Milwaukee is fortunate in having two Ethiopian restaurants, Alem and Ethiopian Cottage, which have exposed locals to new experiences in food. Have you ever thought of making some of those dishes at home? Kittee Berns’ book Teff Love: Adventures in Vegan Ethiopian Cooking is a place to start. Although total veganism is rare in east Africa, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church calendar has many vegan periods and Ethiopians have responded with delicious recipes with no animal products. Berns explores those options, providing lists of crucial ingredients (including teff, a high-fiber grain) and recipes for that wonderful soft sourdough bread (injera) and all manner of stews and purées made with cabbage, greens, legumes and sweet potatoes. Lamb or chicken? You’ll have to go out for those.
Vegan Ethiopian
Kittee Berns cooks up ‘Teff Love’