Curry and Company

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: An absolutely lovely light yellow curry with tons of veggies! Colleen added carrots, broccoli, zucchini, onions, garlic, and cherry tomatoes to a coconut-milk curry broth, all of which she served over a super combination of basmati rice and red quinoa. Um, yum. A light salad of a pirate's favorite leafy green (you guessed it: arrrrrrrugula) and red cabbage with a snazzy lemon dressing completed these perfect plates. Oh, and the Vegenaise shipment we got in today? Colleen snuck a spoonful into the aforementioned dressing, but the result was so light and lemony you would have never even known it was in there!

The Goods: So you know all about the curry, here's the part about the company. Today we had the pleasure of dining with Melissa's brother, Mike, and his girlfriend, Amy, who are out visiting from Colorado for the weekend. They are, in a word, hilarious, and it was a highly enjoyable way to end the week. Oh, and did we mention that today is gorgeously sunny and we got to have popsicles before returning to work? Yeah, things are pretty stinking awesome around here.

Comfort Chili

The Chefs: Jenny and Aurelia

The Menu: Hearty, healthy chili of pinto beans and textured vegetable protein that saved us all from the noontime doldrums. Ms. Jenny couldn't contain her Cuban self (not that we'd want her to!) and made a yummy, herbed yellow rice to complement the filling chili. Aurelia busted out a fresh salad of spinach, arugula, bell peppers, and peas with a light, lemony flax-oil dressing.

The Goods: Today's meal was definitely one made in the mode of, "Oh look. Here's what we have in the cupboard, so we'll make something with it." It's nice to know that no matter how bare the pantry seems, there's always a delicious option lurking in there somewhere, so long as you're open to being creative with combinations. A touch of Americana-style chili with a side of traditional Cuban rice? Why not?

Romesco Revamp

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: Contrary to how it looks, this is, for once, not mac 'n' cheese. Yes, that's right, we've branched out to other varieties of pasta covered with some sort of orange-colored sauce. Today, Elizabeth created a revamped romesco sauce of roasted bell peppers, cashews, and steamed potatoes. Much lighter on the fat content than a traditional romesco (in which the potatoes are replaced with olive oil), this version is still super flavorful. A hearty salad of arugula, heirloom tomatoes, avocado, spinach, and fennel, and a couple slices of rustic bread finished off this comfort-food-filled lunch.

The Goods: We swear, when a food addiction hits there's nothing we can do about it. This pasta sauce has been a staple in Elizabeth's kitchen for the last few weeks, especially since she tends to make a little more than is really necessary for one batch. So, let's hear it, what are you craving these days? Which dish can you just not stop eating? We're hoping that, at some point, our answer to this question turns from saucy pastas to saucy vegetables, but we're not in any rush.