Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Aaaand, this is why I always have food on hand, either in my desk or in the office fridge (even my co-workers know I'm the go-to gal if/when they need something to nibble). It's a wonder what a can of soup or frozen burrito, dried fruit and crackers with hummus can do for you when you're hungry. While I'm not vegetarian anymore, a cobbled-together lunch is better than eating nasty junk food.

Totally agree on the culinary development of certain cultures -- and Asian food is often vegetarian/vegan because of the development of Buddhism and Jainism. Granted, I'm Filipino-American and almost everything has meat in it (thanks to the Spanish influence) or patis (fish sauce, thanks to the southeast Asian influence). While I'm no longer vegetarian, I remember having some long conversations with my grandparents about food...

Anyway, great series and good eating!

I feel silly entering this contest, especially since California Avocados Direct is a local company, but avocados aren't cheap, even when you live in Southern California!

Anyway, mashed avocado on whole wheat toast with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper is divine! And my infant son loves eating it with mashed banana and yogurt.

I'm not a big soda drinker, but I like bubbly juices. There are a few canned brands I enjoy, such as Izze or Ocean Spray. Of course, my favorite thing to drink around the holidays is Martinelli's sparkling cider. I also like drinking mineral water, like Perrier or San Faustino, with juice. My favorite combo is half mineral water, half cranberry juice over ice and with a twist of lime.

Um, what isn't Sriracha good with? I've had it on pizza, pho, eggs, with mayo, on sushi, etc.

My husband does most of the grocery shopping (I'm too easily wowed by options and new products to make it in and out of the grocery store quickly).

But, he's a self-proclaimed little old lady when it comes to grocery shopping -- he goes to certain stores for certain products. For example, he always hits up the clearance section in the Vons/Safeway meat department for special and not-so-special items (lobster tails at 60 percent off or whole, natural chickens at 30 percent off), oft-discounted fresh baked goods at the Fresh & Easy (who partner with Il Fornaio bakery), bulk items from Smart & Final and our local natural foods store for produce.

Oh, there's goat cheese, as well as any number of goat meat dishes my Filipino grandmother or Mexican grandfather can cook up.

Oops! Disregard that comment -- I just reread the recipe and it looks like the vinegar gets discarded anyway...

Sounds like a veggie burger worth eating! Also, looks like you've got a broken link to the Station website in the eatery info up top. There's an extraneous "http://" in the hyperlink.

Okay. I'll be honest. I'm commenting on this because I need to be able to track down this burger in the very near future. Loving your San Diego burger reviews, Erin!

I remember doing this for a elementary school science project at one point or another. It is easy to do and a great way to grow some of your own food, even if you have a black thumb.

My grandma uses ramen noodles for pancit -- she can't be bothered to head to the Filipino grocer for pancit noodles. So, soak your ramen noodles in lukewarm water, smash some cloves of garlic, saute in hot olive oil in a wok, then add shredded carrots and cabbage and some soaked sliced shiitake mushrooms.

Cook the veggies down a little bit, add the soaked ramen noodles, and, if you like, the seasoning packet or seasoned salt. This is also where you can add bits of diced cooked meat if you like (think leftover bits of chicken breast, pork or beef). If you're using shrimp, just toss the raw diced bits in and let it cook alongside the stir-frying noodles. I've also been known to add shredded inari skins. If you're using cooked shrimp, just toss in at the last minute so they warm up, but don't get tough.

Once the noodles are tender to your liking, serve up individual plates and garnish with diced green onion, lemon or calamansi juice, and/or chopped boiled egg. Delicious!