Green City Market @ Notebaert Nature Museum

The Green City Market has moved indoors to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum's North Gallery, located at 2430 N. Cannon Drive, and will be selling the same good stuff they're known for from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. today. Chef Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill will give a cooking demo at 10:30 a.m.

Bookslut reading @ Hopleaf

Bookslut presents the latest in its series of monthly readings. Tonight's reading starts at 7:30 PM at the Hopleaf in Andersonville (doors open at 6:00), and features authors Yannick Murphy (Signed, Mata Hari: A Novel) and Cris Mazza (Waterbaby: A Novel). The event is free and open to the public. See the Bookslut site for full details. Hopleaf: 5148 N. Clark Street.

Cosmic Cartography: Journey through the Universe @ AIC

As part of the Festival of Maps, University of Chicago Cosmologists Rocky Kolb and Michael Turner will take you on a cosmic magical mystery tour from Chicago to the edge of the visible universe. Along the way you'll visit observatories around the globe (virtually) and meet people who are mapping the Dark Matter that holds galaxies together and discovering the nature of Dark Energy which pulls space apart.

Details: Rocky Kolb & Michael Turner
Wednesday December 5, 2007 7:00-9:00 PM
Rubaloff Auditorium, Art Institute of Chicago
Free and Open to the Public

For more information visit the Cosmic Cartography site.

Reconstruction Room presents Metamorphosis @ Black Rock bar

Bugs? Extreme makeovers? The love of a good woman or man? To say the least…Head on up to the Black Rock (3614 N. Damen) as writers go off on all that which, rather literally, transforms. Featuring performances by Nicolette Bond, Heather Crammond, Liz Cross, Mary Cross, Amy England, Alex Jovanovich, Beverly Nelson, David Tanury, and Allison Gruber. 8:00PM. Free. For a calendar of upcoming shows and an archive of past shows, please visit www.recroomers.com

How's Your Drink? Booksigning @ Le Passage

Wall Street Journal writer Eric Felten will be in the Drawing Room at Le Passage, 937 N. Rush, tonight from 5:30 to 7pm for a book-signing for How's Your Drink?, a new book about cocktails and cocktail culture. Buy the book and get a free "culinary cocktail."

Ella Karaoke Contest @ The Spot

The Northlight Theater and The Spot will host the second of their Ella Fitzgerald Sound-Alike-Contest tnoight, 9 p.m., at The Spot, 4437 N. Broadway. Prizes include tickets to the Northlight Theater's production of "Ella", gift certificates to The Spot and a grand prize of $100. For more information, visit www.northlight.org/singlikeella.

Birds of Peru Field Guide Launch @ The Field Museum

Ornithology rules the night during this free reception to celebrate the latest addition to the Princeton Field Guide series. Buy the guide, meet the authors and pepper Field Museum bird experts with all manner of questions about our avian friends. Actual Peruvian birds will be in attendance. The event takes place from 5:30pm until 8:00pm in the West lobby of The Field Museum at 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr. Food and wine are included; RSVP to djmartitn @ fieldmuseum [dot] org by Nov. 27.

Changes in Cookbooks @ Newberry Library

Recipes not only offer guidelines to creating tasty meals, they also contain a fair bit of history within them as they're passed from generation to generation. The Newberry Library takes a look at how cookbooks have changed over the last 75 years with "Culture, Technological, and Sociological Changes in Cookbooks from the Early Twentieth-Centure to the Present." Authors Penelope Bingham and Connie Fairbanks will discuss how American trends can be seen in cookbooks, whether food has gotten tastier and easier to make, and what comfort food really is. Admission is $9; a 5:30pm reception precedes the 6:15pm presentation. 60 W. Walton. Call 312-255-3556 for more information.

Champagne Krug Tasting @ Pops

Taste the legendary Champagne Krug at Pops for Champagne from 5-7pm. Wednesday tastings don't usually require reservations, but this snazzy tasting has limited space. Call 312-266-7677 for reservations. Pops for Champagne 601 N State St. $25

Ruth Behar @ Alliance Francaise

Jews in Cuba. Who knew? In this event sponsored by Nextbook, the University of Michigan anthropology professor discusses her latest book, about Cuba's enduring Jewish communities. Tickets are $6 to $8; 54 W Chicago, 6:30 PM. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the website.