Cooking separate vegetarian dinners?

[abitoflight]

DD 19 back home for more than 3 months. Has a PT job about 16 hours a week
Tonight had roast dinner. Separate gravy, separate potatoes. Tomorrow she won't eat salmon so separate fish. Next day, a separate Bolognese. We are happy to eat vegetarian a night a week but AIBU that I'm already pissed off with this? With 3 months to go?
She says thank you and eats the meals but I'm not a bloody short order chef

At 19 she should cook her own.

If she’s lived away from home before, surely she’s capable of cooking her own food? I know it’s not always practical to have two people in the kitchen at once, but surely there are ways she could help.

However, there are ways you can help yourself too. There’s really no need to cook potatoes in meat fat or use meat-based gravy. You’re creating extra jobs there.

You’re not a chef and she can cook her own food.

Do you mean she eats fish but not salmon? If she eats fish she isn’t a vegetarian.

But cough the majority of the family prefer meat based gravy and roast potatoes
She 'cooked' once and made a salad dressing
And she's catered at uni
She'll just eat avocado and halloumi if I left it to her but may be I should just do that

Is there a reason why she is not cooking for herself? I turned vegetarian at 16, a year or so before I left home, and usually cooked my own main meal, or at least something to replace the meaty bit of everyone else's meal. There are also a lot more lazy options available for vegetarians now than there were in my day (vegeburgers/sausages, ready meals etc). It should be easy enough for you to make the side dishes OK for vegetarians, though.

She could always cook for herself, obviously. But why not make some meals that you can either leave the meat element out for her or replace it with a veggi alternative? I get the feeling you're not making things the easiest given you've cooked separate kinds of potatoes for her.

If avocado and halloumi are what she would prefer, then leave her to it. Sounds much nicer than a full roast dinner in summer weather...

I said to DH that I was willing to put in veggie sausages/nut cutlet/queen chickeny think which is fine, and when the freezer it out of these she can choose her own, but 'recipe' dishes like Bolognese, shepherd pie, fajitas much more of a faff

Not really the point, but why on earth were you eating a roast tonight? It's the least roast weather I've ever encountered.

I'd opt out if I were her, too

(She's not vegetarian if she eats fish...)

I think as an adult in the home she could cook a meal for the family at least once a week. Then perhaps she could also help out with cooking her alternative elements rather than expect you to do it all for her.

She really needs to learn how to cook if she doesn't know how and hasn't been forced to learn whilst away at uni.

I know roast odd but DH just back from 5 days of festival food and I thought he'd like a proper meal with veg and gravy - all enjoyed it and don't eat until 8 when it was cooler

but 'recipe' dishes like Bolognese, shepherd pie, fajitas much more of a faff

They really aren’t...just substitute lentils or quorn mince.

High time she learned to cook

But purple it's not ok that for one person I have to make a literally separate dish which I do as I fry the meat early with garlic onions etc so have to do a separate one for her
But I could just cook a full quote Bolognese one day and freeze it.

I agree - she should cook one night a week and not rely on me for meal planning every night

Just cook a veggie meal for everyone? Or let her eat separately?

My daughter became vegetarian when she was younger than yours so I guess I was still prepared to cook for her a bit more.

But I didn't really find cooking something like a separate spag bol or shepherds pie a faff. I just started off with the onions, garlic etc and at the stage of adding the mince, I put some of the veg mixture in a separate pan and added quorn mince for her in the separate pan, and then as I added things like toms and mushrooms, I just split them between the two pans. Yes, it meant an extra pan but no more effort.

But at 19, as others have said, she can prepare her own (or even better something for everyone).

But I'm a bit of a mug and still do most of the cooking in our house!

Why does it matter the OP cooked a roast? She can cook whatever she pleases

OP, just carry on with what you’re doing and let DD make her own. As PP said, it’s time she learned to cook.

But purple it's not ok that for one person I have to make a literally separate dish which I do as I fry the meat early with garlic onions etc so have to do a separate one for her

Just make a veggie one for everyone. That was what I was suggesting.

I agree she should be cooking more but it’s healthier, cheaper and better for the environment to eat less meat.

But cough the majority of the family prefer meat based gravy and roast potatoes

That’s as may be - but you’re saying you’re not a chef. Make things simpler on yourself. If one of your family had a nut allergy, would you make one walnut cake and one lemon one just in case someone else ‘preferred’ walnut?

Where are the other family members in this? Do ANY of them ever help you cook so they can all have exactly what they prefer?

You could all eat veggie. Think of the planet

If you’re cooking a family meal then it’s a bit mean making her be the only one to cook for herself all the time. Why not make your DH/other kids make the meat dishes themselves too?

Let her microwave a baked potato and some beans.

I do not eat much meat, maybe some chicken once a month, DP will and the DC are low meat eaters, I could never eat roasties if cooked with the meat, I know it is a pain to have to cook separately.

Maybe agree to two nights vegetarian and your DD looks after her own dinners the rest of the week.

Dd became veggi 3 years ago. I very rarely cook a whole separate meal. We all love vegetarian curry, lasagne, quorn mince is really good and you don't have to cook the soffito with the meat.

Why no batch cook a veggie version of things you have regularly (such as bolognese, fajita filling etc) then freeze it in single portions. If you make an extra large portion each time you cook for a week you'll have 20 or so portions available, should last a while.

I’m the only vegetarian in the house and I do all the cooking there are many ways around it , always have a few veggie ready meals in the freezer, not every meal has to have meat in it, fajitas, Bolognese , curry either all veggie or have 2 pans on the go. Jacket potatoes with various fillings meat or veggie, burgers and chips, sausage mash and veg all have veggie and meat options