Vegan Miss | It's the Bee's Knees, Daddy!

Lumpia

2012-02-21T14:06:00.000-06:00

Growing up, I had a Filipino nanny named Luz for ten years. As I didn't have grandparents, she was very much like a grandmother to me (I brought her to Grandparent's Day every year at school too). One of my favorite memories is learning how to cook from Luz. This recipe, modified vegan, is a favorite childhood food of mine. Lumpia are a lot like egg rolls, but they are long and thin. They are so good, you could just sit there and eat one after the next, haha. I ate them with vinegar as a kid. Luz taught me many other things other than cooking. Most importantly, she taught me one of the best qualities a person could have in life: Remember to laugh. She was always smiling, laughing, and in a good mood. I keep a framed picture of myself and her on my desk so I can see her everyday. :]

Lumpia

* Prep Time: 20 minutes
* Cook Time: 15 minutes
* Ingredients:

1/2 package (8 oz.) firm tofu, pressed and drained, mashed*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white onion, finely diced
1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
1/3 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup green cabbage, shredded
1 small green pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup bean sprouts, finely diced
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil + more for frying
salt and pepper, to taste
lumpia wrappers*
sweet and sour sauce, to taste, to dip*

* Recipe:

In a deep fryer or a large deep frying pan, add the vegetable oil and bring to medium heat.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the lumpia wrappers and sweet and sour sauce.
Separate the lumpia wrappers (be careful, they are very thin) and add 2 tbsp or so of the mixture into the center of the wrapper creating a line form across the wrapper.
Fold over the two right and left sides of the wrapper onto the filling. Roll the lumpia wrapper like a rug from bottom to top. Use water to seal the end of the wrapper to the roll.
Fry the lumpia until golden brown on all sides.
Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

* Note: Instead of tofu, one could use finely chopped ground seitan, just veggies, or even tempeh. It is traditionally filled with ground meat. Lumpia wrappers are easy to find at most Asian grocery stores. A variety of sauces could be used for dipping. I made a homemade sweet and sour sauce, but a sweet chili sauce would be good as well as a soy sauce or vinegar sauce.

This is a good picture instruction guide for rolling lumpia.

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of LooseLeaf Lounge

2012-02-16T10:50:00.001-06:00

A few months ago Mercy For Animals worked with LooseLeaf Lounge to create a new vegan menu. This cute cafe already had a great veggie sandwich, the Original Vegan (tomato focaccia, basil pesto [w/o Parmesan], artichoke hearts, black olives, cilantro, spinach, tomato, and red onions). In addition to this sandwich, they added:

Chorizo Wrap: flour tortilla, Upton's Naturals chorizo seitan, romaine, avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, garlic hummus and Daiya mozzarella
Vegan Grilled Cheese: pumpernickel, romaine, buttery spread, garlic hummus, onion, tomato, and your choice of Daiya cheddar or mozzarella
Ground Seitan: pumpernickel, Upton's Naturals ground seitan, romaine, avocado, tomato, red pepper, basil Vegenaise, and Daiya mozzarella
Portobello: rosemary ciabatta, portobello marinated in a balasalmic & basil vinaigrette, with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, red onion, and mozzarella (sub Daiya)
Eggplant Delight: white ciabata, organic eggplant marinated in a red wine vinaigrette, with basil thyme, garlic, and jalapeno pepper. Served with spinach, tomato, red onions, and mozzarella (sub Daiya).

In addition to sandwiches, LooseLeaf also has salads such as mixed greens, Asian, and hearty veggie. There are also a number of vegetarian soups, though not all are vegan. Vegan soups include miso, lentil, and hearty vegetable.

I tried the chorizo wrap. It came with a choice of veggies or chips. I got the veggies. The wrap was pretty good. It was pressed such as a panini which toasted the wrap and melted the cheese, adding a nice touch to the ground seitan. I'm not sure the hummus was really needed, though. I didn't feel it and it didn't seem to add anything. Overall, I'd get it again, but I'd love to try a different sandwich. Will be back soon!

Stuffed Zucchini Cups, Pear Stuffed Heart-Shaped Ravioli in Walnut Sage White Wine Reduction, & Heart-Shaped Raspberry Tiramisu

2012-02-12T21:54:00.003-06:00

Ah, Valentine's Day. To me, I always think Italian food is the way to go for this holiday. Last year, I made a lovely dinner of raw kale salad, spaghetti and heart-shaped meatballs, and tiramisu. This year, I changed the tiramisu recipe to a raspberry version that is heart-shaped. Who doesn't love cute lovey-dovey food on this holiday?!

Stuffed Zucchini Cups

* Prep Time: 10 minutes

* Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

* Ingredients:

2 large zucchini
2-4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green pepper, finely diced
1 package (8 oz.) vegan ground crumbles*
1/2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 cup tomato basil pasta sauce*
vegan mozzarella, to top*
vegan Parmesan, to top (optional)*
sea salt, to top (optional)*

* Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onions with salt and pepper until translucent. Add the garlic, green peppers, mushrooms, and crumbles.
Cook for about ten minutes until the crumbles are brown. Add the basil, parsley, and oregano and keep cooking for another two minutes.
Cut the zucchini in about one inch pieces. Using a small spoon or melon baller, scoop out the insides of the zucchini being careful not to take out the bottom.
Fill the zucchini with the crumble mixture and top with pasta sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
On a lightly oiled cookie sheet, bake zucchini cups for 20 minutes. When done, top with a bit of sea salt.

* Note: For ground crumbles, I diced up a package of Upton's Naturals ground beef style seitan. You can get it around the Chicago area at Whole Foods or otherwise online. If you can't find Upton's, you can use Boca crumbles or Yves brand. The pasta sauce I used was Whole Foods 365 Organic brand. I used Daiya vegan mozzarella. The Parmesan and sea salt are optional, but I would suggest Galaxy topping for vegan Parmesan.

Pear Stuffed Heart-Shaped Ravioli in Walnut Sage White Wine Reduction

* Prep Time: 45 minutes

* Cook Time: 15 minutes

* Ingredients (for ravioli filling):

2 anjou pears, finely diced
1 whole shallot, sliced
1/4 package (2 oz.) vegan cream cheese*
1/2 cup tofu ricotta*
1/4 cup vegan mozzarella*
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, roasted, minced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/8 tsp oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for dough):

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup water
1 tsp olive oil, for boiling water
pinch of salt, for boiling water

* Ingredients (for reduction):

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup vegan butter*
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
3 tbsp fresh sage, minced
1 cup white wine*
salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe (for filling):

In a medium skillet, cook the pears and shallots for about 10 minutes over medium heat until they are soft.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
When pears are cooked, add to the bowl and mix well.

* Recipe (for dough):

Mix the all-purpose flour, the semolina flour, and salt well in a medium bowl.
On a clean counter space, create a mound with the flour mixture. In the center, create a well. In the well, put in the olive oil and water.
Slowly start to mix and then knead dough until smooth.
Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until slightly thin.
Cut the dough with a 3 inch heart-shaped cookie cutter.
Place 1 tbsp of the filling in the center of the dough.
Using water, wipe the edge of the dough. Top with another heart-shaped dough piece. Press the edges with a fork.
In a medium pot of boiling water, add the salt and olive oil, then cook the ravioli until the float (only a few minutes). Let cook for one minute after they start to float. Do not overcrowd the pot with ravioli or else they will stick together.

* Recipe (for reduction):

In a medium skillet, toast the walnuts over medium heat.
Add the butter, white wine, sage, salt, and pepper. Reduce to half.
Stir in the parsley once reduced.

* Note: For vegan cream cheese, I used Tofutti brand. The tofu ricotta recipe was taken from the Veganomicon cookbook. See recipe here. For vegan mozzarella, I used Daiya. I used Earth Balance for vegan butter. Lastly, make sure your white wine is vegan!

Heart-Shaped Raspberry Tiramisu

* Prep Time: 15 minutes
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients (for lady fingers):

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar*
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup non-dairy milk*
2 tbsp vegan butter, melted*
3 "egg" Ener-G egg replacer (follow box instructions)*

* Ingredients (for custard filling):

1 8 oz. container vegan cream cheese*
1/2 cup vegan sour cream*
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup amaretto
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp agave nectar*
2 tsp cornstarch (mixed with 2 tbsp water)

* Ingredients (for coffee mixture):

1/2 cup espresso*
1 1/2 tbsp Grand Mariner

* Ingredients (for topping):

fresh raspberries
raspberry jam
cocoa powder, to dust
powdered sugar, to dust
shaved dark vegan chocolate, to top

* Recipe (for lady fingers):

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another small bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Make sure no lumps are in the batter.
In an oiled medium baking dish, add the batter in a level fashion.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and a toothpick can come out clean from the center of the cake.

* Recipe (for custard filling):

Combine all the ingredients except for the cornstarch mixture. Whisk together until no lumps are found.
In a small pot, add the custard mixture and heat on medium heat. When it starts to boil, add the cornstarch mixture.
Turn to low to medium heat and cook for about five minutes. It should look rather thick (rather than runny).
Set aside until needed for building process.

* Recipe (for coffee mixture):

Combine freshly made espresso with Grand Mariner.

* Recipe (for building):

Using a 3 inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts from the lady finger cake.
Dip each heart in the coffee mixture on both sides of the cake.
Place one heart on a plate. Top with a layer of raspberry jam and then custard mixture.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 one more time.
Once done adding custard to the last cake piece, top the tiramisu with fresh raspberries, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and shaved chocolate.

* Note: Make sure all the sugar in this recipe is vegan. You can find marked vegan sugar at health food stores. I used soymilk, though feel free to use any non-dairy milk. I used Earth Balance for vegan butter. Ener-G is an egg replacer one can find in the baking area of health food stores. There are other means of egg replacing such as using apple sauce. For vegan cream cheese, I used Tofutti brand. The sour cream was Tofutti brand. Agave nectar is a natural sweetener used to replace honey. One can find it near the honey in the green/organic/natural section of your grocery. I have an espresso maker, so I just made my espresso for this. They do make powdered espresso that I'm sure you could add water to. It would be in the baking section of your grocer.

Chick'n Schnitzel

2012-02-08T18:32:00.002-06:00

The schnitzel's origin lies in Austrian and German cooking and is primarily made of pork or veal. It is also prominent in Israeli cooking. Having relatives in Israel, I grew up eating schnitzel, but of course, made from chicken. I loved vinegar as a child, so I ate it with malt vinegar, but ketchup is very tasty with it usually. This is my vegan chick'n version. It is very simple to make and super tasty (definitely a treat food, though). Americans would liken it to chicken fried steak probably. It essentially is that, but saying schnitzel is way more fun, haha!

Chick'n Schnitzel

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 package of Gardein chick'n scallopini, thawed*
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp paprika
vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup bread crumbs
3 egg replacements, preparing according to package instructions*

* Recipe:

Combine the breadcrumbs and spices onto a plate. In a small bowl, beat the egg replacements until frothy and clumps are gone.
In a frying pan, add vegetable oil and bring to medium heat.
Smash out the chick'n patties as much as you can without tearing them (the idea behind schnitzel is that it is thin patties).
Coat the patties in flour, then in egg replacement thoroughly, then cover in breadcrumbs.
Fry both sides until golden.
Serve with ketchup or hummus and a side of french fries or mashed potatoes.

* Note: Gardein is a great mock meat alternative to chicken. For egg replacement, I used Ener-G.

Arugula, Farro, & Buttercup Squash Salad

2012-02-03T14:22:00.002-06:00

Arugula, Farro, & Buttercup Squash Salad

* Prep Time: 6 hours to overnight
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup farro*
2 cups arugula
1 small buttercup squash, skin removed, cubed
2 tbsp olive oil, more to taste
1/4 medium white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar, more to taste
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp marjoram
salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe:

Let the farro soak for at least 6-8 hours to overnight. I did this per box directions. Follow whatever your farro box or bag tells you.
In a small pot, cook the cubed buttercup squash in 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
While squash is cooking, prepare farro according to box directions to cook. It should end up tender like rice.
In a small skillet, heat remaining olive oil over medium heat and cook onions and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.
In a big bowl, combine all the ingredients. Add more olive oil and vinegar if need be until the taste turns out as you like it.

* Note: Farro is common in Middle Eastern and Italian dishes. You can find it with the other grains in your grocery. I got my bag at Whole Foods.

Pampering in the City [Vegan Style]

2012-01-31T11:05:00.000-06:00

What girl doesn't love pampering? This vegan chick certainly does. There are two places I regularly go for my primping. For my hair, I go to L'Etoile Salon on Broadway near Diversey. I get my hair dyed with their organic, vegan, herbal hair line, Colour Herbe. It's ammonia-free and feels great on your hair. I've never had a burning sensation or any problems with using this herbal hair dye. It does wash out more quickly than normal hair dye as it is vegetable based. Small price to pay for having your hair still look lovely and not dead in 50 years. The products they use in-house on hair are organic too. They also carry organic makeup and hair products for sale. I buy a red shampoo and conditioner to have the life of my dye last a wee bit longer. They also do facials, peels, and waxing. I've never had any of those things done, though.

For my spa services, I go to Allyu Spa Chicago. This place is fantastic. I'm a member which allows you to get discounts on services, birthday gift certificates, free sauna time, and discounts on merchandise amongst other benefits. I go here to get my nails done. They use vegan nail polish brand, Zoya. VegNews Magazine just had a great article in one of their recent editions that talked about vegan nail polish (regular nail polish has toxins in it usually and some companies test on animals). During your manicure or pedicure, they do scrubs which sometimes contain honey (they change it up by season - but they make all the scrubs themselves). You could ask for a different scrub or something else instead. I get my eyebrow threading services done here too. They do a perfect job on my eyebrows! I've also had a hot stone massage which was so relaxing, I literally fell asleep. It felt amazing after coming in from the bitter Chicago cold. If you want a day with your girlfriends or some quality "me" time, I recommend checking out Allyu. Beyond normal spa services, they also specialize in reflexology and chakra balancing. As far as facials go, I've never had one here yet, but I've been meaning to check it out. The place I used to go for organic facials does not do them anymore, so I'm going between both L'Etoile and Allyu now. We shall see which I end up checking out!

To my knowledge, Aveda is vegan-friendly and there are a couple places in the city that specialize in Aveda products and services.

If you get your vegan pampering on in Chicago, let your blog doll know where you go as she's mighty curious of the other options out there. :]

Mushroom & Kale Pizza with Truffle Oil

2012-01-28T14:46:00.000-06:00

This is a beautiful and elegant pizza. If you don't have truffle oil, you could sub this for extra virgin olive oil. I would recommend adding more exotic fresh mushrooms on this as well. I only had cremini and shiitake in my fridge, otherwise I would have!

Mushroom & Kale Pizza with Truffle Oil

* Prep Time: 50 minutes
* Cook Time: 15 minutes
* Ingredients (for dough):

1 tbsp sugar
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp yellow cornmeal & flour (used to dust counter to roll out dough)

* Ingredients (for topping):

1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup dinosaur kale, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese*
1 tbsp white truffle oil*
vegan Parmesan, to taste*

* Recipe:

In a separate bowl, combine water, sugar, and active dry yeast to activate yeast and let sit for at least 5 minutes.
In a mixer, add the dry ingredients and mix on a low setting using a bread hook. When the yeast is ready, add it to the mixer with the olive oil. Let the dough form in the mixer until it forms a uniform ball and starts to climb the bread hook. (If you do not have a mixer, then combine the dry ingredients with the bowl of yeast, kneed until smooth.)
Remove and let stand for about 45-50 minutes or until it doubles in size. (You want the crust to be more fluffy for your end product, so you should allow more time for the dough to rise.)
Preheat the oven to 475°F.
While dough is rising, sautee onions over medium heat in olive oil until caramelized.
Stretch the dough to fit a round pizza baking pan. Lightly dust with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Make the middle dough thinner in order for the outside dough to be thicker (for thicker crust).
Add about half the vegan mozzarella, the caramelized onions, kale, vegan Parmesan, then mushrooms. Top with the remaining mozzarella and drizzle with truffle oil (including over crust).
Bake for 15 minutes.

* Note: For vegan mozzarella, I used Daiya. You could opt to leave this pizza cheese-less too if one wanted. Truffle oil is something where a little goes a long way in taste and flavor. Be sparing. You may even need to use less than what I suggested. I drizzled from the bottle. For vegan Parmesan, I used Galaxy topping.

Tuscan Kale

2012-01-26T10:11:00.001-06:00

This is a very simple recipe for a quick weeknight side dish. I am a huge fan of greens and dinosaur kale is up there as a favorite. I make this recipe all the time!

Tuscan Kale

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 large bunch dinosaur kale, stems removed, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup water, to steam

* Recipe:

In a large skillet, sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil with the salt and pepper over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
Add the kale and water. Cook until water evaporates.
Add the red wine vinegar and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Sonoma Chick'n Salad

2012-01-23T12:24:00.000-06:00

I never really cared for chicken salad prior to being vegan as I did not like mayonnaise. As such, I decided to spruce things up a bit with a vegan Sonoma chick'n salad. This is really easy and quick to make. Perfect for a summer picnic.

Sonoma Chick'n Salad

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 10 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) bag chick'n strips*
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise*
1/2 cup seedless red grapes, sliced in half
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp poppy seeds
salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe:

Fry the chick'n strips over medium heat until cooked, about 10 minutes. Chop them up into bite size pieces.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients then add the chick'n. Mix well and serve.

* Note: For vegan chick'n strips, I used MorningStar Farms Meal Starters Chick'n Strips. For vegan mayonnaise, I used Vegenaise with grapeseed oil.

Penne in Forest Mushroom Vodka Sauce

2012-01-19T17:39:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to try and make a vegan vodka sauce for a very long time. I haven't had it in many years so this was a fun project for me. Buon appetito!

Penne in Forest Mushroom Vodka Sauce

* Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 dozen hothouse tomatoes*
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 medium carrot, grated
1 cup vodka
2 oz. dried forest mushroom blend, rehydrated, chopped
12 oz. penne pasta
6 fresh basil leaves, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
1/2 cup vegan heavy whipping cream*
1/3-1/2 cup frozen peas
vegan Parmesan, to taste*

* Recipe:

In a large pot, boil the tomatoes until the skin starts to crack and peel. Remove from pot and peel the skin off the tomatoes.
Take the water out of the large pot and add the tomatoes, olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent.
Add the carrot and vodka. Reduce by 1/4th or for about 15 minutes.
In a medium sized pot, rehydrate the mushrooms. Once soft, remove and boil pasta in the mushroom water.
Once the sauce is reduced, add the basil, parsley, thyme, heavy whipping cream, peas, and chopped mushrooms. Cook until peas are soft.
Remove the bay leaf. Combine the pasta with the vodka sauce. Serve with Parmesan to top.

* Note: You can use roma tomatoes instead of hothouse. Feel free to use whatever you like or for convenience, 2 large cans of whole peeled tomatoes can be used instead. For heavy whipping cream, I used Soyatoo. For vegan Parmesan, I used Galaxy Topping.

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Santullo's Eatery

2012-01-12T02:23:00.000-06:00

Santullo's Eatery in Wicker Park has some great vegan options. If you are looking for a vegan pizza pie, look no further (especially if you don't feel like dealing with the Wrigleyville crowd to go to Ian's Pizza but of course, there is always Pie Hole Pizza Joint, Mista, or The Boiler Room). They use Upton's Naturals seitan products and Daiya cheese for their vegan delights. Vegan menu items include a house salad, the vegan Santullo sandwich, spicy buffalo chicken seitan sandwich, veggie sandwich, build-your-own-sandwich (choose from vegan cheese, various seitan styles, veggies, and condiments), linguine portobello (no cheese), vegan potato salad, vegan pasta salad, and of course, pizza. The pizza options are veggie flat iron barbeque (seitan chicken, barbeque, veggies, vegan mozzarella), veggie brickhouse (seitan pepperoni, seitan sausage, veggies, vegan mozzarella), and spinach to the finish (veggies and sub vegan cheese). There are a couple more pies on the menu that can be subbed to have vegan cheese and you are set.

The pizza pies are huge! Bring at least 3 people with you, if not four. My friends and I shared the spinach to the finish pizza gone vegan. As you can see from the picture, it is covered in Daiya. While this was a nice treat, it was a lot of cheese for me. I think I would prefer to get something with either extra veggies or more seitan products next time. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious! Definitely going back to try other menu items. I'm also mighty curious about this vegan potato salad and pasta salad.

One of my friends came late and she ordered the spicy buffalo chicken seitan sandwich as well. She liked it but said it could use more sauce as it was kinda dry.

Super excited about this place. There are so many options in Wicker Park to choose from! Native Foods, the Handlebar, Sultan's Market, Penny's Noodle Shop, Estelle's Cafe 'n Lounge, and of course, most places in this neighborhood have a vegan-friendly option or two.

Product Review: Soyatoo Extra Creamy Whip

2012-01-09T02:36:00.000-06:00

Soyatoo has done it again. I'm a huge fan of their products. The regular Soy Whip is a great alternative for whipped cream. I have not had the Rice Whip, but next time I'm in need of vegan whipped cream, it is on my list to check off to try. There is another vegan whipped cream that I'm familiar with, but have never tried, Healthy Top. I've used Soyatoo's regular Soy Whip (the kind you have to whip by hand) in recipes before as a replacement for heavy cream. Check out my Chick'n Divan recipe to see what I mean.

I had forgotten what normal whipped cream looks like and how thick it is until recently when I went out to eat and someone got a dessert with it. This Extra Creamy Whip is thicker and creamier than the regular Soy Whip. Soy Whip has that light airiness too reminiscent of Reddi-wip. The Extra Creamy Whip is more like hand whipped cream where you see the heavier texture and feel the "dairy" more, if you will. I really recommend this one over the Soy Whip. I loved it!

You can find Soyatoo at the Whole Foods near me, but otherwise, it is online at Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe and VeganEssentials.com.

Braised Tofu with Pilaf, Bok Choy, & Kabocha Sauce

2012-01-02T20:01:00.001-06:00

I wanted to try something different with kabocha and this is what I ended up with. It is a pretty dinner and was quite tasty. This dinner is for two, but feel free to double the recipes. It was inspired by this recipe.

Braised Tofu with Pilaf, Bok Choy, & Kabocha Sauce

* Prep Time: 15 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients (for braised tofu):

2 slices firm tofu, sliced 1/2" thick, water pressed out
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup vegetable stock

* Ingredients (for pilaf):

1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 cup edamame, shelled
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice, follow box instructions to cook

* Ingredients (for bok choy):

1 tbsp olive oil
3 bunches baby bok choy, end trimmed
1 tbsp garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for kabocha sauce):

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 cup kabocha squash, seeded, peeled, cubed
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp curry powder
1/8 corriander
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup vegetable broth, add more if needed

* Recipe (for braised tofu):

To make braised tofu, heat olive oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Once hot, add tofu and lemon juice.
Brown both sides making sure not to burn.
Once browned, add the salt, pepper, and stock. Cover with lid and cook, turning over occasionally, until broth dissolves.

* Recipe (for pilaf):

Cook the rice according to box instructions. Set aside.
In a medium skillet, add the olive oil and heat. Once hot, add the garlic, shiitake, edamame, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes until browned and tender.
Toss in the green onions and cook for another two minutes. Remove from heat.
Mix vegetables with the brown rice for a pilaf.

* Recipe (for bok choy):

In a medium skillet, add olive oil.
Toss in the bok choy, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the leave begin to wilt and a fork can go through the stems.

* Recipe (for kabocha sauce):

In a small pot, add the olive oil and heat. Cook the onions and ginger until onions are translucent.
Add the remaining ingredients. Cook until the squash is tender to a fork.
Puree in a blender. If the sauce is too thick, add more vegetable stock.

* Recipe (to build dish):

Using a small bowl, pack the rice pilaf inside. Carefully flip over onto a plate.
Top rice with bok choy and braised tofu.
Pour sauce over the dish and around sides.

Vegetable Miso Soup (with Kabocha)

2011-12-27T14:50:00.001-06:00

In my organic produce box, I received a kabocha squash. Kabocha is one of my favorite vegetables and Japanese cuisine is my favorite type of cooking. Usually, you see kabocha made as tempura or simmered lightly with sauce. The tempura kabocha is then sometimes made as a sushi roll too. I haven't really seen it prepared other ways and one squash makes a lot of food. I decided to use it two ways, but I still have half a squash left over! I may just simmer it or make tempura after all. This soup is really great on a cold day. It is very healthy and simple to make as well.

Vegetable Miso Soup (with Kabocha)

* Prep Time: 20 minutes
* Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
* Ingredients:

2-3 strips kombu*
2 cups kabocha, seeds removed, skinned, cubed
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 medium daikon radish, quartered round
1 medium carrot, quartered round
1 lotus root, quartered round*
1/3 cup wakame, roughly chopped*
1 cup spinach, stems removed*
4 tbsp white miso paste
1/3 cup green onions, sliced

* Recipe:

Soak kombu in 8 cups of water within a large pot for one hour. Remove kombu when done soaking. This is your dashi or Japanese soup base.
Heat water over medium heat. Add kabocha, onion, ginger, daikon, carrot, and lotus root. Cook until vegetables become tender, about 20-30 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the miso with about 1/3 cup of the soup stock. Mix well to remove clumps. Add to the vegetable soup.
Add the remaining ingredients: wakame, spinach, and green onions. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.

* Note: Kombu is a type of seaweed used for dashi. You can find it at many health food stores or at any Asian grocery. Seaweed contains B12 that vegetarians and vegans must supplement as it is found basically only in animal products. So, wakame and kombu are good for you! But, do take a daily supplement of B12 along with your seaweed. I used a fresh lotus root, but feel free to buy a frozen bag instead. Wakame is another type of seaweed. Lastly, if your daikon radish has a lot of good looking greens on the tops, use those instead of spinach. If it doesn't, try spinach or any other dark leafy green like kale or turnip greens.

Just some quick photos above of some of the holiday presents I made. The goodies are raspberry jam shortbread cookies, earl grey tea shortbread cookies, chocolate espresso oatmeal cookies, and cream cheese brownies. The recipes were taken from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I also made a pumpkin pecan raisin bread that isn't shown from Vegan Holiday Kitchen. The other photo has the card I got from one of my favorite card stock websites, Fenderskirts Vintage. The other card I made through Shutterfly with a picture of my two blind rescue cats, Lucy (left) and Popeye (right). The canned items are all made homemade by me. They are pear vanilla bean jam, roasted macadamia nuts with fresh organic herbs, a soy candle in an antique teacup, giardiniera, and pickles.

Paella

2011-12-23T16:00:00.005-06:00

So, I got the idea of making a vegan paella one day and just sort of ran with it. This is what I came up with. I used short-grain brown rice instead of white rice for a more healthy option.

Paella

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
* Ingredients:

2 cups short-grain brown rice
2 cups vegetable stock
1 pinch saffron
1 bay leaf
4 tbsp olive oil
1 small Spanish onion, sliced
1 box (7 oz.) of chick'n strips*
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red pepper, sliced
1 package (12 oz.) vegan chorizo*
1 package (12 oz.) vegan shrimp*
1/4 cup peas
1/4 cup dried lobster mushrooms, rehydrated, chopped
1/4 cup dried oyster mushrooms, rehydrated, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 small lemon, zested
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning*
salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe:

In a medium pot, combine vegetable stock, rice, bay leaf, saffron. Cook until rice is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent.
Once onions are cooked, add the chick'n strips, garlic, red pepper, chorizo, shrimps, peas, and mushrooms. Cook for another 10 minutes or so until everything looks nicely browned or tender.
In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients. Add to the pot and stir well. Cook for another 5 minutes.
When rice is done, remove bay leaf and add to the pot with paella mixture. Stir well to combine. Serve with lemon wedge if desired.

* Note: For chick'n strips, I used Gardein brand. One could also use Morningstar Farms. For vegan chorizo, I used Frieda's brand Soyrizo. The vegan shrimp I used was VegeUSA brand. Lastly, Old Bay Seasoning is a seafood seasoning that is often use. You can find it at any grocery store in the spice section. It is great for faux crab cakes. Don't worry - it's vegan!

As a side note, you could also opt to add celery into this dish or use regular white short-grain rice. The lobster and oysters mushrooms were added to give a more seafood-y taste (plus, I love fungi). You could opt to leave them out if you like or use a fresh variety of both.

Chestnut Celery Root Soup

2011-12-22T18:17:00.000-06:00

In my organic produce box, I received both fresh chestnuts and celery root, so I thought I would make a nice winter soup out of them.

Chestnut Celery Root Soup

* Prep Time: 15 minutes
* Cook Time: 45 minutes
* Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil
1 celery root, peeled, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 cup roasted chestnuts, shelled, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 leek, white parts, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp fresh tarragon, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
8 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk*
1/2 dry white wine*
croutons, to top

* Recipe:

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium temperature. Add the onion, leek, salt, and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent.
Next, add the celery root, chestnuts, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, nutmeg, and tarragon. Cook until celery root is starting to become tender, about 10 minutes.
Add in the vegetable stock and milk. Cook for another 30 minutes over low to medium heat or until celery root is completely tender.
Add in the white wine. Cook for another 5 minutes or so.
Puree the soup in batches. Serve with croutons and drizzled olive oil.

* Note: For non-dairy milk, I used flax seed milk. Use whatever you prefer. Make sure your wine is vegan.

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Ethiopian Diamond

2011-12-08T17:23:00.000-06:00

Spinach, Lentil, & Potato + Carrot Sambusa

Yatkilt Watt

If you have never had Ethiopian food, you must try it! I always take guests to Ethiopian Diamond for their first taste of this delicacy. While there are other Ethiopian restaurants in the city such as Demera and Ras Dashen, I primarily go to Ethiopian Diamond. When I lived in Roger's Park, this was so close that I never really ventured further to Edgewater and Uptown to try the other two places. Ethiopian food is very naturally vegan-friendly. They serve food in a communal-style way. Everything is eaten with your hands by using a certain bread called injera bread (it is somewhat like crepe sourdough bread). Greens, potatoes, and lentils are a big component of vegan Ethiopian cooking. Another must is the Ethiopian spice mix, berbere. I have tried making injera on my own and it was a total disaster. Luckily, if you want to have your own Ethiopian feast at home, there are a number of African groceries in Roger's Park & Edgewater where you can buy injera.

Quosta

Towards the end of the menu at Ethiopian Diamond, there is a whole page of vegetarian selections. They are all vegan! One can choose any of these entrees, a combination, or a "Taste of Ethiopia" for one or two people. To start, I love to get the veggie combo sambusa. If you've never had sambusa, they are basically like a flat, triangular samosa. The veggie combo includes the lentil, spinach, and the potato and carrot sambusa's.

Veggie Combo with Injera Bread

For entree's, I usually go with a friend and get two orders of the veggie combo. It is cheaper than getting the "Taste of Ethiopia" for two people. We get six of the seven options to choose from on the combo. The options we usually get are the yemisir watt (spicy red lentils), kik alicha (split peas in sauce), gomen (collard greens), tikel gomen (cabbage and carrots), yatkilt watt (string beans, carrots, and potatoes in sauce), and dinich alicha (potatoes and carrots in sauce). The seventh option is quosta (spinach). This whole dinner comes on a large platter a top of injera bread with a salad in the middle. I love the salad dressing at Ethiopian Diamond! They also bring extra bread to eat the dishes. My favorite is the gomen. I really love greens, though. My friend's favorite is the yemisir watt, but he loves spicy foods.

There is also a special dish on the vegetarian menu which I have never tried. It is the shimbra assa. It is chick pea dough that is formed to look like fish watt (stew). There is also the tofu tibs which is grilled tofu with vegetables in a sauce. I'm usually way too full for dessert, but I believe all the desserts have honey in them.

Tikel Gomen

Dinich Alicha

On Friday's and Saturdays, there is usually a live band playing Ethiopian music at the Broadway location. There is another location on Clark St. near the Howard Red Line stop (Ethiopian Diamond II).

I give Ethiopian Diamond a 4.5/5 stars. They loose half a star because it can be really busy sometimes and the wait staff suffers in service. If you get the chance to try Ethiopian food, I strongly recommend it! It is one of my favorite types of food, for sure.

Kik Alicha

ETA: Oddly enough, I decided to use my Groupon I had for Demera last night (was going to Drew's Eatery, but it has sadly closed). We had the veggie sampler sambusa which were spinach and lentil. They were more flaky than the ones at Ethiopian Diamond and the sauce was spicier. Overall, I think I liked Demera's more. The entree was similar to what I get at Ethiopian Diamond - a mix of six different dishes with a salad in the middle. I finally had shimbra assa! I really loved it. Definitely a fan. Overall, I prefer Ethiopian Diamond's entree dishes to Demera. The ones at Ethiopian Diamond are much more flavorful and robust. The salad dressing is better there too (I really like salads!). It wasn't bad by any means, just comparing the two, I did not prefer it. The Groupon came with a dessert, so we had a dessert sambusa. Be warned it comes with raspberry sauce and a load of white chocolate sauce and whipped cream which I didn't realize. I was told the sambusa was vegan, so I had a few bites of it with raspberry sauce. It was also very flaky like the appetizer sambusa's. It was filled with an almond paste type thing which was the perfect amount of sweet. I give Demera a 3.5/5 stars. If Ethiopian Diamond is super busy (which it tends to be on a weekend night) and you don't want to drive all the way to the Howard stop, I would check out Demera. Plus, The Green Mill is just across the way. Love that place!

Gomen

Also, I stopped by Tai Nam Market last night after I wrote about how many mock meat options they sell in my previous post. Wow, Yelp was right! They had three freezers full of all kinds of faux meat. Be warned, some of it has eggs and whey powder in it. So, not everything is vegan, though it is vegetarian. I ended up getting a bunch of things because weird mock meats kind of make my laugh and hey, it's vegan. I got "chicken", "pork", and "shrimp". They also had vegan pork belly, salted fish fillets, tuna slices, etc. It is worth going there just to check out the crazy selection they have. Vegan mutton, anyone? It's there.

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Karyn's on Green & Karyn's Fresh Corner

2011-12-05T17:17:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite places to dine in Chicago for a high quality all vegan dinner is Karyn's on Green. Ever since I heard about it opening, I've been pretty excited. The only other fancier restaurants that I can think of to go to that are specifically vegan-friendly are MANA food bar and Green Zebra (which I still have never been to, sadly). Of course, there are restaurants of upscale dining that can make vegan options (just call and ask, usually). For example, Charlie Trotter's has a vegetarian menu that can be made vegan upon request. The same applies for Vermilion (if you watch the Food Network, the executive chef, Maneet Chauhan, was featured on The Next Iron Chef and judges on Chopped), TRU, Coco Pazzo, and Crofton on Wells. If you really want to try something special and different, there is the art of molecular gastronomy. Chicago has two restaurants that feature this, Alinea and moto. They both can create vegan menus upon request. Be prepared to shell out the big bucks, though. For a 12-course tasting with wine pairing, tax, and gratuity, the average person spends $350 at Alinea. A 20-course meal is around $500. You could split this with a number of people; though, I'm not sure how full you'd be. Lastly, there is vegan afternoon tea at The Lobby in the Peninsula Hotel. This hotel is probably the loveliest in the city and is worth checking out alone. They have a nice jazz bar that I've been to before for some after dinner drinks. Another tea spot with vegan-friendly options is the Russian Tea Time restaurant. I've never been, but have been meaning to go for years now. One day! I would recommend placing reservations for all the above restaurants. Be warned, you'll be spending at least $100 at any of those restaurants if you include drinks.

Bread & Butter

While Karyn's on Green can be very expensive, if you cut out the alcohol your bill will probably be about $60-70 for two people. With alcohol and desserts, you are looking at about $125 (they do have organic liquor which is nice). It is the place to go for a vegan who wants to splurge, take someone out on a very nice date, or show an omnivore the classy side to plant-based dining.

Roasted Foraged Mushrooms

The menu at Karyn's on Green changes here and there (I believe it is seasonally). The menu sort of combines the other Karyn's restaurants, Karyn's Cooked and Karyn's Raw, plus added options. Karyn's Cooked is more like home cooked food (ex: barbeque pork and the crispy mixed basket) and Karyn's Raw is quality raw dining. For starters, I always like to begin with the roasted foraged mushrooms. They've changed this dish in the past year, though. It used to come with a sauce which it now desperately needs. While it is still enjoyable, the polenta that the mushrooms sit on is quite dry. The taro sticks give the dish a nice crunch, though. Of course, you're going to have to love mushrooms for this dish and I am definitely an avid fungi fan. This causes a problem for me because I always order this dish (despite I think it needs that sauce)! I have heard the aged raw cheese plate is to die for, so one day I will order that instead. Crossing fingers.

Butternut Squash Soup

Caesar Salad

My friend and I got soup and salad before our entree's. If you tell your waiter that you'll be splitting those, they will bring each out on two separate plates. For soup, we had the butternut squash. This was really good. In the past, I've had soups from this restaurant that have been way too salty. They have apparently fixed this problem. The oil drizzle adds a nice complimentary touch to the soup itself. Much like my problem with the appetizer round, I always get the Caesar salad at Karyn's. I really enjoyed Caesar salads prior to becoming vegan which I think is the root of my problem here. Again, I have found in the past that this dish can be salty, but the last couple times it has been perfect. The dressing is fantastic and you have to love those croutons. I have also had the chopped vegetable salad in the past. It was pretty good, but if you are looking for a special vegan salad, I would really recommend the Caesar salad (you don't see a vegan Caesar that often!).

Pumpkin Risotto

Marinated Portobello Steak

Ah, the entree round. I've had a number of the options on their menu on previous dining outings. This time, we tried the pumpkin risotto and the marinated portobello steak (my staple here - told you I have a fungi addiction!). The risotto was prepared beautifully. Creamy and perfect for fall weather. Since I took these pictures, they have modified the marinated portobello steak on their menu. As you see in the picture, it came with fingerling potatoes and wilted spinach. Now it comes with horseradish mashed potatoes and creamed spinach with the same balsamic reduction. I've had both version since they changed the menu (they deliver to me!) and was surprised they changed it. The previous version with fingerling potatoes was much better. The new version is okay, but I was sad to see it modified. Perhaps I have to try it at the restaurant to give it a better chance. Other entree menu items I have had are the crab cakes and the fra diavolo. The crab cakes are a nice meal. Not too dry and the sauce gives the crab cakes a great flavor boost. I've only had the fra diavolo once a long time ago and from what I recall, it was great as well. I'll have to try it again, though, since it has been a while! I've also heard the chicken legs are a real treat. Never had them, but definitely willing to try them one day too.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Any place that I can get a dessert cocktail that is vegan is the place for me. Karyn's not only has a small dessert libation menu, but fantastic sweets too. They used to have a chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and some kind of ice cream that was to die for. For our dinner, we had the pumpkin cheesecake. This was really tasty. I loved the ice cream that went with the cheesecake. The crumble gave the dessert an added crunch which it really needed due to all the creamy elements. A couple was having the doughnuts and coffee ice cream near our table and that looked very cute and yummy too!

If you can't tell from my review, I really love Karyn's on Green. It is one of my top five vegan restaurants in the city. The service can be spotty, though. I've had some really great waiters and some really snooty ones. I give the place a 4.5/5 because of this.

Raw Salad Bar

Karyn's is somewhat of a mini vegan empire here in Chicago. The owner has the three previously mentioned restaurants plus Karyn's Fresh Corner, Karyn's Inner Beauty Center, Karyn's at Home, and a book. The beauty center has organic spa services, holistic procedures, and lines of organic/vegan beauty products. Karyn's at Home is a meal service program.

BLT Sandwich

Karyn's Fresh Corner is where Karyn's Raw is located as well as the holistic wellness center, and a small market with a juice bar. The market has raw and organic products plus some of Karyn's food to-go. If you need some rather obscure raw items that you can't find at Whole Foods, this is the place to go (ex: detox items). They also have a raw salad bar and a juice/smoothie bar. It's a nice place to stop by for a quick pick-up lunch and an organic juice. The salad bar is $7.99 a pound or $12.95 for all-you-can-eat. I got the raw salad bar and a BLT sandwich (be warned, some of the breads the sandwiches are made of have honey in them, but they are marked). I have to say, I think I'm not a fan of raw sandwiches. I've had them from raw before and now from Karyn's and both times I have found them too acidic and just off tasting. I much preferred the raw salad and the juice. The juice was a lovely pick-me-up. I had the summer cooler, though the employee recommended the peaceful warrior.

Just a quick mention: There are a couple other juice bars in the city that I love. Peeled Chicago had a great cleansing Groupon a little while ago (3 day juice cleanse - all vegan and organic). I was just in about a week ago and they said they may be having one again soon, so be on the look out! Green Corner is also great. Newcomer Vegetarian Express also has vegan juice available. Kramer's Health Foods has a number of vegan options of their menu as well as a juice bar.

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Urban Vegan Chicago

2011-12-01T16:31:00.001-06:00

Before I being my review of Urban Vegan Chicago, I'd like to let you all know that they have a benefit going on throughout the entire month of December. If you order take-out or dine-in and mention Mercy For Animals, 20% of the proceeds go to MFA. This is a great opportunity for vegans (and non-vegans a like) to try out this newer restaurant in Chicago! It also helps with MFA's life-saving work in farm animal protection. Plus, it is nom.

I've heard many great things about this Thai vegan restaurant since it opened. I've been to and seen a few mock meat Asian restaurants before like ChuChai in Montreal (which I blogged about here), Golden Lotus in Oakland (there are a number of Asian restaurants in the Bay Area that specialize in faux meats), and Red Bamboo in NYC. Based off my previous dining experiences, I figured the place would be either fancier (like ChuChai and Red Bamboo) or sort of just a hole in the wall. It's the latter. That doesn't mean it is bad, it just means it is a small establishment and more reasonably priced! I would recommend making reservations because from how I counted, there are only 8 tables in the whole restaurant. It is also BYOB.

As far as having an Asian restaurant with an extensive mock meat menu, I'm glad Chicago now has one! It is definitely an interesting dining experience. If I wanted to get a veggie cashew stir-fry, I would just go to any Thai restaurant and tell them to hold the fish/oyster sauce and add in some tofu. I think the primary reason to go to Urban Vegan (or any of the other places I mentioned, really) is to eat the faux meat with vegan pride. It just isn't worth it to go for Buddha's Delight (other than to support a vegan restaurant). That being said, I'm curious as to what vegan meat company they use. There is always the ever popular May Wah based out of NYC. I'm pretty sure this is what Red Bamboo uses. The "fish" in the Tom Yum I had at Urban Vegan tasted a lot like the fillets they sell on May Wah. If anyone knows where Urban Vegan gets their mock meat, I'd love to know. I'm curious!

Grilled Veggie Dumplings

This isn't the best starting line for a review, but the food was cold which was really disheartening. I was looking forward to this dining adventure. I will go again to see if I receive a better experience as when I went, it was on a Sunday night and every table in the restaurant was taken. I'm assuming this had something to do with it.

The menu is very extensive. They have all the usual Thai foods gone vegan as well as veggie sushi, wrap, burgers, and smoothies. There is also a lunch and dinner combination menu. They include steamed brown rice, a spring roll, salad, and a choice of an entree with either tofu, soy chicken, seitan, pepper steak, or soy fish ($9.95/lunch and $11.95/dinner). Addition of bacon, shrimp, or chicken nuggets is extra ($11.95/lunch and $13.95/dinner). For those of you with gluten allergies, there is a wheat-free menu available.

Seafood Tom Yum Soup

For starters, my friend and I had the grilled veggie dumplings, the house salad, and seafood tom yum soup. The portions are big! The dumplings were about what we expected - your everyday vegan frozen dumpling that was grilled. I think next time, I'd like to try the crispy chicken or chicken satay instead. They sound interesting! The house salad was filled with lots of veggies and I went with peanut sauce for the dressing. There is also tahini and Italian dressing. I've never had a Larb salad before since they aren't vegan, but that's the next salad I'm going to try here. The tom yum soup with seafood was interesting, to say the least. I've had vegan fish fillets before and vegan shrimp... but never the fish in a broth. Personally, the best preparation I've ever seen of vegan fish was in a light sauce and the fillet slightly seared. The seaweed wrapped around it to be the "skin" gives it that fishy taste quality. Vegan shrimp, for me, isn't really worth it. It's chewy and doesn't add much to the mix.

Garlic Pepper Steak

Our dinner entree's were the garlic pepper entree with pepper steak and the pad won zen with soy chicken. The pepper steak was pretty good and it came with rice, though I would have appreciated a few more veggies tossed in there. I liked the pad won zen very much (it has more veggies), but it was cold which kind of ruined the appeal (was looking forward to hot noodles!). Next time, I think I'd like to try the P.E.T. (pumpkin, eggplant, tofu) and the wonton noodle soup (I've missed wonton soup since being vegan - it was my staple at Chinese restaurants since I was a wee one).

Pad Won Zen (w/ Soy Chicken)

Overall, I think Urban Vegan is a nice change from the normal Thai vegan dining experience (no fish sauce! no oyster sauce! no egg! tofu!). I'm definitely going to come back and try it again. It seems to be doing great thus far and the Chicago vegan community loves it.

If you want to pick up mock meat in Chicago and make your own food, there are a couple of grocery stores in the city. I personally like the Uptown neighborhood stores to get this stuff. Broadway Supermarket is my favorite. If you go to the very back corner near the produce, you'll find all the veggie meats in the freezer. Golden Pacific Market has faux meats too. Lastly, Tai Nam Food Market seems to carry a lot of products as well, though I've never been (and now I must!).

Urban Vegan Chicago's Facebook Page here.

Vegan Thanksgiving Feast: Part Four

2011-11-22T15:11:00.003-06:00

The last part of this vegan Thanksgiving feast. These are the rest of the sides I created for the meal.

Green Bean Casserole

* Prep Time: 15 minutes
* Cook Time: 45 minutes
* Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, sliced into rings
1 lb. green beans, trimmed
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme
3 cups portobello mushroom soup*
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 tbsp vegan Parmesan cheese*
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/8 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and caramelize. Remove the shallots and drain on paper towel. Set aside until very end of recipe.
In the remaining olive oil in the skillet, add the mushrooms. Cook for about 10 minutes until tender.
Add the garlic and thyme. Cook for another couple minutes.
Place the mushroom mixture in a bowl. Set aside.
Blanch the green beans. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the mushroom soup and flour. Whisk until lumps are gone.
Add the soup and flour mixture to the skillet. Heat and bring to a bubble. Add the mushroom and garlic mixture, green beans, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
In a large baking dish, spray with cooking spray. Add the green bean mixture.
Top with the remaining 1 tbsp of Parmesan cheese. Baked for 20 minutes or until bubbling.
Once removed, top with the caramelized shallots. Serve.

* Note: For portobello mushroom soup, I used Imagine brand. The Parmesan cheese I used was Galaxy topping.

Greens Saute

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 25 minutes
* Ingredient:

1 bunch kale
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch swiss chard
1 bunch turnip greens
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

* Recipe:

Remove the center stems from all the greens and slice the leave into small ribbons.
In a large pot, add the olive oil on medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic until the onions are translucent. Next, add the salt and pepper.
Add the kale, mustard greens, collard greens, and turnip greens. As they begin to wilt, add the vegetable broth.
Cook for 10-15 minutes. Add the swiss chard. Simmer for another couple minutes. Serve.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

* Prep Time: n/a
* Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
* Ingredients:

12 oz. fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar*
1 cup orange juice
1 stick cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
18 tsp all spice
1/8 tsp ground clove

* Recipe:

Heat the sugar and orange juice in a medium pot.
Once the sugar begins to dissolve, add the cranberries and spices.
Cook until the cranberries begin to dissolve and pop.
Remove from heat. Allow to cool so the cranberry sauce will thicken.
Remove the cinnamon stick. Serve.

* Note: Make sure your sugar is vegan.

Well, that's all. I hope everyone enjoyed Vegan Miss' four part Vegan Thanksgiving Feast! xoxo

Vegan Thanksgiving Feast: Part Three

2011-11-21T21:30:00.001-06:00

These recipes are going to be the dessert and biscuits. I would have done these recipes last, but alas they happened to just be done before the others. The final part will be more sides.Those will be posted tomorrow! My friend helped me make this cheesecake. He has a beer brewing blog called Brew or Die! Chicago and his beers are vegan! Check it out.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

* Prep Time: 20 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-15 minutes in oven, rest overnight
* Ingredients (for crust):

1/2 cup whole almonds
1 pack (5 oz.) cinnamon graham crackers*
1/4 cup brown sugar*
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup soy butter, melted*

* Ingredients (for filling):

1 14 oz. pack silken tofu*
1 15 oz. can pumpkin pie filling*
2 8 oz. packages vegan cream cheese*
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

* Recipe (for crust):

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grind almonds in a food processor.
Add graham crackers, spices, and sugar to the food processor. Grind until smooth.
Move the mixture in the food processor to a medium sized bowl and add the butter. Mix well.
Pack into a 9 in. springform pan. Push the mixture up the sides.
Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes.

* Recipe (for filling):

In a mixer with whisk attachment, blend the tofu and pie filling.
Add a tablespoon of cream cheese at a time until smooth.
Next, add both types of sugar and spices. Mix well.
Pour into crust and let site overnight in the refrigerator.
Serve with cinnamon and whipped cream (optional).

* Note: I used 365 Organic brand. Make sure your sugar is vegan! For silken tofu, I used Nasoya brand. The pumpkin pie filling was Farmer's Market brand. Lastly, for vegan cream cheese I used Tofutti.

Lemon Thyme Biscuits

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 15 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 cup non-dairy milk*
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp fresh thyme, plus more for sprinkling
4 tbsp soy butter, cold*

* Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the milk and the vinegar. Set in the refrigerator.
In a mixer, blend the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, and thyme on a low setting.
Spread out some flour for dusting on a surface.
Add the butter to the dry ingredients in the mixer a tablespoon at a time. Mix on a low setting.
Lastly, add the non-dairy milk. Mix well but do not over knead.
Take 1-2 tablespoons at a time and create balls by rolling in the flour dusted on the surface.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets.
Using water, brush the tops of the biscuits. Add a bit of salt and fresh thyme to each.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.

* Note: For non-dairy milk, I used almond milk. Use whatever variety you prefer. For soy butter, I used Earth Balance olive oil-based type.

Sage Brown Butter

* Prep Time: 2 minutes
* Cook Time: 10 minutes, 1/2 hour rest time (or more)
* Ingredients:

2 sticks (4 oz. each) of soy butter
1/4 cup fresh sage
pinch of salt

* Recipe:

Over medium heat, melt one stick of butter. Let start to bubble.
Add the sage and cook for 30 seconds.
Remove the sage and dry on paper towels.
Remove the butter from heat and let cool.
When sage is cool, mince.
Combine the other stick of butter with the melted, browned butter. Add the minced sage and salt. Mix well.
Let set in refrigerator for at least half an hour.

Vegan Thanksgiving Feast: Part Two

2011-11-18T16:07:00.004-06:00

Part Two of the Vegan Thanksgiving Feast!

Stuffing with Kale & Mushrooms

* Prep Time: 20 minutes
* Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours
* Ingredients:

1 loaf sourdough bread, chopped into small pieces, toasted
1/4 cup leek, white parts, finely chopped
3 celery stalked, finely chopped
1/2 small white onion, chopped
1 tbsp dried sage
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 tbsp soy butter*
salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup kale, chopped
1/3 cup cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 "eggs", made by box instructions*
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp pine nuts, minced

* Recipe:

At 300 degrees, bake the pieces of bread for about 15 minutes, until toasted. Remove and set aside.
In a medium skillet, combine 3 tbsp butter, onions, and leeks. Cook until onions are translucent.
Add the celery, sage, thyme, mushrooms, kale, salt, and pepper. Cook until kale is wilted and mushrooms are tender.
Add the vegetable broth and simmer.
In a large bowl, combine the "eggs", bread pieces, parsley, and pine nuts.
Add the vegetable-broth mixture from the skillet. Mix well.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a baking dish with 1 tbsp butter. Add the bread crumb mixture. Use the remaining butter from greasing to spread over the top of the stuffing.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncovered and bake for another 15 minutes or until top is golden.

* Note: For soy butter, I use olive oil based Earth Balance. I like Ener-G for egg replacer.

Mushroom & Seitan Savory Pie

* Prep Time: 15 minutes
* Cook Time: 1 - 1 1/2 hours
* Ingredients (dough):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar*
16 tbsp soy butter
8-12 tbsp ice water
2 tsp fresh thyme

* Ingredients (pie filling):

1 cup dried mushrooms, variety*
1/3 cup cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup white onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine*
1 cube "beef" broth*
1 tbsp cornstarch, combined with water to form mixture
1/4 cup plain soy yogurt*
1/2 cup seitan, chopped*
1 tbsp soy butter

* Recipe (for dough):

Place the butter in a small bowl and place in freezer.
Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and thyme.
Add the butter slowly and mix with a fork.
Next, add the water slowly until the mixture begins to clump together. Pinch some of the dough. If it stays together, then it is ready. If it falls a part, add more water and continue mixing.
Form into a disk form and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in freezer until ready to make the pie.

* Recipe (for pie filling):

Rehydrate mushrooms in a medium pot until completely tender. Reserve 1 cup of mushroom water.
In a medium skillet, add the olive oil and onions until translucent. Next, add the cremini mushrooms and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
Chop the rehydrated dried mushrooms and place in skillet. Cook for a few minutes.
Add the white wine and seitan. Cook for another couple minutes.
Combine the "beef" broth cube with the reserved 1 cup of mushroom water. Add to the skillet with mushrooms.
Cook for another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cornstarch mixture and combine well. Cook for another several minutes.
Lastly, add the soy yogurt and mix over low heat for 2 minutes.

* Recipe (for building pie):

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Dust a space with all-purpose flour. Roll out the dough until thin enough to work with where it does not fall a part.
Line two small pie pans with dough. Cut off edges with excess dough.
Roll out dough again and create top pieces for the pie.
Add 6 tbsp or so of the mushroom seitan mixture to each pie pan with dough.
Place top dough over each pie pan and using a fork, press down the sides of the dough.
Create a plus sign or cross in the middle of both pies with the fork.
Using soy butter, grease the tops of the pies.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the tops are golden.

* Note: Make sure your sugar is vegan. I found a dried mushroom variety pack at Whole Foods. Just make sure you have several different types such as woodland, morel, portobello, etc. Make sure your wine is vegan on Barnivore. For "beef" broth, I used Frontier brand. For soy yogurt, I used WholeSoy brand. Lastly, I used my own seitan recipe for this recipe. You could use Westsoy brand if you want or even meatless crumbles like Boca or Upton's Naturals.

Champagne Mushroom Gravy

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 25 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 cup portobello mushroom soup*
1 cup champagne
1/4 cup shallots, minced
5 tbsp soy butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
salt, to taste
1/4 tsp dried sage

* Recipe:

Place the champagne in a small pot over medium heat and bring to boil. Reduce to half its size.
Add the shallots, salt, and 2 tbsp butter. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Next, add the mushroom soup and sage. Mix well and cook for an additional several minutes.
In a medium skillet, add the remaining 3 tbsp butter. When melted, add the all-purpose flour and combine well.
While continuously stirring, add the champagne mushroom broth a bit at a time.
Keep stirring until sauce is thick similar to a gravy.

* Note: For portobello mushroom soup, I used Imagine brand.

Vegan Thanksgiving Feast: Part One

2011-11-17T13:22:00.001-06:00

This feast will be posted in four parts. There will be several sides, a main entree dish, and of course, dessert. Enjoy! Happy Tofurky Day. :D

Wine Dijon Brussel Sprouts

* Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients:

2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. brussel sprouts, halved, ends trimmed
1/2 white onion, small
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 dry white wine*
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 tbsp slivered almonds
1-2 tbsp dried cranberries

* Recipe:

Heat a pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Once hot, cook the onions until translucent.
Sautee the brussel sprouts until almost tender.
Add the thyme, mustard, wine, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes or so.
Toss in the almonds and cranberries and cook for another couple minutes.
Brussel sprouts should be cooked through and a fork can easily pass through.

* Note: Make sure your wine in vegan on Barnivore.

Glazed Pearl Onions

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
* Ingredients:

2 cups pearl onions, skin peeled
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp soy butter*
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

* Recipe:

Combine the broth, molasses, vinegar, soy butter, salt, and pepper in a small pot. Cook over medium heat and reduce.
Add the onions once the sauce has started to reduce. Cook until a fork can go through them.
Top with parsley.

* Note: For soy butter, I used olive oil based Earth Balance. This recipe was modified from Food Network Magazine in their 2011 Thanksgiving edition.

Purple Mashed Potatoes

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 lb. purple potatoes, washed, skin removed
2 tbsp soy butter
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tbsp vegan sour cream*
1/3 cup non-dairy milk*
3 tbsp shallot, carmelized, to top
chives, to top

* Recipe:

Boil potatoes in water until tender.
Mash potatoes with the rest of the ingredients.
Top with caramelized shallots and chives.

* Note: For vegan sour cream, I used Tofutti. The non-dairy milk I used was Silk soymilk, but feel free to use any type you wish.

Vegan Chicago: Tofurky and the City

2011-11-14T12:32:00.004-06:00

Not everyone goes to see their family on Thanksgiving. As such, below is a list of places one could go to on Thanksgiving in Chicago.

The annual vegan Thanksgiving dinner (29th!) is going on at the Chicago Diner. Time slots are 12, 2, 4, and 6 p.m. Seats get taken fast, so make sure you make a reservation soon if you plan on going. They also do a carry-out version of the dinner (starting at $10.99) which you can pick up the day before or on Thanksgiving.
Northdown Taproom and Cafe is doing a Thanksgiving dinner gone vegan. For more information about their dishes that night, please email them at info@northdownchicago.com.
Native Foods in Wicker Park is having a Thanksgiving dinner from 1-7 p.m. The dinner is $24.99 and includes lots of yummy options. Call to make reservations. Additionally, you can pick up their Native Wellington to-go instead.
Karyn's Raw has a Thanksgiving dinner to-go option for $50. Order in advance.
Karyn's Cooked also is doing a Thanksgiving dinner to-go for $40. Order in advance as well.
Whole Foods offers a vegan holiday roast and sides to-go.

If you plan on staying in on Thanksgiving but don't feel up to making your own homemade tofurky, there are always the frozen options out there.

Of course, there is the original Tofurky Roast. There are several varieties including the roast, the roast with gravy, and the savory giblet gravy. You can usually find the Tofurky holiday products at health food stores around this time.
Gardein has their Savory Stuffed Turk'y readily available at most Whole Foods for the holidays.
Field Roast Grain Meat, Co. has their Celebration Roast which is around normally at Whole Foods and similar places.

For those of you who plan on cooking, your blog doll is going to be posting a 4-part vegan Thanksgiving feast soon so be on the look out! VegWeb of course has a plethora of recipes to use as well as VegKitchen. Mercy For Animals has a menu up on their website for a full coursed meal too.

Photo Credit: Jovan J.

Now, what are you going to do after you sit around and eat all that great vegan food? Go to Fur Free Friday! This is the annual protest against the fur industry. It usually brings out several hundred people here in Chicago. It starts at 12 p.m. at Daley Plaza on Friday, November 25th. Signs and leaflets are provided.

Have a Happy Tofurky Day! Be kind to all animals, big and small. :D

Vegan Chicago: Chicago VeganMania Recap

2011-11-11T15:55:00.001-06:00

Chicago VeganMania was this past weekend and, man, was it fun! Over 2,500 people came to the festival which is huge for its third year. Damn near 100 volunteers helped make this event possible so thank you to them, the organizers, the vendors, the performers, and the speakers. It was sort of crowded in the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, but the more the merrier. I only went for a bit, but it's always nice to see fellow vegans and vegetarians enjoying themselves.

This is mostly a picture post, so below are some snapshots of the event:


Chicago Soydairy samples

Herbivore Clothing Company booth

I love animals and broccoli coloring book! Hell yeah.

Be a vegan rockstar!

♥

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

2011-11-09T11:31:00.000-06:00

It is soup season at long last. My favorite of all seasons! Time to take out those crock pots, everyone.

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

* Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
* Cook Time: 1 hour
* Ingredients:

2 tbsp soy butter*
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger root, minced
1 leek, white parts, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 small to medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed
2 russet potatoes, peeled, cubed
2 bay leaves
6 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp ground marjoram
1/8 tsp ground fennel
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup white wine*
1 cup non-dairy milk*
vegan sour cream, to top, to taste*

* Recipe:

In a large pot, melt the soy butter and add the onions. Cook until translucent.
Next, add the garlic, ginger, and leeks. Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes.
Add the carrot, butternut squash, potatoes, bay leaves, and vegetable broth. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the root vegetables are soft.
Add the spices, wine, and milk. Cook for another 5 minutes.
In batches, puree the soup. Enjoy with a dollop of vegan sour cream.

* Note: For soy butter, I used Earth Balance olive oil based brand. Make sure your white wine is vegan. I used Earth Balance unsweetened soymilk for non-dairy milk. For vegan sour cream, I used Tofutti brand.

In the picture, it's not quite as orange-ish as it should have been because I only used one butternut squash, therefore I upped it to two. I also cut the cayenne in this because I found it a bit too spicy for me. The bread in the picture is homemade whole wheat rolls made via this recipe (made vegan, of course).

Product Review: Sophie's Kitchen Vegan Seafood + Sauce Recipes

2011-11-04T12:47:00.001-05:00

Hidden within the vegetarian section of the freezer aisle of my local health food store, I found Sophie's Kitchen mock seafood. I was surprised by the fact that they make vegan calamari and fish fillets, but also that it was randomly at this health food store! You can't blame me for being skeptical. But, I thought I would give this stuff a shot, if not just to purely say I've tried vegan calamari. I'm pretty open to crazy veg food, but there are some things that should be left not re-made cruelty-free (like vegan haggis [if you don't know what haggis is, please Google it] or mutton, anyone?). Once upon a time, I made a retro vegan salmon mousse mold. To the horror of everyone, it... turned out a lot like salmon mousse mold. Scary recipe best used for Halloween gags.

Now, I know Sophie's Kitchen is a legit brand, so I had some hope. The calamari was really impressive mostly because it had the same chewy consistency of real calamari. Weird. I hated the real thing prior to being vegan, so it doesn't surprise me that I did not like it at all. But, if you liked calamari before, this is definitely worth trying. I sort of thought it might be like an onion ring, but nope, very chewy. The fish fillets were quite a bit better. It was flakey and would have been good to make a sandwich out of. I made various sauces for each, so below are the recipes. For the mock seafood, just follow box instructions to cook.

For the calamari, I made an aioli and a remoulade. For the fish fillets, I made a lemon dill tartar sauce. These all came out great. I would recommend on something other than mock seafood, though. The tartar sauce would be good for mock crabcakes (with tofu or otherwise), the aioli would be good with a veggie burger, and the remoulade good with fried green tomatoes.

Aioli

* Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredient:

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise*
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp olive oil

* Recipe:

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.

* Note: For vegan mayonnaise, I used Earth Balance olive oil based brand.

Remoulade

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredients:

1/4 cup spicy mustard
2 tbsp ketchup
1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp white pepper
cayenne pepper, to taste
1 tsp sugar
salt, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup celery, minced
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tbsp white onion, diced
1/2 tbsp green onion, minced
1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp capers

* Recipe:

Combine all ingredients well.

Lemon Dill Tartar Sauce

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredients:

1 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 tbsp dill pickle relish
1 tbsp white onion, minced
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp capers
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

* Recipe:

Combine all ingredients. Mix well.

Happy sauce making!

Vegan Chicago: Chicago VeganMania Is This Weekend!

2011-11-02T13:22:00.000-05:00

Chicago VeganMania is upon us this weekend! This is a great festival put on every year by dedicated volunteers. It is an entirely free event too. This is its third year and the festival has grown bigger and better since its inception in 2009. VeganMania is a great way to meet others in the vegetarian community within Chicago and support local vegan and vegetarian products, companies, and restaurants. It pretty much covers everything from cooking demos, vendors, musical entertainment, a children's area, workshops with speakers, and of course, lots of vegan food to eat! If you live in Chicagoland, please come out to this awesome event. It is sure to be lots of fun!

When: THIS Saturday, November 5th

Time: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Cost: FREE!

Where: Pulaski Park Fieldhouse (in Wicker Park), 1419 W. Blackhawk, Chicago

See you there!

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Borrowed Earth Cafe

2011-10-31T13:44:00.000-05:00

Haunted Trail

For a weekend trip, my friend (check out her website about teaching kids empathy) and I went to a family farm called Kuipers Farm in Maple Park, IL. It was a nice fall trip for us city dwellers here in Chicago. This farm was a great place for kids (and adults!). We specifically picked out a place to go that treated their animals in humane ways. A lot of the places we looked into had things like pig races and exotic animals. One even had a white tiger exhibit. Kuipers Farm had a corn maze, a nature walk, a haunted trail, a small farm area (where the farm animals had a lot of room to live and enjoy their lives - even an adoption program for the few cats there!), a hay wagon ride to the pumpkin patch, and kid-friendly areas with giant pumpkins and tractor truck tire playgrounds. They have duck races, but never fear... it is with plastic ducks! For adults, there is an apple orchard where one can pick their own apples and a large store with all sorts of local products including their apples and pumpkins. It was a very impressive place! They sell Christmas trees during the winter which I think would be a great outing for a family in order for children to see where their trees come from and the ecology behind it. The process of seeing where the tree is chopped to your living room I think is an important one because we often don't think about how items get from a to z (similar to factory farming and the meat at your grocery store).

Hanging Out With Goats

Corn Maze

Cheese Perogies

On the way back to the city, we stopped in Downers Grove to have lunch at Borrowed Earth Cafe. This place is a small raw, organic vegan restaurant. My experience with raw vegan restaurants has only been Karyn's Raw and raw. The meal was satisfying and the dessert was exceptional. For starters, we had the cheese perogies. It is a "cheese" filling with a jimaca wrapper. While I wouldn't necessarily call this a pierogi, the filling was creamy and scrumptious.

Spinach Quiche

Egg Salad Sandwich

Oreo Cookie Ice Cream

For entree's, we shared the spinach quiche and the "I Can't Believe It's Not An Egg Salad" sandwich. The quiche wasn't really a quiche as I remember them, but the same concept was there. It had a base of nuts and chopped veggies combined with "cheese" to create the rest. The egg salad sandwich was creamy but not really an "egg salad". I made a vegan version a while back with tofu which I thought was better mostly due to texture. It had the same kick, but the texture was just too silky in this sandwich. It definitely wasn't bad, though, so I would get it again. It was wrapped in a zucchini flax seed wrap which was great. Both entrees came with three types of salads. One was a mixed greens, another a cabbage, and lastly a collard greens salad. The dressing was sweet yet not too cloying. My favorite was the collard green salad.

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

For dessert, we split two different treats. My friend got a chocolate cheesecake and I had an oreo cookie ice cream sundae. I've had raw cheesecakes at the Chicago Diner, but this cheesecake was something to be said. It was amazing! The base was made of nuts and dates, while the cheesecake part was made of coconut meat, coconut oil, and other ingredients. I've never had raw ice cream, but I've seen pictures before. ...So tasty. It was also made of coconut meat, coconut oil, dates, etc. Everyone should go to Borrowed Earth Cafe just for desserts alone!

Your Blog Doll In a Pumpkin Patch

Chocolate Beetle Cupcakes w/ Bloody Cherry Butter Filling & Chocolate Dirt Frosting

2011-10-28T12:19:00.000-05:00

Well, I wanted to make a Halloween dessert and I saw this beetle cupcake idea on Craftster. I figured I could make some vegan cupcakes and go from there. These turned out wonderful, but they're timely to make. Give yourself a few hours to make them leisurely. I modified the cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (which if you do not own, you have to). The frosting recipe is the exact one out of the book. I figure let the experts in baking give me their recipe - it would turn out much better than my own. This didn't let me down!

Chocolate Beetle Cupcakes w/ Bloody Cherry Butter Filling & Chocolate Dirt Frosting

* Prep Time: 1-2 hours
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients (for chocolate cupcakes):

1 cup non-dairy milk*
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 cup sugar*
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp chocolate extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

* Ingredients (for chocolate buttercream frosting):

1/4 cup margarine, softened*
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp non-dairy milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

* Ingredients (remaining):

1 9 oz. jar cherry butter*
1 box food dye (red, blue, green, yellow)
7-8 Oreo cookies (or other vanilla cream sandwich cookies)*
1/2 8.8 oz. box marzipan*
gold luster dust, to taste*

* Recipe (for chocolate cupcakes):

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine vinegar and milk. Set aside.
Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and combine well.
Combine all wet ingredients in another bowl including vinegar milk mixture and beat until foamy.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until no lumps remain.
Pour into lined cupcake tray three-fourths of the way full in each.
Bake for 18-22 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Let cool completely.

* Recipe (for chocolate buttercream frosting):

Cream together margarine and shortening until combined.
Add the cocoa powder and mix well.
Next, add the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time adding soy milk as you go. Mix between each 1/2 cups of sugar.
Add the vanilla extract and combine until fluffy and no more lumps are seen.

* Recipe (for rest of cupcake):

In a bowl, combine cherry butter with red food dye. Add as much red food dye as necessary to make it "blood red".
Using a melon baller, scoop the center out of the cupcake and take out some of the middle. Be sure you don't go too far down so as not to get the bottom of the cupcake.
Add 1-2 tsp of cherry butter to the center of the cupcake. Replace the top back on the cupcake.
Frost with the buttercream frosting.
In a blender, combine Oreo cookie tops (not the side with the centers) until they are thoroughly pulverized. Put the cookie dirt in a small bowl.
Roll each frosted cupcake in the cookie dirt and pat more with your hands. Shake the cupcake to take off stray cookie dirt.
In a bowl, add 5-10 drops of all four food dye colors. Mix. Add the marzipan and mash with a fork until combined.
Follow the directions here to make beetle marzipan figures.
Dust each beetle with gold luster dust.
Top each cupcake with one beetle.

* Note: For non-dairy milk, I used almond milk. Use any sort of non-dairy milk you prefer. Make sure your sugar is vegan. For margarine, I used Earth Balance soy-free variety. The cherry butter was a brand I found at Whole Foods called American Spoon. The Oreo type cookies I used were Back To Nature Classic Creme Cookies. For marzipan, I use Stramondo brand. Luster dust is edible glitter, more or less. You can find it in the baking section of JoAnn's or Michael's craft stores. You should use a paint brush to apply it, but I didn't have one handy so I just brushed with my fingers.

Have a spooky Halloween!

Pumpkin Curry Soup

2011-10-26T11:44:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make an adult-friendly recipe to go along with my kid-friendly Halloween posts. I do love gourds and squash, so I picked up an heirloom pumpkin. Pumpkin curry soup was born (plus getting some fresh pumpkin seeds to roast too!).

Pumpkin Curry Soup

* Prep Time: 15 minutes
* Cook Time: 1 1/2 - 2 hours
* Ingredients:

6 cups of one small-medium sized heirloom pumpkin, roasted
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Granny apples, diced
1 leek, white parts, diced
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups non-dairy milk*
1/3 cup brown sugar*
1 tbsp + 1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
pinch cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
curried pumpkin seeds, toasted, to taste
whole wheat bread, crust removed, cut in ghost shape, toasted, to taste

* Recipe:

Roast the pumpkin for 45-60 minutes according to these instructions.
In a large pot, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and the onion. Sweat until translucent.
Add the garlic, apples, and leek. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.
Next, add the vegetable broth, non-dairy milk, pumpkin, sugar, and all the spices.
Cook for another 30 minutes or so.
While soup is cooking, take about 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds, combine with 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tsp curry powder. Roast in oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
Puree in batches.
Serve with roasted pumpkin seeds and ghost shaped whole wheat crostini.

* Note: For non-dairy milk, I used almond milk. Feel free to use whatever you wish. Make sure your sugar is vegan!

The Liebster Award

2011-10-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

Vegan Miss was honored with the award given out during Vegan MOFO, the Liebster Award, by the RA Vegan! Thank you! I am continually humbled and slightly shocked that people read my blog. It has grown so much in the last one to two years. Thank you all for your continued reading and support. It inspires me to keep coming back to the kitchen and blog about it!

“Liebster” is German and means ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’ but it can also mean ‘favorite’.

The idea behind this award is to bring attention to bloggers who have less than 200 followers and show your support during Vegan Mofo!

The rules of winning this award are as follows:

1. Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

My top picks:

Happy vegan blogging!

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Ian's Pizza

2011-10-24T16:27:00.002-05:00

Ian's Pizza has several locations. One is here in Chicago while the others are in Milwaukee and Madison, WI. I love this place because it is one of the few places one can get a vegan pizza without going to a vegan restaurant specifically (they even deliver seasonally!). Other places I know of that carry vegan pizza are Mista, Moonshine, Pie Hole Pizza Joint, Piece, and Pick-Me-Up Cafe. These places all have vegan cheese and some carry vegan "meats" to top.

Ian's is known for their odd variety of pizzas like mac 'n cheese pizza and lasagna pizza. For vegan options at Ian's, there are a slew of veggies such as artichoke hearts, onions, spinach, basil, portobello mushrooms, button mushrooms, roasted red peppers, sliced tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, kalamata olives, pico de gallo, and pineapple. Other toppings include french fries and pasta noodles (penne, lasagna, macaroni). Ian's proudly carries local Chicago vegan companies, Chicago Soydairy and Upton's Naturals. They have Upton's Italian-style, chicken-style, and soy-pepperoni style seitans. They also carry CSD's mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Lastly, Ian's has a build-your-own salad option with all of the said veggies above.

For the pizza we ordered, we got the Italian-style seitan, mozzarella cheese, basil, onions, artichoke hearts, and button mushrooms. This was really good! The crust was a bit try for me, but I added some homemade giardiniera. Ian's is a great place to either sit down and get a pie or take it to go. I also love that they support local vegan companies!

This week is World Vegan Week. Ian's is having a special in honor: Chili Cheese Fries. Everyone in Chicago should go out and get an order to support vegan week and this great pizza joint for their continued vegan options!

Mummy Pizzas

2011-10-24T13:37:00.002-05:00

This idea was stolen from Marla over at the Vegan Feminist Agitator (who also runs Chicago VeganMania [free vegan festival] which everyone in Chicagoland should go to on November 5th, 10-5pm, Pulaski Park Fieldhouse). She tagged me in a photo of the mummy pizzas she made last year as I love me some cute looking vegan food. I decided to recreate them for a kid-friendly Halloween post. They're very simple, yet tasty, to make! The serving here is just for one English muffin (which makes two mummy pizzas). Replicate the instructions per English muffin to make more.

Mummy Pizzas

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 English muffin, split in half
6 tsp pasta sauce
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
8-10 thin slices vegan mozzarella*
1 Kalamata olive, sliced

* Recipe:

Spread 3 tsp of pasta sauce over each inside part of the English muffin. Add half the Italian seasoning on each and evenly spread.
Layer the vegan mozzarella in "mummy-like" fashion. Leave spots peaking out where one can see the pasta sauce.
For "eyes", use sliced Kalamata olives.
Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees, then broil on high for another 30-60 seconds to get the cheese to melt thoroughly.

* Note: For vegan mozzarella, I used Follow Your Heart because it is in a block shape and it was easiest to make strips for "mummy wrapping". If your kids don't like olives, one could get some vegan pepperoni and cut holes in the middle of the slices for eyes.

Ginger, Carrot, Beet, & Sweet Potato Soup Revisited

2011-10-21T14:10:00.001-05:00

Every week, I get a box of organic vegetables from Door-To-Door Organics delivered to me (they even carry Upton's Naturals seitan which can be sent to your house too). Last week, they gave me beets, carrots, and sweet potatoes. I already had ginger and the rest of the ingredients, so I thought back to one of my first recipes on this blog back in early 2009. I remade it with better pictures this time, though!

Ginger, Carrot, Beet, & Sweet Potato Soup

* Prep Time: 15 minutes

* Cook Time: 45 minutes

* Ingredients:

1 large beet (diced)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 of a medium onion (chopped)
3-4 large carrots (diced)
2-3 small sweet potatoes, diced
1/3rd small ginger root (minced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
4 cups of vegetable stock
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2-1 teaspoon ground ginger
dash of onion powder
dash of garlic salt
dash of all-purpose seasoning
dash of oregano
dash of dried dill weed

* Recipe:

Add olive oil and all the spices to medium pot. Add chopped onions and sautee until translucent.
While onions are cooking, peel the beet, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Dice all.
As the onions begin to cook, add the garlic and ginger root to the pot.
Add the carrots, cook for 5 minutes.
Put the beets and sweet potatoes in and the vegetable stock. Simmer for 30-40 minutes.
When done cooking, put in a blender to make a puree. Serve hot.

* Note: I did not throughly puree. I wanted a few chunks of vegetables in there.

This is a great cold weather soup. The combination of ingredients doesn't make it too earthy (as beets tend to taste in soups), but hearty instead.

Happy 5 Year Vegan Anniversary to Your Blog Doll!

2011-10-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

My "vegan anniversary" was apparently just a bit ago. Looking through old journal entries, it seems I went vegan around September/October of 2006. Happy 5 Year Vegan Anniversary to Your Blog Doll!

It surely doesn't feel like half a decade has gone by and in that time, I've never regretted or questioned my decision to go vegan. It has brought so many positive things into my life. Veganism has given me a new set of eyes regarding food production, animal agribusiness and agriculture, health concerns, and moral beliefs. I've also met many wonderful individuals, experienced so much great animal activism with Mercy For Animals and Vegan Outreach, tried all kinds of food I never would have even dreamed of prior to being vegan (and expanded my palette so much), started this blog of mine, and have had the peaceful experience of volunteering at farm animal sanctuaries and interacting with species that probably have more in common with us than humans believe. To me, it is a blessing to wake up everyday knowing I am directly withdrawing myself from such horrible cruelty made by factory farms and being natural and healthy in the process.

The best action one can do is practicing what you preach. Think about your actions and what effect it will have on others, big or small. It gives you a sense of personal accountability that I think people tend to ignore. Veganism is living by my values and appreciating all walks of life.

If it weren't for veganism, I would have never been so moved to help others reach the conclusions I have made regarding factory farming, the environment, and health. I learned so much about myself and my abilities to lead, open up and share, and accept (whether it is confrontation or unbelievable support). It has made me a better, more well-rounded person. For that, I'm entirely grateful. My friend wrote a great article on her website, "The Wrong Kind of Activism", that I urge people to take a look at.

One of the proudest moments in my life was when I won the Youth Activist of the Year award during Mercy For Animals Celebrating Compassion Gala here in Chicago in 2009. I think most of the award winners probably feel as I do. I will leave this entry with the short, but sweet, speech I gave that night that I think signifies the point:

"Thank you to Mercy For Animals. Thank you to everyone that is here tonight. Without your support, Mercy For Animals could not continue their life-saving work. We are the voice for the voiceless. Any of our efforts, big or small, show our collective work for the animals. These acts of kindness are immeasurable in value. Each of you here tonight show that a group of people who believe in one unselfish goal is beautiful and has the power to build a better tomorrow. Because of this, I feel that we are all award-winners. For that, please give yourselves a round of applause. You truly deserve it. Thank you!"

SASHA Farm Animal Sanctuary in Michigan

So, thank you to those who read this blog. I'm glad that my decision five years ago has helped others try new vegan food and get involved with animal activism. ♥

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Munch

2011-10-19T12:04:00.002-05:00

Outside

Vegan Chicago is a vegan network for like-minded folks to get together and have fun on various outings like dining at restaurants or bars. I've been to a few events in the last couple years. Truthfully, big social events like that are just not my thing. I'm much more of a lone wolf, if you will. But, I saw that they were having a dine-out at a newer vegetarian restaurant in Oak Park, IL (suburb just outside Chicago) called Munch. I was excited to see this as I have been looking for an opportunity to go out there and check it out. My friend who lives in Oak Park came with and we had a great time trying several items off the menu. Here are some photos from the meetup on Vegan Chicago.

Spicy "Beef" Nachos

To begin, we had the spicy "beef" nachos made vegan. It was topped with Daiya and Upton's Naturals chorizo. It could have been a bit warmer, but there were probably 30 people at this little cafe so I don't blame them for the heat factor. It was a pretty filling appetizer so I would get again. The radishes were a bit confusing, though. I'm not sure why they were on the nachos.

Vegan Lasagna

Soup of the Day

For entree's, my friend had the vegan lasagna with the soup of the day. I had a bite of each. The soup was excellent. Perfect for a fall day. The lasagna was also very good! I would definitely get this again as it looked like a filling entree portion. I ordered the Philly "steakless" sandwich. They use Upton's Naturals gyro style seitan which one can only get wholesale through the company. I've had it before by ordering bulk and freezing with the Chicago Vegan Co-Op. I really love Upton's Naturals wholesale products (even more than the retail seitan they have). You don't see it too often in restaurants, so I was really excited to see it on Munch's menu. I'm also glad that they're supporting a local vegan company like Upton's. The sandwich was a bit salty for my taste. Again, this could be because they were rushing to fill so many orders. It was filled with Daiya and sauteed mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers. The side I got was sauteed greens. These were really exceptional. I'm a bit of a dark leafy green freak (I eat raw kale salad 4-6 times a week), so I always go for the greens when I see 'em on the menu. The meal was so big, I took half the sandwich home for later. We were much too full for dessert, but the cafe offers vegan milk shakes, cookies, and brownies.

Philly "Steakless" Sandwich

It's great to see new vegetarian restaurants popping up all over the city. I mentioned in a previous post about other places that have opened: Urban Vegan Chicago, the various new Native Foods Cafe locations, Quesadilla Mexican Vegetarian Cuisine, and Earth's Healing Cafe (raw). New York Deli has started serving a permanent vegan menu at their place too. Items include a vegan chick'n parm, vegan gyro, SLT (seitan, lettuce, tomato), the John Lennon (hummus sandwich), and vegan desserts.

Herb Roasted Macadamia Nuts

2011-10-17T13:46:00.001-05:00

Macadamia nuts are a great source of protein, calcium, and dietary fiber. I'm a huge fan. When I was in Hawaii, I had some roasted macadamia nuts with fresh herbs at 22 North restaurant. So good! This inspired me to make my own from my organic balcony garden. I didn't have fresh sage or oregano, otherwise I would have used it.

Herb Roasted Macadamia Nuts

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients:

2 cups salted macadamia nuts*
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried sage
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 1/2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tsp fresh basil, chopped

* Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
In a small baking pan, combine all ingredients with hands until mixed.
Cook for about 30 minutes until the nuts have a nice brown.
Serve hot.

* Note: One could use unsalted and add their own salt level to the dish or not have it at all.

This is a great quickie recipe and the fresh herbs bring out a lovely elegance. I would use this for finger food if company is coming over or an appetizer with drinks.

Lemon Ginger Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling & Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-10-13T18:34:00.005-05:00

I am by no means a master baker. I'd like to think I'm a pretty good home baker, though! My frosting skills are not exactly the best, though. Any tips? I leave the pretty looking cupcakes up to local favorites, Canary Confectionery & the Mixing Bowl Bakery. This cupcake is inspired by my friend who really likes ginger. Lemons seem to go well with ginger, so I kind of just went with that theme. The cupcake is filled with lemon curd while the batter has fresh grated ginger, limoncello, and lemon zest. The frosting has limoncello and lemon zest and topped with chopped crystallized ginger.

Lemon Ginger Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling & Cream Cheese Frosting

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 25 minutes
* Ingredients (for lemon ginger cupcakes):

1 1/2 cups sugar*
3/4 cup vegan butter*
2 "eggs", prepared by box instructions*
3 tbsp limoncello*
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup non-dairy milk*
1 tbsp distilled vinegar
2 oz. vegan cream cheese*

* Ingredients (for lemon curd):

1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with water until smooth
splash non-dairy milk

* Ingredients (for frosting):

6 oz. vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup vegan butter
2-3 tbsp shortening
3 tbsp limoncello
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp lemon zest
3 cups powdered sugar
crystallized ginger, to taste, minced, to top

* Recipe (for lemon ginger cupcakes):

In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vinegar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a mixer. Add in the milk mixture and combine well.
If mixing by hand, combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. Add the wet to the dry, then the milk mixture. Combine well.
Place batter 1/2-3/4th full in each cupcake spot on the tin.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

* Recipe (for lemon curd):

Over medium heat, combine the first four ingredients. Stir occasionally until smooth and bring to boil, about 10 minutes.
Add the milk and stir over heat.
Set aside and let cool. It should have a thicker consistency once cooled.

* Recipe (for frosting):

Combine all ingredients but ginger and mix well. It shouldn't have a soupy consistency. If it does, add more sugar.

* Recipe (for cupcake construction):

Once cupcakes are cooled, dig a small well out of the middle with a melon baller.
Fill the well with lemon curd and place the top back on the cupcake.
Frost and top with minced crystallized ginger.

* Note: Make sure your sugar is vegan! For vegan butter and eggs, I like Earth Balance soy free variety and Ener-G for egg replacer. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur that you can find in most alcohol sections of a grocery store with specialty stuff like bitters. Feel free to use any non-dairy milk. I used hemp milk. For vegan cream cheese, I used Galaxy brand.

Product Review: Rawtella Stuffed French Toast

2011-10-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

A vegan coffee shop here in Chicago sells rawtella in their cafe. I've heard about this product before so I thought I would try it out. I don't have much to compare it too, though, because I've never had Nutella before (shocking, I know)! Of course, one could always makes their own vegan Nutella. There are several recipes floating around out there that I hear are pretty delicious.

The flavor I tried out was the original chocolate hazelnut. I completely understand why people put this on toast now or with bananas. It's good! I imagine rawtella is similar to Nutella and making it would be pretty fun. If you're feeling lazy, though, this is a neat product to have in your cupboard.

Speaking of things I have never tried... I've never had a meal of "real" french toast either! I was never fond of the prominent taste of egg and french toast was always too egg-y for me. The Chicago Diner has vegan french toast which I've had there. With this rawtella, I decided to make a vegan stuffed french toast. It was really tasty! It definitely is missing a certain taste of that egg wash feel, but it's a pretty good replacement.

Rawtella Stuffed French Toast

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
* Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegan butter*
4 tbsp corn starch
1 cup non-dairy milk*
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp sugar*
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
pinch salt
2 slices vegan challah bread, cut in 1-1.5 in. slices*
2-3 tbsp rawtella or vegan nutella
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
powdered sugar, to taste
maple syrup, to taste
vegan whipped cream, to taste*

* Recipe:

Heat the vegan butter in a medium sized skillet over low-medium heat.
In a bowl, combine the cornstarch and non-dairy milk well until all clumps are gone. Add the vanilla extract, sugar, flour, and salt. Combine until a smooth batter is formed.
Spread rawtella on one side of each piece of bread. Press together to form a sandwich with the rawtella on the inside.
Coat one side of the sandwich with the batter. Fry in the skillet until golden brown.
Pour batter over the other side of the sandwich and flip over. Allow to fry until golden brown.
Dust with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Serve with maple syrup and vegan whipped cream.

* Note: I used Earth Balance for vegan butter. For non-dairy milk, I used hemp milk as that's what I had. Feel free to use whatever you like. Make sure your sugar is vegan! I found vegan challah bread at the store (which really surprised me). Use any sort of thick, fluffy bread you can find. You want it to be similar to brioche (sans all the eggs in the bread). Soyatoo makes a canned vegan whipped cream that's pretty awesome. They carry it at the Whole Foods near me, but you can order it online too.

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Northdown Cafe & Taproom

2011-10-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

Tucked in between stores, other neighborhoods bars, and the busy hub-hub of Lakeview is this wonderful place called Northdown Cafe & Taproom. It is a vegan hidden gem. From the outside, one would never assume they have an extensive vegan menu. They pride themselves on homemade food from scratch with local ingredients and they certainly live up to this standard. Even their pickles are homemade (which I terribly appreciate as a person who pickles regularly)!

I enjoy a place where I can get great vegan food, a good beer, and not have to scream across the table to talk to the person I'm with. This is where you go to do all that. They have a full bar and seating in the back as well plus some pinball machines.

Garlic & White Bean Dip

The menu is marked what can be made vegan with a (v). To start, our option here is a roasted garlic and white bean dip. So good! Someone could make a meal out of just this. For lunch or dinner, the options include a portobello salad, seitan Philly sandwich, roasted spring veggie sandwich, mac and cheese, open face meatloaf sandwich, and a vegan cassoulet. For dessert, they make pies from scratch. There are usually two to three vegan varieties. When I was there, they had raspberry peach and blueberry.

Mac & Cheese

Meatloaf Sandwich

My friend and I shared the roasted garlic and white bean dip for an appetizer. This dip is awesome. The toasty bread it came with was a great pair. Highly recommend this! For our dinners, I had the seitan Philly sandwich and he had the open face meatloaf sandwich. We also asked for a kids portion of the vegan mac and cheese. They make the cheese out of almond and cashew creams and while you can definitely taste the nutty flavor, it wasn't that bad at all. My Philly sandwich was huge! Oh my goodness! And really good too. The cheese sauce on it was the same used for the mac and cheese. The seitan is homemade and you can definitely tell. I really appreciated that as a home cook that makes a lot of seitan from scratch. I got a side of fries that was a mile high. We poured malt vinegar on it and it was the perfect pub food. My friend had the open faced meatloaf sandwich which really did look like what it was meant to copy. I find sometimes veganized versions of things fall short on how they are supposed to look. Not this. The seitan was stuffed with celery, carrots, and other things one would find in a meatloaf. It wasn't chewy, but moist and easy to cut as a "meatloaf" should be. It came topped with mashed potatoes and a beer gravy. Feast for a Sunday early dinner, let me tell you.

Seitan Philly

We were far too full for a dessert (actually, we boxed half of all the stuff we got aside from the appetizer), but the pies looked really tasty. Next time I'll be sure to save room.

For a vegan wanting to try a new place or if you're taking an omnivore friend out to eat but don't want to suffer in your own dining choices... go to Northdown Cafe! I give this place a 4.5/5 stars. I found my new place to frequent.

Go-To Seitan Recipes

2011-10-02T14:11:00.000-05:00

Deli-Style Seitan

Going through old blog entries, I have realized I have a lot of various seitan recipes that I have used and posted. Some have made it back to my go-to seitan recipe list and others I have decided are not as good. So, because of this, I decided to make a post clarifying which I like the best.

For a meaty pot roast sort of texture and feel, I like this one I used for my Chicken and Buckwheat Waffles recipe and my Country Fried Seitan Steak recipe. It soaks up liquids nice, so it goes well with a gravy.

If you are looking to make more of a deli-style sandwich, this recipe for the seitan on the Italian "Beef" Sandwiches is what you'll want. It slices very well!

If you have made any of Vegan Miss' seitan recipes, I'd love to hear how they turned out. Thank you. xoxo

Grilled Romaine with Chick'n and Homemade Caesar Dressing

2011-09-29T16:01:00.002-05:00

Again, this was inspired by my new grill pan. I made this dressing a while back for my Dishes Men Like posts (which I should really make another 1950's vegan dish, right?!). It is really, really good! I did change what type of mayonnaise I used, though. I have been trying the new Earth Balance vegan mayo while that original Caesar dressing recipe was made with Vegenaise. If you haven't noticed, I'm a huge fan of Gardein. These chick'n strips are pretty good. One could have opted to grill one of their scallopini's and slice it too.

Grilled Romaine with Chick'n and Homemade Caesar Dressing

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 10 minutes
* Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce, washed, cut in half
1/2 package Gardein chick'n strips
VM's Caesar dressing
salt and pepper, to taste
vegan Parmesan, to taste*

* Recipe:

In a grill pan on medium heat, cook Gardein and romaine. Toss the chick'n strips here and there to cook each side and flip the romaine after 5 minutes. Cook for a total of 10 minutes.
Place romaine on a plate with chick'n strips. Top with dressing, salt, pepper, and vegan Parmesan.

* Note: For vegan Parmesan, I used Galaxy brand.

This recipe will make two servings or a large serving for one. Also, in the picture to the right of the recipe, there is quite a bit of Gardein. I only used half a head of romaine when I made this and then decided that with that much chick'n, it would be best with a full head.