No nuts to you When Kristen Rice's son, Matthew -- a kid who loves chocolate -- received the diagnosis that he was allergic to peanuts, she also learned that even chocolate candies that say they're nut-free still may not be not safe because of cross-contamination with nut products in large candy factories.

"I always thought it would be a great business to provide a fun, good-tasting treat for people with nut allergies," she said.

Enter fate. After Rice was laid off from her law firm, she took miniMBA and FastTrack Entrepreneurship classes at the University of St. Thomas and went into the candymaking business, contracting with a company committed to being a nut-free facility.

Huey's Nut-Free Chocolate (Huey is Matthew's nickname) was launched in November and is based in St. Louis Park. Products range from candy bars, to chocolate lollipops, to truffles. The candies are available online; Rice said she plans to approach local retailers, as well. To learn more, visit www.hueys nutfreechocolate.com.

Bourdain du jour Anthony Bourdain, chef, author and gastrointestinal daredevil, will be telling tales at the State Theatre on April 23 as part of Hennepin Theatre Trust's new speaker series called "Living Legends."

Bourdain, perhaps now better described as the "bad middle-aged man of cuisine," still retains a boyish demeanor, a locker room vocabulary and the ability to entertain an audience just by being himself dishing about Rachael Ray, vegetarians and whatever else strikes his spleen at the moment.

It may be shtick, but he's always fun. Tickets range from $41 to $78.50 and may be purchased in person at the box office, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.; online at HennepinTheatreTrust.org; by calling 1-800-982-2787, or through Ticketmaster. Groups of 10 or more should call 612-373-5665 for information and reservations.

For coupon clippers Here's a new way to save a few bucks. The CouponMap.com website touts more than 200,000 deals and coupons nationwide, mostly for local restaurants. Users can enter their city or ZIP code to find savings in their neighborhood.

There are some glitches: Grand Szechuan in Bloomington is shown as being north of Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, so it may pay to doublecheck your destination. When we typed in our address, up popped deals at Boston Market and Pannekoeken Huis, as well as coupons for other services such as Ace Hardware and Barnes & Noble.

Green bean casserole You can taste it already, can't you? Campbell's Soup says it's been around for 54 years and is expected to be "on nearly 30 million tables across the U.S." (and you thought Santa knew all our secrets), so here's the recipe:

CAMPBELL'S GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Serves 12.

• 2 regular cans Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (any formulation)

• 1 c. milk

• 2 tsp. soy sauce

• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

• 8 c. cooked cut green beans, fresh or frozen

• 22/3 c. French's French Fried Onions

Directions

Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 11/3 cups onions in 3-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture.

Sprinkle with the remaining onions. Bake 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

KIM ODE