Tweet

First of all, I am writing this on one of the most insane sugar highs I’ve ever had. One possible explanation is that I’m in Las Vegas right now and Retro Bakery delivered a dozen cupcakes to my hotel. I dunno, just a theory.

I got a lot of great suggestions for places to eat while I’m here thanks to my Facebook buddies. I walked down to Wynn/Encore last night because – holy shit – all of their restaurants have vegan options. Also while I was out, a dude with a blow out and a Christian Audigier t-shirt (not even lying) looked me up and down and said, “Niiiiiiiiiiiiice.” A few minutes later two crusty punks told me I’m cute. When I finally got back to the safety of Bally’s a drunk guy in the elevator demanded to know my nationality. So needless to say, I want to go home immediately.

But before I do, I’m speaking at the Social Media Strategies Summit today! Yeah, that’s right. I’m going to talk about how to be good at the Internet and grown people in suits and everything are going to listen to me. (There are not one, but two ermahgerd pictures in my Power Point.) Then, a few days after I get back to Chicago I’m on this panel:

It’s free, so if you’re in Chicago you should come out and social leverage strategies for synergy disruption with us!

My next adventure is South Beach Wine & Food in just a few weeks, so if you have any suggestions for where a girl can eat some vegetarian food in the Miami Beach area let me know!

Tweet

Tonight Tony and I are headed to see the screening of Punk’s documentary, Best in the World. We had a chance to check it out at home last week and were blown away by it. Not only is it the most cinematic WWE production to date, it’s also honest, insightful and inspiring. Even as someone who has known Punk for, at this point, most of my life, I was totally swept up in his story. And I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that all of his close friends, at one point, mentioned his crabbiness.

Anyway it was an honor to be a part of such a cool project. He worked really hard on it, down to hand-writing everyone’s names out so they appeared onscreen in his penmanship. I’m endlessly proud of him.(If you’re looking for more stories about Punk, check out the explanation of the tattoos we got last year.)

In honor of the release, and of Punk’s upcoming birthday (Oct. 26th) Dimo’s Pizza is bringing back their G.T.S. (omni) and Anaconda Vice (vegan) specials from Oct. 22-28 so if you’re in Chicago that week, make sure you stop in for a slice and a toast to the Best in the World!

Tweet

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, you’re probably aware that there is a Chicago Teacher’s Union strike going on right now, affecting 350,000+ students city-wide. I personally stand with our teachers, and hope that the school board end this strike with a fair contract now. But no matter where you stand politically, I think we can all agree that it’s pretty cool to see Chicago businesses step up to support our teachers and students during these rocky times.

I’ll be updating this list as new information comes my way. If you hear about a Chicago business doing something special for teachers or students leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list! (Please note: some of these deals have stipulations, contact the businesses directly if you have questions!)

CTU Members

Challengers Comics + Conversation is offering CTU members 20% any purchase during the strike, and also has an offer for free comics for classrooms. They’ve also published a really nice thank you to our hard working teachers on their blog! Get the details here.

Brainstorm Movies, Comics & Gaming is offering CTU members 25% off for the duration of the strike. Visit their site.

Buffalo Wings & Rings is giving CTU members 15% off throughout the strike. Please contact them for details.

Lizards Liquid Lounge is offering a free cocktail to picketing teachers today, 9/11/12. Check their Facebook page for details.

Uncharted Books is offering educators 25% off their purchases during the strike. Click for details.

Chicago Bagel Authority on Armitage is offering teachers 25% off their food orders. Visit their site.

Kids

Second City is offering a free day camp to assist with child care. 10am – 3:30pm. Get the details.

Dimo’s Pizza has a special offer for the kids affected by the strikes. Parents, come in for a slice, and your kids eat free. Dimo’s has kid-sized slices of cheese, plus coloring books and crayons. Older students not accompanied by an adult must bring their student ID for this deal. Valid until 9pm during business hours. Get the details here. #foodforthought

Waveland Bowl is offering free kids bowling from 9am-4pm on strike days. Visit their site.

More coming soon!

Tweet

Today my agent Sally contacted me about brainstorming some subtitles for my cookbook, Bake and Destroy. I had a few ideas, but opened it up to some of my creative asshole friends. Please note that these are not possible covers for my book, these are actually other people’s covers that I hijacked and poorly Photoshopped without their permission. Sorry, other people.

First, let’s look at a couple of my ideas:

Not bad, right? OK, now let’s look at some suggestions from my friends:

…and my personal favorite:

Thanks to all of my friends for their help. If you have any good suggestions please leave them in the comments secion!

Tweet

What are you doing on Tuesday, July 31st from 6-8pm? Nothing? Then why not stop by the South Loop Whole Foods Whole Lifestyle Center to check out the Health Starts Here Food Fight?

It’s a unique competitive cooking event where three Health Starts Here Food Fight finalists will present their own appetizer, entrée and dessert for you to try.  After tasting the dishes of all three contenders (nine total small plates), you (and a celebrity panel) will vote on who will be South Loop’s winning chef for the year! Goodie bags will also be provided for all attendees. Space is limited. Must sign up here or at customer service in advance. It’s only $20 per person! (All nine dishes are meat and dairy free – one dish does have a dairy and non-dairy option. Some dishes do contain honey.)

See you there!

Tweet

Me, my dad & sister at Festa Pasta Vino about 7 years ago.

For the past 10 or so years I have spent Father’s Day morning making Rice Krispie treats for my dad. We always met up in Little Italy for the Festa Pasta Vino where we ate caprese salad out of paper cups and laughed at the old guys in gladiator costumes.

My dad took his Rice Krispie treats seriously, much to the dismay of my mom, who prefers to jazz them up with chocolate and peanut butter. To my dad, this was a complete bastardization of his favorite snack and on two days a year – his birthday and Father’s Day – we respected the Krispie in it’s natural state.

I don’t think I can bring myself to make Rice Krispie treats this year. I actually almost cry when I see that familiar blue box in the cereal isle. So instead, I’m going to honor my dad’s obsession with this crunchy, marshmallowy treat by presenting you with this Rice Krispie Treat Remix:

1. Did you know that the earliest recorded Krispie Treat recipe dates back to 1916? Read more Krispie Treat history on Twisted-Candy.com
2. Freak out your friends with this Krispie Treat watermelon! (My dad would have hated this!)
3. Check out the world record-holding 10,000 lb Rice Krispie Treat!

4. 

   In ’09 I made him one giant treat so he didn’t have to share.

   Krispie Treat smores. (He would not appreciate this either.)

5. Rice Krispie Treat Goat’s milk soaps – I actually gave these to my dad on Christmas and he somehow guessed what it was before he opened it!
6. The Crispery – featuring gourmet Krispie Treats! (I think you know what my dad would say.)
7. Hey vegans – make your Krispie Treats with Dandies Vegan Marshmallows!
8. Salted. Caramel. Rice Krispie Treats…
9. Fried Rice Krispie Treats. As in, fried rice. Yipes.
10. Last year SugarSlam 2011 judge Ben Roche suggested I make my dad *real* homemade Rice Krispie Treats (which he would not have liked at all) by making my own puffed rice cereal and homemade marshmallows. I’m not sure if I was supposed to churn my own butter, but I just made him regular treats.

So how do you like your Krispie Treats? Feel free to add links to any other wild Rice Krispie recipes, facts or videos you find!