Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Borrowed Earth Cafe

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

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):

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

* Recipe (for chocolate buttercream frosting):

1. Cream together margarine and shortening until combined.
2. Add the cocoa powder and mix well.
3. 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.
4. Add the vanilla extract and combine until fluffy and no more lumps are seen.

* Recipe (for rest of cupcake):

1. In a bowl, combine cherry butter with red food dye. Add as much red food dye as necessary to make it "blood red".
2. 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.
3. Add 1-2 tsp of cherry butter to the center of the cupcake. Replace the top back on the cupcake.
4. Frost with the buttercream frosting.
5. 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.
6. Roll each frosted cupcake in the cookie dirt and pat more with your hands. Shake the cupcake to take off stray cookie dirt.
7. In a bowl, add 5-10 drops of all four food dye colors. Mix. Add the marzipan and mash with a fork until combined.
8. Follow the directions here to make beetle marzipan figures.
9. Dust each beetle with gold luster dust.
10. 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

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:

1. Roast the pumpkin for 45-60 minutes according to these instructions.
2. In a large pot, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and the onion. Sweat until translucent.
3. Add the garlic, apples, and leek. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.
4. Next, add the vegetable broth, non-dairy milk, pumpkin, sugar, and all the spices.
5. Cook for another 30 minutes or so.
6. 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.
7. Puree in batches.
8. 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

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:

• Stuff About Stuff
• Vegan Things I Like
• Vegan Dance if you want to.
• The Harmless Hunter
• A Cupcake Chronicle

Happy vegan blogging!

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Ian's Pizza

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

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:

1. Spread 3 tsp of pasta sauce over each inside part of the English muffin. Add half the Italian seasoning on each and evenly spread.
2. Layer the vegan mozzarella in "mummy-like" fashion. Leave spots peaking out where one can see the pasta sauce.
3. For "eyes", use sliced Kalamata olives.
4. 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

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:

1. Add olive oil and all the spices to medium pot. Add chopped onions and sautee until translucent.
2. While onions are cooking, peel the beet, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Dice all.
3. As the onions begin to cook, add the garlic and ginger root to the pot.
4. Add the carrots, cook for 5 minutes.
5. Put the beets and sweet potatoes in and the vegetable stock. Simmer for 30-40 minutes.
6. 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.