Food, fun and a little freaky

There will be some interesting, sometimes even in a good way, stuff in Chicago at three food trade shows June 16-18.

Now, Chicago is a food town deluxe, from that pizza to Mexican, yes Mexican. But the shows, All Things Organic, Expo Comida Latina and All Asia will be showing off everything from hardware to foods that don’t necessarily fit the every-day shopping list.

How about dinnerware made of residue from sugar cane processing or Hawaiian Health’s Ohana-Lavender Noni Lotion for Pets? It’s supposed to be for fungal and bacterial infections, cuts, muscle strains and more. Sounds like what I need for those gardening days gone wild.

And don’t forget the fun. There will be jigsaw puzzles that bring a new meaning to Greenpeace (green pieces, get it?). TDK Games’ Greenpieces puzzles are printed on paper embedded with wildflower seeds. After you finish the puzzle, take it apart, plant and water the pieces for flowers if you’re not embarrassed to be seen planting puzzle pieces.

But the food – everything from purple carrot juice to fruit pastes made with grape skin extract.
Carmelized flax seed, blueberries and basil packed together to top salads, organic and biodynamic wine, green tea beer and a full range of organic spirits, will be on display, according to the shows’ Web sites.

But I’m drawing the line at beer made from green tea, at least until I have a couple of boring beers.