Sandwich and Salad

The Chef: Anna and Valencia Whole Foods

The Menu: A yummy salad of mixed greens, corn, carrots, roasted red bell peppers, raisins, sunflower seeds, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing, plus a seriously delightful foccacia sandwich filled with seitan, hummus, and big slices of fresh avocado.

The Goods: No, it's not déjà vu you're feeling. Today I decided to take a page out of VN Managing Editor Elizabeth's book and recreate her delicious Valencia Whole Foods sandwich and salad lunch. I really cannot say enough good things about that place, and this sandwich in particular. I would be perfectly happy subsisting solely on this seitan staple for the rest of my days. Speaking of days, the last day to subscribe in time to get our food-tastic September+October issue is fast-approaching, so get online and order before Thursday!

Bean Burritos, Carrot Salad

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: Fully-loaded burritos stuffed with fluffy white rice, black beans, pinto beans, Harmony Valley Vegetarian Hamburger Mix and seasoned with cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, and oregano. We heaped a helping of this hearty filling onto slightly warmed sprouted grain tortillas and topped them off with green curry sauce. Elizabeth also whipped together a scrumptious salad with peeled carrots and raisins. 

The Goods: With today's lunch, Elizabeth has singlehandedly refined the concept of making something out of nothing. Of course, barren cupboards and almost no fresh produce didn't flummox Elizabeth for a second; hence our lovely Latin food inspired feast. The only thing that could have made this budget-friendly meal more resourceful would be rolled-from-scratch tortillas like the recipe perfected by VN's very own Savvy Abby. 

Cookbook Week: Risotto and Collards

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A savory meal that was bursting with greens! Liz made a double serving of Risotto with Oyster Mushrooms, Leeks, and Peas, and a lovely side of Sicilian Collard Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins. Both of these recipes were from The Kind Diet, and both dishes have completely disappeared. The huge, beautiful kale salad you see was one of Liz's own recipes, and featured avocado, black sesame seeds, and Parma! Everything was scrumptious and promptly devoured.

The Goods: From the looks of the responses to yesterday's post, you all love some salad! We couldn't agree more—you might have noticed that just about every single post on this blog features some sort of leafy mixture. Speaking of things you might have noticed on this blog, we're giving away Alicia Silverstone's book! Congrats to GreyShore, who is the winner from yesterday's comments! GreyShore, send us an email, and we'll mail out your copy! To be entered to win today's copy, leave a comment with your answer to this question: Do you like raisins in savory food (such as in today's lovely collards?)

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.

Mardi Gras Munchies!

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A Mardi-Gras-inspired medley! Elizabeth busted out a not-entirely-authentic jambalaya with kidney beans, rice, tomatoes, cheddar cauliflower, and spices. A bright salad with both purple and green lettuces—the somewhat traditional color scheme for the day—cherry tomatoes, avocado, and raisins. For the most thematically appropriate dish, she hid one raisin in a pile of King (pan)cakes!

The Goods: OK, so a raisin is not technically the same as a baby Jesus, and pancakes are not the same as King cake, but just because you don't have the traditional ingredients on hand it's no excuse to miss out on celebrating a big, fat Tuesday. If you're looking for a tasty New Orleans treat today, don't miss our Must-Make Muffaleta!

Awesome Ayurveda

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: An array Ayurvedic eats. From the top we had the kale-infused savory chickpea pancakes. Yes, they are an amalgam of goodness, and yes, for the first time in her life Elizabeth succeeded in flipping them in the pan—woo hoo! Moving clockwise we enjoyed a lovely, comforting kitchari with yellow split peas and brown basmati rice. In the foreground you see a mixed vegetable korma, which featured "cheddar" cauliflower (aka cauliflower with a lovely golden color), potatoes, raisins, green beans, and peas. Though it isn't pictured, we also dug into some chai-spiced rice pudding for dessert, which was followed promptly by a delivery of chocolates from Frankie. Yes, it's possible that some of us are spoiled.

The Goods: No, Elizabeth hasn't discovered her latent calling to the ancient teachings of Ayurveda—not quite yet anyway. Today's lunch was completely comprised of tester recipes for our March+April issue, and let's just say that you might want to get a copy in your hands as soon as it comes out. Sadly, there are still a few weeks to wait, so in the meantime, console yourself with some of our other favorites.

Tacos de Joe

The Chef: Joseph

The Menu: Can you really go wrong with rice and beans tacos? We think not, as evidenced by today's lunch. Joseph whipped up a rice and amaranth medley, and topped it with black beans that he simmered with bell peppers and spices. Decked out with avocado, these corn-tortilla-wrapped treats really hit the spot. We also enjoyed a huge mixed-greens salad with halved cherry tomatoes, raisins, green onions, and just a tad more avocado. Is there ever enough avocado? No, in fact, there isn't.

The Goods: Today we were not only treated to a rare Chef Joseph appearance, we also had the very enjoyable company of one Mrs. Susy Castoria. Giving birth to a member of the VN staff is pretty much a sure-fire way to get invited to lunch here, though it does take just a little planning ahead. If you didn't happen to have this clairvoyance, don't worry, you can still feel like you're hanging out with the VN gang by checking out the Press Pass entry about our amazing Music Issue Launch Party!

Indian Intensity

The Chef: Jenny

The Menu: A full-flavor Indian-inspired feast! Ms. Jenny has missed cooking her own recipes, what with all the cleansing and testing that's been going on around here. Today she was back in full force with an amazing assortment of Indian dishes. Starting up at the top of the page, you can see a highly delicious sweet tomato chutney spiced with green chile and cinnamon, a slightly sweet Bengali shak with spinach, kale, raisins, and coconut pulp, a robust chana dhal, and, finally, a lovely toasted mustard seed and saffron-infused rice. We said full force, right? Today's lunch was Jenny's awesome cooking at its finest.

The Goods: We are all abuzz over here about our party! Tickets are very nearly sold out, and we have just a few volunteer positions still open. If you're looking to attend this amazing event, and have some skills like passing hors d'ouevres or bartending, send us an email and you'll not only get in for free but receive some seriously great VN swag for your time. Oh, and did we mention that you'll get to be at our party? Yeah, that's where everybody else will be, so don't get left out!