Vegetarian

Seakay

Serves 6

butter and dried breadcrumbs for lining loaf tin
25g butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
225g cashews, grated or ground
OR
225g other white nuts, or a mixture, ground (almonds, pinenuts etc)
4 tablespoons milk
125g soft white breadcrumbs
2 eggs
salt and pepper
75g capers (optional) [They give a tang of flavour and look pretty when the loaf is sliced]

Set oven top 180C, 350F, Gas 4. Line a 450g (1lb) loaf tin with a long strip of silicon paper to cover the narrow sides and the base; grease this and the long sides with butter and sprinkle with dried breadcrumbs.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and fry the onion for 10 minutes until soft but not browned.
Take the saucepan off the heat and mix in the nuts, milk, breadcrumbs, eggs and a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Lastly, fold in the capers (if using) being careful not to mash them.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the surface , cover with a piece of buttered foil and bake for 1 hour. After this, remove the foil and have a look. If you think that it needs to be a bit browner on top then return to the ove, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes.
Leave the loaf for 3-4 minutes after it comes out of the oven to settel, then slip a knife down the sides of the loaf, turn it onto a warm serving dish and strip off the paper.

Serve hot with a rich sauce eg Bearnaise, or cold with mayo.

Seakay

Christmas can be hard the first time that you attempt a vegetarian one. Some people go with the nutmeat or quorn roast instead of turkey etc, and that can be great.
When my sister went veggie some years ago, the first Christmas we decided to have something different so that we wouldn't feel as though we were missing out. We had baked potatoes served with an avacado mashed into a packet of Boursin cheese to spoon onto them, stuffing cooked in a dish, apple sauce, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and some veggies. Then Christmas pud made with veggie suet. (Mincemeat made with veggie suet is great because you never get that coating feeling on your tongue, even when the mince pies are cold)
We did realise that as a veggie you can have all the yummy trimmings from most roast dinners (except crackling!), and sometimes these things are great on their owm, without a substitute for meat.
eg toad in hole is fine with veggie sausages, but why not just have slices of yorkshire pudding with a nice tomato sauce if you want some wetness (add lentils to thicken sauce and add some protein)?

ceridwen

Mean Beans - Cheap and Easy Vegetarian Cooking (by Cas Clarke)

Vegetarian Grub on a Grant (by Cas Clarke)

Vegetarian Student (by Jenny Baker)

Beyond Baked Beans Green - Real Veggie food for students (by Fiona Beckett)

Enjoy - and think how much healthier your daughter will be than meat-eaters.