Vegan Chicago: Tofurky and the City

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.

1. 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. 
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Karyn's Raw has a Thanksgiving dinner to-go option for $50. Order in advance.
5. Karyn's Cooked also is doing a Thanksgiving dinner to-go for $40. Order in advance as well.
6. 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.

1. 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.
2. Gardein has their Savory Stuffed Turk'y readily available at most Whole Foods for the holidays. 
3. 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

Homemade Grilled Potato, Onion, & Cheeze Pierogies with Kielbasa

Well, I finally broke down and bought myself a grill pan. I've been meaning to add this item to my kitchen for a long time. Naturally, I am now obsessed with it. The next few posts may all involve a grill pan, be warned!

I ran out of all-purpose flour as I was making this, thus the added whole wheat flour. Please make with whichever flour you choose, though. This recipe is rather involved as one should really freeze the pierogies overnight before you cook them. Luckily, this recipe makes a lot and you'll have plenty pierogies left over in the freezer for a later date to bake, boil, or fry up! They would go wonderfully with a combination of some vegan sour cream, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and minced chive.

Homemade Grilled Potato, Onion, & Cheeze Pierogies with Kielbasa

* Prep Time: 2 hours to make pierogies, then freeze overnight
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients (for pierogi dough):

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp soy butter*
• 2 "eggs", prepared via box instructions*
• 1/8 cup vegan sour cream*
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup water

* Ingredients (for rest of pierogi filling):

• 1/2 recipe of VM's "My Mom's Mashed Potatoes" sans rosemary
• 1/2 cup Daiya Cheddar Cheeze*
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil

* Ingredients (for rest of recipe):

• 2 vegan kielbasa sausages*
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely sliced
• 1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe (for pierogies):

1. In a mixer, combine all ingredients for pierogi dough.
2. Form dough into disk and wrap in saran wrap. Refrigerate for one hour.
3. Just before your hour wait is up, in a medium skillet on medium-low heat, add the olive oil. Sautee the onions until translucent and soft, about 10 minutes.
4. Take out of fridge, dust counter with flour, and roll out dough with a rolling pin.
5. Roll out dough to about a quarter of an inch thick and cut into four pieces. Roll each piece out until it is just a couple millimeters thick. Cut circle with cookie cutter that is about two inches wide.
6. When done making mashed potatoes, add the cheeze. and cooked onions. Mix well.
7. Place about a tsp of mashed potato mixture in the center of circle.
8. Dip finger in cold water and wipe more than half around of the edge of the circle.
9. Fold over and press all the air out sealing the edges. Use a fork to crimp the edges.
10. Freeze overnight. Freeze on a wax paper on a baking sheet so they do not stick. Once frozen, one can place them in a freezer ziplock bag. The recipe makes about four dozen pierogies.

* Recipe (for rest of recipe):

1. Heat grill pan on medium heat. Add the kielbasa and cook for about 10 minutes, turning each side every few minutes.
2. While the kielbasa are cooking, combine one tbsp olive oil with the onion in a medium bowl. Coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. When the kielbasa are done, set aside. Add the onions onto the grill pan. Cook until translucent, about 10 minutes.
4. Coat about a dozen frozen pierogies in one tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Take the onions off the grill pan and add the pierogies. Cook each side for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
6. While pierogies are cooking, slice the kielbasa and dice the onions.
7. Combine the mustard, vinegar, remaining olive oil, and parsley in the medium bowl. Add the kielbasa and onions. When the pierogies are done on the grill, toss them into the bowl. Mix well.
8. Serve and enjoy.

* Note: For soy butter, I prefer the olive oil based Earth Balance. For egg replacer, I use Ener-G. The vegan sour cream I used was Tofutti. One can find Daiya at most health food stores now or online. Lastly, the vegan kielbasa I used was Tofurky brand. Personally, I find them rather dry but with the dressing they were not that bad.