Veg*an Reception Mini-FAQ

Section 0: About this Mini-FAQ

0.1 What is a (mini-)FAQ?

FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions. A newsgroup FAQ usually contains a list of questions which have been asked on that group so often that people are tired of answering them. A FAQ may also contain information about how a newsgroup works, newsgroup traditions and rules, and hints as to how newsgroup posters wish themselves and each other to behave.

A mini-FAQ is a FAQ which deals with one or two specific issues; it is meant to supplement the main FAQ.

0.2 Where can I find this Mini-FAQ?

This Mini-FAQ is posted to alt.wedding upon request. It can also be found on the World Wide Web, at http://www.terracom.net/~dorothea/vegrecfaq.html.

0.3 Where’s the main alt.wedding FAQ?

The main alt.wedding FAQ is posted to alt.wedding bimonthly by Gail (shoofly2@airmail.net), and is archived at http://www.wam.umd.edu/~carrie/Altwed/faq.htm. It can be reached through the alt.wedding web page, at http://www.netins.net/showcase/wedding.

0.4 Copyright

This FAQ is maintained by Dorothea Salo. Please distribute freely without modifications, with this statement intact. If you would like to see something changed, corrected, or added, please email Dorothea Salo at dorothea@terracom.net.

0.5 Revision history

Version 1.0
Written July-August 1997

Version 1.01: September 12, 1997
Changed alt.wedding FAQ maintainer. Removed “and shellfish” from Section 3.6, pursuant to information from Audrey Jill Ettinger. Clarified Section 1.4, pursuant to suggestions from Mary Jane N. Shroyer.

Version 1.02: January 1998
Added information to the section on macrobiotic diets. Added a page on vegan cake recipes to the web version of the FAQ.

Version 1.03: May 1998
Added a few menu ideas, and antispammed my email address on the web version.

Version 1.04: January 1999
Changed my own email address and URL, to reflect a change of Internet provider.

Version 1.05: April 1999
Added a link to the Mining Co.’s article on vegetarian weddings.

Section 1: Definitions

1.1 What is a vegetarian diet?

A vegetarian diet, in the most generally accepted definition, is one which contains no meat, fish/shellfish, or poultry. Some vegetarians say that they refuse to eat “anything which had a face,” if that helps make the idea more concrete.

1.11 What is all this “ovo-lacto” stuff?

It’s Latin. “Ovo-” refers to eggs, and “lacto-” to milk (and, by extension, to all dairy products). An ovo-lacto vegetarian is comfortable eating eggs and dairy products. An ovo-vegetarian eats eggs but will not consume dairy products; a lacto-vegetarian consumes dairy products but will not eat eggs. A majority of vegetarians are ovo-lacto.

1.12 What is a vegan diet?

A vegan diet is one which contains no animal products whatever, including products which do not automatically cause the animal’s death. Vegans eat neither eggs nor dairy products. Many vegans also avoid honey and refined (white) sugar.

1.2 What is a macrobiotic diet?

A good question, to which I have had difficulty finding a straight answer. (If anyone else can, tell me!) As best I can tell, a typical macrobiotic diet is a vegan diet which also attempts to avoid refined foods (such as white sugar, for example).

I am told that: “the gist of the dietary philosophy is a reliance on local, natural, organically grown, whole foods; elimination of meat and dairy unless you live in arctic or near-arctic regions, avoidance of either raw or well cooked foods (salads are just as bad as over-cooked vegetables in their system), in favor of LIGHTLY cooked foods (again, this can vary by region, just as can use of animal proteins), and correct proportions of the recommended foods.”

1.3 What is a “fruitarian” diet?

Fruitarians do their best to subsist on plant products which do not entail the death of the plant. As best I know, a strict fruitarian diet is not nutritionally possible, but some people do try very hard not to kill anything at all when they eat.

I mention macrobiotics and fruitarianism mostly for informational purposes. It’s highly unlikely that the average person knows anyone who follows one of these diets.

1.4 How do these differ from “meatless” diets?

Good question. To make a long story short, there are some people who call themselves “vegetarian” or claim that they follow a “meatless diet” when what they really abstain from is red meat (e.g. beef). These so-called “vegetarians” may eat fish or poultry.

Similarily, many people now eat a meatless or nearly meatless diet for health reasons, but don’t consider themselves vegetarians. They seldom eat meat and prefer to cook meatless meals, but have no moral objections to eating meat or using items like chicken broth (technically “meatless”) in dishes. So meatless can mean “without any animal flesh” rather than “no red meat” or “vegetarian,” especially to health conscious cooks.

Obviously, this is highly confusing to non-vegetarians, and some vegetarians (those who abstain entirely from eating dead critters, that is) find it downright offensive. Terms such as “piscitarian” (for those who eat fish but no other flesh foods) and “semi-vegetarian” have been proposed, but are not widely accepted.

It never hurts to ask someone calling him/herself vegetarian precisely what they won’t eat, or run a particular food by him/her to make sure it’s all right. Only the very rare (and rude!) vegetarian will be offended by such questions.

1.5 Abbreviations and symbols

For simplicity’s sake, I have adopted the following abbreviations and symbols:

  • veg*an: vegetarian and/or vegan
  • †: In text, indicates a food or type of food which stands a good chance of not being vegan or being only partly vegan, although it may be suitable for ovo-lacto vegetarians

Section 2: The Vegetarian At The Feast

2.1 Why are we discussing non-veg*an receptions in a FAQ about veg*an ones?

Because veg*ans go to the weddings of non-veg*ans all the time. While not every wedding host/ess can take time or effort to ensure that veg*ans are catered to (pun intended), I think it’s silly not to try to help those who do wish to make such an effort, but don’t know where to start.

2.2 Ack! There’s only one veg*an coming to my wedding! What do I do?

Don’t panic! It’s possible you don’t need to worry at all. If you’re having an hors d’oeuvres reception, for example, it’s more than likely that much of what you’re serving is veg*an—cheese trays†, vegetable trays, dips†, breads, and many different sorts of sweets† are just fine.

Buffets are also an easy way to cater invisibly to veg*ans; see below for plenty of menu ideas.

Sit-down dinners are unquestionably the most difficult. If you can’t offer a veg*an option (possibly because you are only having one entree, for example), try to work something out with your caterer. It’s not a bad idea to try for a special-food-needs clause in the contract you arrange with your caterer; this covers you with other food difficulties, such as special health demands, as well as veg*anism.

Perhaps a plate could be prepared with the meat entree left out and the remaining food attractively arranged. Better still, ask whether the meat entree can be replaced with something simple, like pasta (beware of egg pasta if your guest is vegan!) or a baked potato.

2.3 My caterer refuses to offer a veg*an option. What do I do?

Talk, talk, and keep talking. As I said in 2.2, it doesn’t hurt to mention this issue up-front to your caterer before you have locked in a contract, and a recipe or two in hand may sweeten negotiations. If the caterer looks at you like you’ve suddenly grown an extra head, it might be worth your while to look for another caterer.

The bottom line is that you are paying this individual (or business) to provide food you and your guests find acceptable. You are well within reason to insist that all your guests be fed appropriately.

If you find yourself stuck, though, talk to your veg*an guest. Believe me, it won’t be the first time your guest has faced this situation. S/he may have a suggestion, or s/he may just tell you not to worry about it. If you’re decent enough to explain and apologize for the bind you’re in, only a very rare (and very rude!) veg*an will hold it against you.

2.4 My caterer is going to offer a boring vegetarian option. What do I do?

Let’s face it: plates of steamed vegetables over rice are pretty dull. Unfortunately, that’s as far into the veg*an realm as some caterers are willing to go.

Suggest something different. What caterer is going to admit that s/he can’t make a plate of pasta? Have a recipe or two in hand, and try to talk it out. At the very least, have a curry recipe around for those steamed vegetables over rice…

2.5 Why won’t my vegetarian guest eat… ?

If you’re not vegetarian, you’d probably be surprised at how many common food additives actually contain non-vegetarian products. Take Jello (tm), or a typical aspic salad, for example. Gelatine is not vegetarian; it’s a by-product of meat production.

Trust me; there are a lot more examples of this. Vegans face an even tougher time of it, as you can well imagine. Take, for example, the simple bread. Seems vegan enough—but was it made with milk? Was it brushed with egg or egg white after baking?

Your veg*an guest is more than likely not trying to be difficult when s/he refuses something you thought was acceptable; s/he may just know a little more about what’s in it than you do. Please don’t force the issue. It won’t help. You will end up hurting someone’s feelings—possibly your own.

Certainly, there are veg*ans who will quiz the life out of you about what’s in your reception food, at the reception. (Hint to veg*ans: Please don’t do this! If you’re not sure, it’s much politer to simply decline something.) You are under no obligation to answer, or to refer the annoying veg*an to your caterer. If the question is polite or apologetic, and you happen to know the answer, by all means give it—but it is definitely out of line to expect you to know every detail of what you’re serving, especially if you didn’t make it yourself anyway.

Section 3: Veg*an Receptions, In General

3.1 Scope out the guests

If you are planning a veg*an reception, the first rule is to Know Your Guests. Do they like new foods? Ethnic foods? Do they ever eat meatless themselves? What do they think of your veg*anism (if they know)? Are they expecting a veg*an reception?

Having a general idea of what your guests think about food will narrow your menu choices a bit, making your planning easier.

3.2 What to do about dedicated meat-eaters and scoffers

So Great-Uncle Larry can’t possibly eat anything that isn’t a steak? And Second Cousin Susie thinks all veg*ans live in Berkeley, CA (no offense to those who do!) and eat nothing but carrots and bean sprouts? You have a problem, and boy, don’t you know it.

The best way to deal with this is to offer familiar food that just happens to be vegetarian. Breads†, pasta bars†, vegetable trays, sweets†, cheeses†, soups, salads, potatoes. Don’t feed their prejudices instead of their stomachs by offering them foods they’ve never tried; better to plant the notion that veg*ans eat “normal” food too.

If you’re only inviting one die-hard meat eater, it’s up to you whether to cater entirely to him/her, really. It’s sort of a shame to stick to a dull menu for the sake of one person’s comfort level. Certainly, you should have something around s/he can’t refuse, but it may well not be worth it to revamp your entire menu.

If you have a whole crowd of these, however, I don’t recommend a sit-down veg*an dinner. A buffet or a finger-food reception is a much better idea; this way, they won’t have to try anything that “looks weird,” and you will receive fewer complaints.

3.3 How to handle the usual crowd

Most non-vegetarians, I think, are just like I was before I became vegetarian. They barely know veg*anism exists, and haven’t a terribly solid idea of what veg*ans eat. Still, they aren’t horribly picky eaters, and they’ll try almost anything once.

These folks aren’t difficult at all. In addition to the suggestions in 3.2, you can go a bit further afield. A sit-down dinner with a nice, middle-of-the-road veg*an entree should go over fine, or you can safely stick with a buffet.

Try ethnic food, outside of the familiar Italian. Try Chinese, Thai, Mexican, or Middle Eastern/Mediterranean. (A bonus is that if you have such ethnic restaurants in your area, a goodly number of them will do catering or party trays.)

3.4 If you think you’ve got an adventurous bunch

Go for it! Do a six-course sit-down dinner, and have a blast!

3.5 A word about meat substitutes

In general, I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan to use meat substitutes—tofu, seitan, tempeh, TVP, and so on—in your reception. Don’t get me wrong; I use these foods regularly to feed myself. Still, these are exactly the sort of thing meat eaters get attacks of the “ick"s over.

Better to go with the notion that veg*an cuisine stands alone, not feeling the need to replace meat.

Of course, I don’t think anyone is going to notice if your cream-of-some-vegetable soup has a tofu base. Use your discretion.

3.6 All very well, but where will I find a veg*an caterer?

If you live in a reasonably large urban area (say, state-capital size), you should be able to find someone. The Yellow Pages is the first source! Be prepared to spend a fair amount of time calling prospects, though; Yellow Pages ads do not generally mention veg*an catering even when a caterer is prepared to provide it. (That’s how badly veg*anism scares some meat eaters, I suspect. It’s a shame.)

Many ethnic restaurants cater as a sideline; it can’t hurt to ask. For buffets and finger-foods, find out whether your local natural-foods store provides party trays or party-scale deli offerings.

Ovo-lacto vegetarians might do well to look for a caterer who does kosher receptions and/or Bas Mitzvahs. Since kosher laws prohibit meat and dairy in the same meal, a kosher caterer probably has experience with meatless meals. (You will want to make it quite clear, however, that fish are out. Kosher laws don’t consider fish to be meat.)

The hardest nuts may be hotel caterers. It’s best to approach them with firmness and plenty of recipes in hand—and be prepared to book a different site if your hotel won’t accept off-site catering.

Section 4: Vegan Receptions, In Particular

4.1 Argh! The cake!

Unquestionably, the toughest part of a vegan reception is finding a wedding cake. Just about any normal cake recipe in any cookbook has eggs in the cake, and your average cake baker won’t be able to imagine doing without eggs.

One way of dealing with the problem is to use an egg substitute like flaxseed in a regular cake recipe. Be aware, however, that some people are allergic to flax. I have heard many raves about Ener-G egg replacer, available in most health food stores.

The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook has a recipe for vegan chocolate cake and white cake.

Other possibilities include vegan carrot cakes or applesauce cakes, which aren’t difficult to find, or tofu-based cakes like tofu cheesecakes. Click here for more recipes.

This is one recipe for a vegan cake; it should give some idea as to how to get along without eggs.

Eggless chocolate cake
======================
Barb Shoening, of Mound, Minnesota, isn’t sure where this recipe came from, but she has been making it for over 25 years. 2 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
vegetable cooking spray
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Separately combine flour and next 4 ingredients; stir well.

Add flour mixture to water mixture. Beat at low speed of an electric mixer until well blended. Beat an additional 1 minute at high speed.

Pour batter into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 deg F for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle powdered sugar over top of cake. Yield: 15 servings of 3 x 2-1/2” pieces.

4.2 Should I use dairy substitutes?

It depends. In breads, for example, using rice milk instead of cow milk makes no difference at all that I’ve ever been able to taste. (There are also breads which simply use water.) Soy cheese, however, does not ape the real thing terribly well at this point; if you base a dish on it, and invite guests who are used to dairy cheeses, they will know the difference.

Margarine instead of butter shouldn’t bother most folks. Ditto soy margarines.

4.3 I’m not sure my caterer knows what “vegan” really means…

Insist on seeing ingredient lists. Be annoying if you have to. You are actually doing that caterer a favor by educating him/her.

5.1 Where’d you get all this stuff?

All of these suggestions come from postings to the wedding newsgroups. Mostly, I created these lists to get your creative juices flowing; there’s quite a variety here in terms of elaborateness. To keep the list simple, I’m just putting things in alphabetical order. Some of the categories are fairly fluid, too.

5.2 Soups
  • cherry
  • cucumber
  • gazpacho
  • minestrone
  • miso
  • mushroom/barley
  • split pea
  • squash
  • tomato/dill
  • vegetable
5.3 Breads
  • anadama bread
  • anchovy-free Caesar salad
  • avocado feta crostini†
  • bruschetta
  • challah
  • cornbread
  • crostini
  • garlic bread
  • gorgonzola puff pastry
  • gruyere basil toast with cherry tomato slices†
  • pita bread
  • polenta cakes
  • potato and rosemary foccacia bread
  • rolls
  • scones
5.4 Salads
  • antipasto salad
  • bean/tomato salad
  • fruit salad
  • Greek salad with olives and feta cheese†
  • green salad
  • Japanese pressed cabbage salad
  • pasta salad
  • potato salad†
  • Romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, candied almonds and a vinaigrette dressing
  • spinach salad with walnuts
  • tabouli
  • three-bean salad
  • white bean salad with sage and arugula
5.5 Sides/Hors d’oeuvres/Buffet possibilities
  • artichokes filled with fennel and yellow and red tomatoes
  • baba ghanouj
  • black bean spread
  • cheese trays†
  • cherry tomatoes filled with basil pesto†
  • egg rolls†
  • empanadas
  • falafel
  • finger sandwiches (egg†, cucumber)
  • fluted tomato and basil tarts
  • fruit trays
  • grilled Portabello mushroom sandwiches
  • guacamole
  • hummus
  • mushroom and leek empanadas
  • mushroom and gouda empanaditas with salsa fresca†
  • potato pancakes
  • potatoes (baked, mashed, fried)
  • rice pilaf
  • roasted vegetables
  • samosas
  • sesame noodles
  • spinach, pine nut and argentine parmesan phyllo triangles†
  • stir-fried Sugar Snap peas with shiitake mushrooms
  • stuffed grape leaves
  • stuffed mushrooms
  • Swiss cheese pastries†
5.6 Entrees
  • cheese lasagna†
  • fettucine alfredo†
  • fusili primavera in marinara sauce
  • garden lasagna†
  • marinated vegetables
  • mini-quiches†
  • morel-stuffed enchiladas
  • pasta with creamy or tomato based primavera
  • pasta with pesto sauce†
  • red pepper skewers with mozzarrella and bread†
  • penne with marinara
  • spicy ratatouille† served over rice
  • spinach lasagne with bechamel†
  • stromboli
  • stuffed cabbage
  • stuffed peppers
  • stuffed squash
  • sundried tomato pesto and linguine†
  • vegetable stir-fry
  • vegetable skewers with garlic and rosemary
  • wild mushroom ragout with fettucine
5.7 Desserts/Sweets
  • baked apples
  • baked peaches
  • cookies
  • filo dough layered with honey and pistachio nuts
  • jams/jellies
  • mints
  • plum tarts
  • pumpkin gingerbread

Section 6: Other Resources

6.1 Cookbooks

Veg*an cookbooks are by no means difficult to find. Unfortunately, though, the real gems are often not available in the average bookstore. Try a natural-foods store; many have excellent cookbook sections.

  • Atlas, Nava. Vegetarian Celebrations: Menus for Holidays and Other Festive Occasions.
    This book has a whole section on easy buffets for social occasions. The rest of the book should be very useful for holiday weddings—Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, etc.
  • “Moosewood” cookbooks.
    These you will usually find grouped together in the cookbook section. Flip through them for dozens, if not hundreds, of ideas. Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant should be good for planning an ethnic-food reception.
  • The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook
    This one is a must for vegans. It has a number of vegan cake recipes.
  • Somerville, Anne. Fields of Greens and The Greens Cookbook.
    Good for the gourmet or formal veg*an reception.
6.2 Print articles

Vegetarian Times did an article on veg*an weddings in its February 1997 issue.

6.3 Usenet newsgroups

For general information on veg*an cooking as well as tasty veg*an recipes, the place to be is rec.food.veg.cooking. (I recommend avoiding rec.food.veg. You won’t find enough of value to be worth wading through the flamewars.)

If you have more specific recipe requests, check out rec.food.recipes. This is a moderated group; you send your request to cocina@mbay.net, it gets posted to the group by a moderator, and replies are vetted by the moderators and then posted. This is an immensely helpful group.

6.4 World Wide Web and FTP sites

The Mining Co. has put up an excellent article on vegetarian weddings. A must-read!