Vegetarian Traditions
Stories • Recipes • Travel • Farms • Traditions
A Culinary Journal by Chef George Vutetakis
For more than fifty years, I’ve explored the people, places, and traditions behind remarkable plant-based food—from
San Diego and Michigan farmers’ markets and the Inn Season Café to villages in India and tropical farms in Peru.
I invite you to discover recipes, culinary travel, farming traditions, ingredient histories,
and the joy of cooking with nature’s abundance.
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Latest Stories
New recipes, culinary journeys, farmers, traditions
and stories from my kitchen.
Pistachio Cavolo Nero Medallions
These medallions capture the essence of autumn: earthy, bright, and full of texture. Toasted pistachios and Cavolo Nero kale create a deep green color and nutty aroma that feels both rustic and elegant.
Roasted Harvest Vegetables
Inspired by Michigan’s autumn harvest, this mix of root vegetables brings color and sweetness to the plate. A light herb-garlic oil infuses each bite with fragrance and warmth—the flavor of a garden after a good rain
Farm To Table With Don Cinzori
He didn’t just follow trends—he set them. Don dove deep into peppers and chiles, and I remember clearly when he was the first to grow Jimmy Nardello sweet frying peppers in our region. His tomatoes were unrivaled, his Sicilian purple eggplants practically glowed, and come fall, his squash selection was the stuff of legend. From kombucha and red kuri to specially selected sweet butternuts and buttercups—not to mention the enormous “sidewalk” Hubbard squash—his produce was always the best and most flavorful.
Roasted Baby Cauliflower
When cauliflower first appears at the farmers markets in Michigan, it is a sign that autumn is near. Neatly wrapped up in their green outer leaves, young cauliflower heads are stacked high on the tables when the market opens its doors. These “baby” cauliflowers are often very sweet and lighter in cruciferous flavors, which become bolder as they mature. Vegetables are often the stars of a meal when freshly harvested. They carry the identity of the soil, the touch of the farmer and, frequently, the dew from the morning’s harvest.
Sourdough Griddle Cakes
For those of us who love sourdough, the starter lives and breathes as a fixture on our kitchen counters. Each day, it is fed and then expands and bubbles with lively energy. Like all naturally fermented foods, it becomes part of the household–like a guest to be cared for and appreciated. Fermented foods are a common thread in all the great cuisines of the world. In addition to its nutritional attributes, fermentation was a form of food preservation and extended shelf-life long before refrigeration.
Cranberry Bean Ragout
For this recipe, I used fresh cranberry beans at Food Field Farm’s stall in Detroit’s Eastern Market. Similar to pintos, they cook to a tender creamy texture. This recipe is a simple medley of vegetables and beans. If you can’t find fresh beans, cooked from dry or canned may be substituted.
Stuffed Globe Squash
This is a wonderful summer recipe developed as a colorful side dish to present for a demonstration. It is simple, easy to make and highlights the beautiful traits of the baby globe zucchini frequently found at farmers markets.