Thursday, April 5, 2012

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Nothing to see here...except a plain brown bag

Chicago Called Most Corrupt City In Nation

A former Chicago alderman turned political science professor/corruption fighter has found that Chicago is the most corrupt city in the country. He cites data from the U.S. Department of Justice to prove his case.

University of Illinois at Chicago professor Dick Simpson, who served as alderman of the 44th Ward in Lakeview from 1971 to 1979, estimates the cost of corruption at $500 million a year. Since the 1970s, four of Illinois’ seven governors have been convicted (Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich). In addition, dozens of Chicago alderman and other city and county public officials have been found guilty.

Corruption, Simpson said, is intertwined with city politics. Simpson found that about a third of sitting alderman since 1973 have been corrupt. “We have had machine politics since the Great Chicago Fire of 1871,” he said. “Machine politics breeds corruption inevitably.” Simpson is set to present his full report Wednesday morning, and testify before the new Chicago Ethics Task Force at City Hall Wednesday night.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/02/14/chicago-called-most-corrupt-city-in-nation/

And who can forget Operation Greylord?

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2004/march/greylord_031504

A very sad state of affairs.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Be Safe. Only enjoy your coffee with Z&H

Today...

(Reuters) - More than 1.7 million single cup coffee brewers made by Tassimo and another 4 million Tassimo espresso coffee pads were recalled on Thursday after reports that dozens of consumers were sprayed with hot liquid and some were severely burned, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Among the more than 160 consumers injured was a 10-year-old girl from Minnesota who was hospitalized with second-degree burns on her face and neck and a 2-year-old girl from Canada with second-degree facial burns.

"The plastic disc, or T Disc, that holds the coffee or tea can burst and spray hot liquid and coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers using the brewer and onto bystanders, posing a burn hazard,".

The bursting appliances resulted in 140 reports of consumers sprayed with hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves. Of those, 37 reported suffering second-degree burns, including the 10-year-old girl, the website said.

The agency advised consumers to immediately stop using the affected models and to contact the company to order a free replacement T Disc holder for the brewing mechanism.

The second recall was issued by Kraft Foods Global Inc., of Northfield, Illinois, maker of the Tassimo espresso T Discs, which are pre-packaged ground beans in their own filter. Kraft recalled about 2.1 million packages in the U.S. and another 1.9 million in Canada, saying they can get clogged and spray hot liquid and coffee grounds, posing a burn hazard.

Consumers were advised to stop using the discs immediately and to contact the firm for a refund.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Check Please! Redux

If you missed Sam's epic portrayal of himself on CHECK PLEASE! you can use this link:

http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?erube_fh=cp&cp.submit.restaurantDetail=1&cp.id=392

to relive this seminal moment in the culture of food television.

(note: it was very nice of the folks at CHECK PLEASE! to have us on the show and we are grateful that the response has been so generous. Thank you to everyone who has shared kind words with us.)

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Check Please!

Check, Please!

Be like Mike Teavee (and not like Augustus Gloop)and get your fill of Z&H on this week's episode of Check, Please! airing Friday at 8 pm on WTTW11

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Big City Suds at Z&H (it is a short leap from cheese to soap)

Big City suds are made with wonderful high quality olive and vegetable oils. There are no fillers, chemicals or hardeners. These soaps leave your skin feeling soft and smoothe, not dry and itchy.

All of these soaps are handmade using a cold-process method, where nutrient-rich oils are blended with distilled water and sodium hydroxide. They are then poured into molds, cut, and left to cure for 4-6 weeks. The natural result of this method is a soap that is very high in glycerin, a humectant that attracts moisture to the skin. Each batch begins with olive oil, palm oil, and coconut oil, as this combination results in a gentle soap with a silky feel and a beautiful lather. From there they incorporate additional ingredients such as butters, infusions, mineral-rich clays, and botanicals, to influence the feel, scent, and sight of the finished bar. No animal fats are used, and products that contain any animal products such as beeswax, honey, or milk, are indicated in the list of ingredients.

Come on now, it's time to get squeaky clean with Big City Suds.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

A Beefy Top Ten list

top ten health reasons to eat grassfed beef.

According to a 2009 study that was a joint study by the USDA and Clemson University, grassfed beef has some unique benefits that grainfed beef may not have:

1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
4. Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
5. Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3s
7. Better ratio of omega-6 to 3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
10. Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease

Mooo (chew chew) Mooo.