Trifecta of Salads

The Chef: Hilary and Valencia Whole Foods

The Menu: Generous helpings of three tasty vegan salads: Kale and tofu salad, white bean salad with celery, and pesto pasta salad (sort of) with sun-dried tomatoes. 

The Dish: All's quiet on the Western front. With two of our comrades out of the office today (one for her birthday; feliz cumpleaños Anna!), my stomach rumbles were loud and mournful in the quaint editorial room. Not one, not two, but three delicious varieties of salad were needed to hit the spot. After yesterday's amazing Chocolate Peanut-Butter Bomb Cake extravaganza and the subsequent aftermath (overindulgence, tummy aches, and sugar highs/crashes), I decided to err on the nutritious side. Now I just need to yoga retreat in Mexico a la VegNews Vacations to balance my tendency towards decadence with a little bit of healthy exertion. 

Pasta e Fagioli

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: A hearty, delicious, welcome-back-to-work meal. Lyndsay, it was unanimously decided, makes the best gluten-free pasta of anyone in the office—she always gets the texture just right. On top of her righteous rotini, we enjoyed a lovely tomato sauce (conveniently made by Organicville), to which Lyndsay added red bell pepper and white beans. OK, so maybe this is more pasta than fagioli, but nevertheless it was delectable. Lyndsay also busted out a lovely salad of mixed greens, kale, and avocado. Did we dress it with dressings that were also from Organicville? Indeed we did.

The Goods: Though the weekend here was gorgeous, today's skies were drippy and gray. The warm, satisfying meal Lyndsay made was the perfect antidote. It was great having a full office again, with the return of Joseph and Colleen from their Caribbean adventure on A Taste of Health. We wish they'd brought us some Caribbean sun, but their sunny dispositions will have to suffice this week.

Cookbook Week: You Won't Believe It's Vegan

The Chef: Aurelia

The Menu: In what is easily the fanciest meal that has ever graced our lunch plates, Aurelia made two outrageously delicious dishes from Lacey Sher and Gail Doherty's You Won't Believe It's Vegan. On the left you see Chickpea Socca, which featured a delectable marinara topped with chickpea-flour polenta, a rich white bean purée, sautéed greens, and finally caramelized leeks. Um, yum. Oh, and on the right? That's just a little molasses-laden, extremely tasty Tomato Pudding. Yeah, you know, no big deal.

The Goods: So, if anyone should need any of the VN staff, please come looking for us under our desks, happily dozing in cuisine-induced comas. Today's lunch was knock-your-socks-off good, and we'll likely be thinking about it well past dinnertime. For more on YWBIV, make sure to check out the November+December issue of VegNews for a full review! The level of elegance of our meal was unexpected, but conveniently appropriate as today marks the 200th entry on Café VegNews!