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My Wife needs to take a vegetarian out to lunch, and would like to see what suggestions members have for places to eat in the Silver Spring area that features a vegetarian menu. Thanks for any input.

Ok, Here is the plan. I'm going to go vegetarian - and possibly Vegan for a while, at least a month possibly three. I haven't gone mad, or changed my philosophy (see my Sig ). the opposite in fact. I want to do this so I appreciate eating meat even more. I don't eat a lot of meat anyway, and I'd like to say that when I do it is only the finest and most humanely reared. But it isn't true - often convenience or finances get in the way. Case in point - last night I ended up buying a pack of the dreaded boneless skinless chicken fillets from the corner shop to put in a chicken and broccoli stir fry. Don't know why I bothered - the broccoli was far more interesting to eat than the chicken. If I can prove to myself that I am content not eating meat - that I don't always have to fall back on it if I can't think of anything else to cook I can stop myself doing it again. As for Vegetarian vs Vegan, I'm still not sure. I do like eggs, and they provide a myriad of quick meal options, but I am sure I can do without. Butter I'll miss for sure and although i love Cheese, i think I can stay away for a while. Not being able to use Parmesan or Pecorino might get tricky though. Actually I might forget the whole Vegan idea - I'm british and need 5 cups of milky tea a day and I am not using soya milk. Maybe I will be extra careful in what I buy - I always buy free range eggs anyway and I can be a bit more watchful on milk, butter and cheese. I also will try and not revolve meals around them - just not be scared of using them as an ingredient. I don't think that is cheating too much, do you? As for the rules I have come up with so far No Meat substitutes. They all look grim anyway. Tofu in it's natural form is fine (I am planning on regular trips to the chinese supermarket anyway) I'm not going to be rigorous in products with animal deriratives. i'll stop eating Anchovies (that will be difficult!) but I'm going to carry on using fish sauce etc. If I eat out I'll try and keep to the rules, but If there is something I really want on the menu, and I'm happ with the provenance of the ingredients then I will have it. I'd like suggestions for other rules I should/could follow. recipe suggestions also greatly appreciated. I suppose I should list my assets/constraints... I only have to cook for myself - occasionally might cook for a friend, but none of them are ravenous carnivores (this will be easier now my South African housemates have moved out!) I can cook reasonably well - nothing too fancy but a good line in pastas, risottos, curries, stir frys - standard bachelor fare. (Going veggie will be infinitely easier for me than low carb!) I don't drive and only have access to shops accessible by walking/public transport. I can get to some decent supermarkets (Waitrose and Sainsburys for those who know UK supermarkets) and also a good chinese supermarket and a few indian local shops (Good for spices and some fresh produce). I can make use of Local farmers markets too, one in Winchester every fortnight and a more local one once a month. I could look at joining an organic veg box scheme too. I don't have a lot of fridge or freezer space - i can't store a huge amount of make ahead stuff. I will be marking a big late summer/harvest minestrone from the farmers market though - but I do that every year! I considered turning this into a blog, but have decided against it. Firstly this is more of a personal thing (Despite me writing about it on the internet!) Secondly i would end up feeling that I had to make the effort to do something interesting every day, not necessarily what I want to eat. I will post updates though, and any good recipes I find/come up with. Phew - bit of a mammoth post, but please, any helpful suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hello eGulleters, I am working on a book and I'm doing a chapter about challenging yourself in the kitchen. The original plan was to make croissants from scratch but the amount of time required for proofing, etc, is too much since my friend who's helping is only here for a day. What's a recipe that can be done in a day that's really really challenging and, oh yeah, vegetarian. (My friend don't eat meat.) Anything you can offer will be much appreciated! Thanks, Adam

There is a great vegetarian Chinese restaurant in LA's San Gabriel Valley called Happy Family. I am looking for the New York equivalent. The menu should be completely vegetarian, not just a Chinese joint with veg options. Any suggestions?

Does anyone know of any good vegetarian restaurants in northern NJ? I am interested in non-Asian or Indian since we already have some favorites. More along the lines of some of the vegetarian dishes offered at Park and Orchard. We would love to find places similar to those we frequented when living in S.F. and Boulder, Colorado. Thanks.

I've been asked to contribute a vegetarian Hawaiian entree and/or salad for a party being thrown for a friend. She is from Hawaii, now living in Seattle, and a vegetarian. The party's hosts would like to surprise her with Hawaiian food, as made by a variety of non-Hawaiians. I am not sure of the wisdom of having a bunch of people attempt a cuisine they are unfamiliar with, as a surprise, but it is not my party, so why not? Since I haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting Hawaii, and have limited time for research, I thought I would see if any of you have bright ideas for me. The party is this Saturday, June 10th, in the late afternoon. Seattle has a decent selection of Asian grocers, so I can probably track down tropical and/or Asian ingredients without too much trouble. I'd appreciate any advice you might have for me.... Thanks, Robin

Frozen Indian foods catch on in US So, have you all tried any of these?

So, our flights have been booked for next Sunday, we're servicing our loyal bikes, the panier bags are coming out of the cupboard and we're checking the tent still has all its poles. Our plan is 10 days of cycling, through the Pelopponnese and Crete, far from the madding crowds, through mountain meadows and forests full of bee hives, with regular visits to pristine hidden beaches. That's the plan. Of course, to make our holiday perfect, some feasting would go down well. I had thought that this would be impossible for my boyfriend, given he's vegetarian (no fish either), since I assumed the options will only be grilled meat, grilled fish, or Greek salad. But having had a look at some of these posts, it seems like there are quite a few really delicious (and popular?) dishes that don't involve meat or fish, but do include delicious things like spinach, fava beans, chick peas etc. So, I'd like to compile a list of Great Greek Dishes that vegetarians can eat, the sort of simple everyday stuff that we might be able to get in a small village taverna. To kick start the list I'm nominating: Briam - I had this about 10 years ago on the island of Amorgos and it was mindblowingly delicious. Potatoes, courgettes, tomatoes and maybe onions and lots of olive oil? All cooked together extremely slowly. I've tried recreating this but never succeeded. It's something I still have fond memories of! Any general advice or additions to the list would be most gratefully appreciated!

Howdy! Having for now turned my back on my coconut obsession (I got a $2 grater at the Vietnamese grocery which doesn't work very well at all) I've turned my front to pickling. I tried two pickles from Julie Sahni's books today, a lemon pickle from Classic Indian Cooking and a carrot pickle in mustard oil from her Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking. The lemon pickle calls for 6 lemons to be stuffed with cumin, pepper and salt, stuffed in a jar with the juice of 3 lemons poured on top. It then sits for 7 days before being boiled with sugar and stuff. So I'm not understanding what the lemon juice is for if the lemons aren't even sitting in it. Should they be? Seems like not enough lemon juice if that's the case. Also, is this sanitary or is this a breeding ground for bacteria? The carrot pickle calls for carrot sticks to be tossed in spices (crushed mustard seeds, red pepper, salt and turmeric), fried in oil and lemon juice and then jarred for several days. I have some carrots poking out the top of the oil... will they be fine or should I either squeeze them down or open it up and throw the poker-outers away? Is any of this sanitary or sane? Any help much appreciated.

July brings us the cooking of Sicily. I’m really pumped about this month of cooking, most especially to see how everyone else does with it. Last year when I cooked from Sicily (also in July), I had a great time; I would just find myself grinning while prepping the food. It’s so aromatic and exotic and full of weird combos that you don’t see elsewhere in Italy. Things you’d never think would work together wind up being the best dishes; I’d encourage finding some out-there Sicilian recipes and giving them a spin (my favorites from last year: duck with chocolate, cantaloupe caponata, baked pasta with and orange and cinnamon-scented sausage ragu). I’m going to try to acquire an actual Sicily cookbook this month, since usually I just go by the references in my other books. A booksearch on Amazon for Sicily reveals the following books: Ciao Sicily by Damian Mandola, Johnny Carrabba Sweet Sicily: The Story of an Island and Her Pastries by Victoria Granof Sicily: A Way of Life in 50 Recipes by Janine Saine Foods of Sicily and Sardinia and the Smaller Islands by Giuliano Bugialli, John Dominis The Flavors of Sicily by Anna Tasca Lanza "Pinch" of Sicily : A Collection of Memories and Traditional Recipes by maria sciortino Cucina Paradiso: The Heavenly Food of Sicily by Clifford A. Wright The Heart of Sicily : Recipes & Reminiscences of Regaleali, a Country Estate by Anna Tasca Lanza Sicily (Flavors of Italy , Vol 2, No 4) by Mariapaola Dettore, McCrae Books Southern Italian Cooking : Family Recipes from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by Jo Bettoja Pomp And Sustenance : Twenty Five Centuries Of Sicilian Food by Mary Simeti Taylor Cucina Siciliana by Clarissa Hyman Bitter Almonds: Recollections and Recipes from a Sicilian Girlhood by Maria Grammatico Sicilian Feasts by Giovanna Bellia La Marca Sicilian Home Cooking: Family Recipes from Gangivecchio by Wanda Tornabene, Giovanna Tornabene, Michele Evans Many Beautiful Things: Stories and Recipes from Polizzi Generosa -- by Vincent Schiavelli So, quite a bit to choose from, over and above the chapters on Sicily in the regional cookbooks we’ve been referencing. I have Schiavelli’s book and really enjoy it, Sweet Sicily is dessert-oriented but still very worthwhile. Classic dishes and preparations would take up pages, but suffice it to say, lots of seafood, especially compared against Sardinian traditional cooking. Sicily’s been ruled by nearly every Mediterranean power at one point or another and has embraced an elaborate layer of influences and dishes. Sweet and sour is a common preparation, but what is interesting is how varied the theme plays out: it’s a lot more than vinegar, sugar, raisins, and pine nuts. Chocolate is thrown in for a dash of bitter to balance out the dish in some recpies; in others the sweet comes from fresh fruit or honey instead of just sugar; in others the sour comes from citrus instead of vinegar. There’s a wealth of antipasti to choose from: many of them deep-fried. Pastas abound, but there’s also an interesting tradition of rice dishes and timabelle. Finally, vegetables are abundant and you could almost make a month out of vegetarian dishes, and a month more just on the variations on caponata, the sweet/sour condimento found here. Even more pages could be devoted to the elaborate Sicilian sweet tooth: gelato, cannoli, zeppole, bigne, cassata just scratch the surface of some of the more famous sweets originated or perfected here. Let’s get cooking! I’m really excited to see what everyone does . . .

It's great! I love the way it's organised, the fact that it also covers more unusual ingredients (rather than focussing on bland supermarket staples) and it's packed with unusual/surprising recipes that I'm dying to try out. So often with cookbooks I find the recipes given are variations on a theme that I'm already quite familiar with. I love the fact with this book you'll find things like 'Greek semolina pancakes', 'Peruvian Potatoes in the Huancayo style', "Okra with tomatoes' as cooked by the Indians of Uganda, 'Poached Eggplants with a Korean Hot Sauce', 'Boiled Peanuts, Indonesian Style' and Mango curry from Trinidad! It's exciting and unpretentious and does what a great cookbook should do; open up new worlds for you. I feel very inspired to go through the whole book and try everything out. I had a 100% success rate with a bunch of recipes I tried out on friends last night. My particular favourite was an Iranian puree of zuchini which involved tumeric, cumin, cayenne, garlic and a smidgin of tomato paste. Anyway probably everyone on this forum is already familiar with it, but if not, I heartily recommend it - particularly for meat eaters who are racking their brains as to what to cook for vegetarian dinner guests. (Hopefully triggering an end to the mushroom risotto/ratatouille/pasta with home-made pesto/roasted vegetables cliches of recent years - delicious though they can all be.)

A vegetarian friend and I have agreed to get together to cook on a regular basis, and I was hoping to pick up some tips from folks who have had experience cooking with what I'll call "meat substitutes"--tofu, tempeh, tvp and the cornucopia of fake meat products like Soyrizo or I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon! I've had success with vegetarian cooking in the past, but also enough spectacular failures that I'm wary about trying anything new without some preliminary research.

We will be in Nairobi for a two days in July and would appreciate advice on eating there. My DH is a serious carnivore while I am a strict vegetarian (lacto-ovo-vegetarian to be exact). I do not eat meat, fish or cheese but will eat mostly any cuisine. My DH is not too keen on pasta but in the right mood is quite keen on a good pizza. Any advice?

This weekend, I made Chichilo Oaxaqueno from Susana Trilling's book, Seasons of My Heart with chiles I brought back from Oaxaca. Unfortunately, I was flying blind here because Chichilo is one of the only moles I didn't try in Oaxaca. The result was tasty, but I needed some culinary guidance on this one. 1) Any suggestions on how to burn those chile seeds? I felt like I needed the blow torch to really do it right because I had to go outside (child at home). There was quite a bit of wind so I couldn't get a good burn. 2) I'm not sure if the mole truly had the most authentic taste bc I couldn't get those seeds to burn properly. The tortilla was fully blackened, but maybe only a quarter of the seeds. The mole was not a dark brown, but more of a very dark red. (in shade between a mole coloradito and mole poblano) Can anyone give me a proper color description of Chichilo or has anyone done a comparison with chichilo eaten in Oaxaca with their own version at home? 3) My DH is a vegetarian, and I used red potatoes, chayote, green beans and chochoyones in my stew (recommendations from Iliana de la Vega from El Naranjo). Pork and beef as well as vegetables are traditionally used in this stew type mole, but the vegetables alone were quite delicious. Any other suggestions on possible vegetable combinations with this mole? I'm thinking some nopales would be good too.... Thanks! Caarina

I have several friends who are vegans and I'd like to invite them to dinner. Ok, I admit it: I'm not vegan myself but I want to "rock their world!" Can you help me plan an impressive menu? Thanks!

We've got some yams sitting in the kitchen. They look at me reproachfully every time I enter. They don't have to say anything; they know that I know that they know what I'm thinking. It doesn't help that almost all my cookbooks are mean to them - either ignoring them completely or bitching about how boring they are. But I believe every food ingredient has a redeeming aspect to its character, just as with people; even London traffic wardens are capable of being loved. It's just not always immediately obvious how. Anyone got any really 'yammy' recipes they'd like to share? Or prepared to pen an ode to the yam? Or just a simple defence? I'd really like to be converted but I think it will be quite a challenge. And to make it more challenging my boyfriend, who acquired the yams, is a very athletic vegetarian with worrying vegan tendencies who is avoiding overly greasy food while trying to lose some kilos for a fast marathon. So I can't liven them up with bacon, a kilo of butter, a vat of cream and a jug of brandy or anything like that.

Earlier this week, I attended a cooking class, demonstrated by Clifford Wright, on his new book, “Some Like It Hot: Spicy Favorites From The World's Hot Zones.” He cooked six spicy dishes from different parts of the world and the class got to sample all of them. And I'm still living to tell you about it. Here are the six dishes Clifford prepared: Chive pancakes (Korea): The pancakes batter had two red jalapeno chiles. Once cooked, you take a piece of the pancake & eat it with a Korean red chile paste (koch'ujang). This is slightly hot & sweet. Jerk shrimp (Jamaica): two pounds of shrimp marinading in the jerk seasoning which contained scallions, ginger, coriander, garlic, nutmeg, allspice, thyme, pernut oil, soy sauce, and NINE finely chopped habanero chiles. Everyone got one skewer of jerk shrimp. When we ate the jerk shrimp, WHOA, MAMA!!!! At this point, we took a ten-minute break to cool down. Aside from the spiciness, there was a very smooth flavor to the shrimp that I liked. This was definitely the spiciest dish of the evening. Vegetable curry in yogurt gravy (state of Kerala, India): While the spiciness was about medium (ten green jalapenos), the vegetarian stew (avial) had a wonderful satisfying flavor with the different vegetables (eggplant, sweet potato, peas, green beans, carrot, onion) included, as well as some fruits like mango & shredded, unsweetened coconut. Clifford commented how this vegetarian dish is satisfying to meat eaters. They don't miss the meat when eating this dish. The class agreed as well. Drunkard's fried noodles with seafood (Thailand): Wide rice noodles (pad Thai) are used to be mixed with the shrimp, scallops & squid, some seasonings (Thai fish sauce, tamarind water, garlic, lemongrass) and Thai chiles (or “sky-pointing chiles”; green serranos can be used). Quite spicy, but not as spicy as the jerk shrimp, the dish had a “light” & “clean” flavor, as opposed to the “warmer” flavor of the jerk shrimp dish. Mahi mahi with green chile and cilantro cream sauce (Mexico, Pacific side): The cream sauce is slightly spicy, because of the creme fraiche that offsets it. After the fish is browned, the spicy cream sauce is added into the pan, covered and cooks for about fifteen minutes. I asked Clifford if the fish will become dry after fifteen minutes. I tasted it and it was moist, not dry., because the mahi mahi were thick fish steaks. Ranchero steaks with chipotle chile sauce (Sonora, Mexico): This dish was delicious and barely spicy (to me). The sauce had tomatillos, garlic, & canned chipotle chiles. I mean, come on! Yes, I noticed how the spiciness of the dishes was tapering off as the evening progressed. I enjoyed the cooking demo tremendously. This was a great way to be introduced to this book, especially when the author was right there cooking all these selections. Thank you, Clifford Wright! edited for additional information & formatting

Hi all, I'm doing a little sleuthing (not for an article) about where one can eat vegan in Vancouver. I'd like to get about a dozen ideas, both high-end (silver-domed service) and as low as they go (incense and hairy armpits), before I come for my next visit. Not to worry, I'm not turning vegan. Not in this lifetime, anyway. (Note: No offense to egullet vegans, although doubtful there are any. Seriously, what's life without cheese?!)

Hi, I am creating a vegetarian dish and instead of Tuna i am thinking of a meatless vegetarian items similiar to the tuna (ruby red vibrant colour), any suggestion? May all animal be free from suffering!

Hiya! I'm supposed to be hosting a mini-tamalada this weekend and I just realized that my big bag of dried corn husks is AWOL. Corn husks are not something you can buy in Amsterdam AFAIK, but banana leaves are all over the place and I know that tamales are frequently done this way as you near the coasts in Mexico... My question is: has anyone done this? I've seen some recipes (and our eG blogs covering cornhusk tamales), but I'm looking to hear about any experience/tips/nonos when working with banana leaves instead...It looks like they're usually wrapped square (unfortch the miraculous world of the internets turned up about 7 photos...they might as well have been taken from across the street there's so little detail). Any suggestions welcomed. And....I just found out that there are vegetarians involved, so naturally I turn to cheese. I'd love to do a black bean/cotija tamale but I have no access to mexican cheeses, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experiences with more internationally available similar cheeses and can recommend something with a similar melt/taste profile. If pressed I'll probably use a harder Dutch goat cheese...or a very mild feta if I can find one....anyway... OK thanks, mark

i'm heading to vancouver with a vegetarian friend. i checked the best of thread, but i didn't see anything. is there any recommendations for a great veggie place?

I have a hankering for red beans and rice. I used to make a vegetarian version years ago, but now I want to try and make the real deal. What makes a great dish?

4 weeks ago I went to Dean and Deluca's to buy a fillet of Mahi Mahi, it looked o.k., no more so I asked the guy working behind the counter when it was caught etc and he promised me it was fresh in , so I trusted him, got it home found out it was anything but fresh, it was inedibly old. I called, got the usuall, sure bring it back and we'll replace it, not much use when your guests are coming round in an hour. Not getting fish from there again I thought, still, the meat counter is good there, so I went again, bought 2 prime fillet mignons, 30 dollars or so, got them back, as soon as I opened them I knew they'd been frozen, they had that smell that beef gets when it's been frozen. Cooked them and guess what, they tasted like beef tastes after it's been frozen. Maybe I'll go back to my old stand by, Citarella I thought, bought a silvertip beef roast, not a great cut I know but I was feeling cheap, it had about as much flavour as a cheap battery farmed chicken. I'll not buy that again I thought, this week when I returned I figured on getting a long island duck to slow roast, one of my favorites, bought one ,16 dollars, just opened it and it's rotten, it's so awfull smelling, it stank my appartment out. It's disgusting so i called, I need to take it back to get a refund, at 6 o'clock on sunday night. I'm appalled generally with the quality of ingredients in New York, the Union square farmers market is great for vegetables but beyond that I'm so dissapointed, I used to think it was great untill I left for a year in London a year and a half ago and found the quality of meat, fish, poultry, cheese, everything there is of a far better quality to what I can get in New York, I fear new york is laghing behind in the culinary world.

I have a bottle of recently purchased pomegranate molasses in the fridge. So far I have only made this vinaigrette -- the flavor is outstanding. I plan to make Paula Wolfert's Muhammara (Red Pepper-Pomegranate Molasses-and-Walnut Dip). Any ideas for other vegetarian uses, sweets included?

Virginia from Polderside Farms just called me and says she has some fantastic pekin ducks available (they normally raise chickens but I guess they are still waiting on government approval, so ducks it is). They are just being processed and she wanted to know if I knew of any companies/restaurants who might want to buy some. I know many of the restaurants are often sourcing local organic products so I thought I would pass this info along. I gave her HSG, Rare, West and C but I'm sure there's lots more of you out there who may be interested. Polderside Farms Virginia 604-823-7324 -fed all vegetable grains and sunflower seed -ducks are 5-6lbs per -she says the flavour is exceptional -fairly lean as they are fed an all organic vegetarian diet -quantity 1000 -being processed today -located in Yarrow...close to Harrison I think. chefm