To not let my sister bring her own meat on Christmas day!

[FelizNavidadAmiga]

First off, we are a strictly vegan household for moral reasons. I invited my sister for Christmas lunch as she is recently divorced and has nowhere else to go. I usually put on a magnificent spread with roast vegetables, tagine, stuffed peppers, vine leaves, falafel, home made hummus etc. My sister has just sent me a message saying she's going to bring her own chicken to cook. AIBU to say no way! I don't want chicken cooking in my nice clean vegan oven! Plus the smell makes me feel ill 🤢 I don't want to upset her as she's very sensitive at the moment but surely she can do without chicken for 1 day.

Your menu sounds amazing o/p, ignore the haters 😂. Middle Eastern food is fantastic.

if she’s accepted your invitation she should like it or lump it.

i’m veggie and lost count of the times I’ve been served meat. I smile politely, eat the veggies, fill up on bread and butter if offered.

When you actually see pictures of said roast it tends to be a bit of overdone meat carved up badly, some roast potatoes and then a pile of boiled veg with gravy made from Bisto granules. Hardly a memorable feast.

I don't know anyone who does their Christmas roast like this! Everyone i know it features a juicy turkey, butter basted & wrapped in crispy bacon, fluffy roast potatoes & parsnips cooked in goose fat, rich gravy made with all the meat juices, onion & fresh herbs, the veg cooking water and big splash of wine, loads of steamed carrots & green veg, brussels sautéed with bacon, freshly made stuffing with sage & chestnuts, pigs in blankets....i literally can't wait

Its glorious

I agree in part. Being a vegan doesn't mean you eat cruelty free. And it's our way of life and the numbers in which we exist are the major problems.
Using the word moral does tend to get people's back but I, like others, do see it as a moral choice.

Anyhow, I have a feeling this thread was started as a way of shit stirring and it's certainly done that but in reality there's no magnificent spread or chicken-bringing sister.

Given the subject matter I had to chuckle when you wrote: That's my beef with the OP... 😀

Why would you have to source ingredients? I'd just go to the supermarket, same as when I'm feeding non vegan people.

Oh and i regularly host vegetarian BIL at christmas and always plan a delicious menu for him plus cook all his food in separate pans etc

Most of the traditional British Christmas foods would be produced in the UK, though, wouldn't they? I try to be conscious of food miles so I do go for British foods where I possibly can. Our animal welfare standards are better than in most of the world too, which is also important to me. So in our house all of the following would be British: turkey, the various pork products to go with it (cocktail sausages, bacon, sausagemeat, gammon/ham when I get one), butter, onions, sage, flour, breadcrumbs, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, swede, cauliflower, milk, eggs, Bramley apples, sugar (probably - could be cane sugar, could be from sugar beet). The bits that travel a lot further would be the vine fruits (raisins, sultanas, currants), candied peel, glace cherries, rum, brandy, spices (nutmegs, cloves, ginger, cinnamon), cranberries, oranges, satsumas, lemons. It occurs to me I've no idea where treacle is made. (Goes in the Christmas pudding.)

As an omnivore snd an experienced and confident game, vegetarian and vegan cook the lunch you have described sounds revolting. There's far too much animal protein and animal fat.

@PerditaLaChien Unless your BIL is coeliac or allergic to meat, I find this - plus cook all his food in separate pans - absolutely ridiculous.
How is that going to do anything other than mean someone has to have more pots and pans and a special place to store them?

Your sister knows you're a vegan and should expect to eat the food you prepare and be a good guest. But, I feel bad for her stuck eating an unappetizing and unfulfilling meal on a special holiday just because you have a narrow and specific belief about food.

She isn’t stuck with it though. She could stay at home instead. Or accept another invitation. Although perhaps the kind of person who announces she’s bringing her own food and commandeering the hosts oven to cook it isn’t exactly overwhelmed with offers…

Someone made a good point earlier. If a vegan comes to my house to eat, I have to find a recipe, source ingredients and cook something to suit them. But if I go to a vegans's house i have to lump it and eat whatever they see fit. How is that fair?

You could just not invite anyone vegan to dinner?

Other than the actual meat parts of Christmas dinner(gammon/turkey, pigs in blankets) nothing in our meal has meat fat added to it. It would make a very miserable meal for the vegetarians if they couldn't eat half the vegetables!

Admittedly the gravy of my childhood, made with the fat from the meat and veggie water was delicious. But there we are.

However, the meat is juicy. Veg is steamed until tender, not soggy and over cooked. I can't wait.

I'm a carnivore and I think that's so rude of her, even if she wanted to bring cold meat, it wouldn't be acceptable in a vegan household.

I also think it's very kind of you to offer to host her. I slightly agree with a previous poster who said it wasn't the most exciting menu but that's because it feels more everyday lovely food and not special festive food.

It also depends on what you have in your roast veg. We always have a huge bowl of roast veg at Christmas but add special veg for the season – Jerusalem artichokes, baby turnips, tindora/ivy gourds (look like baby courgettes), round courgettes, round aubergines, eddoes, sprouts, purple sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cherry tomatoes and classic roast veg like potatoes, leeks, carrots and garlic.

Nigel Slater has a wonderful aubergine recipe which can be adapted to be vegan by replacing the yogurt to vegan alternative - there's also tahini so that should work with your Middle-East menu, plus pinenuts and lemon thyme. It's been part of our Christmas for years.

Rose Elliot's red wine and lentil soup probably sounds so bland but is amazing, again, part of our Christmas - adding roast garlic makes it even tastier.

We love a side dish where we roast cherry tomatoes, garlic and capers – that one's not just for Christmas.

I'm not sure if there's such a thing as vegan marshmallows but we tweak an American Thanksgiving recipe of candied yams and mash sweet potatoes the day before, put it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes on Christmas Day, then top with marshmallows for a further 5 minutes in the oven and they melt to form a candied crust. One of our festive highlights.

The veg dish of the year seems to be galette so you could have a festive version with cranberry on the side. If you're looking for something extra.

I think highlight what she is having and not what she isn't – and that includes being with people who love her. So much better than a roast chicken on her own but she can always have that on Boxing Day.

Good luck and merry Christmas!

It isn’t “imposing your belief system” to stick to it in your own bloody home! The OP’s sister is at perfect liberty to not accept the invitation.

For me it is this. I can't eat a vegan diet, i end up in poor health, anaemia etc amd don't tolerate supplements well.

here's a denial that this diet is neither pleasant nor nutritious for others. There's the misplaced belief that anyone can adapt to being vegan.

The OP is serving one meal. She is not forcing her sister to become petmanently vegan.
Sorry but a lot of this "I can't eat vegan/ I don"t like vegan" sounds like children ssying they don't like [whatever it is they've never tasted]

Have you never gone to a Turkish, Lebanese or Greek restaurant?

Or Italian or Indonesian or Thai or Indian? All of whom have no difficulty providing vegan food without a fuss.

I don't think she should be cooking a chicken in your oven but if she wanted to bring round some cooked chicken to add to her own plate and washed it herself separately I think that would be reasonable.

Your menu doesn't sound very Christmassy so I'd be a bit disappointed personally. With stuffing and potatoes (although vegan roasties aren't as nice they're good enough) it would be Christmassy enough. My partner is a meat eater and doesn't eat any cooked veg so he would just be eating potatoes at your house 😂

That sounds fantastic.

Tell her to eat her meat at home

You don't 'have' to buy halal meat, you choose to.

There's usually a thread on here at some point with people's dinners on. What you describe is what I do. I would describe it as a feast.
There are a huge number of posts showing plates of chicken/turkey, dry stuffing balls made from paxo and water, aunt Bessie's roast potatoes topped with a pile of boiled veg and bisto. Which of course is fine if that's what you like but hardly a magnificent feast.

Certainly it’s expected that meat eaters have to accommodate vegan and vegetarian friends, so I fail to see why it shouldn’t work the other way

This is not a valid argument, and you know perfectly well it isn't @Vaxtable

Vegetarians are morally and ethically opposed to eating meat and fish. Add in eggs, honey and dairy for vegans.

Forcing a vegetarian or vegan to prepare and cook meat, fish, dairy, eggs and honey is unthinkable for most vegetarians and vegans. I know there are some who will cook meat for other people, but would you really enjoy meat cooked by someone who has no experience of cooking it and won't taste it for seasong etc?

Human beings don't only eat meat. We aren't cats. We are omnivores and can eat most foods, food intolerances and allergies excepting.

The ignorance and narrow mindedness on this thread is outstanding. Basically, bringing meat into a vegan or vegetarian'a house is ignorant, tone deaf and extremely rude. If the sister can't survive Christmas day without a bit of meat she can stay at home on her own. And I say this as a meat eater.

DH and I are omnivore and DD is vegetarian. We are having mushroom pithiviers for our Christmas dinner https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/mushroom-pithiviers/

@FelizNavidadAmiga this could be made vegan by using oat or soya cream if you are still looking for vegan ideas.

We will have all the traditional accompaniments with it so it will feel Christmassy and be delicious.

I love middle Eastern food and would be happy with what you are providing. To get an invitation and not have to cook and be with my family is far more important than a bit of turkey (which I'm not overly fond of anyway)

Our list is literally whats listed above, the majority of food is naturally vegan, fruit, vegetables, nuts, pasta, rice, noodles, breads, grains like barely, oats etc. Virtually all ready made sauces, pastes etc, including things like gravy granules. Lots of biscuits as they are typically made with oil rather than butter as its much cheaper, like oreos, digestives etc, virtually all cereal is vegan.

Because some people give up meat and dairy for health reasons. It’s simply an explanation of why OP is vegan, and why she doesn’t want meat in the house.

It really can be.
We can have different opinions.

Roasties...

Then don’t invite a vegan to dinner! It’s really not that difficult.