Sharing our holiday meals with family — virtually
CHICO » The ritual to prepare for Christmas is bound to change every year you make a big life change, like going vegan. The one thing we all have in common this year is the same problem we have faced most of the year — we have to stay home to protect each other, yet still find some joy in our everyday life at home.
As we close out this tumultuous year, often alone at home, it could be difficult to find ways to use the kitchen for therapeutic comfort food without the house full of your relatives. Another stay at home order certainly isn’t what anyone had pictured to spend the holiday season, and yet there are ways cooking and serving it to those you do have in your immediate home which can demonstrate exactly what we think the holiday is about.
For example, trying new ways of cooking vegan to celebrate eating with kindness — or just more plants — even if you aren’t a seasoned or committed vegan.
As I wrote last time, I don’t think that has to mean foregoing traditions, either. I’ve found after years of practice that starting to rethink how we cook traditional meals in particular helps break not just culinary boundaries, but social and cultural ones as well. People hold their Christmas hams and yams and scalloped potatoes dearly, and yet aren’t the holidays we actually remember the ones where we tried something new?
Here are some ideas for shaking up your Christmas in the north state, while opening the conversation for eating with more kindness and more plants in the New Year. You could share your progress on these dishes in the family Facetime calls and drop the recipes to even your older relatives you can’t go visit this year to give them some new ideas for the holiday too. It could become a new tradition to get creative together and find compromises, in ways that are still possible to do without being in person.
For example, now is the time to (virtually) introduce people to the magic of meat substitutes that are getting more convincing every day, if they aren’t quite ready to ditch the flavor and texture of meat. Adding Beyond or Impossible Meat to everything could help win the case for holiday celebrations in the future, with traditional dishes that people usually can’t let go of the meat on:
• Bolognese — I simmer vegetables like tomato and zucchini in white wine and basil before adding tomato sauce and the Impossible Meat, for an irresistible flavor over pasta;
• Lasagna or lasagna soup — layer Impossible Meat on the noodles between sauce, spinach and vegan cheese and nobody will know the difference. Or make it a delicious soup by using vegetable broth, tomato sauce and extra tomatoes and spices. It may be my new favorite way of enjoying the dish more simply • Minestrone — I swear this soup was made for the vegan version of ground beef and makes the broth ever more savory
• “Beef” casserole: everyone’s favorite simple solution for a hearty meal that can be easily frozen for leftovers can be simply veganized with the Impossible Meat crumbles and plenty of spiced tomatoes, onions and any other veggies you want to add. And vegan cheese. Lots of it.
When they’re seeing how easy it is, look for ways to add more veggies to everything:
• Scallop your potatoes — or really any baked vegetable — with nutritional yeast and vegan cheese like Violife
• Hide winter or butternut squash in more of your soups or chili dinners
• Add versatile veggies like mushrooms and carrots to pasta dishes instead of meat substitutes
Recommendations
If you do get tired of cooking, here are a few restaurants still doing responsible takeout with delicious options for a hot vegan meal:
• The Allies Pub, while usually focused on meat dishes, now has a vegan minestrone soup to go
• The Raw Bar now offers a few options like the Tempura Veggie Roll, the Pachamama and Angry Buddha rolls, house made miso soup, vegetarian spring rolls (ask if the wrapper is vegan) and seasonal stir fry vegetables
• Thai Express continues to be open only for take out (make sure you bring cash) and completely understanding of vegan eaters, with a variety of options for their curry, noodle soup dishes It must be said that I’ve been doing some scouting and had some disappointments with the following: Upper Crust occasionally has vegan desserts, but I haven’t had any luck asking for cakes and pies that can be custom-made as vegan. They do have vegan soups and cafe lunch items occasionally.
Lovely Layers Cakery is also guilty of very rarely having any desserts be vegan, although they do usually have one flavor of cupcake that is vegan.
The Raley’s and Safeway branches in Chico will say they have several cakes that are vegan, but I checked the label and there are in fact milk ingredients. If I am wrong in the future I will be happily surprised. There are occasionally small vegan red velvet cakes in their bakery takeout section that are delicious, if you check often.
This will be my last column for the year until January. See you all in the New Year, stay safe and happy veggie cooking!
Natalie Hanson was inspired to write this biweekly column after meeting more vegans in Chico and seeing the need for representation in the north valley. Send vegan-friendly restaurant or business recommendations her way to nhanson@ chicoer.com or visit @ northvalleyvegan on Instagram for more recipes.