New vegetarian seeking a recipe for the omni guests
Hello,
I am a new vegetarian, but my diet is about 97% vegan. I am shooting for a vegan diet, based on a multitude of reasons.
We are having family visit this Saturday and I am a little stressed. You see my boyfriends parents are coming for dinner, but his dad is a huge meat man and, well, I just don't want to make meat! I used to prepare it on rare occasion, but I refuse. I just cannot do it anymore. He is a fussy man when it comes to food, and I need to find a recipe that will surely make us all happy :)>>>
His parents don't really even know that I dislike meat :( Actually, no one knows in our families, except for my sweet mom. I just don't go over to eat at the fam's much anymore. I like my veg food way better :)
So, I need a killer recipe and a totally delicious dessert recipe.
I appreciate any help.
Thank you kindly,
Bananaramazotti
well desserts are easy peasy. i suggest chocolate cake just because it's easy and everyone loves it. for the actual meal, though, try veganizing their favorite meal, unless it's, like, flat out steak..lol. or you can do something different, but still close to home, don't try to serve them food that they can't even pronounce. just make it familiar so that they won't be hesitant to try it. hope i helped. ;D
It sounds like you need a meal that will fly under the radar that it is vegan no? So I was thinking nothing that screams tofu!
What about the veggie pot-pies? There are a number ofreally good recipes for that.
Um...there are a lot of good casserole dishes too! You could do either of those main entress with a bunch of killer side dishes like potatoes, roasted veggies, outrageously big and easy bread or dinner rolls and a pie!
A dinner like that might not even arise any suspicisions! And it is all really, really yummy!!!
Hope that helped a bit!
I will suggest (as I usually do) veggie lasagna!
I should just break down and make some for myself, but it ALWAYS sounds so good!
that was my thought as well.
veggie lasagna rocks. ;)b
either with a tomato or a veggie bechemel (sp) sauce...yum!
Thanks for all the replies vegheads :-D
I think lasagna could work, but he is not big on veggies. I don't have a killer veg lasagna that I have made....any suggestions, recipes?
Maybe a potato based dish? He really likes potatos.
Thanks for all the replies vegheads :-D
I think lasagna could work, but he is not big on veggies. I don't have a killer veg lasagna that I have made....any suggestions, recipes?
Maybe a potato based dish? He really likes potatos.
The lasagna recipe linked on the front page (most viewed section I believe) is fantastic:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8013.0
Failing that, go for good old spaghetti and "not"balls! Find some Gimmie Lean beef-style meat substitute, and prepare it like you would regular meatballs. Enough spices in there and no one will be the wiser. Add salad and bread, and no one will walk away hungry.
Something Mexican? I often make fajitas or enchiladas for my omni family because it's really hearty and flavourful. Rice, tortillas, beans, tomatoes and peppers - barely counts as vegetables in my dad's opinion :-D
I always do Italian for meat eaters. They love it! There is also a recipe for chocolate decadence cake on my blog that will make any non-vegan totally pleased! My blog is at: www.quintesstestkitchen.blogspot.com
Oh, other recipes from my blog that would go over really well would be the lemon asparagus linguine, sourdough bruschetta, and Italian bread salad. If you follow those recipes, you will hear nothing but ooohhs and aaahhhs!!
Also, you can view another really ideal pasta recipe on my website...it is a pine nut, tomato, and basil penne (very easy to prepare and scrumptious!). My website is: www.radianthealth-innerwealth.com (just click on "peek inside the book" and that recipe is on that page).
Good luck!! ;)b
Thank you all for taking the time to post such helpful advice!
Thanks for all the replies vegheads :-D
I think lasagna could work, but he is not big on veggies. I don't have a killer veg lasagna that I have made....any suggestions, recipes?
Maybe a potato based dish? He really likes potatos.
The lasagna recipe linked on the front page (most viewed section I believe) is fantastic:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8013.0
Failing that, go for good old spaghetti and "not"balls! Find some Gimmie Lean beef-style meat substitute, and prepare it like you would regular meatballs. Enough spices in there and no one will be the wiser. Add salad and bread, and no one will walk away hungry.
Thanks And_It_Spoke. Great idea! I definitely think a pasta dish will work best. Something plain and simple. He really is a picky eater :-\
I always do Italian for meat eaters. They love it! There is also a recipe for chocolate decadence cake on my blog that will make any non-vegan totally pleased! My blog is at: www.quintesstestkitchen.blogspot.com
Oh, other recipes from my blog that would go over really well would be the lemon asparagus linguine, sourdough bruschetta, and Italian bread salad. If you follow those recipes, you will hear nothing but ooohhs and aaahhhs!!
Also, you can view another really ideal pasta recipe on my website...it is a pine nut, tomato, and basil penne (very easy to prepare and scrumptious!). My website is: www.radianthealth-innerwealth.com (just click on "peek inside the book" and that recipe is on that page).
Good luck!! ;)b
Thank you Quintess for the links. I will check it out shortly.
Maybe you could incorporate soy choirzo somehow... I don't think meat eaters could taste the difference if it was in something like lasagna and it has a nice spicy taste.
???
i recently suggested this to someone else, but CHILI! theres so much non meat stuff in chili, he'll never know the difference, and if he likes potatoes, you can have it over freshly cut french fries! and if you buy cheese, get some yummy cheese for him to put on top and some vegan cheese for you, or just vegan cheese, or none. ha.
you could either get his favorite chili recipe and veganize it, or get a chili packet at the store and veganize that recipe. sub soy crumbles for beef crumbles and veggie broth for meat broth. easy peasy!!!
our favorite chili is frito pie. http://www.disgruntledhousewife.com/meals/frito.pie.html
ha - kelsi i totally thought of you today at the grocery store cus they had tons of bags of frito-style rip off brand chips right when you walked in.. they were really cheap and vegan and i reeeeeeeeeeeaally contemplated getting them but strong will prevailed!
ha - kelsi i totally thought of you today at the grocery store cus they had tons of bags of frito-style rip off brand chips right when you walked in.. they were really cheap and vegan and i reeeeeeeeeeeaally contemplated getting them but strong will prevailed!
mmmmm
Make this recipe for Chili as Kelsi suggested. Serve it with baked potatoes, chives, Tofutti Sour Supreme in a glass dish tho, not the container!
And then go with either cake or pie. Just pick a 5 star, well voted on favorite type. If he likes apple, make an apple pie. If he likes chocolate, make chocolate cake. If he likes lemon, make Timewarp Lemon Squares. Or go to your library and find Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and make ANY of the recipes contained within!
What about a shepard's pie?! My Dad is a meat-lover and makes a damn good (meat filled) shepard's pie himself..and was blown out of the water with my veganized version of it. It's also really, really simple to make (pretty much fool proof I promise!)-add some ground soy to the mixture and you're golden! He'll never even know the difference if you don't mention anything to him about it. A nice hearty shepard's pie with bread and roasted veggies as others have suggested would go over swimingly!
Maybe you could incorporate soy choirzo somehow... I don't think meat eaters could taste the difference if it was in something like lasagna and it has a nice spicy taste.
???
Seriously, I made pizza once and I used tofurkey sundried tomatoes sausages (they are totally awesome btw) and it tasted totally "omni-legit". Mixed with the tomato sauce, it just mixed well with the rest of the ingredients.
I haven't tried soy chorizo, yet. I can't find any around here. I used the sundried tomatoes ones instead.
WONDERFUL suggestions, thank you!!! I think the chilli is a kickass idea! I made the ultimate chilli from this sight before and it was spectacular. Serving it over fries may be extra groovy. Pizza is a good idea too.
I am going to confess...I have no clue what soy choirzo is :P
I just found out that my boyfriends mom wants his dad to apparently 'branch out' with food and she wants my meal to be something different. Why me!? :-\ I think his mom wants to try something different, since she rarely has the opportunity at home. I don't mind making a two-option-meal, as long as they coordinate.
I thought of making two pasta dishes, one marinara and one alfredo, both vegan, and then each person can have a choice. What do you think? But I kinda like the chili idea. Or, I can make pizza and pasta?
I wanted to make chocolate cake, but now my boyfriend says apple pie! I am going to look for a killer apple pie recipe on vegweb.
I love vegweb! I want to thank everyone for being so helpful. I feel much better about this dinner, thank too all of you! :)>>>
Hail, seitan!
He'll never know the difference... Seriously.
An update.
I made a simple colourful pepper salad with red onions and garlic in a very light vinigarette.
For the main course, I decided on pasta. I made a ww penne, with sauteed mushrooms, peppers, onions, garlic, smothered in a creamy tomato sauce http://veganyumyum.com/2008/08/super-quick-tomato-basil-cream-pasta/ plus I added about 3 T of NY! I topped it with parm (a mix of ground cashew and NY).
For dessert I made the 'Death by Apple Pie' recipe from VW, and it was a flippin' hit!!!! My bf's mom said the crust was delicious >:D I also served left over 'Baked Donghnut Holes' from this site. My bf's dad had almost half the pie himself, but I could tell he wanted a donut, he was just too full. I asked him if he would like to take one home and he said yes, so I let him choose from the selection. My bf went to grab a donut and his dad said 'don't take that one, it's mine', pwahahaha!!!
It turned out to be a grand evening :) Thank you all for your input and advice.
that's awesome! good job showing off how great vegan food can be!!