Surprise! It's Kale!

The Chef: Anna and Trader Joe's

The Menu: A kale salad topped with tomatoes, edamame, slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and some of Dharma's lemon-tahini dressing

The Dish: After a weekend of parties, late-night vegan cheesteaks, and the most decadent brunch I've ever attended (check Press Pass on Thursday to find out more), a kale salad was the only thing I could possibly think of eating. And it's going to be a very short respite from decadent eating. Tomorrow night, the VNHQ will play host to the after-party for the San Francisco premiere of Vegucated, a charming and funny documentary about three New Yorkers who go vegan for six weeks. Post film (and Q&A session!), we'll all be noshing on treats from Obsessive Confection Disorder, So Delicious, Earth Balance, and Honest Tea. While I'm pretty darn excited to taste (OK fine, devour) these treats, for now, I'll stick to the kale. Want to join us tomorrow night? Buy a ticket today!

Pre-Party Kale Salad

The Chefs: Lyndsay and Herbivore

The Menu: A kale salad with grilled tofu and avocado

The Goods: We've been screaming it from the rooftops for the past month now, and it's finally here—the VegNews Book Bash with Spork Foods! The event is now sold out, and we are just bustling around the VNHQ to get everything done before the fun begins. Hence, the salad, which I ate within five minutes—I literally scarfed it down. And later, I will be scarfing down appetizers inspired by the Spork sisters' new Spork-Fed cookbook, as well as mini cinnamon rolls from Cinnaholic. It shall be a delicious and fun time!

Dharma's Brunch!

The Chefs: Jennifer and Dharma's Restaurant

The Menu: A huge Greek tofu scramble topped with kalamata olives, spinach, green onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and a side of grilled red potatoes

The Goods: Tofu scramble is the perfect meal, day or night. I love every iteration of this brunch staple. So when our gracious Associate Publisher Colleen Holland offered to bring us breakfast from Dharma's Restaurant in Santa Cruz, I choose this Greek Tofu Scramble over the Tofu Rancheros. Did I make the right choice? Yes! I love olives and spinach. Also, as Assistant Editor Anna Peraino asks, how do they make the tofu scramble so good? It's a mystery to me. You know what would make a good accompaniment to my lunch? An apple pie milkshake. The lovely ladies who wrote the recently released Spork-Fed cookbook are the genises behind said drink. If you're one of the lucky ones who will be joining us tomorrow at our sold-out book bash with Spork Foods to celebrate their book, I'll be the one covered in Cinnaholic frosting. See you there!

The Joy Frittatable

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: As always, a big salad of romaine, tomato, and avocado, plus a heaping helping of frittata made with leftover pasta, kalamata olives, capers, fresh basil, and tons of garlic.

The Goods: You know what is really amazing? Tofu. Last night after a long workout, I got home wanting something hearty for dinner, but the leftover pasta in my fridge was just not super appealing. The solution? Whirring half a block of tofu in a food processor with a little olive oil, veggie broth, and nutritional yeast until it was totally smooth, then putting the whole works under the broiler for a few minutes. So simple, so yummy. The workout-frittata combo was good, but the evening I really can't wait for this week is Friday, when we party with the lovely gals from Spork Foods. Champagne, delicious appetizers, and two of the cutest cookbook authors on the planet? That's heaven. See you there!

Post-Workout Salad

The Chefs: Elizabeth and Herbivore

The Menu: A big, hefty salad containing quinoa, Napa cabbage, grilled tofu, romaine, shredded beets, cherry tomatoes, grilled vegetables, cucumber, and avocado, all topped with a delicious Dijon dressing.

The Goods: You know how sometimes you bring a simple Napa cabbage and quinoa salad to work, and then by the time lunch rolls around you just know that it won't be enough? This tends to happen to me specifically on Wednesdays, aka the day after my big workout for the week (a 90-minute cycling class + 90-minute boxing class = one hungry editor). Thankfully, Herbivore came to the rescue with a highly customizeable salad (adding grilled tofu and veggies is always a good idea). You know what else is a good idea? Partying. We could not be more excited about the VN Book Bash with Spork Foods, which is just nine days away!! All we're saying is that a) the Spork gals are just about the two cutest humans on the planet, b) the finger-food menu looks totally incredible, and c) there will be both a Cinnaholic cinnamon roll bar and a photobooth. Any of those would be reason enough to come celebrate with us, but the all three together are the perfect party trifecta.