EATING OUR WAY FROM LAKE hURON TO lAKE sUPERIOR BY WAY OF CHICAGO

I started my Sunday morning, the 11th, like every other morning, and went out to get a cup of coffee. I safely transported my too-full cup of hot coffee to my desk with a whew, didn't spill any. There are a couple of ripples in the corridor floor, and I tripped over one last year, sending my cup of tea and me crashing to the floor. I am very careful when walking there now, especially when carrying my morning coffee. I opened my laptop and waited as it went through its usual routine, showing a vibrant photo of some exotic place filling my screen, then the enter password message. While waiting for this entrance into the internet world, I realized I was singing "Chicago, Chicago," the Frank Sinatra version. Those are the only words I know of the song, but they were appropriate because we were making our way into Chicago with a load of salt. It's going to be a Chicago cinnamon bun Sunday on the Atlantic Huron. This is where my morning, like every other morning, changed. We were just making our way into the Calumet River. The sun was rising, the start of a spectacular day! I had a couple of hours before starting lunch, so I went out on deck and watched as we made our way through the very narrow river. With the help of two tugs, one on our bow and one on our stern, we maneuvered through the narrow openings of the bridges and the tight turns.

and one tug was on our stern. It was such a beautiful morning.

As we approached each Bridge, the bells would ring, the traffic would stop, and the steel road would split and rise. Seconds after we passed through, the two pieces of road would lower and join again, and the waiting traffic continued on their way. There was so much to see, and the morning light cast a beautiful glow on everything. I took many photos and videos and shared a Chicago Calumet River video with you the other day. It is a longer video, but you can see how the deck hands swing over the side when we tie up and how we unload the salt. If you take a look at the video, you can see that the dock where we tie up is not very straight. We were so close to the 100th Street Bridge that I felt I could pass over a cinnamon bun to the passing motorists. We would hear the occasional siren, and I was so grateful the double-leaf drawbridge was down and the person in the back of the ambulance did not have to wait for a ship to go through and the Bridge to lower. From our location I could also see multiple trains that went over the train lift bridge that we had passed through earlier in the day. There was so much to see, and it was hard to get any work done.

Look how close we were to the 100th Street Bridge. We were there all day.

In the video you can see the deckhands swing over the side. Click on the the link to see the video of the Calumet River, Tying up and offloading salt. https://youtu.be/ENyLd8wqZhU?si=J9uZ_sUuMZtF9Upl

Shortly after the lift bridge was lowered a train crossed. We saw multiple trains pass by during our day in Chicago.

. I did manage to make the cinnamon buns. Italian wedding soup, Stuffed peppers, Egg muffins, and a fried egg sandwich. One crew member came in and asked for his egg muffin on a cinnamon bun. I thought that was a great idea. I like sweet and salty together. I had roast chicken dinner for supper with gravy, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, and green peas. I also served the leftover stuffed peppers from lunch.

I asked this crew member if I could take a picture of his great idea to slice the cinnamon bun in two and put the egg, cheese and ham to make a sandwich. It looked delicious.

I usually make my Italian wedding soup with Italian sausage but I found these Italian meatballs in the freezer and thought I would try it out. The meatballs come frozen and I cooked them in the oven first to get any extra fat out of them, I didn't want my soup to be greasy. It made a fun soup to serve with the giant meatballs standing in the soup.

Stuffed peppers always smell so good when they are cooking. At the end of the night they were all gone!

At the end of supper I prepare six to ten plates for the crew that are on watch or sleeping. I love roasted carrots.

After supper, I went out on deck as we were departing the Calumet River. We had finished unloading shortly before supper, and the two tugs returned to back us out of the river. I was so happy to be on deck as the sun was setting; it was the perfect day. It was mild, and the windy city was not windy that Sunday evening, and I sat outside until we swung around, passed through the breakwaters, and headed out onto a very calm Lake Michigan. I could not have asked for better timing as the sun was setting behind the Chicago City Scape.

The timing doesn't get any better than this. Leaving as the sun set behind Chicago.

It was a beautiful mild evening and I enjoyed sitting out as we passed Chicago.

How lucky am I with our trip to Chicago and two days before, on the Friday, we had passed under the Mackinac Bridge at the perfect time after supper so that I could stand out on deck and enjoy that too. Both special events were perfect timing. On Friday I made fish chowder, hot dogs on homemade buns, my mom’s 1970’s tuna casserole and an imitation crab salad on homemade buns on Friday. The usual fish and chips were served for supper, which was a quick clean-up, and I went out on deck. I was delighted to see a rainbow peeking out. It wasn't until I saw the photo on my laptop that I realized how very special that picture was. Sailing under the Mackinac Bridge is very impressive, and on this Friday evening, we saw two tour boats. I’m sure the guests were happy to see a ship going under the Bridge as part of their evening adventure.

I love when the timing allows me the luxury of sitting outside and enjoying the view

It looks like there were two tour boats. I'm sure everyone was happy to see a ship pass under the bridge.

I didn't see the face in the rainbow until I opened the photo on my laptop. It was really special.

My mom's 1970's tuna casserole. I updated it a little. I made my own sauce instead of the canned mushroom soup in the original recipe. I will make the recipe available soon. I have many requests for individual recipes. I love sharing recipes and realize not every recipe will make it into my book so stay tuned to see how you can get my individual recipes.

Saturday was spent making our way down to the tip of Lake Michigan. I made my Grate soup (a play on the word great because all the vegetables in this hamburger soup are grated). For lunch, I made falafels and beef stroganoff. One crew member had the cauliflower falafel wrap and a tiny portion of the beef stroganoff on egg noodles. I always think of my mom when I make egg noodles. She used to buy the broad egg noodles and served them like a special occasion meal. Like my mother, I chose the egg noodles to go with my beef stroganoff. I use ground beef, onions, leeks, bacon, mushrooms, and cream to make my beef stroganoff. It is always popular, and one crew member asked if I would save a plate for his supper instead of steak. He said he remembered when I made it last year. I was surprised by how popular the cauliflower falafels were. Usually, I have to ask if the crew wants to try them, but this crew is adventurous, and they said "combo plate" one after the other. Falafel and a side of beef stroganoff. The falafels were delicious, and I made them in a wrap with garlic mayonnaise, tomatoes, and lettuce. Saturday night was steak night, and I made my faux fillet cabbage steak, which a few were happy to try. I also offered baked salmon, and many requested my chimichurri sauce. One crew member asked for my GSP sauce and said it goes so well with salmon.

The combo lunch. Cauliflower Falafel wrap and beef Stroganoff on egg noodles.

When you can't decide, I say have both. The faux Fillet Cabbage Steak , baked salmon with chimichurri.

Monday was spent on Lake Michigan, making our way to Superior, WI. We were lightship, but the lake was calm, and it was a smooth ride. Monday's menu for the day was Leek and potato soup (I used the leftover mashed potatoes from Sunday's supper) in my soup) For lunch, I made chili served multiple ways: chili with toast, chili with homemade nachos, chili with rice and black beans, and a taco salad (the most popular request). The second choice was a Julienne salad with my homemade maple mustard dressing. The third choice was an egg salad sandwich. I made chicken a la king for supper and something I had never made before steak bites. They were delicious, and I will put them on my menu rotation. I wrote on the board that they are only served medium. I didn't have the heart to cook the tender bite-size morsels well. I was happy I could see the Mackinac Bridge on the way down because we passed under it in the middle of the night on our way back up.

The taco salad was the popular choice for lunch.

Homemade nachos add to the chili. This crew member asked for chili and a sandwich.

The 10h00 time was perfect to go through the Soo Locks on Tuesday morning. I had received a message to come out and wave, and I said it would be fun. I also had a drone visit with Andrea from Dre Design (www.facebook.com/DreDesignsGLMP). The timing was perfect, and it was so much fun when I located her drone and waved. She returned a good morning with a drone tilt back and forth. It was fun. I went out to wave at the Soo webcam, the observation deck, which had a good crowd on that beautiful Tuesday morning. There were also three tour boats in the Lock beside us, and I got some enthusiastic waves. I took a video and will share it with you soon. (The internet has been a little slow the last few days.) I was having so much fun going out to wave and realized I didn't leave myself enough time to get lunch ready, so I changed my menu on a whim. I had leftover steak bites and broke them down into smaller pieces. They were so tasty and tender. I made Philly steak pockets, filling the center of each tortilla with Swiss cheese, steak, mushrooms, onions, and more cheese. Then I folded them into a square (using a little more cheese to glue the tortilla closed, a trick we used when we owned the Creperie and made egg pockets with crepes). I made a dipping cheese sauce to serve with them. The second choice was Moussaka. I usually start the Moussaka from scratch, but I had leftover chili from the day before and wondered if I could add the ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg to my chili I could. It came out great. I don't put beans in my chili, so it is a great way to use leftover chili, and I loved how easy it was and fast! I made a bechamel to go on top of my Moussaka and got it into the oven with just enough time to bake it into a bubbly, delicious-smelling meal. Quite a few of the crew asked for the combo plate, and a couple of the crew asked if they could have an extra Philly steak pocket for their snack later. They were very popular, and the Moussaka got a lot of great reviews. At the end of lunch, I was exhausted from rushing to get lunch ready and spending so much time on deck that I had to nap during my break. Thankfully, supper was easy. I made roast pork with gravy, mashed potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. The second choice was rainbow trout.

I had never seen the three tour boats in the lock together. There were some enthusiastic waves from the onlookers. It's always fun to wave at people.

Look closely, I am to the right of the orange rescue boat. Thank you for the good morning visit Andrea. www.facebook.com/DreDesignsGLMP

chicken noodle soup. There was not one drop left at the end of the day.

The Philly Steak pockets with dipping cheese sauce were a huge hit.

It was the first time I used my leftover chili to make Moussaka. I just added the ground cloves, cinnamon and other spices. It came out perfect. (another individual recipe I have to make available)

This brings us up to Wednesday. We had such a nice, calm day on Lake Superior. I started the day making cheddar broccoli soup. (I used the leftover cheese sauce from the Philly steak pocket). I made Liver, onions, bacon, and gravy served with cheesy potato cakes (made with the leftover mashed potatoes. I can do many different things with leftover mashed potatoes; they never go to waste). The second choice was a double BLT slider. I started serving this with a liver dinner because I like to serve dinner rolls with Liver and onions. I already have the bacon cooked, so the BLT slider was the perfect thing to serve alongside. The third choice was a cheese and asparagus frittata. (I had the frittata with a little spicy mayonnaise, which was so delicious.) For supper, I made Chinese food. Chinese food is a great opportunity to use up leftovers. I made sweet and sour pork, Asian rice noodles, chicken stir fry, rice, and egg rolls. At the end of the night, I had a mountain of pots and pans to wash. I put my headphones on and selected my playlist, "Doing Dishes." The upbeat tunes sent energy through my ears, creating an adrenaline rush that made the task doable. I finished almost an hour later than usual. It was a good day.

Broccoli cheddar is a popular soup. I had a little cheese sauce left from my Philly steak pockets from the day before and put it in my broccoli soup...fast and easy.

I like to serve BLT sliders when I make liver because I already have the bacon cooked.

Liver, onions, bacon and gravy, either you love it or you don't. It went well with the cheesy potato cakes and creamed corn.

This asparagus frittata was so delicious. I had it for my lunch.

Chinese food is always popular. I made pineapple sweet and sour pork, chicken and vegetable stir fry, Asian rice noodles and egg rolls.

Thursday morning, we were in Superior loading for Nanticoke. We came in throughout the night. I have a video that I will work on and send to you soon. It was so nice to spend some time with you this morning. Have a wonderful day.