Serve these on whole wheat toast with Mushroom Sauce over the top. These are wonderful with some roasted asparagus on the side.

Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6

1/4 cup water
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped cauliflower pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli pieces
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pound firm tofu (not silken)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the water, mushrooms, onions, cauliflower, broccoli and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce into a saucepan and saute until vegetables are crisp tender and liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Place the tofu, remaining soy sauce and turmeric in a food processor and process until fairly smooth. Remove from processor and place in bowl. Add the flour and baking powder to the tofu mixture. Mix well, then add the vegetables. Mix again and form into 6 patties, 3 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Place on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, turn over and bake for 15 minutes longer.Courtesy of The McDougall Dec 2006 Newsletter

This is a spicy variation of a delicious pumpkin soup with black beans that I have been making for years. This tastes great and is easy to make too!Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4

4 cups vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon chipotle powder
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
¾ cup salsa, mild, medium or hot

Place 1/3 cup of the broth in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes, then add the chili powder, cumin and chipotle powder. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes,stirring occasionally to make sure the pumpkin is well mixed into the broth.

Hint: This is wonderful with a scoop of hot brown rice added to each individual serving bowl.

Courtesy of The McDougall Dec 2006 Newsletter

This is a spicy variation of a delicious pumpkin soup with black beans that I have been making for years. This tastes great and is easy to make too!Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4

4 cups vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon chipotle powder
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
¾ cup salsa, mild, medium or hot

Place 1/3 cup of the broth in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes, then add the chili powder, cumin and chipotle powder. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes,stirring occasionally to make sure the pumpkin is well mixed into the broth.

Hint: This is wonderful with a scoop of hot brown rice added to each individual serving bowl.

Courtesy of The McDougall Dec 2006 Newsletter

This rice dish is made with a Thai green curry paste that is sold in Asian markets, natural food stores and some supermarkets. To vary this recipe, try making it with red curry paste instead of the green curry paste.Preparation Time: 20 minutes (cooked rice needed)
Cooking Time: 12 minutes
Servings: 4

1/3 cup vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons green curry paste
2 cups chopped Napa cabbage
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup snap peas
½ cup soy sauce
4 cups cooked long grain brown rice
1 tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Thai basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Place the broth in a large pot along with the onion, bell peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste. Add the cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peas and soy sauce. Mix well, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and cook until heated through, about 2-3 minutes.

Hint: Curry pastes are quite spicy so you may want to start out with the smaller amount and add more to taste. If you can’t find fresh Thai basil, just use the fresh basil found in the produce department of your supermarket.

Courtesy of The McDougall Dec 2006 Newsletter

website: http://www.olivegarden.com

cuisine: Italian, chain restaurant

From Olive Garden website:

Which menu selections are vegetarian?

A few of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly meet the criteria. Depending on your personal philosophy, we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan:

Minestrone soup (vegetable and mushroom base; no meat protein)
Garden Salad (without dressing)
Marinara Sauce (mushroom base; no meat protein)
Capellini Pomodoro
Eggplant Parmigiana
Fettuccine Alfredo

website: http://www.chilis.com

cuisine: American, Chain Restaurant

Good news! Chili’s has a dietitian and they made some suggestions.

* Corn Tortillas
* Salad without cheeses, meats, fried tortilla strips or croutons (choose dressings below only)
* Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
* Low-fat Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
* Pico de Gallo
* Salsa Picante
* Rice
* Guacamole
* Black Beans
* Steamed Veggies – Corn on the Cob, Broccoli, and/or Fresh Veggies (request no oil or butter)
* Sliced Tomatoes, Onions and/or Bell Pepper (raw)
* Marinara Sauce
* Kiddie Wheat Bun

** Please note that our Black Bean burger is not vegan friendly and contains dairy
ingredients (patty).

My suggestions: Chips and Salsa with Guacamole or a Steamed Veggies with Rice and Black Beans – add salsa and guacamole on the side.

website: http://www.tgifridays.com

cuisine: American Chain Restaurant

Not so TGI…:-( Heather at Guest Relations sent me a friendly message saying that they did not have a list of ingredients so she couldn’t make any suggestions.

My Suggestions: Salad (minus meats and cheeses) and maybe some others. Still waiting for answers.

update: from TGI Fridays

Our menu offers a wide variety of cravable items which are prepared by our staff using our proprietary recipes. Although we have great procedures in place, any deviation from our recipe would alter nutritional information. Deviation could simply mean the restaurant substituted one of the ingredients from a different or local vendor. I do not have the recipe or ingredient statements available for the Vegetable Grill; therefore, I could not tell you whether or not it is Vegan.

We appreciate your interest in T.G.I. Friday’s.

Pam
Guest Relations

website: http://bucadibeppo.com

category: Italian, Chain Restaurant
Vegan Options:

* House Bread
* Bruschetta
* Spaghetti w/Marinara
* Escarole
* Green Beans
* Tuscan Beans and Escarole
* Roasted Veggies

No on the Garlic Bread without cheese becauuse it contains butter. Too bad its not made from Olive oil. (SIGH)

My Suggestions: Spaghetti w/ Marinara, Bread with olive oil and some Roasted Vegetables. Nice.

website: http://www.carrows.com

cuisine: American, chain restaurant
So Carrows won’t make a good choice for vegans. Unfortunate. 24 hour places are great .

According to Faye, their Manager of Guest Services, the bread contains eggs and milk and the pasta may contain egg. BOO!

Salads (minus dressing), fruit salad and possibly a baked potato are my suggestions.

website: http://www.amicis.com/

Downtown location:

225 W. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408-289-9000 fax: 408-289-9057
Hours: Mon~Thu 11AM to 10 PM Friday 11 AM to 11 PM
Saturday 11:30 AM to 11 PM Sunday 11:30 AM to 10 PM

cuisine: italian

This is from Peter Cooperstein, President of Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria

“There is no lard at Amici’s. All fats are butter, soy oil (regular & partially hydrogenated), olive oil & mayo.

Vegan pasta options:

Noodles: pene, linguini, spaghetti {note: fettucini & ravioli are veggie, but not vegan}

Pasta sauces: marinara; pesto (ask for no cheese); primavera (ask for no cheese)

Also, our “Veggie” pizza ordered with no cheese would be vegan.

Does your soy cheese contain Casein?
Unfortunately, it does. We’re looking into products without casein, but without much luck.

**Recommendations: Linquini with Marinara sauce (no cheese) and the Veggie Pizza with Pesto Sauce …add roasted garlic too if you dare! …remember to say No cheese enjoy!