Vegetarian Holiday Fare
(Page 2 of 3)
October/November 1993
By David Merrill
The meat-free recipes on the following pages testify to the fact that vegetarianism is not a form of deprivation, and also that vegetarian cooking doesn’t necessarily aim to imitate meat with nonmeat ingredients (although the Vegetarian Holiday Roast might serve that purpose). In moving closer to the bottom of the food chain, our family has found not only spiritual, nutritional, economic, and ecological satisfaction—any one of which would be reason enough to make the change—but we have also broadened our palette of colors, textures, and flavors. Herbs and spices have become foods to eat for their own sake rather than generic powders at the end of an ingredients list. We’ve found that their flavors come into their own in the milder contexts of grains, beans, and tofu; they rise above, blend with, and enhance the subtleties of vegetable, nut, and seed oils; and they assault the olfactory receptors with fragrant, pungent variety. This is my favorite form of aromatherapy.
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Although birds’ eggs and mammal milk clearly are not plant-based foods, many vegetarians include one or both in their diets. As with meats, the choice whether to eat eggs and/or milk is personal, and the reasons for either decision are legion. All the recipes in this article are made without eggs or dairy products except the Pumpkin Ravioli and the Winter Squash Herb Bread, which contain both, and the Mushroom Gravy, which contains butter.
Vegetarian Holiday Recipes:
Vegetarian Holiday Roast
Pumpkin Ravioli
Herbal Bean Sausages
Winter Squash Herb Bread
“Savory” Fruit Compote
Mulled Holiday Cider
Mulled Rosemary Wine and Black Tea