A different kind of circus comes to town.

Snowy Evening

Pete has a new cookbook: Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes

I confess I’m not known for my cooking skills. My poor wife has been the victim of many of my culinary experiments. There was the cooking with wine debacles (yes, plural). Apparently you can use too much wine in your recipes. There was the cinnamon sticks fiasco that nearly caused a dental emergency. There was the ginger that apparently was supposed to be shredded, and the home-made pizzas that caused advanced stomach discomfort. I figure it was time I either lost a wife or gained a cookbook. I m happy to report that Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes is my first purchased cookbook. I needed ‘easy’ in the title as a book with a long ingredient list or a myriad of steps would cause me to cut corners or riff on my own. That’d be cool with jazz but not for this budding chef. Thus far I’ve had the most success with something called ‘Economy Noodles’ and a peanut sauce we used as a dip. I wasn’t too happy with my take on Chinese Sausage Fried Rice or Rotisserie Chicken Ramon, but they were edible at least. The biggest screw up was what should have been the easiest to make. Spicy Cold Celery. It had only six ingredients and should have been as easy as a bowl of cereal. It just tasted like spicy bad celery. So, what’s next? I believe I’ll try Carrot-Ginger Dressing (without the giant clumps of ginger this time). There’s also one in the back called ‘Oranges.’ You just slice them up and eat them. Let’s see if Chef Petey can manage that one.

The long awaited, highly anticipated (by someone out there -- maybe), sequel to 'Tunnel of Love' painting: 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.'

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Tunnel of Love

Happy New Year from the Schulte Sector. Our list of lists from 2015!

Things we liked in 2015...and look forward to in 2016.


TV shows (Miki): Mindy Project, Masters of Sex, Bloodline, Americans, Scandal, Gray’s Anatomy.

TV shows (Pete): Madmen, Masters of Sex, Mindy Project, Anthony Boudain’s Parts Unknown, Foo Fighters (Sonic Highway), CNN’s The Seventies.

Books (Miki) Elena Ferrente series, Career of Evil by Robert Galbrieth, Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain, Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, The Room by Emma Donohoe, Go Set a Watchmen by Harper Lee, Last Night at the Blue Angel by Rebbecca Rotert, Born with Teeth by Kate Mulgrew, Dead Wake by Eric Larson, Season of the Witch by David Talbot. Why Not by Mindy Kaling.

Books (Pete): The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain, My Sunshine Away by Mo Walsh, all of Malcolm Gladwell’s books, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Us by David Nichols.

Vacation Highlights (Miki): Fun gondola ride up Vail Mountain, Patti Smith live in Chicago, Eating deep-dish pizza in Chicago, shopping in Castle Rock, CO with mom and mom in law.

Vacation highlights (Pete): Watching the Chicago Marathon, the view from top of the John Handcock Building, the Art Institute of Chicago, eating Chicago style pizza. The San Antonio Riverwalk, the Mission churches of San Antonio.

Movies (Miki): Up!, Begin Again, Unbroken, Blue is the Warmest Color, Magic Mike XXL

Movies (Pete): Blue is the Warmest Color, Begin Again, Foxcatcher, Up!.

Best Project (Miki): Backyard gardening and knitting.

Best Project (Pete): Building a patio deck with father in law, step-mother in law, and Miki.

Best (and worst) weather moment (Miki): Waking up to a foot of snow.

Best weather moment (Pete): A brief, minute long snow shower from a little cloud that gave all it could give before disappearing.

Guilty pleasures (Miki): Mob Wives, Castle.

Guilty pleasures (Pete): Forensic Files on HLN.

Favorite meal (Both): Pre-Christmas dinner at our place. Chicken stuffed with cranberries and gorgonzola cheese. It did not have ham like Pete keeps reporting.

Best change (Miki): Starting a new job at Morton Publishing.

Best change (Pete): New socks!

Looking forward to 2016...

Both: Friends and family coming to visit, celebrating five years together, expanding our family (maybe), Dixie Chicks concert, more books to read, more plants to grow, peace on earth.

Pete is also looking forward to making chicken stuffed with ham.

We had a great 2015 and hope for all an even greater 2016!

Writers and Artists Portraits continued...

Christmas cookies from our neighbors. 

# 4 Writers and Artists Portrait Series: Poet, Langston Hughes

Happy Winter Solstice from the Schulte Sector!

Miki's soap. Looks like dessert. I won't make that mistake again.