Chow Down Chicago: Good Eats from the Windy City

Music would not be what it is today without Chicago blues legend Muddy Waters. He was the first blues musician to use an electric guitar and amplifier, which served as the inspiration for rock n' roll and heavy metal.     Muddy Waters was born McKinley Morganfield in Clarksdale, Mississippi on April 4 of 1913 or 1915. After World War II, Muddy Waters moved to Chicago at a time when other Black performers from Mississippi including Willie Dixon and Howlin’ Wolf were doing the same. Muddy recorded his first hit, “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” in 1948 in Chicago. More hits would follow. The Rolling Stones took their name from the Waters song “Rollin’ Stone.”   Waters first lived in a house on Lake Park Avenue in Kenwood and then moved to suburban Westmont. Musicians like Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and members of The Rolling Stones were known to spend time at both of the Waters homes. Waters passed away in 1983; he is buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip.

  S t. Joseph's Day often gets overshadowed by St. Patrick's Day in Chicago. While the people of New Orleans celebrate St. Joseph's Day with a parade and elaborate altars ,  here in Chicago the day is mostly celebrated quietly by Catholics and Italian-Americans.  St. Joseph is the patron saint of Sicily. According to legend, Sicilians prayed to St. Joseph for rain during a devastating drought. The rain came and the crops were spared, preventing a widespread famine. Since then, St. Joseph has been honored in gratitude every March 19.              One Italian St. Joseph’s Day tradition is creating a “St. Joseph’s table” in a home or church and heaping it full of different types of food offered to the saint in thanksgiving for answered prayers. On the feast day, an “open house” is held and friends, family, and neighbors eat the offerings. According to tradition, no one can be turned away from a St. Joseph’s table.        My husband has childhood memories of getting fidgety w

I rish soda bread can be traced back to the late 1830s, when baking soda was first introduced in the United Kingdom. Because there was widespread famine at the time, the bread became popular out of a need to make the most out of only a few ingredients and the most basic cooking equipment. Baking soda acts as a substitute for yeast in the bread, since yeast wasn’t readily available at the time. Soda bread has since become a mainstay of Irish St. Patrick’s Day fare. There is even a Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread. Because it’s so easy to make, soda bread has been one of my go-to recipes for times when I'm tired or not able to make a run to the grocery store but still want to bake something, either to entertain guests or just to make myself happy. One thing I've learned about soda bread is that the standard is not set very high for it. Many people think it’s bland, but they just haven’t had good soda bread. Still, because people don't necessarily expect it to

  Holi  is a Hindu holiday that celebrates Spring, colors, love, and the triumph of good over evil. Hindus and others who just want to have fun celebrate Holi with large outdoor gatherings. At these festivals, people burn bonfires by night and douse each other with colored powder and water by day. The festivals are also a time for people to forgive and forget, repair broken relationships, and enjoy food and drink. You can learn more about Holi here . Holi is observed during the full moon in March, which corresponds to the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna. This year Holi is officially on Wednesday, March 8, but there are Holi festivities and playfully lighthearted “color fights” planned for various dates throughout the Chicago area this Spring. You can check them out   he re . Chicago has been a hub of world religions since the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions, which was held in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition. This event is recognized as the first organized interfaith