Chow Down Chicago: Good Eats from the Windy City

Carnival is celebrated all over the world in places like Brazil, the Caribbean, Spain, and Italy. In the U.S., New Orleans has Mardi Gras and Chicago has Fat Tuesday, also known as Paczki Day. Paczki (pronounced “poonch-key” or “punch-key”) is a Polish doughnut filled with fruit or some other type of sweet filling. The tradition of making paczki came about from people trying to use up all the butter, sugar, and booze in their house before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Christians typically observe Lent, the 40-day period before to Easter, by fasting or making some other type of personal sacrifice during a time of solemn reflection. But just before Lent begins, revelers celebrate by eating lots of rich foods, drinking alcohol, and partying. Pre-Lenten festivities go down a little differently in Poland. In Poland, The Thursday of the week before Lent begins marks the beginning of Carnival. People celebrate by eating paczki and other treats, drinking, and partying al...

  Ah, February in Chicago. The time of year when a girl’s thoughts turn to those of a soupy nature. And borscht is the perfect soup for this time of year. Usually, by the time February rolls around, I've grown tired of chicken soup. Regardless of how good it may be for the soul, I’ve been eating it since November and I’m ready for something different. Plus, borscht’s lovely deep purplish red hue makes it suitable for Valentine’s Day. And what better way to say "I love you" than with a nice, steaming hot bowl of beet soup? The word borscht comes from Yiddish, and Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe first brought the hearty soup to the States. ­­Jewish, Polish, Russian, and other Eastern European immigrants began to put down roots in Chicago in the early twentieth century. My grandparents were among them. You can read more about the early immigrant experience in Chicago   here . The borscht I tend to find in the Polish or Jewish sections at my local supermarkets is usua...

The name Chicago comes from shikaakwa , a word for "wild onion" used by the indigenous Miami and Illinois peoples. The French explorer and fur trader Robert de LaSalle is believed to have been the first to refer to the site where Chicago now stands as Checagou . In 1688, French explorer Henri Joutel described in his diary a place called Chicagou, which was so named "because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region.” You can learn more about the earliest known days of Chicago here . On that note, and because winter ain't over yet, here is a recipe for fire cider, a traditional folk drink and herbal remedy that covers all the bases by using both onions and garlic. In fact, fire cider is packed with ingredients that are known for their antiseptic, antiviral, decongestant, and digestive properties—perfect to help you get through another Chicago winter. Some herbalists recommend fire cider to prevent colds, flu, and other seasonal maladies. I...