Friday, February 29, 2008

Cool Greens, Hot Rice

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Today's lunch delivered an exciting mix of elements that Colleen whipped up in no time. Chinese-style scallion-stuffed buns and a wholesome curried blend of tofu, broccoli, and potatoes graced our Friday plates. The toasted sesame salad added a familiar Asian accent and tied it all together without overpowering the buns or curry-rice centerpiece.

The Goods: This meal definitely fell under the creative umbrella of Asian Fusion. The salad's cool temperature and delicious combo of toasted sesame seed oil and rice vinegar could have passed for a Japanese appetizer, while the shepherd's purse buns would've satisfied any dim-sum fan, and the curry's balanced sweetness of coconut with a lemony bite represented Thai-inspired cuisine.

And now it's time to turn the tables again for our second Café VegNews giveaway! Hit us with your best shot and you may be the lucky recipient of a VN goodie bag, plus you'll get the chance to influence our lunch menu for a whole week. So be sure to leave your comments here by next Friday to be in consideration for our prize!

The question: Okay, it's a two-parter: Remember Raw Week? What theme week would you like to see next on Café VegNews?

18 comments:

Lauren said...

I loved raw week! I am going to say you should do sandwich week! A different sandwich everyday.. it will give me brown bag (or in my case, lunch box) (gotta be environmentally friendly here!)lunch ideas too!

Anonymous said...

There is no picture. What is wrong with you people?

Goksem Banen said...

Hear! Hear! Sandwich week. :)

nico said...

How about a creative, vegan pizza week?

Anonymous said...

How about centering the week's meals around one (in-season) ingredient? That way, you could provide 5 different dishes using the same food. I love discovering versatile ingredients!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

March is the month of St. Patrick's Day, so how about GREEN foods or Irish foods?

Amanda said...

Local foods week! All the food for your lunches should be grown within a certain number of miles of your office. I'm sure that's a lot easier to do in sunny California than here in frigid Boston!

Anonymous said...

I think you should do a week of foods-inside-of-other-foods. Stuffed stuff is so yummy!

Shelley said...

I vote for showing all those non-vegans what a salad really is...we're not rabbit food eaters. I propose a main entree salad week-get creative, make it hearty, go international, show off some awesome homemade dressings and adorn us with some beautiful salad creations!

Cake said...

Picnic food week! Potato Salad, hummus, rice paper rolls, fruit cookies, fun drinks, etc. Get everyone ready for spring and summer!

emily said...

International week! I would love to see you guys veganize traditional dishes from countries that aren't known to be especially veggie friendly.

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I'd like to see a week of veganized French classics. :) Foods like pain au chocolat, cassoulet, warm chevre salad, savory and sweet tartes...yum!

Ruby Red said...

I think you should do a breakfast-for-lunch week! Like IHOP, but vegan-style! (Of course, since veggies are very important, a plate of pancakes could be allowed to have a green salad on the side. Hehe.)

Erin said...

Omega-3 fatty acids week!
Whenever I shop I am always on the prowl for foods that will increase my intake of Omega 3 fatty acids.

Omnivores and veggies alike often face quite a challenge getting a proper balance of Omega-3s and Omega 6s, with the 3s being most important and the 6s being easier to get enough of.
However, there are lots of great vegan sources of Omega-3s - flax, tofu, walnuts, romaine, cloves, oregano, squash, hempseeds, canola oil, cauliflower, cabbage, miso, strawberries, soybeans. You can see that with some focus, it's easy to get omega-3s into any course of a meal!
See me favorite nonprofit health site's page on O3FA: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=84

I also have to say, I love the idea of sandwich week. Such a traditional American food format that is so easily adaptaple to a vegan diet.

radioactivegan said...

I love theme weeks! You could have 100-mile week, where everything is produced within 100 miles (or even 50 miles!).

Kosher week with traditional, jewish foods. I'd be very interested in that.

Also, knock your socks off week, with spicy foods.

Faux week, featuring seitan, tofu, tempeh, and other faux foods.

Go green week, where everything is green (this might be great for St. Patty's day, coming up).

Unknown said...

Healthy desserts week! ie, desserts that are so good for you, you could eat them as a meal. Like an applesauce/banana cake spread with almond butter, a tofu based mousse served with fancy fruit salads, etc. :)

Anonymous said...

i would like to see easter themed veggie food week. thanks jerry trailrat58@yahoo.com

veganmomma said...

I think you should do a "fast food" week, featuring vegan versions of traditional "fast foods". Could be fun.