Busy Weekend: Work, Friends and Food!

Happy Monday! Its happy for me because its the official start of my "weekend." Its 2:00pm and I'm still in my pajamas! That is a very happy thing.

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

A Closer Look at Spelt Flour

My recipe for pumpkin bread calls for spelt flour, but I didn't mention how wonderful it is ... let me explain!

Spelt flour has a richer, fuller flavor than other flours. It almost has a "nutty" taste. It is really high in protein AND fiber. Two ounces of the flour contain 10g of protein and 5.27g of fiber. And what I love ... it contains all eight essential amino acids! Great for veg heads! Its also great for people with wheat allergies.

Get baking with some spelt! Your body will love you!!

Love,
Steph

Kristi, Bobcat and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I love Wednesdays! My coworker Kristi and I always have Wednesdays off. More often than not, we spend it together doing various activities: errands, shopping, venting our life stresses to each other. Kristi moved to Chicago from Wisconsin last winter. We quickly bonded, both feeling like "misfits" coming from smaller towns and missing our families and friends. I had a tough time adjusting to life in Chicago. It was the hardest thing I have ever been through. Even small things like going to the grocery store were a huge adjustment ... you mean I have to take a train or walk?!?! It all seemed so difficult. I never realized how automatic most things in my life had become. I had to map out every destination. I never saw a soul that I recognized. I felt so alone. I found true comfort in meeting Kristi, knowing we had a certain understanding. We don't judge each other's silly anxieties or our lack of city savvy. We still get lost everywhere we go! Sometimes we just talk about how much we miss trees and open skies! Not only do we have a similar life experience, she is a wonderful person. She has a sweet, honest personality. Enough about our love story ...

This past Wednesday, our plans consisted of a trip to Whole Foods (which is now turning into a once a month occurrence), then heading back to her apartment (which is where my boyfriend Bobcat also lives) so I could teach her to make my delicious Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread recipe!! Not only is this bread completely heavenly, its also healthy!! It makes a great breakfast, dessert or snack. It contains no sugar or dairy products.


Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
serves 4-5

2 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup of agave (or maple sugar)
1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds mixed in a small bowl with 3 Tbs. water
1/2 cup soy milk or rice milk
1/3 cup safflower oil (or vegetable)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tbs. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup grain sweetened vegan chocolate chips (Sunspire makes delicious ones!!)
1/2 cup of walnuts (optional)

Preheat over to 350. Oil an 8" X 8" casserole dish.

Combine the pumpkin, agave, flaxseeds, soy milk, oil, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. In a seperate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate chips and walnuts. Add the wet ingredients until just combined.


Fill the casserole dish with the batter. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes until the top springs back when pressed with a finger.


Bobcat and I snuggled for 1 hour and 15 minutes while the deliciousness baked. We are totally in love!! Someday I'm going to hide him in my purse when I leave. Kristi will never know :) Then us of the human race got to enjoy a slice of heaven:


Moist, pumpkiny, chocolately, yummy!!! It was a great Wednesday. I look forward to seeing what adventure next week holds!!


Love,
Steph

And it begins!

I am really excited to be writing my first post on my blog! My brain is so flooded with topics and ideas, I'm not sure where to begin. Lets start with a mission statement (go ahead and call me a dork, I'm used to it). My mission or goal of this blog is to have a place to share all the natural health information, recipes, restaurants, and other things I've learned since I began my journey in natural health. I also want this to be a place where I can share what I am currently doing in my life and what I am doing to continue my journey ... in Chicago! Hopefully some of my ideas and experiences will help inspire you to become more in control of your own health. Or maybe it will just give you a delicious recipe to add to your repertoire!

So now the official mission statement:

At Naturally in the City, my mission is to provide a place to share, inspire, and discover all things natural health for the benefit of the planet, and all its inhabitants!


If you have questions or topics you would like me to cover, you can email me at Stephanie@naturallyinthecity.com