The Neglected Guest

Spicy Eggplant & Chickpeas

Sometimes, those of us who are not vegetarians are guilty of not paying enough attention to the food we prepare for our vegetarian guests. Perhaps its that we spend so much time and effort on the meat, poultry or seafood dishes that by the time we get done, we are too tired to think of creative vegetarian dishes. So we hurriedly put something together and, more often than not, it's a side dish and only one side dish at that. This week's column looks at The Neglected Guest - the vegetarian, and suggests some of the ways that we meat eaters can pay more attention to the veggie fare we prepare for our friends and guests.

I'll let the column speak for itself.

October 1st was World Vegetarian Day and the entire month of October is Vegetarian Awareness Month and so this post is a dedication to the month. My friend, Margot of Coffee & Vanilla is hosting one of the events this year. I know that many of you have eligible entries so why not click here and participate.

Know your vegetarian so you're guided by what you can and cannot make for them:

• Ovo-lacto vegetarian
• Lacto vegetarian
• Ovo vegetarian
• Vegan

I've been flexing my vegetarian-cooking muscles and I'd like all of us to make a bigger effort in our vegetarian offerings, particularly when we have vegetarian guests.

Yam & Spinach ball

Avocado & red chili salt

Cherry tomatoes rolled in green chili salt

Spinach dhal (Dhals make for a great soup)

Herb roasted potatoes & carrots

Pigeon peas-spiced pilau

Vegetable fried rice

Okras in onion & tomato sauce

Sauteed mushrooms with garlic & green onions

Sauteed bitter gourd

Spicy long beans & soya chunks

As I wondered through some blogs last evening, I came upon some veggie dishes that I think you might like to try also.

Here's Sia's foray into Thai curry pastes
Pearl's Vegetable Pizza
Kevin's Eggplant croquettes
Dhivya's Zucchini patties
Anh's vegetarian appetizer

There were and are so many others out there, unfortunately, I cannot list them all. I have some friends here, that you can check out their blogs for some fantastic, downright tasty vegetarian food.

Don't forget that you can read this week's column here. And please, email me if you need the recipe(s) for any of the dishes above.