Celery Soup and Spinach Salad

The Chefs: Hilary, Whole Foods Market, and Gracias Madre

The Menu: Cream of celery soup, with a side of spinach salad studded with red onions, walnuts and crispy shiitake mushrooms. 

The Goods: As we trudged through the final trenches of the editing process for our mind-blowingly, brain-meltingly, hair-fryingly, skull-pulverizingly cool March+April Issue, wacky California's indecisive late-morning sun emerged, then hid, then winked from beneath a sky-wide pallor of wispy clouds. Unsatisfied with my initial feast of spinach salad, I had no choice but to seek warming soup from cashew-cheese quesadilla palace extraordinaire Gracias Madre. While filling, my lunch was still light enough to not interfere with this evening's inaugural SF Vegan Drinks event at its brand-new location, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, a boozy top-shelf pub a mere half-block from our headquarters. Beer-battered fried pickles, sweet potato tater tots, my heart is aflutter in anticipation of our union after dusk falls. 

Spinach Salad

The Chef: Anna and Gardein

The Menu: A spinach salad with carrots, tomatoes, red peppers, sweet potatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing, plus Gardein's new Ultimate Beefless Burger

The Goods: Okay, so it might not be the prettiest salad you've ever seen, but it sure was tasty. I first tried Gardein's brand new meatless patty at Expo West, and I was instantly hooked. And by "hooked" I mean I stopped by the Gardein booth at least twice a day. Needless to say, I was excited when a shipment of them was delivered to our door. Come lunch time, I threw a patty in with my salad for an extra dose of protein and deliciousness, and it worked like a charm. Here's to dinner, which will feature another one of these gems, this time sandwiched in a bun with ketchup, some Daiya cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Man, I wish it was 7:00pm.

Falafel, an Orange, and Salad

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: Half a falafel wrap from TaDah Foods, an orange, and a spinach salad topped with carrots, red bell peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette

The Goods: I'm trying to keep it simple this week (I can't imagine why) so this lunch of fruit, salad, and a little bit of falafel with hummus is just what I needed. The orange was super sweet, the greens fresh, and the falafel flavorful. Between Expo West, daylight savings, and the dreary San Francisco weather, everyone in here at VNHQ feels a little bit off, so it's nice to eat something simple and tasty, even with an entire table (and refrigerator!) of goodies mere steps away. Luckily it's week three of VN Book Club's coverage of Veganist by Kathy Freston. The discussion on Freston's tome will keep me from day-dreaming of vegan-marshmallow Dandies!

Vegetable Curry and Salad

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: A spinach salad topped with carrot, sweet potato, and tomato; a delicious vegetable curry chock full of potatoes, cauliflower, tomato, broccoli, onion, eggplant, and green peas; and a smattering of brown rice

The Goods: Often when I look through cookbooks, I look for two things: 1. No animal products. 2. Four steps or fewer. Call me lazy, but what can I say? I like to keep things simple most of the time. This delicious veggie curry was a cinch to make (Cut vegetables. Put vegetables and spices in pot. Turn on burner.), and will last me all week long. Want some more one-pot meal ideas (along with casseroles, stews, and pasta dishes) that will get you through the week? Check out our new featurette, Cook Once all Week. Cooking at home: Pittance. Clicking the "Snooze" button two more times each morning: Priceless.

Salad and Spring Rolls

The Chef: Anna and Valenica Whole Foods

The Menu: A spinach salad with sweet potato, black beans, tomatoes, zucchini, red peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette with veggie spring rolls courtesy of Valencia Whole Foods.

The Goods: Maybe it's just me (and it is), but I want to drop-kick my salad into veggie oblivion. While I am in the homestretch of Kris Carr's 21-day cleanse, and have felt and seen the benefits of green juice, I've eaten more salads than I care to think about. With 66 hours left (but who's counting?), it's a comfort to know that soon I will be able to ingest sugar, gluten, and alcohol again. (I'm looking at you, chocolate cake and whiskey). I'm excited for my next Café VegNews post, where I will most likely be scarfing down vegan candy bars from the VegNews Store, VN office favorite Herbivore's chicken sandwich, and some Neapolitan bars (this week's What's Cooking?) all at the same time. I might have to recruit someone in the office to be my extra set of hands—two is not going to be enough.

Salad and Spaghetti Squash

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: Spaghetti squash with tomatoes, onions, and garbanzo beans and a spinach salad with broccoli, carrots, zucchini, and balsamic vinaigrette

The Goods: It's day 10 for me on Kris Carr's 21-day cleanse, and I've never been happier to eat a plate full of veggies. Why, you ask? It's mainly because I got to talk to the lovely, charismatic, and beautiful Kris herself about my cleanse at lunch yesterday. No big deal. Actually, it's a big deal. It's a hugely awesome deal. It's also a hugely awesome week for us at VN—Kris Carr is only the beginning. With our March+April issue at the printer and May+June in the works, not to mention the Book Club, our upcoming trip to India with VegNews Vacations, and tons of delicious goodies to taste test, our plates are full (and not just with vegetables).

Salad, Scrambled Tofu, and Black Beans

The Chef: Anna and Herbivore

The Menu: A homemade spinach salad with carrots, zucchini, sweet potato, and balsamic vinaigrette with Herbivore's southwestern scrambled tofu, black beans, and guacamole.

The Goods: I am currently participating in a certain VN cover star's 21-day cleanse (I think it's safe to say we're obsessed), so taking a gluten-free trip to Herbivore was a different experience. I ordered the southwestern tofu scramble but shied away from the delectable blueberry cornbread and skillet potatoes in order to stay on the detox track (not easy, mind you). After my half plate's worth of salad I couldn't even eat a third of my Herbivore grub, so I will save it for a rainy day (and by "rainy day" I mean "about three o'clock this afternoon"). Hopefully the next 18 days will fly by—then I can grab some vegan peanut butter cups from the VegNews Valentine's Store, which just opened this week!

Salad with Hummus and Falafel

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: Eating this spinach salad with fresh tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, Trader Joe's falafel, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing is like lunching at the Acropolis.

The Goods: Okay, maybe this yummy salad can't transport me all the way to Greece, but its Mediterranean feel makes it easier to imagine I'm sitting on a white-sand beach instead of in a rainy metropolis. The hot falafel and dressing really hit the spot on this gloomy day. (Dressing recipe: mix balsamic vinaigrette with hummus. So hard, right?) If you are similarly in need of something to warm you up (and who isn't, with snow currently in 49 states!), sip on some hot apple cider tea (This Week's Must Have) or whip up some warm, hearty and healthy oatmeal with What's Cooking on VN.com. Happy lunching!

Coconut Curry, Spinach Salad

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A superbly seasoned Thai curry including potato, carrot, mushroom, eggplant, tomatoes, light coconut milk, and spices matched with a crisp spinach, avocado, and tomato side salad tossed with a lovely sesame-oil dressing. Colleen also prepared a pot of fragrant, filling brown basmati rice to round out our meal.

The Goods: Colleen's terrific Thai-inspired lunch was exactly what we needed to heat up our chilly San Francisco morning. For those not in the know, July is one of the coldest months of the year in SF, meaning that while the rest of the country tries to stay cool during hot spells, we're bundling up in our City by the Bay. While we're not exactly complaining—there are worse things than year-round mild temperatures—we're pretty sure we're also the only Americans ravenous for warming comfort foods.