HELP! Easy Vegetarian menu for 3 days for 10 people ??

[OldLace]

Suddenly - I have a group of 10 people to cater for next week. Eeek!
They are all vegetarian (but not vegan)

I am not used to cooking vegetarian food and am panicking.
I am not a confident cook.

It needs to be idiot proof (and cheap if possible as I am taking over responsibility for this from a family member and probably the £ too)

They will need a continental type breakfast (I cant cook for 10 first thing!), a simple lunch, afternoon cake & an evening meal with pud.

Apparently eggs and cheese are okay, she says.

So, day 1 I thought overnight oats with fruit, soup and toasties, choc cake, lasagna and ?pud? But how to offer a variety over 3 days?

I'm not completely thick but am in panic mode I think?

Any advice on dishes please? (and likely costs? grrr not happy...)

Why are you responsible for planning and feeding 10 people for three days?

Are they all children? Are you being paid to do this? Are you a staff member? Are they incapacitated?

@AdaColeman

too nervous to go out to eat... Probably a euphemism for frightened that the moths will escape from their purse!

I too am intrigued and a little over-invested in this massively unfair set-up. Indulge us OP with more tales of their cf’ery

For you that make the aubergine chilli on BBC good food? Does it work as well grilled? Are there lots of you that do that? Thanks 👍

I'd keep it as simple as possible. For my own sanity😁

Breakfast. Cereal & milk, toast, butter, jam, marmalade. They are welcome to boil themselves an egg if they wish. Help themselves.

Lunch. French stick or crusty rolls. With a choice of filling... Grated cheese, egg mayo, olives, salad. Grapes / crisps. Help themselves.

Dinner. Cook what you know. Make your usual chilli or bolognaise in the slow cooker, but use quorn. Or big quorn sherperds pie. Help themselves. Leftovers can be frozen for later use, to ease your budget.

Keep a cheese / fruit board around in the evenings. And keep the biscuit tin refilled for when they make themselves tea during the day.

Show them all where the dishwasher is 😁 and remember that presentation is half the battle.

Good luck! 🤣

@13MissOrganisedMe it works fine with grilled aubergine however don't forget to prick it otherwise they explode - that led to my daughter renaming it exploded aubergine chilli. Also only needs 1 tab!saloon of soy sauce not 3!

How’s it going @OldLace?
💪🏼

I hope it's going really well@OldLace
I am so grateful to you for posting and all of the amazing suggestions (inc recipes). We were both raised as meat and 2 veg (both farming backgrounds) but I'm keen to introduce meat free options to our 15 month old so I'll be checking out a lot of the suggestions. Please update us when you can x

Hello, lovely people!

It's Day 3: I'm on the home straight... (thank goodness)

It is exH's family (big) so there isn't a SD issue (ie only 2 groups mixing)

However, there is a 'history / manners' issue and he IS an EX.
I am mainly doing this for my kids sake (and to be the bigger person)

So, I have made some granola and put porridge in the slow cooker. Added toast and eggs and fruit compote also for breakfast each day.
1 person keeps asking 'where's the bacon?' and another angrily says 'the smell would make them retch in the garden' so I'm ignoring both!

Lunch has been Soup, Baugette and fillings, crudites and crisps / fruit
Yesterday was Soup, baked potatoes and fillings (cold day)
Today will be Soup, wraps and fillings as above

Soups I made were potato and leek ('bit boring'), a minestrone ('hmmm, 'bits'), and a spiced cauliflower ('too spicy') all complaints from MIL!!

Dinner Day 1 was: (not very spicy) Curry Night (slow cooker veggie curry, plus sides)
Pud was meringue icecream and fruit

Dinner last night was Mexican Night - chili, fahitas and sides
but not spicy: ( 'oooh, I dont like spicy, so also a plain veggie pie)
Pud was Aldi apple strudel ice cream and fruit (ha ha!)

Dinner tonight will be Italian night: puttanesca pasta, garlic bread, some interesting salads. Pud will be tiramisu (home made)
I intend to use both garlic and alcohol as MIL will complain but scoff it all anyway and the others will enjoy some flavour

Each evening I have done a big cheese board (diff each night)
and each afternoon a cake
(choc, lemon drizzle and today just a victoria sponge as I'm fed up)

Not the most exciting menu after all the amazing suggestions here but I have managed it and I think its all been edible.

Not many compliments (except for the cakes) but they are by and large 'takers' as people and seem to feel I'm a bit of a Cafe in general.

Ho hum.
I'm sure I'll feel less grumpy when they've all pushed off in the morning :) (hurrah!)

Thank you for your suggestions, it helped a lot when I was panicking.
I look forward to trying some of the more adventurous ones when it's just me and the teens again :) There are SO many great ideas here.

Dinner

@MissOrganisedMe

For you that make the aubergine chilli on BBC good food? Does it work as well grilled? Are there lots of you that do that? Thanks 👍

Grilled on a flame is best but under a hot grill will work as long as you poke it with a fork or skewer a few times.

OP, you deserve a medal 🏅

Well done OldLace and thank you for updating. Delighted to hear that you're surviving even if you're not getting much positive from your guests.

OP - what you have laid on sounds amazing. As a veggie I have never been catered for like that when visiting family (let alone ex-family!) and would be loudly saying yum and singing your praises if I was in their shoes

BBCGood food website have some lovely recipes, things like tabouleh which is super easy to make and super yummy and can be a side dish for lunch or supper. Summer stuff like Halloumi kebabs on the BBQ, bakes corn, etc. Dal is lovely, and any other pulse dishes, or vegetarian moussaka or lasagne. So many lovely things to cook. I wouldn't bother trying to make things look like meat or buying the beige meat substitutes - expensive and tasteless.

OldLace You are a saint!!

The MIL sounds a moany old stick. The snappy catch answer to her comment about your leek soup is, "It's called potage Bonne Femme, so no wonder you don't like it MIL". (roughly, Soup of the Good Woman)

I hope they leave you some decent chocolates, a couple of bottles of serious fizz and a beautiful bouquet when they go!

@AdaColeman Ha ha @ Potage Bonne Femme

I think she just needs attention ALL the time, and chooses Food as a way of achieving that. So lots of 'allergies' ie to egg, 'rich food' etc. Yet will choose eg Rack of Lamb with Potatoes Dauphinoise followed by Lemon Meringue Pie when eating out. So, NOT, really.
Only SIL is the same (but different, so it's all 'a bit bland for me') etc
they are just all a bit insular really. And used to going to Carveries (so the all vege request took me by surprise as knocking up a roast each day would have been much easier in a way) Still one tries to be kind.

There is a peacemaker Aunty who is lovely and she has made the required endless pots of tea for which i am grateful bless her.

Anyway, soup a la Bonne Femme calls.
Thank you all for making me laugh :)

You're a trouper OP. It all sounds good to me.

I have had success at making people blush, when they complain, with a version of the line 'Sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you say "Thanks for cooking all these meals for us, OldLace' it's very kind of you'?" '

Bloody hell @OldLace you are a saint!

I’d have been ordering pizza tonight and making them pay!! I honestly don’t understand people that are all take take take.

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/mediterranean/greek/vegetarian-moussaka-with-ricotta-topping

Serve with baked potatoes and a big salad.

Dhal, spinach and chickpea curry are also good options.

Veg lasagne you can make in advance and freeze

Just read that you’ve done it. I can’t believe how rude your guests have been. Awful! You are a saint.

Have they gone now OldLace? Did they leave you an envelope stuffed with £20 notes?

Egg fried rice!
Cook 8 beaten eggs In Sesame oil until cooked. Break up and set aside.
Then cook 4 chopped red peppers and 2 cans of pineapple sliced and chopped with a big more oil.
Set aside once caramelised with eggs.
Then add 3 bunches of chopped spring onion and 6 cloves of garlic, then add 400g chopped cashew nuts. Cook until fragrant.
Add 5-6 packets of long grain rice and throw everything back in the pan together. Add a good slug of dark soy sauce. Garnish with coriander and have sweet chilli sauce on it too. delicious!

They've gone. Phew! I'm going to have a cup of tea & cake - ALONE :)

No, they didn't leave anything, not a sausage (see what I did there)
I am not surprised, they are a pretty selfish bunch (except the aunt)

I do expect the family member who WAS supposed to do it and ducked out to send me a thank you card but I'll not hold my breath.

So I am out of pocket (and I'm stony broke as they know) but I have the upper hand morally I think? I'll not do it again though, not because of the cooking but because they honestly don't appreciate it at all. Plus I don't know if it is right to let the kids see it. I have been kind towards their Father since we split (4 years nearly) again as I wanted to be the 'bigger person' but I think they've just seen him use me?

Ah well, enough of the philosophical wittering
I got some amazing recipes and tips from this thread and I'm far less scared of vege cooking than I was. We will have Meat Free Monday and Saturdays now I think which is good for us, the planet & my £££!

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH - I've not felt alone in the kitchen :)