In college, I used to live with a vegetarian. A strict vegetarian. No leather shoes. She wouldn’t eat non-vegan cheese. There were no marshmallows floating around our apartment. She certainly didn’t slurp down any jiggly Jell-O desserts (they were made with gelatin, a no-no). So when I cooked, you can imagine I wasn’t grilling up any lamb chops for myself. There were plenty of Mexican-style taco salads overflowing with TVP, but nary a roast chicken would be found in our little kitchen.

But it was Berkeley in the late ’90′s, who wasn’t a vegetarian? Dietary restrictions were the norm. Although I wasn’t a vegetarian, due to the time, and to the place, I ate like one. Now it seems, that I know very few vegetarians. Even my old roommate, that staunch vegetarian, is now an omnivore. So goes it. But last week, a vegetarian came to dinner, and I had the dilemma of what to prepare. Something told me that TVP salad just wouldn’t cut it.

I had lost my vegetarian cooking chops (excuse the pun); I just didn’t know what to prepare. I didn’t want to make that old standby pasta, always a vegetarian option. But I was having difficulty coming up with a suitable entree option. Then I recalled a recipe that I read recently in the SF Chronicle. It was for an artichoke bouillabaisse, and I remember thinking how springy it sounded. There it was, the entree for my vegetarian dinner party.

The stew was excellent. Made with both saffron and orange peel, it was bright yet subtle in flavor, and chock full of springtime vegetables such as, young carrots, crunchy fennel, hearts of artichoke, and new potatoes, each bite celebrated the season. Enriched with white cannelini beans, the broth became murky and rich, a settling combination for the vegetables. And it felt good to eat, healthy and substantial. And Oh, did I mention the soup was vegan to boot?

Wondering how the soup went over? Stay tuned for the next installment…it’s socca-licious!