Well this post is better late than never! Last month, after we went to the Milwaukee Art Museum to celebrate our Anniversary and Birthdays, we stopped at Cafe Manna in Brookfield, WI for lunch. The service was very attentive and friendly. They brought out a free appetizer to our table – the Cashew Coconut Hummus. Oh my goodness, it was absolutely delicious. I wasn’t sure how good it was going to be but we both loved it.

It was chilly out and we were starved from walking around the museum for a few hours. We decided to each get a bowl of their lentil soup. It was hearty and tasted like something I would make at home. It even had spinach in it. It also came with a dollop of tofu cilantro sour cream. I scooped mine out and gave it Rob.  I won’t touch “sour cream” unless it is in a baked good.

I ordered the Jamaican Spiced Lentil Burger which is served on rye bread (my favorite). I liked it but it wasn’t quite as boom-in-your-face flavorful as I was expecting. It also came with some roasted veggies.

Rob had the Crunchy Nutty Sandwich and he liked it. It was an assortment of veggies and guacamole on raw sprouted almond bread. It came with root chips and coleslaw.

Rob and I ended up liking each others sandwiches more so we switched sandwich halves. I thought the Crunch Nutty Sandwich was fabulous. I loved the almond bread. I had a few root chips too. I won’t touch coleslaw but Rob said he enjoyed it. As for the lentil burger, Rob thought it was super tasty. Overall, it was a really nice birthday meal. My only gripe would be it was a bit loud, not from music but from other patrons. For the first part of our meal, it was hard to hear one another, but once the crowd thinned out, it was easier to hear. It was fairly priced for a vegetarian restaurant. We each had an Izze to drink and with taxes and tip it was right around $50. We’d definitely stop by again next time we were in the area. As an added bonus, after we left, we stopped at the Penzey’s Spices store in Brookfield, WI

This year to celebrate our anniversary and birthdays, we went to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see the Warhol exhibit: The Last Decade. We also went to Cafe Manna (will be in an upcoming post) and Penzey’s Spices in Brookfield, WI. I’ve wanted to check out the Milwaukee Art Museum ever since we moved to Chicagoland. Since they had the Warhol exhibit, we figured we better go now. I’m so glad we went. The building itself is one of the coolest buildings I’ve ever seen. It looks like something out of a futuristic movie. The interior did not disappoint either. The lake views were amazing. The staff at the museum were so friendly too.

We went to the Warhol exhibit first and it was great. They even had some “Piss Paintings”.  I enjoyed seeing the Last Supper and Self Portrait art works. Then we went and explored the rest of the museum. I didn’t even know they had a sculpture and a painting by one of my favorite artists – Alberto Giacometti.  I was thrilled! In the 20th Century Design section, they had a (Isamu) Noguchi coffee table. We had a good laugh over the fact we drove to Milwaukee to see the same coffee table we have in our family room. They had a lot of interesting and wonderful things at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Next year, I am going to bring my parents here when they come out to visit. I know they will really enjoy it and we’d like to see it again.

Outside:

Inside:

Looking Up:

More inside pictures:

Noguchi Coffee Table:

Rob and I went to the More Than Delicious Orchard in Woodstock, IL and had a nice time. They had a great variety of apples and I can’t wait to go back and see what new-to-me varities they will have next time.  They sell Wealthy apples which are my absolute favorite for applesauce.  I love making applesauce because the smell of cinnamon and apples fills the house. How should you serve your appleasauce? In a vintage Pyrex bowl of course!

I’ve never had a Pink Pearl apple before. They were fabulous! They decribed them as like biting into a SweetTart and it did remind me of that. They are really neat because, like the name suggests, they are pink inside.

If you’re looking for an apple orchard where the focus is actually on the apples, then check them out. This orchard reminded me of some of the small orchards we used to go to back in Michigan. We bought pre-picked this time but I look forward to picking apples soon. We also bought some delicious pears there too. They were yummy! 

Main Building:

I love sunflowers and they were so pretty:

Actually, all the flowers there were very pretty:

The drive to the orchard was lovely too. It’s going to be gorgeous once the leaves turn.

Hi Everyone. I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 months since I last updated my blog. Well, it’s September and my long time readers know that I absolutely love Fall. I can’t get enough pumpkins, apples, and cider. I bought a pumpkin for $4 at my local farmer’s market and decided to go with this cat pattern because it fit the size of the pumpkin better than any of the other patterns.

Of course, besides the reward of enjoying your carved pumpkin, there are pumpkin seeds! What makes pumpkin seeds even more appealing? Why, putting them in a vintage Fire King dish, silly!

Now I just have to wait for the orchards to open this weekend….open open open open!!!