Vegans, need your help!!?!
Thank you
Answers: I am having some friends over next weekend and two of them are vegans. Any recipes you can suggest? I am scared!! :)
Thank you
While there may be some vegans who would be offended by omnivores eating meat in their presence, dictating what someone could serve in their own home would be very rude. Most of us are savvy enough to realize that the large majority of the population is omnivore, and reasonable enough to deal with it.
The simplest thing to do is to serve something that is "accidentally" vegan to begin with. Spaghetti with marinara sauce is a perfect example. The vegans can eat the pasta (check the ingredient list for eggs - most dry pasta is vegan) with the sauce, and the rest of you can add meatballs and/or parmesan to your dish. Same thing with a salad. A simple oil and vinegar is as vegan as can be, though you could put out other dressings that might appeal to your other guests as well. Just an example. There are lots of different ways you could adapt a menu to be vegan with the option of additions for everyone else.
(Relax, you're obviously a good friend since you're willing to try this out, and vegan food isn't scary!)
Vegan chili
The great thing about this recipe is, you can make loads and than freeze it. So on the weekday, you can just thaw it and heat it up and have some French bread with it. Also, great for family casual gatherings, or a summer party dish for friends.
Serves 8-10.
· 1 1-pound eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
· Olive oil
· 2 yellow onions, chopped
· 3 cloves garlic, minced
· 2 medium zucchini, diced
· 2 large red bell peppers, cored, seeded, diced
· 1 to 2 jalape?o peppers, seeded, finely minced (Taste and check the heat of the jalape?os. If very hot only use one, if mildly hot, use two. Wash hands with soap and water after handling. Do not rub eyes.)
· 1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes
· 1/2 cup red wine
· 1-2 Tbsp chili powder
· 1 Tbsp ground cumin
· 2 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
· 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
· 1 1/2 cup cooked white beans (1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)
· 1 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans (1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)
· Zest of one lemon
· 3 Tbsp lemon juice
· 1 teaspoon sugar
· 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cubed eggplant into small, shallow roasting pan. Toss with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once. Remove from oven, set aside.
2 Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil on medium heat in a 5-6 quart Dutch oven. Add onions, cook for 4 minutes. Add garlic, cook for a minute more. Add zucchini, red bell peppers, and jalape?os. Cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
3 Coarsely chop the canned tomatoes, add to pot with their liquid. Add wine, cumin oregano, and fennel seeds. Add chili powder to desired heat. Gently stir in reserved eggplant, simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.
4 Add beans, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and cilantro. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve with sour cream (vegan version), grated cheddar cheese (vegan version), and chopped green onions.
Relax hon. =) Most vegans are pretty open-minded, myself included. They will probably just be glad you're having a vegan option, not being picky about what there actually is.
Try these, they are super delicious!:
"Beef" and Orzo-Stuffed Peppers
Beautiful and satisfying stuffed peppers make the perfect presentation for a special dinner with friends or family. Serve them with crusty bread and herbed vegan margarine.
1 cup orzo pasta
4 peppers (green, orange, red, or yellow)
2/3 cup tightly packed fresh parsley
1/4 cup soy parmesan “cheese” (try Soymage brand at www.galaxyfoods.com)
2 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt, divided
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
12 oz. faux ground beef-style crumbles (try Yves Veggie Cuisine brand—www.yvesveggie.com)
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1 12-oz. jar tomato sauce
? Preheat the oven to 350°F.
? Cook the orzo pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and set aside.
? Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers (save them) and scrape out the insides, removing the seeds. Place the peppers into the boiling water, simmer for 3 minutes, remove from the water, and invert them onto a paper towel to drain.
? Place the parsley, soy parmesan, walnuts, basil, 1/2 tsp. of the salt, and the garlic into a food processor and pulse until blended. With the food processor running, slowly add 1/4 cup of the olive oil and continue processing to form a smooth pesto.
? In a large skillet, brown the beef-style crumbles in the remaining oil over medium heat. Stir in the orzo, pesto, the remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt, and the chopped tomato. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture is heated through.
? Pour the tomato sauce into an 8-inch glass baking dish. Fill the peppers with the “beef” mixture and place them into the baking dish. Put the pepper tops back on and bake for 20 minutes.
If you need any more recepies or information, try checking out www.vegcooking.com. They have lots of great stuff!
Good luck! =)
CURRIED SPLIT PEA SOUP (http://kylesveganblog.blogspot.com/2008/...
Ingredients
16 oz dried split peas
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced small
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups water
1 carrot to grate in at the end (optional)
Spice blend
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons salt
generous pinch cinnamon
Directions
Saute the onions in the olive oil at medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and spices. Saute 2 more minutes.
Add the water and stir well. Add the splitpeas. Cover and bring to a boil.
Bring heat back down to medium, let soup simmer for about an hour, until peas are tender. Grate in the carrot and serve. You can garnish with fresh cilantro if you have it on hand.
SUPER SIMPLE PARTY DIP (http://kylesveganblog.blogspot.com/2008/...
The bottom layer is a bean layer:
1 16oz. (448g) can Vegetarian refried beans
1 small can Diced green chiles
1 envelope taco seasoning (make sure it doesn't contain milk or cheese)
Mix all ingredients together and spread onto a medium or large serving dish
The next layer is the Guacamole:
2 ripe avocados
1 TBSP. lemon juice
hot sauce (to taste)
salt (to taste)
-Mash avocado in a bowl with a fork and mix in the rest of the ingredients.
-Spread on top of bean mixture
And last but not least:
1/2 large tomato, diced
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
Sprinkle over top of Guacamole and serve with your favorite tortilla or potato chips.
SESAME NOODLES (http://kylesveganblog.blogspot.com/2008/...
Ingredients:
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
4 T sesame tahini
4 T sesame oil
1/2 tsp or 4 pinches cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp or 4 pinches ground ginger or 1" piece ginger root, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound cappellini (angel hair pasta)
3 green onions, sliced thin, ends trimmed
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
sesame seeds and crushed red pepper flakes for garnish
In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, tahini, sesame oil, cayenne, ginger, and minced garlic until smooth, set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions and then drain in a colander and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Give the noodles a few good strong shakes to get the water out. Pour noodles into a large bowl and toss with soy sesame sauce until well-coated. Stir in carrots and green onions. Serve sesame noodles with some sesame seeds and red pepper flakes and enjoy.
Have a great time!! Hope it all works out for you and your guests!!
a yummy vegan recipe: Banana Muffins
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 large, very ripe bananas
1 1/4 cups applesauce
1/2 cup dates
1/2 cup vegan soymilk
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. In a blender, puree the bananas and dates; add the applesauce, and soymilk. Mix well. Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Fill muffin cups with the batter and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.
Delicious!!! :-)
EDIT: No its not offensive, lol. Just make sure you provide vegan food *and* food the others will like.
All good ideas given. Please just remember no butter on vegetables nor egg or milk in anything. It's easy to go wrong my bread contains milk and butter [not much] but it is therefore not suitable for vegans
For dessert you could make a fresh fruit salad with non-dairy yoghurt instead of cream? That's really simple to make and non-dairy yoghurt isn't hard to find. Plus it tastes really nice! :)