Vegan Chicken Caesar Salad

The Chefs: Jennifer and Valencia Whole Foods

The Menu: Organic kale, organic purple cabbage, Gardein Crispy Tenders, pumpkin seeds, dressed in Organicville Non-Dairy Organic Caesar, and an organic white peach for dessert.

The Goods: It's been a busy week at VNHQ and at home, so it's left me little time for grocery shopping. Luckily, Valencia Whole Foods, our local market, has just about everything a gal could need for lunch. I was originally going to go for the outstanding salad bar, but I saw that organic kale was on sale for $1.79 a bunch. I grabbed some purple cabbage and some pumpkin seeds for a lush salad. I had brought the Gardein faux chicken strips from home for the perfect Veggie Grill-inspired lunch. And I love fresh fruit so this white peach is a great end to a summer-fresh meal. In full journalistic disclosure, this healthy meal is a preemptive measure for tonight's SF Vegan Drinks when I'll be stuffing my face with 10 bowls of vegan popcorn. 

Simple Salad on a Busy Wednesday

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: An organic Red Leaf and Butter Lettuce salad with Jasmine rice, Kalamata olives, and red onion

The Dish: It may not be the most gorgeous lunch of my life, but it was simple and delicious. I was in Santa Cruz this past weekend visiting family, and my mom's neighbor's son owns an organic produce farm. We bumped into them at the farmers' market, and they gave us several bunches of kale, Swiss chard, and Red Leaf and Butter lettuce. I couldn't have been more excited (fresh + free organic greens!), and have been eating them all week. Today, I tossed the lettuce with steamed rice, olives, onion, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar—and loved every bite. Today's an exciting day 'round here at VegNews. First, our July+August summer issue ships to subscribers, and inside we announce our 2012 VegNews Vacations (get ready!). Second, it's the deadline for the brand-new VegNews Street Team! Thank you to all the incredible people who have applied so far. And, third, I spent the morning talking all things vegan with DC radio host Kojo Nnamdi (check out what we chatted about here). Have a great night!

Sumptuous Sautée Sandwich

The Chef: Colleen + Barna Mink

The Menu: Freshly baked, crusty artisan bread with vegan mayonnaise, Dr. Praeger's California Veggieballs, collard greens, and sautéed shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes.

The Goods: So yesterday the very resourceful and generous SFVegan founder, Barna Mink, whipped up a loaf of bread with the leftover pizza dough from yesterday's lunch and left it as a "parting gift." Uhh, hadn't he just made us two gourmet vegan pizzas from scratch? But we don't ask questions when food is involved. So today, using her gourmet sandwich know-how, Colleen made excellent use of both the fresh loaf and the remaining veggies from our weekly organic veggie delivery. With built-in chefs like these at our office, it's a wonder we ever leave! Happy 4th of July everyone! See you on Monday!