And so begins my weekend at Chicago Comic Con. I haven’t been back in several years, so it should be interesting, to say the least. I’ll be resurrecting my typical battle plan: Day One – scour the booths for 50% off graphic novels and novelty items, armed with a prioritized list; Day Two – check [...]

Tags: artists, Bruce Campbell, celebrities, Chicago, Comic Con, Ghost of the Robot, James Marsters, nerds, Patrick Stewart, Torchwood, Willy Wonka, Wizard world
Filed under: Chicago, geeky, hobbies, local spot, pop culture, press, sci-fi, tv shows

I went on something of a cooking bender this weekend, which might have something to do with the fact that spring is in the air and the Farmer’s Markets are starting to reappear in the city. My produce share from Edible Alchemy this week was overflowing with delicious goodies and since I’ve got a busy [...]

Tags: experiments, fresh produce, hazelnuts, nutella, quiche
Filed under: chocolate, cooking, food, hobbies, recipes

Tickets for the second annual Great Lakes Regional Burning Man event, Lakes of Fire, have just been released. You can read about it here on Wildfire Weaver, the website for my fire dancing performance/industry news. If you’ve never heard of fire dancing, take a look around the site. You might be surprised to find that [...]

Tags: Burning Man, camping, festival, fire dancing, fire spinning, great lakes regional, lakes of fire, Leave No Trace, outdoor event
Filed under: camping, fire performance, hobbies, local spot, outdoors, weirdness

Come Saturday afternoon, some 2000+ Chicago bacon enthusiasts (including yours truly) will descend upon the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavillion to spend three hours wandering a smokey, salty, porktastic wonderland, featuring bacon-themed dishes by 50 of Chicago’s best restaurants, a bacon booze bar and exhibition hall of purveyors of all things bacon. I’m beyond excited (and [...]

Filed under: bacon, Chicago, chocolate, cooking, festivals, food, food porn, hobbies, press, restaurant

If it’s not apparent by now, I’m obsessed with cooking. It’s not for nothing that negotiations often take place over food because few things generate a sense of contentment and congeniality more than a good meal. I love how the preparation and enjoyment of food brings people together and creates connections where previously there may [...]

Tags: ancho, candy, Chicago, chili, chipotle, chocolate, dessert, Edible Alchemy, education, ganache, handmade, learning, local food, non-dairy, non-soy, nuts, seminar, series, spicy, teaching, treats, truffle rolling, truffles, workshop
Filed under: Chicago, chocolate, cooking, food, hobbies, local spot, recipes, snacks, teaching

…with less than 10 minutes of prep work, 5 simple ingredients and roughly 20-30 minutes cooking time in the oven, those curly, innocuous-looking leaves can be transformed into a delicious snack food that will satisfy the same cravings as potato chips, but with more nutrients and less empty calories.

Tags: easy recipe, easy snack, food, healthy food, healthy snacks, kale, snacks
Filed under: cooking, food, hobbies, recipes, snacks

Attention Chicago-area teachers – Marbles the Brain Store is offering a 10% discount and no sales tax to teachers at their 5 Chicago area stores (55 E. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL, 4745 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL, Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, IL or 123 S. Washington St., Naperville, IL) today and tomorrow [...]

Tags: Chicago, deals, games, Marbles Brain Store, puzzles, shopping
Filed under: Chicago, hobbies, puzzles