Vegetarian cuisine

Vicia Faba! It is just the right time for fava beans, also known as broad beans. They're called bakla in Turkish and are a favorite springtime vegetable. The appearance of fresh fava pods in the market is an indicator of spring, it is the first seasonal vegetable to appear, usually even before artichokes.

A groundbreaking innovation has emerged from Ankara University as completely plant-based eggs and meat were successfully produced using a 3D printer.

Even on a weekday, there's a queue at Tokyo's vegan Izakaya Masaka, including many tourists eager to try meat-free versions of Japanese classics like fried chicken and juicy dumplings.

While millions of visitors have happily savored Japan's fish- and meat-heavy cuisine, options for vegetarians and vegans are harder to find.

Pulses have been a staple food in diets across the globe for millennia. They include field peas, broad and field beans, sweet lupins, chickpeas and lentils. They are an important source of protein and other nutrients, which can supplement meat and dairy products.

Turkey can attract vegetarian tourists and become a global center for vegetarian cuisine, veteran journalist Mehmet Yaşin has said.

Following successful tests, McDonald's in Sweden and Finland are putting a vegan burger on their menu.

Consisting of a soy patty, bun, lettuce, pickles, onion, mustard, oil and an egg-free sauce, the vege-based sandwich would be rolled out December 28. 

However, the vegan alternative would not be coming to New Zealand, a local spokesman confirmed. 

Chef Vasilis Kallidis presents Uberness, a pop-up food-truck and Mad Max-inspired restaurant in the Rendi Central Market for the period of Lent, serving vegetarian dishes that take ideas from street food around the world, as well as Greek Lenten classics. On Saturday, March 25, Uberness will go all Greek, serving taramosalata roe paste, chick-pea fritters, fried battered cod and other staples.

The first comprehensive legal framework for mushrooms in Greece has been compiled by the Environment Ministry. Among the issues discussed were collection methods, training seminars and the certification of mushrooms, so that imports do not end up being sold as Greek.

If you're familiar with Turkish coffee cup fortune telling, you must already be familiar with that widely heard phrase: "You'll receive good news within three units of time!" Those three units of time are hard to interpret; it can be as soon as three hours, but more likely three days or three weeks. If your fate is a slowly-moving process, it might take three years for the miracle to happen.