Share a Meal 2011 Is Tomorrow!

On Tuesday, April 26, you can donate money to organizations that help people (and animals, in the case of the Champaign County Humane Society) in need. And you won't feel a thing.

That's because six restaurants in Champaign-Urbana have generously agreed to donate 20 to 30 percent of their profits on that day to charitable organizations. All you have to do is go out to eat—it's that simple.

Here are the participating restaurants and details.

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The Black Dog Smoke and Ale House
The best place for barbecue in C-U is donating a percentage of its profits at both lunch and dinner time. So go in for one of their fabulous sandwiches during lunch hours, or go for dinner and enjoy ribs, chicken, pulled pork, or brisket. I highly recommend the smoked chicken wings with homemade smoked blue-cheese dip as an appetizer.

The daily specials on Tuesdays at lunch are the BD's famous tacos (pulled pork, beef brisket, or pulled free-range chicken) and a grilled pastrami sandwich with Swiss cheese and coleslaw on Mirabelle bakery rye bread. I've had both the tacos and the pastrami sandwich, and you cannot go wrong with either one. The pastrami sandwich will still be available at dinner, plus you can chow down on their smoked artichoke dip, served with homemade chips.

201 North Broadway Avenue
Urbana, IL
217-344-9334
Share-a-Meal contribution: LUNCH and DINNER
Serving lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Farren's Pub and Eatery
Some people say that Farren's has the best burgers in C-U. Actually, a LOT of people say that, and with good reason—they do cook a mean burger. But it's not just burgers, baby! Farren's menu and daily specials are varied and eclectic. On any given evening you might find lamb shanks, shrimp and grits, steelhead trout, or spareribs on the specials board. And evening is when you'll want to go to support Share-a-Meal, because Farren's is only participating at dinner time. So check them out starting at 5 p.m. tomorrow, April 26.

308 North Randolph Street (behind Nitaya Thai restaurant)
Champaign, IL 61821
217-359-6977
Share-a-Meal contribution: DINNER ONLY
Serving dinner from 5 p.m.

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The Great Impasta
This great Italian restaurant, long a landmark in downtown Champaign and now ensconced on the east side of Lincoln Square in Urbana, is also donating a percentage of its take during both the lunch and dinner hours. Grab a cup of soup and a sandwich at lunch or a plate of pasta or chicken Parmigiano for dinner, and you'll automatically be giving a significant donation to the charity of your choice.

Lincoln Square Village (entrance is on the north-east side)
Urbana, IL
217-359-7377
Share-a-Meal contribution: LUNCH and DINNER 
Serving lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Milo's
This Urbana favorite is located at the corner of Windsor and Philo Roads. Milo's is participating in Share-a-Meal at dinner only, so you can go in tomorrow evening and try their pepita-crusted shrimp with herb aioli, goat cheese and red pepper strudel, or wild mushroom ravioli with pecan buerre blanc—if you want to. Just a thought. I reported on those items in a review a few years ago, so you can see some motivational photos there. But of course, there are lots of other things to choose from. Peruse the entire dinner menu online, and remember they'll also have specials.

2870 South Philo Road (in "The Pines," corner Philo and Windsor)
Urbana, IL
217-344-8946
Share-a-Meal contribution: DINNER ONLY 
Serving dinner from 5 to 9 p.m.

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My Thai
This restaurant is the new kid on the block, having opened maybe a year ago. It's located on West Springfield Avenue, where Illini Grill and Pancakes most recently was (and El Torero before that). The people who own Siam Terrace in Urbana also own My Thai. You can try one of your favorite Thai dishes or sushi here and support Share-a-Meal at either lunch or dinner, as the owners are generously contributing a percentage of their profits from both meals. The menu is viewable online.

2312 West Springfield Avenue
Champaign, IL
217-351-8424
Share-a-Meal contribution: LUNCH and DINNER
Serving lunch 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and dinner 4:30 to 10:00 p.m.

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Siam Terrace
The place for Thai food, and now SUSHI, in downtown Urbana, will donate their percentage during dinner hours (you may remember that I had a fun sushi experience there on New Year's Day last year). So go and enjoy a boatload of sushi and sashimi, or pad Thai, or a delicious stir-fry on Tuesday evening. You can peruse Siam's menu on the Web site. Be sure to also get the crab Rangoon appetizer; they do the best crab Rangoon in town.

212 W. Main Street
Urbana, IL
217-367-THAI
Share-a-Meal contribution: DINNER ONLY
Serving dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

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There will be a couple of volunteers from Community Shares at each of the restaurants on April 26 at the appointed times, which makes things very easy. All you have to do is tell them, on your way out, what your total bill was, and that's that! UPDATE: It's different, and easier, this year! All you have to do is eat; you don't have to fill anything out or tell anyone the amount of your bill. Each restaurant will simply add up its total take for lunch and/or dinner and will donate the percentage they've agreed to—no muss and no fuss for you, the patron.

These are just a few of the organizations you can support by eating out in C-U tomorrow:

• Champaign County Humane Society
• PACE Center for Independent Living
• Champaign County Health Care Consumers
• Voices for Illinois Children
• Habitat for Humanity of IL
• Wesley Church Evening Food Pantry

I want to personally extend a giant THANK YOU to these six C-U dining establishments for their generosity. The percentage of hard-earned profits they're giving away to help support our community is really staggering, and they should be well praised for it.

Last year, the Share a Meal event raised $4,101.95 for local charities. Thanks to everyone for going out and supporting it—maybe we can raise that total even higher this year. Let's all show the owners and their staffs how much we appreciate their giving spirit by packing their restaurants at lunch and dinner time on Tuesday, April 26.

Hot Off the U of I Press: Guide to Wild Mushrooms

So, OK, this book is not HOT off the Press anymore, but I wanted to republish this post anyway, because let's face it, hunting the wild mushroom never goes out of style. This post was originally published on April 15, 2009, and has been revised slightly. -Lisa

Did you know that the humble fungi is responsible for the lived-in look of your favorite stone-washed jeans? It's true. According to Joe McFarland and Greg Mueller, authors of the University of Illinois Press's new book Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois, a fungus is put on the cotton material, allowed to "munch," and subsequently washed off. Who knew? I guess "stone washed" sounds more romantic than "fungus eaten" in ad campaigns.

Anyway, that's just one of the fascinating tidbits of information you'll find in this new guide. I received a review copy last week (thanks, UI Press!), and I've been up to my ears in fungi ever since. Factoids aside, the book is an in-depth guide to finding, positively ID'ing, and cooking wild mushrooms. And it's specifically geared to our region (Illinois and surrounding states). We're in the thick of the mushroom-hunting season now, or will be very soon, so the book's release is perfectly timed.

You're probably familiar with oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, and morels, but I'll bet you've never heard of the lion's mane mushroom, or the cauliflower or lobster mushrooms. Those are just a few of the many varieties of edible fungi presented in the book, which includes gorgeous color photos—of the edible mushrooms and the poisonous look-alikes you need to stay away from.

In fact, the guide could really be called a picture book, that's how filled to the brim it is with photos. And detailed photos, of course, are really essential if you're heading out to try to find and identify these babies. If going on a mushroom hunt piques your interest, this is the book for you. It's really intended for beginners who want to bag their own fresh, wild 'shrooms, though I'm sure even an experienced mushroom hunter would appreciate it.Once you've got your mushrooms, what to do with them? The recipes section of the book will help you out in the cooking-and-eating department, too.You'll find recipes from Illinois cooks and chefs for everything from beer-battered morels to chanterelle cream soup, mushroom Bolognese, and parasol mushroom frittata.And how does wild mushroom lasagna with arugula pesto grab you? That recipe is from Chicago's own Charlie Trotter. Not to be outdone by the Chicago chefs, Christian Phernetton, formerly chef at Silvercreek restaurant in Urbana, contributed a recipe for duck confit and morel Wellington with vanilla-bean reduction. That's right—a C-U restaurant is represented in this book! How fun.

In the past, County Market in Champaign (on Kirby Ave.) has carried morels from California around this time of year, but they're pricey (I seem to remember $20/lb.) Obviously, if you hunt down your own wild mushrooms, the cost will be much less than buying them—like virtually nothing. Familiarize yourself with all the dos and don'ts, tuck a copy of Wild Edible Mushrooms of Illinois & Surrounding States into your backpack or glove compartment, and you should have a successful back-to-nature mushroom experience.

Ever stalked the wild mushroom in this area? If you have, I'd love to hear about your experience and any hunting or cooking tips you may want to impart.

Where in C-U Are We? Contest Results and Winner!

We've done haiku contests and a limerick contest in the past on this blog, but last week we inaugurated a new one: Your charge was to identify a food establishment (restaurant or bar that serves food) based on a photo of a salient detail of the place—in this case, the artwork you see to the right.

I think the inaugural edition of the contest was maybe too easy; there were 74 entries, and 59 people correctly answered that the photo of the Elvis painting was taken at Fiesta Cafe on First Street in Champaign. I realized just now that I actually mentioned and pictured the painting in the post I did back in 2008 about Fiesta's 20th anniversary.

We put the names of the 59 correct guessers into a mixing bowl (we thought that was more appropriate than a hat), blindfolded ourselves, and picked out one name.

And the lucky winner is: Lisa Graff! Lisa, I will be in touch with you about your prize, the $25 gift certificate to Fiesta.

A few people thought that the Elvis painting was located at El Toro Bravo on Springfield Avenue. Sorry, but no. El Toro Bravo has posters of Diego Rivera's works, but no Elvis.

A few other people were sure the Elvis hangs at Dos Reales on Prospect. Dos has some nice artwork, including a photo of Delores del Rio and her pig, but no Elvis. It's only Fiesta Cafe that exhibits that particular painting.

This was great, everyone! Thanks very much to all who played along; you're the reason it was fun. We're going to try to have more Where in C-U Are We? contests in the future, so stay tuned.

Egg Salad with Chives, Celery, and Sweet Red Pepper

You know it's been a long winter when a little patch of chives in a patio pot gets you excited. But I love those chives. Dependable, loyal, and the first to arrive at the spring party (they've been up for what—a month now?), their vibrant green is something to hold onto after a long, almost colorless season.

A friend had given us a dozen eggs from her very own chickens—more to be grateful for this spring—and eggs and chives are just made for each other, so today I whipped up a big batch of egg salad for the first time in forever.

I hadn't had egg salad in so long I'd almost forgotten how truly wonderful it is. This time I put about a half-cup of snipped chives into it, along with half a red bell pepper and a couple of stalks of celery (celery leaves included). I seasoned it with Old Bay, pepper vinegar, horseradish, Grey Poupon, and, of course, mayo and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

I plan to scoop egg salad onto a pile of fresh Blue Moon Farm spinach or salad mix and throw some radishes and cucumber slices around. Or should I spread it between slices of toasted and buttered rye bread? Quandary. But no problem; we have plenty enough to do both. (And by the way, if you'd like to be getting veggies from the local Blue Moon Farm before the farmers' market starts next month, you can find out more on Blue Moon's Web site and get on their weekly email list.)

Do you make egg salad? What do you like to put in yours?

Where in C-U Are We? Name the Place, Win a Prize!

Let's have a little fun, shall we? I'm going to put up a photo taken at a local food establishment (and by that I mean a restaurant, or a bar that serves food). You tell me which establishment the photo was taken at, and you could win a $25 gift certificate to the place in question. If more than one person identifies the correct venue, we'll put the names into a hat and draw one lucky winner.

Ready? Here's the photo; where in C-U was it taken? (I just need the name of the place; address is not necessary.)

If you think you know where the photo was shot, send me an email. (You can also email me if you have any questions about the contest.) I'm going to close the comments for this post so that no one inadvertantly leaves his or her guess there and gives the answer away.

You have two weeks one week; the contest ends next Wednesday, April 20 13, 2011, at 5 p.m. (I decided that two weeks was dragging this thing out too much, thus the change to one week. -Lisa) I'll announce the winner the next day. Feel free to make a wild guess if you have no idea—or go out to local establishments, eat, drink, and look around!

P.S. The contest is open to anyone currently living in or around C-U. As long as you can actually visit the mystery establishment and use the gift certificate, jump on in. Friends and acquaintances are welcome to enter, but you won't get, you know, preferential treatment. Only one guess per person, please.

Kale and Fava Bean Quasi-Samosas

Having gone to Shuchi's cooking class yesterday afternoon at the ARC and learned how to make traditional Indian samosas, I have the filled pastries on the brain this morning. So I thought I'd bring this post from 2007 out of the archives. Thanks to Shuchi for the great class; looking forward to the next one, which is tentatively scheduled for next month (I'll keep you posted).

Check out Shuchi's blog to see the recipe and step-by-step instructions for traditional Indian samosas. We also learned to make a delicious mint chutney to accompany the samosas; Shuchi has shared that recipe, too. -Lisa

Those high-end fusion restaurant concoctions have nothing on me! Today I crossed a rather unorthodox Indian samosa dough with an Italian-ish filling, and the results were very pleasing.

I had buttermilk and a tub of PFF goat cheese sitting around that I wanted to do something with, not to mention a large bunch of beautiful rainbow lacinato kale from Blue Moon Farm that was threatening to go limp. The wheels started turning, and before I realized it, I found myself in the throes of the very labor-intensive process of making a batch of samosa-type things.

The dough is from Yamuna Devi's wonderful book The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. It's got fresh herbs in it, and cream cheese (I substituted goat cheese). And the filling was inspired by a recipe for kale and spinach turnovers in Cooking Light magazine.

We found these quasi-samosas very tasty. I baked half of them and deep fried the others. The baked ones? Actually, they were quite good; they resembled tiny Cornish pasties.Keith and I both preferred the fried version, however.

Kale and Fava Bean Quasi-Samosas

For the dough (adapted from The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking):
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons toasted whole sesame seeds (you can get these in jars in Asian markets)
2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs (I used parsley and chives)
3 tablespoons goat cheese, well chilled
4 tablespoons butter, well chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk
Water as needed

Fit a food processor with the metal blade, combine the flour, baking powder, sesame seeds, and fresh herbs, and pulse twice. Add the goat cheese and butter and process until the texture resembles the size of small peas. With the motor runnning, add the buttermilk and cold water in dribbles until the mixture comes together into a ball. Take the ball out of the processor, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside while you make the filling.For the filling (inspired by a recipe in Cooking Light magazine):
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 bunch fresh kale, finely chopped (about 5 cups)
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 15-ounce can fava beans, drained and rinsed (I used these because I had them around; I think chickpeas would be even better in this filling.)
4 ounces goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok and fry the onions and pepper flakes for about 10 minutes, until the onions are tender and slightly browned. Add the garlic and fry for a minute or two more. Stir in the kale, tomatoes, fava beans, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook until the kale is very tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat and mash the beans slightly with a potato masher. Cool a bit, then stir in the goat cheese and nutmeg.To finish the samosas:
Knead the dough briefly, then roll it back and forth until you have a log 13 inches long. Cut the dough into 13 equal pieces, and form each piece into a smooth ball. Put the balls on a plate, not touching, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Roll one of the balls out on a floured surface until it forms a 5 1/2-inch circle. Cut the circle in half so that you have two semi-circles. Wet your finger with the water and run it around the edge of one semi-circle, then spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling onto one side of the dough, leaving the edges clear of filling. Pull the other side of the dough over the filling and press to seal all of the edges (you can use the tines of a fork if you like).

At this point, you can place the samosas on an oiled baking sheet, brush or spray the tops with olive oil, and bake at 350 °F for 20 to 25 minutes, or you can deep fry them. If deep frying, heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a medium saucepan until it reaches 365 °F on a thermometer. Slide in a few samosas and fry for about 3 minutes, or until the samosas look golden brown. Remove samosas from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
The filling was moist and a little spicy from the red pepper flakes and a tiny bit creamy from the goat cheese. And the enclosing crust was tender and flaky, having both butter and cheese in it. What an enjoyable way to get one's greens!

The "Cornish pasty" samosas (the baked ones) seemed to cry out for a tomatoey accompaniment, and I remembered that there was a recipe for a ketchup-like sauce in the Yamuna Devi book, so I made that as well. The sauce is spicy, but not hot, if you know what I mean. It has a wonderful flavor that added the perfect touch to the samosas. And it's going to add a little zing to the hamburgers we're grilling today!

Velvet Tomato Catsup
From The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking, by Yamuna Devi

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/8 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ginger, and cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika
Pinch yellow asafetida powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar or jaggery
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
1/2 cassia or bay leaf
3/4 cup tomato paste and 1 cup water, or 1 3/4 cups seeded tomato pulp, or puree, or 2 2/3 cups peeled, seeded, diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the ground spices, sweetener, and water in a bowl and whisk well. Heat the ghee or oil in a 2-quart/liter saucepan over moderate heat. Before it is hot, add the cassia or bay leaf and wet spice mixture, and, stirring constantly, fry for about 1 minute. Carefully add the selected tomato product and salt. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until thickened to a catsup consistency. Serve at room temperature, or bottle, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
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I didn't have any asafetida, so I left that out of the preceding recipe, and I didn't have ghee, so I mixed butter and oil to fry the spice mixture in. And in the tomato department, I used the tomato-paste–water combination.