Vegetarian

When Elizabeth Brewster gave up meat almost 15 years ago, vegetarianism was little understood. Today, she says, research shows that more than 12.4 million Americans consider themselves vegetarian, and health concerns are the main motivation.Now Ms. Brewster has started a bimonthly, eight-page newsletter, The Practical Vegetarian. A year's subscription is $16.95; sample copy, $1. Send your name and address to The Practical Vegetarian, P.O. Box 6253, Evanston, Ill. 60204.

Holly Renew from Baltimore was looking for a recipe for a mushroom loaf that was served at the now-closed restaurant in Canton called the Wild Mushroom. She said it was a featured item on the menu and similar to a meatloaf in consistency but contained no meat. I was not able to track down the exact recipe she sought, but I did some research and found a recipe for a very tasty vegetable "meatloaf" that was published in the March 2012 issue of Cooking Light magazine. This loaf is full of mushrooms and other vegetables.

The Healthy Hedonist Myra Kornfeld Simon & Schuster / 2005 / $19.95 There are people who never eat meat, those who don't eat it much and those who don't have specific restrictions but want to eat more healthfully. Recognizing a wide variety of dietary preferences, The Healthy Hedonist doesn't stop at vegetarian dishes. Many recipes are vegan or can be easily made so, but there is a section devoted to fish and chicken. The focus is on natural ingredients, most of which were available at a typical grocery store.

The new link between meat consumption and heart disease, discovered by Dr. Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland Clinic, is just the latest evidence linking meat consumption to killer diseases that cripple, then kill, 1.3 million Americans annually. Dr. Hazen's study showed that carnitine, an amino acid contained in all meat products, is a major factor in heart failure. Similarly, an Oxford University study of nearly 45,000 adults in last January's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that vegetarians were 32 percent less likely to be suffer from heart disease than people who ate meat and fish.

Breaking through the thick fried crust of a vegetable samosa at Mirchi Wok takes some effort, but once you succeed, and that delicious shell cracks, a cloud of steam, gently scented with cumin, will rise out of the mix of peas and pale yellow potato within. The samosa appetizer ($3.95 for two), served with two kinds of chutney, should convince fans of the vegetarian restaurant Mango Grove that its new omnivore cousin hasn't abandoned its vegetarian roots - it's just added meat dishes to the mix. Poor:]

When 18-year-old Chiao Lin of Bel Air tells her classmates she's kicked meat out of her diet, their reaction is sometimes difficult to deal with. "They're surprised or shocked," Ms. Lin said. "They're not used to it."Despite the praise given to those concerned with their health and the environment, being a vegetarian teen-ager still has a rub. Besides awkward responses, social and nutritional dilemmas creep up, such as "What do I do when I'm served meat at a friend's house?" and "What do I eat at Thanksgiving?"

When artist Mike Lippy moved to Baltimore from Brooklyn, N.Y., in the mid-1990s, he was dismayed by the dearth of vegetarian restaurants here. In the view of this avowed vegetarian, "There was no place to eat." Necessity thus became the mother of invention, and Lippy found himself on a new career path. He and his wife, Antonette, bought a brick building in Fells Point and gave the first floor over to a restaurant for other underserved, overlooked vegetarians. There aren't that many of them.

LAST THURSDAY night David Gilliss, a 38-year-old Baltimore-area lawyer, devoured a steak, the first meat he had eaten in 20 years. As a sizzling New York strip was placed in front of him at Ruth's Chris Steak House, a downtown Baltimore restaurant, Gilliss picked up his knife and fork and announced, "My hands are shaking."A collection of guys in suits -- one of Gillis' friends, several of his colleagues, his older brother, Ed, and me -- had gathered to witness Gilliss' return to the ranks of the carnivores after two decades as a vegetarian.

For a holiday feast like this, the turkey should give thanks.A bounty of vegetables, breads and potatoes crammed the buffet table yesterday at St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore's Charles Village. The dessert table offered pumpkin pie and other sweet temptations. It was Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings -- but without the bird.This was the Vegetarian Resource Group's 16th annual pre-Thanksgiving potluck dinner, a cholesterol-free affair where health food disciples and meat-is-murder moralists broke bread and marked the season of giving.

When Johey Verfaille got out of college, she thought she'd enroll in pastry school. That way, she mused, she'd always be able to lick the bowl. Deterred by the expense, she began poring over cookbooks on her own, watching cooking shows to hone her skills. When Donna Crivello opened the first Donna's eatery, Verfaille remembers entreating her, "I'll do anything, just let me work." Within six weeks she had been promoted to kitchen manager.After apprenticing in a number of local kitchens, Verfaille, 29, has become one of Baltimore's hottest young chefs, presiding over the stoves at Brewer's Art, the hip new north Mount Vernon brewpub.

From the outside, One World Cafe looks like it could be a small coffee joint housed in a one-story addition to a much taller brick building on the cusp of the Johns Hopkins' Homewood campus. In fact, if you walk past the few tables up front and the full service bar, you'll find it has a largish dining room with seating to accommodate, by my rough guesstimate, easily 40 to 50 diners. Its interior is not the only way the cafe offers more than meets the eye. 12:58 We entered very much looking forward to eating in a reliably vegetarian restaurant and specifically not seeking vegetarian renditions of meat-centric recipes — except for a veggie burger.

The client's in town. The client loves sushi. I want the client to love me. I take the client to Joss Cafe. I pick up the tab. Done deal. You can replace "client" with out-of-town guest, superior officer, love interest, fellow foodie, or anyone else you want to impress, Joss promises to appeal because of two strong leading indicators: fine sushi, great space. Just don't go there expecting bargain-basement tabs. When you walk up half a flight of stairs off the sidewalk on 413 N. Charles and enter Joss, you're stepping up in more ways than one. 12:42 p.m. We enter a sparsely attended dining room and are offered our choice of unoccupied tables.

Anyone who's struggled to match the grace of a dexterous chopstick handler might think using your fingers and bread is a relative cinch. I'm not so sure. But those who need help mastering the practice will find a valuable teacher in Dukem, 1100 Maryland Ave. Slow learners who require frequent repetition will be especially rewarded. 12:23: We arrived to a more than half-filled dining room and were seated immediately. The Dukem dining room makes practical use of its irregular shape with an effect that's conducive to private conversation, though appearances might suggest otherwise.

The roasted shank bone in the center of the table says it all: Passover is one meat-centric holiday. Symbolism, tradition and religious dietary restrictions tend to make the festival of the unleavened bread into an eight-night parade of brisket, lamb and chicken. That poses a challenge for Jewish vegetarians. Passing on traditional meat main courses can leave little else to eat. Pastas and rice are out. Ashkenazi Jews do not eat legumes during the holiday, prohibiting the beans and tofu that are often at the center of vegetarian meals.

One day when fussy food-loving vegetarians were coming to dinner, I created this ragout. I wanted something slightly unusual but speedy to prepare. The result was a hit at our table. Everyone loved this combination of sturdy portobello mushrooms combined with tomatoes and creamy cannellini beans. The touch of tarragon brings all of the flavors together. Portobello mushrooms are chosen here for their rich meaty texture and flavor. Portobellos are actually large brown cremini mushrooms.

Remember the good old days, when you threw a dinner party and all you had to worry about was finding a topic everyone could talk about? Now, you have a much harder task: to find a dish everyone can eat. Two culprits bear the blame - the rise of food allergies in America, and food writer Michael Pollan. More than 12 million Americans have a known food allergy. And tens of millions more have food intolerances. My wife recently found out that she shouldn't eat lactose, gluten, corn, turkey or chicken.

Living in a small Arizona town one memorable Thanksgiving, I drastically overbooked myself on the big day. I cooked and served (but never ate) three multi-course Thanksgiving dinners. When it was all over, I had a cheese sandwich and a hot bath at home. Happy Thanksgiving, I thought, glad the day was over.As a part-time caterer, this was not so unusual a holiday for me. My specialty was catering vegetarian feasts for those who wanted to celebrate but counted among their number folks who abstained from the Bird.

Each spring, for thousands of years, Jews have paused at Passover to commemorate the ancient Hebrews' exodus from slavery in Egypt. The Haggada, containing the Passover narrative and Seder ceremonies, reminds Jewish people the world over of their obligation to "let all who are hungry come and eat."And if the hungry are vegetarian? No problem. With creativity, substitutions and expanding product options, a vegetarian Passover menu can be traditional and satisfying.This year, "I see more things like salsa and Thai sauce that are kosher for Passover," says Debra Wasserman, a director and founder of the Vegetarian Resource Group, a local nonprofit organization that promotes meatless living.