VegNews Thanksgiving Feast 2011!

The Chefs: Hilary, Colleen, Jen, Elizabeth, Lyndsay, and Native Foods

The Menu: A feast fit for a voraciously hungry staff: a vegan Wellington and mushroom gravy from Native Foods, Elizabeth's mashed potatoes, Colleen's brussels sprouts and signature winter salad, Lyndsay's biscuits, nog, cider, and three kinds of pie from Sidesaddle Kitchen!

The Goods: It's not easy to write this right now. My intelligence has plummeted since lunch due to a rush of blood to my digestive system. The VegNews Thanksgiving feast was truly scrumptious this year, tickling my tastebuds with every seasonal flavor imaginable and subsequently rendering me immobile. Our talented staff pulled together an array of amazing holiday dishes—from Colleen's winter salad with spiced pecans, sliced apples, and tangy dressing to Lyndsay's perfectly flaky, buttery biscuits. Behold the spread.

And why didn't anybody ever tell me that the Native Foods vegan Wellington is life-changing? Oh wait, they did, and they were right. Come Thursday, I'm going to be consulting the VegNews Holiday Cookbook to dazzle anyone (mostly myself) with all of the mouthwatering Thanksgiving recipes contained therein. Pumpkin Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes are just the beginning. Think your recipes will impress us? Enter the first-ever VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest now!  

Salad, Veggies, and Biscuits

The Chef: Anna and Lyndsay

The Menu: A spring mix salad with carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, sweet potato, avocado, and black beans topped with Follow Your Heart's White Balsamic Dijon Vinaigrette dressing, a biscuit, and roasted vegetables

The Goods: VN Office Manager Lyndsay surprised the office today with a fresh batch of Abby's Biscuits, roasted vegetables, and frosted sugar cookies. Add that to the bagels VN Associate Publisher Colleen brought us for breakfast and well...one can see how a salad is necessary. Plus, if you eat salad, that means you have have more cookies, right? Cancel out the good with the bad? Using that logic, I can eat an entire bag of Dandies if I promise to eat salad for dinner. Methinks yes.

Carb-Crazy Feast

The Chef: Anna, Elizabeth, and Jennifer

The Menu: A heaping dish full of VegNews' Macaroni and Cheese, Abby's biscuits from the VN Savvy Vegan blog with honee and caramel agave on top, Alicia Silverstone's Crispy Peanut Butter Treats with Chocolate Chips, Oreos, and Nutter Butters

The Goods: I'm finished with Kris Carr's 21-day cleanse, so it's only natural that I relish in a meal made from nothing but wheat and sugar, right? Right. While I do worry that green-juice fans everywhere feel a pain in their souls today, I was so happy with this spread that I could have face-planted into the dish of mac and cheese. After finishing off my lunch with a Frankencookie (trademark Elizabeth), an Oreo sandwiched between a Nutter Butter, the office played a game of Head1Liners, which quickly digressed as a carbo-haze clouded our brains. [Insert clever quip about carb-induced comas here].

Frittata, Sausage, and Biscuits

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Um, perhaps the most amazing smorgasbord of brunchy treats this side of Sunday. Ms. Abby whipped up her signature fresh biscuits, breakfast sausage patties, mini herbed frittatas, and a huge, gorgeous kale, quinoa, lettuce, kidney bean, and tomato salad. Oooof. We are pretty well slain with delight over here.

The Goods: It's possible that we made a few major announcements today in the form of the July VegNewsletter. Foremost among them are our second VegNews Great Adventure to India, the fast and furious discussion taking place in our brand new Book Club, and the VN Publisher's Circle. Yes indeed, there's plenty going on over here at the VNHQ, so it's a good thing we had this awesome lunch to help us power through!

Baked Beans, Crispy Cornbread

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: A sampling of Southern stick-to-your-ribs standards including sweet-and-savory hot water cornbread, baked beans and kabocha squash slathered in barbecue sauce, a fresh, crunchy cucumber, onion, and carrot tossed with Annie's Goddess dressing, and a batch of Abby's signature fluffy biscuits.

The Goods: Supplies in the VNHQ kitchen are running a bit low, but luckily Abby is an expert at throwing together a fabulous meal with only a few items. While her standby recipe for hot water cornbread is a gem, she switched things up today and used the hot water cornbread recipe appearing in VN's fantastic July+August Anniversary issue Soul Food Feast feature. These crunchy cakes were perfectly complemented with savory barbecue sauce, sweet maple syrup, and agave. Oh, and did we mention that Abby also made biscuits? We did? Sorry, it's just kind of a big deal. Biscuits aren't the only exciting thing happening around these here offices, as tomorrow marks the final proof day for our July+August issue. This means two things: We'll be having burritos for lunch per VN tradition, and after the magazine officially goes to press we will be drinking champagne at our desks.

Savory Medallions, Mashed Potatoes

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: A classic meal of savory seitan medallions doused in barbecue sauce, mashed potatoes with tons of vegan margarine, salad, and biscuits. Yes, the medallions are another of Frankie's fantastic creations, and yes, we thoroughly enjoyed them. In most parts of the country, this meal would likely be called "dinner," which is just how we like our lunches: hearty.

The Goods: It's a bittersweet day here at the VNHQ. Our publishers have returned from their sojourn in New York City, and we're thrilled to have them back. Sadly, today is Ms. Kristen's last day, and we'll certainly miss her. Other than the comings and goings, we're hard at work on our 10th anniversary issue! Highly exciting stuff. Hope everyone had a great weekend and wonderful start to the week!

Fajitas with Homemade Tortillas

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Flat-out fabulous fajitas with homemade, vegan tortillas. Yes, you can do anything you set your mind to, including making a meal this delicious in less than an hour from scratch. Abby is a genius when it comes to altering her biscuit recipe to fit her needs, as she did today to make the tortillas. Then, she topped the floury goodies with black beans, garlicky baked tofu, and delicious bell peppers.

The Goods: Have we got some goods for you! First of all, you know that Earth Day is later this week, right? And you probably know a bunch of people who care about the environment, but who haven't gone veg yet. Here's a solution: buy them tickets to Lyman vs. Niman, the definitive debate on whether or not you can be a meat-eating environmentalist! Once you have tickets for that, kick back with our publishers' tour of vegan NYC over on Facebook. And then when you've had your virtual fill, grab an advanced copy of our May+June issue, complete with a feature interview with the gorgeous Ginnifer Goodwin, our 10th wedding spectacular, and lots, lots more.

Fast, Vegan Frittata

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Remember the frittata mix we got in yesterday on This Just In? Well, in case you need clarification about how things work around here, when food comes in, we eat it. Today Abby whipped up a yummy frittata, with broccoli, bell peppers, and carrots, which she topped with salsa. What also goes with salsa? Chips, especially the Lime flavor Food Should Taste Good chips. Abby also made her signature biscuits, and a lovely salad with broccoli, chickpeas, chips, and salsa. Yes, chips and salsa are great salad ingredients, thanks for asking.

The Goods: Today we eagerly await the beginning of the weekend. We're travel weary just from looking at all the awesome photos of our publishers' trip to NYC (where they'll be next week too, more photo fun to come!), tuckered out from the excitement of our editorial schedule (May+June should be here early next week and July+August is going gangbusters!), and tired from the constant excitement of our upcoming event! Didn't hear that we're having one? Well, guess what? We are! Don't miss the humane-meat debate of a lifetime: Fourth-generation cattle rancher-turned-vegan Howard Lyman versus Niman Ranch co-founder, Nicolette Niman, in a provocative and and lively conversation you won't want to miss. Tickets will sell out quickly, so reserve your spot today! With so much going on, we're looking forward to a little R&R this weekend before it all starts up again next week!

Detox Soup, Daiya Biscuits

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A delectable detoxifying soup. Liz created this hearty stew from our Coconut Red Lentil Curry recipe, courtesy of Alex Jamieson. Our bowls were brimming with flavorful, filling stew, and our plates boasted a lovely salad and some freshly made whole-wheat biscuits with Daiya. Cheesy vegan biscuits hot out of the oven? Yes, please!

The Goods: This soup was just what the doctor ordered to go with our abundant sunshine. Do we highly enjoy dining al fresco? Indeed we do. Do we enjoy it even more when our prayers for biscuits are answered? Why yes! Today's entry is a rarity here at Café VegNews, as there are recipes (linked!) for everything except the salad, which contained spinach, mixed greens, avocado, sliced mushrooms, and orange bell pepper. There you have it, recipes for everything! Enjoy!

Vegan Sausage, Biscuits, and Gravy

The Chefs: Abby and Liz

The Menu: Um, hello. A delicious smorgasbord of breakfasty goodies. First of all Liz busted out an incredible batch of rich cashew gravy, which we slathered on breakfast sausages (Liz whipped these up from a mix) and biscuits alike. Yes, those would be Abby's famous biscuits, of which we wish we had a permanent supply. Abby also made a lovely salad. You know, because vegetarians supposedly enjoy eating vegetables. Whatever. Oh, and the very bright cauliflower behind the salad? That would be Frankie's latest foray into pickling. Let's just say that she brought a few jars of various pickled goodies for us to try, and they are now empty.

The Goods: Today we shared lunch with VegWebmistress Laura Beck, whom, as you might know, we adore. We also enjoyed the company of Zac Taylor, our local Honest Tea rep. Zac was kind enough to bring us over a ton of tea, some of which he kept cool for us in this nifty container. Yes, we were thrilled. Thanks to Zac and all of today's chefs!

Barbecue and Biscuits

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Surprise! There are biscuits! Abby's stand-by made yet another appearance, this time accompanied by barbecue-baked hot dogs and a hefty helping of home fries, which were slathered in a sweet and savory combo of sea salt, black pepper, rosemary, and maple syrup. For our daily greens, Abby whipped up a big salad with carrot, avocado, and a generous sprinkling of Kaia Foods Teriyaki Sprouted Sunflower Seeds.

The Goods: And we're back, everyone! After a whirlwind weekend at Expo West, the entire crew is back at the VNHQ and ready to work. Despite the hours and hours we spent eating the past few days—no, we're not exaggerating—this filling meal was welcomed at the lunch table. Want to know more about our Expo West adventures? Check out Joseph's LA recap on Press Pass, and read all about our Best of Show awards for the inside info on the latest, greatest veg products.

Bean-tastic Chili

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: A totally filling, fantastic chili with beans galore, diced tomatoes, and the perfect blend of spices. What would chili be without Abby's signature biscuits alongside? We don't know, and we don't want to find out! Thankfully, she made up a fresh batch for us today, which we eagerly devoured. Oh, and also a salad. Woot, salad.

The Goods: This week will be fast and furious at the VNHQ, since we're heading down to LA on Thursday for Expo West 2010! You might remember Expo West from years past; it's an enormous trade show that we attend yearly to discover the hottest new vegan products on the planet, and tell you all about them. This year, we'll be reporting live from the show via Twitter and Facebook!

Black Bean and Broccoli Wraps

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: A very tasty, and beautifully presented, array of treats wrapped in tortillas, which, as you may know, is pretty much the best way to eat anything. Today we wrapped broccoli, black beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, quinoa, and salsa all up in whole-wheat tortillas. Abby also made flattened biscuits, which also seemed vaguely tortilla-esque, aka delicious. Finally, a simple salad finished off our plates.

The Goods: It's the weekend! We like that! Here's to enjoying some quality time with your non-work life. Speaking of non-work, are you in need of a vacation? Perhaps one in India? With us?! If you want to take part in our first-ever VegNews Great Adventure to India, the time to reserve your space is now. The trip is already half sold-out!

Southern Comfort Food

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Hello, comfort food! Spicy barbecue ribs, flaky Daiya biscuits, and savory cashew gravy made this one of the most hearty, filling meals we've ever had. Abby's to-die-for biscuits were a rich and delicious treat, especially paired with Frankie's famous ribs and barbecue sauce. Abby rounded out the meal with a fresh green salad that included green bell peppers, diced tomatoes, and avocado. 

The Goods: A lunch brimming with comfort food was exactly what we needed to brighten our very overcast Thursday. Yes, the weather outside is dreary, but things here at the VNHQ couldn't be better. Aside from researching (read: taste testing) delicious baked goods all week, we just received advanced copies of our March+April issue featuring cover gal Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart! Maybe our Thursday is going pretty well, and maybe it's partly because tomorrow is Friday. Or maybe dizzying sugar rushes and/or magazine shipments are to blame. Whatever the cause, we're not complaining!

Black Bean Burgers

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Maybe Abby served up homemade black-bean burgers, which she covered in melted Daiya. Maybe she also made her signature delicious biscuits, and just maybe those were also covered in magical melted Daiya. Yes, it was a good lunch day here at the VNHQ. As if the cheddary goodness wasn't enough, we also had a lovely mixed-greens salad with sliced zucchini, grated carrots, and red quinoa that we topped with Organicville's soon-to-be-released vegan Thousand Island Dressing.

The Goods: You might think that after such a wonderful lunch, we'd be all out of goods, but that's where you'd be wrong. You see, one Laura Hooper Beck joined us today, and with her she brought the lovely Mandarin and Raspberry Cheesecake you see below. This dairy-free delight was made by Sugar Plum Vegan, a bakery with a storefront coming soon to Sacramento, Calif.

So yeah, things are pretty good. Here's hoping that everyone's first week of 2010 has been this tasty so far!

Hot Pink Soup!

The Chefs: Abby and Susy

The Menu: One of the most colorful ways of using Thanksgiving leftovers we've ever seen! Though the photo doesn't quite do it justice, this soup—which was an amalgamation of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and roasted root vegetables—was hot pink in real life, thanks to the roasted beets it contained. Susy (aka Elizabeth's mom) brought the soup makings, some stuffing, and a highly delicious cranberry-Cabernet sauce from the Castoria family Thanksgiving. Abby whipped up her signature biscuits and a big, beautiful salad.

The Goods: Today we had the pleasure of Susy's company and celebrated the birth of our beloved Frankie. OK, so technically Frankie's birthday isn't until tomorrow, but she has celebration plans that don't involve coming into the office, so we took the opportunity to whoop it up with her today. Fun ladies and great eats? We like that.

Biscuits and Brussels Sprouts

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: Ms. Lyndsay is into her savory treats, and we're ok with that. Today she made—from scratch, mind you—whole-wheat biscuits, which she topped with Match Meats Breakfast Sausage crumbles, and a rich, Hollandaise-esque sauce. Her roasted Brussels sprouts were perfectly done: bright green, still slightly crisp, and with their natural bite intact.

The Goods: It's going to be a crazy (and short!) week here at the VNHQ, and we're pretty danged excited for it. Don't miss our pre-Thanksgiving celebration lunch report tomorrow, and don't forget to check VegNews and VegWeb for all your holiday recipe needs!

Ribs and Biscuits

The Chefs: Abby and Alisha

The Menu: Hello, lovely. This meal might have been the most hearty, savory lunch we've ever had. Abby, and her sister Alisha who's in town visiting, busted out some delicious meatless ribs, a perfect spinach salad with sunflower seeds and homemade dressing, broccoli with grated carrots covered in melted Daiya, and, the grand finale, Daiya biscuits. Um, maybe Abby makes the best biscuits on the planet, and maybe they are even better filled with Daiya. We're just saying.

The Goods: Boo! Happy Halloween (Eve), everyone! Don't forget to go see Lyndsay and Liz at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival this weekend, where they'll be giving out a free Go Max Go candy bar with every subscription. It is entirely possible that some of our staff tried to renew their (complimentary) subscriptions today to try and snag one of these bars.

Celebration Roast and Cheese Biscuits

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: What felt like a fall evening's menu, with roasted vegetables, a Field Roast Celebration Roast, a light salad, and fresh, homemade cheese biscuits. Um, yes we each could have eaten our own weight in these incredible fluffy, cheesy biscuits, which Abby busted out in about ten seconds. We're not sure how she did it, and, frankly, we don't care. All that matters is that she did it. Well, OK, we're pretty sure she followed the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking that she has memorized and added as much cheddar Daiya as she possibly could. And that's rad.

The Goods: Today we're both happy and sad. Happy, of course, because lunch was utterly incredible. And we have SF Vegan Drinks tonight, which should be tons of fun. And afterward, we have a special celebration planned involving two of our favorite things: sushi and karaoke. Now, the bad news. We're celebrating the time that Kailey and Charlotte have spent in the VNHQ, as tomorrow is their last day as editorial assistants. It's very sad, and frankly we don't like talking about it. So, on to happier subjects, congratulations to Preston Frank on winning yesterday's 2010 Go Vegan! Calendar! Preston, send us an email and we'll send your calendar right out! For today's prize, leave us a comment telling us your signature karaoke song!

Fried Green Tomatoes and Biscuits

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Yes, you read the title right. We had fried green tomatoes. Were the tomatoes grown in Abby's mother's garden and mailed directly to her so that she could create this authentic, Midwest specialty? Yes, yes they were. Yes, we are spoiled. We also enjoyed freshly baked biscuits—one of Abby's signature dishes—a spruced-up version of yesterday's macaroni salad, sausage-ish breakfast patties from Sunshine Burgers, and, of course, a huge green salad.

The Goods: We not only ate a ton of fantastic things, we got to chat with some fantastic people today, too! Brendan Brazier, one of our 25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians, and his lovely lady Julie brought us some excellent conversation about the marathon they both ran over the weekend, life in LA, and other exciting tidbits. Speaking of exciting, you know that there are only four days left to vote in the 2009 Veggie Awards Survey, right? Eeeeek!