So Much Soul Food!

The Chefs: Rashida and Souley Vegan, with help from Lyndsay

The Menu: Barbecue tofu, mustard greens, vegan mac and cheese, mashed brown-sugar yams, black-eyed peas, red beans and rice, okra gumbo, and biscuits

The Dish: In an astounding turn of events, one of my favorite veg restaurants in the Bay Area sent the entire VN staff several bags full of its famed soul-food sides—including the deliciously creamy mac and cheese and the black eyed peas, both of which are always on my must-order list. Word has it that these dishes are hitting freezers in coming months, when Souley Vegan debuts its new line of frozen entrées, giving vegans and frozen-food aficionados something to celebrate. Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig was kind enough to whip up some fluffy vegan biscuits for lunch as well, thereby topping off an already-delicious meal and stuffing my stomach to capacity. If you're looking for like-minded food fans with whom you can share a big bowl of barbecue tofu, check out our suggestions for Creative Ways to Meet People!

Baked Beans, Crispy Cornbread

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: A sampling of Southern stick-to-your-ribs standards including sweet-and-savory hot water cornbread, baked beans and kabocha squash slathered in barbecue sauce, a fresh, crunchy cucumber, onion, and carrot tossed with Annie's Goddess dressing, and a batch of Abby's signature fluffy biscuits.

The Goods: Supplies in the VNHQ kitchen are running a bit low, but luckily Abby is an expert at throwing together a fabulous meal with only a few items. While her standby recipe for hot water cornbread is a gem, she switched things up today and used the hot water cornbread recipe appearing in VN's fantastic July+August Anniversary issue Soul Food Feast feature. These crunchy cakes were perfectly complemented with savory barbecue sauce, sweet maple syrup, and agave. Oh, and did we mention that Abby also made biscuits? We did? Sorry, it's just kind of a big deal. Biscuits aren't the only exciting thing happening around these here offices, as tomorrow marks the final proof day for our July+August issue. This means two things: We'll be having burritos for lunch per VN tradition, and after the magazine officially goes to press we will be drinking champagne at our desks.