Tag Archives: chicagoevents

Cooking in Chaos with Chicagoans

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Want to show off your cooking skills while eating twenty different dishes all at once? Sounds like a crazy reality show right? A few weeks ago, Monica and a friend attended the launch party of Chaos Cooking</strong in one kitchen with only ten burners and one sink to share with over 50 fellow Chicagoans.

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So you must be wondering how do over 50 people cook in one kitchen?  Well think BYOU!  Bring yo’ own utensils, peeps.  I had to bring my own ingredients and supplies so I threw knives, bowls, cutting boards and such in a box and headed out.   There were several pots in the kitchen for people to use, however, making the event a potluck style social with the twist of cooking on the spot with strangers.

People arrived at the spacious Test Kitchen located in Noble Square and were greeted by the bubbly hostess and event organizer, Victoria DeMatteo.  As more people arrived, others immediately felt a sense urgency and started to prep their food.   Cravzy provided VIPs (those who bought tickets early like me) one ingredient such as tofu, golden beets, asparagus, fish filets, chicken thighs and more.  I selected Manila mangoes to prepare mango salsa.

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Fellow Chicagoans of all different ages and backgrounds came together and had a great time cooking in chaos.  Some dishes were from online recipes such as simple yet yummy mango sticky rice while others created their own dish and even brought electric grill for toasty bread with goat cheese spread and fresh asparagus. A few even stepped out of the box with unique ideas like beer soaked rice.

  

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 So if you have a creative and non-claustrophobic cooking spirit, check out the Chaos Cooking events, held once a month with friends and fellow Chicagoans.  Sign up at Cooking Chaos website for future events or even host an event at your apartment. The next event is Spanish wines and tapas at our fave bistro, Blue Star Bistro & Wine Bar.  Click here to RSVP for this event on June 12th.

What new dish would you make if you had to cook in chaos?

Girl’s Fit Night: Exhale and Women’s Health Core Fusion Party

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We don’t know about ya’ll, but we love spending quality time with our best pals and quality time is even better when you can get fit together!   Exhale Spa Chicago, one of our fave luxurious spa and workout joints, is hosting a free event this coming Tuesday.

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The event includes complimentary evening Core Fusion classes, lite bites, goodie bags, giveaways, DJ’s and more!  The illustrious and well known, Women’s Health magazine, will also be kicking off their “Next Fitness Star” competition with guest star contender, Emily Scrhomm, during the party.  

Core Fusion Barre+Cardio, Exhale’s newest class will be one of the featured workouts for attendees to try during FusionFest.  If you haven’t tried an Exhale class, their instructors are impeccably skilled at merging ab wrenching exercises with toning Barre tricks and sweat inducing bursts of heart pumping moves.  

Anyone who attends the complimentary FusionFest classes will also be the recipient of a free month subscription to WH Fit Club (https://fitclub.womenshealthmag.com/), the online fitness center that gives access to the hottest, most coveted workout studios and leading fitness experts across the country—including exclusive workouts from Exhale co-founders Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp and Exhale’s National Yoga Director Stefanie Eris.

We would love you to join us in a fit and fun girl’s night!  Sign up here, grab your sticky grip socks, cute fitness gear and we’ll meet you at the Barre.

Final Details

Date: Exhale FusionFest, Tuesday May 20th

Class times: 5:25pm, 5:45pm, 6:35pm, 7:45pm

Location: 945 N. State, Chicago, IL 60610

Get “Flattened by Flavor” with Potbelly’s New #Flatbreads!

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Is the old white bread rigamaroll bringing you down?  We have developed a forever love of Potbelly’s whole grain bread subs (sorry Subway :/ ) that keeps us coming back for the skinny mushroom melt and the vegetarian Mediterranean.

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But what’s this?  Potbelly has unveiled a new bread experience: the flatbread gloves are off and Potbelly is ready to battle.

Last Thursday, we had the privilege of tasting the new multigrain flatbreads with the toppings of our tried and true sandwich stars.  And boy howdy does Potbelly know how to make you feel special!  Bottles were popping and flatbreads were flowing.  Ok well, actually the new frozen raspberry lemonades with the tiny shortbread cookies on the straws were popping.  We can dream right?

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Once we checked in, we walked upstairs to the VIP lounge.  Each table had several snack bags of BBQ Popchips awaiting our arrival.  Potbelly staff walked around with samples of the several types of sandwiches on the new flatbread.  We both tried a full sized veggie Mediterranean and Kate nibbled the tiny sized grilled chicken and cheese.  The Wreck, Turkey and Tuna on the flats were also available but we didn’t partake.  After we gobbled down our sammiches, we delighted in a “Drop the Popchip in your mouth” competition.

BBQ Popchips!

BBQ Popchips!

Review!

Nutrition: With 90 calories less than Potbelly’s traditional breads, the flatbread is a solid nutritional choice for somebody watching the waistline while craving a sammitch.

Taste: We are a big fan of the skinnys as too much bread can be overwhelming.  The flats had a mild multigrain flavor, not too overwhelming.  They have a nice balance of outside crunch and inside softness as well.  The raspberry lemonade was off the chain tasty but our guess is it is not on the health conscious list.  For a nice summer treat in 80 degree weather, it would alrighty but not the best idea in addition to a cookie, chips, sandwich, shake…hehehe…although light and airy Popchips are a good choice if you just hafta add the chips.

So when can you grab the flats and flatten them out?  Flats go national wide on May 6 and the yummy lemonade hits stands in June.

 

Our VIP Goody Bag from Potbelly

Our VIP Goody Bag from Potbelly

 

Run the Night to Save Some Light! Join the 5k Energizer Night Race

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Just as we started to begin to bear running outside again (shaking our fists at the lingering Polar Vortex), we were presented with a chance to not only stretch our fledgling run skills but also to help improve the quality of lives for others.  Sure, fun runs abound in the Chi.  There’s beer runs, chocolate runs (yum), Santa runs, Neon Color Glowy Runs and so on.

But your 5K can be silly and charitable!  Imagine, for example, running down Lake Shore Drive in the dark with a set of bunny ears on.  No, this is not your typical wild Saturday night.  This is the Energizer 5k Night Race for a Brighter World and we are your run ambassadors!

SO why do we need to make a brighter world?

The mission of the Energizer Night Race is to spread awareness of the dangers of unclean lighting.  When you participate in the Energizer Night Race in Chicago, you can help the 1.3 billion people that lack electricity.  Your time running will aid in Energizer’s efforts to donate over 14 million hours of light to families around the world through their partner, One Million Lights – a non-profit that provides clean, safe, affordable solar lighting to rural communities globally.  When we were reading through the info, we were surprised to learn about the usage and dangers of kerosene lighting which is still prevalent in many countries.  To be honest, we sometimes don’t consider all the comforts of home we have!  Are you inspired to lace up those shoes yet?  Here’s the details of the race!

 Energizer Night Race for a Brighter World

Saturday June 7, 2014

Lakeshore East Park

6PM Race Day Packet Pick-up/On-site Registration

7 PM Pre-Race Festivities

8 PM 5K Race Step Off

8:45-10:00 PM Post-Race Celebration

(Keep the bunny ears on for that extra party ‘je ne sais quoi’)

 

Your $35 entry fee includes your Energizer LED headlamp, bunny ears, event shirt as well as pre and post race entertainment.

 

And now we want to spread the positivitenergy™ to you!  We have race GIVEAWAYS so spread the word to keep the lights on!

To win, please tell us how you light up others’ lives and an email where we can reach you.  Deadline May 24th, 2014.

 

Prizes (click on each to see the prize):

2 Free Race Entries

5 Energizer® 3 LED Headlights

5 Energizer® Solar™ LED Flashlights 

Sign up, spread the word, put on those ears and run faster than a…well, faster than an Enegizer bunny, that’s apropos right?

 

LUNA FEST Recap

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At LUNAFEST in Chicago

Thursday night, we mosied on over to check out 13th Annual LUNAFEST, benefiting the Step Up Woman’s Network and the Breast Cancer Fund, at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in the heart of River North. Surprisingly, we found parking right next to Glazed and Infused (darn it was closed) and ran in a little late to find food lines off the chain!  Our trusty friend, Melissa gave us the run down.  Apparently, LYFE Kitchen had the best veggie goods but their table was all out of food.  Sadness.

We squeezed our way over to the RA Sushi table and managed to grab a small plate of garlic chili edamame and then stood in the cheese line which ended with…no cheese.  The lights flickered and we made our way over to prep for the films and finally scarfed down the SkinnyPop popcorn provided on our seats (yay food!!).  After a couple of amazing speeches from leaders in the Step Up Women’s Network, the short films began!

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Although all of them were unique and inspiring in their own way, we certainly had our VIP picks.

Kate:  I adored “Flying Anne“.  We are often encouraged to celebrate differences but are not always sure how to put this into practice.  The main character of this short film has Tourette Syndrome and is learning how to manage in the sometimes unforgiving world of elementary school.  Touching and inspiring, it’s a reminder that girls are so much more than their labels.

Monica:  “Running Dry” made me smile brightly despite the harsh life circumstances such as the economic crises in Athens, Greece.  The lead actress struggled financially and still gave her few precious euros to meet other people’s needs as she walked through the city.  At the end, even though she had no more cash, she was full of grins and gratification.

After the show ended, we managed to grab tiny chocolate raspberry chia parfaits from LYFE Kitchen and then were treated with the pick of the litter of a 3 pack of LUNA Bars.  Perhaps we dug a little for the Chocolate Dipped Coconut…perhaps.

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Missed LUNAFEST?  You can still catch the tour in several cities and archived LUNAFEST films are available here.