Non-Veg Guests…

Sigh…we’re back in town now after a summer at the cabin.

This summer, we had a steady stream of guests–indeed, more than our usual crowd. Some stayed for a few days; others visited for an afternoon or evening replete with lots of great food and wine (…and perhaps a bit too much of that!). Oddly, only one of our visitors was vegetarian, so we were particularly conscious of making food that would satisfy non-vegetarians. For a couple of the days, we had a big group of rather delightful twenty-somethings, so J and I spent days discussing recipes that would fill these (mostly male) young people up, so they wouldn’t miss meat. The meals–lasagne, gruyere galette, etc., etc.–relied heavily on cheese (you really can’t spring tofu and quinoa on a hungry crowd of young carnivores). And, indeed, the young people seemed quite satisfied…except for one young man, who actually seemed offended by our vegetarianism and refused to eat anything we served, claiming that “if it doesn’t bleed, I won’t eat it.”

Fortunately, we’d had enough wine that we couldn’t find it in ourselves to be offended. I was, however, gratified to see him sneaking pieces of my homemade (and most definitely MEATLESS) focaccia bread later in the evening (and, oh yeah, I made sure I caught his eye just as he was sneaking past with a great handful of my bread).

Anyway, I stumbled across a new blog today called–Veggie and the Beast–with some rather amazing-looking recipes, many of which are vegan. What’s interesting about this blog, however, is that the blogger’s focus is on making food that will satisfy non-vegetarians–something that’s always an issue when one is entertaining (though, clearly, nothing will satisfy those determined to be offended by vegetarianism!). I’ve bookmarked the blog for future reference. The blogger also has a talent for producing drool-inducing photographs of food.

In particular, my current obsession with sriracha mayo has me intrigued by Veggie and the Beast’s recipe for “Red Lentil Buffalo Sauce.” Will report back soon!