Onion Soup, Mashed Potatoes

The Chef: Chas

The Menu: A rich, flavorful onion soup of kale, seasoned tofu squares, carrot, celery, kidney beans, garlic, thyme, and lots of savory, crisp onion paired with a complementary comfort food classic, mashed potatoes and gravy. Chas took a samosa-filling inspired take on this standard side by adding peas, almond milk, veggie broth, and seasoning, and literally took a page from American Vegan Kitchen for the gravy recipe. Despite our assertion that a carb-filled meal was exactly what we always want, Chas also busted our one of his signature salads tossed with avocado dressing.

The Goods: Oh yes, this meal was a big, heaping helping of awesome. If there's one thing that the VN staff can rally around it's vegan mashed potatoes and gravy. The only thing more exciting than indulging in this satisfying fare is finishing off our meal with dessert from Sticky Fingers. During a weekend trip to Washington, DC, VN Art Director Sutton Long visited the capital city bakery and was gifted a box of dairy-free desserts by Sticky Fingers' Manager Ben Adams. Lets just say we're not complaining about any of it.

Philip Gelb Caters!

The Chefs: Philip Gelb and Cori Spence

The Menu: (Please make sure you are sitting down/not drinking hot liquids before you read this to reduce the risk of falling/spitting coffee all over your computer.) Ok, first we enjoyed an incredible black-lentil soup that was perfectly spiced. It warmed us from the inside out on this blustery, winter day. Next up, we enjoyed the trio of treats you see here, namely ravioli, salad, and collard rolls. The rolls had homemade tempeh, rice, kabocha squash, and an incredibly good marinade. The salad was blood oranges, fennel, and greens with blood-orange vinaigrette. Oh, and that ravioli? That would be filled with pumpkin and homemade vegan cheese, and covered in a perfect pesto. No, it does not end there. We also devoured the amazing poached-pear tart that you see below with homemade vegan banana-chocolate ice cream.

The Goods: You know what? Just go ahead and see above if you want to hear about goods. This meal was freaking incredible. This is the second time Philip has graced us with a delicious lunch, and we hope to see lots more of him in the future.

Cookbook Week: Pierogi with Fried Onions

The Chef: Sara

The Menu: A perfect plate of pert pierogi! These cute little dumplings were stuffed with mashed potatoes and fried onions, and they were just about as tasty as can be. Sara's spinach side salad was a stupendous supplement to the savory main.

The Goods: Whoa! Did you know that the holidays are heavily breathing their candy-cane breath down our necks? Yeah, they are. What with all the frenzied gift purchasing, it's nice to be able to give something away for free every day. Here at the VNHQ, we've so far had a bunch of great lunches from 1,000 Vegan Recipes and today's was no exception. Congratulations to yesterday's giveaway winner, Josiane! Josiane, send us an email, and we'll send your copy of the book right out.

Now, today we had the pleasure of dining with Ms. Laura Beck. This lovely lady just returned from a whirlwind trip to NYC and Chicago, and still found time to spoil us with treats. She brought a box of S'mores Bars by Sweet Fritsy, and, um, wow. Incredible. Gooey marshmallow layer on rich fudge layer, topped with graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chips. We are in love. Here's our new sweetie:
Now that you've met our latest obsession, for today's copy of 1,000 Vegan Recipes, tell us in the comments: What are you totally in love with right now?

Pasta Fantastica

The Chef: Lisa

The Menu: Fancy-pantsy pasta. Ms. Lisa dove into her culinary treasure trove today and brought out the big guns. Just like our metaphors her pasta was mixed. Okay, that couldn't be resisted. But really, she mixed capers, leeks, cherry tomatoes, port wine jelly, and rosemary with rice rotini for one lovely lunch. Balsamic-vinegar-sautéed Swiss chard and spinach and rosemary focaccia complemented her marvelous main.

The Goods: For dessert today we got to try out a truckload of truffles from Eat Pastry. We love our chocolate around here, as you may already know. Imagine our surprise and delight when a new combination—a peanut butter and jelly truffle—came out of the box. In case you were wondering, this is the best idea anyone has ever had. Here's a photo of a few of the other flavors, as the pb&j didn't last long enough to shoot:

You'll have to wait for a full review of these sweets in the pages of VegNews, but suffice to say, yum. Don't forget: Tomorrow we'll be announcing the winner of our first-ever monthly giveaway contest! There's still time to leave a comment and possibly win our signature tote bag, chock full of surprise goodies!

Special: Dessert Alert!

The Chef: Earth Café

The Menu: Raw, vegan cheesecakes. Yes, that's plural for a reason. The flavors we tried were: Strawberry Fields Forever, Who's Your Daddy?, Cherry Dream, Find Your Thrill On Blueberry Hill, and Coconut Carob Cream Pie.

The Goods: You know it's not our style to post more than once per day, but these treats deserved their own mention. We are a group of dilligent dessert devotees here at the VNHQ, and these raw wonders blew us away. Unfortunately, since they are only available in a few locations, we can't put them in the mag. Earth Café uses no refined sugars, no hydrogenated oils, no wheat, and lots of love making these professional-grade treats. Each flavor comes with a snappy slogan such as, "Raw vegan cheesecake, you better ask somebody!" Elizabeth is modeling the latest look in cheesecake-eating, assisted by a scrumptious bite of Cherry Dream.