Easy Salad & Edamame

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A robust, flavorful salad of mixed greens, green olives, shredded carrot, cherry tomatoes, avocado, celery, and basil dressed in a zesty summer vinaigrette. Colleen added some crunch to our veggie-filled lunch with fresh, salty edamame.

The Goods: In a bid to outshine yesterday's super sunny lunch, today's al fresco fare was even more satisfying, as San Francisco's two-day high temperatures have us riding a serious vitamin-D wave. When the hot, hot, heat gets to be too much, however, it's good to seek fun indoors, preferably where there is air conditioning. Ready for the perfect summer evening event? Enter to win two tickets to see vegan comedian Myq Kaplan's performance in San Francisco at The Warfield on Sept. 10! Kaplan was recently a top-five finalist on NBC'S Last Comic Standing, and VN recently caught up with the meat-free funny man to discuss everything from eating vegan on the road to sharing veganism with fellow contestants.

Grilled Cheese Friday

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Delicious open-faced grilled-cheese sandwiches with fresh halved cherry tomatoes, basil, and Daiya on whole-wheat bread. Colleen made an incredible marinated kale salad with carrots, red cabbage, and the perfect balsamic vinaigrette.

The Goods: It's Friday, and Colleen arranged for a little surprise. Lyndsay's mom decided to fly out for a surprise visit from St. Louis, which made us all jump around with glee when we saw her come into the office. It's always wonderful to have lunch guests, and is even more so when we're not expecting them! (OK, so long as at least one person is in on it...) It's also sunny and gorgeous, and all over things are pretty much fantastic. We hope everyone thoroughly enjoys the weekend, and we'll see you Monday!

Super-Quick Scramble

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: Tofu scramble! Today's Italian-food-inspired meal consisted of lots of onions and garlic, tofu, eggplant, capers, fresh basil, and garbanzo beans, and a side salad with heirloom tomatoes and avocado.

The Goods: Sometimes, you only have half an hour to make lunch. Like, oh say, when you're going to press the next day and need to finalize the cover and edits, and maybe also need to get ready for Taking Action for Animals in DC this weekend, and maybe, just maybe, today is also your web deadline. On such days, throw a bunch of themed ingredients (Italian in this case) on tofu and call it a day. Well, actually, first vote in the Veggie Awards Survey—since there are only 10 days of voting left—then call it a day. Whew.

Oh My, Thai!

The Chef: Stacy

The Menu: A terrific, two-course Thai treat! This may well be the most colorful lunch ever to be featured on this blog, and it was as delicious as it was vibrant. Ms. Stacy busted out a totally wonderful Thai-food-inspired coconut soup with sweet potato, fennel, spinach, green onions, and carrots. Alongside was an equally attractive rice-noodle salad with a few of the same ingredients, plus basil and thin slices of bright-red pickled ginger, which was tossed in a light, lovely vinaigrette.

The Goods: There's nothing to brighten up a slightly dreary day like a super-colorful lunch and some special-guest-type company. Today we had the pleasure of dining with Justin Lucke, one of our favorite local veg chefs and Organic Athletes. Oh, any maybe there's a hidden message in today's headline. We're just saying, it pretty clearly says "my thai," and what event is happening tonight? Oh, that would be a little something we like to call SF Vegan Drinks. Yes, subtlety has always been our strongpoint. Now come see us at Martuni's!

Scrumptious Spring Risotto

The Chef: Melissa

The Menu: An elegant, Italian-inspired spring vegetable risotto and crispy side salad. Café VegNews went gourmet today as we were treated to this fine cuisine, compliments of Ms. Melissa. Equipped with a plentiful supply of produce, a freshly spring-cleaned fridge, and her own stellar kitchen skills, Melissa livened up her risotto with a variety of garden-fresh veggies, including onions, snap peas, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, and red pepper, all seasoned with rosemary, thyme, oregano, and fresh basil. The matching side salad consisted of carrots, peas, red pepper, fresh basil, and perfectly ripe avocado. 

The Goods: Still on a post-Maggie Award-winning high, the menu matched the mood—and the weather—today as we dined outdoors, enjoying the soothing San Franciscan sun.  To sooth some of the VN staff's risotto-making fears, Melissa detailed her strategy for whipping this high-class dish out lickety-split. While she recommends using whatever veggies you might have on hand, one of her favorites is a kabocha pumpkin-based version. Do you have a favorite spring vegetable?

Spring "Rolls"

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: Well, it's technically spring now, and we technically ate a lunch of ingredients that would be appropriate in spring rolls, but, well, that whole "roll" part didn't work out so well. Maybe some of us just can't help it when we see a platter of fresh veggies like bean sprouts, chopped Napa cabbage, sliced red bell pepper, Thai basil, sautéed trumpet mushrooms, chopped green onions, and thinly sliced strips of Tofurky. Maybe we get all excited and pile our rice wrappers higher than we should, and our "rolls" turn into un-toasted, spring-roll-style tostadas. Maybe, since we slathered the whole shebang with peanut sauce from Simply Boulder, toasted sesame seeds, and soy sauce, and nibbled on a side of edamame, these disappeared just as quickly as their more-cylindrical counterparts would have. Here at the VNHQ, this is how we un-roll.

The Goods: So, in addition to the platter of possible roll ingredients, there's a fair deal of non-lunch fun to be excited about today. First of all, we are exactly one week away from the debut of the VegNews Speaker Series. If you're into thought-provoking authors answering your questions and having Millennium whip up some delicious desserts to dive into afterward, maybe you want to go ahead and get one of the very few remaining tickets. And, if you want to hang out with other vegans, enjoy a tasty beverage or two, and mingle to the max? Then don't miss the second installment of SF Vegan Drinks!

Raw Week: Zucchini Zaniness

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A zillion uses of zucchini! Today's zukes were peeled into ribbons to make raw pasta, which Elizabeth topped with a pesto of basil, garlic, cashews, and a splash of hemp-seed oil. Since you can't very well make ribbons out of the seedy parts of zucchini, those got blended with carrots, maple syrup, and cinnamon to make the little soup shooter you see at the top of the plate. Finally, a very, very simple salad of romaine and red bell pepper completed our plates.

The Goods: We're still enjoying our raw refreshment after the insanity of Expo West, but today we were feeling a little bit dessert deprived. Thankfully, we found a stock of really yummy raw gelato in our freezer from Organic Nectars, which we quickly devoured. We're not sure if the whole gelato-gorging process is really in the spirit of the diet cleanup, but it followed this week's raw law to the letter, which is good enough for us!

Super-Satisfying Sandwiches

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Maybe just about the most amazing sandwiches ever to be produced at the VNHQ. Maybe. Colleen toasted some perfectly crunchy rustic bread, made her signature cumin-seed-infused hummus, marinated tofu in teriyaki sauce, tossed chopped cherry tomatoes with basil and garlic, ripped fat leaves of lettuce from their heads, and, oh yes, she caramelized onions to go on top. These behemoth hand-holds were perfectly accompanied by a huge, hearty marinated kale salad with thick slices of button mushrooms and a generous sprinkling of craisins.

The Goods: Holy crap, this was one phenomenal meal! The only way to properly enjoy such a fantastic feast was to eat al fresco, in the nearly 60-degree sunshine that's currently shining down on us here in San Francisco. Today's lunch was a lovely end to the workweek (the afternoon doesn't count!), and a satisfying beginning to the weekend, which promises to be full of fun. The Fancy Food Show will be going on, there are events to attend, organizations to start, and books to write. Though, of course, first thing's first—if anyone needs us tomorrow, we'll be lying on beach towels in the sun.

Spicy Soup, Cool Couscous

The Chefs: Aurelia and Colleen

The Menu: A perfectly balanced pairing of spicy butternut squash soup with a cool couscous salad. Aurelia made the fiery soup, using green curry paste for a depth of flavor and spice that was utterly delicious. Garlicky croutons that were tossed with hearty amounts of Parma made a savory addition to the velvety soup. Colleen's couscous salad, full of fresh basil, cucumber, carrots, broccoli, and swiss chard provided a lovely counterpoint. Did we also top that with tons of Parma? Yes, yes we did.

The Goods: We're gearing up for the Green Festival here in SF this weekend, and, evidently, so are a number of our friends. We had the good fortune of hosting Yvonne Smith, aka The Traveling Vegetarian, vegan chef Justin Lucke, and festival volunteer extraordinaire Paul Saccone today. Just to make the afternoon a little sweeter, Rey Ortega of Sun Flour Baking Co., stopped by with two things we love: freshly baked cookies and Dan Piraro.

Soup, Salad, and a Surprise!

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A delicious take on the classic soup-and-salad lunch. Since we had a butternut squash in the kitchen, Colleen roasted it with cinnamon and other spices, then puréed it into a silky soup with just a touch of coconut milk. Even though it's still sunny and bright outside, this rich soup was a gentle reminder that it technically is fall. For the salad, she mixed fluffy couscous with red bell pepper, broccoli, cucumber, and fresh basil. Did we douse it with Parma? Yes. Was it awesome? Yes. And speaking of awesome, yes, that is an open-faced spinach-topped quesadilla you see.

The Goods: But, you say, the cheese on the quesadilla looks so melty, how can that possibly be vegan? Surprise! It's cheddar Teese! That's right, the guys at Chicago Soydairy—which was just named Company of the Year in the 2008 Veggie Awards—are coming out with a new flavor of Teese, and we're happy to be taste testers.

Comfort Curry

The Chef: Jenny

The Menu: A de-freaking-licious curry. Ms. Jenny busted out a slightly spicy green curry with coconut milk, broccoli, tofu, and zucchini that was simmered to perfection. Not one to skimp on sides, she infused the rice with cloves, saffron, and basil, and served a light spinach-avocado salad.

The Goods: If there's anything better than a yummy, warm curry on a cold, foggy Monday, we're not even interested. This was a perfect kick-off meal for the week, both filling and fabulous. Since the great eats put us in such good moods, we've got a mind to do something fun. So—get ready—even though it isn't the end of the month, we're doing a giveaway! Here's the deal: our kitchens tend to accumulate some straggler ingredients, and we're always looking for ways to make use of them. Tell us how you would use the following ingredients in one creative meal, and whoever submits the most interesting, delicious-sounding idea by this Friday (the 19th) will be the winner! We can't wait to hear your ideas! Okay, go!
From top, clockwise: molasses, amaranth, hemp nut butter, and pinenuts.

In-The-Fridge Smorgasbord

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A tantalizing trio of treats. Colleen always adds a gourmet flair to her meals, as evidenced today in a roasted-corn and black bean salad with tomato, avocado, and olives, an Asian-food-inspired stir fry with shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, homemade seitan, and tofu-based House Foods Tofu Shirataki noodles, and finally, she toasted rosemary focaccia with Dr. Cow cheese and basil. Yeah, Fridays are good eating-days around these parts.

The Goods: Tonight's the night we're going to make it happen, tonight we'll put all other things aside. All things other than karaoke, that is! As a sweet sendoff to our lovely Lisa, we're going out "singing" this evening. What does this have to do with lunch? Nothing. Do you fondly recall our past karaoke exploits? We certainly hope so. Happy long-weekend Friday!

Compelling Curry

The Chef: Jenny

The Menu: A stop-you-in-your-tracks amazing curry. Jenny was out of the office last week on vacation, and we certainly missed her dependable Monday curry. Today's was an extraordinary melding of butternut squash, garbanzo beans, coconut milk, and basil. As if the absolutely incredible main weren't enough, she also made perfumed rice—aka very aromatic rice simmered with spices—and a delicious simple salad of greens, tomatoes, and chopped pistachios.

The Goods: It's great to have the office back at full capacity and in full swing this week, and this meal was just what we needed to start out right. Of course, there's a thick blanket of fog outside, so having a scrumptious, colorful meal inside was a great break from the bleak outlook of the city.

Sensational Stir Fry

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A fan-freakin'-tastic stir fry of broccoli, zucchini, carrots, ginger, kale, shiitake mushrooms, and tofu. Served over yummy curry-flavored udon noodles, Colleen's Asian-inspired creation was a one-dish meal to die for. We've been a little burrito and mac 'n' cheese heavy recently, so this savory stiry fry was a welcome, veggie-packed change of pace.

The Goods: Okay, this is big. Are you ready? Voting is open for our 2008 Veggie Awards! This is the largest survey of its kind in the world, and is one of our most-favorite features every year since we get to find out what our readers really love. Make sure and vote for your favorite restaurants, blogs, bakeries, cookbook authors, and more! Last year 20,000 people voted, and we hope to make that 30,000 this year with new categories like Favorite Animal Sanctuary and Favorite Online Forum. Polls are open now and will be open until August 31. Congrats to all of our amazing nominees!

Messy Pesto

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A late-summer pesto with broccolini, sautéed red bell peppers, and big, lovely bites of avocado. This meal took a turn for the lighter side with the substitution of rice noodles for the traditional wheat pasta, and the standard side salad brightened the plate a little bit too.

The Goods: One of the tell-tale signs of an Elizabeth lunch is the heavy-handed avocado. But really, why stop at adding it to one dish when you can just as easily add it to both? If you haven't yet tried sprucing up your pasta dishes with avocado, go for it. We're pretty certain you'll be glad you did. If you's just not an avocado fan, well, we're sorry to say, you probably have no soul. Er, um, we mean, uh, it's okay to not like something as intrinsically awesome as avocado. Sure.