And if you want to add local fruits and vegetables to the mix, check out the first Green City Winter Market of the season. It’s going on this Saturday from 7am to noon at the North Gallery of the Notebaert Nature Museum (one of my favorite museums in Chicago—check out the sustainable house model or just relax walking around in the butterfly haven!).

And if you know anyone who’s fallen victim to those pesky Vegan Myths, check out the veggie mythbusters in action: the Hippyshoppers debunk 10 vegan myths, and one writer from the Washington Olympian tells her tale of how she dispelled the ‘restrictive diet’ with ‘no protein’ myths while becoming a vegan.

Now I’m off to indulge in some fall food goodness with some tasty (and easy-to-make!) Baked Acorn Squash! Yum!

Chefs seem to love cooking what is in season, so it helped that my mom gave me some sort of gourd or pumpkin thing from her garden.  (Isn’t this story just getting better?  I don’t even know what it is I cooked!  Ha!)  I have included a photo of what it looks like… it is the large, creamy colored thing in the middle of the box.  They have a pumpkin-orange inside and can be found everywhere this time of year.

Here goes:

Cut up entire veggie (or is it a fruit?) into 1/2 – 1″ cubes and throw it into a large pot.   Add: 2 ounces of olive oil, 1 full can of V8, 1/2 cup soymilk, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, dash of salt, dash of cinnamon, dash of chili powder, and 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar.  Obviously, the spices should be added to preferred taste, but this is all I used.  Cook it on a higher setting until the sauce thickens, then medium until the sauce is pasty , but still chunky.

It’s great alone, on top of lightly curried rice, or rice cooked in coconut milk with a hint of nutmeg.

So this is PETA’s plea for patience and tolerance: Please, don’t alienate would-be vegans by examining the food in their cupboards or refrigerators. Don’t make veganism seem oh-so-difficult, as though we spend all our time reading labels and demanding that restaurant servers go back and read the label on the bag of veggie burgers. After all, veganism is about joy and life, and it should not be painted as drudgery.

PETA wants to show people that veganism is easy and mainstream because that’s what is best for animals. Sadly, some people already perceive vegans as “extreme,” “radical,” and “difficult.” Instead of squabbling about some almost nonexistent ingredient, in public situations we should be positive and not pretend that even “pure” vegan food doesn’t come with its quota of rat hairs allowed by law, isn’t processed using electricity that destroys habitat, isn’t delivered in gas-fueled vehicles, and so on.

Everything that we eat involves some degree of animal suffering; our goal is to vigorously reduce that suffering. Frankly, some not-quite-vegan food is more vegan than the streets and tires we drive on, the houses we live in, the petroleum products we use, and many other animal-based products that we unwittingly consume on a daily basis.

Remember, if you give a server in a restaurant the third degree or spend all your time with your parents telling them that this, that, or the other is not vegan on the basis of some infinitesimal ingredient that they’ve never even heard of, you’ll inadvertently be transforming your noble desire to promote compassion into the message that being compassionate is an arduous chore.

In that event, your desire to withdraw support for, say, 1/10,000th of the suffering of an animal will have a direct result in the suffering of the thousands of animals that person will now consume as a result of your actions. The animals need you to take this issue seriously and make advocacy every bit as important as, or even more important than, personal purity.

We are not saying that you shouldn’t try to wipe all the nonvegan ingredients out of your life. What we are saying is that if you’re that worried about these issues, please find out which items are 100 percent vegan but don’t make a fuss over them; and when you eat out, call ahead to make sure that the restaurant you’re patronizing has vegan options. With a bit of advance planning, you can adhere to a lifestyle that is as vegan as you like, and others will be able to have a pleasant time in your company without feeling that your life is filled with nothing but worry over ingredients.

Now I have a warm, fuzzy feeling. You can see the whole thing at: http://www.caringconsumer.com/resources_ingredients.asp

Instead of the usual design/materials theme, this time around I’m going to be sharing some other blogs that have proved to be veritable treasure-troves of Veggie info…from fashion to food and everything in between.

First up is the great Hippyshopper. Although they’re based in the UK, they still have an amazingly comprehensive blog that has lots of interesting and relevant green news as well as a ton of featured green design & fair-trade products, most of which are available in the US as well.

My favorite part is the green tech section, where the cute little webcam and USB hub you see pictured come from—they’re from sustainable tech design company United Pepper. They have a bunch of vegetarian/vegan edibles and wearables featured, too.

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Next up is the lovely Amber, whose blog My Aim Is True is chock-full of tasty veggie recipes, cookbook recommendations, vegan fashion, and some cool crafty projects. ‘Fat Fashion Thursday‘ is the bluntly-titled main weekly feature on vegan fashion, which focuses on ways that ladies of all body types can be be trendy and ethical at the same time.

She’s a new vegan convert (read about her decision here) and her blog regularly features some delicious (and beautifully photographed) vegan cooking, from bento boxes to quinoa. Her tasty Tofu Steak is shown above. There’s also a post with tips on great ways to be green, check it out!

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Finally, we have Facebook. Love it or hate it, it now features a new application that lets you show off your eco-consciousness to the (social-networking obsessed) world. It’s called I am Green, and it lets you gain ‘leaves’ on your Tree of Earth Love (sadly not pictured, but that’s how I like to imagine it) with ways that you are, uh, green. And yes, ‘I am vegan’ is an option!

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And another reminder: we’re going to be at the SAIC Student Groups Fair tomorrow (9/20)!

When? From 4pm to 6pm

Where? In the 12th-13th-14th floor lounges of the Michigan Ave (MacLean) building.

Stop by and say hi!

We’re baaaaaack…after a brief summer hiatus, we are so happy to be back and settled in Chicago, and ready to share all the yumminess we discovered over the summer.

I cannot take credit for this particular soup recipe; it comes from Dr. McDougall, a doctor who has been advocating a low-fat vegan diet for a long time. Whether you agree with the diet plan or not, it would be hard to argue with the fact that the man makes a mean salsa soup.
Chip and Salsa Soup
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15 can black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 1/4 cups fresh salsa, mild or medium
• 1 tablespoon canned diced green chilies
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 2 cups fat-free tortilla chips, broken into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup avocado chunks

Place the broth, beans, salsa, corn, green onions and chilies in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes to blend flavors.

Place 1/2 cup of chips and 1/4 cup of avocado in each of four bowls. Ladle the soup over the avocado and chips and serve at once.

All credit to the good doctor on this recipe; he makes it (and many others) freely available at http://www.drmcdougall.com/free.html.

First note: make reservations! Although we went kind of late at night, there was still a 15-minute wait because the restaurant itself is quite small. The wait is worth it, but you can avoid it altogether by making a reservation.

Although the space is small, it’s cleverly decorated (the copper-topped tables were a particular favorite!) and gives off a warm, cozy ambiance. The service was amazing—incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, too.

If you’re in the mood for good drinks, the wine list is extensive—all wines are organic and a good portion of the wine list is vegan as well. I decided to try the Osoti Tinto Riojo, which was a really nice dry vegan red. There was also an abundance of organic beer—and a selection of suprisingly good mead, which my dining buddy Melissa ordered.

Being an omnivore, I was intrigued by the wide array of fake meat on the menu, but ended up going for the Falafel, which was really, really good. There was plenty of falafel for a meal and it was served on a warm whole wheat pita with lettuce, cucumber, chopped tomatoes, and the most amazing cucumber sauce I have ever eaten.

Melissa had a (large!) bowl of their vegetarian chili, which was tasty and quite spicy from chunks of jalapeños in it, and garlic bread. Although the garlic bread could have had a bit more garlic in it for our tastes, the chili definitely rates in the top tier of Melissa’s Chicago Vegetarian Chili list.

And since we were going all-out, we decided to check out the desserts, too. I had heard a lot about the Raw Apple Pie, but it wasn’t on the menu that night, so I decided to go with the Lemon Meringue pie. It may be the fact that I’ve never had vegan desserts before, but it tasted less like lemons and more like—I know, this is odd—sugar cookies. Although it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, it was still good, and the whipped topping had my tastebuds fooled. Melissa had the Tiramisù which looks nothing like the non-vegan version but still tasted great for being ‘health food!’

And for the young Veggies out there, our resident kid-tester approved of Karyn’s Macaroni & Cheese!
FINAL VERDICT:

For those of you who don’t get to Sullivan Center that often–also known as 36 S. Wabash–here’s how to get there: Take the elevator up to the 12th floor, turn right and continue down the hallway. The AIADO ‘gallery’ is just past the vending machines. I have no idea how long it will be up for, so stop by if you get a chance! I’ll try and get some pictures up today too.

And if you all need a laugh after finals, crit week, and just the general end-of-the-semester panic, check out The Top Ten Veg Pick-Up Lines.

Today was the day we had to de-install the awesome art exhibit we had on display at The Chicago Diner. Of course, it was a sad event. After all, the exhibiting artists had received nothing but praise from the staff, managers, owner and Chicago Diner patrons! Afterwards I had a cookie dough & peanut butter vegan milkshake and my mood reversed. How could it not? If you had one, you would be in a good mood, too!

(Then I came home to my 15 page paper assignment and since it’s 80 & sunny outside… well… I should have gotten another shake to go…)

Makes 4 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

This creamy-tasting soup is a great beginning to a meal especially between early fall and early spring when carrots are particularly sweet.

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE SOUP:
1 pound (about 7 medium) carrots
3 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (such as Blue Diamond Almond Breeze) Unsweetened soymilk can be substituted.
2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
FOR THE GARNISH:
16 almonds, whole, toasted
freshly ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Peel and roughly chop carrots (chop each carrot into 3-4 pieces).

Place carrots in pot and cover with water. Bring to boil and cook till tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes.

Drain carrots and puree in a blender or food processor with almond milk, thyme and salt.

Heat thoroughly, stirring often.

Divide soup into 4 bowls- approximately 1 1/2 cups of soup per serving, and garnish with 4 almonds per bowl and freshly ground pepper to taste