Help, Need Vegetarian Holiday Recipes, Please!

[firebirdgold]

I''m going to my future in-laws for christmas and they''ve decided to have a pot-luck style dinner for christmas instead of the traditional dinner.

Basically everyone makes a couple of dishes, and we have to cover breakfast and lunch too. Thing is my future sil and her husband are vegetarians (dairy, eggs ok and they make exceptions for fish), and I just don''t have any special recipes that qualify! Even my beloved brussel sprouts and chesnut dish has prosciutto in it.

I really need your help here!

It doesn''t have to be fancy and in fact a request for non foo-foo food has been made. (I have no idea). And I personally would prefer to make a dish that''s interesting, a little challenging, and not overly-vegetarianish. (you know what I mean.) It doesn''t have to be a main dish, and I don''t think the theme is very christmasy, just festive. So far I''ve come up with a traditional french quiche for breakfast/lunch because I''m fairly talented at baked goods and crusts and I believe quiche kinda qualifies.

er. Festive vegetarian comfort food fit for company/in-laws that can be made ahead? Does Anyone have any ideas? Please??

 

[Mara]

I was just having a convo this wkd with some friends about...when you go to or you host a party and there are veggies that come or are involved, are you supposed to make veggie friendly foods or are the veggies responsible for their own stuff.

I tend to think that if you are vegetarian, you bring your own types of food and don't expect others to make foods for you or make an all or 90% veggie table or whatever. It's a food choice and those responsible for making that choice to me should also be responsible for bringing what they want to eat.

We have a good veggie friend and for gatherings at our house or whatever, it's a given that she always brings her own main dish. And typically there are 1-2 things and salad she can eat that are veggie that other people bring or we make or whatever. But I don't give any special thought to 'oh can Jen eat this?'. It's stressful enough having to make something or host a party without having to worry about making EVERYONE happy with different preferences or choices.

So anyway, I wouldn't stress yourself out or feel 'obligated' trying to make a special veggie dish for these 2 people. But if you do really want to make a veggie dish, make mashed potatoes with veggie broth...or do something like that famous green beans and onions cream of mushroom dish that everyone always loves...or a few heads of cauliflower steamed with some garlic walnut butter poured over them is good too. There are a ton of things you can make that can be fun for them and everyone.

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 12/5/2006 1:03:17 PM
Author: Mara

I tend to think that if you are vegetarian, you bring your own types of food and don''t expect others to make foods for you or make an all or 90% veggie table or whatever. It''s a food choice and those responsible for making that choice to me should also be responsible for bringing what they want to eat.

I think this may depend on how many are expected at the gathering. Like, if it''s 3 families, (let alone 3 people!) you might want to be more attentive to 1/3 of the group.

My congregation is forming a little sub-group within it...right now numbering 7 families (can you say...Havurah?). One newer one has one or a couple of vegetarians. I asked. They''re a member. A group this size...why not?

He suggested spaghetti with vegetarian meatballs would be easy. We''re going to try this. I don''t have details of the recipe yet, but I think we''ll be OK.

 

[crowmama]

Hi Indie. I was a hard core vegetarian for many years, so I have some ideas for you...

You like to bake? Quiche always goes over well with the veg crowd, so that might be a nice breafast/brunch item. You can also play around with some rolled baked goods as well. I used to make a dough (kinda like for poppyseed roll or paticia), roll it out, spread it with an herbed/garlic cream cheese, roll it into a tube (like for poppyseed roll), bake it and then slice it into rounds. It was a big hit for appetizer stuff.

I could go on, but there are fabulous recipes of every kind (including meatless) at recipezaar.com . The recipes are rated and reviewed by users, so you really have to look to find a dud.

Good Luck!

 

[Mara]

"He suggested spaghetti with vegetarian meatballs would be easy. "

______________

Haha my response would have been 'okay then you bring it!'...

I agree if the group is very small or it's an intimate dinner, aka you are having a couple over for dinner and they are veggie, then by all means make a veggie meal...and maybe one thing with meat for meat lovers to partake of...but if it's a gathering of people, the veggies can fend for themselves!

The veggies that we know also typically say 'PLEASE don't make me anything special...I can do it for myself' kinda thing too so maybe we are spoiled with not having to even think about it.

Oh I just thought of something veggie that I really wanted to try that I saw on some website, where I can't recall...maybe Epicurious? I have the recipe at home if you want it...but it's basically a Mushroom Tart with a few varieties of mushrooms. I *love* stuff like this and I love mushrooms so I am dying to make it but have not yet.

 

[Gypsy]

Okay well... spinach ricotta lasagna rolls are nice... individually rolled. My FSIL has a recipe she uses that good. Oh and home made manacotti with spinach and ricotta filling OR porchini and 4 cheese filling with a tomato cream sauce is always yummy. If you like I can get you some recipes... but honestly some of the best itallian food recipes (including a kick-arse vodka sauce) are on Lidia''s website... Lidia the itallian chef lady... don''t recall her name but you can google it.

 

[monarch64]

Indie, what about a vegetable lasagna? You can get a little creative with it if you like, and it''s great comfort food--you have your noodles and cheese, and whatever veggies you feel like throwing in. You can make it ahead for sure.

I''ve made a ton of variations on it and used whatever veggies I have on hand...and also I use no-boil noodles and Italian baking sauce from a jar. Super easy! Plus it is pretty festive looking, you''re incorporating red sauce and maybe spinach or broccoli, so there''s your red and green, lol!

Other than that, maybe eggplant parmiagiana? This would require your veggies to like eggplant, though...some people don''t care for it. Also, can you possibly make the brussels sprouts/chestnut dish without prosciutto? Or a few servings of it without?

The quiche sounds wonderful, btw!

 

[Independent Gal]

Although I''m not really a vegetarian, I mostly cook veg at home because that''s how I was raised so that''s how I learned to cook. The best thign might be to get yourself a great veg cookbook that you can use for side dishes for you later on. I can''t recommend the Moosewood Cookbook series too highly. SO DELICIOUS! And some of their books set thigns out as full menus which can help with pairing things. But there are enough soups and stews and side dishes and things that you''re bound to keep using the book for other stuff.

And I think they''re only $12ish or so each.

Actually, maybe I could find a couple of good looking recipes and write them out for you on here, if you tell me what kinds of ingredients you might like to use... or what you definitely DON''T want to use..., how much time you want to spend, etc.

 

[Independent Gal]

Just thought of something else, if you like brussels sprouts. There''s CRAZY recipe in the Joy of Cooking for Brussels sprouts that makes even the most avid sprout-despiser concede defeat. It''s called ''Brussels Sprouts Cokaigne'' (haha! or something like that) and it''s vegetarian and TOTALLY melt in your mouth delcious. Should I write that one out for ya?

 

[poptart]

I second getting a vegetarian cookbook. I''m a hardcore meat eater, but some of those veggie dishes are even MORE filling than meat dishes. You might even find a main dish that you really like.

*M*

 

[Mara]

Date: 12/5/2006 2:02:30 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Just thought of something else, if you like brussels sprouts. There''s CRAZY recipe in the Joy of Cooking for Brussels sprouts that makes even the most avid sprout-despiser concede defeat. It''s called ''Brussels Sprouts Cokaigne'' (haha! or something like that) and it''s vegetarian and TOTALLY melt in your mouth delcious. Should I write that one out for ya?

lol i don''t like brussels but someone was telling me about some fabulous restaurant that had them where they shredded them so it was kind of like a warm coleslaw with a vinegar based dressing of some sort, and they said it was amazing. it got me intrigued since i used to HATE brussels as a child (i''d hide them under my other food then try to pretend i ate them) and have some leftover brussel-baggage so i wouldn''t mind trying a fun recipe or two to break out of the mold. hahha.

 

[firebirdgold]

It's a small family dinner so the Veggies are 1/3 of the party.

And I'm afraid Lasagna is out, it's their traditional Christmas eve dinner and my fmil is making it this year like always. It appears to be the sacred grail of cooking for my future in-laws, nothing can ever compare to mom's lasagna!

Rolled baked goods for appetizer sounds great! Hmm, I'll check out the fake deli meat section at WF's, but I'm pretty sure I can come up with an Italian style roll that's hearty enough for Lunch too. Italian food is always a safe bet with his family as long as I stay away from any dish they have a family recipe for.

If I make something for both Breakfast and Lunch, then maybe I can probably get away with just a side dish and a dessert for dinner? I'm also planning on bringing my linzertorte cookie cutters for festive and fattening snacking.

I'll check my friend's Joy of Cooking for the brussel sprout recipe, as I'm not really sure mine will work without the prosciutto. But I do have some chesnuts left over from Thanksgiving, so I'll give it a try this week just in case. I actually hadn't thought of trying it without the pork product!

Any other ideas?


ETA: They're part Sicilian, so bottled sauce is sort of out. Besides, if she found out my mother would start in on the 'your grandmother is spinning in her grave' thing again.

 

[curlygirl]

Indie, this thread might give you a few ideas: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/vegetarian-vegan-recipes.40076/=

If you''re going with an Italian theme, eggplant parmigiana is always a good call. I also make yummy pizzas for DH (he''s a reformed vegetarian since he married a meateater!) with mock meat topping. There is this amazing stuff called Gimme Lean by Lightlife and I swear you would never know that it''s not real sausage! I make individual pizzas with sauce, cheese, olives--whatever you want on top--but one of my favorite things is this Gimme Lean stuff. It comes in a tube like shape like those rolls of cookie dough and you just crumble it up in a pan with a little olive oil until it browns and then put it on top of the pizza before you bake it. You could prepare them in advance and just pop them in the oven when you get there.

I''ll try to think of some other stuff, I''ll ask some of my veggie friends...

 

[crowmama]

I was just on MSN, where they''re featuring recipes with lemon. This sounded good as a veggie dish:


Pasta Salad with Lemon and Peas

INGREDIENTS
1 pound bow-tie or small shell pasta
Salt
1 package (10 ounces) frozen baby peas
2 lemons
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
DIRECTIONS
1. In large saucepot, cook pasta in boiling salted water as label directs, adding frozen peas during last 2 minutes of cooking time. Drain pasta and peas; rinse with cold water and drain well.
2. Meanwhile, from lemons, grate 1 tablespoon peel and squeeze 3 tablespoons juice. In large bowl, with wire whisk, mix lemon peel and juice with milk, mayonnaise, pepper, basil, green onions, and 1 teaspoon salt until blended.
3. Add pasta and peas to mayonnaise dressing; toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate up to two days if not serving right away.

 

[eks6426]

Well, I was going to suggest a fabulous pumpkin lasagna recipe that I have but since you have said lasagna is out here are a few more suggestions:

Lemony Artichoke and Onion Gratin
Butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
Two 9-ounce packages frozen artichoke hearts, or two
15-ounce cans artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1 cup dry white wine or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons snipped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Generously butter a 1 1/2-quart au gratin dish.
In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, stirring occasionally, until beginning to caramelize, 5 to 10 minutes. Add artichokes, garlic and lemon peel, and cook 1 minute. Add wine, parsley and herbes de Provence; bring to boil. Reduce by half, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and the cheeses. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the crumb mixture; toss until bread crumbs have absorbed all the oil. Season to taste with more pepper; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Transfer the artichoke mixture to the prepared dish. Sprinkle with topping. Bake in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is golden. Serve warm. Makes 4 to 6 servings.


Spaghetti With Walnuts Gorgonzola, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Gorgonzola + garlic + parsley + walnuts + sun-dried tomatoes + spaghetti

Prep time: 12 minutes
Cooking time: 13 minutes

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in extra-virgin olive oil, drained
2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced crosswise
1 lb whole-wheat spaghetti
1 cup walnut pieces, finely chopped
6 oz Gorgonzola dolce, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Cut tomatoes into thin strips; combine with 3 Tbsp of marinating olive oil from the jar and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. Cover skillet and sweat (slowly cook) mixture 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until garlic is tender without browning. Remove tomatoes and garlic with a slotted spoon to a pasta bowl, and cover.
3. Meanwhile, add spaghetti to boiling water and stir a few times; cook according to package directions. Drain spaghetti, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
4. Add walnuts to oil remaining in skillet and cook, stirring constantly on medium-high heat, until nuts are fragrant and lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.
5. Add spaghetti to skillet and toss with walnut mixture over medium heat until pasta is hot and evenly coated with walnuts; transfer to pasta bowl. Add Gorgonzola, parsley, black pepper, and reserved cooking water; toss again until cheese starts to melt. Serve immediately.
Makes 6 servings.
Each serving: 486 cal, 21 g fat, 20 g protein, 61 g carb

Broccoli Cornbread Casserole:

Combine in large bowl:
2 pkgs. Jiffy cornbread muffin mix
2 sticks margarine, melted, mix well
4 eggs, mix well
1 cup cottage cheese - mix well with above
1 white onion, chopped
10 oz. box chopped frozen broccoli; thawed and drained. stir into cornbread mix

Mix well and Bake in 3 qt. casserole at 400 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until golden.

For finger food. use mini muffin pans. The tiny muffins will brown on
all sides. (A party favorite)

 

[AmberGretchen]

We (mom and I) made the recipe below for Thanksgiving (I''ve been a veggie since age 5) and it was DELICIOUS. We just used regular cornbread mix from the supermarket to make the cornbread, and fresh cranberries instead of the dried fruit.

Roasted Squash Stuffed with Corn Bread Dressing
From
View Cooking Light Menu

You can make the Maple Corn Bread and toast it ahead. Roast the squash and refrigerate it up to 2 days. All you''ll have to do on Thanksgiving day is assemble the dish and bake it.

7 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed Maple Corn Bread
Cooking spray
5 acorn squash (about 1 pound each)
4 cups boiling water, divided
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried currants
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange corn bread cubes in a single layer on a jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until corn bread is toasted, stirring twice. Set aside.

Decrease oven temperature to 350°.

Cut each squash in half lengthwise, and discard the seeds and membranes. Place the squash, cut sides down, in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Coat the squash with cooking spray. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over squash. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove the squash from pan.

Place cranberries, currants, and 2 cups boiling water in a bowl. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes. Add celery, carrot, sage, and garlic; saute 3 minutes.

Combine toasted corn bread cubes, cranberry mixture, onion mixture, broth, and remaining ingredients in a bowl, tossing to coat.

Spoon about 1 1/2 cups dressing mixture into each squash half. Place the squash halves in pan, cut sides up.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until the tip of a knife pierces squash easily.

Totals include Maple Corn Bread.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed squash half)

 

[ladykemma]

former vegetarian here
real vegetarians don't do the "fake meat" thing, so i wouldn't go that direction

1. spaghetti with marinara, cheap and easy. add some canned, drained garbanzo beans to sprinkle on top for a complete protein, garlic bread and salad.
2. go out for indian food

3. "Diet for a small planet" (lappe) vegetarian minestone soup
need a 16 quart stockpot
DO NOT ADD SALT
onion garlic carrots celery
yellow squash and zucchini
large industrial size angela mia can tomatoes from walmart or sams
two cans popeye spinach
two cans corn
2-3 can garbanzo beans
2 3 cans kidney beans
2 cans green beans
raw curly macaroni thrown in

oregano
bay leaf
soy sauce or tamari for deep rich broth 1-2 cups be careful of salting too much

it burns on the bottom be careful
parmesan cheese or yogurt to sprinkle on top

this will feed a monstrous crew for one lunch or two. I just keep it on the stove and people nosh on it all day.

more later....yes you can transport this frozen.

 

[ladykemma]

more

1. grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches

2. Diet for a small planet Monastery lentils
need a 7 qt crock pot
DO NOT ADD SALT
fill crock 1/2 full of lentils, rinse
refill with water to one inch of top, cook on high til water absorbed and lentils tender.
puree with stick blender. remove some of the lentils and put aside for other use.

make a mirepoix with your choice of veg and oilve oil, add to crock pot. I use carrots and onions.

take one - two bottles of holland house cooking sherry and reduce by half in a cookie sheet or large flat roaster. dump in the crock pot.

season with ground thyme (a lot)

serve over old bread, rice, or with a dollop of yogurt.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 12/5/2006 6:13:38 PM
Author: ladykemma
former vegetarian here
real vegetarians don''t do the ''fake meat'' thing, so i wouldn''t go that direction

1. spaghetti with marinara, cheap and easy. add some canned, drained garbanzo beans to sprinkle on top for a complete protein, garlic bread and salad.
2. go out for indian food

3. ''Diet for a small planet'' (lappe) vegetarian minestone soup
need a 16 quart stockpot
DO NOT ADD SALT
onion garlic carrots celery
yellow squash and zucchini
large industrial size angela mia can tomatoes from walmart or sams
two cans popeye spinach
two cans corn
2-3 can garbanzo beans
2 3 cans kidney beans
2 cans green beans
raw curly macaroni thrown in

oregano
bay leaf
soy sauce or tamari for deep rich broth 1-2 cups be careful of salting too much

it burns on the bottom be careful
parmesan cheese or yogurt to sprinkle on top

this will feed a monstrous crew for one lunch or two. I just keep it on the stove and people nosh on it all day.

more later....yes you can transport this frozen.

LOL, I guess I''m not a "real" vegetarian then...because I always order a Yves veggie dog at Wrigley Field!

 

[ladykemma]

ha ha ha-- joke''s on me!

i meant to say that most vegetarian that I know don''t eat that stuff, it''s what meat eaters think vegetarians eat.

 

[AmberWaves]

LK, as a vegetarian who has never eaten meat, I tend to stay away from "meat-like" options. I''ve always remarked to people, "If I don''t eat meat, and never have, why would I want something that tastes like it?" I think a lot of those meat-replicas are for people who have given up meat either for diet reasons, political reasons or other reasons they can''t eat the real thing but still want it. I know that happened with my cousin.

 

[monarch64]

It''s funny, the only fake meat thing I''ve really ever liked has either been those spicy black bean "burgers" (Morningstar) or Yves veggie dogs...mainly because I really like the buns and fixin''s! The rest of it is for the dogs, imo. DH won''t even touch the fake stuff and he''ll eat pretty much anything!

Amber, I''m kind of with you on the "why eat the fake if I never liked the real thing" mindset. Once in a while, though, those products are good for the soy protein factor if I''m not getting enough elsewhere in my diet.

Indie, hope you come up with something! Island dream''s broccoli baked thing sounds divine!

 

[Kit]

Date: 12/5/2006 2:39:57 PM
Author: IndieJones
It's a small family dinner so the Veggies are 1/3 of the party.

And I'm afraid Lasagna is out, it's their traditional Christmas eve dinner and my fmil is making it this year like always. It appears to be the sacred grail of cooking for my future in-laws, nothing can ever compare to mom's lasagna!

Rolled baked goods for appetizer sounds great! Hmm, I'll check out the fake deli meat section at WF's, but I'm pretty sure I can come up with an Italian style roll that's hearty enough for Lunch too. Italian food is always a safe bet with his family as long as I stay away from any dish they have a family recipe for.

If I make something for both Breakfast and Lunch, then maybe I can probably get away with just a side dish and a dessert for dinner? I'm also planning on bringing my linzertorte cookie cutters for festive and fattening snacking.

I'll check my friend's Joy of Cooking for the brussel sprout recipe, as I'm not really sure mine will work without the prosciutto. But I do have some chesnuts left over from Thanksgiving, so I'll give it a try this week just in case. I actually hadn't thought of trying it without the pork product!

Any other ideas?


ETA: They're part Sicilian, so bottled sauce is sort of out. Besides, if she found out my mother would start in on the 'your grandmother is spinning in her grave' thing again.

Okay, let me jump in here since my mother's family is Italian. You will (hopefully) impress them if you cook some fish dishes, the 7 fishes Christmas Eve dinner is a tradition in Italy and many Italian American families practice it. It is wonderful and you can do so many dishes! Tradition dictates that you make 7 dishes with fish, but really you can just make whatever you want. Here is what we usually do in order of it being served:

fried smelts (fresh anchovies)
pasta with canned anchovies, garlic and olive oil - FI loves this
stuffed squid
bacala (traditional codfish stew)

Those are the core dishes, we have played around with eel, other squid dishes and anchovy dishes. I made a great mussels and white bean dish that was fab, if you think it might fly I will type up the recipe here. You can do crabmeat, clams over pasta, shrimp scampi, cioppino (fish stew)...possibilities are endless!!

http://italianfood.about.com/od/holidaymenus/tp/aa120405.htm
www.feastofthesevenfishes.com/ - fun gift idea

Other italian options are pasta and bean soups, minestrone soup, artichokes (not sure if these are in season), dishes with peas, egg dishes like fritattas with escarole or other veggies. Serving dried figs, dates and nuts with some cheeses might also be a nice dessert or snack tray. What about risotto? Lots of options there that are veggie friendly.

Okay I'll stop now...

ETA: I forgot to mention, I've noticed a lot of Sicilian recipes (my Mom's half Sicilian, half Neopolitan) involve a combination of pignoli nuts, raisins and orange along with other ingredients. I know...weird combo. But look into it if you're curious. It's kind of the sweet/savory thing.

 

[JCJD]

Hey Mara - just to play the devil''s advocate here

What about Jewish people who keep Kosher? Or those who are vegetarian for religious reasons (Seventh Day Adventists, for example)? Or people with severe food allergies?

Back to topic: As an I-detest-the-taste-of-meat vegetarian in a carnivorous family, basically, if there is a large quantity of each veggie dish, i.e. enough to give all the omnivores a side dish helping and the veg''s a main dish helping, I''m fine without any special arrangements. The problem arises when people don''t provide enough food for those who require meatless meals (for whatever reason) AND those who will choose meatless items (for whatever reason), especially for large group meals, or when people seem to think that "vegetarian" means bread and butter and an extra potato, or "here, have a huge lettuce salad and a piece of bread." That''s not terrible for one or two meals, but after a few of those, let''s just say you''d better give them some air freshener with dinner...

For Thanksgiving this year, I brought a veggie pot pie - chickpeas, carrots, leeks, peas, green beans, broccoli, water or veggie broth, and spices with a biscuit topping - that I had as my main dish and everyone else had as a side dish. It''s got a nice variety of veggies, some protein, some grain, and it''s not so vegetarian that carnivores won''t touch it. Plus, you can add whatever veggies you like or have on hand, change the spices and herbs around, make a real pie crust, serve it with garlic bread, make it a casserole with brown rice mixed in, etc. And then you can "convert" it to an omnivorous meal at home by adding in chicken or turkey.

Also, a good breakfast idea would be a mushroom casserole - various fresh or dried mushrooms, chopped, shredded potatoes, cheese, eggs, black pepper, basil, chives, and salt, and bake it. Basically it''s any generic breakfast casserole with mushrooms instead of sausage. Quiche would be fantastic!

Also, you could just do your brussel sprouts and chestnuts with vegetarian sausage or bacon. Not the same taste, but probably more familiar than if you prepared it without any "meatish" product.

 

[Olive Oil]

Sorry for the long link. I am a foody and a vegetarian, and Delia Online has the best veg recipes ever! Some are fancy, some are simple, but they are all delicious!

Here is a link that takes you straight to the vegetarian section:

http://www.deliaonline.com/search/recipes/browse.html?Pcat=com.othermedia.deliaonline.model.RecipeClassificationCategory-L-51

 

[rfath]

Date: 12/5/2006 8:37:04 PM
Author: Kit

Those are the core dishes, we have played around with eel, other squid dishes and anchovy dishes. I made a great mussels and white bean dish that was fab, if you think it might fly I will type up the recipe here. You can do crabmeat, clams over pasta, shrimp scampi, cioppino (fish stew)...possibilities are endless!!

mussels and white beans! share, please!!

 

[Mara]

hehe JC...well i would imagine that those who keep kosher wouldn't be coming to my house for dinner! i would have absolutely no idea what to serve!!!

i totally agree re: having enough dishes for veggies rather than here's a bun and some water (who does that?!)...typically we do have a bunch of stuff at our gatherings that are veggie friendly just by happenstance...but the main dishes are almost always meat...so that is why it's good when the veggies bring their own main dish because it's one less thing i have to deal with while getting everything ready!! i don't know that many veggies (even though i live in california...hehe), but i like veggie dishes mostly as much as meat so i don't really care as i will eat anything as long as it's GOOD.

 

[monarch64]

JCJD, you know, I wasn''t going to go there (devil''s advocate, hehee) but since YOU did...

Just wanted to add in that there are SO many reasons why people choose a veggie diet/lifestyle. In my case, not only did I really not care for meat growing up, but there is a history of colon cancer in my family, and one of the preventative measures one can take is cutting meat or animal products out of your diet. Sometimes people ask me "why don''t you eat meat?" with that sort of you-are-one-of-those-tree-huggers-aren''t-you look, and I rattle off about 10 reasons and look at them with a put-that-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-it face.

NOT that I wish to convey that to anyone here! I just get a kick out it when people assume that since EVERYONE else eats meat, I''m trying to be "different" or that it''s just some random choice I''ve made, or that I like animals better than people.

The veggie dogs at ballparks actually came about for people who were looking for an alternative to the hot dogs full of fats and various nasty things (we all know what''s in those things, right?) and also needed to lower their cholesterol. Course when you pair one with a few beers it sort of defeats the purpose, but people like to think they''re trying (same ones who drink order a Diet Coke with their BigMac value meal).

And I just HAVE to ask: where were all these wonderful recipes when I started that vegetarian recipe thread last fall or winter????Hmmm??? LOL!

 

[poptart]

Monarch, I think a veggie lifestyle can be great if you do it right! My friend is a vegan, so I have been inducted into this culture even though I''m no where near vegan. I love meat! What I like best about it though is I have learned about buying organic foods and drinks, as well as cutting a lot of dairy out of my life. Chocolate soymilk as well as Rice milk are amazing! I like organic meat better than "regular", and organic food always tastes cleaner to me.

*M*

 

[Mara]

lol well i just want to clarify that i don't care WHY people are veggie or more specifcially, have special food needs, they are totally entitled to do whatever they want...as long as they bring their own dish to my gatherings!! hehe!!!

okay for you monnie i'd make a veggie dish if you came over.