Self catering holiday with a veggie for a week

[Lorey]

Later in the year I have an air BnB booked in the lakes. DB will be bringing his new gf who is a veggie. We will be taking it in turns to make dinner. Whenever db and his gf come to stay with us for the weekend we make veggie food - not hard for a weekend with curries, pastas etc.

i can see how on a couple of nights we could cater for both ie we have burgers and the gf will have a halloumi burger. Or we’ll cook chicken separately and add to creamy pesto pasta for meat eaters in a separate pan

I’m just curious how your family would go about it. I reckon our meals will be mostly veggie including brekkie. Bit annoying. But thinking about it if I were the veggie I would say you guys crack on with non veggie meals and where I can’t easily be catered for I will sort myself out. As opposed to impacting everyone else for an entire week

what do you guys do?

Pizza
Bean Chilli
Jacket potato
veggie curry
quiche and salad
veggie moussaka
veggie lasagne
pasta bake

I would have the odd veggie meal, but I'd not last a week. I'd suggest the meals she cooks are veggie and that there are some meals with alternatives and a couple of times eating out/having takeaways that can have options.

Just as an aside, I can't imagine deciding to try and make complex dishes in a self catering place - it's sometimes a struggle to find the equipment you need to make basic food! The knives can be as dull as a spoon, and they often don't have much in the way of roasting tins etc...

You can buy a veggie wellington for the vegetarian and serve it with the same trimmings while you have the beef wellington. You don't have to cook everything from scratch.

I would put together a menu for everyone that has options for both - like you say, pasta that can have meat added. I don't mind eating meat-free but I'm not a vegetarian so I wouldn't be happy to be restricted myself for all meals.

"I wouldn’t want to give myself something lovely and home cooked and shove something processed in the oven for db’s gf"

So don't do that, @Lorey then. It just seems incredibly churlish to resent her so much for her dietary choices not being in the UK majority.

Vegetarians are usually used to rubbish alternatives, having had decades of one poor quality vegetarian choice on a menu, if you're lucky. A decent quality shop bought vegetarian pie is not a crappy ready meal. Look at these from Cook Food for example - https://www.cookfood.net/products/Roasted-Veg-and-Lentils/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=Roasted-Veg-and-Lentils&&utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=google&utm_term=&campaignid=16616714048&adgroupid=140394850731&utm_campaign=Shopping%7CShop%20Locations&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjY64BhCaARIsAIfc7YY1cQKTRAtb6EaHHGldNWqfwI9gMRZ7EoJMzZFbVe9O_Bsar7PwFRQaAiBWEALw_wcB

I agree, I would cook her something like a veggie pie not buy it.

But your preferred solution seemed from the OP to be even more after thought like and involve her sorting herself out...

If you can make beef Wellington, lasagne, or bread in 90 minutes or less then you've invented some sort of physics-defying time machine. Do please share the secret!

I am absolutely sure you can go without meat for one week 🙄 some people really hate animals

If you want to cook Beef Wellington and suchlike on holiday don’t invite a vegetarian to be one of the party. There are plenty of adaptable meals that you could all enjoy, but it seems like you want to make a point.

If it really bothers you to the extent that it will spoil your holiday, could you agree to eat separately and have a rota for the kitchen?

We’ve been to this air BnB before. It is very well stocked. Kitchen is larger and nicer than mine. They have matches, a stand mixer, lovely serving platters, wine fridge…you name it. And it is reflected in the price. I probably wouldn’t be making such an effort with the food if we were going to centre parks for example.

The name of the game is hygge!

Dh and I don’t have kids yet so we’re enjoying these treats whilst they last.

NeedToChangeName · Today 14:42

Probably simplest to eat vegetarian main courses in the holiday house and get your meat fix during the day eg if you eat lunch in a cafe

This is what we do.Assuming you are out and about during the day then everyone can pick and choose their own preferences.We also eat out on one evening and have Sunday lunch out.First night is always chippy night and veggie options are available from there.

Plenty of ham/cheese/sausages(veggie and meat)/bacon /eggs,etc.are made available in the fridge for anyone who wants to rustle up their own snacks.

so for me I mean prep work. I can definitely prep and shove a lasagne/beef wellington into the oven in well under an hour and a half. Once the food is the oven my arse is on the sofa!

You'd cook a beef wellington on holiday in a self catering?

Really?

Surely you'll be out most nights, local pub or bistro, or have a nice pub lunch and then have a tapas/cheese board type thing in the evening

And like others have said, most meals can be made for those hat like meat just by adding, erm, meat.

No, OP loves them. In pastry

As do I

But its no hardship to have different meals which can be made both veggie and non veggie.

I'm still not getting why - if you make home-made pizzas - you can't easily make a vegetarian one by missing meat off! Why does she have to have a shop-bought one?

Looking back, it's not the vegetarians who are saying you can eat veggie for a week, it's the people who value the importance of eating together and making everyone feel included.

As someone upstream has said, vegetarians are used to being an after-thought, or their food running out, because the meat eaters have helped themselves to the veggie options ahead of them.

I’m vegetarian- well pescatarian- and I’d be horrified at people putting themselves out for me for a week. A couple of veggie nights would be nice but go ahead and make meat dishes. It’s her choice to be veggie and that means sometimes sorting herself an alternative.

No it was an analogy. Maybe a poor one.

Its like me making a lovely homemade chicken pot pie and then shoving a cheese and onion slice made in some factory in the oven for the gf

I don’t like the idea of everyone having something lovely and home cooked. And then the gf having a UPF after thought.

Then you can make a separate wellington as you seem to be worried about buying her processed/ready meal stuff, and the veggie wellington can be with a nut roast concoction inside.

Again, bad analogy. Nobody is suggesting you buy a Ginsters slice as an alternative! There are some really fabulous vegetarian options available.

So in summary - you don't like the idea of:

Cooking veggie food for everyone
Buying something separate for her
Cooking something for her and something meaty for everyone else.

What other ways to go are there?

But that then to me starts feeling like a chore. One wellington that I make all the time with a glass of red and some music = fun. Making an additional veggie version using a new recipe, twice the cookware etc = pain in the arse.

I know I am being very annoying on the matter.

I’m sure we will figure something out. We manage to have a nice time when db and gf stay for the weekend.

I don’t think the breakfasts need to be veggie for everybody, you can just cook the meat separately, I love hash browns, eggs, beans, toast with veggie sausages and/or facon.

Look, why not admit that you just wanted to express you think vegetarians are a pain in the ass?

There's literally no actual problem here...