Food ideas for a picky omni
OK, so my mother's birthday is coming up. Since I have no money for gifts whatsoever I will be cooking for her. I am making banana walnut pancakes from this site for breakfast. I wanted to make lunch too. It's really hard though, because she's super-picky. But I refuse to give in and make some crap from a box! All she ever eats is prepackaged food full of preservatives and she WILL eat my cooking! I want her to like it though, of course. So I am looking for lunch/dessert ideas. It doesn't have to be a traditional cake, just something she will like. Here are some basic rules.
1. She has really bad acid reflux - no citrus fruit, no tomato sauces, nothing too spicy.
2. She doesn't like Asian food.
3. If I make something out of tofu (and she knows) or nutritional yeast, she will dislike it out of spite; I don't think she even realizes this.
4. I am on a limited budget so I can't buy any fancy fake meats, cheeses, cream etc. - anything I make has to be from scratch. If I make a fake meat, it has to be from TVP or something.
5. She says she doesn't like her desserts too sweet but if I cut back on sugar she complains that is has no flavor.
6. Allergic to sea creatures, although I would ideally like to make the food vegan anyways.
7. She has can only have very small amounts of caffeine so I'd prefer something with no chocolate.
8. She doesn't like raspberries.
Thanks for any input!
No tomatos at all? I have this pasta i always make for my family, my brother who seems to practically be a carnivore and lives off frozen things loves it. Its penne pasta with kalamata olives and grape tomatoes (a carton of them, i dont know if mabye you could adapt it to include something else?), garlic, olive oil, parsley. Nothing major is needed and its very easy to make.
I'll track down the recipe if you think this will work (i never measure things, i just guess so i'd just have to figure out how much of what)
I have had success feeding omnivores roasted vegetable salad with balsamic vinaigrette, porcini mushroom risotto and peanut butter cookies. You could also make a nice white chili or other soup in lieu of the risotto.
If you wanted to make her a food gift, you could make herb seasoned salt, and/or herbed or fruit vinegar to take home.
Good luck with the birthday celebration for your mom.
Here is the white chili recipe I use:
White Bean Chili
Ingredients:
· 1 pound dried cannelloni beans
· 6 bay leaves
· 1 package soy chorizo or tofurkey Italian sausage
· 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
· 1 red onion finely diced (approx 2 cups)
· 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
· 4 cloves of garlic finely minced or grated and rested for 10 minutes to allow allicin to develop before cooking
· ½ tablespoon of coriander seed
· ½ tablespoon of fennel seed
· ½ tablespoon of chili powder
· 2 chipotle’s in adobo (reduce or eliminate if you like less heat)
· 14 ounce can of diced tomato
· optional: brown rice, millet or bulgur to serve with the chili
Directions:
Cook the dried beans in filtered water with the bay leaves until tender (if they weren’t soaked first simmer for about 3 hours). Including the bay leaves with the cooking beans makes them easier to digest. While the beans cook slice the vegetarian sausage into bite size pieces and brown in a little olive oil before adding to the chili.
Saute the red onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft. In a separate pan, toast the seeds in a separate skillet until fragrant, then grind and add the spices to the pan containing the onions and garlic. Add the tomatoes, beans, sausage and chipotle’s to the onion pan. Be certain to break the chipotle’s into small pieces before adding to the pot. Simmer until the flavors combine (at least 30 minutes).
I hope you like it.
I forgot to mention you can eliminate the diced tomato from this recipe. I have made it with and without the tomato. It is better with, but is also good without the tomato.
Tofu Mom has a lovely looking Cashew Garlic Alfredo Sauce. I would replace the splash of lemon with a dash of a light vinegar. Serve it over a lovely pasta with sauted onions, zucchini, and carrots mixed with some cannelini beans seasoned with basil.
And for dessert, what about vegan crepes? I like this recipe from Vegan Dad, though Bryanna Clark Grogan has a recipe as well. Google for that one!
If that isn't your thing, what about a simple white cake and vegan buttercream frosting. Maybe dress it up with fruit like strawberries or blueberries. You could also make a simple poached pear or baked apple.
Is she opposed to non-dairy milks? You could make mushroom risotto.
If I were you, I'ld use the tofu & nutritional yeast and just not tell her. She knows you're vegetarian & on a budget, Right?? It's one thing for you to accomodate her allergies / medical condition. But expecting one's host to accomodate every quirky whim, like or dislike is just plain rude.
guacamole w/ onion and garlic! Or hummus on a pita with lettuce!
If I were you, I'ld use the tofu & nutritional yeast and just not tell her. She knows you're vegetarian & on a budget, Right?? It's one thing for you to accomodate her allergies / medical condition. But expecting one's host to accomodate every quirky whim, like or dislike is just plain rude.
It's a birthday gift. Expecting food she'll like doesn't seem off to me.
And what would be a good way to incorporate blueberries into a cake? Come to think of it, what is the technical difference between a muffin and a cupcake? Because I didn't think of it until someone mentioned blueberries, but I have some and she loves blueberry muffins. Maybe I could turn that into some sort of fruity cupcakes with strawberry preserves in the frosting..
This Blueberry Streusel cake with lemon frosting looks promising.
http://quintesstestkitchen.blogspot.com/search/label/Blueberry%20Streusel%20Cake%20with%20Lemon%20Icing
Also, I think there is a blueberry lemon cake recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking. I don't have the book in front of me right now.
Additional ideas ... the Simple Blueberry Muffins recipe on this website is very good too. Or maybe a Blueberry Cobbler.