help - vegan coming for dinner.

[HufflepuffRavenclaw]

Having friends over for dinner next week. Woman of the couple is quite faddy in her eating. Over the time we have know them she has been gluten-free for about 6 months, abandoned that and then gave up alcohol completely for about a year, stopped doing that and then cut out sugar, was also a pescetarian for a while. Latest is that she is vegan.

I am not a vegan and have zero interest in vegan food/cooking. I am looking for ideas which are easily adapted to vegan diets - so for example I could do tomato/mozzarella/basil and crusty bread for a starter and use vegan "cheese" for her.

Think I may buy a dessert for her as any decent pud has to have cream and butter in it.

Any ideas?

I meant light hearted in my last post obvs!!!
(Waiting to be corrected again!)

The person you quoted was clearly being very light hearted. You appear to take even the slightest bit of perceived criticism very much to heart.

Have you never eaten an apple OP?

I can’t imagine being so rigid that I’d never cooked a vegan meal for my family?! You actually sound nuts - I wouldn’t eat at your house if you paid me. I hope she sees this and invents a headache.

always a sign of a bad cook to rely solely on butter/cream and meat

Gosh yes an apple for dinner. Why didn’t I think of that.

like I said, my lunch yesterday of bagel, peanut butter and banana was vegan. But I wouldn’t serve that to people coming for dinner either.

I've got a vegan friend who comes for tea quite often, I tend to find "help yourself" sort of food works best, but perhaps you want a bit more fancy for a sit down meal?

I did a taco station last time - made spicy beef, chipotle chicken, and chipotle seitan for her. Salad, salsa, guac and veggies obvs, vegan sour cream and cheese which I don't mind either so it's not a huge expense to have it in.

I've also done koftas with flatbreads, salads etc. Veggie for her, lamb for everyone else.

Tapas is easy too as there's loads of little dishes that are both vegan AND delicious so you can do half and half. I had a bash at making my own vegan pate last time and it was bloody lovely.

Or I'll look up a vegan recipe that sounds tasty then adapt it for the carnivores rather than the other way around as that actually tends to be easier! Adding meat and fish and dairy to a vegan recipe rather than trying to find vegan alternatives to omnivore recipes is much easier!

Sushi is also super easy to veganise if you feel like spending hours assembling it beforehand, it's actually lots of fun!

The person you quoted was clearly being very light hearted. You appear to take even the slightest bit of perceived criticism very much to heart.
Like what AlmostaMamma ?

It isn't always clear how people mean things when it is written down.

What about a beef Wellington with this for the vegan? Vegetable side dishes work for either. I love vegan food (meat eater) but can understand your frustration with the faddiness. Bit like when I catered for vegan PIL , which meant making lots of Christmas dinner variations only to find them eating fresh cream chocolates in my living room and pouring dairy cream over their pudding.... They're not vegans anymore.

You might like this at Waitrose: www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/pieminister-kevin-vegan-pie/837127-645314-645315

Like the example given. It was very clear. And you complained about being pulled up whilst being lighthearted and then did the exact thing to that poster (who light heartedly gave you factual correction).

Nope. Just think it would save time than faffing with multiple meals. Been there and done that myself. I haven't read every single comment on this thread and was actually trying to be helpful

Like the example given. It was very clear. And you complained about being pulled up whilst being lighthearted and then did the exact thing to that poster (who light heartedly gave you factual correction)
Ah, is that it? A couple of exchanges on one thread. 🤣I thought you were going to give me more examples of me taking things to heart and being oversenitive🤷‍♀️

Jesus Christ. 😂

AlmostaMamma
Jesus Christ. 😂
I know! I'm on one today!! I'd fall out with the goldfish if it answered back, I'm in that sort of mood!!🤣🤣🤣

Vegan cheese is a bit hit and miss.

I understands OPS feelings though, because doing a vegan dinner party meal is not the same as a vegan simple weeknight dinner.

Does it have to be home cooked? You could hold your hands up and just say, hey, I'm not vegan but I've bought a nice vegan wellington or fancy waitrose thing for your mains and be done with it? Same with dessert.

As a vegan, I'd totally understand this.

Am I the only one who if catering for carnivores and vegans would make the default meal vegan with maybe an extra meat option for the meat eaters?

DD is vegetarian who has done veganuary for a few years and another family member is vegan and nut allergic. I love cooking and I love a challenge and as we love all kind of different cuisines I find it very easy to accommodate everyone when it comes to food.

Re vegan cheese. I have tried Violife (Vile Life) and Sheese and really disliked them. The best one I have tried is Tyne Chease. It captures that umami taste without the sickly vanilla/coconut background taste that Violife and Sheese have, but it is expensive and not widely available.

A roast dinner? The sides are enough without the meat - roast tatties, sprouts, parsnips, etc. You could add a Quorn fillet too.

Am with you op!! How irritating that you have to cater to someone who has every changing fad dietary requirements. My close friend turned vegan the day before a big dinner party I was hosting and told me the morning of. 🙄 I told her it was best to bring her own meal. She did. All sorted.

It's one chuffing meal, it won't kill anyone to not eat any animal products.

Black bean and rice burritos with vegan cheese. Guacamole and side of sweet potato fries with a sprinkle of paprika

Dessert - I think some GU puddings are vegan

Oh god I am veggie, and I know it causes trouble. I will eat eggs though, and I will eat any kind of bread, salad, or even a ready meal.

Lidl vegan sushi - delicious 👍🏿☘️

@Chikapu wont kill anyone to eat meat either.

Not a vegan, but I have noticed the word is quite triggering for some!

Oh god I am veggie, and I know it causes trouble.

It shouldn't. You just don't have intolerant, narrow minded friends if this is the case.

Not a vegan, but I have noticed the word is quite triggering for some!

I know. I am an omnivore but am able to rustle up a decent not "worthy tasting" vegan meal without much effort.

@niugboo are you always this intolerant of people who don't eat meat?

Shop bought vegan cheese in minging. But if you can be arsed to make it yourself, it is delicious, but it doesn't taste like cheese. It just tastes lovely.

You basically soak nuts overnight, cream them, then heat them the next day and add a bit of acid or nutritional yeast to get a variety of flavour. Exact recipe depends on which cheese you're mimicking. The you let it set.

It looks like cheese, doesn't taste like cheese, but tastes creamy and delicious and definitely a treat.

Also, dessert is very easy to veganise. Swap butter for oil or margarine, dairy milk for soy milk, eggs for ground flax (if for sticking mixture together) or aquafaba (if for whipping - like meringue), and cream for coconut milk. I defy anyone to think that a coconut milk based dessert is anything but luxurious - it's 400cals a tin - it makes amazing ice cream.

Also honestly, to me you sound less HufflepuffRavenclaw and more Slytherin. Maybe this "faddy" eater is genuinely trying to address some health or mental issue by changing the way she eats, and not really succeeding so changing again. It's really not the end of the world to stretch yourself with a bit of vegan cooking or just buy something ready-made from a shop. No need to be so scornful.