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!)

Cauliflower 'n' Cheese

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: Leftover cauliflower mac on a bed of spinach

The Dish: A few days ago, my cauliflower-loving roommate and I were trying to think outside the skillet (the two of us cook stir-fries more often than we care to admit). In a stroke of inspiration, we decided to bake up some cauliflower with the cheese sauce from VN's Allison Rivers Samson's Vegan Macaroni and Cheese, aka the best mac 'n' cheese on the planet. After one more tweak to the recipe was made (Daiya shreds on top instead of breadcrumbs), we waited 20 minutes to see if our culinary experiment was successful. And boy howdy, was this stuff mm-mm good. Its cheesy, salty, filling deliciousness is the perfect prep for SF Vegan Drinks, where I will be celebrating some awesome San Francisco weather with $5 vegan White Russians. Live nearby? Come party with us tonight!

Vegan Chili Mac 'n' Cheese

The Chef: Jennifer

The Menu: A big bowl of mac 'n' cheese topped with red beans, veggie chili, and garlic roasted salsa

The Goods: I just got back from Kauai, Hawaii, yesterday (I miss you, taro smoothies!), and I luckily had the ingredients in my fridge to make VN columnist Robin Robertson's Chili Mac 'n' Cheese from Vegan on the Cheap for dinner. After a five-hour red-eye flight, this quick meal was perfect. Even better, I had leftovers for lunch. While vacation is sweet, it's nice to be back at VNHQ, just in time for tomorrow's Compassionate Fashion Twitter Chat at 6pm PT. We'll be talking with vegan stylemakers about cruelty-free fashion. Join us!

On the Road: Veggie Grill

The Chefs: Jennifer and Veggie Grill

The Menu: Buffalo faux chicken wings, mac and cheese made with quinoa pasta, All Hail Kale salad, sweet potato fries, Sante Fe Chickin' sandwich, Bayou Chickin' sandwich, and for dessert, carrot cake and chocolate pudding.

The Goods: Today, I bring you Café VegNews on the go! I'm with a few members of the VN staff—Publisher Joseph Connelly, Associate Publisher Colleen Holland, and Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig—in sunny Los Angeles for the Animal Rights Conference 2011. Mere moments after we landed, we rushed to Veggie Grill to dine on some of our favorite eats. Lyndsay and I made the best decision possible by ordering the Sante Fe Chickin' and Bayou Chickin' sandwiches and sharing halves of our avocado and spicy mayo-topped faux chicken. The buffalo "chicken" wings were quickly devoured (complete with ranch dressing) before I indulged in the All Hail Kale salad (a favorite of July+August cover gal Portia de Rossi). Veggie Grill Co-founder Kevin Boylan joined us, and it was great to talk with him about how everything on the menu is made on the premises, including the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Let's just say that plant-based eating never looked and tasted so good. We'll be in LA until Sunday, so here's hoping we can make another trip to Veggie Grill. And if you're headed to the conference, drop by our booth to say hello!

Our Veggie Grill feast was just as amazing as it looks.

Huge Green Salad

The Chef: Anna and the Noe Valley Whole Foods Market

The Menu: A huge salad of romaine, mixed greens, and spinach, topped with cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, red cabbage, water chestnuts, green peas, marinated tomatoes, spaghetti squash, beets, my homemade baked tofu, homemade hummus, and balsamic vinaigrette.

The Goods: If I'm not getting my essential nutrients with this bad boy, I'm giving up and eating vegan cupcakes for the rest of my days. All of the fresh, crunchy veggies, combined with my favorite tofu and hummus-dressing combo, made for the best last lunch of Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse ever. Tomorrow, I'll most likely be eating VegNews Mac 'n' Cheese topped with Paxti's vegan deep-dish pizza and a side of defrosted birthday cake. For breakfast.

VN Mac 'n' Cheese, Salad, & Bananagrams

The Chef: Jennifer

The Menu: The VegNews signature mac 'n' cheese, an apple, and a salad with cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, carrots, and spinach.

The Goods: It shouldn't be too surprising that a bunch of editors like nerdy word games like Bananagrams. On this gray Friday, I brought in my beloved Scrabble-esque game to play over lunch. I shared my mac 'n' cheese leftovers with VN Managing Editor Elizabeth Castoria in exchange for this gorgeous salad and apple. A great trade, if you ask me, because those cherry tomatoes tasted like candy. If you haven't played Bananagrams, it's all about creating as many words as quickly as possible. I'm not gonna lie. It got a little intense. VN Editorial Assistant Anna Peraino even yelled, "All I have are consonants!" That's what happens when you put three editors and a bunch of letter tiles in a room. Need even more games in your life? Check out our article on Veg-Friendly Video Games. Have a great weekend!

VegNews Signature Mac 'n' Cheese

The Chefs: Jennifer and VegNews

The Menu: VegNews' signature Mac 'n' Cheese recipe

The Goods: I just moved to Berkeley, and after unpacking what seemed like a billion boxes, my kitchen was finally organized. My first meal to make in my new home? Why, the VN signature mac 'n' cheese of course. If you haven't made it, I suggest you run home right now and whip up a batch. If you have made it, then you understand why this vegan version makes grown men weep and non-vegans want to get with the program. Have I oversold it? No way. I even posted up the recipe on my friend's Facebook page, ordered her (suggested nicely) to make it, and she did. Her response: The cheese sauce is amazing! And it is. That's why I always double the ingredients for the sauce.

The 2010 VN Holiday Lunch!

The Chefs: Colleen and Frankie

The Menu: Today we feasted on what is quite possibly our favorite dish of all time: the VN Mac 'n' Cheese. We know that it's a special day when this baby is taken out of the oven. Colleen also made an incredible side salad, with mixed greens, sliced apples, toasted walnuts, and a maple-balsamic vinaigrette. Colleen wasn't the only one contributing to today's awesome eats, however. The VN cheesemaker extraordinaire, aka Frankie, brought in her latest: peppercorn soft cheese. Yes, this totally homemade, vegan cheese deserves its own photo.


The Goods: Hello, holiday luncheon! If there's one dish we could eat at every celebration for the rest of our lives, it is this Mac 'n' Cheese. Today was the first time that VegWebmistress Laura Hooper Beck tried it, and she died of joy, appropriately. The reason for the fancy eats is that today we toasted 2010, VegNews style. It's been an incredible year in many ways (ahem, just to name a few, remember that 10th Anniversary Issue, our first Great Adventure to India, or our brand-new stylish digs?), and it was wonderful to have the whole staff together to celebrate. It's also when the staff receives holiday gifts from our publishers, Joseph and Colleen. The gifts are always a-ma-zing—last year, we all got Vita-Mixes!—and this year proved just as exciting! Come 2011, you'll see the VN staff cruising around town in our very own Vaute Couture coats!! Pandemonium erupted when we all opened our gifts—it's not every day that you get to take home an amazing coat by a completely phenomenal vegan company on the cutting edge of fashion! Here's hoping everyone has had an equally fantastic day, and thanks to all who've been part of VN in 2010!

Signature Mac and Cheese

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Heaping helpings of the absolute best freaking mac 'n' cheese in the world. But you know, no big deal. Colleen perfectly paired her signature dish with a light, fresh dose of greens. Yes, we weren't at all mad that Colleen decided to bust out a casserole dish of VN's favorite Macaroni and Cheese, complete with veggie-filled, homemade cheese sauce—no nutritional yeast required. This mouthwatering main course is guaranteed crowd pleaser, so lets just say that everybody had seconds. Then thirds. Also maybe fifths. To round out our hearty lunch Colleen prepared a lovely salad of spinach, mixed greens, avocado, and halved cherry tomatoes marinated in a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette.

The Goods: In addition to an excellent meal, we were also lucky enough to have an excellent lunch guest, Jason Mark, the editor of Earth Island Journal. We couldn't have been more delighted to dine with Jason and discuss the upcoming Lyman vs. Niman debate happening Thursday, May 20, at The David Brower Center in Berkley, Calif., sponsored by VN and Earth Island Institute. The sold-out event brings together former cattle rancher turned vegan Howard Lyman and Marin rancher Nicolette Niman for a discussion about the environmental impact and sustainability of eating meat. We can't wait to report back on what promises to be a spirited, stirring conversation about the politics of food.

Vegan Beef Macaroni

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A new dish that Liz dubbed "Herbivore Helper." Yes, this hearty main course was reminiscent of a certain other "helper," but far more cruelty-free and delicious. Liz used our standby, stellar mac 'n' cheese recipe as a start for this yummy dish, and added a beefy bonus using Harmony Valley Vegetarian Hamburger Mix. With sides of ketchup and actual vegetables in the form of salad, our plates were complete.

The Goods: We'll cut right to the chase: the winner of a bran-spankin' new copy of Viva Vegan from yesterday's giveaway is Ashley! Congrats to one of our favorite gals from Fat Bottom Bakery; it's always nice when a random number generator selects someone who happens to be awesome for a prize! (Though, to be fair, we typically assume that anyone who comments on this blog is fantastic.) Ashley, send us an email, and we'll get your book shipped right out!

Mac 'n' Three Cheeses

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: Oh, that would be a little macaroni and a ton of cheese! Lyndsay deviated from our regular VN Mac 'n' Cheese recipe and created this delicious dish with a blend of cheddar Teese, Daiya, and We Can't Say It's Cheese. Yes, all three of our favorite vegan cheeses together in one dish. Yes, it was epic. Yes, there was also salad, but you really make friends with vegan mac 'n' cheese.

The Goods: Since today is the first official Meat-Free Monday in San Francisco, we thought we'd have something highly delicious for lunch. This dish totally fit the bill, and we couldn't have celebrated in higher style.

Lazy Friday Leftovers

The Chef: Liz and Nature's Express

The Menu: If today's plate looks familiar, it's probably because most of the components were also in play during yesterday's lunch. Yes, Liz took the semi-homemade approach to cooking today by reheating several of the delicious leftovers from yesterday's lunch catered by Nature's Express. Liz altered the leftover coconut-yam soup by adding pureed garbanzo beans and cashew cream, and served it with several other Nature's Express leftovers, including Grilled Tempeh Reubens, Eggless Egg Salad Sandwiches, and Couscous Salad. This stick-to-your-ribs meal was rounded out with a side of Amy's new vegan mac 'n' cheese and a heaping helping of delicious green salad. 

The Goods: It's been an unusually quiet day at the VNHQ, with Ms. Colleen, Elizabeth, and Abby out of the office to attend a conference. We have to confess, we're a bit blue without them—and the weather seems to agree, as its been overcast and rainy most of the afternoon. Thankfully, there is a silver lining to the day: fun and sassy pictures from last night's SF Vegan Drinks! We had a blast mixing, mingling, and sipping on cocktails with the coolest people in San Francisco—and we have pictures to prove it! Of course, today's other silver lining is that it's Friday, and the weekend is nary an hour away. Hurrah!

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.

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!

Marvelous Mac 'n' Cheese

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Mac 'n' cheese. Um, hell yes. It's been way too long. We missed the incredibly cheesy, bread-crumb-topped, perfectly garnished, ultra-rich fabulousness that is this dish. Oh, and Colleen made a salad. Whatever.

The Goods: We had the goods trifecta today: amazing food, excellent company, and outstanding weather. We thoroughly enjoyed the mac 'n' cheese, of course, but Colleen also treated us to a special dessert: Neapolitan bars. Make these. Now. And with whom did we share these fine foods? None other than the very wonderful Kris Carr and her husband, Brian Fassett, who are just about as cute as two awesome vegan activists can be. Want proof? See below. Also, it was a gorgeous, sunny day. Yeah, things are pretty stinking good.

Raw Week: Rawkin' Tacos

The Chef: Aurelia

The Menu: Some decidedly delicious raw tacos and a big, beautiful kale salad! Aurelia blended red bell pepper and cashews for the filling of our romaine-wrapped tacos, and garnished them with sliced green onions. The lovely and satisfying salad consisted of chopped kale, sliced trumpet mushrooms, and slivered red onion, all of which was tossed with a perfectly tangy homemade dressing.

The Goods: It's midway through Raw Week! So far, so good, though there was some brief discussion of mashed potatoes today at lunch. And mac 'n' cheese. And brownies. OK, so maybe we aren't all raw at heart, but our plates haven't seen a lick of cooked food, and everything we've eaten has been totally yummy.

Mixed Emotion Mac 'n' Cheese

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Today's spectacular lunch centered on VN's signature mac 'n' cheese, the recipe for which you can find on our shiny new website. In case you didn't already know, we might love the mac 'n' cheese almost as much as we love the website. Colleen also busted out some seriously delicious sautéed greens, which nicely balanced out the savory main course. Oh, and maybe she also made a stellar apple crisp with apples straight from the tree in her yard.

The Goods: We've got a mixed bag of emotions here today. On the one hand, it's Halloween, it's Friday, and it looks like Prop. 2 is one day closer to passing, all of which excites us greatly. On the other hand, today is Ms. Jenny's last day here at the VNHQ, and we'll miss her!

Extra-Special Friday Surprise

The Chef: Lisa

The Menu: You'll never guess. Oh wait—if you've been reading Café VegNews at all this month, you've likely already caught a glimpse of our amazing main course: the Veganize It! Mac 'n' Cheese. Yes, it really is good enough to make as often as we have recently. Ms. Lisa added a little extra crunch to her bread-crumb topping with the addition of panko, and whipped up an extremely garlicky Caesar salad to go alongside.

The Goods: It's not that we're obsessed with this mac 'n' cheese per se, it just so happens that we've made it a grand total of three times this month, which is probably the most we've ever made one dish in that amount of time. What can we say? It's super-freakin' good, and doesn't rely on vegan mac 'n' cheese standbys like faux cheese or nutritional yeast. You know what else is really great? Getting to visit with Lisa's man-friend over lunch, who's just as charming and Canadian as we expected he would be. Also, since we had a guest, we busted out the fancy dessert: Divine Chocolate After Dinner Mints. Um, yum. You may recognize them from our current issue's Best of Show Awards.

The VN Obsession: Mac 'n' Cheese

The Chef: Lisa

The Menu: Oh, is that mac 'n' cheese you see again? Why yes, indeed it is. Okay, we admit it: we're obsessed. Seriously, make it. Find yourself a copy of the January+February issue, and then you'll know exactly what we're dealing with here. Seriously, this is the best mac 'n' cheese on the planet—and, of course, it's vegan. Today, Lisa even made it gluten-free by using rice pasta and corn-flake crumbs. Since the recipe consists mostly of blended vegetables, there isn't even enough fat in here to make us feel bad about ingesting six pounds of it this week. Lisa also whipped up a lovely salad of crisp romaine lettuce, sliced cherry tomatoes, and shredded zucchini.

The Goods: Really. There just aren't enough adjectives to adequately describe this dish. Just to make it even better, we had the pleasurable company of Steve Bossio, whose family was featured on Dateline NBC for their green lifestyle. It was a great meal made all the moreso by great company! Oh, and it was a good excuse to fuel our all-encompassing mac 'n' cheese habit.

Southern Indulgence

The Chefs: Colleen & Frankie

The Menu: Are you sitting down? You might want to be for this. Starting at the top of the plate, you see our knock-your-socks-off mac 'n' cheese. Ms. Lisa, who's only been here six and a half months, wasn't with us when we tested this recipe for the January+February issue, and was blown away by how utterly delicious it was. As if that weren't enough, Frankie made us another round of her incredible barbecue faux ribs. They are absolutely to die for, especially since she smothers them in a smoky, slightly sweet homemade barbecue sauce. Oh, and maybe Colleen made some savory, wonderful collard greens, just to finish off the meal properly. This may officially go down as our staff's favorite lunch ever.

The Goods: Since we keep hearing great things about Souley Vegan over in Oakland, it was only a matter of time before the soul food bug bit us, and boy, are we glad it did. If there's a better way to break up the work day than spending your lunch hour gorging on the best mac 'n' cheese and faux ribs in the world, we don't even want to know about it.