The next time you’re around a cook, take a close look at their hands and arms. Chances are, you’ll find quite a few scars. Even the most experienced chefs get hurt sometimes.
I’m no exception. I think I’ve kept Johnson & Johnson in business over the past few years, with all the Band-Aids I’ve bought. But if you want to stop kitchen injuries once and for all, the best defense is a good offense. If you follow these steps, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary cuts and burns.
Continue reading 'How to Prevent Kitchen Injuries'»
A few weeks ago, I found myself flipping through an issue of Town & Country Magazine. Normally, Town & Country is not my kind of magazine. I’m not interested in reading articles that debate the standing vs. running martingale, or why Patrick Demarchelier prefers to retouch his own negatives.
I was flipping past those very articles, when I saw an ad that caught my attention. The page was entirely black. And in white print, was the following quote from Coco Chanel herself:
Continue reading 'Time won’t give me time'»
Vh-1 Classic is my new favorite cable channel. They show music videos exclusively from the 70s, 80s and 90s. And last week, they aired non-stop Christmas videos! I’d like to share my favorites with you.
Continue reading 'I hope George packed his Aqua Net'»
When I was a kid, I would go to our family Christmas party with two priorities in mind:
Priority #1: Put black olives on my fingers:
Priority #2: Make hilarious mashed potato sculptures. (Hey, at least I thought it was funny):
As a result, I missed a lot of great foods, including Seven Layer Salad. My grandma made it during the holidays, and everyone loved it. Except me. As a kid, I hated to eat foods that were touching on the plate, or mixed together. Needless to say, Seven Layer Salad was a capitol offense.
Continue reading 'Better late than never'»
Like many of you, music was my first love. Before art, before writing, definitely before baking … music was first. I think the same is true for a lot of people. There is a certain passion and earnestness about rock music, that strikes a chord with the 12/13-year old crowd. I think that’s why the music we loved in high school is still the music we love today.
This past Sunday, I was lucky enough to see U2 on their 360 tour. I’ve seen them on every tour since 1997.
I was bummed that I couldn’t see them on Saturday – their first night in Chicago. But that’s how us U2 connoisseurs are. We always want to witness the first concert, sit in the closest seats, and possess the rarest B-sides. (Do kids today even know what B-sides are? God, I hope so.)
Continue reading 'The doors you open, I just can’t close'»
If you could grade how people spend their summers, I would get an F.
You know those people who get an A+ in summer : catching fireflies, sitting on the porch at dusk, going to the beach, wearing flip-flops, etc. I regard these folks with equal parts bewilderment and jealousy. I truly don’t understand what they love about summer, yet I wish I could enjoy it like they do.
The reason I fail summer so miserably is because I don’t particularly like it. Don’t get me wrong, I love things associated with summer – long sunny days, fresh vegetables, etc. But the reality of summer (for me, at least) is more like this:
- sit in a freezing cold office
- burn myself with the seatbelt in my 100-degree car
- go jogging on the lakefront and dodge slow-moving tourists
- get an ice cream cone at Oberweis, only to have it look like this 5 minutes later:
Continue reading 'Summer is just Autumn’s opening act'»
Ever since I started collecting cookbooks, my poor bookshelves have been buckling under their weight. So, in an effort to save money, space, and keep my bookshelves from breaking, I’ve decided to re-discover … the library.
This week, I became the proud owner of a brand new, freshly laminated library card. It is so special that it has de-throned my Costco card, and usurped the VIP space in my wallet. We all have the wallet VIP space – mine is right above my driver’s license. For years, that’s where my Coscto card lived. But not anymore.
Although I am a lifelong Chicagoan, I haven’t been a patron of the Chicago Public Library since I was about 12 years old. Back then, between Book It! and The Baby-Sitters Club, I practically lived at the library. It was one of the few places my parents would let me walk to by myself (and when you’re a kid, that’s a big deal).
Continue reading 'Bibliophile'»
In an effort to define people, our culture has developed sets of mutually exclusive categories. By default, a person can only fall into one group. You’re either a: Male/Female, Owner/Renter, Democrat/Republican, Cubs Fan/Sox Fan, etc.
But as a kid, no classification was more important than this: you were either a SNICK fan, or a TGIF fan. (…As an adult, this can morph into an argument of Nickelodeon vs. ABC, or worse yet, Viacom vs. Disney…)
TGIF and Snick were both nighttime programming formats from the 90s, and at one point, both featured a show starring Melissa Joan Heart – but that’s where the similarities end.
Personally, I am firmly planted in the Snick camp, and for all practical purposes, I consider myself to be a Snick Purist. In this blogger’s opinion, nothing can beat the original lineup of: Clarissa Explains it All, RoundHouse, Ren & Stimpy, and Are You Afraid of the Dark.
Continue reading 'TGIF vs. SNICK – a study in business models and life lessons'»
On Saturday, I saw the Mary Poppins musical. Before I begin gushing about it, I have a confession: The last time I saw Mary Poppins, I was in 5th grade. I identify much more with the Simpsons episode featuring Sherry Bobbins, and her fabulous musical number, “Just Do a Half-Assed Job.”
But that is just a testament to how Disney can take a cold, hard cynic like me, who hasn’t seen Mary Poppins in 15 years, and turn me into a big pile of mush.
As an adult, it becomes difficult to enjoy things on a purely innocent level. But Disney can always do it. Of course we all know about Disney’s history of racism and sexism, but that’s another topic for another post. I’m referring more to their storytelling and songwriting ability.
Continue reading 'You need to find a way to say precisely what you mean..'»
On Saturday, while most people were watching NCAA basketball, I happened to catch the Illinois 4A boys basketball championship.
My old high school, Whitney Young, was competing for the state championship, and one of our guards is none other than Marcus Jordan. The camera kept panning over to Michael Jordan, who was in the crowd watching the game. Whitney Young has some other claims to fame (see also: Michelle Obama, Wachowski brothers), but it’s always exciting when we win a state basketball championship – Go Dolphins!
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