When going vegan, it helps to be able to shop at a grocery
store that works with you. In San Francisco, that store is Rainbow
Grocery. The grocery store contains no meat, poultry, or fish so there are no "temptations of the flesh",
as it were. It does carry dairy products and eggs, but along side those are an abundance of vegetarian and vegan
alternatives. Rainbow Grocery is more than a supermarket. It's sort of a "healthy lifestyle mercantile"
selling everything from yoga mats to vitamins to juicers and sprouting kits.Rainbow Grocery is where I found my favorite cookbook right now, Vegan Planet. I've been cooking from it for the past two weeks, and the recipes haven't disappointed me yet. One I particularly enjoyed was the Pesto Polenta with Mushrooms (recipe follows). It was bursting with bold flavors, although I have to admit that the polenta was crying out for a little butter and cheese. Aside from that, though, I enjoyed the dish and it would make a tasty and impressive dish for entertaining, vegan or not.
More after the jump!











