Who: The Chicago Diner. Meat free since ’83!
What: Birthday celebration including specials and prizes
When: Wednesday, April 2, 11AM-10PM
Where: 3411 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL 60657
Why: Enjoy some of the best vegan food in town
Tag Archives | Celebration
Sponsor a Turkey (or other animal) This Holiday Season
The holidays are upon us and I am here to offer some easy, vegan gift ideas! First up, why not sponsor an animal on behalf of a loved one. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, consider sponsoring a turkey. Normally, the organization will send a picture of the “adopted” animal that you can present as a gift to an animal lover or child. It’s a great way to educate the little one’s in your life about farm and domestic animals.
Different types of sponsorships are available, such as one-time only, monthly, and more. Choose from all types of animals too. This will work for all budgets. For as little as a one-time $20 donation, you can sponsor a turkey. But, hey, if you have deep pockets, then how about a one year sponsorship. Big or small, an animal sponsorship is a great, vegan gift and it’s easy! Just sign-up online and in a couple of weeks, you’ll receive a picture of the adoptee.
Maybe you know someone who has a fondness for turkeys or pigeons or sheep. Check out some of the organizations below and sponsor an animal today.
Animal Place foster parent program
Farm Sanctuary adopt-a-turkey
IDA Africa sponsor a chimpanzee
SASHA Farm sponsor an animal (farm and domestic options)
Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary animal sponsorship
More gift-giving ideas to come. Until then, happy Thanksgiving! May you be blessed with a delicious vegan meal this Thanksgiving or at the very least, a delicious vegan option at your Thanksgiving celebration.
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Happy World Farm Animal Day! (October 2nd)
In honor of World Farm Animal Day, I have two suggestions for celebrating:
1. You could make your own soy cheese. It’s easy and quite tasty.
Soy Cheese
8 cloves roasted garlic
1 cup nutritional yeast (readily available in the bulk section of Whole Foods or Wild Oats)
2 cups soy milk unsweetened
2 cups vegetable oil (try Canola)
1 Tbsp kosher salt (start with 1 tsp and add as desired)
Combine all ingredients in a blender except oil. Blend until uniform. With machine running, slowly add the oil to form an emulsion. The end result is a creamy, thick sauce-like soy cheese that is yummy on pizza or wraps.
Recipe from Cooking Fools vegan cooking class in Chicago, Illinois.
2. Volunteer at a farm animal sanctuary or for a farm animal welfare group. No time you say? Then why not write a check and donate to a farm animal sanctuary or welfare group. These groups could not survive without volunteers or donations. Do something today! Some of my favorite groups:
SASHA Farm
Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary
Humane Society of the United States’ Factory Farming campaign
Included in this post are a pictures from my trip to SASHA Farm in Michigan where my friends and I volunteered for a day. It’s fun to get out and be with the animals. A good reminder of why go vegan! Farm animals are beautiful creatures. They all deserve to experience a good life…these are some of the lucky ones.
Happy World Vegetarian Day! (October 1st)
In honor of World Vegetarian Day, why not celebrate by making homemade Seitan. It’s my favorite meat substitute and this is my favorite recipe. It’s super easy to make. It takes about 15 minutes to mix up but requires about an hour for cooking. It’s worth the wait. Use it in stir fry or on a sandwich and wrap. It’s a bit spicy so reduce the spices in half if you prefer a more mild spice level. Enjoy!
Seitan
22 oz. vital wheat gluten flour (available in the baking section of Whole Foods and Wild Oats)
2 cups water
½ cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Black Pepper
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then add liquids and work into a uniform dough. Simmer in flavored vegetable stock for about 1 hour. (Kind of looks like a brain when cooking. Not so appetizing but it tastes yummy!) Cool in pot with broth before refrigerating. Store the seitan in some of the broth to keep tender.
This recipe makes a very large portion. I suggest halving or quartering if making for only one or two people. It will last about 7 days in the frig.
Recipe from Cooking Fools vegan cooking class in Chicago, Illinois.
More on Celebrating Animals…
I just learned of another upcoming day to celebrate animals. World Farm Animal Day is Tuesday, October 2. Take time to do something to celebrate these beautiful animals!
