Vegan food for celebrations

[Daffodil]

when we eat at my parents house on xmas day my mum makes sure her roast pots and stuffing etc are vegan for me (I never eat gravy)...but when we eat at his parents house (alternate years) then i just have the boiled vegetables and they pile them on for me.
i never like desserts anyway so I just go straight for the alcohol lol.

[helen105281]

Am lucky that my Mum never uses the meat juice for anything and that she always uses vegan gravy. If she had to make mash potato for any reason she would make it vegan for everyone. So thats good.

[Agatha]

i'm having christmas dinner on my own this year. I went to Saf on Friday with a friend for an early dinner but was VERY disappointed to get there and be told all the christmas main courses were off huh!


so instead I will be having a homemade nutroast (chestnust and hazlenuts yum!), traditional sage and onion stuffing (no pork meat of course) maple roast parsnips and roast potatoes, green veg, red cabbage, marmite gravy (its not as awful as it sounds) and home madde red currant jelly. YUM. i know what sounds like a lot for one person but i plan to eat leftovers for the next two days. i LOVE christmas leftovers.

oh and for dessert i recommend stuffing a bramley apple with sultanas, cinnamon and sugar and bake till golden. mmmmmm

i hope that gives you some ideas?

i have a vegan friend whose mum has bought her the redwood meal for one so she can eat alongside her family.

You, could if you really wanted, prepare all your nuts etc in advance so that when you arrive you just need to add water and bake your own roast?

[twinkle toes]

normally for roast dinners i just pile on the roasted onions and sweet potatoes, roast potatoes, parsnips mmm i can't wait til christmas!! my mum is veggie and we normally eat the same thing for roast dinners since i went vegan, and dad makes his own pork or chicken or whatever seperately. dads dinner usually looks a bit pikey actually compared to the veggie feast we stuf our faces with i am definitely going to have to try the vegan pigs in blankets just for the sake of curiosity, good suggestion cedarblue!!

[Sluggie]

My sister is hosting Christmas again this year. The first year she did it, I made a cranberry and pecan loaf and pre-cooked some roast potatoes, but now my sister is used to my weird requirements, she is happy to prepare my food as well as everyone else's.

When I asked her if I could bring anything, my 4 year old niece piped up "you could bring a bottle of wine". Precocious little .... darling.

[emmapresley]

I'm a bit stuck. Made nut roast wellington last year and it was a bit fatty, even by my standards. Normally have nut roast with loads of veggies. This is my son's first year as a vegetarian, and so I want to make something extra lovely. We just had a test drive of veggie deli turkey roast, with wild rice and cranberry stuffing. It was so gross, only my omnivorous husband, who will eat anything, could actually swallow it.

Might go with that old faithful, nut roast, and chuck a couple of chestnuts in for a festive feel.

Can you tell I can't really be bothered?

o shit. really? i dithered over this tofay in h & b and ended up buying some. is it really that manky?

[Glen Lambert]

I'm making the Tofu Roast from Sarah Kramer's La Dolce Vegan.

I'm also taking plenty of Vegan supplies as my family never buy in anything especially for me.

[behindblueeyes]

My big Italian family has the feast of the seven fishes (in addition to a separate Xmas dinner). I usually end up having plain pasta with the little kids, but I don't mind! The smell does bother me a bit though..
I usually bring food for myself to family things. Italian food has tons of meat and cheese.

[Kitteh]

I made mini pot pies, stuffed zucchini bites and steamed veg for my Christmas lunch

[karmafunk]

Wow! Can you give us the recipe please Kitteh?

[Kitteh]

The recipes are linked in my post

[pkccat]

Hi there. I'm new here so please be kind if this or a similar post appears already

On Boxing day my brother and sister-in-law and kids visit us. So I need to make a special Christmassy meal.
Now for the complicated part!
Most of the family are meat eaters so I cook a seperate meal for them, it's my sis-in-law and me that I struggle with.
I'm vegan and sis-in-law is veggie, but she doesn't like to eat eggs and cheese (if she knows it's there (she loves cheesecake) BUT she hates mushrooms and wont eat vegan sausages/burger type things at my house (she eats them at home though).
So my problem is what do I make that will do as a celebrartion meal for a very awkward guest?

I have made a really nice filo pie with chestnuts, butternut squash, spinach and almonds before and a onion and shallot tart.
I dont want to serve the same meal every year and was hoping for some really good ideas.
Thanks.

[amethyst]

Thanksgiving in the U.S. is on November 24th this year. It will be my first vegan Thanksgiving, so I am beginning to experiment with some of the recipes that I have used over the years. We have had the same menu in my home since I had my first baby, and she is 24 years old. Most of the dishes came from my childhood, and I have added in a few of my hubby's favorites. Each kid has chosen a favorite over the years to round out the menu.

This is what I used to serve:

Turkey
Cornbread stuffing
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Green bean casserole
Sweet potato casserole
Macaroni and cheese
Broccoli casserole
Raw veggies and dip on a large platter, as many colors as I can fit onto it
Cranberry relish
Yeast rolls
Pumpkin pie
Pecan pie

This will take some major, and some minor, adjustments for a vegan holiday. It's worth it to me, so I can show my family that we can still eat everything we used to eat and enjoy our old traditions (minus the turkey). Does anyone have vegan recipes for any of the above, or a suggestion for something similar? I plan to take each recipe and break it down, item by item, to make each dish vegan. It's actually fairly simple to do so, as most of the dishes are made from a veg and some kind of sauce, or a grain and some kind of sauce. Try to ignore the first item~ I don't need a sub for that! I don't need it all, and won't miss it, with all of the other decadent dishes I plan to serve. This is not the way we eat daily, btw.
Way too heavy and rich.

Sometime during the meal, I do plan to comment to my carnivorous family about how everything they are eating is vegan (except for that #^+~@*$ 'g bird!) Oy! They all love veggie and fruit dishes, and I still hope that someday they will come over to my side of the street, so to speak.

So.....what's for dinner in your Thanksgiving kitchen this year?

[Dumile]

I am so used to turkey on thanksgiving, that would be weird to not have something turkey like. Last year was my first Vegan thanks giving, and we used tofurky...I hated it..

This year, we went to Wholefoods early and got a Vegan Whole Turkey, and Vegan Ham. The ham is good! I love it, but my wife hates it. I just hope the Vegan whole turkey tastes good. I guess I will buy tofurky just incase, and try my best to take that bland nasty taste out of it.

[fondducoeur]

Instead of turkey, we have this cashew nut roast every year: http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/nut-roast.html.
It's delicious w/gravy!

The first couple years I was vegan, my husband (then my bf) and I honestly avoided going to my family's place for Thanksgiving. I would say I was going to visit his family, but we would stay in and make our own completely vegan dinner (I'm not really proud of this, but it's true). Then we moved out of state and continued to celebrate alone for a couple of years.
However, we moved to my home town and last year I had my first vegan Thanksgiving with my family. My grandma made the nut roast that I normally make and cooked all the veggies with earth balance. Her apple pie is vegan as is. She mashes potatoes with soy milk/EB for us, and I bring vegan gravy for my hubby and I. I think it was a bit of extra work for her, but we were very pleased and are looking forward to it again this year.

[VeganAthlete]

I am a bit stuck this year. I have not yet decided where to spend Thanksgiving, but my grandparents and my parents have extended an invite to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. I have been living with my partner for over 6 months now and his mother and grandmother recently invited me to celebrate with their family. If I celebrate Thanksgiving with my relatives, I will be forced to come up with something ingenious that will blend in with the catered food and the few homemade dishes at the event. My grandparents are both vegetarian and usually provide a few side dishes. The killer is the appetizers and desserts. The catering service that my grandparents use every year provides plenty of cakes, pastries, pies, empanadas, cookies, doughs, etc. I am pretty darn sure they use eggs, butter, cream, milk and caramel in almost everything.

Here's what I am thinking.

Option 1: Celebrate with my partner's family: Purchase Tofurky Feast package and make a side dish of butternut & zucchini casserole, vegan cornbread and tofu pumpkin pie on a Keebler vegan crust with soy whipped cream and pecans.

Option 2: Celebrate with my relatives: Bake a broccoli, greenbean casserole with rice vegan cheese; tofu pumpkin pie (small), and ask my mother to veganize part of her carrot salad by using agave and soy milk instead of sugar and sour cream.

[missbettie]

The first couple years I was vegan, my husband (then my bf) honestly avoided going to my family's place for Thanksgiving. I would say I was going to visit his family, but we would stay in and make our own completely vegan dinner (I'm not really proud of this, but it's true). Then we moved out of state and continued to celebrate alone for a couple of years.

I have to say, I think this is crazy romantic. I would love to spend Thanksgiving with just my SO.

[fondducoeur]

Miss Bettie, it was fun! Some part of me would like to continue the tradition, but the other part of me is glad to be back home and have a day to spend with family. I still kind of wish we could make our own dinner, eat at home, and then have family time afterwards but I guess that's not how Thanksgiving works...

[Hemlock]

I'm really really bored with nut roasts, little bits of stuff on brushettas and all the usual vegan christmas suspects. What I want is a filling comfort eat in the form of a pie crust with a rich creamy filling of some kind. I'm off to look for a suitable recipe. I may stick one of Yotam Ottolenghis recipes in a pie crust and see how it works out, I'll let you know!!!

[happysunshine]

I'm still mulling over my options and, since I'm going shopping tomorrow to get supplies, I reckon I'd best hurry up and figure it out.

I'm always all ears to know what others are dishing up that's new and fresh.

What are YOU going to be putting on your New Year's plate?

[fondducoeur]

I am making a NYE brunch today (I expect I may not feel like cooking a big NYs meal tomorrow!).
I am making shiitake dill frittata's, tempeh crab cakes w/roulade, and Isa's Bloody Moskawitz's (Bloody Mary's) all from Vegan Brunch.

[Risker]

I don't think people do special meals for new years here. Most of the population seem to have liquid meals instead.

[harpy]

I don't think people do special meals for new years here. Most of the population seem to have liquid meals instead.

I'm afraid it's true - and I can't face another fancy meal at the moment, I'm cooking some Plain Food. Might try and force some of my leftover dog biscuit, I mean stollen, on the Ancient Brits later with their champagne though

[harpy]

...though this recipe sounds interesting if one felt like celebrating Ephiphany

http://atelier-naturel.over-blog.com...e-1548631.html

It's in French so if anyone's interested and needs a translation let me know.

[Korn]

Hi all, her's a question I got from someone who is not a member on the forum:

My daughter has asked me to make her wedding cake....A traditional fruit cake..three tiers...I am thinking of using a recipe from Delia smith (Christmas cake) ....I am a bit worried about egg subs....and increased sizes and cooking times...can anyone help.i.e. what size tins should I use...how long in advance can I cook the,....
Wedding end of may this year....

[kupo]

Happy Vegan Easter everyone!

Did you make any special treats?

I don't celebrate Easter as such, but my bf just made us a yummy cake and is doing a wellington later.





Can't get the picture to load...

[kupo]

Hope it works this time!

[Korn]

Hi Kupo, I fixed the image for you...

...and here's the best way to do it next time: First, open the actual image in a separate window (on Mac: right click the image and select Open The Image in New Tab). Select and copy the new URL info (in your case, "http://s23.postimg.org/aenav9qvv/IMG_20140420_130258.jpg") from your browser.
Now, select the image icon in the text edit box, and click on "From URL". Paste the URL info into that field, and do *not* select "Retrieve remote file and reference locally".
When you're done, click OK.

[dropscone]

I attempted to make chocolate eggs and bunnies using Plamil chocolate chips. I had a terrible time trying to temper the chocolate (need better equipment, as it kept going over temperature) so only one bunny was presentable if a bit rough round the edges!

[Risker]

Very impressive!

[Blueberries]

I attempted to make chocolate eggs and bunnies using Plamil chocolate chips. I had a terrible time trying to temper the chocolate (need better equipment, as it kept going over temperature) so only one bunny was presentable if a bit rough round the edges!

Wow, that looks really professional