Pleasant House

1. Batter-fried Queen Anne’s lace. My mom reminded me that when I was growing up she would harvest Queen Anne’s lace and batter-fry the flowers for us. Well, the countryside is peppered with these delicate flowers right now, so what was I waiting for? On a trip to the country last Sunday, I picked some flower heads and fried them in a savory batter. They were super good. A light batter and a subtle carrot flavor made them a great accompaniment to a crisp salad.

Queen Anne's lace

Queen Anne's lace flowers

batter-fried Queen Anne's lace

2. Another lamb organ fest. This time it was liver and kidneys. The liver was skewered with fresh laurel and bacon, and the kidneys found themselves in a sweet-and-savory pithivier. This was a sort of grand finale to my lamb offal series.

lamb liver with fresh laurel and bacon

grilled lamb liver with lamb kidney pithivier

3. Watched Rick Bayless win “Top Chef Masters.” I thought the series was really great overall. It was nice that the public got to see some of the fine qualities of a well-seasoned chef.

4. Chelsea’s rhubarb creations. We usually don’t think of rhubarb in August, but the little farm stand where we stopped in the country had some on offer, so we couldn’t let it go to waste. Chelsea made some little cookies studded with rhubarb compote as well as a rhubarb tart.

rhubarb cookie

rhubarb tart

5. Cuban food at Habana Libre. Our friend and passionate wine guy James Kenna of Maverick Wines was pouring at a new wine shop called The Noble Grape and recommended Habana Libre next door for a bite. I’ve got a handful of favorite comfort cuisines, and Cuban is definitely one of them; it’s just the perfect combination of Caribbean and Latin flavors. Tons of garlic, soupy black beans, sweet-and-salty plantains, crispy chicken, crispy sandwiches, pork, rice, yum.

Habana Libre feast

6. Huazontle. It’s funny, I don’t even know if there is a common English word for the green seed clusters that grow off the top of lamb’s quarters. It is another way of nature telling me, “it’s that time of the year again,” when wild foods get ready to go to seed.

huazontle

7. Once again, the idea of a year-round farmer and artisan food market in Chicago comes up. I must have been living under a rock because I missed all this talk of a year-round market planned for the Ogilvie Transportation Center. Sounds like it has potential.

8. More inspiration for a year-round market. The Dekalb Farmers Market. Not Dekalb, Illinois, but in Decatur, Georgia. My brother-in-law Morgan was in the area for a much anticipated music festival and had lunch at the market, whose credo reads:

salsas at the Dekalb Market

sausages at the Dekalb Market

seafood at the Dekalb Market

Morgan and friends' Dekalb Market feast

9. Freeze-dried corn. This is one ingredient that is en vogue at fancy restaurants these days and definitely worth a try. It’s crunchy, airy, and sweet. It would be great as a textural contrast to a chilled corn soup or as part of an intricate interpretation of corn, like the one captured here at Alinea by Ulterior Epicure.

freeze-dried corn kernels

10. Blossom-end rot in tomatoes. This was my first experience with this physiological disease that seems to be common in tomatoes this year. From what I understand, it happens when a rapidly growing tomato is deprived of calcium.

blossom-end rot