Quick Vegan Mac 'n' Cheese

The Chefs: Elizabeth and Peter

The Menu: A highly delicious, gluten-free, and sunflower seed-based mac 'n' cheese, plus the best salad of all time. The salad included kale, romaine, artichoke hearts, cucumbers, avocado, hearts of palm, grated carrots, and red cabbage.

The Goods: Today we were rich in great food and guests! To be totally accurate, Peter cooked all the food, and we were so grateful that he did! In addition to our hero chef, we were joined by the lovely Whitney of Eco-Vegan Gal, and three members of the Pollack family: Hilary (OK, fine, she's here all the time), her mother Polly, and Reggie, who was easily the fluffiest guest. If there's anything better than enjoying a fantastic meal with wonderful people outside in the warm sunshine, we don't want to know about it. (Because it's obviously a lie, there's nothing better than that!)

Paella Monday

The Chefs: Colleen and Peter

The Menu: A sumptuous Spanish paella with artichoke hearts, Italian bell peppers, pepperoncinis, olives, celery, and broccoli

The Dish: Our dear friend, Peter Ryan, dropped by today with a freshly made skillet of vegan paella that we obliterated in what seemed like minutes. But it was so good! Peter, a talented chef whom I predict will one day have a very successful vegan restaurant, is always whipping up delicious food for VN staffers, and since he lives just a few blocks away, we see his friendly face often, which is wonderful! It's a gorgeous day here in San Francisco, and enjoying this perfectly seasoned dish immediately transported us to the coast of Spain. In other news, our entire team is heading to Anaheim this week for the annual Natural Products Expo West (hello, new products GALORE!), and a few of us will be at the Exceptional Women in Publishing conference on Wednesday where I'll be speaking. Happy Monday, everyone!

The gorgeous skillet-baked paella before we dug in on our sunny rooftop deck.

Soup and Salad

The Chefs: Colleen and Chas

The Menu: A classic lunch combo, le soup et salad. The soup was a stew of sorts with potatoes, carrots, veggies, and other goodies while the salad included romaine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, grated carrots, and avocado.

The Goods: If you're hoping that the mention of Chas in the chefs here is our subtle way of announcing that our lunchtime hero has returned, you're not alone. (Seriously, we miss that guy big time.) Unfortunately, he has not. He did, however, freeze one of his amazing soups for us before he departed, which Colleen thawed out today and paired with a delicious side salad for a perfect end-of-the-week lunch. Today did see the return of another of our favorite fellows, Mr. Paul Russell, tech guru extraordinaire to VN. He's now on his way back to his native England, but it was lovely to lunch with him while he was in town. With that, we bid you all a happy weekend!

Sukhi's Smorgasbord!

The Chef: Sukhi's Gourmet Indian Foods

The Menu: Do you know what a naanwich is? We'll tell you what it is: It's delicious! The very lovely Francesca came over from Sukhi's today with an assortment of their vegan offerings, which we happily devoured. The enormous spread included both the Spinach and Tofu and Channa Masala Naanwiches (naan folded over with incredible fillings), Vegetable Biryani, a Roti Roll with mixed vegetables, Mint-Apple Chutney Dip, and Cilantro-Lemon Chutney Dip. Yes, we thoroughly enjoyed all of it!

The Goods: We absolutely love getting to try new food, especially when it means that someone else is doing the cooking! You know what else we love? Giving stuff away! Congratulations to PB and Jess from yesterday's comments, who's won our coveted copy of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness! Jess, send us an email, and we'll mail your prize right out!

Feast with Fitness Guru

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A splendidly simple and satisfying classic Italian lunch. Colleen pulled out all the stops, with perfectly cooked gluten-free pasta mixed with mushrooms, spinach, and chickpeas all covered in spicy marinara sauce. Alongside our marvelous main was a light, fresh salad made with avocado and mixed greens, and a hearty slice of slightly warmed bread rounded out our delicious meal.

The Goods: It was a big day here at the VNHQ, as we were lucky enough to enjoy our al fresco Monday lunch with three wonderful guests! Eco Vegan Gal Whitney Lauritsen, author and renowned vegan bodybuilder Robert Cheeke, and their close hometown friend Josh all joined us for a lovely afternoon of lunching and chatting—and okay, yes, maybe some marshmallow taste testing. We loved hearing all about Robert's fabulous new book, Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness: The Complete Guide to Building Your Body on a Plant-Based Diet, and can't wait to read all about his inspiring journey to becoming one of the first vegan bodybuilders. It turns out that Robert loves us too, because he kindly gifted VN with a signed copy of his rockin' new book to give away to one lucky reader. Want to enter for your chance to win? Simply tell us in the comments: What springtime outdoor activity gets you the most pumped up?

The VN staff with Robert Cheeke and Whitney Lauritsen

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!

Toodaloo Tofu and Vegan Mashed Potatoes

The Chef: Chas

The Menu: An incredible meal of breaded tofu, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, and a super salad. Yes, this was Chas' best work to date. The tofu was perfectly cooked and flavored, the mashed potatoes had in incredible consistency, and we would have consumed a vat of the mushroom gravy.

The Goods: Very sadly, this was also our last Chas meal for a while, as our guest has returned home to Florida. We, collectively, sigh. Going back to fending for ourselves in the kitchen and making our own coffee (not to mention sharing our own stories at lunch, which are almost certainly less entertaining than Chas') is a little bit of a downer. But! Thankfully, there's talk of Chas returning in May, for which we are basically counting the days.

Lotsa Lasagna

The Chef: Chas

The Menu: Another incredible meal, compliments of Chas. This time? Oh, just a homemade lasagna with tofu ricotta and some perfectly melty Teese. Yes, this was delicious and no, none of us stopped at one serving. With a gorgeous side salad—stocked with garbanzo beans, red bell pepper, zucchini, tomato, and grated carrot—and a few slices of baguette, this meal was the perfect way to end the week.

The Goods: We are getting good and spoiled having Chas around. Not only does he bust out hugely satisfying meals, but he's also kind enough to make us coffee when our brains are tired, has cleaned out our refrigerator, and replaced a leaky faucet in our sink. Basically, we'll be absolutely lost when he leaves next week.

Soup, Salad, and Coconut Rice

The Chef: Chas

The Menu: A terrific trio of dishes, all of which were scrumptious. Hello, ginormous gorgeous salad. This salad by itself would have been a satisfying meal, but Chas busted out his famous Coconut Rice with Crusty Tofu and an all-kinds-of-vegetables soup that filled us up too.

The Goods: We might never let Chas leave. His food is fantastic, and his company is even better. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but that's definitely also the way to an editorial team's stomachs! In non-Chas news, there is a brand-spankin' new entry over on Savvy Abby, as there will be every Tuesday and Thursday from here on out. Enjoy!

Kale Pasta

The Chef: Chas

The Menu: A super garlicky (read: super delicious) pasta with kale and beans. Yep, those were pretty much all of the ingredients in today's hearty, yummy main course. We also enjoyed a huge salad with green olives, grated carrots, garbanzo beans, avocado, tomato, cucumber, and a fantastic homemade salad dressing. Are those fresh strawberries you see on the side? Indeed they are.

The Goods: You might have noticed that our chef today isn't someone from our regular lineup. No, we didn't hire a new staffer, but we might if Chas keeps cooking up lunches like this one! He's a friend of Joseph's and has kindly agreed to cook for us while he's in town. To that we say, well, fine!

Vegan Valentine's

The Chef: Chloe Coscarelli 

The Menu: An incredible, three-course Valentine's Day-themed feast from our star guest chef, Ms. Chloe Coscarelli. We started the meal by sipping on delicious pomegranate lemonade and dining on a delightful roasted beet and arugula salad tossed in a sweet champagne vinaigrette. Our light and fresh salad was paired perfectly with a crisp and flavorful artichoke-pesto crostini. As if we weren't already in culinary heaven, Chloe's main course was a to-die-for farfalle pasta dish complete with wild mushrooms and sundried tomatoes, served in a rich, savory almond-cream sauce. For dessert, Chloe prepared some of the best bite-sized, cream-filled cupcakes we've ever tasted, and since she's amazing like that, she also delighted us with decadent raspberry chocolate tiramisu. Yep, we are dead from excitement.

The Goods: We always love having guests here at the VNHQ, and today Chloe and her lovely mother—and assistant—Shelley Coscarelli pretty much made our day. We heard about Chloe recently after she won a panini contest in Los Angeles with her vegan mango masala panini recipe. Chloe has worked at a variety of vegan hot spots including Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco and Counter Organic Vegetarian Bistro in New York City. To say that we were floored by the food and by the company would be an understatement. Not only did Chloe serve us an awesome feast, she and Shelley brought Valentine's Day decorations for the occasion! Yes, we're officially fans of this up-and-coming vegan chef extraordinaire.  

Raspberry Chocolate Tiramisu and Cream-Filled Love Bites

Chloe, Kristen, Liz, Abigail, Lyndsay, Colleen, and Shelley

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.

Pasta Marinara

The Chef: Liz and Karine

The Menu: A lovely marinara with eggplant and lots of garlic that Liz served over rice pasta and topped with cheddar Daiya. Red-cabbage slaw courtesy of our guest, a green salad, and sliced fresh bread made this a mighty fine meal.

The Goods: Today we had the pleasure of dining with Karine Brighten, a local vegan event planner. Karine was responsible for the excellent grand opening of Nature's Express this past weekend, which you might have heard about on a little blog we like to call Press Pass. Lunch was lovely, despite the inclement weather and fact that we've been cooped up in the office this whole week! We can't wait for our next opportunity to dine al fresco!

Amy's Comfort Food

The Chefs: Michelle and Tina from Amy's Kitchen

The Menu: Today we were kindly treated to two of Amy's brand-spankin'-new products. First up we devoured the incredible vegan mac 'n' cheese. Yes, this time it's totally vegan (the cheese is Daiya!) and gluten free. While sometimes "gluten free" really means "gummy and freakish," if our guest chefs hadn't clued us in to the missing gluten in this pasta, we would never have known. The same goes for the roasted vegetable pizza, which is another of Amy's products that's getting a gluten-free revamp. This one was already vegan, but the GF spin is new, and we liked it just as much as the original. And we had a salad. Woo hoo, salad. Not pictured (mostly because we ate it too quickly) was a GF version of Amy's chocolate cake. Yeah, that's gone.

The Goods: One of the best things about our office location is that we are within driving distance of Amy's, and this is the second time that Michelle and company have come down to make us lunch. Um, getting to try new products right away? Yes, please! Now if you'll excuse us, some of us have bowls to lick.

Celebration Soup

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A superb vegetable soup, which Liz made nice and hearty with cashew cream, blended rice, and other fresh veggies. Alongside we enjoyed a beautiful salad with kale, spinach, grated carrots, pine nuts, and black sesame seeds, and slices of toasted bread. It may well have been perfection in lunch form. Oh, and just to top it all off, we demolished the cinnamon rolls that were delivered to us this morning from Cinnaholic. Maybe they were candy cane and gingerbred flavored. Maybe they were absolutely delicious, and we are all currently in sugar comas. Consider, if you will, this these facts:
Yeah. Oh, and one of our guests, Katie, made pistachio fudge. She does that. Things are good. Speaking of which....

The Goods: Today's meal was stellar, but it was totally trumped by the company. We were joined today by our beloved Laura Beck, Aurelia d'Andrea, Katie and Dan Paul, and (from the non-human animal contingency) Cal, Khane, Fanny, Wawona, and William. Yes, Wawona is the cat Katie rescued while she interned with us ever so long ago, and William is the white rat that Joseph is holding in the photo below. Though it was a phenomenal group and a mighty good time, it was tinged with sadness as it's Miss Sara's last day in the office. Sara, you'll be missed! To abruptly change the subject so that we no longer have to contemplate her imminent departure, please note: we've compiled the Top 10 Veg Stories of the Decade. Check them out!

Chef's Table

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A lovely roasted butternut squash soup, Colleen's signature holiday salad, and a delicious quinoa salad with chopped bell peppers, carrots, and red onions. In case you haven't been near Colleen during the holidays, her salad consists of mixed greens, candied pecans, dried cranberries, and sliced apples.

The Goods: Today we enjoyed the excellent company of Bryant Terry and his lovely partner Jidan. The weather was slightly chilly for an al fresco lunch, but we had fun none the less. Here's a photo of the whole, freezing group:

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.

Too-Good Tacos

The Chef: Peter

The Menu: Some of the fanciest tacos we've ever eaten! Peter, whom you may remember from a number of our Press Pass adventures, was kind enough to stop by and guest chef for us today, and, um, wow. So, on top of either blue-corn or whole-wheat tortillas, we piled rice, a super-flavorful black bean sauce, a delicious tomato-corn compote, caramelized onions and garlic, and a fresh basil chiffonade. See that plating? Yeah. We like that. Also, Peter made an absolutely perfect side salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette and lots of fresh veggies.

The Goods: Anything less than today's stellar meal would have badly paled in comparison to yesterday's insanity. Thankfully, Peter's a great cook, and we'll be coercing him into cooking for us again as soon as possible. Here's hoping that everyone enjoys a happy, turkey-free Thanksgiving! See you next week!

Pre-Thanksgiving Feast

The Chefs: Everyone! And Native Foods and Babycakes NYC

The Menu: Thanksgiving! We went all-out today with an amazing holiday spread. First of all, let's talk about the Native Foods' Wellington. Holy heck. This thing is puff pastry wrapped around delicious layers of seitan, kale, sweet potatoes, and portabello mushrooms, caramelized onions, and some magic. OK, OK, it was mostly magic. Seriously, we could eat this every day. Moving on from the Wellington's majesty, we enjoyed perfectly garlicky mashed potatoes made by Liz, which we doused in a cashew gravy that Elizabeth whipped up. Abby made her signature chive biscuits, and Colleen roasted Brussels sprouts to perfection and made her traditional Thanksgiving salad with candied pecans, dried cranberries, sliced apples, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Oh, and then we had dessert. Apple-crumb cake from Babycakes NYC? We'll let this photo speak for itself:

The Goods: This may well be the most epic lunch ever eaten at the VNHQ. Easily one of the most delectable meals we've had, this pre-Thanksgiving smorgasbord was a wonderful treat for our hard-working staff, and might just have us in fighting shape for the actual T-Day. ("T" is for "Thanks for not eating turkey," obviously.) We'll be back with one more post this week, and then it's off to our respective holiday celebrations/mashed potato-induced comas.

Fat Bottom Bakery Mac 'n' Cheese

The Chefs: Carolynn and Ashley from Fat Bottom Bakery

The Menu: A mighty good mac 'n' cheese. In fact, this is the very same recipe which garnered our guests second place in the SF Food Wars mac 'n' cheese competition, when they battled both vegan and pork-laden versions of the homey favorite. Our beloved Laura Beck of VegWeb fame brought some radically roasted Brussels sprouts, and we whipped up a salad. Oh, and maybe Carolynn and Ashley also brought us some cupcakes:

Yeah, what you're seeing there are coconut, red velvet, and carrot cake cupcakes. The one with pink dinosaur sprinkles was for Laura, obviously.

The Goods: Today's lunch might just have been one for the record books it was so delightful and delectable. Here's the team—very, very full of mac 'n' cheese and cupcakes at this point. These darling bakers are welcome back any time, and you can sample their wares at the next SF Vegan Bakesale!