great friend while the weather outside is positively frightful. I went to Homegrown Cafe * today and was sucked into their cozy atmosphere, great coffee and comfort food. My friend and I dined & chatted for over 2 hours. We shared the breakfast burrito & the short rib sandwich which were both prepared beautifully (and there was not a fried egg in sight, much to my delight!). The meal was the perfect way to warm up after a rainy walk over! It made me quite happy that the chef/owner of Homegrown waited on us and allowed us to overstay our "meal time" while continuing to provide excellent service. 

Did I mention the sugar cubes? They don't do sugar shakers or sugar packets. Brown and white sugar cubes. It's the little things, right? I don't usually put sugar in my coffee; but when offered sugar cubes- I gladly make an exception! I've said it before, but I'll say it again - make a point to visit this restaurant. You will be so happy you did.

*Note about this link; the owners of this wonderful place closed their previous venture, Chalkboard Restaurant, & opened Homegrown Cafe in the same physical space- so don't get thrown by the link's title :) You are heading to the right website!

When this is the weather situation, it is easy to want to stay inside!

Lizzard Loves Chicago. Even with this weather.

You know what I also love? My rain boots. They allowed me to walk about a mile to lunch & arrive with dry feet even though it was pouring rain. They allowed me to walk off my vague feelings of guilt after throwing back not 1, but 2 slices of King Cake 1 hour before I had lunch plans. I love that my friend sent us another King Cake this year; here is the post about it from last year.

Lizzard Loves these rain boots.

The weather today is quite insane, even though my boots are knee high, I waded through a puddle that almost flooded them. Yikes. Though it may also be insane, somehow I still love this city. I love that when I was walking up Lincoln Ave on the way to lunch - it was bustling. In a foggy, flooded, rainstorm kind of day; people were out & about, just doing their thing. Only 1 person I passed was scowling & that may have had

more to do with the shouting match she was having on her cell phone than with the weather. It makes me so pleased to live in a place where people are so grateful for a 50 degree day in the midst of multiple polar vortexes that they are walking around outside despite of the torrential downpour of rain which accompanied the "heat wave".