CHICAGO FROM THE SEARS TOWER

One goal I had during Year 25 has been to see Chicago from the Sears (Willis) Tower. The world certainly has a weird way of bringing things together because as it turns out, I now work in the Sears Tower! (Same job, my office moved). So I technically get to see Chicago from the Sears Tower every day, Monday through Friday!

The other week, one of my coworkers retired, so my company hosted the party at the 99th floor of the building. There were incredible panoramic views and all my coworkers and I spent the first half hour of the party wandering around the floor before we sat down to lunch.

 After the party we went up to the Sky Deck on the 103rd floor where The Ledge is. 

The 103rd floor has these translucent window boxes that jut out a couple feet and you're able to walk onto them and look down from. I don't know why I was so unfazed by them (I had to convince most of my coworkers to step out on it with me, but I had such a fun time jumping around and looking down 103 floors to the street level. 

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but my coworkers are really great. I think it's partially that we have a small office and partially that you get what you give (I've noticed that I'm much more extroverted/way less socially anxious after hiking last year), but I was super hesitant to take this job. It's by no means my dream job, but I really appreciate the people it has brought into my life. 

LAVENDER LEMON "CHEESECAKE"

I was going to wait until I'd made two desserts to share them here, but I'm so excited about this lavender lemon cheesecake that I'm sharing it today! The recipe I used is from the blog This Rawsome Vegan Life, which is one of the first two blogs I ever followed. After following it for 5+ years, I finally decided it was time to make a few recipes from it this year so put this as #8 on my birthday list.

This cheesecake... it's magical. Magical, not only tastes incredible, but because for being raw and vegan and mostly nuts and dates it tastes exactly like the real cream cheesy thing. It really is nuts! The only reco I have for making this on your own is making sure that you have a really good food processor or blender to make sure everything is really smooth.

Here's the recipe with a few notes for directions/substitutions I made.

LAVENDER LEMON CHEESECAKE

Crust:
1/2 cup dates
1 1/2 cups nuts (I used 1 1/4 cup of walnuts and 1/4 cup of almonds)

Cheesecake:

3 cups cashews (I soaked them in warm water for 2 hours)

3/4 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup melted coconut oil

1 teaspoon salt

Dried lavender (the original recipe calls for 1-3 teaspoons - I did 4 + extra for garnishing)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cover the inside of a cake pan with wax paper (I used a 9-inch springform pan, although next time I'll be using an 8-inch springform pan for a slightly thicker cake). Pulse dates and nuts in a food processor/blender until you get a sticky mixture that you can pat down into the bottom of the cake pan. Set in fridge/freezer to chill. 

Blend all cheesecake ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Pour onto the crust in the cake pan and set in the freezer until it has the hardness you want (it was 3 hours for me - although I ended up storing leftovers in the freezer too). Pop the cake out of the pan, peel off the wax paper, slice and eat/enjoy/experience the magic. 

Recipe from This Rawsome Vegan Life 

PS: This Rawsome Vegan Life's Instagram account is amazing. 

THREE SALADS

Since my typical salads almost always consist of arugula, a few slices of onion, and balsamic dressing, one goal on my birthday list this year was to make three salads from recipes. I'm excited to report that this goal is complete as of last week (it's my first completed item out of twenty-five actually), so yeah, here they are!

01. Chopped Asian Salad from It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken
This salad required so many ingredients. Like two colors of sesame seeds and two colors of cabbage! That being said, it was so crunchy and good. I also learned that I like cabbage way more than I thought. I can making myself making this one again, but not until I have an occasion or need to impress someone at a potluck or something.

02. Winter Salad with Farro, Butternut Squash, Kale, and Cranberry Dressing from Kitchen Confidante

So many delicious wintry flavors packed into a filling salad. This one was wonderful for lunches and lighter dinners.

03. Crowd Pleasing Vegan Caesar Salad from Oh She Glows

Caesar salad was my favorite growing up and I ate it all the time, but haven't at all in the 8+ years since becoming a vegetarian. This salad required lots of ingredients and didn't taste 100% like the real deal, but it was so good. Maybe even better than the real thing! I already made a double batch of the dressing since finishing round 1. 

25 FOR 25

I've made birthday lists the past six years (and loved doing so), so keeping with tradition,  here's 25 for 25...

01. Finish reading War and Peace

02. See a Cubs game

03. Run the Chicago Marathon

04. Watch The Shawshank Redemption and Top Gun

05. Finish the online HTML/CSS/Java courses I started

06. Register to be a bone marrow donor

07. Make three salads from recipes

08. Make two desserts off of the blog, This Rawsome Vegan Life

09. Host a vegan dinner party

10. Memorize all of Alphabet Aerobics (for my next party trick)

11. Watch Stranger Things

12. Visit a Midwestern city I've never been to before

13. Buy a used credenza

14. Watch all of Friends

15. Get a lemon tree

16. Visit a Chicago museum

17. Watch all of Parks & Rec

18. See Chicago from the Sear's Tower

19. Move into a 1-bedroom apartment

20. Host three friends/family members in Chicago

21. Have my planned quarter life crisis (because I'm going to live to 100) and get a tattoo

22. Make a list of 25 places to eat at in Chicago and eat at half of them

23. Find somewhere to volunteer in Chicago

24. Get back to the Appalachian Trail and do some trail magic

25. Knock off three things I have yet to do from past birthday lists