November 2009 Archives

(Chicago)  We're Cruisin' Illinois again with the father of Thanksgiving - Abraham Lincoln.  That's right!  You may be surprised to know that "Honest Abe" played a central role in establishing America's day of thanks.    

He certainly wasn't onboard the Mayflower.  But 242 years after the Pilgrims gathered around the table for roast turkey and corn, President Lincoln made sure we'd remember Plymouth Rock.   

In the midst of sorrow during the Civil War, in a time of tremendous hardship (sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it?) .. the Commander-in-Chief decided it was still important to give thanks.  So he made Thanksgiving an official holiday.  Here's the  White House proclamation from October 3rd, 1863:

By the President of the United States of America.

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

As we prepare for a Cuban-style Thanksgiving with turkey and "frijoles negros" ... I'm giving thanks for an amazing mother, Lourdes Rivero Garcia (that's her on the right-hand side in this photograph from Cuba).  She was (and still is) a talented singer and guitarist who's performed on television in both Havana and the United States (see picture below performing with her twin-sister on New York's channel 47). 

Raising three kids and earning a Masters Degree didn't leave time for music, but somehow she managed to perform and even record an album of her traditional Cuban music.  She never sold many copies (largely because popular salsa music was coming into vogue).  But in my book - she's still a star.  Click on the music Mpeg sample below to hear her beautiful voice.           

As a young boy, I remember falling asleep to her sweet voice, as she'd sing Cuban lullabies.  There was always music in my home  - my father playing classical and my mother playing guitar.  It's a mucical tradition that goes back generations, beginnng with great-grandfather, Julio.  Music, culture and fellowship were a passion for him.  And he loved nothing better than gathering people around the table for food and conversation.  

Preserving the richness of Cuban culture has been a major motivation for my family-owned specialty food company, Old Havana Foods.  You can read more and see  family pictures from Cuba on my website.  There's even a picture of my mother and her sister as little girls, no doubt enjoying the ever-present music that's always been a part of our lives.   

So this Thanksgiving, I say muchas gracias!   To a mother who gave so much love - and the gift of Cuban music.       

A remarkable anti-violence program is drawing national attention at Roberto Clemente High School.  It's called "BAM" .. which is short for Becoming A Man.  It focuses very intensely on at-risk youth, which according to the University of Chicago's Crime Lab includes boys who are failing in middle school or high school.  Research shows that in 2008, nearly half of Chicago's gunshot victims were between the ages of 10 and 25 (and the vast majority of those victims were male).

Although experts say there's no quick and easy fix to the problem of street gangs, many believe BAM holds out the brightest promise.  The idea is to intervene in the lives of struggling boys beginning at the end of elementary school - before they drop out of school into a life of crime or evern gangbanging.     

On Wednesday, November 18th, we'll take an in-depth look at BAM on WGN News at 9PM.  And we'll talk to the man who created the program - a charismatic Chicago-born clinical psychologist who developed BAM over a ten-year period.

Hope you'll watch our special WGN News Cover Story on youth violence, as we look at what many say could be Chicago's best bet to reduce the killings.       

(Chicago)   From the Useless Information Department of WGN Morning News comes the story of the "Sloppy Joe" sandwich.  It might surprise you to know this lunch room  staple has a well-traveled past.  And it has nothing to do with cafeteria ladies wearing plastic gloves.  

The evidence shows this all-American classic was born 90 miles offshore, on the island of Cuba.  Sloppy Joe's Bar in Old Havana lays claim to this colorful piece of culinary history.  The famous watering hole is said to be the first to offer ground beef on a bun, beginning in the 1920's.  If nothing else, the hearty offering helped rum-soaked patrons absorb buckets of Cuban Mojito's.  Many believe the cooks served up a spicy, seasoned version of ground beef that's long been a favorite Cuban dish , known as Picadillo.     

Nevertheless, Cuban food aficionados say the exact origins are difficult to pin down.  My older relatives remember a slightly different version of the legendary sandwich at Sloppy Joe's, known as Ropa Vieja (which translated to English means 'old clothes').  Classic  Cuban recipes call for marinated skirt steak stewed in tomato sauce, fresh garlic, peppers and a splash of cane sugar.  And it's served steaming hot on a hamburger bun or bed of white rice.        

But on the other side of the Florida Straits, you'll hear competing claims from Sloppy Joe's in Key West.  They say their establishment is the birthplace of the legendary ground beef sandwich.  Frequented by Oak Park's Ernest Hemingway, and the site of the annual "Hemingway Look-Alike Contest," the people at Sloppy Joe's have been serving up sandwiches to dangerously sun-burnt tourists for decades (along with unfathomable quantities of gin and rum).

But regardless of who invented the famous sandwich, here's my argument for the best-tasting Sloppy Joe's you'll ever enjoy.  At Old Havana Foods (the family-owned specialty food company we launched earlier this year), we offer a tantalizing version of the old Cuban standby.  My famous Chili Cubano is a blend of centuries-old Cuban recipes that were passed down from my great-grandfather.  And the great thing is it only takes minutes to prepare this all-natural specialty.  All you do is brown ground beef and combine in a large pot with my ready-made saute seasoning (sofrito) and Old Havana black beans.  Serve it over a fresh Kaiser roll and watch the kids go loco.  My little crazies love the slightly-spicy but sweet family recipe.        

So the next time a cafeteria lady with big arms serves you a "Sloppy Joe," take the time to tell her the amazing story of this satisfying (but underappreciated) Cuban dish that's served in cafeterias from Schaumburg to Havana. 

Nobody knows how bad it can get.  But hospitals and public health officials have no choice but to look at the worst-case scenario, when it comes to the H1N1 virus. 

We're LIVE at Mt. Sinai hospital - the latest Chicagoland hospial to impose temporary restrictions on visitation for children and teens under the age of 18.  It's one of many   measures that hospitals are taking to try and slow the spread of the swine flu.   

In today's Chicago Tribune, the newspaper takes a sobering look at what we could be dealing with in a so-called "worst-case" scenario for the Swine Flu.  Doctors say if 35% of the U-S population gets the H!N! virus, close to 60,000 might require hositalization in Illinois.  That's a whopping 75% of the state's available hospital beds.  It's a little bit scary to think about, as we struggle to find vaccines for our children and vulnerable loved-ones.  

But when it comes to dealing with this potent pandemic, it pays to prepare for the worst - and hope for the best. 

They've extracted their revenge for all those years we kicked sand in their face.  The computer nerds are the new "masters of the universe," if you ask me.  And they had their way with me this weekend - as we toiled to revamp my Old Havana Foods website.  It's part of a top-to-bottom retooling that's been as about as much fun as having your pupil's dialated.  

As a former English-major and avid reader, it's hard to stay awake reading poorly-written manuals on Google adwards and keyword analystics.  You might as well club me over the head if you hand me a book on web marketing.  As necessary as it is, I prefer a visit to the proctologist over a session with my friendly neighborhood computer tech.    

But as I've discovered, to survive as an on-line business, you have no choice but to verse yourself in the language of search-engine optimization and meta-tagging.  It's as important as the product itself.  I can offer my centuries-old Cuban recipes and the world's best black beans and rice.  But it doesn't amount to a hill of beans (or frijoles negros) if my family-owned and operated business doesn't get picked up by search engines.  

So for the foreseeable future, whether I like it or not, "Web Marketing for Dummies" is required reading.  Even if it puts me to sleep.