Having a holiday vegetarian meal for the family....just need some advice

[missliz01]

starblossom and jenna rose, thank you for your kind responses.  I feel that you know exactly where I coming from and what I was looking for.  cinnamon teal, thank you for the awesome recipe suggestion.  I love wild rice and am a HUGE (and that's an understatement) fan of cranberries.  I don't like mushrooms on their own, but when added into a dish such as this, I think they bring a nice element to the ensemble.  My mom has the Joy of Cooking book so I'll get it from her so you don't have to type it all out.  Thank you for the offer though.  Wow I'm really excited now about all of the possibilities. 

[nasty_wench]

I'm a vegetarian and have been so since I was three.

I refuse to prepare meat. If someone wants to consume in front of me, no problem.

When I entertain, friends know it's vegetarian fare. But they also know I'm going the xtra mile to make a great, tasty, well balanced meal.

I totally appreciate it when people go that extra mile for me. However I do no support animal cruelty in any manner and therefore cannot compromise my morals to accommodate an omnivore. You see: I do not eat meat because I am morally against it. I do not know anyone who eats meat because they are morally committed to that path.

There are some fantastic Moosewood cookbooks out there. Lavish and delicious, my meat-eating partner loves every recipe I've prepared from any of their books and never asks me to "add a bit of meat" to it.

My fav is Moosewood's Simple Suppers, but Moosewood Celebrates is a close second.

[missliz01]

Thanks nasty_wench, I have never heard of the moosewood cookbooks but I will definitely check them out! 

[nasty_wench]

They have TONS of free recipes on their website here: http://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/recipes_archive.html.

[missliz01]

That website is awesome!  Thanks for sharing.  I really want to try making the jerk tofu now:)

[nasty_wench]

I have 5 or 6 of their cookbooks. I'd recommend almost any of them.

[pixiewhip]

You should check out http://veganyumyum.com/ it has some excellent vegan autum side dishes (roasted squash with thyme,  lemon pepper brocollini)  which would all be excellent with a hearty main like a nut loaf.   
Unless your family has a lot of people who have issues with vegetarians (as opposed to a family of meat eaters where people eat meat because they don't want to be vegetarian) you should be fine serving a meat  free meal.  In fact,  I imagine the family would expect it.  In my family about half of us are veg and at xmas every year I always make a different veg main course for the vegetarians that we eat along with the sides that my parents prepare.  A lot of the time the meat eaters end up trying to steal the veg meal  (hey if your choice was buckwheat crepes stuffed with caramalized onion,  roasted portabellos and gruyere cheese and covered in white wine thyme cream sauce or slices of turkey what would any reasonable person choose?).
Just make the meal absolutely great and I doubt anybody will complain about the missing meat.

[lupinbunny]

I'm an ethical omni who seems to be falling closer and closer to vego every day (haven't cooked meat for myself in a few weeks, but have eaten it when out), and I would still feel uncomfortable not providing/ inviting others to bring meat if they want it. I'd feel personally like I was pushing my views/ lifestyle onto them.

For a casual dinner with friends or whatever I have no problem at all with serving them vego (er, about half are vego anyway, so it's easiest like that), but this is a special occasion in which a big hunk of meat on the table is tradition, and as such I think refusing to allow meat on the table might be a bit more political than it would be for any other dinner party.

I'm already thinking about Christmas, and what will happen. I'd probably be most comfortable eating a vegie roast, but I know that family members would be upset that I wasn't eating the 'celebration food', and as I do still eat some meat (when I feel like it) it would feel churlish to say 'No, I'm not eating this meat today'. My solution is shelling out for free range turkey.

To the OP, if meat is going to be involved, maybe think about preparing it yourself if it means you can be sure it was free range, organic etc (of course, whether this is practical depends on why you're vego).

[sticky_fingers]

In all honesty people do -not- have to have meat at every meal and they won't starve or anything like that.  I'm vegan for ethical reasons so there's no way I'd bring meat or animal products into my own home.

I agree completely. If you have gone to the trouble of cooking up a lovely spread, your family should be grateful. It's not at all offensive to serve an entirely vegan or vegetarian feast - it's not as abstaining from meat for one meal goes against their morals.

They eat meat out of preference where as you don't eat meat for ethical reasons. (but it's a good idea to find out if they have any allergies and never never lie to them about what's in their food.)

It's entirely acceptable for you to politely decline meat at their house. But for them to decline your food, or bring their own meat would be rude. It would be like saying "hey I know you spent ages making me this three course meal from scratch, but I'm gonna bring mcdonalds and eat it in front of you, because that's what I like." Very rude. You wouldn't go to a dinner party and leave brussels sprouts on your plate because you don't like them.

I really think you have to go all out and show them that they're not missing out on anything though!

Stuff that I like to make for holidays  includes... herb roasted veg, potato salad with veganaise, punk rock chickpea gravy from vegan with a vengeance, home made biscuits, pumpkin seed crusted tofu with home made cranberry sauce, maple glazed green beans, orange glazed beetroot, mashed potatoes, stuffing. I've had good results with home made tofurkey - my relatives loved it.

For dessert - the most important part! gingerbread apple pie, pumpkin/sweet potato pie, pecan pie, home made vegan ice cream/sorbets, chocolate orange mousse pie, ginger cookies, oh and strawberries dipped in melted dark chocolate (I live in the southern hemisphere - summer christmas! strawberry season!).

ARGH now I'm getting excited. I can't wait for christmas... I freakin love to cook.

[missliz01]

Hey thanks pixiewhip, lupinbunny and sticky_fingers for your thoughts/input.  I really have taken a lot of great ideas away from this thread and I'm so excited for the holidays to arrive now.