Brighter Days....

Things are lookin' up...

The sun finally came out today and the southerly winds are warming things up... 

It's been so gloomy in the Midwest for so long 

that meteorological records are being broken daily for cold and lack of sun...  

You'd think half of Metro Chicago would have hurled themselves 

off the seventh floor railing at Watertower Place by now....  

Luckily, it is a beautiful afternoon and the whole town is crawling out from under their blankies... 

Kate had a modeling gig this morning for the July cover of Time Out Chicago Kids.  

It's a great magazine with creative ideas for things to do with your precious children... 

The photo is of Kate eyeing an 8 scoop ice cream cone tower, with trepidation...  

Gotta say it will be pretty cute...

The scoops were fashioned from corn syrup, Crisco and powdered sugar, and they were dead on... 

Next, the food stylist made at least ten triple scoop cones for her to lap up repeatedly....

Can you say sugar high?  

She had a blast and I didn't have to make lunch....  

And my good fortune continued....  

Baseball practice was moved to a high school lawn,  much closer to home...  

Double bonus!  

The usual play lot is a torturous 40 minutes in solid traffic away.   

Kate enjoyed running around like Laura Ingalls Wilder in the opening credits of "Little House on the Prairie" while I watched poorly dressed 14 year olds make out and swear.  

Okay, that part wasn't enhancing my good day, but whatever.....  

It more like filled me with dread of things to come in the years ahead...  

Okay, can't think about that right now...  

Tom has been out of town on government business and his successes out there point to indications that we might actually be profitable soon....woo hoo!  

Dinner was bone suckin' good ribs (recipe below), green beans, canned pears and one fat artichoke.  

Now I am lucky that my son loves such veggies as artichokes and the occasional avocado, but the little one would not touch them with a 10 foot pole.  

Tonight her curiosity got the best of her and lo and behold, she tried and LIKED the big green thistle.  

Totally amazing....

Maybe I should play the lottery.....

Here's your bonus:  Dessert!

Fried Dough Puffs With Lime Syrup

Recipe courtesy Food Network Kitchens

Serves:

25 fritters

Ingredients

For the Syrup:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• Grated zest and juice of 2 limes

For the Fritters:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Pinch of salt
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Make the syrup: Combine the sugar, honey, lime zest, lime juice and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside. (You can refrigerate the syrup, covered, up to 3 days; reheat before serving.)

Make the fritters: Whisk the flour, 3/4 cup water, the egg yolks, butter and salt in a large bowl to make a loose batter.

Heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in a large deep skillet until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Working in batches, pour scant tablespoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and fry, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per batch. (Return the oil to 350 degrees F between batches.) Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Drizzle with the lime syrup.

You can fry these treats up to 4 hours ahead. Serve at room temperature or reheat in a 375 degrees F oven.

Baby Back Ribs

Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman

Serves:

4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 racks baby back ribs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 1 recipe Bourbon Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the racks of ribs in half crosswise. Rub the ribs, paying special attention to the meaty side, with 1/2 cup of the sauce. Lay the rib pieces meat side down in an 11 by 13-inch baking dish. The pieces will overlap slightly.
Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the meat begins to pull away from the ends of the bones and the ribs are just tender, about 1 hour. You can bake the ribs up to a day before and keep them refrigerated. Bring refrigerated ribs to room temperature about 1 hour before you grill them.
Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Grill the ribs, brushing them with about half the remaining sauce, until they're crispy and heated through, about 10 minutes. Move the ribs around as they grill, the sugar in barbecue sauce makes it easy for them to burn. Let the ribs rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting them into 1 or 2-bone pieces. Put out the rest of the sauce for dipping or brush it over the ribs.

Bourbon Barbeque Sauce:
1/2 cup steak sauce
1/2 cup bourbon or good dark beer
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon regular or grainy Dijon mustard
2 pinches red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: about 1 1/2 cups