Menu ideas

[JenniferL]

The first day of school is coming up in two weeks (Yes, I know. Georgia starts hideously early.) and I'm planning to have all the faculty over for lunch the weekend before. I did this last year, mainly to keep my mind off how incredibly nervous I was about starting my first year of teaching. I need some creative menu ideas.

 

At least one teacher at my school is a vegetarian. Several are devout muslims and can't eat pork. Since I like to be as inclusive as possible, I'm planning to do a completely vegetarian meal. I'd prefer things that I can make the day before, so I'm not rushing around that morning to get things ready. I'm leaning towards finger foods right now, because that will mean fewer dishes later.

 

Any one have any ideas? Three ideas I've floated so far are:

 

Salads- Do three types of salad (potato, chopped, something else) with veggie tray and cut fruit.

 

Chinese- I can make awesome vegetarian dumplings and stir fried veggies.

 

Sandwiches- Do an array of vegetarian sandwich spreads and breads and let them go nuts. Veggie tray and cut fruit go with this as well.

 

Any ideas? I'd like a sort of theme to the menu, but I'm not married to any of these ideas.

[Zardi]

Sandwiches- Do an array of vegetarian sandwich spreads and breads and let them go nuts. Veggie tray and cut fruit go with this as well.

If you go with that, you could, potentially, have some meat options too, in case you do end up with some people who don't eat vegetables.

 

The chinese dumpling thing is a good idea. What about some sort of veggie pasta dish? That wouldn't really require more dishes than the salad option, or you could use disposable plates if this is an informal event.

 

Maybe have ingredients so they can build their own tacos or burritos? There's a burrito place around here that has a completely "veggie" option, which includes rice, beans, mushrooms, and peppers.

[Dwynwen]

You could always use tofu instead of meat for certain dishes. That way, you can make sure the vegetarians get enough protein.

 

I don't know about grocery stores in Georgia, but out here you can get wide selections of veggie meat (made from soy or gluten instead of real meat). You could also use that as a substitute.

[Poledra]

heh, I unno. when I think veggie I think the veggie sub from Subway 8) *shrug* just an idear, but maybe an expensive idea if ur paying for a lot of teachers

[Guest Majsju]

You can never go wrong with a couscous salad. here are a bunch of ideas for recipes

 

http://www.recipesource.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?search_string=couscous;filter=off;dir=.%2Fmisc;start=50;max=25

 

And some bread on the side.

 

Damn, looking through that made me hungry :D

[JenniferL]

I think I'm far more likely to have teachers who don't eat meat, than who don't eat veggies. I work at a school for hippies, after all.

 

I have seen the vegetarian "meat" at the grocery store and it terrifies me. I eat tofu and veggie burgers happily, but the idea of eating fake meat seems counter-productive. Besides, those things are loaded with sodium.

 

Maj, that couscous salad looks great! I'm thinking I'll do a selection of salads. I'm thinking I'll do a caprese salad (tomatoes, basil, mozerella), couscous, fruit salad and garden salad.

 

I think I'll do chocolate fondue for dessert. That always goes over well.

[Mendorah]

I vote for doing something chinese. That way you can do dumplings, and rangoons and spring rolls (steamed korean style or fried). All of these have veggie options. And some of them you can buy frozen and just drop in the deep fryer/steamer if you don't want to hassle with making all them. Miso soup is also Rediculously easy to make and Quick too, but can also be made the day before. And any type of stir fry or rice or noodle dish is sure to go over well.

[Dwynwen]

I love veggie meat! The trick is to find the right brands, since some are awesome and some are not so good. Of course, I suppose I'm a little biased in that regard since I go to school in Loma Linda.

 

I'm already drooling from the suggestions of miso soup and couscous!

[JenniferL]

The only problem with a chinese menu is the amount of whining I have to put up with from my husband. See, when we make potstickers or egg rolls, I do the fillings and he does the actual assembly. He doesn't seem to know what flavors go well with each other and I didn't grow up in a chinese kitchen the way he did. I can't make my 'rolls nice and tight like he can. So if I do an asian themed menu, it'll mean more work for him and then I have to listen to him complain for a week.

[Jaydena]

Ohhhhh couscous rocks, I love your salad ideas, pair that with a fruit tray, and a veggie tray and it's a great meal!

[KellySedai]

Oh God, that vegetarian stuff makes me wretch.. :P

 

I think the veggie trays sound like a good idea, and the pasta dishes. :D