Tomatoes have been involved in a bit of a PR nightmare lately. First there was the tomato-salmonella scare, and then all fried foods, specifically fried green tomatoes, were banned at this year's Democratic National Convention. If you're not making it to the convention and want to indulge in fried green tomatoes today, try this recipe, which uses a cornmeal crust and has Cajun seasoning in the mix for additional Southern flare.

Fried green tomatoes are easy to veganize, and the results are actually better without an egg wash, which many people may think is necessary. With just a cornmeal coating, the result is much crunchier than what you get with extra, unnecessary ingredients. And if you are trying to achieve that perfect, golden, crispy coating, then you might want to listen to this advice from Wikipedia. I'm no Alton Brown, but the Wikipedia folks seem to make a pretty good case:

"The tomatoes are then pan fried in vegetable oil up to a depth slightly shallower than the thickness of the slices. This keeps the tomatoes from floating, allowing gravity to hold the cornmeal to the bottom side. Oil may be drizzled over the top to allow it to firm up also."

You can enjoy these on a sandwich, as I did, topped with anything from Vegenaise to tempeh bacon. Or try them on their own as a snack or meal.

Raw food—meaning all ingredients are kept under 118°F—has become one of the "it" cuisines, and many gourmet raw restaurants are popping up around the world. There's Pure Food and Wine in NYC and Saf in Europe. And upscale eateries that serve a more traditional menu, such as Charlie Trotter's, have even offered raw tasting menus.

I know the thought of being forced to eat a raw meal, even at a fine dining joint, probably sounds like torture to many of you. We all saw that episode of Sex and the City where Samantha met Smith (I mean, Jerry), right? The girls weren't too pleased with the food. Fortunately, they were just acting and raw food has actually developed into something that is at times delicious, sophisticated, and even indulgent. Don't assume that it's just juiced wheatgrass shots (another SATC episode all together), because it is much, much more.

One recipe that makes an appearance on many raw menus, from fine dining to corner casual, is cashew cheese. When allowed to ferment, it develops a depth of flavor that is lacking in many processed vegan cheeses, so it's a great alternative for people who are looking for more complexity. One of the best ways to experience the full flavor is by serving it up like old-school cheese and crackers.

Try this recipe from the Charlie Trotter Raw cookbook, and for more on raw food, check out our new Chef of the Month profile of Sarma Melngailis, proprietor of Pure Food and Wine.

Grits are a close cousin of the more commonly known polenta. And by close, I mean first cousins, raised together, possibly in the same house—and heck, maybe they even secretly have the same father. That's how similar the two are. I almost always choose grits over polenta (I am from the South!), but every once in a while I like to go with the creamier texture of polenta.

Various preparations of polenta, or cornmeal mush, can be found worldwide. Here in the U.S.—and more specifically, in my home—it's often used in Italian-inspired dishes such as the one here.

My polenta is spiked with a few vegetables to give a little contrast to the texture and then topped with a homemade tomato sauce that I also use for Spaghetti and Soy Meatballs. I finished off the dish with a few sautéed veggies of choice—and this time I chose mushrooms, onions, and spinach. One tip for making the dish more savory is to replace some of the water with vegetable stock, or just add a little "No Chicken Base" Better Than Bouillon. The result is a little richer and very comforting.

A little side note for all of you bloggers reading this: The PETA Files just launched the first-ever "Sexiest Vegetarian Blogger" contest. Head over there to nominate yourself or someone you know!

Muffins can be considered dessert and breakfast rolled into one. It's not a breakfast that one should indulge in often (as is true with most popular breakfast foods—think French toast and pancakes), but the occasional splurge in a morning sugar rush probably won't hurt.

To make vegan muffins, you can use a variety of egg replacers, from Ener-G to ground flaxseeds to applesauce. My favorite, however, is mashed bananas.

Bananas add extra flavor to baked goods and a healthy dose of potassium. They kind of take away from the "I'm a rebel eating dessert for breakfast" thing, but don't worry—only slightly. Enjoy!

Way back in 1984, the late President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month. I'm not sure if he would have used the words "ice cream" to include those made from soy, rice, and almond milks, but we sure as hell will!

Many people know where to find nondairy ice cream these days—just about every grocery store out there carries at least one brand—but many people may not realize that vegan versions of all the other goodies that go along with ice cream (and are deemed essential by me) are also available at your average local grocery store. So to celebrate National Ice Cream Month this year, let's focus on the "accidentally vegan" toppings that are more easy to find than you may think.

For my Rocky Roadesque Ice Cream Bowl that is loaded with all the extras, you'll need the following accidentally vegan items to go with your favorite dairy-free ice cream, and yes, I'll give specific brands so that you'll know exactly what to get:

•Waffle Cone Bowls: Perhaps the greatest invention ever. The taste of a waffle cone but in a bowl shape so that it can be piled high with toppings. I used Kroger brand.

•Chocolate Syrup: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup is vegan.

•Marshmallow Topping: Smucker's Marshmallow Topping is actually vegan! It's runny and ooey-gooey, which is perfect for this treat.

•Chopped Nuts: Unless they have an additional flavor added, they should be vegan.

•Cherries: Use fresh, frozen, or bottled—they should all be vegan.

To create the Rocky Roadesque treat, add a generous scoop of slightly softened dairy-free vanilla ice cream to a small mixing bowl. Drizzle both the chocolate and marshmallow topping over the ice cream in thin streams. With the dull side of a knife, gently swirl the two toppings into the ice cream, being careful not to overdo it. You only want thin ribbons swirled throughout.

Carefully add the mixture to one of the waffle cone bowls, top with additional marshmallow and chocolate, if desired, then add chopped nuts and cherries. Finally, chow down!

For more information on "accidentally vegan" items available in your local grocery store, check out our shopping guide.

There aren't many foods I dislike. Some foods don't make it onto my plate often, but I usually won't go so far as to say I don't like them. For me, food is all about experimenting, trying new cuisines, and trying new ingredients, so I cannot fathom limiting myself by saying I won't eat a certain vegetable or herb.

With that said, there is one thing that I have been very close to disliking for the last 10 years or so—cucumbers. They're not exotic, nor do they have an extreme flavor that takes getting used to, but for some reason it has been difficult for me to warm up to their taste.

Unwilling to give up on any food, I decided to try cucumbers in a variety of recipes over the years, just hoping to find one preparation that I like, and finally, I did. Cucumber noodles are light and juicy and make cucumbers not just something I can stand, but something I love. You can use a vegetable peeler to create long noodle-like ribbons of raw cucumber, which mellows out the flavor a bit and alters the texture so that it's softer than what you might be used to.

The ribbons make the perfect background for a light salad that could be either Asian or Italian inspired. The key to this recipe for an Italian cucumber-tomato-basil salad is finding the freshest, most flavorful basil you can, because it will really carry the dish. Enjoy!

Many Asian dishes come served with a side of rice or noodles, and those rice and noodles often come with a healthy dose of calories. One serving isn't bad at all, but if you're like me, you can't eat just one, and the multiple servings definitely increase the number of calories—fast.

Starches are often necessary to cut the heat of Asian recipes, so simply omitting that extra item isn't always an option, but you can try replacing the starch with a lower-calorie food. Lettuce wraps are the perfect way to indulge in flavorful Asian cuisine without breaking the scale.

These Thai tofu wraps are very simple and focus on just the tofu, sauce, and garnish. The tofu is made spicy with a little Thai pepper, but I like to nearly catch my mouth on fire by adding a few drops of Sriracha too. Enjoy!

There are two great restaurants where I have worked that each have their own unique take on a peanut sauce. At The Grit, it is a thick and sort of sweet condiment that often looked more like a peanut butter rather than a peanut sauce—and it is delicious, of course. At Real Food Daily, the sauce is thinner—more like a dressing—and mixed with cayenne and chili flakes for some kick.

The RFD sauce is the type I prefer (and have attempted to recreate here), but I like to combine it with The Grit's serving style—as a dipping sauce for crunchy, steamed broccoli.

The result is spicy peanut broccoli that has a full broccoli flavor. Sautéing the sauce and veggie together sometimes coats the broccoli too much, masking the flavor. But by dipping, you can make sure you get the ratio just right. If "full flavored broccoli" isn't for you, go ahead and just smother it with the sauce. It will be delicious too.

Jambalaya is one of those New Orleans menu staples that is so common that you would be hard-pressed to find a restaurant that doesn't offer it to patrons—right along with po' boys and gumbo.

To many outside the Deep South, there is still some confusion over exactly what the differences are between gumbo and jambalaya. Yes, they are both rice dishes that start with the trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery. Yes, they can both be cooked with the same meats, seafood, or faux meats. And yes, they can even have some of the same seasonings. Many similarities, but the results are two very different dishes.

Gumbo is usually prepared more like a soup that is served over rice, while Jambalaya is usually made by cooking the rice in one pot with all the other ingredients, the result of which is closer to a pilaf or paella than a soup. Gumbo is made with a roux and thickened with okra or filé powder, and Jambalaya is made thick simply by the ratio of stock to rice.

There are two different methods of preparing Jambalaya, and both are very common—Cajun and Creole. The Cajun version is made without tomatoes, while the Creole version is made with them.

The recipe below is for the Creole version and contains Morningstar Farms Chik'n, but you can play around with a variety of faux meats. Throw in a little veggie sausage or veggie shrimp—get crazy with it!

Citrus is often used to cleanse the palate, which is great after eating food that is very rich, salty, or fatty. A lesser known use is consuming citrus, especially lemon, to make you feel less full during or after a meal—this can be a very dangerous thing.

Using lemon to create what feels like an extra square inch or two in your tummy during an occasional indulgent meal isn't really a problem, but when you've incorporated lemon into an everyday dessert, like cookies, and you realize that you could literally eat all of them, well, that might not be so good.

The lemon sugar cookie recipe below contains a healthy dose of sugar, margarine, and flour, but the cookies still taste light and refreshing and don't leave you feeling very full, so you are tricked into eating too many. Darn lemon! They are delicious, so it might not be too bad…

Enjoy the cookies, but eat with caution!

The recipe below is for a tart and sweet vegan cheesecake that is extremely easy to make and has very few ingredients. Yes, the title says "key lime," but I'll go ahead and fess up that I cheated and used normal limes. You can too.

The tartness of the limes, regardless of variety, and the sweetness of the sugar do a good job of blending with the taste of the vegan cream cheese. I've tried many vegan cheesecakes where the flavor of the "cheese" is too strong, but not with this recipe. It's just right.

To make this summertime vegan dessert even easier, just use a prepared graham cracker crust from the store. I used the Kroger brand, which was conveniently labeled as vegan right on the front of the package. Enjoy!

Salsa is a staple at almost any Mexican meal. At Mexican restaurants, it's often the first thing that arrives at the table, and because of the usually gigantic serving size, it's often the last thing left. Many Americanized Mexican restaurants serve what seems to be the standard salsa for American palates—a red tomato-based one that's blended so fine, you can't even tell if other ingredients are in the mix. If this is the only type you've tried, then you're in for a pleasant surprise.

Salsas come in many forms. They can be blended until they're almost a liquid or so chunky that they're closer to a salad. They can be made from a red tomato base or from tomatillos. They can be spiked with spicy peppers or sweetened with peaches. Whether you need a condiment for dinner or dessert, there's a salsa out there that can work.

Black bean and corn is a very common blend for a chunky salsa. And for people who want to skip dips that are loaded with dairy products, this is a great option because it's more filling and more flavorful than a plain tomato and chili blend. You can tweak the ratio of black beans to corn to tomatoes in order to create a salsa that is perfect for you.

To learn more about the history of salsa, check out FoodTimeline.org.