Welcome back to another offering in our Quarantine Cuisine series, created to share ideas to liven up cooking during the COVID-19 pandemic, when so many of us around the world are asked to stay at home, and our access to food may be limited. These meal ideas are shared with accessibility and customization in mind,…
Tag: #vegetarian
Healthy Diplomat: Vegetarian Quinoto-stuffed peppers
Tired of boring old quinoa? Need new ideas for healthy entrees – vegetarian or not, or just an impressive side dish for guests? Try this Peruvian inspired delicious bell pepper stuffed with a goat cheese quinoa risotto, also known as quinoto. It is rich, yet light – typically under 300 calories per serving and a…
San Francisco’s Greens: A fine dining experience to excite vegetarians and surprise carnivores
Vegetarians are accustomed to limited options at fine restaurants. Yet San Francisco’s Greens has given generations of vegetarians (and their carnivorous friends!) living or visiting the Bay Area meatless, international farm to table experiences since 1979. If you are a vegetarian in the Americas or Europe, your restaurant dining options typically force you to choose…
Italian-Californian fusion: A hearty sauce Romanesca over roasted spaghetti squash
This classic, hearty Italian sauce adds some masculinity and depth to roasted spaghetti squash for a nutritious and satisfying low-carb, comfort meal. Customize by going meatless or pair it with your favorite pasta for a taste of Roman home cooking in your own kitchen. I believe that Italian food is the world’s comfort food….
DC’s best sandwich: The new American cuisine of Farmers, Fishers, and Bakers
Stop by Washington, D.C.’s Farmers Fishers and Bakers for the best (vegetarian) sandwich in the city. It is a meal, much like many of its fellow menu items, that is emblematic of the city’s wholly American integration of its multicultural influences. If I had to pick a restaurant that truly represents Washington, D.C. and the…
Keeping cool and carrying on with chilled cucumber-avocado soup
Sometimes, salads get to be a bit mundane in the middle of a summer heat wave. That’s when a chilled gazpacho or other cold soup variant is a nice change of pace. My adaptation of a Martha Stewart Living recipe is a summer must-try: Summer-fresh English cucumbers add lightness and volume to the richness and…
The CD is entertained: Home-cooked South Indian food in the USA
A special night of home-cooked dishes from southern India brought back memories of a past trip to Karnataka. If you’ve never traveled to India, you likely have eaten more dishes from northern India than from its south. But Indian is so much more than what most of us know. Take a culinary jaunt to the state of Karnataka…
Impress your friends with truffled red pepper coulis!
Have you ever experienced the smoky sweetness of a roasted red pepper coulis accenting a restaurant entree? Ever wondered what effort goes into producing this deliciousness? Refined restaurant flavors are easier to create in your own kitchen than you might think! This luxurious condiment is easy to make and versatile to use – not to…
Having fun with harissa, Part II: Spicy harissa hummus
Give that tired, mass-produced hummus a run for the money with a hearty homemade hummus with the smoky red pepper and chili kick of North African Harissa. Hummus will never be the same! After a few weeks in Tunisia, I was inspired to find several ways to use harissa. In my last post, I discussed…
Mutabel: The Arabic twin of Baba Ghanouj
A creamy eggplant dip with the bite of garlic and an almost airy fluffiness, accented with nutty olive oil – sound familiar? Think of Mutabel as the fraternal twin of Baba Ghanouj: nearly identical ingredients, expressed just a bit differently. If you didn’t have them side-by-side, one could easily mistake them for one another. This…
The Culinary Diplomat 