does anybody have suggestions for my first vegan christmas?

Question

I've got some ideas, like my regular vegan treats and whatnot, nuts, etc...but if anybody has some interesting ideas I'm open to them.

(keep in mine I live with 5 other people, all meat-eaters, lol)

Answer 1

If you live with 5 other ominivores, I wish you "good luck" as well as a Merry Christmas. Hopefully they will be respectful of your chosen lifestyle/diet.

Pies and sweets are always welcome. Nuts especially ... an assortment would be nice. I certainly wouldn't provide a main course ... that might lead to a mutiny.

Answer 2

squash is always a good idea. I recommend butternut or pumpkin, since they are both available this time of year (although the season is somewhat late for pumpkin).

Olives are a great finger food, and can be a platter in themselves. Between black, green, and kalamata olives, there are a wide varieties of flavors and presentations, from salads, to stuffed, or simply canned or pickled. I find that kalamata (pitted) and green olives stuffed with either almond of garlic have a powerful amount of flavor that prevents bland vegan meals.

Squash can be cubed and steamed or grilled and served as an appetizer along side the nuts and such (much like a cheese platter, with the toothpicks and whatnot). In addition, it can be included in the main course, once again, steamed, or grilled, in a variety of ways.

cranberries are also good this time of year, whether boiled (not to bursting, though...it can be kind of messy if you don't pay close attention), halved, skewered, and grilled (kind of sour/sweet and chewy) or dried. I eat them raw, but people think I am crazy.

Jimica is a tasty appetizer. It can be julienned and be served raw (I prefer raw and chilled) or lightly grilled alongside the cranberries, nuts, squash, and so forth.

Moving back to the mulish foods...this is where vegans get creative around meat eaters. This can incorporate some advanced culinary skill, or not, depending on how comfortable you are. Essentially, alongside the typical Christmas non-meats (green beans, beets, potatoes, etc.) fruit can be added in the form of cakes, such as upside down cake, or fruit loaves (think fruit cake that is edible) along with nuts to balance out the sweetness.

Kabob can be popular among omnivores because they associate it with the meat kabob, and the charred flavor can be satisfying to them. I enjoy an odd little kabob of halved grape tomatoes, jicima cubes, cactus, pineapple, red onion wedges, and halved cranberries marinated in a salty or brine marinade for half a hour and grilled for 4-7 minutes over open flame. It has a very wide range of flavors, and you can get creative with addition and subtraction and have a Christmas colored kabob.

The key to successful veganism is creativity and experiementalism. Go ahead and go out to a farmer's market, Asian market, or even a Hispanic market, and just pick out two or three things that you have never had before, and then look up how to prepare them, and see if you like any. If you do, throw them into the meal. This can add some excitement that some meat eaters can find lacking in a typical Christmas meal of ham, turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes, etc. that they have year after year. If they are adventurous enough, it can be fun for everyone.

Answer 3

Go all out and have all the junky foods that aren't good for you to eat every day - like someone else said try those fake buffalo wings. Have lots of sweets - mmmm soy ice cream! You could make a soy ice cream cake even - there's a place called Maggie Mudd that makes them if you live in SF bay area but if not you could find your own recipe. You could have a big bowl of Thai peanut noodles. Get some chips and make some vegan sour cream and onion dip (make it like the regular soup mix dip just use vegan ingredients). Ooo and you could make a pizza all loaded up with soy cheese and veggies and vegi pepperoni. All those meat eaters will be amazed that hey can get obese on vegan too lol.

Answer 4

Oh my goodness, at first glance I thought it was vegan as in Vegas, can you tell I was up all night with a sick baby. I would recommend Allrecipes.com They have tons of yummy ideas, I believe you can even search for vegan recipes. I like the Sweet potato casserole, it has egg and milk in it, but still fits the vegetarian side if you aren't super strict. It has orange zest in it that gives it a wonderful flavor. Topped with nuts/brown sugar/ coconut, oh and butter, dang. Good Luck,
oh and search for a great Cranberry sauce. My sister makes one with assorted berries that is divine, unfortunately I think she got it from a local restaurant.

Answer 5

Check out www.vegweb.com--they do have holiday-style recipes.

And you might be able to find something holiday-ish in "The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook" by Robin Robertson.

Answer 6

Fried tofu on toothpicks...with diff dipping sauces, cucumber sandwiches,Morningstar farms buffalo bites(tastes like the real deal), um maybe some spanakopita, easy as heck to make, really tasty. Yahoo recipes always has awesome ideas.

Answer 7

Roasted squash (acorn, butternut, etc.) is a crowd pleaser!

Answer 8

Makes either four individual tartlets with 10cm/4in loose-bottomed flan rings or one larger one using a 20-22cm/8-9in flan ring.
Ingredients
225g/8oz ready-made puff pastry (thawed if frozen)
55g/2oz wild rice
2 tbsp olive oil
15g/½oz vegan margarine
370g/13oz leeks, finely chopped
110g/4oz oyster mushrooms, sliced
200g/7oz packed cooked and peeled chestnuts, chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves only, chopped
1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp shoyu or Henderson's relish



Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board. Use to line either four individual 10cm/4in loose bottomed flan rings or one 20cm/8in large one. Do not trim the excess pastry yet. Prick the base all over and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bake blind for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is cooked, then trim off the excess.
3. Cook the rice in boiling water until the grains split (about 30-40 minutes). Drain and allow to cool.
4. Heat the olive oil and margarine in a frying pan and gently fry the leeks for about five minutes until soft.
5. Add the mushrooms and fry for a further five minutes, then stir in the chestnuts, rosemary, sage and cooked wild rice and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Add the shoyu or Henderson's relish and cook for a further two minutes.
7. Spoon the filling into the pastry case(s) and return to the oven to bake for 5-10 minutes, until warmed through.


OR..................

Ingredients
450g/1lb puff pastry
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk or water, to glaze

For the Paprika Sauce:
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 small red pepper, roughly chopped
1 ripe tomato, deseeded and chopped
25g/1oz unsalted butter
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds
90ml/3fl oz dry white wine
1 tsp tomato purée
200ml/7fl oz vegetable stock
125ml/4fl oz double whipped cream, semi whipped

For the Filling:
225g/8oz kohlrabi, cut into 1cm/½in dice
225g/8oz potato, cut into 1cm/½in dice
12 cauliflower florets
½ red pepper, cut into 1cm/½ dice
25g/1oz unsalted butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp garlic, crushed
2tsp paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper
100ml/3½fl oz vegetable stock



Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas4. To prepare the pithiviers cases, roll out the pastry approximately 1cm/½in thick and cut out 4 rounds with a 13cm/5in fluted or plain cutter. With a small kitchen knife, cut small slashes radiating in an arc shape from the centre of each pastry round to the edges. Place the pastry rounds on a buttered baking sheet, brush with the beaten egg and chill in the refrigerator for up to 15 minutes. Remove and brush with a second coating of egg, then bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown; remove from the oven and keep warm.
2. To make the sauce, sweat the shallot, garlic, red pepper and tomato in the butter until softened. Stir in the paprika, caraway seeds and wine and boil rapidly until the wine is reduced by half its original volume. Add the tomato purée and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and skim off any impurities on the surface, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. Blend in a liquidizer or food processor until smooth, then pass the sauce through a fine sieve and set aside.
3. To make the filling, blanch all the vegetables separately in a large pan of boiling salted water for 1 minute and then drain. Heat the butter and oil in a pan, add the garlic, paprika and caraway seeds and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the blanched vegetables. Season to taste and pour on the stock. Cover and cook until tender.
4. Just before serving, bring the sauce back to the boil, then take it off the heat and whisk the semi-whippen cream into it until frothy.
5. To serve, cut the pastry cases in half horizontally and carefully remove the uncooked pastry within. Arrange the vegetables in the pastry bases and put them on serving plates. Coat each one with the paprika sauce and top with the pastry lids. Serve at once, with any remaining sauce.

Answer 9

Cook a traditional dinner for them, then make something for yourself. They won't want to eat rabbit food just because you do.

Answer 10

tofu, and vegeterian beans