I made this recipe for the first time when I was invited to a summertime party at the house of a former coworker and great friend, Patrick. This was back in the day when I was still working at The Grit, where many of my coworkers were just as food-obsessed as I am, especially Patrick. He is one of the few people on the planet with whom I can have a really engaging conversation about food. Our conversations about dream menus, wine pairings, and the merits of oyster mushrooms are works of art in themselves. Of course, my competitive side kicked in when I realized I would be cooking for Patrick and the other employees at The Grit. How could it not? I was going to be cooking for the very people who spend their days making food for others. I decided that comfort food done well would be the way to go.

I found a yummy recipe for BBQ tempeh sandwiches and decided that with a few of my own additions, the sandwiches would be the perfect dish for a Southern summer party. In between taking turns on the Slip 'n Slide and playing rounds of Never Have I Ever, we found the time to scarf down our food, and the sandwiches were a huge success—which was much-needed redemption after the embarrassing truths I revealed during Never Have I Ever. Meat-eaters and vegetarians alike raved that this was the best tempeh they had ever tried. Cooking the tempeh for a long period of time lets it slowly absorb all the liquid until it has a soft texture but isn't mushy. The chipotle powder in the BBQ sauce really has kick—the cool slaw on top provides a perfect balance to the heat and a nice crunchy texture.

Using the Five and Ten recipe as inspiration, I decided to try a watermelon-jalapeño salad that downplays the sweetness of the watermelon, making it seem less dessert-like. The acidity of the lime juice and the vinegar helped with this, as did the salt, but of course the sweetness was still shining through. I was surprised to find that the sweet juiciness of the watermelon was actually complemented perfectly by the spiciness of the jalapeño—not in competition with it, as I always was with my little brother.

With football season just around the corner, I decided to start sending the New Orleans Saints positive vibes by making a little ragin' Cajun feast. I was hoping that the spiciness of my side of vegetables would be enough to create some weird cosmic heat wave that would somehow reach the players and light a fire underneath them this season. I'm doubtful this actually worked, but I gotta believe it didn't hurt.

My feast consisted of mock crab cakes, hushpuppies—lovingly referred to as "shut up dogs" by my little brother—and low-country boil vegetables. The recipe for the cakes was provided by Sluggo's in Pensacola, Florida. The flavor was delicious, but they were extremely delicate. My first attempt ended with the cakes broken into small pieces and submerged in an oil bath. After adding extra breadcrumbs, reducing the amount of oil, and placing the formed cakes in the fridge for an hour before frying, they turned out perfectly.

The hushpuppies were much fancier than what I remember eating as a child—stuffed with fresh corn, peppers, and soy cheese. I added a pinch of salt to the batter before frying, and they ended up being very light and airy for a hushpuppy. They, too, were delicious.

The cakes and hushpuppies were complemented by a side of vegetables—I thought I should have at least one thing that wasn't fried!—that are standard for a low-country boil: corn on the cob, red potatoes, and whole heads of garlic. I boiled the vegetables in a lot of Cajun seasoning. They were so spicy that I had to take a huge gulp of water after each bite. Hey, I do what I can for my team.

It may be hard to believe, but Oreos are vegan. So, let's take the already-sweet classic cookies, combine them with a lot more sugar, and turn them into cupcakes! This is proof of my firm belief that a dessert can never be too indulgent.

To be honest, I wasn't really into desserts until I started baking them. Sure, I enjoyed cake and soy ice cream as much as the next person, but I never really craved them. Now, I enjoy the science involved in baking. The satisfaction comes from getting the delicate balance among all the ingredients just right—now that is what I crave.

The chocolate cake recipe below is from The Grit's own bakery, where I once worked. Don't worry—the recipe was published in The Grit's cookbook, so it's not like I'm giving away any secrets. These cupcakes are delicious, with a rich chocolaty flavor enhanced by the strong brewed coffee used in the batter. Another added bonus is that the recipe is almost impossible to mess up. Guaranteed success sounds like as good a reason as any to try a recipe, if you ask me.

To find more foods that, like Oreos, are accidentally vegan and easily found in your local grocery store, visit the VegCooking Shopping Guide.

After browsing through several restaurant menus online last week, I started to notice a trend. At Millennium, roasted beets were listed as one of the small plates. At Counter, a roasted beet salad was offered as a mezze dish. And at Blossom, I noticed a tofu and roasted beet salad on the starter menu. Hmm…

I decided to jump on the beet bandwagon and make a salad of my own, using a recipe that tops roasted beets, oranges, and spinach with a Georgia-peanut vinaigrette—a dressing rooted deep in the Dirty South. You can just call it the Dirty Dirty if you'd like. That works too.

I tried to use fancy plating techniques so I would feel like I was eating at one of the above restaurants that I have long wished to visit. My longing started when I was still at The Grit, having nonstop conversations about food with my friend Patrick. We constantly talked about our dream of running away to San Francisco to work in the kitchen at Millennium, but instead of actually doing so, we just settled for reading the restaurant's cookbook. Do all vegan foodies dream of this, or is it just us?

First, you crumble chocolate cookies—I use Oreos—into a fine mess. Drizzle in just enough vegetable oil to bring the crumbs together.

Next, you melt an entire pound of chocolate until smooth, then blend with silken tofu and peppermint extract until creamy.

Finally, pour the creamy chocolate filling into the crispy cookie crust. Top with finely crumbled peppermint pieces and chill.

Thanks to the Tomato Head Restaurant, you'll have a peppermint pattie-like pie that is surprisingly flavorful with so few ingredients. One bite of this pie brought back memories of my mom enjoying her favorite sweet treat, the peppermint pattie. She says they remind her of Christmas—her favorite holiday—and that's why she likes them so much.

Regardless of her good reasons, as a child I had to hate peppermint patties because she loved them—that is, until I was old enough to know better. How could a kid have the same favorite candy as her mother? That just wouldn't be cool. Now that I've seen the light, in the form of the chocolate-mint combo, I enjoy vegan peppermint patties, peppermint pies, minty-chocolate cakes—you name it, I like it. Mom would be so pleased.

It's vegetarian restaurant week! Not sure who started this, when, or even if it's an actual holiday—but I don't care. I see it as an excuse to go out to eat as much as possible this week and to scour the Internet for news on new veg restaurants.

We will start off the week by posting a little veg restaurant roundup, courtesy of Ryan. This is just a teeny tiny sampling of vegetarian restaurants around the country—more to come later in the week, I promise.

Ronald's Donuts

That's right, there's a vegan doughnut shop located in Sin City, Las Vegas. I've been told that Ronald's doughnuts are not only the best doughnuts in the entire city but also the best vegan doughnuts in the country. Ryan said, "We're talking Boston creme donuts, bear claws, glazed, jelly-filled goodness. But I've already said too much. I'll let the pictures do the talking." Clearly, other vegan doughnuts simply do not compare.

Soul Vegetarian

After eating a plate full of BBQ tofu, mac 'n' "cheese," and collard greens, compliments of Soul V in Atlanta, Ryan felt compelled to announce, "This meal has enough soul in it to make James Brown look like Woody Allen." 'Nuff said.

Sublime

Sublime is the famous and fancy vegetarian restaurant located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that is frequented by Pam, Alicia, Alec, and even Bob Barker. After sampling a dessert plate, my friend Ryan said, "Brownies, coconut 'creme' donuts, and pudding for all! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, life is tough." I'm sensing sarcasm.

Be sure to check back later in the week for more reviews, info, and pictures from great vegetarian restaurants around the country. For those of you who are impatient, like me, check out VegCooking's guide to dining out today.

As I promised yesterday, here are some more restaurant reviews for vegetarian restaurant week. I could just talk about the restaurants where I have worked, Real Food Daily and The Grit, but that would be no fun.

Instead, I've decided to branch out a bit and welcome reviews, comments, and photos from my trusty friends and colleagues. Today's restaurant roundup is from another restaurant critic in the making, Pulin.

Veggie Heaven

"There's an amazing restaurant in Austin, Texas, called Veggie Heaven. The food is pretty cheap, very tasty, and quite filling. Yum! Here's a sampling of what I and my crew got last time we were in town for a conference. I don't remember what it's called exactly, but there are some great veggies and some mock meat in this. Pretty balanced meal, if you ask me." I'm going to have to agree with Pulin that this restaurant is amazing. With a menu that ranges from Taipei Lo Mein to Veggie Shrimp Quesadillas, how could it not be?

Red Bamboo

"If you've ever been to NYC, you've heard of Red Bamboo. Here's a photo of the soul chicken as a fairly cheap and filling lunch-special sandwich. The restaurant features amazing entrées plus appetizers and desserts too. And it's just a couple of doors down from another great restaurant, Vegetarian's Paradise 2."

Vegetarian's Paradise 2

I'll admit that I've never been to this restaurant, but after reading Pulin's review above, I did a little investigating. I was amazed to find Fried "Calamari," Maryland "Crabcakes," and Avocado "Crab" Tartare on the restaurant's menu—and those are just a few of the appetizers! Maybe a NYC food expedition is in order?

Stay tuned for more restaurant reviews later this week!

Today's post is a review of treats so sweet that my teeth are aching just from looking at the pictures. Both reviews have been provided by Ashley, whom I envy at this moment for being lucky enough to taste all the sugar-laden confections below. Enjoy.

Vegan Treats Bakery

On my first visit to Vegan Treats Bakery in Bethlehem, Pa., the woman working behind the counter was forced to display saint-like patience while interns Min Hee and Shawn and I spent a full half-hour gawking at the decadent bakery case before we could muster the composure to place our orders.

Not that we could have possibly gone wrong. When you are choosing between such mind-blowing vegan options as an Oreo-crème filled donut, a strawberry shortcake coated with a chocolate shell, and a caramel-nut brownie, there is no such thing as a wrong decision. The best part is the cheesecake—the case with rows of elaborately decorated miniature cheesecakes packs more dazzle than the display case at Harry Winston. They come in tons of flavors—ranging from key lime to chocolate-mint to coconut—and are topped with anything from fruit to gold leaf to chunks of brownies.

And I would be letting my fellow vegans down if I didn't mention that Vegan Treats is famous for its "bomb" cakes, the favorite being the chocolate-peanut butter bomb, a chocolate layer cake with a monster blob of creamy peanut butter frosting on top.

Sticky Fingers Bakery

Tell any vegan that you live in Washington, D.C., and the first words out of his or her mouth won't have anything to do with the White House or the Lincoln Memorial—all he or she will want to know is how close you live to Sticky Fingers Bakery.

With painted chocolate dripping down its pink walls and the aroma of pastries in the air, Sticky Fingers Bakery is a shrine to sweet, carb-laden vegan comfort food. From Frisbee-sized sticky buns and rich layer cakes to Hostess Suzy Q-style "Devil Dogs" and s'mores cheesecake, the goodies at Sticky Fingers entirely live up to the bakery's motto 'The only thing crunchy about us is our cookies."

In addition to desserts, Sticky Fingers offers pre-made sandwiches like the awesome tempeh BLT as well as entrées like mac and "cheese" and seitan barbecue with mashed potatoes. Sticky Fingers has veggie dogs that can be loaded up with chili and soy-cheese sauce, and the vegan "sausage, egg, and cheese" breakfast sandwiches are so popular that your chances of snagging one if you decide to sleep in on a Saturday are laughably slim.

Get started making your own vegan treats at home, with a little help from our dessert recipes here on VegCooking.

To wrap up vegetarian restaurant week, I'll post three more short reviews from my posse of restaurant critics. One restaurant even serves a vegan cheese that is supposedly just like the "real" thing. Here ya go…

Java Green

Java Green in Washington, D.C., offers a delightful mix of vegan Korean dishes like gimbob rolls and bibim noodles—all of which can be ordered with spicy mock chicken—alongside deli wraps and sandwiches like the Veg Max (soy chicken, soy ham, and soy cheese).

In addition to a full juice and coffee bar, Java Green offers milkshakes as well as my personal favorite: mocha, green-tea, and chocolate "frappes," which can be topped with dense, sweet mounds of vegan whipped cream. Java Green also has a weekend brunch menu that kicks some serious ass—think French toast, tofu scramble, and unbelievable veggie link sausage.

The food is delicious and satisfying but also very healthy—you can really chow down and leave without feeling sluggish or stuffed. The restaurant is always packed with loyal patrons—at my old office, even carnivores would make the 10-block trip to Java Green on their lunch hour. And our Korean intern Min Hee gave Java Green a big thumbs-up for its Korean dishes.

Sage's Cafe

With an all-vegan menu ranging from Italian to Asian selections, Sage's Cafe in Salt Lake City will serve up something that will hit the spot, regardless of what you're in the mood for. The unlikely combination of tahini, guacamole, and pesto make up one of my favorite dishes, the Guac-N-Roll burger. Although they are a bit pricey, you also can't go wrong with any of Sage's pasta dishes. And if you are extra-hungry, try starting off with the lettuce wraps as an appetizer.

Madeleine Bistro

On a recent trip to L.A., I stopped at the famous vegan restaurant Madeleine Bistro. The owner and executive chef, Dave Anderson, is known for his gourmet vegan cuisine with a comfort-food twist. I've heard rumors about Madeleine Bistro's vegan cheeses that taste just like the "real thing," so I just had to try them.

A lunchtime visit started with the vegan cheese plate: Champagne, brie, and farm cheeses decorated the plate and were heavenly! A vegan Big Mac is on the lunch menu, and I just couldn't resist. Just like my childhood favorite, this burger was on a sesame-seed bun with special sauce. It tasted even better than I remembered.

No trip to Madeleine Bistro is complete without dessert. There is an out-of-this-world crème brulée that is better than its egg-based counterpart. A light flick to the caramelized sugar rewards you with the famous snap and leads you to the creamy custard. Divine!

The menu has so many delicious options that it was hard to choose. Next time you're in the City of Angels, be sure to visit Madeleine Bistro for a four-star meal.

Now, they can't all be named "Best Vegetarian" restaurant in the Zagat Guide—as Candle 79 recently was—but each vegetarian restaurant out there is delicious in its own unique way. For more info on vegetarian restaurants around the country, visit VegCooking's Dining Out Guide.

I agree with chef Bonnie Tees that stir-fries are one of the most poorly prepared (and, in my opinion, over prepared) vegetarian menu items out there. If I have to eat another bland burrito, stir-fry, or plate of spaghetti with marinara, so help me God…

With that said, it's nice that in today's food world, vegetarian options have finally expanded beyond the three fallback items above. Restaurants around the world are now more willing to take chances with vegetarian dishes—even if that chance is just an updated version of an old classic.

Chef Bonnie, from Bonnys in Montréal, was sweet enough to share this recipe for cannelloni—the classic tube-shaped pasta that is often stuffed with a creamy filling before being covered in tomato sauce and baked.

I opted to add extra sauce to my "cannelloni" (I had to follow Bonnie's advice and use rolled lasagne sheets because I couldn't find cannelloni), which I learned is now acceptable because The New York Times says so. The result was a comforting dish that surprisingly had even more flavor than I had expected from the minimal ingredients.

I couldn't resist the urge to try Sublime's mushroom stroganoff when I noticed that the recipe calls for espagnole sauce and contains all my favorite mushrooms—cremini, oyster, and shiitake.

Espagnole is a classic brown sauce, typically made from a dark roux, a brown stock, and tomato sauce. The French master sauce is often used as a base for other sauces, such as Madeira and bordelaise, and has a super-rich flavor whether it's on its own or just a base. The richness is exactly why I was happy to see that this recipe asks you to practically smother the mushrooms in the espagnole sauce—I can't get enough.

My local Whole Foods had all the ingredients for the espagnole, but I must admit that making it on your own can be rather labor intensive. If that is out of the question for you, just use a high-quality tomato sauce for this stroganoff instead.

The first time I moved away, I naively thought that I'd find all that Athens, Georgia, had to offer, but on a much larger scale, in bigger cities—I was wrong. I've moved to several cities over the last 10 years, and not one comes close to matching that certain something that can be found only in Athens.

No, it's not just the PBR that gives it spirit. It's the small town, the sense of community, the music, the musicians, the school, the night swimming, the late-night dance parties, the local coffee companies, the late-night dance parties at local coffee companies, and so on. Any place with this much soul and creativity is bound to have delicious food as well, and Athens does.

The Grit is an institution in the Athens food scene, and The New Yorker says it has a "reputation as the indie-rock Moosewood." Ask almost anyone who has been to the mostly musician-staffed restaurant and they will tell you that the Golden Bowl is the must-order item. Cubes of tofu are sautéed until chewy and then coated with generous amounts of nutritional yeast and soy sauce. The double-fried goodness is then served over a scoop of brown rice, and you can add sautéed veggies to the mix if you like. This recipe has been tested hundreds of times by my man, who was a cook at The Grit, so I can vouch that it's a good one. Enjoy.

Raw chef Chad Sarno has agreed to do a guest post for us today that features his recipe for beetroot ravioli with cashew-chive bourson cheese, green-garlic oil, and aged balsamic. Yum. Be sure to visit his site, rawchef.com, and the site of his restaurant, Saf: Simple Authentic Food, after reading the post.

This is one of my favorite and easiest versions of raw ravioli. In my Istanbul and Munich restaurants, we offer many small plates, encouraging our guests to share and experience many options off the menu. I have offered this dish on our opening menu, and it was by far the best selling small plate we offered for the winter. It is a great starter or amusé for any Mediterranean-focused meal, really giving the diner that first delicious introduction of what is to follow. The sweetness of the beetroot and the cashew-based cheese is balanced out very nicely with the acid of the balsamic and spiciness of the garlic oil.

Wine Suggestion: 2005 Gruner Veltliner, Wimmer-Czerny, "Alte Reben Weelfel," Wagram, Austria

The natural acidity of the GV grape is rounded out by rich notes of honeysuckle, pear and a hint of mulling spices softening the sweetness of the cashew-bourson while not conflicting with the garlic oil and balsamic.

If you read PETA's blog, The PETA Files, you probably already know that I and many of my coworkers were attending South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, over the last week. Because of my obsession with Mexican food and our proximity to the border, I had planned on consuming one of my favorite cuisines for every single meal while in Austin—until I came down with the flu, that is.

Before the sickness set in, I was able to check out a few Austin veggie joints and indulge in only one Mexican meal! Here are a few food highlights from my trip:

•Mr. Natural: This all-natural vegetarian restaurant features some of the healthiest Mexican food in Austin. At the Cesar Chavez location, I sampled vegan tamales, brown rice, refried beans, and a carrot-coconut salad (pictured here), all of which were delicious.

•Mothers: I technically didn't get a chance to visit this restaurant, but my friends were sweet enough to deliver one of Mothers' "TLT" sandwiches (tempeh, lettuce, and tomato) to me. The restaurant's menu is quite diverse, featuring veggies, salads, sandwiches, lasagne, stir-fries, and a variety of Tex-Mex options, of course.

•Veggie Heaven: A small vegetarian restaurant that focuses on Asian-inspired dishes. I had to go for the tofu noodle bowl, but other popular menu items include the Protein 2000, bubble teas, and sweet buns.

•Whole Foods: The megastore on Sixth and Lamar was pretty much our home base during the trip. The expansive salad and hot bars offered a ton of vegan options on a daily basis that we couldn't pass on. A few highlights include the grilled pineapple and tostones.

Other than that, I pretty much survived on Clif bars and The Bad Girls Club while fighting through a 103° fever in my hotel room. I guess there's always SXSW 2009 to look forward to, when I can try again to fully explore the Austin food scene and try to make my "all Mexican meals" goal a reality.

Kale is by far my favorite green, and it has been ever since I realized I liked any greens at all. This happened when I worked at Real Food Daily in Santa Monica, a premier organic vegan restaurant with a menu that features veggies of the day.

So with a new green on the menu daily, I began to experiment and try them all. I practically overdosed on mustard greens, collards, Swiss chard, and kale. Well, we did get free leftovers at the end of the night, so I couldn't resist. I loved them all, but kale definitely stood out as my favorite.

This is going to sound incredibly corny, but during this time I realized that I love not only the taste of the leafy green and the fact that it maintains its structure even when cooked until soft but also that each bite makes you feel incredibly healthy. This is no doubt because of the high vitamin and antioxidant content of kale.

I am a purist and love my kale just steamed with a little tamari (also a RFD influence), but every once in a while I like to do more. Below is a recipe for braised kale, but you can also try it in soup, veganized mashed potatoes, or a dip.

Vegan bakeries are popping up all over the country. In many cities, vegans can walk right into what appears to be just your normal bakery, only to find that they can order anything on the menu. I'm obviously insanely jealous because the same is not true in Atlanta (why not?!). Sure, we have coffee shops and Cosmo's that offer vegan baked goods from wholesale bakers, but I need a storefront. I need to walk in the door and see glass cases full of cakes, cookies, and brownies so that I can drool over each. Picking up one brownie covered in plastic wrap off a shelf isn't quite the same as seeing endless, beautiful options.

People who live in D.C. are blessed to have seemingly endless, beautiful options because their city is home to the all-vegan Sticky Fingers Bakery. Yeah, I'm jealous of them too. But at least I can read about the bakery this month on VegCooking.com because we are profiling Ben Adams, the pastry chef from Sticky Fingers Bakery, in our Chef Spotlight. After reading about his training, techniques, and ability to whip up Cinnamon Sticky Buns, Chocolate Love Cake, and I Dream of Cheesecake, you'll be jealous too.

You can read about Ben and Sticky Fingers here.