Delicious Leftovers

The Chef: Aurelia

The Menu: Oh, wild rice-and-cranberry-stuffed mushrooms, what would life be without you? Well, it would certainly not have been the same lunch today without them, that's for sure. The appetizer theme didn't stop with the mushrooms, as you can see. Crostini topped with either white bean aioli or a red pepper hummus made a crunchy companion to the mushier mushrooms. To complete the meal Aurelia made a great spinach salad with corn, grated carrot, and chopped nuts. Simple and delicious, this meal gave us fullness of bellies and roominess of fridge.

The Goods: No, you didn't miss a post: the mushrooms and crostini were leftovers from our awesome year-end holiday-themed party, which took place last Friday night. It was catered by the very talented vegan chef Jesse Miner, whom you may remember from our March+April Vegan Weddings feature. Chef Miner made an impressive array of finger food, and was even kind enough to send the VN staff home with cookies, which, in case it wasn't already abundantly clear, is the way directly to our hearts.

Of course, a year-end party is a great reason to go a little crazy with dessert, and that's just what our amazing publisher Joseph and associate publisher Colleen did. The photo below, taken today, is an amalgamation of the three, utterly incredible cakes that they had shipped to us from Vegan Treats in Pennsylvania. Oh. God. The cakes were so good. They were as follows: peanut butter bomb cake, coconut, and chocolate brownie cheesecake. Now. The "bomb" part of "peanut butter bomb" means that on top of the cake there are huge gobs of amazing peanut butter frosting, all covered in chocolate. You can see part of this one sticking out from the bottom of the pile. The coconut cake of course has coconut frosting, and the cake itself is so freakin' sweet it makes us want to use the word moist. Here at the VNHQ, we hate using the word moist, but, heck, sometimes it really does describe the spongy, mouthy perfection of a layer of cake. Finally, the brownie cheesecake. Not a chocolate-flavored cheesecake as the name might imply, this is a full-on cheesecake covered in hunks of brownie and drizzled with chocolate, which you can glimpse hanging out at the top of the plate in the photo. Please excuse us for the rest of the day, we are in a hyperglycemic coma.

Birthday Bliss

The Chef: Vanida and MaggieMudd

The Menu: A beautiful birthday bash of Thai food and ice-cream cake! Yeah, today is basically the best lunch day ever, just in case you were wondering. From our favorite local Thai place, Vanida, we served up some deliciously garlicky eggplant and tofu, a spicy yellow curry with zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and red bell pepper, and a lovely, light papaya salad with tomatoes and ground peanuts. Oh, and maybe there was a cake. Maybe it was an ice-cream cake that featured Toasted Coconut and Mint Chocolate Chip ice creams, set atop a brownie crust and covered in whipped-cream frosting. Oh, did we mention (or did we even really have to?) that this whole B-Day smorgasbord was vegan? Yeah, it was.

The Goods: We had not one but two birthdays in the office this week, those of Ms. Colleen and Ms. Stacy. If there was ever a time to order up a big, beautiful birthday cake, today was the day. A very happy birthday to both lovely ladies, one of whom you can see below with the sweet treat. Continuing the tradition of studly adornments, this year's cake featured one of our favorite vegans. Can you tell who it is?

Vegetable Rice Bowl (and Cake!)

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Rice bowl with pea shoots, cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and yellow pepper—all over warm brown rice and tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sea salt

The Dish: It's the Tuesday after a three-day weekend, and it's time to start eating healthy! It seems like there have been far too many opportunities to eat out lately, so a nice, healthy rice bowl was just what I needed. This is one of my all-time favorite dishes, and I have it at least three times a week (for either lunch or dinner). And given how gorgeous it was today on the VegNews deck, it was the perfect meal to enjoy outside with my colleagues. Since tomorrow is Assistant Editor Anna Peraino's birthday, we toasted her today with a homemade chocolate-peanut butter cake (inspired by our friends at Vegan Treats). Happy Birthday, Anna!

Anna's chocolate-peanut butter-bomb cake, which we quickly devoured.

A closer look at the three-layer, peanut butter frosting-filled cake.

Packed Pizza

The Chef: Lisa

The Menu: Pizza with everything! Marinated mushrooms, faux sausage, thinly sliced eggplant, capers, a garlicky sauce, and more of that lovely Teese topped today's herbed pizza dough. Alongside we had a huge salad chock full of buttery lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, and Lisa's signature balsamic vinaigrette with dijon mustard and garlic.

The Goods: We also got a little extra treat today in the form of cake. If there's a better form for treats to come in than cake, we're pretty sure that we don't want to know about it. Sweetie Cakes Co. sent us some of their cake mixes for testing, and let's just say that we were thrilled to test them! Look for a full review in the May+June issue of VegNews, and, until then, enjoy this little preview of their Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake (with icing that Elizabeth just happened to have on hand...):
Interested in seeing more pictures of awesome food? Head on over to our new blog, Press Pass, and check out eats from around the world!

Vegan Burgers and More

The Chef: Alexandra, Amy's Kitchen, Fry's Vegetarian, Ashera's Gourmet, and Wholesome Chow

The Menu: A taste test lunch feast of Amy's Kitchen Vegetable Barley Soup and Sonoma Burgers, Fry's Vegetarian Veggie Burgers and Chicken-style Nuggets, Ashera's Original Vegan Burgers, and Wholesome Chow's Lemon Poppyseed Cake and Gluten-free Chocolate Chai Cake.

The Goods: I ate it all! OK, I didn't, but I probably could have. Today, the VN staff enhanced lunch with a giant taste test of veggie burgers and meats, plus some sweets. While we all had our side meals (I brought the Amy's Kitchen soup from home), the burger patties and chicken nuggets were the highlight of the day. A good veggie burger is always welcome at the VNHQ, and we loved them all! Plus, the weather's beautiful in San Francisco, so we were lucky enough to eat our lunch on the sunny deck while puppies pranced (yes, these puppies do prance) and occasionally begged for food around us. It was a post-card perfect hour, soaking up the vitamin-D and attempting to tan. Wish you were here! Speaking of, our Publisher Joseph Connelly and Associate Publisher Colleen Holland couldn't join us, because they're in India on a VegNews Vacation (check out the photos here)! Lucky ducks. Well, we got cake, so there.

Mmmm Moroccan

The Chefs: Melissa and Hannah Tai

The Menu: An absolutely stellar meal of Moroccan-inspired pasta. Chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, raisins, and a superbly spiced tomato sauce covered hearty strands of brown-rice spaghetti. An herb-mix salad with yummy avocado, dried cranberries, cubed Follow Your Heart mozzarella, and crumbled Mediterranean-style Sunergia Soy Feta made an excellent accompaniment. Oh, and maybe we had a little dessert, too.

The Goods: Yes, that phenomenally gorgeous cake that you see below came to us courtesy of—and couriered by—the lovely Hannah Tai, vegan wedding-cake baker extraordinaire. Her cardamom-spiced cake with chocolate ganache and layers of raspberry and rosewater buttercream matched perfectly with today's Moroccan theme, though both she and Melissa swear they didn't confer beforehand. Today also happens to be a day of firsts! First, Ms. Melissa debuted as chef, and her scrumptious meal blew us all away. Next, tonight will be the first ever SF Vegan Drinks! Woo hoo! We're extremely excited. Finally, today was the first time that we considered partnering with Hannah for some sort of super SF Vegan Drinks surprise, so make sure and keep an eye out for something thrilling in the months to come! Whew. Back to work!

Vegetable Curry and Birthday Cake

The Chef: Anna and Colleen

The Menu: Thai coconut curry with potatoes, carrots, red pepper, spinach, and fresh basil over Jasmine rice, followed by a vanilla bean cake filled with fresh strawberries and vanilla buttercream.

The Dish: We had a lot to celebrate today at VNHQ; both Office Manager Lyndsay and Editor-at-Large Laura turned one year older this week. For their birthday lunch, Associate Publisher Colleen made a seriously delicious green curry. It had the perfect amount of heat (spicy but didn't burn my mouth) and the fresh vegetables complemented the curry deliciously. And the cake? Well, I didn't have any, as both Managing Editor Elizabeth and I are currently on Kris Carr's 21-day cleanse (I know I know, I'm doing it again, but it's much better this time I swear!). Luckily, Elizabeth and I had the good sense to put our slices in the fridge for safekeeping. All cleanses have to end at some point.

Beans, Bread, & Birthday Cake

The Chef: Colleen and Frankie

The Menu: Slow-cooked, cumin seasoned black beans served with vegan sour cream, fresh guacamole, and chutney paired with a simple, crunchy side salad filled with grated carrot, mixed greens, and onion. Colleen rounded out this lovely meal with rosemary dusted roasted potatoes and Frankie brought homemade carrot and thyme bread.

The Goods: Happy Birthday, Elizabeth! Per office policy, Elizabeth spent her birthday—which was yesterday—relaxing and celebrating with friends, but per another office policy, we saw fit to continue the celebration today. VN's resident pastry chef Colleen baked a mouthwatering, rich cocoa and raspberry-filled cake covered in a sumptuous, vegan buttercream icing, topped with drizzled chocolate over ripe raspberries. Lets just say that this cake made us wish birthdays happened everyday.

Birthday Wellington

The Chef: Native Foods, Colleen, and Frankie

The Menu: In honor of Chas' birthday, we dined on the new Spring Wellington from Native Foods. This delicious, seasonal spin on Native Foods' autumn standard was packed with mushrooms, mashed potatoes, kale, peas, asparagus, and carrots all wrapped in a flaky, crunchy puff pastry and topped with rich, smooth Hollandaise sauce. Colleen balanced our hearty main course with a splendid, veggie-filled side salad, and Frankie added color to our plates with punchy, pickled cauliflower.

The Goods: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHAS! We couldn't be more thrilled to celebrate this special occasion with Chas, who is truly a member of the VN family. After toasting to Chas and enjoying a lovely, hearty meal we indulged in the requisite birthday dessert: cake! Colleen made a celebratory strawberry cheesecake with a chocolate-cookie crust and sweet strawberry jam on top. Unfortunately, our gluttony prevented us from photographing said cake before devouring it, but below we're including a picture of Chas with a different cake, mostly because he's the best.

Gracias Madre, Go!

The Chef: Elizabeth and Gracias Madre

The Menu: A never-before-heard-of sandwich called the amazing Gracias Madre lunch special torta with a side of delicious Caesar salad and house made pickles!

The Goods: A little group headed out from the VNHQ today to one of our absolute favorite lunch places, Gracias Madre. Yes, it's possible to eat this exact same sandwich every time you go there and be totally satisfied each and every time. Today we enjoyed the company of Carmen, one of GM's chefs, who tipped us off to a new dessert: a pumpkin cake served with dulce de leche ice cream and a vanilla sauce drizzle. Holy heck. Whether you're celebrating Dia de los Muertos, the Giants' World Series win, or you just want a yummy piece of cake, we definitely recommend picking up a piece of this insanely delicious cake.

South Indian Smorgasbord

The Chef: Jenny

The Menu: Where to even begin? Everything that you see on the plate was amazing, down to the last grain of rice. Speaking of the rice, it was brown with a generous helping of plump raisins. Clockwise from there we had a phenomal broccoli and green pea soup, then a salad with homemade almond-butter dressing. Next to the salad? Oh, just a little coconut-mint chutney. Yeah, you read that right. Next up, a simmered tomato chutney with mustard seeds and a spicy little kick of green chiles. How Jenny manages to come up with these dishes is nothing short of miraculous, and it's fair to say that we like that about her.

The Goods: Today we had a more-official departure celebration for Ms. Katie, whose final day as our editorial assistant is tomorrow. Since we won't have the whole staff here tomorrow, a day in advance seemed like the best time to party. To start the day off, Elizabeth brought in some maple-glazed doughnuts, as they are Katie's favorite. (See below for what happens when you try and put a star-shaped doughnut into oil that's too hot!) Then, Jenny made the amazing lunch you see above. Then, Aurelia made a two-layer vanilla cake with the lemoniest lemon glaze that has ever graced a cake. Unfortunately, the sugar-mad hordes here at the VNHQ devoured the sweet little cake before it had a chance to get photographed. Such is the life of sweets in the office, short and, well, you know....
To make up for it, here's a picture of the doughnut platter, and one of Ms. Katie holding it:

Quinoa and Cake

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: A delicious and nutritious blend of quinoas, both red and regular, topped with Punjab Eggplant (thanks, Trader Joe's!) and tofu. A mixed-greens side salad with sliced red onions, avocado, and a light sprinkling of Daiya finished off the plates.

The Goods: As you may have already read on Press Pass, we had a little something special for dessert today, namely a yummy Almond Milk Chocolate Cake from local confectionery Violet Sweet Shoppe. Um, how can you not eat something this adorable?
We served slices of this behemoth à la mode with scoops of Coconut and Mocha Almond Fudge Purely Decadent with Coconut Milk. Sometimes, when it's Monday you need a little something sweet! To share the sugar, um, figuratively, we have a totally sweet deal! All this week, we'll be giving away Sarah Kramer's latest work, her 2010 Go Vegan! Calendar. Just leave us a comment with your favorite cake-and-ice-cream flavor combination, and we'll pick one winner each day. Go! Comment! Win!

Chili and Cornbread

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Three-bean chili filled with pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, onion, tomato, meat-free hamburger mix, and sweet potato topped with squares of Wholesome Chow Homestyle Cornbread and dollops of We Can't Say It's Sour Cream. Abby baked a fresh batch of tasty, fluffy corn muffins for our chili-dipping pleasure, and completed the meal with a crunchy salad of mixed greens, onion, cabbage, and grated carrot.

The Goods: Nothing is more satisfying on a chilly, cloudy afternoon than a hearty bowl of vegan chili—unless it's a hearty bowl of vegan chili and cornbread. Lets just say that if we weren't pretty big fans of Wholesome Chow before lunch, we definitely are now. Okay, so maybe we were already in love with its line of all-vegan baking mixes before lunch. Seriously, from its perfectly spiced Chai Spice Cake Mix to its exotic Lavender Cake Mix, every product we've taste tested so far has been a home run. In review, we feel a 4pm cake-sized snack maybe be an appropriate afternoon treat.

The Chef: Colleen and Herbivore

The Menu: A marinated kale salad with soy chicken, plus fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and lemon

The Goods: I knew what was in store this afternoon, so I had to keep lunch healthy today. Tomorrow is VN editor Jennifer Chen's birthday, so we celebrated with a homemade vegan German chocolate cake (see below) that was consumed in minutes. But getting back to lunch, we're so fortunate to have the always-reliable Herbivore restaurant just minutes from the VNHQ. With cocoa buttercream, pecan-coconut filling, and chocolate cake on the horizon, I opted for the marinated kale salad with soy chicken. And, as always, it was delicious. Are you in or around San Francisco tonight? Head over to Martuni's for Vegan Drinks! Sponsored by VegNews and Vegansaurus, there will be drink specials, vegan popcorn, and lots of great people. Happy Thursday!

VegNews staffers devoured this multi-tier vegan German chocolate cake. We love birthdays around here!

All Kale Caesar (Salad)

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A hearty, veggie-filled lentil soup perfectly balanced with a fresh kale salad. Our super savory soup consisted of red lentils, celery, carrots, and garlic and was just the warming main course we needed. In classic soup-and-salad combo style, Elizabeth paired our tasty main with a heaping side of kale and apple salad, tossed in a spicy, tangy mustard vinaigrette dressing.

The Goods: We don't know what's happening with the weather, but we're putting in a request that it cease and desist. Lately, our windows shift from sunny skies to heavy downpours within what feels like a matter of minutes, making this soul-satisfying soup and zesty salad exactly what we needed to perk up our moods. Does Elizabeth get extra points for steaming today's soup water in our tea kettle? She just might. Did we follow our delicious lunch with birthday cake leftovers? We just may have. Speaking of cake, if you're planning to bake a birthday cake for a friend or coworker—or, ahem, us—look no further than VN's Recipe Club!

Stick-To-Your-Ribs Chili

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: A creative, stick-to-your-ribs chili made of savory, spicy ingredients including collard greens, diced tomatoes, zucchini, black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, and pieces of Frankie's famous, saucy vegan spare ribs. Abby paired our hearty main course with a light and fruity salad made of spinach, orange slices, tomato, and mango.

The Goods: If you thought our day couldn't get any better than rib-filled chili, you were sadly mistaken. After enjoying this lovely lunch we indulged in a decadent dessert: Banana Split Ice Cream Cake from Maggie Mudd courtesy of Sweet & Sara founder Sara Sohn. Sara sent us the congratulatory cake in honor of VN's 10-year anniversary, and let's just say that we're not complaining. This rich, flavorful cake tasted exactly like a trip to the ice cream shoppe—with frosting on top. Now coasting on an unparalleled sugar high, we're anticipating the end of the work day for a very specific reason: SF Vegan Drinks! We can't wait to mix, mingle, and sip Orange Creamsicle Martinis with other fabulous vegans tonight at Martuni's. Okay, maybe we're a little excited for veggie dogs too. Be sure to swing by on your way home for work for a much-needed, end-of-the-week drink!

Unparalleled Polenta

The Chef: Lisa

The Menu: Crispy Baked Polenta Triangles with (almost) Garden Fresh Ratatouille. If that sounds like more of a serious recipe title than our usual lunch descriptions, you're on to something, but more on that later. Today's intensely flavorful meal combined warm, lovely baked polenta with a sensational ratatouille of eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, and green olives. A light salad that featured avocado and grated carrots and was topped with Lisa's signature blended garlic-Balsamic dressing perfectly complemented the savory main.

The Goods: Yep, you guessed it, you'll be able to find this very recipe (our version today subbed green olives for capers since we were out!) in our quickly forthcoming May+June issue of VegNews! While the veggies weren't fresh from our personal gardens at home, they were fresh from our local produce delivery service, Organic Express. There was an extra-special surprise after lunch today, as Frankie tried her hand at a luscious blueberry cheese(less)cake. It's a good thing we took a photo before the cake was cut, as things took a turn for the messy once we dug into this delightful dessert:

VegNews Annual Thanksgiving Feast!

The Chef: Native Foods Café and Colleen

The Menu: One of our favorite meals of the year featured a Native Foods' Wellington (layers of roasted portobello mushrooms, orange-glazed yams, seitan, organic kale, caramelized onions, and stuffing, all wrapped in a decadent puff pastry), shallot-mushroom gravy, balsamic-roasted Brussels sprouts, homemade cranberry sauce, and Colleen's Holiday Salad with baby greens, dried cranberries, sliced apples, and caramelized pecans. And we haven't even touched dessert yet.

The Goods: The VegNews staff anticipates this day all year long—and for good reason! Have you checked out that menu above? Every year, the week of Thanksgiving, the VN team sits down to a sumptuous vegan Thanksgiving meal that we don't stop talking about until the next feast rolls around. Southern California-based Native Foods Café, once again, provided the incredible centerpiece to our meal: The Native Wellington. If you need a stellar main course for your holiday table, this is it. And they ship overnight anywhere in the country! Of course, a lovely feast such as this has to have a dessert finale, and we went with one of our favorites: VN columnist Beverly Lynn Bennett's Pumpkin Cake with Vanilla Buttercream, straight from our brand-new VegNews Holiday Cookbook. It's a cinch to make, and always a crowd-pleaser. Accompanying the multi-layer cake is some delicious chocolate-peppermint bark made by VN Publisher Joseph Connelly—we couldn't get enough! Check out more mouthwatering photos here, and Happy Tofurky Day to all.

Rice, Beans, and Cake

The Chef: Kristen

The Menu: A delectable, colorful, South-of-the-Border plate filled with whole-wheat tortillas, perfectly fluffy rice, and a scrumptious scramble of black beans, tofu, red bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and spices. An equally attractive salad balanced out the plate, and featured garbanzo beans, crispy tortilla strips, and chunks of avocado.

The Goods: We had a full team back in the office today, which was awfully convenient as we also got to celebrate Abby's birthday. Technically, she was born yesterday (a number of years ago), but we have a pretty fantastic policy that allows employees their birthdays free from work. So, today we had cake. Here's half of it.


We also have some exciting—and potentially depressing—news: VegNews Great Adventure to India is sold out! If you are going, we are super excited to see you in October! If you didn't snag a spot in time, don't despair. We just might be doing this kind of thing again in the future.

Lentil Stew

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The Chef: Anna

The Menu: Lentil stew with carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes, a few olive chips from Food Should Taste Good, and a nectarine for dessert.

The Dish: After a birthday week filled with cake, burritos, deep-dish pizza, and more cake, I was ready for a simple, healthy meal. The recipe for this tasty, hearty stew comes from vegan actress, mom, and superhero Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet, which is one of my favorite vegan-friendly books. Come to think of it, Clueless was one my favorite movies when I was a teenager (hello, freeway scene). Coincidence? I think not. Speaking of the teenage years, check out some veg organizations around the country that are just for kids—like Trix, but with real rabbits instead of a cartoon one who tries to steal your breakfast.