Merry Christmas from Blue Kitchen

A TV dinner and a hula girl. How much more Christmasy can you get? Somehow another year has flown by. And while other food bloggers were busy sharing holiday recipes and gift ideas, I was, well, not. Partly, it’s because I was settling into a new job and we were traveling to see our older daughter graduate summa cum laude, both really wonderful things.

But mostly, it’s because I am perhaps one of the most accomplished procrastinators on the planet. I frequently amaze even myself with my abilities in this arena. So instead of all the ideas I should have been giving you to make your holidays brighter, cooler, funner, tastier, I’ll just tell you a little bit about how we’re enjoying ours. Continue reading “Merry Christmas from Blue Kitchen” →

Small Bites: an underground dinner and a downloadable documentary on organic food

Tuesday Night Dinner celebrates immigration and Chicago’s collective food history with “Off the Boat, Into the Kitchen.” And the documentary In Organic We Trust is now available on iTunes and On Demand.

Underground dining experiences combine lots of our favorite things. Eating great food, meeting new people and doing it all in nontraditional spaces. Tuesday Night Dinner has been creating just such creative dinners for Chicagoans since 2009. TND is an underground dining community committed to creating an environment where guests feel a closer connection to their food and its sources. During the winter, TND hosts a communal dinner the last Tuesday of each month. This month’s dinner, “Off the Boat, Into the Kitchen,” is an interpretation of Old World favorites tweaked through the lens of the Windy City. Continue reading “Small Bites: an underground dinner and a downloadable documentary on organic food” →

The kitchen is closed for the holidays

This was supposed to be one of those posts that reflects on the year gone by and perhaps looks optimistically ahead to what the new year may hold. If I had written it before our family holiday dinner (with two servings of dessert and at least two glasses of wine), it might have been just that.

Instead, so far it’s been me sitting staring at the blinking cursor on the screen for minutes on end and thinking, “Now what?” Still, I wouldn’t trade even a brilliantly written post for the lazy, lovely day and evening I’ve spent with my amazing family. I hope your holidays were wonderful. We’ll be back next week with a new recipe.

Gifts that give back: three do-good gift ideas

Three last-minute gift ideas that help others in need with every gift you give.

The idea behind FEED is simple: fight hunger and malnutrition around the world by providing free lunches at school. Through the UN World Food Programme and UNICEF, FEED does just that—and more. School feeding is one of the most effective solutions to stopping hunger and helping children break out of the poverty cycle they were born into. When boys and girls are given a free, nutritious meal in school, research has shown that attendance and performance greatly increase.

To raise funds, FEED sells a wide array of stylish gifts, from tote bags to toys, apparel, accessories and more. And each gift tells you exactly how many meals you’ll be providing and where. You’ll find great gift ideas for everyone on your list at the FEED website. Continue reading “Gifts that give back: three do-good gift ideas” →

Small Bites: Spooky sweet bites and donating to Hurricane Sandy relief

Vosges Haut-Chocolat offers sophisticated spooky treats. And a couple of places to provide help to Hurricane Sandy victims—including pets and farm animals.

First, the sweet stuff. Halloween and Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations offer a perfect convergence of excuses for enjoying Vosges Haut-Chocolat’s trio of Skull Lollipops. The Barcelona Skull Lollipop features hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt and 44% cacao deep milk chocolate. The Red Fire Skull Lollipop heats things up with Mexican ancho and chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon and 55% cacao dark chocolate. The Leche Skull Lollipop combines pink Himalayan salt and 44% cacao deep milk chocolate. All are much too good to waste on kids. Find them at the Vosges Haut-Chocolat website. Continue reading “Small Bites: Spooky sweet bites and donating to Hurricane Sandy relief” →

Fair Trade Month gives “good eats” new meaning

October is Fair Trade Month, reminding us that buying Fair Trade Certified foods improves the quality of life for farmers and their communities—and the quality of the imported foods we eat.

We were out of the kitchen last week on a food-focused road trip to Columbus, Ohio. Look for a new recipe next week—and a Columbus report soon.

Food is in an interesting place right now. Increasingly, we are urged to eat locally—and farmers markets, locavore chefs and even grocery stores are bringing us ways to do that. On the other hand, our palates have never been more global. Exotic spices, produce and pantry staples are transitioning from ethnic markets and gourmet shops to supermarket shelves. They’re doing so because we’re using them in our kitchens more and more. And then there are those staples so ingrained in our daily lives that we don’t often even think of them as imported—coffee, chocolate, bananas, tea… But how these foods are grown, harvested and processed has a major impact on lives around the world. And on the health of the planet. That’s where fair trade comes in. Continue reading “Fair Trade Month gives “good eats” new meaning” →

Hungry for new experiences, new friendships? SideTour comes to Chicago

New York City startup SideTour is all about trying something new and seeing the world through the eyes of others. And now it’s come to Chicago.

People are naturally curious creatures. Naturally social too. Put those two elements of human nature together and you’ve got the driving idea behind SideTour. Founded in New York in June 2011, SideTour is an online marketplace of “handpicked activities, tours and memorable things to do, all hosted by talented local people.”

Some of the events are food and drink related—creating a gluten-free meal with a holistic chef, dining with a banker-turned-monk in his East Village monastery and brewing your own pale ale with a craft beer expert, for instance. Others range from boxing with a world champ in a Brooklyn gym to visiting Hollywood’s secret (props) arms depot in SoHo and learning the art of disguise from a former CIA agent. Continue reading “Hungry for new experiences, new friendships? SideTour comes to Chicago” →

Small Bites: 3 new haut chocolates from Vosges and 100 top wines for $15 or less

Vosges Haut-Chocolat introduces three new flavors for fall. And Wine Enthusiast Magazine releases its Top 100 Best Buys for 2012.

Dessert with a capital D is only a sometime thing here at Blue Kitchen, but we do like to keep chocolate on hand. Just a square or two after dinner gives the meal a sweet finish without committing to a big, calorie-laden slice or scoop of anything. So when artisanal chocolatier Vosges Haut-Chocolat invited us to join its VIP Blogger Program, we were more than happy to oblige.

A couple of perks of the program are preview announcements of new flavors and—more to the chocolate-loving point—occasional samples of those new flavors. Case in point are three new chocolate bars for fall. Continue reading “Small Bites: 3 new haut chocolates from Vosges and 100 top wines for $15 or less” →

Small Bites: The organic vs. non-organic story continues and the winner of our first giveaway

Feedback and fallout continue to follow the recently released Stanford study claiming that organic food is no more nutritious than conventional food. And we pick the winner of a copy of Minette’s Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat.

I love a good verbal dust-up, a spirited exchange of ideas. I’m not so sure a couple of Stanford University scientists would agree right now. They unleashed quite a torrent with their recent statement that organic foods were no more nutritious than non-organic foods. More specifically, Dr. Dena Bravata, an MD and the senior author of the study published in the September 4 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, said, “There isn’t much difference between organic and conventional foods, if you’re an adult and making a decision based solely on your health.” And that’s where the fun begins. Continue reading “Small Bites: The organic vs. non-organic story continues and the winner of our first giveaway” →