kim chee banh mi

Hybrid Korean-Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, filled with kim chee (red hot pickled cabbage and chili), along with the usual pickled carrot, daikon, and cilantro. A great combo! From Viet Sub in Vancouver.

edamame chocolate

Edamame and salt chocolates, from Cocoa V in New York. Happy Valentine's Day!

chicken and chorizo tacos

Veggie chicken with nopal (cactus slice) taco and veggie chorizo taco with cilantro and onion. From El Faro in Chicago.

ceviche tostadas

Tostadas (fried tortillas) topped with soy meat ceviche style. From El Faro in Chicago.

gordita de nopalitos

Thick tortilla stuffed with sliced cactus (nopalitos), onions, and pasilla pepper. From El Faro in Chicago.

chocolate wafer bars

Dark chocolate wafer bars, courtesy of Q bel. Light and crispy wafers sandwiched around smooth chocolate cream, coated by a shell of dark chocolate. A perfect combination of textures... now they just need to make some of those other flavors vegan :)

stuffed acorn squash

Acorn squash stuffed with wild rice, pistachios, and cranberries.

Moroccan carrot, beet, radish & eggplant salads

The veggie sampler plate, from Kif in Brooklyn. Candied red radishes, carrots with cinnamon and raisins, roasted beets, roasted eggplant pure...

peas, rice & potatoes

Trinidadian split yellow peas, spice rice, and roasted potatoes.

Chakalaka, Umngqushu Stambu, Uputhu & Pop

Fabulous side dishes at Madiba, a South African restaurant in Brooklyn, clockwise from top:
- Uputhu & Pop: boiled, ground cornmeal with tomato onion gravy
- Umngqushu Stambu: crushed corn and speckled bean stew
- Chakalaka: spicy mix of baked beans, carrots, tomato, peppers and onion
The chakalaka at least is very easy to make at home... I'll have to try the others soon.

persimmons

Squat tomato-shaped fuyu persimmon (non-astringent) on the top, hachiya persimmon (astringent) on the bottom.

veggie beef and squash empanadas

The main course of our Argentine Christmas dinner, in Maryland: homemade empanadas, some stuffed with veggie ground beef, and others with spiced butternut squash. Not pictured: mote provenzal.