Chicagoland Dream Houses

Please join Lake Forest College Professor and Highland Park resident Siobhan Moroney at Secret World Books, 1774 Second Street, Wednesday, May 28, 7:30 PM. She will discuss her book, Chicagoland Dream Houses How a Mid-Century Architecture Competition Reimagined the American Home," including the Highland Park dwellings, architects and organizations' role.

Preserving Family Heirloom Recipes – How to Save and Celebrate Your Food Traditions

Presented by Valerie J. Frey Heirloom dishes and family food traditions are rich sources of nostalgia and provide vivid ways to learn about our families’ past, yet they can be problematic. Many family recipes and food traditions are never documented in written or photographic form, existing only as unwritten know-how and lore that vanishes when a cook dies. Even when recipes are written down, they often fail to give the tricks and tips that would allow another cook to accurately replicate the dish. Unfortunately, recipes are also often damaged as we plunk Grandma’s handwritten cards on the countertop next to a steaming pot or a spattering mixer, shortening their lives.

‘Food in the Midwest: More Interesting Than You May Think,’ with Cynthia Clampitt

The history of the Midwest is remarkable for many reasons, not least of which is the diversity of its population, and therefore of its regional cuisine. Everyone contributed to what was developing,  from the Ojibwe harvesting wild rice in Minnesota to Belgian hoteliers in Chicago inventing new dishes.