Life often delivers pleasant little surprises, and for me they often come in the form of food. I recently found a vegan breakfast bar at a local grocery store, complete with biscuits, gravy, and tofu scramble—I had to pinch myself to make sure I was awake. Other times, it happens when I find unexpectedly vegan items, such as the Trader Joe's candy cane Oreo-type cookies.

You can experience this "Oh my god, I can't believe that's vegan" joy—over and over again—by checking out the list of accidentally vegan foods. These are brands you recognize and items you see in almost every grocery store, and you probably just assumed that they had eggs, dairy, or something else in them.

One of the highlights for me was finding Bisquick on that list, because vegan pancakes can be kinda hard to come by in restaurants, and for some reason I can't seem to master making them from scratch.

My friend Joel, who happens to be obsessed with SMILES fries, says that I am "against processed foods," but it's more accurate to say that I don't like to eat them all the time. In moderation, they're just fine. And if you want foolproof pancakes, just like those from a local diner, then this is the perfect time.

After feasting on stuffing, green bean casserole, pies, cookies, and more over the last month and a half, I'm finally in the mood for something a little healthier, and I hear a salad calling my name. I decided to try this mock tuna salad—made mostly from chickpeas, veggies, and a small amount of vegan mayonnaise—over a bed of greens, but you could try it on a sandwich too.

Now, I have no clue if this salad actually tastes like the one it's named after—it's been way too long for me to remember—but regardless, it was yummy and satisfying. You can find this recipe and other easy, healthy salads in VegCooking.com's recipe database.

Happy New Year!

Having about 30 people, only part of my large family, visit for Christmas brought back memories of the city we're all from—New Orleans. I know I've said it before, but it's nearly impossible to think of the city and not think of food. Cajun and Creole classics typically come to mind first, but there is one New Orleans original recipe with an Italian influence—the Muffuletta.

The often-massive sandwich consists of four main elements and can easily be veganized: a variety of deli slices, cheese, round Italian bread (if you can find it), and, most importantly, the olive salad. The salad is usually made from olives, capers, carrots, celery, and garlic, which combine to create the unique flavor and potent smell of the sandwich.

Unless you want to anger a ragin' Cajun, the sandwich should be served at room temperature. WhatsCookingAmerica.net makes it clear that "it is considered blasphemy to heat the sandwich." For more info on the correct way to prepare the sandwich and to learn about the sandwich's history, check out GumboPages.com or Colorpro.com, to name just a couple.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret for a good recipe that looks and tastes harder to make than it is—Panko-Encrusted Dijon Seitan. I am a firm believer that panko breadcrumbs make most recipes somehow seem fancier than they really are. I bet the light and crisp crumbs would turn even a plain hunk of tofu into a mouthwatering treat—OK, that is a bit of a stretch, but they do add a lot to the simplest of dishes.

My seitan was served over a parsnip purée with roasted red potatoes and garlic on the side—also very easy to make—but will go with almost any veggies you like. Enjoy.

The Food Network and Rachael Ray cleverly explain the name of pasta puttanesca as follows: "This sauce is named for ladies of the night. They would place pots of it in their windows to tempt men into the bordellos. I like it because it's spicy, fast, and easy (…no disrespect to the ladies)."

If that description wasn't intriguing enough, then maybe reading over the list of ingredients for our vegan version will be—kalamata olives, capers, red pepper flakes, slivers of garlic, basil, and brine. And if you don't like it as spicy as a "lady of the night," tone it down by reducing the amount of red pepper in the sauce.

As promised in the introduction to yesterday's interview with Skinny Bitch in the Kitch author Rory Freedman, here is a recipe I've tested from the book. I must admit that I chose the simple and classic Caesar salad because it's usually a bit harder to impress with recipes that are fairly basic. It was my challenge to the authors to wow me—and they did.

The veganized Caesar contains homemade whole wheat croutons that are covered in herbes de Provence and is tossed in a good amount of Caesar dressing. Their recipe replaces traditionally used anchovies with umami-rich kelp to create the depth and savory elements that are often missing from vegan Caesar recipes. I definitely appreciate the effort to replace the animal products in recipes with a vegan equivalent, instead of just omitting them. Based on the success of this dressing recipe alone, I can't wait to try more from the book.

Don't forget to check out yesterday's interview with Rory Freedman if you haven't already!

Having lived in both Atlanta and Los Angeles has spoiled me, as far as finding a good Mexican restaurant goes. In both cities, you can often find an abundance of options within any given 5-mile radius. Whether you're looking for a quick burrito, sit-down Tex-Mex, authentic dishes, or just a mariachi band, you can find it in L.A. or the ATL.

Because of this constant exposure, along with my time as a server at Mexicali Grille, I've developed a deep love for—more like an obsession with—Mexican food.

Luckily for me, the Tex-Mex classics that I enjoy most can be easily veganized. You can use beans to replace the meat in most dishes, or you can substitute faux meats such as "chicken" strips or veggie crumbles. Soy cheese that actually melts has made classics, such as quesadillas, a vegan reality.

The recipe below is even better than the veggie quesadillas I remember eating in high school. My best friend Erin and I would visit the local El Azteca on almost a daily basis, so I got to know its quesadillas very well. I obviously loved the food, but the quesadillas always seemed to be lacking in seasonings. Fortunately, this one gets it right with the dash of chili powder, cumin, and cilantro, all inside the grilled tortilla.

Egg salad sandwiches were a weekly, if not semiweekly, lunch in my house growing up. I can still see my mom mixing the ingredients—always on a plate, never in a bowl—and then adding a scoop to her untoasted bread and topping it with a slice of dairy cheese.

Now that I'm older—and quite rebellious—I make a vegan version of the sandwich, but of course I do it my own way.

One of the best things about this recipe, which starts with mashed tofu, is that it's much easier to make than the classic recipe. There's no boiling, no peeling—just mashing. Some recipes call for half tofu and half mashed chickpeas, which sounds good, but I've yet to try it. You then add other ingredients commonly found in egg salad—pickle, celery, mustard, onion, parsley, or any others you like—and turmeric for the yellow color. It's finished with a dash—or if you're like me, a lot—of salt and pepper.

I serve my sandwich on toasted bread and opt out of the soy cheese slice on top—take that, Mom! The result isn't exactly like the original—I don't think that's the point—but it is similar. Just close enough that I can see my mother's influence, but different enough so that I can call it my own.

As promised yesterday, here's a great idea for your leftover soy meatballs from my spaghetti and meatballs recipe: a meatball sub!

Meatballs, made from vegan ground-beef-flavor Gimme Lean, taste even better the next day, after they have soaked in your homemade marinara sauce overnight. When the meatballs are added to a toasted hoagie roll and topped with warm vegan mozzarella, you'll forget all about that spaghetti you ate them with last night and appreciate their newfound form in all its messy glory.

This classic deli sub is so satisfying that you'll probably be tempted to whip up a whole new batch of soy meatballs, so be prepared. Enjoy!

Pesto is traditionally made from only a few key ingredients—basil, garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese. Of course, there are variations, but most recipes include these four ingredients. This means that the classic sauce is naturally vegetarian and can be easily veganized by omitting the cheese or replacing it with a vegan alternative.

Warm pasta enhances the flavors of this pungent sauce, but it's definitely not your only option for serving. Get a little crazy and try it on pizza, on a sandwich, as a marinade for tofu before it is baked, or even in lasagne.

Grilling season is officially here, and I couldn't be happier. We just set up a new grill outside this weekend and have already used it about five times.

The great thing about grilling is that little preparation is required for most of the foods you might throw on the grill. Most veggies can get just a quick coat of olive oil and salt, and then they're ready for the flames. You can add frozen veggie burgers and some veggie hot dogs for a quick meal, or even tofu. Marinated and seasoned pieces of tofu cut into card-deck-size pieces hold up surprisingly well on most grills.

The one vegetable I was most excited about grilling up this year is asparagus. I love cooking it for only about four minutes, making sure it's not overdone. This allows it to retain a bit of its crispiness and keeps the spears from getting stringy when you bite into them.

Whole wheat pasta is one alternative to white pasta, but with more nutrients and more flavor, in my opinion. I know that some people are afraid of trying the denser, grainier, healthier, and browner pasta, but if you don't expect it to taste just like the white stuff, then you'll be one step closer to enjoying it.

Whole wheat pasta should be appreciated for its own unique qualities and paired with appropriate flavors. That's exactly why I chose to couple it with a mushroom "cream" sauce in this easy yet rich dish.

The mushrooms complement the earthiness of the pasta and add the umami flavor essential in any savory dish. The "cream" sauce adds contrast, and then it's finished with parsley and lemon to lighten things up just enough to keep the dish from becoming too heavy and monotonous. Enjoy!

Spring and summer are the perfect time to load up on healthy salads. Sure, fresh produce is plentiful and there's that whole heat thing that keeps us from craving, oh, let's say, a stew, but I will fess up that just a teeny part of my motivation for leaning toward salads does come from a little thing called a swimsuit.

Getting in shape for the summer and swimsuit season is something I always strive for—and only sometimes accomplish. I find that having a few healthy salads in my menu rotation helps get me in shape faster, and variations of the chickpea salad below show up very often.

I broke out of the "salad must contain lettuce" mind-frame a long time ago, and now I like to center my salads around beans because they are both filling and healthy. You can try salads with chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, or black-eyed peas—they're all delicious. However, it is important to remember that beans have way more calories than iceberg lettuce, so check out that nutritional information on the back of the can if you are trying to slim down. Also, remember that salad is no longer a health food if you top it with an entire bottle (or anywhere close to that amount) of vegan ranch dressing, so use it sparingly!

Many of you already know I'm completely obsessed with Gourmet magazine, which is why so many of its recipes show up here. Today's is no exception. I was trolling Epicurious for a summery salad to complement today's beautiful weather, and this couscous salad with raisins, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, and more jumped out at me. I then realized that it is, of course, from Gourmet.

The salad is described as an African-Sicilian hybrid—the couscous is a typical North African ingredient, and the raisins, garlic, olives, capers, peppers, and pine nuts are typical Sicilian ingredients. I've never had the pleasure of visiting Sicily myself, so until then I'll be forced to experience the Italian island through its cuisine.

It was a pleasure to "visit" Sicily through this salad because in addition to the rich flavors from the olives, capers, and garlic, it was easy to make. The salad took no time at all to prepare because very little cooking is required—perfect for these beautiful long days when I'd rather spend more time outside than behind a stove.

Many, myself included, think of panini as just a grilled sandwich with a golden to dark brown color and those perfect little lines across the bread. But grilling isn't necessarily a panini requirement, and you can serve them minus the marks—but I don't know why you'd want to do a thing like that. My favorite part of a panini is the crispy bread and the cute lines.

I also love being able to choose a variety of fillings that are forced to be pressed together into one compact little sandwich. After watching last week's Top Chef and seeing that both teams made some sort of beef dish with a horseradish sauce, I decided I needed to play off those flavors to create my own (vegan) panini.

The meatiness of portobello mushrooms was naturally my first choice, and to add even more flavor I sautéed the strips in a dash of liquid smoke and olive oil. The creaminess—and kick!—of the horseradish sauce was the perfect complement to all the veggies.

Yesterday's post featured a light, citrusy vinaigrette made of orange juice and champagne vinegar, and as promised, here's a great salad to pair it with. Yes, the vinaigrette is delicious served over just a bed of field greens, but I like to get a little crazy and do a lot more with it. You should too.

Since it's getting warm outside, I decided to pair the vinaigrette with a few of my favorite ingredients that make me think of spring and summer—hearts of palm and avocados. They are both commonly found in Caribbean cuisine, and that's exactly why I like eating them when it's warm out.

Hearts of palm are literally the hearts of some palm trees. Their flavor is very mild, and their texture is interesting and similar to a marinated artichoke heart. The first time I tried them was at a Cuban restaurant in L.A.; they were used as the filling in empanadas. For at least 10 minutes, I was convinced that the soft white filling was fish, but I was eventually convinced that it was in fact a vegetable that would quickly become one of my favorites.

You can try hearts of palm in fritters, salads, and empanadas, and they might even make a good taco filling. And I wonder how they would taste grilled…

Please let me know if you have any good hearts of palm recipes or prep methods that you'd like to share!

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.