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| Happy Spring!!! |
I confess to having been a vegetarian for so much of my life (since long before I learned to cook, in fact) that whenever I get asked what is perhaps a natural question - "What does your family eat, anyway?" - I never have a quick or tidy answer. "We eat everything," is usually my first reply. Then I see the look of confusion on the other person's face and realize that my "everything" is not their "everything." I also often forget that vegetarians are supposed to eat mostly weird/exotic foods and meat substitutes (in fact, the only soy product I ever tried during my first 15 years as a vegetarian was soy sauce). So the conversation usually ends in a bit of mutual smiling confusion.
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Meanwhile, it makes me very happy to have a bunch of people eating together around the table, so on a regular basis I indulge myself by organizing a dinner party. No one ever seems to notice that no meat is served, or at least they are too polite to mention it. However, it is fairly rare that we are invited to eat at other people's houses. For years I have had different theories about this, ranging from "the dinner party is dead", to "nobody wants to cook anymore but because I cook, they are embarrassed to feed us take-out", to "people don't want to have children at their house, at least not our children", and even wondered whether it's because "we are terrible conversationalists but no one's ever told us", etc.
Recently I put two and two together and now I have a new theory about why the favor isn't returned: it's because we're vegetarian. Perhaps it's that people literally don't know what to offer us, so rather than admit that or attempt an awkward conversation, they abandon the idea before it ever gets off the ground. For those people, and anyone else reading this who knows a vegetarian individual or family (we are everywhere, you know...and yes, we will try to convert your meat-eating children, bwahahaha), below are a few practical tips and meal-planning ideas. Oh and this is where I definitely want to give props to our lovely non-vegetarian friends who have made the extra effort to feed us in the past, including our current neighbors on both sides - and E, I still need to get that orzo salad recipe - yum!
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| What we eat, circa 2006: 1 year-old Sophia with baked ziti all over her face and teenage Tour recently arrived from mostly meat-eating Botswana, adjusting to life in a vegetarian household. In the background you can see my jars of pulses, legumes, grains and flours. |
Tips for Feeding Vegetarians
Tip #1: Vegetarians eat dairy products and eggs. Vegans do not. Some vegans also do not eat honey, and both usually avoid gelatin. People who say they are vegetarian or vegan but eat fish are actually pescatarians, though they may not know the term, and they need to get a clue because they're confusing everyone who thinks that us vegetarians eat fish, too! Also, most vegetarians who eat dairy and eggs either love them too much to give up, or their doctor won't let them due to health reasons. So be sure to feed them to us if you like dairy and eggs also. Which brings me to my next tip:
Tip #2: Feed us protein. Vegetarians usually get the protein shaft everywhere they go: restaurants, buffets, fundraising suppers, you name it. No matter how big the dessert may be, a green salad and unlimited slices of bread simply will not satisfy our caloric or nutritional needs until the next meal. Vegetarian sources of protein are nuts, beans/legumes, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and yes, soy products like tofu and tempeh. But only make a recipe with those last two if you really know what you're doing. Otherwise we'll be calling out for pizza before the evening's end.
Tip #3: Make a lot of food. Yes, there are a few super-skinny vegetarians who seem to exist on nothing but a small bowl of millet porridge and kale at each meal, but the majority of us who try to eat mainly whole foods and lead active lives are only able to get in enough calories by eating large portions or by grazing all day (and who has time for that?). At our family table, third helpings are not unusual, so please keep that possibility in mind if you are deciding whether to double or triple your recipe when vegetarian guests are coming over.
Tip #4: Just like you, vegetarians are likely to be big fans of comfort food, especially when eating at somebody else's house. I adore baked pasta dishes like lasagna and macaroni and cheese with breadcrumbs on top; I swoon for shepherd's pie with a thick gravy or tamale pie with cheesy cornmeal topping - but I almost never make these dishes because of the time involved and because of they just don't include enough power vegetables to meet my personal nutrition standards. However, it's my opinion that comfort food is exactly what dinner party food should be about, especially in cold weather; yummy favorites that require a little extra effort and show you care about the people you've invited. (Though the lack of time or ability to make these kinds of dishes should by no means discourage the cook. The main thing is to enjoy each other's company for an evening and in the end, who cares what you eat as long as you have good beer and/or wine to offer!)
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| What we eat, circa 2013: 4 year-old Ava enjoying Moroccan lentils and couscous, with crispy browned onions |
Vegetarian Meal-Planning Suggestions:
- Make a hearty soup and serve it over a grain or alongside a heavy bread
- Split pea soup (minus the ham hock and with veggie boullion) with a dollop of plain yogurt, served with cheesy-garlic toast made from seed-studded whole-grain bread. Add a salad if you want (maybe spinach, roasted beets, goat cheese, walnuts, cranberries with a balsalmic viniagrette) and be sure to serve a substantial dessert (apple pie or crumble, or carrot cake with ice cream?)
- 3-bean chili with peppers, zucchini, corn and carrots, served over brown rice or with corn bread and butter. Don't forget the diced avocado, salsa, plain yogurt/sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions and crumbled tortilla chips to put on top of the chili! This is a heavier meal, so fruit salad, maybe served with cookies, is a nice way to finish.
- Minestrone (minus the beef broth and bacon) with plenty of zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, cannelini beans and macaroni pasta. With parmesan cheese grated on top and maybe a simple salad and/or bread, this is a substantial meal. Still, it's nice to have a piece of simple cake, like lemon semolina or angel food, for dessert.
- Make something you love, but find a vegetarian version
- Cabbage rolls stuffed with lentils and bulghur wheat
- Stuffed peppers filled with rice and beans and topped with cheese
- Lasagna with chopped, sauteed kale instead of beef (and here's where you can substitute crumbled firm tofu for a tub of ricotta and no one will be the wiser)
- Quiche with vegetables and cheese
- Think ethnic: Low-income people the world over have developed an infinite menu of dishes that don't revolve around meat. For me, the chance to try out new techniques and spices is what makes cooking so fun.
- Pad Thai noodles
- Ethiopian wat
- Indian dahl
- W. African peanut stew
- Moroccan vegetable tagine
- Japanese miso noodle soup
- S. American quinoa salad or vegetable soup
- Spanish torta
- Mexican rice and beans
And in the end, just relax and remember that the idea is to share a meal, not deliver a performance. If you aren't sure what to feed a vegetarian, just ask them what they like, and go from there. Most of us will just be glad for the invitation, and will do what we can to make things easy on you. :)
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| Happy, healthy, well-fed little girls! |
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