Crazy for the Storm Norman Ollestad


finished 09.30.11

This was such a fast-paced read that I finished it in less than a week. Pretty good story. It’s a memoir about how this guy’s dad pushed him hard as a kid to surf and ski in sometimes dangerous situations, but to never give up. He hated it, but it was those lessons that he put to use after a plane he was in crashed on the side of a mountain. This 11 year old kids had to climb down the mountain by himself or die.

A Visit From Fiona

Last Sunday Killian, Liz and Fiona came over for a visit and to watch the Bears take on the Packers. Killian came over at the start of the game and after the first half he and Dallas and I went up on the roof to grill the leftover kalbi ribs from my birthday barbecue. Liz and Fiona arrived just in time for dinner and the second half of the game, although, who could pay attention to the game when we had such and adorable baby to play with. Also, by that time it was clear that the Packers were going to win!

Everyone loved the ribs. Dallas said they were even better than at my birthday party. Fiona even sucked on a rib or two and seemed to like it. I think Killian was a little annoyed when I was trying to make her cheer for the Packers! It was nice to see Fiona again. She’s starting to show her personality more and can scoot around on the carpet. The last time we saw her was on the day we returned from our wedding trip (she was born on our wedding day) and she was only a few weeks old!

Crowell Hall

I occasionally pass by Crowell Hall since it’s on LaSalle and I work on LaSalle. It’s part of the Moody Bible Institute and was named for Henry Parsons Crowell, who was Moody’s chairman of the Board for 40 years.

I found this old-timey image of the 12-story Crowell Hall, as it looked back in the 1950s. It’s pretty much the same today.

Dill Green Beans

My Uncle Doug made these dill green beans and the last time we were visiting my parents in Wisconsin they let us take them home with the promise from my cousin Dawn that she would get more for them. I hope that happened because they were SO GOOD! I was afraid they’d be really spicy because of the red pepper I could see, but they were a perfect dilly, garlicky combo and were not spicy at all. Yumyum.

Telegraph


green olive salad, salumi toscano, pickled peppers, white cheddar cheese curd


west coast sardines, tomatoes, hard egg, tartine


seared frog legs, dill creme fraiche, cataluna spices (smoked cinnamon & pimento)


seared frog legs, dill creme fraiche, cataluna spices (smoked cinnamon & pimento)


salad of octopus, shrimp, mussel, squid, toasted couscous, citrus-cured tuna vinaigrette, nichols farm cherry tomatoes


saffron pillbox omelet, albacore tuna, sun-dried black olive vinaigrette, tomato shrimp broth


daily selection of three cheeses, tampered honey, and vine grapes

I guess it’s been several months now, but when the first Logan Square wine bar, Telegraph, opened, Jess, Dallas and I went over to check it out. I remember it was about a thousand degrees, so Jess and I drank some refreshing white wine. Dallas enjoyed the short list of high-end European beers they offer.

I never had frog legs before, so I was all for trying them. Let me just say. I do not like frog legs! They seemed to be prepared right and I’ve seen plenty of Telegraph reviews that mentioned them and not in a negative way, so I think I’ve just discovered that I don’t care for them. Frog legs aside, we enjoyed everything else we had. We all shared the olives. Jess and I split the frog legs and the seafood salad. Dallas had the tartine and the omelet. Then we all shared the cheese plate.