Grillin' In The City

...Continued from yesterday:

     The rooftop view from our third floor room at the Holiday Jones.

     Saturday morning started out, as mornings do, with breakfast.
     Tom and I opted for the hostel's complementary help-yourself breakfast offered in the common room located in the basement. 

     Views from the landings windows:

      The common room was crowded with hostelers from a variety of different countries,

 ...who were there, as we were, for the breakfast of cereal, oatmeal, coffee, tea,  and the freshest bagels with all the fixings.

     Besides breakfast, the Holiday Jones common room offered a number of other amenities:

     One can fix meals there if one wishes.

     While Tom and I were enjoying our complementary hostel breakfast, the others of our room mates,

...decided to try some empanadas from 5411 Empanadas,

...the empanaderia that prefaces the Holiday Jones.

    The empanadas looked all browned and beautiful,

...and Emily, Tommy, Callie and Theresa were in consensus that they were as  yummy as they looked.

     After breakfast Tommy, Emily, Theresa and Callie left for the Navy Pier - Theresa and Callie via subway, Tommy and Emily on foot - where they planned to meet up with Maria, Justin, and the children.
     Tom and I, meanwhile, planned to drive over to Claire's house in Logan square, the next neighborhood over from Wicker Park, to help her with the shopping and food preparation for the cookout that evening.
      As the nearest parking spot we'd been able to find in that busy part of Chicago was several blocks from the Holiday Jones, 

...we had the opportunity for a nice Saturday morning stroll through Wicker Park.

     By the time Tom and I  arrived at Claire’s house it was close enough to lunch time that we decided to get lunch out of the way before getting to work on the preparations for the cook-out.

      We walked to a nearby Cuban restaurant called 90 Miles,

...where the décor was  funky cool Caribbean,

...and the food was delicious.

     Tom and I both ordered a Cubano,

…which is a traditional Cuban hot  sandwich made of pork, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles,

…while Claire ordered a hot sandwich made with tofu and vegetables.

   We decided to bring home a batch of 90 Miles' delicious maduras, which are sweet plantains, to eat at the cookout.

     Next we drove to Aldi’s to buy the necessary cookout provisions.

     When we arrived back at Claire’s house Tom and I dove into making Cherry Almond Streusel and apple pies.  

     Cherry Almond Streusel Pie being one of the best things one can put into one's mouth, I will once again share the recipe:

Cherry Almond Streusel Pie
The Pie:
2 cans of tart red cherries.
2 tablespoons of quick-cooking tapioca
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
 1 9-inch unbaked refrigerated roll-out pie crust

The Streusel:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup slivered almonds

    Drain one can of cherries and mix it with the other can of cherries with the juice from that can. Mix the cherries and juice with the tapioca, sugar, and cinnamon.  Let stand for 15 minutes. 
    Mix the flour and brown sugar then cut the butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture is crumbly.  Mix in the almonds.
    Roll out the pie crust, place it in a 9-inch pie pan  and spread the cherry mixture into the pie crust.  Spoon the streusel mixture over the cherries.
    Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and topping well-browned.

     As  our children and grand children arrived from their day excursions they began pitching in with the food preparation,

...including  Miguel’s visiting nephew José Luis,  who did the grilling.

     When everyone had arrived and the food was ready,

...we dug in,

...and the festivities began,

...made all the happier by the arrival of Maria's dear, wonderful college friend Jen.

     While we stood together for Jen to take a family portrait, I wondered, how long will it be until the next time we're all together again?

     Precious and too few are these moments.

    To be continued...

      "Equal And Opposite Reactions" is now available in Kindle Edition, at http://www.blackrosewriting.com/romance/equalandoppositereactions, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com