Education in Flour

For those that know me, I'm not formally train and really I just perform a lot of google searches to find an answer.  Some information is quite easy to find and some takes some work to locate the answer.  So I figured I'll document all my research and share my findings.  Flour is so basic, one would think the knowledge how the ingredient behaves and how it is should be used.  I had a basic knowledge and I mainly used all-purpose for everything.  As I explore more into baking especially when I was experimenting with breads, I read everything there needs to know about flour.  Especially bread flour.  I wanted to understand the attributes and behaviors.  Especially if the bread did not come out exactly how I wanted, why did it happen.  I guess it is the analytical side of me.  So I was at my local library and I found The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies, & Other sweets with ideas for inventing your own by Karen DeMasco.  It is a very helpful book and I just got it last night.  I pretty much read the whole book.  Her tips were great and I found quite a bit of useful information. 

Flour is a constant in all baking.  The type of flour tends to very.  book.   

Unbleached  or bleached All-purpose Flour - Most common flour used in baking.  It could be used in all different purposes. 

Both bleached and unbleached flour is a blend of hard and soft wheat.  Bleached flour tend to have less protein than unbleached flour.  Unbleached, that means it is free of chemicals and potential harmful additives.  According to the What's cooking website (2010), Bleached flour is best for pie crusts, cookie, quick breads, pancakes, and waffles.  While unbleached flour should be used for yeast breads, danish pastry, puff pastry, strudel, eclairs, cream puffs, and popovers.  It seems like the author of The Craft is not really in favor of bleached flour.  Of course it depends on your person preference.  Best shelf life is up to 8 months in a sealed container or in the refrigerator up to a year.  Personally I keep mine in a huge Tupperware and my flour never last as long as a year. 

Buckwheat flour - This is a gluten-free flour.  This provides a good substitute for regular flour for the individuals sensitive to gluten. 

Cake Flour - A finely milled flour.  It utilizes a softer wheat than other grain flours.  It does contain a lower percentage of protein which produces a tender cake and pastry.  Most of the time, it is used with other flours like All-Purpose.  This is a high starch flour that is slightly acidic.  The use of this flour is mainly for cakes (obviously by the name) or any pastries with a high ratio of sugar to flour.  This flour stands up to the weight of sugar better.  A good substitute is using all-purpose flour but subtract 2 tbs for each cup in a recipe. 

High-Gluten Flour (Bread Flour) - As in the name, is mainly used for breads.  It is high in gluten (protein) which provides a better elasticity to the dough. 

Instant flour -  The benefit of this flour is that it dissolves quickly in both temperature of liquids.  You can't really use this instead of all-purpose and it should be used for sauces or gravies. 

 Nut Flour and Nut Meal - Could be purchased or made. Both flour and meal could be used interchangeably.  It could be stored in the freezer up to 1 month. 

• Nut Flour - grounded from the cake that remains after the oils are pressed out of the nut.
  
  
  • For example Almond flour for 3/4 cups: 3/4 finally ground blanched almonds
• Nut Meal - finely ground nut and 1 tbs of unbleached all-purpose flour.

* This deserves a whole post

Pastry flour - This is a middle flour in between all-purpose and cake flour in terms of the amount of protein.  It is made with a soft wheat and the attributes results in a tender but crumbly pastry.  It could be used for any pastries that doesn't require yeast.  It comes in wheat and regular. 

Rice Flour - another name is Mochiko.  It is used from milled rice (white or brown).  I used this the most in espasol, mochi, and other Asian desserts. 

Polenta and Cornmeal - Provides a gritty texture to cookies and tarts.  It could be frozen up to a year.  

Self-rising flour - sometimes called phosphated flour.  It is a low-protein flour with salt and leavening added.  The use is mainly for biscuits and some quick bread.  It should not be used for yeast breads.  If self-rising flour is required, other leavening agents will not be required.  To make it yourself, for each cup of all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder + salt.  Mix completely.  

Semolina Flour - mainly used for pasta and some Italian pastries.  It is made from durum flour which is the hardest wheat.  This is the highest level of gluten.  This flour could be also produced from other grains like rice and corn.  There are other types closely related to semolina.  Semolina meal is  coarsely grounded like farina.  Wheatena is a grounded whole-grain wheat.  Finally durum flour is a finely grounded semolina. 

Spelt Flour - This is a non-wheat flour.  The exact name is triticum aestivum var. spelta. It has a nutty and sweeter flavor than whole wheat flour.  It does have gluten and it is a good substitute for wheat flour. 

Teff Flour - It is a flour filled with nutrition.  This is intended to be used like millet or quinoa.  It is higher in protein to wheat and it also contains calcium, thiamin, and iron.  The source of the flour is teff which is quite small.  Other uses of teff is germ and brand.  It is high in fiber but there is no gluten. 

Whole-wheat flour - this is made of the whole kernel of the wheat plant.  It contains a higher level of fiber and nutritional content than white flours.  It doesn't have a high level of gluten so it is generally mixed with other flours like all-purpose or bread flour.  This flour is able to last from 6 months to a year in the freezer.  In a pantry, it will only stay a few months. 

I'm sure I'm missing some flours but there are so many, it will take a while to get through.  Please let me know if there are other flours any I should cover. 

DeMasco, Karen & Fox Mindy (2009).  The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies, & Other sweets with ideas for inventing your own.  New York, NY:Clarkson Potter/Publishers.

Types of Flour (2010).  Whats Cooking America.  http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/FlourTypes.htm

Misadventure #2 Chow Fun noodles

So I attempt to be consistance with my blogging.  We will see how long that last.  I'm also attempted to post items I have been meaning to post for a while.  This tracks back from New Years.  Yes, I'm that behind.  Actually more since I have stuff from when I first started this blog.  Maybe one day, I'll be caught up.  What am I kidding myself, I have about 300+ recipes to try out.  At least I will have material to write about.  To think I was scared that I didn't have ideas.  If you didn't realize, I talk alot.  I do tone it down when I blog.  So this was a misadventure from the start.  The noodles were good but they were quite sticky and I think I rushed it.  I will try again but I'll probably do a little more research more behind it.  Or many actually reading the direction would probably help.  I got the recipe from cooking gallery.  It is a great recipe, poor execution from my part and maybe it wasn't the greatest combination of flavors too.  The true recipe is call Kway Teow.   This is my favorite type of noodles.  I love the thickness and how it is used.  I wished I paid more attention to the recipe and what is best with this.

It looked find when I poured the batter and steamed it.  It was once I sliced it, the issues started to happen.








Again, it looked fine but once I attempted to fry the noodles, they started to stick to one another.









It was pretty much a huge chuck of dough mixed with carrot, peppers, and broccoli.  Even the baby wouldn't eat it and she eats everything.  Sad huh?




What to do next time.
1. Let it try out more before slicing
2. Lay it out separately to prevent sticking.
3. Pick better flavors for the noodles
4. Maybe fry each one at a time to prevent sticking.

Mainly to prevent anything from sticking.  But the noodle was good other than it stuck together :D. 

Espasol

I had one more post in me today!

This is one dessert I did actually have until I was older.  We went to visit The Parents out in California and The Mother made some for us. 

1. It looks funny

2. You would think it would be dry like porvoron (btw as soon as I get the form, I'm making some)

When I had it, I was hooked.  It was soft, moist, and slightly chewy.  When myself or The Husband tries to explain it, we call it doughy goodness.  So I had to look up in Wikipedia (yes I did say Wikipedia).  

The definition is this: 

Espasol is a cylinder-shaped Filipino rice cake originating from the province of Laguna. It is made from rice flour cooked in coconut milk and sweetened coconut strips, dusted with toasted rice flour (Wikipedia, 2010).  Yes I cited it, I'm totally in school mode. 

Why didn't I think of that, rice cakes.  DRRRRRRRR. 

I loved it so much, The Mother actually gave me the recipe.  I would love to share but The Mother would hunt me down.  Sorry  :(.  But there is rice flour and coconut milk.  It is one of those things you don't realize you ate a handful until it is gone.

Wikipedia(2010).  Espasol.  www.wikipedia.org.

Girls Night out and My Ate's Birthday

It seems I'm always doing something.  I love being busy and feeling productive but sometimes I just need to get out.  With work, school, family, and of course baking I won't notice until weeks later I haven't seen anybody outside of my daily routine.  It is nice to go out and spend times with the Girls.  My cousins and myself decided to go out for my Ate's birthday (it was two weeks ago).  We watched Valentine's day.  It was really cute and for those who watched Love actually it is very similar but with American actors and actress instead of the British stars.  I recommend it for a girls night out.  Guy may not like it as much unless you get lucky with the sensitive ones.  After watching the movie, we decided to have dinner at Guava in Westmont.  The food was wonderful.  It was a tapas restaurant and you knew everything was homemade.  Appetizer consist of goat cheese in a tomato sauce and toasted bread.  It was so good, nice and warm and the tomato sauce was season perfectly.  I wish I was able to take a picture but we were hungry :D .  Each of us decided to go with entrees instead of the traditional tapas.  I went with a plantain crusted tilapia. 

It was delicious.  The rice and mango salsa complimented the fish very well.  The rice reminded me of a sticky rice and I swear I tasted coconut milk.  It was so good I saved half for The Husband so he could try some.  The dish had a great balance of sweet and savory, just the way I like it.  The rest of my cousins enjoyed the food so much, they were able to finish everything. 

I also saved half my meal for dessert.  How could I not?  We are at a Latin restaurant, I was sure there was something amazing on the menu.  I  went with a guava torte. The cake was so soft, it was a chiffon like cake.  The filling was made of a guava mousse.  guava could be quite sweet depending on how it was made but this wasn't too sweet.  It was served with a scoop of coconut ice cream (btw one of my favorite).  Since it was my cousin's birthday, we got a birthday cake.  It was a chocolate tres leche cake topped with a chocolate mousse.  Lets just say, both desserts was immediately gone.  It was really good. 

It was a great place and I'm hoping to visit again.  It was great to get out and sometimes you need it.  If you can, hang out with your friends or family.  It helps you relax and be yourself even for a night!

Ensaymada, Ensaymada, and More Ensaymada

Ensaymada, Ensaymada, and More Ensaymada

For the longest time, I wouldn't even look at an ensaymada.  I brough flashbacks when The Mother catered and I helped.  I remembered the constant process of buttering the roll, putting cheese, and than pour sugar.  I wasn't exactly the neatest person, so I would have sugar and cheese all over me.  At one point, I even had nightmares about the pastry.  I vividly remember have hundreds of the rolls to make, prep, and package.  My friends used to help but eventually they too would be sick of it.  For many years, I wouldn't eat one.  We would get packages from various family members who had a Red Ribbon or a Goldilocks near by and I wouldn't touch them.  Don't get me wrong, both bakeries did a great job making this but I just couldn't eat it.  I finally started to crave it quite recently.  I still have some issues eating a large one but occassionly I want some for breakfast.  Due to the process and complexity of this, I was very hesitant to make it.  The Mother gave me her recipe and I was able to make it really well but it wasn't up to my liking.  OK I really did not like the dozen eggs that goes into this recipe.  The worse part was that the recipe called for mainly egg yokes.  I didn't couldn't imaging eating something with that many egg yokes.  So my hunt began.  There was requirement I was basing my search on:

1. 
   
   
   Must be Soft
2. 
   
   
   Use less eggs
3. 
   
   
   Used whole eggs (I hated the left over egg whites.  I was eating egg white omletes for months)
4. 
   
   
   Must be light (most recipes produced a heavy dough
5. 
   
   
   Must not be dry
6. 
   
   
   Ability to be kept for more than a day (The Mother's recipe was good but it seem to stale after a day or two)

Would Like:

1. 
   
   
   Spring back when squeezed.  I know that sounds strange but to me that is a good bread recipe
2. 
   
   
   Sweet but not too sweet
3. 
   
   
   Minimal ingredients (I always felt simple produces the best products)

I know it seems like a lot of requirements but I was very particular to the results (ok The Husband was really particular and I agreed to alot of them).  After 5 good tries I was able to get the flavor I wanted and the texture.

*I didn't have to do as many as the pan de sal, I had a basic idea my direction. 

The Husband has always called it a brioche so I tried to use a brioche recipe.  I like it and exspecially the buttery taste but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted the dough to have more moisture. 

I was testing so much, I kinda forgot to take pictures  :D

After my trip to Chinatown and my discovery of tangzhong starter.  I decided to try this method on a sweet bread dough.  Depending on your taste, you might want to find one with more eggs or maybe more sugar.  Instead subsituate some of the water with 70 grams of the Tangzhong starter and it does wonders to recipe.  It soft, fluffy, and light.  I'm not sure how long it will last since it didn't  really stay long around the house but I plan to test that next. 

 

Misadventure #1 - Homemade bagels

 
Misadventure #1 - Homemade bagels

 

You would not think making bagels would be hard, nope it is hard.  Maybe to me it was quite difficult.  The recipe looked easy enough.  I adapted it from Baking Bites.  Hers looked so nice but it didn't come put so nice for me.  I probably have to actually follow the recipe.  That might actually work.  The first try was making a cinnamon bagel.  Ok I was too lazy to drive to panera for their cinnamon crunch bagel.  So I tried it...failed

 

 

 

 

 Looks like it is going to turn out ok right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still looking good 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 WAIT!  Why are they hard?  Maybe once they are baked, they will soften

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shoot they are still hard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least the cream cheese is good :D

Tangzhong Starter aka Water Roux Starter

 

 

 

 As you know, I tend to struggle with bread making.  There are so many techniques that could be applied, it makes it difficult to find the right combination.  There is the sponge and dough technique, no knead technique, and the straight dough method.  There is also various starters like a sour dough starter.  After my trip to Chinatown, I was on a mad hunt for the bread recipe.  I stumbled upon a starter called Tangzhong Starter or Water Roux in English.  It is said that it add moisture to the bread for a longer time period.  I retrieve the procedure  from Lily's Wai Sek Hong blog.  I dug a little more into this topic and I found quite a bit of information on this starter. 

It is also called 65 C Bread loaf.  It is said to produce a softer and fluffier bread for a longer amount of time.  This technique is quite told.  At first the Chinese used hot water to cook the flour for noodles or dumpling dough.  Later one, bread was adapted. 

 

The key to this starter is the temperature of the water used.  At 65 C or 149 F, the water and flour is mixed together than cooked.  At a 65 C/149 F temperature, the gluten within the flour absorbs all the water and become leavened.  When this mixture is cooled and added to the remainder of the dough, the moisture is retained in the dough and heighten. 

 

Ingredients

250 ml or g of Water

50 g of flour

Procedure

Mix the flour and water in a cool sauce pan.  Mix until it is well incorporated.  Turn on the stove to a medium heat.  Stir consistently to prevent any burning of the mixture.  The mixture will bubble and thicken.  Once the mixture is similar to glue like texture but before it becomes play d'oh (do you love my kindergarten references :D) it is ready.  Cover the mixture to cool completely.  This could be stored up to 3 days and if it turns grayish, it went bad. 

 

I used this recipe to test this starter

Ingredients:
250g bread flour
1 tbsp skim milk powder
80g TangZhong
105ml warm water
4g salt
25g sugar
5g dry yeast
25g butter

Method:
1. Dump all ingredients into the bread machine and start the dough cycle.
2. Once the dough cycle is completed which is 80 minutes for my bread machine, remove dough and punch out the air from it. Rest the dough for 15 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 2 pieces, shape into a long rectangular shape and roll it up Swiss-roll style.
4. Place dough pieces into loaf pan and let it prove till about 85% full. I had to prove for about 75 minutes as the room temperature was about 19°C.
5. Cover the loaf pan with its lid and bake at 175 - 180°C for about 25 - 30 minutes.

 

For the people without a bread maker

1. Mix the water, yeast, and a tsp of sugar and let it activate the yeast for about 5-10 minutes depending on how warm the room is.

2. Mix the remainder of the ingredients until it is well incorporated.

3. Add the yeast mixture

4. Let it rise until it doubles in size.

5. Roll out into a bread loaf or I make little brioche

6. Let it rise again until it doubles in size.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on your desire for a crust and your oven.

It came out pretty well except I cooked it only for 20 minutes and it is little darker than I prefer. 

Happy Chinese New Year!!!!!

Happy Chinese New Year!!!!!

 

Every year there seems to some sort a fight about Valentines day so it was decided, we were just not going to celebrate the holiday this year.  As a family, we went to Chinatown for Chinese New Year.  We met up with my friend Anna from Blondie Cakes.  The morning was filled with eating, shopping, and more eating.  We got there extra early and we still was not able to find parking.  The parade was set to start at 1 pm and we got there around 10 for some food and shopping.  We walked around a little bit before it got really crowded.  The little one was bundled up so much, she could barely walk but she had a ball looking at everything.  We settled to eat at Triple Crown for some Dim Sum.  I love the stuff but again The Baby's allergies came into factor and we were only able to get a few things.  I hope one day she will be able to enjoy food like I do.  As soon as we sat down, The Husband got some chicken feet as soon as someone walked passed.  I'm not a big fan of the stuff but The Baby LOVED it.  She was screaming for more. 

 

  

I think she was more excited about eating from a chop stick

 

* BTW they were used as weapons against us. 

 

We got multiple dumplings and beef short ribs.  They didn't stay on our table long enough to take a picture.  OK we really hungry and the food was really GOOD!  I made sure we got some dessert.  I went with my favorite one: sesame balls filled with red bean paste and I picked bread filled with a sweet custard.  The Baby went for the sesame balls but we had to take it away which she was not happy with but the bread was good enough for her.  It was soft and fluffy.  The filling had the right amount of sweetness.  The consistency was similar to mashed mung beans softer.  We took one home so I could examine the specimen. 

 

`` 

Sesame Ball                               Sweet Bread with Custard

 

The Bread was her favorite.  She wouldn't let go of it to put on her coat when we were ready to leave.  She preceded to eat the pastry the whole time during the parade and she would not share.  That is my daughter.  Since I live so far away now, I had to go shopping in the restaurant supply store in search of a moon pie mold.  Much to my disappointment, I only found the larger size.  Maybe next time.  What is a trip to Chinatown without some goodies from the bakery.  The line was out the door and almost everything was gone.  I was really excited when a mochi type dessert was available.  It is filled with peanuts, sugar, and coconut.  I love the stuff and I always have to get some when I'm in Chinatown.  The parade started and The Baby was in awe of all the colors and music. 

 

 

We went to my favorite place to get Taho.  For those that don't know this, it is bean curd or tofu topped with a simple syrup.  It is great for breakfast and I normally stock my fridge up with it.  I have been going Gourmet on 23rd since I was a little kid and it has the best sesame balls in the area.  They only take cash, so come prepared.  After a whole morning of walking around, The Baby was exhausted so we decided to go home.  I bid farewell to my friend in hopes we get to hang out again and headed home.  Promptly as arriving home, we all took a nap.  I than took inventory of my loot from Chinatown.

 * I know there is a lot but I never get to go there.

 

 

 

Taho - Silky with a sweet simple syrup.  It is great for breakfast.  I'm slightly weird and eat it with Bananas. 

 

 

 

 

 

Coconut Balls filled with peanuts - Similar to a mochi ball filled with a peanut mixture of peanuts, coconuts, and sugar.  This is one of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sesame balls filled with Red Bean - Deep fried goodness made of glutenous rice flour and covered in sesame seeds.  I am going to attempt to make this one hopefully soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fried Taro - The Baby was the only person that liked this.  We didn't like it really.  It wasn't sweet and just kinda tasted fried.

 

 

 

 

 

Almond Cookie - A standard in all Chinese restaurants.  It is sweet but to sweet.  It is a crispy cookie. 

 

 

 

These I haven't tried yet.  As soon as I get home, I'm digging in

 

 Coconut Tart  Egg Tart   Bread filled with custard and topped with Coconut

 

Spring Cleaning

Hi everybody -
         I know it seems I am only blogging once a week but trust me I have been experimenting all the time.  It seems I'm so behind on the different misadventures I have attempted.  One day I will catch up which brings us to tonight's topic.  I know it is still winter but it felt that my life needed some spring cleaning.  I have been everywhere lately and I need to set priorities.  I'm slowing getting a clue to what I want to focus on and this is mainly pertains to my cooking but I'm always interested in all food.  I want to expand more into the different stuff than just of my heritage.  I was born and raised in Chicago and it would be native of me if I didn't take the various influences that this great city has to offer into my cooking.  I'm hoping to also improve on my skill set so you will be hearing more about different baking and cooking classes I will be taking.  Other than my food life, I also have a family.  It seems that we have finally filled out house to the brim with stuff.  My goal this week is to clean out my closets and figure out what is essential to keep and what I could get rid of.  I also want a new camera so I'm hoping that if I could sell my old film camera I could get a good new one.  Crossing fingers....btw I love Craigslist.  It is the best place to sell items.  Especially those that may seem crazy to sell like a car battery and a wedding dress.  Yes I did say a wedding dress.  I have three of them.  No, I wasn't divorced before but I did marry the same man twice.  If that isn't commitment, I don't know what is.  So what is a person to do with three wedding dresses.  Yes, I could box them up and store them away in hopes that The Daughter will want it for her wedding.  If you know her, you wouldn't think that was possible and she is only 1.  I love and adore my daughter but she has a stubborn streak is a mile long and I hope she is original enough that she wants her own dress.  So I'm selling mine.  I don't need a dress to remember.  I have memories and pictures.  All I have to do is plug in my hard drives and look at them.  Having stuff is cool but sometimes it is needed for some spring cleaning and really evaluate what you really need in your life.  This always applies to how you approach life. I'm hoping to enjoy my family, friends, and of course eat more.  If you restrict yourself in eating, you are missing out in some great stuff out there.  Lets just think about it for a bit and I hope to post again soon.  Lets just hope the cleaning is done by than :D

A weekend of Nutella

A weekend of Nutella

I don't know about you but I grew up on Nutella.  It was the favorite topping when The Father would make crepes.  It was great when I would watch TV.  I would just sit on the couch with a bunch of bananas and a jar of nutella.  The combination was genius (yes, I know I'm not the first person that though of this).  I would convince myself that I was eating healthy (you know the banana and hazelnuts :D).  In honour of Nutella day (it was last Friday) I decided to eat nutella the whole weekend.  On Friday night, I made Mexican mole made with nutella and filled wontons filled with nutella and bananas/strawberries.  Lets just say, the wontons didn't last long enough for me to plate it nicely. 

* I still have my point and shoot..hopefully I'll get a new camera

The mole recipe was quite easy (I was totally surprised)

Ingredients

2 Teaspoons of Vegetable Oil

1/4 Cup of finely chopped onion (I slightly suck and chopping so there were big chunks)

1 Teaspoon of Ground Cumin (After much debate with The Husband, we bought some).

1 Teaspoon of Dried Cilantro (I totally read the recipe wrong and got fresh)

1/8 Tablespoon dried minced Garlic (Again I used fresh and I added more since I love garlic)

1 (10.75 ounce) Can of Condensed Tomato Soup

1 (4 ounces) Can Diced Green Chili Peppers (I used a medium size jalapeno pepper)

1 Tablespoon of Nutella (of course for National Nutella day but it is really unsweetened coco)

Direction

In a Saucepan, saute the onion.  Once the onions become tender, add the nutella, cumin, cilantro, and garlic.  Saute for a couple of minutes than add the tomato soup and chili.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a low heat.  Let it simmer for 10 minutes and serve. 

I made mine more chunky and I actually like it this way :D  I also made some pork chops, heated up corn tortilla, and homemade guacamole.  I also made Spanish rice.  The rice was good but I would have reduce the amount of water. 

For the wontons, I adapted the procedure from Giada on food network.

For breakfast I enjoyed some eggs over left over Spanish rice with tortilla, left over mole and guacamole.

 * I suck at making eggs, I never get it to the write consistency :(

Finally on Sunday, I decided to make some mamon.  Instead I substitute the coffee for a large amount of nutella.  It came out well but I wish I had more batter.  I made a small batch and it wasn't enough to fill the cupcake tins :(

 

--
Joy Alegria-Vizcarra
joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com
jsparaisofood.blogspot.com

A Day of Gluttony

 A Day of Gluttony

 

Unfortunately I don't get out much with a one year old, work, grad school, husband in school, and the beginning stages of a catering company.  My life gets a bit hectic.  So when one of the best friends decide lets to go the city and hang out, I'm all for it.  I got to be childless that day so it was a nice change.  We were suppose to attend a fashion but knowing us, we needed to eat so our day in the city turned into a food tour.  Our love of food is on the sick side but I guess that explains my blog. 

We didn't know where to go so we were driving in Chicago looking for food.  Chicago is the BEST place to find food.  Living here is probably why I love food so much.  There is so many different cultures and nationalities that contribute to the great food collection of Chicago.  We generally start on the north side and make our way south.  This time we started on the Northside and stayed north.  Our first stop was on Division and Halsted at Goose Island.  Most people may not know this spot because it is right across the street from Cabrini Green(Section 8 housing).  The neighborhood is improving but it wasn't the greatest place to be in.  When you see two little Asian girls walk in an establishment that patron a certain nationality, people will stare.  That generally happens to us when we go there but the food is worth it.  They specialize in Deep Fried Seafood.  It is the best place to get deep fried scallops and they are not stringy on the size, these are large pieces at a great price.  A bag of 1lb scallops would run you 9 dollars.  That also included hot sauce.  Sorry I don't have a picture because my phone got the blue screen of death.  Technology and myself are not friends.  Lets just say we finish off the bag within 10 minutes.  It was just that good. 

The next place is a choice The Father would approve of.  Pequod Pizza on the Northside.  It is right by the Webster Movie theater.  Every time The Father is in town, he has to get this pizza.  They only have two or three locations now but it is worth the distance (I unfortunately live 40 miles away).  We got a pan pizza with mushrooms, fresh basil, pineapple, onions, and extra cheese.  They are quite generous on the toppings.  The pineapples was actual slices and not chunks and we had cheese overload.  The crust nice and crunchy with a hint of butter but not to thick as a standard pan pizza.  We ordered a small and we were only able to eat 1 piece each.  We wanted more but we also wanted dessert. 

Next we went a couple doors down to Vanille Patisserie.  Their desserts was beautiful and very good.  We stood there staring for a good 10 minutes trying to decide what we wanted.  We ended up wtih three different desserts so we could try them.  One was a Mango mousse, Pistachio mousse, and a Coconut Mousse with pineapples.  The Best Friends favorite was the mango mousse while mine was more the coconut mousse.  As you could see, we finished it off. 

  

We also brought home a associated pack of french macaroons.  The coffee ones were my favorite. 

We had our appetizer, entree, and dessert, you would think we were done for the night.  I wish I could say that but nope.  We went to whole food just to "look" around and came out with a much of food.  I finally found Gluten :D .  Than we found ourselves hungry yet again.  So we went our old hangout during college.  Dappers in Addison, IL.  It is a great family restaurants with large portions.  By this time, we were way too tired.  So I forgot to take pictures.  I settled for breakfast crepe with strawberries and The Best Friend had a Russian Ruben with homemade thousand island sauce.  We will always love going to these places for the homemade food.  By this time, it is about 10 pm and we don't believe how much eating we did that day.  It was worth it.

Joy-Joy