West of the Loop

Preserved Lemons for Tasting Jerusalem

Emily — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:14:33 +0000

It’s June and that means it is time for a new Tasting Jerusalem challenge! Created by two food writers, Beth from the blog OMG! Yummy and Sarene Wallace from 805 Living magazine, Tasting Jerusalem is a community dedicated to exploring the cuisine of the Middle East using the cookbook Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami [...]

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Coffee House Strawberry Scones

Emily — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:27:53 +0000

The coffee house in my town makes the best scones I have ever tasted. I am never one to waste calories on inferior pastry. For example, I make regular trips to Starbucks for a Chai Tea Latte, but I haven’t eaten one of their baked goods in years. But the scones at Blue Max Coffee [...]

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Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus

Emily — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:10:59 +0000

My mom returned from Paris a few weeks ago and reported that all the markets, and all the restaurant menus, were full of asparagus. The French get so excited about asparagus season because they don’t expect to see asparagus all year round. In France, you get asparagus in the spring and once they’re gone, they’re [...]

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Scenes from the Oak Park Farmers Market

Emily — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 20:37:53 +0000

The Oak Park Farmers’ Market has been open since May 18, but, as always, the market started slow. The first few weeks offered little locally grown produce beyond lettuce, asparagus and rhubarb. Don’t get me wrong: I can do a lot with asparagus and rhubarb. Like grilled asparagus, asparagus pesto, rhubarb jam, and rhubarb-ginger buckle, [...]

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Lessons from Eat, Write, Retreat

Emily — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 23:12:56 +0000

I spent last weekend in Philadelphia attending the Eat, Write, Retreat conference for food bloggers. Although I have attended several blogger conferences in the past few years, Eat, Write, Retreat was my first food-focused conference and I loved every minute of it. The conference was small and intimate; everyone attended the same sessions and events [...]

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Healthy Snacking: Banana Yogurt Muffins

Emily — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:47:09 +0000

Yesterday I was working on an article about healthy snacks for the back-to-school issue of a local parenting publication. It’s odd to be writing about back-to-school when my kids still have two more weeks to go in this school year, but that is how editorial calendars work. The article was a natural fit for me: [...]

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Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Emily — Wed, 29 May 2013 02:45:32 +0000

This past weekend was Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer. It was a busier-than-usual weekend at my house. Saturday, my husband took our daughter to a NHL playoff game, which the Blackhawks won thankfully. My husband and I celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary on Sunday with a dinner out — a review of [...]

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Chocolate Spice Cookies for Tasting Jerusalem

Emily — Sun, 26 May 2013 00:53:19 +0000

As some of you may remember, I am participating in a virtual cooking community called Tasting Jerusalem. Created by two food writers, Beth from the blog OMG! Yummy and Sarene Wallace from 805 Living magazine, Tasting Jerusalem is a community dedicated to exploring the cuisine of the Middle East using the cookbook Jerusalem as a [...]

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Bread Machine Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Emily — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:48:12 +0000

One of my favorite items from May’s Chicago Food Swap were Swedish Cinnamon Buns by veteran swapper Rachel. These yeasty sweet buns sprinkled with pearl sugar disappeared all too quickly the day after the swap, leaving me with nothing but crumbs and a burning desire to bake some more. If the mention of cinnamon buns [...]

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Lamb and Rice Stuffed Peppers

Emily — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:33:12 +0000

I suppose there is no need to mention (again) that my husband is not as adventurous an eater as I am. As a result of to his aversion to seafood and his avoidance of pork, I have a fairly limited universe of meats to cook with at home. Chicken and turkey are fine; I can [...]

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