Calling Vegetarians

Well, my 13 year old grandson would be quite happy with a plateful of Yorkshire puds, with a tasty gravy! Come to think of it, he's practically vegetarian apart from ham and bacon, with the occasional sausage thrown in.

A fancy omelette with mushrooms, tomatoes, peas, and shrimps with a colourful salad?
We had some lovely salads in the US, different leaves mixed up with strawberries or mandarin oranges, with raisins and pecans thrown in too.

Or pasta with smoked salmon in a creamy sauce?

Well, DD, DGD (18) and I are all vegetarian, and I could bore you rigid with suggestions. However:

We all agree, that if it is a roast dinner, what we love is to have Yorkshire pudding, and roast potatoes and vegetables - bung in cauliflower cheese and that is us sorted. But potatoes cooked in oil, please. I have a recipe for a "mushroom roast" which everyone loves, and which goes down well with chicken type roasts.

We also, sometimes, put lots of chopped and cooked mushrooms and garlic into the Yorkshire pudding mix, which serves us nicely as a main component. You can do similar things with Anna potatoes.

Spinach or parsnip roulade is good; blue cheese savoury cheesecake; homity pie (love that!) and, of course, the endless variations of vegetables in pastry that turn up on most vegetarian menus, anything from something akin to a Cornish pastie to mushroom Wellington.

If all else fails - go to M&S!

Sorry - said I wouldn't bore you...pm me for recipes if you like.

Another good one is pineapple and chestnut stuffed cabbage.

One of the best roast dinners that I ever had was on a yoga retreat where they only served vegetarian food. We had a delicious nut roast.

We sometimes buy a frozen nut roast which contains chestnuts, mushrooms etc. from one of the major supermarkets. It is not expensive and is quite tasty.

Does she eat fish, or cheese?
When we were (partly) vegetarian I made sweet and sour prawns for xmas dinner.
Otherwise the old standby, veg. "meat" loaf, made with ground nuts and various vegetables added. Or a dish based on pulses.

I take your point jings but have learned to keep the "lip-zip" closed when matters like this come to the fore. DD is a medical research scientist and her partner is a Consultant Dr so I presume they know what's what! DGD does eat cheese and eggs and some fish and lots of fruit, veg and salad so I presume she is getting the right nutrition. School lunch seems more of a problem and she has either pasta or jacket potato every day. DD is an excellent cook so I think it will be OK in the long run.

My problem is finding something a bit celebratory for her meal when they come to us. Starter and puds. will be fine plus cheese course but what can I do for her main?

Isn't she a bit young to be a vegetarian? Can she really have all the nutritional information needed for her health and development at her fingertips? Or is someone else willing to take on the careful menu planning that will be necessary during the next few years?

My son and I often make filo parcels for Christmas dinner - for the two of us, as the others are carnivores. You can use all sorts of veg and mushrooms for the filling and all supermarkets stock filo pastry.

Stuffed big mushrooms? Be warned, when I made these for the vegetarian in our midst, everyone else wanted one as well as the standard stuff. They went rather well with the turkey etc, and looked decorative too. What you stuff them with is up to you, and the stuffing is more piled on top than stuffed inside.