Polenta Rancheros

The Chef: Liz and Boogaloos

The Menu: A side of grilled polenta squares with salsa ranchero and cabbage salad paired with a plate of whole-wheat toast.

The Goods: I'm a big fan of pairing two substantial sides into one satisfying meal, and these two small plates definitely hit the spot. I'm also a big fan of enjoying breakfast for lunch (or brunch, as the kids call it), so basically this was the perfect midday meal. If enjoying a hearty vegan brunch at a local vegan-friendly diner isn't an option for you, might I recommend eating breakfast leftovers for lunch? Trust me, tofu scrambles do taste just as good four hours later—especially if served with crunchy toast and spicy salsa.

Polenta Lasagna with Jonathan Safran Foer

The Chef: Barry Jones Horton

The Menu: A stunning, delicious, incredibly lovely three-course meal. Chef Barry totally spoiled us today with one of the best lunches we've ever had. It started with off with his take on a Cobb salad. Romaine, cornmeal-crusted tempeh, tomatoes, and roasted shiitake "bacon" combined for a stellar salad. For a main course we devoured his polenta lasagna with fresh puttanesca sauce, sautéed kale and mushroom filling, and baked tofu ricotta. As a special accomodation for us, each plate was dusted generously with Parma!, because Chef Barry knows how obsessed we are with it. For dessert, we had a perfectly done raw apple crisp. Yes, we died of glee.

The Goods: The food wasn't our only source of excitement today, as renowned author Jonathan Safran Foer joined us at the table. Sandwiching lunch in between speaking at a local high school and doing a phone interview in the car on the way to a radio interview, Foer chatted with us about his book, Eating Animals, his family, and his role as chef at home. (Lentils are a favorite with his son!) Maybe you caught his recent clip on Ellen? If not, you probably should. Here's Jonathan, Chef Barry, and the whole VN crew:

Brunch Week: Polenta Rancheros

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A big bowl of Polenta Rancheros and side salad with fresh corn and grated zucchini. What, exactly, is involved in Polenta Rancheros, you ask? Mostly, this dish is made of black beans simmered in a spiced tomato sauce, topped with a fluffy spoonful of polenta, which is all then topped with fresh guacamole. In short, a huge amount of awesomeness is involved! We could each have eaten about six bowls of this savory standout.

The Goods: Yes, Brunch Week is maybe our most favorite theme of all. Holy heck, every recipe we've made so far has been amazing. Congratulations to Connie, our lucky winner from yesterday's comments! Connie, send us an email with your full name and mailing address, and your copy of Vegan Brunch will be sent out asap! For today's copy of this too-good-to-be-true tome, tell us in the comments: What's your fantasy brunch dish? Yes, you have to pick just one, and of course it has to be vegan!

Southern-Inspired Casserole

The Chef: Aurelia

The Menu: Um, wow. Aurelia busted out an incredible three-course treat for lunch today, which we happily devoured. The main attraction was a casserole with black beans, corn, green chiles, chopped meatless ribs, and sautéed Swiss Chard, which she topped deliciously with baked polenta dotted with cheddar-style Teese and spices. If you are thinking, "oh my god!" right now, you have the appropriate thought going through your head. In addition, we had the most smoky and delectable sautéed kale on the planet, and a light, fresh salad with shaved red onions, carrots, cucumber, and avocado.

The Goods: This outrageously yummy meal made the perfect base for what was to follow: a belated birthday cake for Lyndsay, who took advantage of our take-your-birthday-off policy. Yes, we've eaten more cake in the last week than any office should ever be able to, and the 3pm sugar pangs are getting stronger by the day. Today's fabulous meal was also a bittersweet occasion, as it marked Aurelia's last turn in the VNHQ kitchen. Thanks for all the amazing lunches, Aurelia!

Plenty o' Polenta

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A big pile of polenta, topped with a wine-infused tomato sauce with simmered garlic, onions, raisins, and Swiss chard. A simple spinach salad turned into something spectacular with the addition of huge, ripe, delicious, amazing strawberries, which were hand-delivered, fresh from the farmers' market. They got tossed in with some cucumber, avocado, and pumpkin seeds, and topped with a cherry-balsamic vinaigrette.

The Goods: Not only were today's strawberries outrageously good, they were also a thoughtful gift from our lunch guests! We had the highly enjoyable company of Melissa's parents, Dave and Sue, which means that we have now met the entirety of la familia Feineman. Our guests lucked out on getting a very sunny day here in SF, which just might have thrilled us slightly more than it did them, since they are currently visiting from Texas, where the daily temperature hovers somewhere around 8 bajillion degrees.

Diner Food Delights

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Abby continued her brunch streak and cranked out this sweet and savory combination of classic diner dishes with a vegan twist. Fluffy whole-wheat blueberry pancakes topped with Earth Balance and pure maple syrup, hash browns, and polenta triangles were a stellar tribute to comforting breakfasts of the past.

The Goods: Similar to her past pancake foray, Abby received a little help from a time-saving mix hidden on a back shelf. Whole blueberries, flax seed, and soy protein made these fluffy cakes healthier than their sweet, spiced taste would care to let on. And what's that delicious substance weaving through the hash browns, making its way to the polenta as a perfectly melted topping? Oh, that'd be cheddar Teese, our new best friend from Chicago Soydairy. Feel free to let the mouth-watering commence.

Unparalleled Polenta

The Chef: Lisa

The Menu: Crispy Baked Polenta Triangles with (almost) Garden Fresh Ratatouille. If that sounds like more of a serious recipe title than our usual lunch descriptions, you're on to something, but more on that later. Today's intensely flavorful meal combined warm, lovely baked polenta with a sensational ratatouille of eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, and green olives. A light salad that featured avocado and grated carrots and was topped with Lisa's signature blended garlic-Balsamic dressing perfectly complemented the savory main.

The Goods: Yep, you guessed it, you'll be able to find this very recipe (our version today subbed green olives for capers since we were out!) in our quickly forthcoming May+June issue of VegNews! While the veggies weren't fresh from our personal gardens at home, they were fresh from our local produce delivery service, Organic Express. There was an extra-special surprise after lunch today, as Frankie tried her hand at a luscious blueberry cheese(less)cake. It's a good thing we took a photo before the cake was cut, as things took a turn for the messy once we dug into this delightful dessert: