Includes index.

Ignoring national boundaries, Bharti Kirchner in The Bold Vegetarian puts the world's foods on one plate and emerges with the most exciting and innovative vegetarian cookbook in years.

As Americans continue to turn away from meals whose focus is meat and animal fats, they are searching for creative and interesting ways to prepare meatless meals. Vegetarian bean burritos and other tired meatless standbys (whose ethnicity is more American at this point than anything else) no longer interest today's sophisticated vegetarians. Unencumbered by strict adherence to political alliances, Bharti Kirchner has created a book of true fusion cooking that will appeal to both committed and starter vegetarians as well as anyone who appreciates delicious and inventive food. In her hands, dishes from Vietnam, Portugal, and Turkey become accessible, while favorites from Italy, France, China, and India are rejuvenated through contact with foreign but complementary flavors. Kale-Apple Soup happily brings together earthy Chinese and tart American ingredients in the same bowl; Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage seems German, but with the addition of Peanut Sauce it is Indian, too, with delicious results; Greek orzo is perfectly at home tucked with raisins, onions, and garlic into a New England maple squash; and once-Italian tortellini tossed with curry paste and coconut milk speaks with a Thai accent. Bharti Kirchner proves that ingredients need not all have the same passport to be eaten together with scrumptious effects; they need only be fresh, vegetarian, and prepared with the inspiration she provides.

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