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?

Homemade pizzas would be lovely. Sainsburys do stonebake bases. Then do a few Meaty / Fishy pizzas and one vegan.

That's what we do! Easy

The well meaning suggestions do rather make the point to people in OPs camp about the austerity of Vegan food: tofu casserole for a dinner party….yikes.

Im tempted to make a point about self righteousness being an inadequate seasoning, but I’d better not. Let’s hope your guest has gone into the caveman diet by the time it’s their turn to host.

Embaressed for the OP tbh. I'm not vegan but in the past week two meals have been vegan, www.theguardian.com/food/2020/feb/08/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-rose-harissa-chickpea-stew-burnt-chard I make this weekly, its very good. And then a vegatable curry, with coconut milk...

My partner is lactose intolerant, many people are, so you won't be outed as an unwashed hippy if youre seen buying vegan cheese or oat milk ;)

Look up Sri Lankan food, you could do full banquet of vegan food without even thinking about it.

I'm sure those are all delicious, @limitedperiodonly . But I am not looking for vegan recipes. I am looking for ideas for foods/meals/ideas like the bruschetta with various toppings or the mezze idea which can be adapted for a vegan and the rest of us.

We don't have a slow cooker, @Sugargliderwombat.

Tagine or curry is probably the easiest, tastiest main to adapt. Or a roast. I usually have extra stuffing in place of the meat component.

You say you're fine with vegetarians, so what would you give a veggie instead of thai fish cakes?

I never make desserts so would have no problem with a shop bought whatever.

Vegan cheese is horrendous.

Mezze starter, tagine main, shop bought dessert.

It really isn't that difficult...

You could do some kind of rice or pasta dish with vegetables. You could add meat or fish to that for most of the guests and then have a vegan version of that for her. These days you can get vegan burgers, vegan ''meat'' balls or vegan ''chicken'' from any supermarket.

You can easily do vegan versions Chinese, Japanese or Italian dishes. You can get vegan ravioli for example.

Frankly you just need a trip to the supermarket and you will find something...including vegan deserts and things humous to use as starters.

I must say you sound rather hostile... Being vegan or vegetarian is not a ''fad'' for most of us.

A nut cutlet op? The 80's called and asked for their crap food back.

Why did you invite someone over who you don't want to cater for and obviously don't like (based on your OP)?

I have been vegan nearly all my life but I will cook meat for husband, son and friends when I invite them. I don't enjoy it but I do it because it's the decent thing to do. Why can't you do the reverse for one bloody night?

I agree @Greenfairydust She does sound a bit hostile tbh..I'm not vegan but adjusting meals to suit a vegan is so easy.

I don't get why the OP is struggling like this 😕

What about tapas, you can make a mix of fish, veg and meat dishes, serve with some nice bread and dips. No one misses out.

For desert do whatever you want e.g cheesecake but add a fruit salad and some fruit sorbet on the side.

Because she’s making a point about vegans. 🙄 Boring.

tell her to bring her one food and you will microwave heat it for her and don't give it a second thought. `done this before and as long as everyone is clear; it works fine.

sorry her*own food, christ what kind of forum has no quick edit.

What would I give a veggie for a starter? Well in the past we've had things like halloumi salad (really nice with watermelon), or mini quiche things, or caprese salad with mozzarella, ravioli/tortellini - all of which are fine for a veggie but not for a vegan as they all have cheese/eggs/milk.

I was not aware vegan cheese was "repellent" as I've never eaten it. I have had some meat substitute products in the past and they aren't great in general.

How about bruschetta for starter then it’s the same for everyone, vegan cheese stinks.

a Roast meat with salads, flatbreads, roast veg, dips, olives….. then just give her shop bought falafel instead of the meat.

definitely buy the vegan pud

Ok OP you do realise you’ve made this way harder than it needs to be. Go to M&S / Waitrose / nearest big supermarket and buy one of their prepared vegan things like stuffed big mushrooms or nut roast. Make what you want for everyone else and make sure your sides are also dairy /animal fat free (eg if doing roast potatoes, cook in rapeseed oil not goose fat). Or at least make there’s enough vegan friendly sides she’s got a full meal.

for pudding, again you can make what you’d want for everyone else and buy alternatives for her. Sorbet is good for everyone.

starters wise you could go bruschetta etc but I might go with making something suitable for everyone like a mushroom pate. Make it simple for yourself.

But mainly, don’t give too much head space to learning how to cook new recipes if you aren’t convinced this won’t last past Easter. Shop bought is the way forward.

I'm with the OP. I'm sure her catering would be more "thoughtful" to a long-term vegan friend than the effort she is prepared to expend on someone who is known to change from one food requirement to another at relatively short intervals.

It's her dinner, so the basic requirement is making a meal that she will enjoy as a special meal. She's come on here for ideas to see if something that fits her needs is going to be a better choice to fit in with her faddy guest. I don't like pulses much myself and would not choose to make a meal based around them for guests - it would be unlikely to feel a treat to me.

My most common scenario is if my sister and her family come over. Her eldest and husband have been vegie for years, the younger two were pescetarian for a while but now vegie, and the eldest was trialling veganism last I heard. However, my sister and I are gluten and dairy-intolerant and since she doesn't get meat or fish much at home I like to offer her some when she visits me! My go-to used to be baked potatoes, baked salmon and a selection of salads, humous etc.

Finally, to the OP - fruit is definitely acceptable as a dessert. And if I'm invited somewhere I tend to ask what they are planning for a meal so I can offer to bring something / make small suggestions for modifications that work for me. I'm sure I've turned up with rice flour and helped make gravy before now!

Completely agree with you OP, the 'just make it all vegan' people clearly don't get that for a lot of people vegan food is really quite miserable

I hear you @LimeCheesecake . Shop bought seems like cheating though - we have had these people for dinner several times and it's always home made grub. Will definitely be embracing shop bought now though, definitely for vegan dessert.

Would some curries of various descriptions work? Most traditional curry sides such as Bombay potatoes or dhals are vegan. You could then do a meat or fish main along with a vegan one which could be just vegetables or say tofu. Pompadours and chutneys for starters.

A Thai green curry is another option as long as the curry paste doesn't contain fish sauce (some do and some don’t). Tofu or chickpeas for the vegan and fish or chicken for the omnis.

Vegan cheese is generally pretty grim and an acquired taste, so I would avoid anything using that. But if you went down the Mexican type route and wanted some vegan cheese, Cathedral City is one of the better mass produced vegan cheeses.

You can buy vegan cheesecake if you wanted to have cheesecake.

Make whatever main you would normally do but make/buy a vegan version for her.
Serve the main with gloriously buttery garlic bread and give her a bread roll baked with vegan spread and garlic

Nail on head, @Pythonesque. Many of the suggestions of tofu curries or chilli or whatever aren't "treat" enough.

I will discuss with DH when he gets home, but will either go with bruschetta then your "roast dinner" style meal with a vegan frozen something, and shop bought vegan dessert.

Alternatively, I have just discovered that vegetarian haggis is vegan, so perhaps haggis, neeps and tatties. With creamy whisky sauce for the non-vegans.

So to adapt your usual sort of menu-

Fishcake starter. Make her one minus the fish but with veggies added instead.

Stuffed Chicken - presumably oven cooked, do her a roasted cauliflower steak instead - cut a thick slice or wedge of cauliflower, add a spice rub (jerk spice is nice) with oil and chuck in the oven to roast for about 30 mins. Can be served with the chicken sauce if that's vegan.

Dessert, just buy her a vegan cake.

www.mob.co.uk/recipes/spicy-honey-miso-and-charred-spring-onion-skewers swap in meat and leave as is for vegan

www.mob.co.uk/recipes/coconut-chicken-noodle-soup swap in meat and leave as is for vegan?

www.mob.co.uk/recipes/pad-thai. put one portion in another pan and don't add chicken or eggs but add tofu instead?