A Bowl of Whole Foods (Almost)

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: A bowl filled with spinach, brown rice, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, almonds, black beans, homemade hummus, and a sprinkling of Parma!

The Dish: Whether it's because I'm sick or I just spent a weekend gorging myself on Mexican food (thank you, Houston, for both), I wanted a seriously whole-foods lunch. The combination of fresh vegetables with simple grains and beans was supremely satisfying, and the Parma! (fine, I guess there was some processed nosh in there) added a little extra flavor. It might be a week of simple, get-better-soon meals for me, but it doesn't have to be for you! Check out our list of 10 new vegan restaurants across the country and make a reservation stat. I have my eye on Vegeria for the next time I'm in the Lone Star State.

Guess What? It's Salad

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A big ol' salad! This one has mixed greens, Parma!, Organicville Non-Dairy Caesar dressing, sliced Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage sausages, and grilled vegetables including carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and jalapeños.

The Goods: Whenever I eat a big salad for lunch (which is pretty much every day that I don't either go crazy with pizza or have Bachelor Soup), I feel like a very stereotypical vegan. Yes, I'm vegan and I like to eat vegetables—that's just how it is! I'm not saying that I'd turn down a platter of fish-free crab cakes—because that would make me an idiot—but during a hectic workday, a big colorful salad really hits the spot.

Gracias Madre, Ole!

The Chef: Anna and Gracias Madre

The Menu: An heirloom masa tamal filled with zucchini and onions, plus black beans and some spicy pickled vegetables

The Dish: Okay, so the picture is not what I ordered. But hang with me for a second! My friend, who is currently on her summer vacation (teachers have all the luck, no?) came to the Mission to dine with me. Since it's just really fun to blow people's non-vegan socks off (though I must admit, her socks are vegetarian), I took her to Gracias Madre. I decided on the tamal and my friend ordered the tacos, very similar to those pictured above (I forgot the camera, I'm sorry!). As always, everything was delicious. My friend was particularly impressed by her taco filled with collards and corn that had been stewed in a chile verde sauce. I think there's only one way to respond to that: truth.

Free-Form Fajitas

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A fairly monochromatic plate of beef-free fajitas. For the "beef" she used Match Meats Ground Beef, and then served quinoa topped with spiced zucchini, black beans, and crimini mushrooms alongside. Whole-wheat tortillas and sliced avocado make anything better, don't they?

The Goods: As you might or might not be aware, it's cold here. Like, really cold. Like, so cold that while Elizabeth was in the kitchen making lunch (which is in a part of our office that doesn't have great heating), she donned her sweater, heavy jacket, and borrowed a knit hat from Abby to keep her ears from freezing off. If anyone is interested in sending hot-cocoa reinforcements, we'd be fine with that!

Mighty-Good Moussaka

The Chef: Sara

The Menu: A truly yummy moussaka, which featured layers of eggplant, zucchini, and potato, all doused with a savory tomato sauce and tofu ricotta. Sara also make a spinach salad with broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and sliced mushrooms. Suffice to say, both were delicious.

The Goods: We are pretty stinking excited about getting close to putting the finishing touches on our cover for the January+February 2010 issue! Maybe it looks really good, and maybe we like that. Speaking of things that excite us, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Do you have questions? Maybe we have a chat all lined up on VegWeb with expert veg chef Jesse Miner, who'll be joining us for lunch tomorrow.

Homemade Vegan Tortillas

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Yeah, you read that right. One of the many, many reasons why Abby is the world's best associate editor is that she does things like make homemade tortillas. In the office. In less than an hour. In-freaking-credible. Really, what's on top of these tortillas, delicious as it was, came in a far second place to the 'tillas themselves, but for the sake of posterity, we topped them with brown rice, black beans, sauteed zucchini and broccoli, and baked sweet potatoes. And, of course, there was a beautiful mixed-greens salad alongside, with halved cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds.

The Goods: Um, we are dead. The September+October issue just arrived fresh from the printer, and we are just a little bit beside ourselves with glee. If anyone needs us, we'll be under our desks in fits of excitement.

Beefless Stir-Fry

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A totally meat-free (of course) beef-and-veggies stir-fry! We had some Gardein Beef Tips in the freezer, so Elizabeth stir-fried them with carrots, bok choy, and zucchini, tossed the whole shebang over brown rice, threw some slivered scallions on top, and called it a day.

The Goods: You may notice that today's entry is going up a little late. Maybe that's because we were busy planning out our 2010 editorial calendar, or, as we lovingly refer to it in the office, "How we're going to take over the world next year." Just kidding! (OK, we are in no way kidding.)

Entirely Edible Pasta

The Chef: Kailey

The Menu: A delicious, veggie-filled pasta with tomato sauce. Zucchini, summer squash, fresh tomatoes, cannellini beans, and a perfect blend of spices starred in today's sauce, which Kailey served over just al dente brown-rice pasta. A huge salad with heirloom tomatoes and pumpkin seeds completed the plate.

The Goods: Of course, today's pasta was way more than edible—it was scrumptious! Not everyone ate it, however, as a couple staffers are experimenting with cleansing, and are currently not consuming cooked food. Those of us who did gobble up this yummy lunch were very thankful for it! If there's anything better than a hearty, warm meal on a cold, yucky day, we don't want to know about it. One thing we do want to know about is whether or not you've voted in the Veggie Awards Survey yet, since time is running out!

Presto Punjab

The Chef: Kailey

The Menu: A deliciously doctored ready-made Indian meal. On a bed of brown rice, Kailey served up a packaged Punjab Choley to which she added some fresh tomato. Oven-roasted zucchini and yellow-squash chips made a savory side, and we thoroughly enjoyed the big, hearty salad, which featured cucumbers, red onions, and tons of Parma.

The Goods: It's a busy time here at the VNHQ, but then again that's pretty much all the time. We once again took in as much vitamin D from the sun today as we possibly could, and talked about the exciting trip to LA that the majority of our staff will be taking for AR 2009. In case you're one of those super-hip types, you can totally follow the conference's progress on Twitter!

Pretty Patties

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: A delightful breakfast spread. Abby busted out some savory black-bean sausage-style patties, roasted potatoes with zucchini, slices of Van's Wheat-Free French Toast Sticks, and a lovely salad with pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Did everything listed here serve as a vehicle for ketchup, maple syrup, and Parma!? Yes, indeed, as any good breakfast should.

The Goods: By now, Vegetarian Summerfest is in full swing, and we can't wait to get the full scoop from Joseph and Colleen, our reporters in the field. Here at the VNHQ, we're keeping the home fires burning, but, you know, not literally. We definitely didn't burn the building down in the absence of our publishers. Really.

Breakfast Bonanza

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A scrumptious spread of breakfast goodies! Colleen made an incredible scrambled tofu with toasted cumin seeds, slivered carrots and zucchini, and a delectable combination of herbs. Rosemary-roasted sweet potatoes, rustic bread with berry preserves, and a bright green salad completed the meal. Yes, we would eat breakfast every day if it meant we got to eat like this.

The Goods: As today's lunch was obviously a departure from our usual, hurried put-together-whatever-we-have-handy menu plan, you might be wondering about what kind of special occasion could warrant such yummy eats? Well, we'll tell you. Today we celebrated (belatedly) the birthday of one Rey Ortega, a longtime friend of VN and founder of Sun Flour Baking Company. Rey and his awesome co-workers Tiffany and Jennifer joined us, as did Ms. Laura Beck, who's also awesome, for the record. Oh, and did we mention that there are already more than 4,000 votes cast in the 2009 Veggie Awards Survey?! There are! Add yours!

Surprise Veggie Simmer

The Chef: Joseph

The Menu: In the grandest tradition of the VNHQ kitchens, Joseph bravely volunteered to make lunch today with only an hour's notice, had no idea what was in the fridge, and still managed to bust out this yummy lunch. He prepared herbed brown rice topped with a multitude of veggies—beans, tomatoes, baby corn, and zucchini, just to name a few—tofu, and a savory simmer sauce. Our salad was full of mixed greens, grated carrots, red cabbage, and fried onions. Yum.

The Goods: OK, maybe you've already heard the news, but we're so excited we can't stand it: The 2009 Veggie Awards Survey is live! You can vote right now! This is one of our most anticipated features of the year, and we can't wait to see who this year's winners are!

Go-to Green Curry

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: A lovely green curry, which, as you may know, is Lyndsay's signature dish. Today she combined tofu, zucchini, bok choy, red bell pepper, and green beans, and simmered the whole dish in a delicious green curry and served everything over brown rice. A side salad with carrots and avocado made the perfect accompaniment.

The Goods: It's a big day here at the VNHQ today. We're thrilled to announce that VN has officially joined forces with vegweb.com, and we couldn't be happier. We've had the pleasure of Yvette's company in the office the last couple of days, and with a delicious lunch in our bellies—topped off with leftover cake, of course—things are looking pretty darn good here.

Savory Pancakes, Sweet Party

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A pile of savory pancakes! We've got about 8 gajillion green onions in the fridge these days, so in an effort to use up these springtime staples, Elizabeth threw together some pre-fab pancake batter, grated carrots and zucchini, and sautéed several tons of green onions, and presto—a plentitude of pancakes. Topped with veg hoisin sauce and homemade, extra-garlicky aioli, these were sort of the like super-delicious okonomiyaki we had not too long ago, though today's meal was decidedly less fun to say. A salad of mixed greens, kidney beans, Blue-style Sheese, and pumpkin seeds added to the savory sensation.

The Goods: You know what makes a great balance to a hearty, savory meal? A super-sweet party! We're totally freaking thrilled to announce the VegNews Urban Dessert Soirée, celebrating the launch of Ani Phyo's incredible new book, Ani's Raw Food Desserts. You definitely won't want to miss this elegant evening of fun, a five-course dessert menu, the adorable CandyBar ambience, and, of course, Ani. So, you know, don't miss it! Tickets are available now!

Perfect Parsnip Pie

The Chef: Melissa

The Menu: A healthy, hearty helping of root-vegetable-inspired vegan Shepherd's Pie. Eager to tame the elusive parsnip, Melissa whipped out her own version of this traditional casserole, complete with a mashed-parsnip crust. Short a couple of said carrot-relatives, which were later discovered deep within the cavernous VN fridge, she added a couple good ol' potatoes to the mix. Underneath, she combined caramelized onions, peas, zucchini, and textured vegetable protein in a savory blend of spices, which had us going back for more until, well, sadly, there wasn't any more. A spinach side-salad adorned with carrots, zucchini, and walnuts made a perfect complement to the main dish.

The Goods: One of our favorite topics of conversation managed to find its way into today's lunch: food. We discussed edible delights from every corner of the globe, from Djibouti to Ethiopia to Haight Street. As inspired as we were to jump on the next flight to South India, we were pretty darn pleased with the plates right in front of our faces. But just to take the edge off of our international appetites, we savored the sweet taste of vegan Soy Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles for dessert, compliments of our one and only neighbor to the north.

Gaga for Greens

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: An absolutely amazing Asian-food-inspired meal! Colleen was intent on using all the greens in the fridge before the weekend, and we think she might actually have done it. Her scrumptious stir-fry included Swiss chard, zucchini, cucumber, leeks, green and white onions, and gobs of garlic. Served over perfectly fluffy basmati rice and topped with toasted sesame seeds, this meal was the perfect end to another hectic week here at the VNHQ.

The Goods: Today's lunch was the ideal combination of great food, plenty of sunshine, and the general glee that tends to overtake us on Fridays. If there's anything better than eating something delicious in the company of fun people while simultaneously absorbing your vitamin D, we don't even want to know about it. Just to add to the aforementioned general glee, make sure to weigh in over on This Just In, where we're giving away a goodie bag from this year's Genesis Awards!

Cool Collard Wraps

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Totally delicious collard wraps! We filled these lovely leaves with leftover quinoa and chili from yesterday's awesome lunch, and enjoyed sides of sautéed mushrooms, spicy peanut sauce, and a crisp, crunchy salad with spears of zucchini and carrots. Colleen was slightly concerned that she might be slipping back into her Raw Week habits by using the collard leaves as wraps, but we assured her that filling them with very cooked chili would alleviate any confusion.

The Goods: It's Friday. We are, um, happy about this. The technical term for how we feel right now might be something close to "utterly and totally exhausted," but we don't want to put too fine a point on it. It's been another whirlwind week here at the VNHQ, and maybe we're just a little teeny bit excited about the beginning of the weekend. Also, Happy Meatout Day! Feel free to encourage your friends and family to go vegan one or two extra times today.

Raw Week: Zucchini Zaniness

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A zillion uses of zucchini! Today's zukes were peeled into ribbons to make raw pasta, which Elizabeth topped with a pesto of basil, garlic, cashews, and a splash of hemp-seed oil. Since you can't very well make ribbons out of the seedy parts of zucchini, those got blended with carrots, maple syrup, and cinnamon to make the little soup shooter you see at the top of the plate. Finally, a very, very simple salad of romaine and red bell pepper completed our plates.

The Goods: We're still enjoying our raw refreshment after the insanity of Expo West, but today we were feeling a little bit dessert deprived. Thankfully, we found a stock of really yummy raw gelato in our freezer from Organic Nectars, which we quickly devoured. We're not sure if the whole gelato-gorging process is really in the spirit of the diet cleanup, but it followed this week's raw law to the letter, which is good enough for us!

Comforting Casserole

The Chef: Aurelia

The Menu: An absolutely delicious, homey casserole. Aurelia layered sliced potatoes, kale, and zucchini under a smoked paprika-infused tofu topping and flavored the dish with lots of garlic. The result was a wonderful, satisfying meal that helped to further recoup those of us who are still feeling under the weather. To complement her savory main, Aurelia also made a vibrant salad of greens, tomatoes, avocado, onion, and carrots, which she served with a garlic-loaded vinaigrette.

The Goods: Today was another unusually warm day at the VNHQ, and we were all glad for it. Since there are still a couple sickies in the office, the sunny weather worked to our advantage for making everyone feel better. Speaking of feeling better, how do you feel after last night's presidential debate? Better, worse, indifferent?

Scrumptious Stir-Fry

The Chef: Aurelia

The Menu: An absolutely delicious stir-fry full of our favorite ingredients. Aurelia expertly combined broccoli, seitan, zucchini, peanuts, and a special blend of Asian spices, all of which she served over basmati rice with peas. De-freakin'-licious, like we said. Of course, the side salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, avocado, and a freshly made lemon dressing wasn't half bad either. And just in case that wasn't enough, she managed to turn tortillas into crispy, spiced wontons. Yes, it was magic but unfortunately it was a particularly tasty kind of magic, and all the evidence was eaten.

The Goods: If there's anything better than a midday stir-fry, we don't even want to know about it. Today's a crazy one here in the VNHQ, as we're gearing up for both the much-anticipated re-launch of vegnews.com, and maybe there's a little something going on tomorrow night. Maybe that little something is called the Vegan à Go-Go! Book Bash, and just maybe we couldn't be any more excited about it. Be sure to check Press Pass for the full post-party report!