Quinoa Chickpea Salad

The Chef: Jennifer 

The Menu: Chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, romaine, and quinoa with a Goddess dressing

The Goods: In preparation for the blogging conference Vida Vegan Con in Portland, Ore., I've been eating a bit healthier because I plan on consuming my weight in vegan food in the food-truck capital (I'm looking at you, Native Bowl). Thanks to vegan cookbook author extraordinaire Isa Chandra Moskowitz for the lovely salad and dressing recipes from Appetite for Reduction. That book has been my go-to for awesome, healthy meals. The multi-color cherry tomatoes are from my mom's backyard garden and I've been snacking on these little gems for weeks now. If you can't make it to Vida Vegan Con to network, chat tonight with top bloggers including Kathy Patalsky, Chloé Jo Davis, Allyson Kramer, and more special guests during our "Blog to Business" Twitter Chat at 6pm PT. Never done a Twitter chat before? It's as easy as making this salad, trust me. See you there!

Doing the Dosa

The Chefs: Lyndsay and Udupi Palace

The Menu: The Spinach Masala Dosa, served with ginger, tomato, and coconut chutneys.

The Goods: I've been on an Indian cuisine kick for the past several days—I'm hoping the spices will help clear up my sinuses. I have leftovers from a decadent Indian-inspired dinner I made last night from Appetite for Reduction, but I was invited to Udupi Palace to eat dosas with editorial assistants Hilary Pollack and Joni Sweet, and I couldn't resist. My meal was delicious as always, and I still have my leftovers from last night to look forward to—win win! We have now come to the final 10 days of our Veggie Awards Survey. Be sure to vote before it comes to a close, and get in the running to win some awesome prizes.

Falafel Feast

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: A tremendous lunch consisting of falafel from Le Petit Marchet, the Everyday Quinoa and Chickpea salad from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, some Kettle Chips, a bright red tomato from my Farm Fresh To You produce box, and some homemade vegan sour cream.
 
The Goods: I realize that this is a huge lunch, and my eyes were definitely too big for my stomach, because I was unable to finish it all. What I did finish was delicious, and I still have another falafel half to feast on tomorrow. Unfortunately, my salad—one of my favorites from Isa's wonderful book—was nearing its end, due to the fact that I made it early last week, but it was still tasty. We can't believe it's already July in just a few days, but we're excited about SF Vegan Drinks this coming Thursday. Speaking of which, this great event received some coverage from the San Francisco Bay Guardian—be sure to check it out!

Chickpea Picatta

The Chef: Gabrielle

The Menu: Leftover chickpea picatta with shallots, capers, garlic, arugula, and lemon, simmered in white wine; served over roasted garlic mashed potatoes and paired with a simple spinach and corn salad.

The Goods: This picatta from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's upcoming book Appetite for Reduction might very well be one of the best meals I've made recently, which fairs well for the yet-to-be-released cookbook. Isa's recipes (whether authored alone, or with the superstar VegNews columnist Terry Hope Romero) comprise what are hands down my favorite cookbooks, and even my omnivorous mum agrees that Veganomicon is one of the best cookbooks out there, veg or not. Over the weekend I was searching for something delicious to make for the week ahead, and was thrilled to find that Isa had posted some sample recipes from Appetite for Reduction on her revamped Post Punk Kitchen website. I promptly made this recipe (with a tiny modification to allow garbanzos to share real estate with black eyed peas), and served mine over some decidedly not low-fat mashed potatoes that are my own recipe. That is, if you can call potatoes, garlic, a lot of earth balance, salt, and nutritional yeast a recipe, and not just delicious!