Hippity Happity Birthday!

To All:

Please wish one of my very favorite people, and best friends, Sharissa Markey (you may know her as Marissa Sharkey) a very wonderfully and stupendously amazing 23rd birthday. The world is a funnier, more story filled, and more beautifully strange place with her in it. Any of you that know her are sure to agree.

Let me tell you all a short story. Picture a high school pep-rally. Now picture me in my pommer outfit getting ready in the bathroom of the school. I put on all of my embarrassing sequins and things and proceed to exit the stall. I turn to leave the bathroom when I am surprised to see a 6 foot tall bulldog standing in front of me. Rendered speechless, the only word I can articulate is, "DOG!" To which the dog (a.k.a. Marissa Sharkey) proceeds to point and answer back to me, "KAT!" And that is how Marissa and I became friends.

Special Birthday Video

Happy Birthday Friend. I love you with all of my heart. Thank you for being a part of my life.

Deep Tingly in the Mouth Love

So you read the headline. But no worries, it's not what you think. The wonderful, always-on-my-mind love that I speak of is in regards to sandwiches! After years of searching for my favorite food I have come to realize that the closest I will ever come to choosing a favorite is to allot one category to my love of cuisine. That category is the sandwich.

I know what you're thinking. Kat, you ARE SOOO RIGHT! Believe me, I know I am. You see, the sandwich can fit every type of hunger and craving there is. You got your bread choice: pita, french, foccacia, rye, wheat berry, naan, etc. The bread choice is very crucial, choose the wrong one and the sandwich just may be ruined. Then you get to fill it with any mix of greens, veggies, fruits, meats, cheeses, and condiments that you want to. You can have it cold or hot or grilled. It's just the perfect meal every day.

I have had two incredible, life changing sanwiches in the last two weeks.

The first was on our bi-weekly Americorps we-got-paid-let's-go-out lunch from a Mexican Cafe known as Bom Bon. The meal: the Carabena Torta. This scrumptious lunch consisted of thinly shaved pork, avacado, grilled pineapple, gouda cheese, tomato, and mixed greens all on a buttery bun. It was heaven folks, pure heaven. The flavors were clean but strong and the grilled pineapple added a rich punch to an already yummy sandwich. I can not wait to go back and try another one.

The second sandwich is a Vietnamese wonder known as the Banh Mi. It typically has a meat, liver pate, pickled veggies, cilantro, and jalapenos on freshly baked french bread. If you read my friend Brittany's food blog, He Cooks She Cooks, then you may have read about her rendition of this sandwich. We tried it out in a picnic style lunch with most of the standard ingredients including a braunshwagger, which was used to imitate the pate. It's spicy, sweet, and so fresh. The sensation of my mouth literally burning off of my face was completely ignorable compared to the lovely flavor. The mom n' pop store that it is from was small and super cheap, which made me even happier. Plus the woman behind the counter was so helpful in my choice making. In the end I went with the classic version, sweet pork (a.k.a. HEAVEN).

The main point of this post is just to say,

"Having a bad day? Eat a sandwich!"
or
"Having a good day? Eat a sandwich"
or
"Not sure what to eat? Eat a sandwhich!"


Guys, seriously. Just go get a sandwich already an quit reading!

Lake Lovely

For all of the times that I have been to Chicago, never once has anyone taken me to Lake Michigan. Now granted, each time I have visited has been about -1000 degrees but I still feel gypped in some way. In my lake dreams I always imagine myself ending up at Navy Pier, however the trip I took this weekend was definitely more up my alley. A quieter, more contemplative alley that is.

Thanks to Mary every weekend for getting me out of the house and showing me something new in the Chicago suburbs. Without these little trips, my weekends would be much more drab to say the least. This time she took me to a little place known as Maria's Bakery. Maria is, of course, the very Sicilian owner and master bakeress of said bakery. Now to paint you a little picture, you walk into this tiny little bakery and there are two small tables in the place, shelves lined with random Italian cooking necessities, and and L shaped counter with more baked cookie and pastry happiness than one can imagine. Behind these two counters stands Maria, and I hear her say to a customer, "Are they good? Of course they are good. You try one. Here, you try one and then you don't have to wonder no more." If that isn't the Italian spirit then I sure the heck do not know what is! You should also know that while waiting for our order, we heard a lovely mix of ABBA hits as well as some Jesus Christ Super Star. Thank God for that! Mary and I got two lattes to go with a loaf of bread and a mixed bag of fig filled cookies and some lemon biscuit cookies too.

Two cookies and a half latte later, we end up in Fort Sheridan. While most places that begin with the word Fort are not so much to speak of, this little township stands out in a unique way. Fort Sheridan used to be none other than a Navy Base. Some ingenious developer decided it would be a wonderful idea to buy all of the Barracks and turn them into apartments and homes. Seriously folks, this is the neatest thing ever. The buildings are all made of stone and brick and they are surrounded by grass and yards and parks and trees and paths. Its grand in a quiet and awe-inspiring sort of way. The roads lead to a parking lot which is in front of a wildlife preserve that sits on the edge of Lake Michigan. I believe the pictures speak for themselves, so I will refrain from trying to justify what is already lovely.