Beloved Son will arrive any day now for a few weeks stay and he will bring along one? ten? eight? friends all at once, or a few at a time . . . all gracing the land with their radiant young energy and ready to pitch in on some projects. And not just my projects, but his dad’s projects as well.
My ex- and I own adjoining properties and he has two houses on his, one built by his great-grandparents in 1892. He thinks it probably needs a new roof this year. It’s a 2-story Victorian with a steep pitch on the roof. This is a job for young guys. It’s actually a job for professionals, but that’s not the way in this family. We do as much as we can ourselves, partly because we’re frugal (cheap) and partly because we like it. We don’t always have the greatest result but, then, neither do some professionals.
But because both of his houses are rented out, the gang will stay on my land in tents and whatnot. And I’m preparing to cook. A bunch.
In the past I could plan a week’s worth of gang meals in a minute or two with good Hungarian fare: chicken and dumplings, goulash (pronounced ghoul´-yash), stuffed cabbage . . . all those things that simmer in mammoth pots (I have some huge ones stashed in the shed) just in case the local Regiment shows up for lunch. But my diet has changed as has Johnny’s. He’s mostly vegan now.
OK. I have two pieces of experience that will work for me here:
- I’ve eaten a vegetarian diet off and on for years.
- I’ve cooked for a gang since I was 6 or 7-years-old. Actually, I wasn’t the cook. I was my mother’s sous-chef, go-fer, table-setter and server, but she could whip up dinner from scratch for 23 people in a tiny cottage kitchen, top it off with homemade French Vanilla ice cream and not even break a sweat. What’s more, she fed that gang three meals a day for four days and seemed to love it.
So . . . I can cook vegetarian . . . and I can cook for a gang. I just haven’t put the two skills together. Easy-peasy!
I don’t know if it has to be vegan (no eggs or dairy) but I’m going to start there just to be safe. So here starts the meal plan:
- Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie . . . I haven’t made this in years but it uses lentils instead of ground beef. Here’s an online version. I won’t follow this recipe exactly (maybe not even closely), but it’s just to give you an idea.
- Pasta Primavera . . . so simple. Some whole grain pasta and my own “roasted veggie sauce.” And a friend just called as I was writing this. She asked if I knew how to make “vegan Parmesan.” Nope, but I do now thanks to her instruction. Put nutritional yeast (more) and some walnuts (less, I’m thinking about a 3 to 1 ratio, yeast to walnuts) and a little sea salt in the blender. Blend until it’s the consistency of finely grated Parmesan.
- Indian Style Potatoes and Greens . . . an inspiration from Vegan Dad. Again, I won’t follow this recipe. It’s just an inspiration and a welcome variation.
- Beans and Rice . . . There are endless ethnic variations to this combo but I’m going plain. I’ll use good ol’ organic pintos cooked with onion and garlic, a little cumin, oregano and dried cilantro and a separate pot of brown rice (organic).
- Nori Rolls . . . years ago a friend gave me a great recipe for rolls with a really savory rice inside and not much else. I have to pick up some sesame seeds from the Co-op to make my own gamasio.
Beyond that we need noshes. Homemade hummus though I’m not sure I want to bake my own whole-wheat pita because my place is tiny and it’s hot out these days. (OK . . . it’s the PNW and anything above 72º qualifies as too hot to bake. I’m a temperature wuss.) And of course there will be lots of salad stuff available, both soft leaf and “hard” (the cabbages and kohl varieties).
Then, of course, there is THE BAIT. This is my blackberry cobbler. Beloved Son lures his friends to the island to do hard, physical work just to have the opportunity to try it. Honestly . . . ? I think the build-up is so over-the-top that they think it’s wonderful no matter what. Also honestly . . .? it’s really good. Hand-picked with love and intention, totally pure (pesticide and other junk-free) wild blackberries and a lovely, butter-filled topping. That’s not vegan . . . but if you’re going to err once a year on the side of eating animal products, my blackberry cobbler is the place to do it.
“Recipes” (that would be loose instructions) to follow.
