Weekend Reading: Vegetables That Look Like Ducks, Grown-Up Grilled Cheese, Latte Portraits, and More

• When it comes to the childhood combo of tomato soup and grilled cheese, I've always been perfectly satisfied with a can of Campbell's and a grilled sandwich composed of buttered Bunny white bread glued shut by a shingle or two of Kraft American. But in this past week's New York Times, the lovely Melissa Clark showed me how I can take this time-honored lunch to a new level of adult sophistication. —Keith Pandolfi

• "We can't survive on $7.25!" That's the rallying cry of fast-food workers who walked off the job this past Thursday to press for a living wage of $15, as reported by NPR. The group Fast Food Forward organized the strike on behalf of New York workers and the 13 million fast-food workers nationwide who find it tough to raise a family on what they currently earn. —Betsy Andrews

• With Mad Men returning to the TV screen for a sixth season this Sunday, BuzzFeed lists their suggestions for Mad Men-inspired Ben & Jerry's ice cream pints. I could definitely go for a scoop of Don's Old Fashioned: whiskey flavored ice cream with orange zest and candied cherries. —Elsa Saatela

• In a surprising, scatologically-themed essay In the spring issue of edible Brooklyn, chef and restaurateur George Weld writes of how dealing with sewage problems at his restaurant made him think about sustainability in some new ways. Not sure his main epiphany—that "excreting is an agricultural act"—is bumper sticker material, but the piece sure is good, erm, bathroom reading. —Karen Shimizu

• A testament to the combined powers of caffeine and boredom, barista Mike Breach has taken latte art to a new level. Breach, who works at The Smile To Go in Manhattan, draws portraits of celebrities and characters in his customers' lattes--everyone from Beyonce to Tom Selleck to Robert Smith. I personally prefer to take my morning coffee faceless, but he does a good likeness. —Laura Sant

• Watching this touching video from the Perennial Plate about the 34-year relationship between a Sri Lankan husband-and-wife tea farming team, Tea for Two, I melted like an ice cream cone in August. The fair trade and organic Ceylon tea farmers share everything, from daily harvesting to house work. My favorite moment occurs when they adamantly state that they always cook their curry together, crediting their success to their partnership. —Anna Perling