So, You're Having a Vegan Over For Thanksgiving Dinner- So... Feed them Carrots? Right?

Having gone through 8 Thanksgiving dinners as a Vegetarian and more recently 2 as a Vegan, I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: 

Thanksgiving is the hardest holiday of the year 

and it is for most vegans/vegeratians

And honestly: for the most part it is what it is. My decision is just that: mine- and I never expect anyone to bend over backwards for me: they shouldn't have to. I've learned to bring my food so I can sit and enjoy dinner with everyone else, no problem. As long as there is wine I'll have a good night.

But, there are a few things you can do that will really make us smile. 

So, here are some tips on what to do if you have a Vegan/Vegetarian coming to dinner this year and you want to do just a little something for them:

10.) Make a mental note of where they are sitting and where you put the main meat dish. 

It's something that you wouldn't really think of, but it can make a huge difference in your guest's ability to really enjoy the meal. I can't tell you how many times the turkey/ham was directly in front of me, completely unintentionally, and I promise it can be really unpleasant if your not used to having it around. 

I can't tell you how many years the ham/turkey was right in front of me. Like, special just for me.

9.) Don't assume that because they are vegetarian/vegan that they are judging you from across the table. 

I can't tell you how many times I've been at a dinner with people and as soon as they find out Im vegan, usually from someone else at the table and not myself, they get really defensive, say something mean spirited end up hurting my feelings, making for a pretty awkward experience for everyone at the table. 

I promise, while eating my tofurkey I am not thinking "you turkey eaters are all satan!", Im actually thinking, "wow, it was SO nice of them to have a tofurkey for me! I like these people"

8.) Invite them to bring a dish.

It can be awkward to just show up to dinner with food if you weren't asked to bring anything, so open up the invitation: that way you can both be sure they will have something to eat. 

7.) Watch your serving spoons, they can get a little crazy.

Just make a note to have a serving spoon for each separate dish so that you don't have to worry about a serving spoon migrating from a meat dish to a vegan/vegetarian dish. That is always a HUGE downer to a vegetarian that is beyond excited about those mashed potatoes. 

6.) Don't be offended if they bring a dish/serving spoons/etc. 

If you made them something and didn't ask them to bring anything, don't be offended if they show up with something. The #1 rule to successfully being a vegan/vegetarian is learn to be prepared for anything: so that you can enjoy any meal situation. 

If I bring my own food and serving utensils it's 100% because I don't want you to have to feel guilty if you forgot something, or weren't sure what I can/cannot eat. I want to be able to eat with the group enjoying wine and my family/friends.

5.) Don't make vegan/vegetarian/animal slaughter jokes at the table.

Seriously. Humor is a go to for most people in awkward situations, but in this case it usually just makes things more awkward. When people do this is it completely reactionary and not meant to be hurtful, but think of it this way: you wouldn't make a joke about a Jewish person not eating ham if there was a Jewish person at your table not eating the ham because it would make them feel unwanted and would pretty effectively hurt their feelings. 

4.) If you REALLY want to show your guest that you were thinking about them and really genuinely want them to enjoy themselves: make them something to eat. 

My mother in law ALWAYS has a tofurkey for me and a side of stuffing. I can't tell you how much: it means to me and how much it makes me really excited to be at her dinner. No lie: her's is my favorite. Mamma Hayes: you are my Thanksgiving hero! Also, I love you. 

3.) If you are making them something: check the labels. 

Or, make it really easy on yourself and do a quick google search for vegetarian/vegan thanksgiving foods you can buy at most grocery stores. For example: vegetarian gravy brand. Bam, your done. 

It seems a little tedious, but if you are going to make the wonderful, loving effort to make sure they have something keep in mind that packaged foods that seem like there really shouldn't be any meat in can find really sneaky, weird ways of making sure its there. And going the google rout really takes most of the effort out of it. 

2.) If they offer to help clean up, don't ask them to package up the turkey or wash the meat dishes. 

I love to help in the kitchen! But, I don't really want to get meaty. So, ask me to set the table, fill the glasses, take care of the veggie dishes as far as wrapping up after dinner or washing the dishes, and of course i am SOOOO happy to help you serve the wine. 

1.) Respect. 

Its the one thing we all want and deserve. And as long as I am being respectful of you, return the favor. <3 If you have one of those crazy angry vegan/vegetarians that are looking for a fight; just ignore them. Its REALLY not worth your time. 

Here are some things not to do:

*Don't sneak meat/milk/whatever into their food, no matter HOW convinced you are that a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is wrong for them

*Don't make them the butt of any jokes. 

*Don't ask them if they are getting enough protein, if they are sure they are healthy, etc. 

Super Quick I Dont Have Time To Cook Veggie Rice Stirfry: Fast Vegan Recipe

So, my CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} program, AKA my veggie Santa brought me zucchini, cherry tomatoes and parsley as part of this week's delivery. And, I was determined to make dinner tonight with just what I had available in my kitchen. 
But, I have a paper due tomorrow and I have been running around like an insane person trying to fill all of my holiday orders and get ready for leaving for Thanksgiving. That and studying, you know. Whatever. 
So I really didn't have time to cook. 
I don't even really have time to write this blog but I am so stressed I cant sleep. 
It fabulous. 
So, this is what I came up with. Finished the entire meal in under 15 minutes and there were no leftovers. 

Super Quick I Don't Have Time To Cook Veggie Rice Stir-fry
*Prep time: 1 mins  *Cook Time:  10-15 minutes  *Serves: 2

Vegan stir-fry

Ingredients

1 tbs Olive Oil

1 Medium Zucchini

1- 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes

depending on how much you love cherry tomatoes

3 tsp balsamic vinaigrette

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tbs dried basil

1 tbs sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup instant rice or quinoa

if instant rice is blasphemy in your book go for quinoa, it cooks up in 15 mins

Step 1: Cook rice/quinoa according to package directions and heat the olive oil over medium high heat. 

Step 2: While that is heating up, throw your zucchini, cherry tomatoes and parsley into your food processor or blender and roughly chop. Throw that into your skillet and stir-fry on high heat 5 mins.

Step 3: Add your balsamic vinaigrette, salt, pepper, sun-dried tomatoes and rice/quinoa. Stir fry another 5 minutes on high or until most of the water has evaporated from the skillet, being careful not to burn your food. 

Step 4: Done. Eat. 

This is a great meal if you want something fresh and delicious but you don't really have time to cook anything. 

Community Supported Agriculture and the Magic that is the Veggie Santa Claus

Did you know that most small farms have a program in which you pay them weekly and they deliver, to your door, a surprise compilation of veggies/herbs and sometimes fruits? 

They are called Community Supported Agriculture programs and you can find them almost anywhere. 

and

there just so happened to be one that delivered to our area. 

So of course we signed up for it! 

Here is what our first Veggie Santa delivery looked like:

We pay $26 weekly, delivery included for a 'small' box of produce. 

This is what we got on our 1st box:

6 tomatoes

1 bunch arugula

1 bunch cilantro

6 ears of corn

1 green bell pepper

5 radishes

2 zucchini

1 bunch bok choy

It. Was. Awesome. 

So, after 3 weeks of getting fresh produce delivered to us here are the benefits I have seen: 

• The produce itself is some of the most flavorful I have ever had
• Because I plan meals around what is delivered we have actually started saving money on grocery bills
• The produce is picked the day before it is delivered right to me. So it is the freshest produce I have ever had. Which means it lasts significantly longer than store bought produce that takes time to get to the store before it gets to you. Im talking after 2.5 weeks my cilantro is still fresh. Crazy. 
• I get to try new foods! Most of these things arn't things I would pick up on my own and I have to create meals based on new recipes I find or create using the produce in my delivery. (turns out I LOVE radishes)
• You can specify what you DO NOT want them to deliver so that you arn't getting a ton of foods you don't like. I left mine pretty open because I love trying new things

The only disadvantage is that what you get depends on what is growing well. So, we've been getting a lot of corn and zucchini. I think more variety would be more fun. But, I also don't know that it is fair to call corn and zucchini a disadvantage.... in the past 3 weeks Ive made zuchinni cilantro hummas, ginger zucchini bread that was fantastic, herb brushed corn and some gold old pain baked corn. So... maybe disadvantage is not the right word.

If you are in the Boynton Area and want to sign up here is the site for the local farm here:
www.veggies4u.com

If you are in another area, you can go here to find a CSA near you:
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/