Summer in the Midwest

Last weekend S and I traveled to Illinois to visit my parents as we always do in summer. I purposefully moved away to start my career after college because there aren't many professional or cultural opportunities there. But compared to a large city like Washington, DC, there are many advantages. It is a welcome change of pace for a short time.

On our first day there, we visited one of my favorite places in Southern Illinois- the Polar Whip. The PW was so named because it was the first restaurant in Illinois to serve soft-serve ice cream (I think in the 1930's). It became famous for its very inexpensive hamburgers. I'm not sure what the price was then, but in the 1970's President Ford commended them as part of his Whip Inflation Now (WIN) program. They have held their hamburger prices so low over the years that even today they sell for just 99 cents for a double cheese. I took great joy in seeing that my double cheese was less expensive than my order of onion rings ($1.25).

None of this would be so impressive if the food wasn't delicious. The burger prices are low because "filler" is added. I suspect it is some form of soy protein. That might not sound ideal, but the effect is to give the burger a nice mellow taste and a wonderful texture that crisps to a golden brown and delicious texture on the griddle. Served with onion, pickle, mustard, and ketchup, it is a tasty all-American treat you can't get anywhere else.

The next meal of the trip was my Dad's fried fish. He fishes a lot and always has a freezer full of filleted crappie or blue gill. These are both small fish and though caught wild, have no tendency to take on that "muddy" or "fishy" quality sometimes found in bass or catfish. Saltwater fish are prized in this country, but there is a lot to be said for certain types of freshwater fish. The fish fry is a lesser-know but every bit as common an institution in rural parts of the midwest as the chicken dinner or ice cream social. My Dad has perfected his technique and he fixed dinner for us on Friday night.

He breads the fish in just salted cornmeal and fries them in canola oil. At S's request, he also fried hush puppies. The amazing aspects of this fish are (asside from the great taste) the fact that he fries it without letting it become oily at all and that it holds its crispness overnight in the fridge. Actually, S's favorite part of the fish dinner is eating leftovers for breakfast the next morning. She enjoys them cold and indulged both Saturday and Sunday morning.

When we visit, my Mother always asks if there is anything in particular I would like to eat. I requested home made ice cream this trip, in part because I love it and seldom (never) make it in the city, but also because S has never had it. Growing up in an Asian culture, typical American holiday traditions are not the sort of thing she experienced. I had home made ice cream so many times as a kid at my parents and grandparents houses that I took it for granted until I moved away. Nothing quite says summer like sound of the ice cream maker churning and the ice and salt crunching around it. Just to make the experience complete, S took a turn at cranking. We made strawberry and it was, of course, delicious.

Other than eating, we went canoing one day and played croquet another. My parents are part owners of a lake camp and hunting/fishing club, Camp Heron. It is a great place for building a fire and making smores or ice skating in the winter, and any sort of outdoor activities in the summer. We got the competitive juices flowing with a game of croquet when my brother and sister-in-law visited Saturday. Despite that heinous golf-like form, my brother won a match.After the game, they drove us back to the airport in St. Louis for our return to the east coast. Along the way we saw this classic prairie farm scene at sunset. It is beautiful, but it is good to be home too!