Vegetarian Holiday Meals

If you're sufficiently recovered from Thanksgiving to think about the next round of family holidays, then you need to think again about those special meals for relatives/friends/family/random strangers who might be lactose intolerant, dairy allergic, vegan, gluten intolerant, or anti-nog.

Vesanto Melina on commonground.ca discusses viable recipes in Vegetarian Holiday Meals.

She suggests:

A large squash stuffed with seasoned cooked grains, then baked, makes a spectacular centrepiece. The stuffing can include basmati rice, quinoa, onion, parsley, walnuts or pecans, sun-dried tomatoes and seasonings, such as basil and oregano. You can create your own stuffing combination, or use the recipe for sensational stuffed squash and good gravy in Raising Vegetarian Children (Stepaniak and Melina, McGraw-Hill, 2003).

Raising Vegetarian Children is available in my Milk-Free Bookstore on the Kids and Parenting page.

Desserts are always a special problem. She suggests one from another vegetarian book:

German chocolate cake with coconut squash icing may well become everyone’s favourite chocolate dessert. Ask your guests to guess which vegetable is part of the icing; likely, no one will guess correctly. (See recipes for these in Becoming Vegetarian by Melina and Davis, (Wiley Canada, 2003).

The New Becoming Vegetarian, 2nd ed., is available in my Milk-Free Bookstore on the Vegan Cookbooks page.


Gluten-free diners may go for the following:

squash stuffed with grains is a welcome offering and may be served with one of several excellent gluten-free gravies. Another popular choice, and my favourite in the world of gluten-free baking, is pumpkin spice bread. Ultra-fudge brownies and heavenly date squares are good too. All are made without a scrap of eggs, dairy or wheat. (See recipes in the Food Allergy Survival Guide. Melina, Stepaniak and Aronson, Healthy Living Publications, 2004)

The Food Allergy Survival Guide is available in my Milk-Free Bookstore on the Multiple Allergy Cookbooks page.

Melina also gives an unsourced recipe for kale and red pepper holly ring, but I'm going to assume that it comes from one of her cookbooks that she's plugging.

Kale and Red Pepper Holly Ring

Deep green kale tossed with bright red bell peppers resembles a holly wreath when presented in a circle on a plate. As this way of serving greens is likely to have broad appeal, you may wish to double or triple the recipe for larger groups.

6 cups thinly sliced kale greens
¼ cup diced sweet red pepper
2 tbsp flaxseed oil or olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

Fold kale leaves in half lengthwise and remove the rib. Then slice thinly. Place kale in steamer, sprinkle with red pepper. Cover and steam over medium-high heat until the peppers are tender-crisp. Drain. Combine oil, vinegar and tamari in a bowl large enough to hold kale. Toss kale and peppers into vinegar mixture and place on warm platter. Create a wreath shape by pushing the seasoned kale toward edges of platter, leaving an open space in centre. If desired, heap steamed rice or place a rounded nut loaf in the centre of the ring.

Makes about four servings.