Sticks and Snakes

New to the Neighborhood: Daily Grub

In his book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg writes about the importance of the "third place." While most of us divide our time between home and work (places one and two, respectively), Oldenburg argues that third places help build communities, strengthen creative engagement, and engender a sense of belonging among their frequenters.  

The third place is very important to me. For whatever reason, I am closely tied to physical locations and I have difficulty feeling at "home" in a new city or community without being comfortable in all three of my places. While I love my job and have made a hobby out of turning my little apartment into a sanctuary-home, I am still waiting for that third place to really tie me to Omaha. In fact, I am surprised by how hard it has been to find coffee houses, bookstores, or restaurants that satisfy that mysterious spiritual X-factor within me. It's a constant search, and being new to the area, I'm not even sure where to look.  

photo/source 

As soon as I heard about Daily Grub, a farm-to-table restaurant and cafe that just opened in my neighborhood, I knew that it might be a long-awaited third place. Open for lunch during the week and brunch on weekends, Daily Grub boasts a wide variety of vegetarian fare and they give you a discount if you arrive via bicycle! Today was one of those rare Saturdays where I woke up early and didn't have a sermon to finish, so I headed down to 20th and Pierce to check out my new neighbor. 

I was immediately taken by the atmosphere of the little corner eatery. Lots of light, natural wood, and clean design made for an inviting place to spend the morning. The waffle iron was broken so I ordered one of the specials, which consisted of stewed beans, avocado, crema potatoes, blue corn tortillas, with ranchero sauce on the side. It was delicious. What's more, the people there were all incredibly nice. Both of the folks behind the counter were gracious and friendly and helped contribute to the relaxed vibe of the room, and I ended up having a nice conversation with the people seated next to me (side note: I also ran into my favorite Omaha blogger, Princess Lasertron, enjoying a nice Saturday brunch a few tables down. I even introduced myself to her...because I have no shame).

All in all, it was a great breakfast at a great restaurant. I wish Daily Grub all the best and I will continue coming back in hopes of building the third place vibe. 

(I was too shy to take pictures while I was there, but you can check out their facebook page for some great shots.)

Best. Chicken. Ever.

I am not a good enough cook to devote much of my blog to food. I like to stick to what I know instead: sermons, books, and vampires. But this chicken recipe is so good (and so easy!) that I just have to share it with you...

 

I am a kitchen novice who very often lacks for time and tools, so I like simple healthy recipes that incorporate a minimal number of pots and pans. Real Simple's Mustard Roasted Chicken With Vegetables meets all of my requirements, with the added bonus of being incredibly delicious. I have made it twice in two weeks and have both shared it with others and hoarded it greedily to myself. Each meal ends with me and/or my guests licking fingers and reaching back into the roasting pan for one more morsel. 

You can find the recipe here. I recommend using chicken legs, as they tend to be a little more moist. Nice crusty bread would go well with this dish because it could sop up the yummy juices left on the plate. 

In other news, I am enjoying the spring that has sprung here in Nebraska. We are expecting our first severe storms this weekend, so I better stock up on batteries and candles...

Stop the presses...

...I made dinner last night! Using my oven! And chicken! 

I live alone and work pretty irregular hours. That, combined with my lack of culinary experience, means that most of my dinners involve "fixing/preparing" rather than actual "cooking." Salads, soups, the occasional Lean Cuisine...these make up my usual dinner routine. Not so last night!

Last week my friend Lainey made us this beautiful chicken in onions and cream (a la Julia Child!) when we got together for our regular Gossip Girl viewing. Her hospitality and poultry-bravery inspired me to return the favor and make a dinner to precede this week's teen drama. 

I saw this recipe for roasted chicken with tomatoes and olives in last month's issue of Real Simple, and knew that I wanted to try it.  It was sooo easy. The whole meal is made in one roasting pan and cooked all at the same time, which made clean up a snap. The chicken was moist, the cherry tomatoes were roasted all the way through but still managed to pop in your mouth, and the olives added a great savory-ness. Whole cloves of garlic made the apartment smell delicious and also made my breath stink for a full 24 hours (sorry co-workers!). Finally, lemon skin and fresh rosemary rounded out the flavor with some nice aroma. 

 

I will definitely make this dinner again. You can find the whole recipe here at Real Simple's website. 

 

Goodbye Napa, Hello Nebraska!

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for three years now, I have had several opportunities to enjoy the experience of touring "wine country" (either in Sonoma or Napa). Although I am not a huge wine expert, I like turning my travels into field trips and you can always learn a lot at a winery. I also love the beautiful landscape of vineyards--rows upon rows of carefully tended grapes that will eventually become yummy wine. Now that I am pretty sold on the whole "buy local" concept, I also like being able to buy wine that didn't have to travel too far to get to my local market. 

Well, the days of weekend trips to Sonoma (which I only did a couple of times a year anyway) are over, as I will be moving away from the Bay Area within the week. I was surprised and delighted, however, to read this article on the Examiner website.It seems that despite its cold winters and hot summers, Nebraska is becoming quite the winemaking state (at least for the Midwest). 

The article profiles the Kimmel Vineyard and Orchard in Nebraska City (a darling little town about an hour south of Omaha). After years of trying, Kimmel (with the help of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) was able to produce a special hybrid grape that is able to withstand the super-cold Nebraska winters. The vineyard has become one of the primary places where people turn when they want to start a commercial vineyard of their own in a cold climate. 

Sounds like Kimmel gives a great tour, too, so I am definitely going to check it out when I move to Omaha later this summer!

Fun Things to do in Omaha #1: The Saddle Creek Compound

As many of you already know, CPE can make for an intense and emotional summer. I am loving the work that I have been doing at the hospital and in our group sessions, but I want to make sure that I have the opportunity to continue having a life while I am here in Omaha. Lucky for me, Omaha is a pretty cool town, a realization that I made while living here a few years ago. 

A nice new addition to the city since I was last here is the Saddle Creek "compound." Now, I am calling it a compound because that's what it seems like to me, but I haven't heard anyone else use that term. Nevertheless, this beautiful space on 15th and Cuming (in the neighborhood recently dubbed "NODO" because of its location north of downtown) you will find the offices of Saddle Creek Records, an excellent bar/performance space called Slowdown, a great independent movie theater called Film Steams, and a variety of retail stores. A coffee shop is forthcoming. A collection of lovely and pricey condominiums have also come up, if you really want the cred. Otherwise, the "compound" is pretty close to most any place worth living (in my opinion--don't hate me West Omaha!) in the city. 

I am very impressed by the community feeling that has been built around this little piece of property, as there is always a lot going on and very comfy vibe. In typical fashion, I am already thinking about how well an emerging church would fit into the compound, but I guess that's not up to me to decide!!