Cooking with dietary restrictions.

There_Goes_Trouble

All of a sudden my original idea of toad in the hole is sounding more and more attractive.... who needs posh food for Mothers day??!!

Seriously though, I can't believe this is such a difficult thing to do!

pinkclouds

Not "dry", familiar veg and random meat... Hmm. Plus: veggie, low fat and dairy-free. I'm not sure if you'll go for this *but* would you be game for a Chinese steamboat?

A steamboat is basically a large pot of light stock that you dip various raw veg/meat into (to cook it) and then you eat the stuff (that you've chosen yourself) perhaps with a little of the stock (as a sort of soup). All you need is a big pot (maybe two pots actually, so the omnivores don't contaminate it with meat), some light vegetable stock, a small selection of condiments and a large selection of various tidbits e.g. various veggies, sliced meats, noodles, etc. It's dairy-free, low fat, easily customised for veggies and fussy eaters and it's definitely special (typically trotted out for New Year and the like).

There_Goes_Trouble

Hmmm, like a giant savory fondue?

Interesting idea. Not sure with a combination of 3 yr old, a frail 94 yr old and a long rectangle table, but will sleep on it and will google it tomorrow.

Thanks for all the ideas!

koalamummy

I saw this on a Scottish Slimmers magazine pull out so am assuming, maybe wrongly that it is low fat?

low fat sausages with honey and mustard and lemon juice mixed together as a marinade. You can use use vegetarian sausages as required. You just put it all together in an oven dish the night before and put it in the oven as required for about 30mins. I do it with pork chops and they taste lovely

pinkclouds

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

Hmmm, like a giant savory fondue?

Interesting idea. Not sure with a combination of 3 yr old, a frail 94 yr old and a long rectangle table, but will sleep on it and will google it tomorrow.

Thanks for all the ideas!

Yes, just like a fondue. The toddler (and maybe the 94 year old) might need someone to do the dipping stuff in the pot but they'd still have the fun of choosing their own tidbits to go in. Because it's a "fun" meal, it might also encourage the kids to be more adventurous with their food choices.

Emmzi

JournalGirl wrote: »

Salmon steak, in tinfoil. A couple of rings of onion in the bottom, salmon on top, squeeze of lemon juice, few herbs on top. Make it into a Cornish pastie shaped tinfoil parcel, bake for 20 minutes.

An alternative is to use chopped ginger and soy sauce, but that's better served with rice or noodles

Vegetarians don't eat fish. Pescetarians do.

Can't tell you how many times well meaning friends have tried to serve me fish and I've ended up eating a plate of chips.

JournalGirl

I've known people who call themselves vegetarians to eat chicken! And many call themselves vegetarians eat fish and seafood. I fully realise it's not correct, but presumed OP would know how 'vegetarian' her relative was, and be able to judge whether the recipe was an option.

JournalGirl

Emmzi wrote: »

Vegetarians don't eat fish. Pescetarians do.

Can't tell you how many times well meaning friends have tried to serve me fish and I've ended up eating a plate of chips.

Ps I've never served a vegetarian friend fish or anything else without checking what they do eat, as it varies so much from person to person

gingin_2

I think you might have to make something separate for the veggie, although Daksa's pie sounds amazing..

I did slow roast pork shoulder the other week for a lot of people, including kids and it was lovely. I think you might be able to cook it up to the last 2 hours and transport it and continue cooking it in the other person's oven. This had lots of roasted veg underneath it and took no preparation other than chopping up the veg and making gravy at the end.

My father claims not to like chicken but never complains if it's cooked in the right way. You could cook chicken pieces in soy, honey and garlic - it goes all sticky and yummy and again kids love it.

Spendless

Would inspiration from a different country help? I remember someone on another thread with similar issues deciding tex-mex was the way to go with fajitas and the meat eaters catered for as well as the veggies in one swoop.