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?

There was a meme recently about what do vegans eat after a night out - completely ignoring that chips are vegan.

you can easily make a pasta and garlic bread vegan without anyone noticing

and it is easy to cook without the fake meat stuff. Sausages though are better I think particularly Richmond vegan and the plant based milk and creams are lovey

It's not about pretending it's meat, it's simply about making great food.

Exactly.

The only vegan chips from takeaways seem to be fried in high trans fats, I wouldn't want that. Always seek the lard fried ones if possible.

The only vegan chips from takeaways seem to be fried in high trans fats,

Vegetable oil?

They project.

A friend once bought "cheesy chips with bacon bits" from a van that turned out to be vegan. Don't do that, truly the most awful thing inhave ever tasted. The fact that van was covered in plastic grass should have been a clue 😆

Generally, a nicely cooked plant based meal is very good. I almost always order vegan if its on offer when out. Far less likely to be terrible than dubious quality meat.

But why ask for vegan ideas then reject vegan ideas?

But I didn't ask for vegan ideas. The very first post says: "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."

On the tapas theme, why not make a paella and take out her portion before you add in the chorizo, chicken and prawns.

OP: I wonder if thread would have gone better if you said "I really fancy making x y or z so how could I tweak/add to each of them to accommodate the vegan-style eater?"

I don't think OP is really any fussier about food than her guest.

It must be fun to enjoy cooking. I'm more of a "food is fuel" person. I'd end up giving everyone crisps & an apple.

I make a vegetable curry or chilli for my friend and we have olives, hummus, pickles, cheese vegan and non vegan to start with and vegan bread

I buy a pudding

I wouldn’t expect everyone else to have a vegan meal

My (extremely nice and committed) vegan friend recommended this recipe when I said find lentils dull
rainbowplantlife.com/vegan-red-lentil-curry/
It is now a regular in our carnivorous household

( I actually make it with half red lentils and half grated sweet potato, and wilt spinach in at the end)

Swedish Glace vanilla ice cream is gorgeous and vegan

FFS, OP, vegan meals do NOT have to involve quorn and stuff like that.🙄

@BruceAndNosh , that red lentil curry does look good, and I have the ingredients.

Pulses aren't boring, but they need something to perk up the taste. They are good in that they give the food satiety.
I find the green ones good.

I just find the labelling of the food off-putting. I also think that fat-free, reduced-sugar, gluten-free etc sound like it's going to be disappointing

@Laurdo clutching at straws there.

I know you've bought dessert for your vegan guest now OP, but there are lots of recipes for orange polenta cake out there and you can fairly easily find one that contains some kind of vegetable oil instead of butter or just use a vegetable margarine like Vitalite. The polenta can be subbed with rice flour, etc if tricky to find and that would be a lovely dessert everyone can eat.

I'd keep it simple and do the bruschetta as a starter. What about some sort of kebab served with roasted vegetable pasta/orzo/couscous? If you don't want to grill them you can stick them in the oven. Most dried pasta doesn't contain egg. Use chicken/lamb/pork for the non vegans and tofu for the vegan. You can use the same olive oil based marinade for the meat and the tofu.

Hi. Of course.

To make 6 portions (half to make 3)

Add to slow cooker on low...

1x 170g Blue dragon green curry paste(which is vegan)
2 x tins coconut milk(either full fat or reduced fat)
Approx 1/2 a butternut squash
Approx 400g of potatoes ( i use halved new potatoes)

Cook those for 3 ish hours on medium. The butternut squash eventually breaks down and makes the sauce thicker.

Then I Add a variety of veg, but always-

Baby corn, Mange tout, a red and green pepper, carrots, brocolli, spring onion and green beans.
Also I Add an OXO veg stock cube, and salt and pepper.

I don't usually weigh the veg but I'd say a handful of each. Tesco do some really nice premixed packs which I do buy if I'm really in a rush and they're on 3 for 2.

As I did say previously, I do then Add some cooked fish or meat sometimes, but my meat eating family are quite happy to have it without. Infact they eat vegan dinners 2 or 3 times a week happily, with no complaints

I can't understand why some people are so outraged by vegans to be honest. As lots of pp have mentioned, asian food really lends itself to being vegan with no detriment to the flavour at all

Sorry I meant to reply to you but failed 🙂I've my last post was the recipe I use

OMG @EnterFunnyNameHere I really did try to reply to you with recipe as above ⬆

Haha no worries @Panpig - I got it!!

Methinks OP is nothing to do with Ravenclaw...not one bit of intelligence there. To me I'd see it as a challenge to produce an amazing vegan meal and step out of my comfort zone rather than producing something that wouldn't be out of place on an 80s hostess trolley.

Why don't you go for self-service with a selection of veggies and a meat option in seperate bowls. If you want gravy go for the kosher option and let people eat what they want.

That way you've accommodated everyone and no one gets to be a culinary diva, which is what I suspect is your main gripe.

@RampantIvy thanks for that - it looks lovely, definitely giving it a go.

(p.s. sorry it took me so long to respond)

Actually it was this recipe @BocolateChiscuits which is slightly different. It is so delicious.

How did the evening go @HufflepuffRavenclaw?

It didn't go ahead. Unfortunately the people who were coming over had a family emergency involving an unexpected hospital admission for an elderly relative so had to drop everything and drive 6 hours to hospital. Got the call about 3pm on the day they were supposed to be coming.

But I have plenty of ideas for next time!