The Inspired Parent

Illuminations at The Morton Arboretum

It finally snowed today in the Chicago area. Just a dusting, but I’ll take it — glad it actually (finally) looks a bit like winter. It’s been warmer lately and as a total snow girl, I’ve missed seeing the fluffy stuff.

Between Christmas and New Year’s, we picked one of our rare-for-this-year’s snowy days to head over to The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois to see their Illuminations display. This was our second year that we attended the Illuminations festivities & it is a wonderfully fun way to get out and about for a picturesque nature walk.

Entrance for Illuminations typically starts at 5 p.m. The line is usually pretty long at that time so waiting until 5:30 or 6 p.m. may be a bit easier. Once you’ve parked the car and are at the Guest Center, the actual Illuminations walk is approximately one mile long. The paths are wheelchair & stroller accessible. There are a couple of “warming houses” throughout the walk where you can take a break and purchase snacks & hot beverages. Remember to bring your camera and have some fun capturing the lights!

As a photographer, I always have blast to working with nighttime shots. This year I kept things simple as we were expecting it to be fairly crowd-heavy that night since we went during the holiday week, so I left my tripod at home. All of these shots were taken with a Nikon D600 using my “nifty 50” Nikkor 50mm/1.4G lens.

Enjoy the shots! A few will be available in the near future as fine art prints through my TurtleBug Photography site.

Loved the lights on this one. The sky was back-lit from the tollway in the distance. Sort of a haunted fall-meets-winter look.

Oops…someone dropped some rather large ornaments all over the field... — Oops…someone dropped some rather large ornaments all over the field…

One of my favorite shots of the night - total Dr. Who lights. — One of my favorite shots of the night – total Dr. Who lights.

While the other photo reminded me of Dr. Who, this one reminds me of Harry Potter. I solemnly swear I am up to no good.

Loved, loved, loved seeing the lights shining through the trees.

Nighttime tree shots are always fun when converted to black & white.

Another stunning example of nature's wonders. — Another stunning example of nature’s wonders.

We're so very glad The Morton Arboretum started hosting this event each year - it truly is a magical way to spend a winter evening! — We’re so very glad The Morton Arboretum started hosting this event each year – it truly is a magical way to spend a winter evening!

The lights on some of the trees changes colors every few minutes - loved the blues & greens! — The lights on some of the trees changes colors every few minutes – I liked the blues & greens during this color cycle.

Shooting from across the pond, I feel like we've somehow ended up in Miami. hahaha — Shooting from across the pond, I feel like we’ve somehow ended up in Miami. hahaha

There are lots of fun, interactive displays as well - you can "conduct" the light orchestra, hug a tree to make it change colors, sing to the trees to make the lights move to the rhythm of your voice…lots of fun stuff! — There are lots of fun, interactive displays as well – you can “conduct” the light orchestra, hug a tree to make it change colors, and even sing to the trees to make the lights move to the rhythm of your voice.

Once you’ve had all the fun you can have meandering through the forest lights, you’ll head back to The Morton Arboretum’s main Guest Center where they have a wonderful shop full of unique, nature-related gifts as well as a great restaurant area. This year they also had different food & beverage kiosks outside, too.

If you’re in the Chicagoland area, be sure to head over to see Illuminations when it re-opens in early-December — bundle up, put on those snow pants and get into nature! Details for this next year’s Illuminations display will be available in mid-fall via The Morton Arboretum.

100 Days of School

It is crazy how quickly this school year is flying – the wee girl’s 100th day of 1st grade is today. She had an assignment to bring in a poster pertaining to the 100th day of school. I popped on Pinterest to spark some ideas and found an adorable project concept on South Shore Mamas. We played with the general idea from the image they shared and added a few twists of our own.

Our girl thought it would be fun to number each of the hearts 1-100. They’ve been writing their numbers 0-1,000 on worksheets at school over these last couple of weeks, so the timing of this was perfect for a little more practice.

After that, we started on the poster. She wanted to color in the letters for the title at the top. I helped draw the letters for her & she chose the colors & colored them in.

Similar to the version on South Shore Mamas, we used the outline of her hand as the branches for the tree. She didn’t want to color the bark, but wanted to make sure to add bluebirds as well as a hole in the tree with an owl’s eyes peeking out. Using the numbered heart stickers, she randomly applied them around the tree trunk as the leaves.

Once the stickers were in place, she decided to draw a deer eating leaves & a flower at the bottom of the poster board. This was a great winter-weekend project & inexpensive, too. Found the bag of stickers at the dollar store for $1 and the poster board for 50-cents. She also liked that we used the hearts since this is Valentine’s week, too.

Brunch at Frontera Grill

We’ve been fans of Chef Rick Bayless for many years. His long-running TV show Mexico: One Plate at a Time has been a family favorite of ours — it is not only informative about regional Mexican cuisine, but also teaches various cooking techniques that we’ve incorporated into our daily lives. Season after season, we’re still learning as we watch. We’re also huge fans of his wonderful restaurants here in Chicago — Topolobompo and Frontera Grill are both phenomenal.

We were overdue for a visit so we headed downtown for the Saturday brunch at Frontera Grill to celebrate my husband’s birthday. Awesome food as usual!

Frontera Grill opens at 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays and we made reservations ahead of time since we know the line can get quite long. We arrived a bit early and took advantage of walking around the city for a bit. Our six-year-old got a kick out of watching the boats sailing by on this unseasonably warm, late-autumn morning.

Tourists cruising along the Chicago River past Marina Towers

Frontera Grill - 445 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654-4682 — Frontera Grill – 445 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654-4682

After our brief walking adventure, we arrived back at Frontera just as they were opening – we were seated immediately and our daughter had a blast coloring the cool Mexican-art-inspired sheet they gave to her to pass the time.

Food choices for this particular trip did not disappoint (they never do — we’ve always had great experiences here).

Our starters included side dishes of the Frontera Hot Cakes – Three Sisters Garden corn pancakes with whipped goat cheese & one of the best maple syrups we’ve ever had.

Our other starter was a side dish of the Jicama Street Snack (jicama/pineapple/cucumber salad with fresh lime and crushed guajillo chile… WOW)! The serving size was way larger than we expected and was a combination of chilled yumminess. We all fought over the last bite. The six-year-old won.

Onto the entrees – I had the Yellow Mole Enchiladas. Holy “Mole” these were great! Fresh corn tortillas with a wonderful filling of braised kale, turnip & mustard greens and topped with an Oaxacan amarillo mole sauce. The dish was served with a side of black beans & topped with crispy onions.

The birthday boy chose the Sopitos – three Xalapa-style corn masa cakes each with a different topping – scrambled eggs on one, grilled chicken on another and chorizo & plantains on the third. Topping things off with the chipotle – black bean sauce and wow!

Sopitos - awesomeness! — Sopitos – awesomeness!

The wee girl selected the Quesadillas with Rice. We also ordered a bowl of black beans for her, too. Not your run-of the-mill quesadillas by any stretch – more of a turnover pillow of cheesy goodness. Regarding the beans, her quote was “wow, Chef Bayless sure knows how to cook awesome black beans!”

Kids' Quesadillas & Rice — Kids’ Quesadillas & Rice

Add to the mix the unbelievably awesome Mexican Hot Chocolate we had…seriously, we could drink gallons of this lovely stuff…and our next visit can’t come soon enough!

Mexican Hot Chocolate - yum! — Mexican Hot Chocolate – yum!

The bar area when you first walk in & the display of some of Rick's wonderful cookbooks other products. — The bar area when you first walk in & the display
of some of Rick’s wonderful cookbooks other products available for purchase.

If you love traditional Mexican food, great service & a relaxed atmosphere, be sure to make time for a visit to Frontera Grill the next time you are in the Chicago area – you may even see Chef Bayless while you’re there. For a fancier experience, check out Topolobompo – both restaurants share the same main entrance at 445 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654-4682. Reservations recommended: (312) 661-1434

Lentil Stew

“Pasta & Lenticchie” (lentil soup served over Ditalini) was a staple in our house throughout my childhood. This simple, hearty, perfect-for-a-cold-day comfort meal was one of my favorites and still is. Lentils are a small but mighty little bean that are not only a great source of non-meat protein, but pack quite a punch with loads of vitamins. They’re also great for curbing hunger and also excellent for stabilizing blood sugar levels. Throw in the fact that they are inexpensive, low in calories, quick and easy to prepare and lentils are one bean worth adding into your meal rotations.

This Lentil Stew is a heartier version of a basic Lentil Soup that my family typically makes. The differences between the soup version and this one are the addition of potatoes, carrot & celery. The addition of these vegetables turns our soup into a thicker stew. We’ve served this version as-is with a crusty slice of bread or, to bulk it up a bit, served it over brown rice. Either way, this version is packed full of goodness and will keep your hunger pangs at bay.

Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
2 tsp. salt
4 stalks celery, chopped
8 oz. fresh spinach, rinsed & slightly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. dried Peperoncino (red pepper flakes) or more if you like it spicy
3 carrots, evenly chopped into bite-size chunks
1 bag (16 oz.) lentils, sorted through & rinsed
2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & cut evenly into bite-size chunks
Water
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmigiano-Regiano, freshly grated

Cleaning the Lentils:

Clean & rinse your lentils. I usually do the lentil-sorting on a large cookie sheet – you’re basically looking for any small bits of non-lentil material which could be anything from a tiny stone to a bit of grain. I’ve had some packages of lentils that didn’t contain any non-lentil matter but occasionally you’ll find something. Once you sort through the lentils, put them in a colander and give them a good rinse. Set aside.

Making the Stew:

In a large (5 qt.) dutch oven or stock pot, sauté the onion with the olive oil over medium heat for a minute or two, until the onion begins to soften.
Sprinkle the salt over the onion and add the celery and spinach. Continue to sauté for another two minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic & red pepper flakes and carrots. Sauté for approximately two more minutes or until the spinach is nicely wilted, yet still has a pop of bright green color to it.
Add the cleaned & rinsed lentils to the pot, stir the mixture to combine.
Add enough water to cover the lentils (typically leaving 2 inches of room at the top of the pot). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Sample the broth and add salt to taste. It is important to add salt at this step before you add the potatoes so they can be properly salted as they cook in the broth. Once you’re satisfied with the broth, add the potatoes & continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
Check the potatoes. Simmer for a few more minutes if the potatoes are not soft enough.
This soup retains heat very well – we typically take if off the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes before doing a final taste-test to see if we need any extra salt.
Serve in warmed bowls and sprinkle with freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Regiano. Add a bit of freshly ground black pepper, if you desire.

Enjoy!