So you’re planning a big holiday feast or a nice dinner for friends or family when you find out one of the guests is a vegetarian or a vegan.
What do you feed them? What do vegans eat, anyway? Vegans choose not to eat any animal products, which include dairy and eggs. While many vegetarians do eat some dairy products, it’s always safest to cook vegan dishes just to make sure.
Many holiday side dishes are vegan or vegetarian by nature, so a vegan guest shouldn’t have to be stuck with cranberry sauce and bread for dinner. Many people choose alternative diets for health reasons, and offering healthy alternatives to meat dishes is sure to be appreciated.
Here is one of my favorite vegan meals — a hearty dish with complete vegetable proteins and feature winter vegetables.
The recipe is open to interpretation, which means these are the ingredients I think work best, but you can substitute any number of herbs, seasonings and vegetables to create your favorite flavors. Cooking is a process, and recipes are just guidelines.
On that note, I also included a recipe for vegan chocolate cake — don’t tell people it’s vegan and they likely won’t know the difference. Baking is different than general cooking, though, and recipes for cakes and breads can’t be altered as easily.
Ingredients
1 large squash, such as a baby Hubbard or medium-sized pumpkin or two small, spherical squash, such as acorn, buttercup or Kobucha
1 small acorn squash
1 tablespoon butter (or olive oil if vegans are eating)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup of chopped winter vegetables — carrots, fennel, celery or a mix of the three
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or more to taste)
1/3 cup chopped nuts, lightly toasted — almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts or sunflower seeds work well
2 tablespoons chopped herbs such as parsley, sage or thyme
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4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (omit if vegans are eating)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop seeds out, place cut-side down in a baking dish with about half an inch of water and cover with foil. Bake for about 35 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and vegetables and sauté until soft. Add quinoa and toast for about two minutes. Add broth, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Once the squash is cool, scoop out and dice the pulp of the smallest squash. Mix diced squash with quinoa. Stir in nuts, herbs and half of the cheese.
Turn the rest of the squash faceup in the baking dish, season with a little salt and pepper and fill with the quinoa mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake until heated through — about 10 minutes.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 cup water
Chopped nuts, shredded coconut or vegan chocolate chips as desired
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool before removing from pan.
