Saturday and Sunday were very busy days filled with work, friends and lots of delicious food! On Saturday my friend Beth, who lives in the South suburbs, was on the North side because she had a booth at a craft fair. She makes the most adorable accessories! I have a clutch she made that I absolutely love! Its purple and black and white buffalo plaid. Check out her Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/besu
Best of all, she is a fellow vegan and huge lover of the Chicago Diner! Oh, the Chicago Diner. Words could never describe my love for this place. Its your typical diner with shakes, country fried steak, burgers, reubens, bbq rib sandwiches, fries, mac n cheese ... I could go on forever!! But guess what?!?!?!?! Its all vegan! Yep, thats right. It is by no means health food, but even a vegan needs some naughtiness now and then.
Saturday Kristi and I got off work at 4:00, and Stephen met us at Renessence (our fine establishment of employment). We donned our big, huge, monster puffy coats and snow boats and trekked to the train and headed over to ... dun dun dun ... The Chicago Diner!! Beth was just finishing at her craft fair and met us there. We started off with dessert first, we couldn't take the chance that we might possibly be too full after dinner. We each enjoyed a peanut butter cookie dough shake. Delicious! Then it was time to order dinner. Its always so hard for me to decided what I want, I love everything and I also want everything. I was feeling adventurous and went for the special "pork" tacos. I was not disapointed! Al pastor style tacos with guajillo pepper-pineapple marinated "pork" and onions topped with lettuce, tomato, cheeze, vegan sour cream and cilantro. It was served with a side of Spanish rice, salsa and avocado. The "pork" was very good. It was sweet and spicy from the marinade and the fresh toppings made it absolutely perfect!
Kristi and Beth both had the Philly cheeze "steak," and Stephen had the Caeser wrap. We were so full and tired, Stephen and I came home and watched a few episodes of "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and crashed!
www.veggiediner.com
I worked on Sunday as well. I'm not used to working both weekend days; its a new schedule. And its exhuasting! After work, Stephen and I went to Rich and Sarah's condo in the West Loop. Sarah is new to cooking and has had her KitchenAid mixer in storage since she received it as a wedding gift over a year ago! I'm pretty sure this is a mortal sin. She decided she wanted to break it out, FINALLY, to make some chocolate chip pumpkin bread! We put our aprons on and decided to also make some black bean burgers, sweet potato fries and a green salad.
Stephanie's Black Bean Burgers
makes 4 patties
1 can of black beans (partially drained)
1 cup of cooked browned rice
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. chilli powder
2 tsp. cumin
sea salt and pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
whole wheat hamburger buns
any burger toppings you may want (I love bbq sauce)
Open the can of black beans and partially drain. Place beans in a bowl and use a mixer to break them up, making a paste but also leaving some beans fairly intact. Stir in cooked brown rice, green bell pepper, carrot, onion powder, chilli powder, cumin, and sea salt and pepper to taste. Form into 4 patties. Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat on the stove. Fry the patties about 4-5 minutes per side. Place on buns and build your burger to your liking!
Stephen's Sweet Potato Fries
serves 4
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
olive oil
sea salt
Preheat oven to 375. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into fry size wedges. Toss them in a bowl with a touch of olive oil and sea salt. Spread them in one layer onto a cookie sheet. Bake them for 15-18 minutes, flipping them twice. Enjoy!
We enjoyed our dinner, then a slice (or two) of chocolate chip pumpkin bread for dessert! We had so much fun, we decided it is now our Sunday tradition to cook dinner together. It was a great way to kick off my official "weekend!"
Love,
Steph
Oh my gosh! That black bean burger recipe sounds delish! I need to try that! thanks for the shout out! xo.
ReplyDeleteFirst things first....I LoveLoveLoveLove Beth's accessories...the little wallet I have now is where I put my coupons and grocery lists, it is the perfect place! I am amazed at how vegan food can be translated over so well into what some would call 'normal' food, those tacos look damn delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to hear that the Kitchen Aid is no longer being stored away, mine has been priceless in my development as a chef.
I love that apron you are wearing, where did you get it???
The black bean burgers sound and look quite tasty! I will have to try this recipe, as well as your falafal recipe! Looking forward to trying the Chicago Diner with you in March. Keep sharing your recipes, as well as the new places you discover.
ReplyDelete