Vegetarian Grief Food

[pfenixwings]

Hey folks and comrades who cook, and especially cook vegetarian amazingness -- I have a friend who is going through a deep grief process and I would like to bring her some sturdy food that could feed her for a few days, should she so choose to eat. Any suggestions? I am thinking some kind of baked casserole. But not gross. Recipes would be muchly

Comments

[quirkyster]

vegetarian or vegan?

if vegetarian, i've got an easy and delicious hashbrown casserole recipie. lots of cream and butter and cornflakes on top drizzled with butter. (would your friend appreciate southern dinner on the grounds style casserole?)

er... i could probably come up with a few other options as well.
there's a great chickpea/tomato/spinach dish that actually tastes better as leftovers.

[pfenixwings]

Umm, could I have both of those recipes? She's a vegetarian leaning towards vegan, I believe. But does occasionally eat whatever works. So the idea of cream and butter and more butter sounds awesome. But in terms of food that will help to ease the mood, the second casserole sounds SO GOOD. I love things that are better as leftovers. And I just want to make it easy for her to eat over a period of time.

[quirkyster]

bah, i just went through my recipe file & it's not in there. i'm going to look around more, but if my memory serves right, it's something like this

[tgstonebutch]

This is not My forte, but I can ask folks in My life about it for you.

Also, I would say that whatever you bring, consider ways to include the foods listed here, as they work on the biochemical level to balance out stress: http://tgstonebutch.livejournal.com/1004452.html

Casserole, yes, that would do it for Me, I think. Perhaps soup as well, for the comforting aspect? Similarly, tea/hot chocolate might also be comforting.

[pfenixwings]

Thanks, love. I had totally forgotten about your list! But that is definitely helpful, and I will keep it in mind as I am making things.

comfort foodies

[blackberrytart]

i definitely recommend soup or a casserole. if she's lacto-ovo, i'd recommend my mother's lasagna. if you need some vegan recipes, let me know.

1 jar spaghetti sauce (preferably no chunks)
16 oz low-fat cottage cheese
8 oz mozzarella (shred)
4 oz parmesan
6-8 lasagna noodles

preheat oven to 350. in a 9 x 13 baking dish, layer in this exact sequence: sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella,parmesan, then repeat. finish with sauce on top. make sure you use ample sauce or the lasagna will dry out. cover with foil and poke a few holes. bake 45-50 minutes. this is sort of dish that tastes much better when it's reheated (or eaten cold from the fridge...)

your friend is lucky to have you. i hope she is doing better.

Re: comfort foodies

[pfenixwings]

Her partner just died, with a relatively short-term diagnosis (less than a year), so while I am hopeful that this can help her a bit, I think it'll be a while before she's doing better.

Lasagna is the PERFECT idea. Thanks for the recipe. I will let you know how it goes. When I read your recipe, you make it sound so much easier than I generally imagine lasagna to be. Are you of the "cook the lasagna noodles first" school, or baked them and let the juices cook them?

P.S. to all you wonderful folks posting in -- can I say how much I love that I have a bunch of foodies in my life? You guys make life so much sweeter...and I mean that in more than the tastebud sense. :)

Re: comfort foodies

[blackberrytart]

hey sweetie,
for this recipe, the noodles just cook in the sauce. it's very simple. my mother has extremely precise directions for how thick the layers should be, but i'm pretty bad about following directions and the lasagna still turns out quite well.

that is really sad about your friend's partner. i'm so sorry.
xo, j

Re: comfort foodies

[blackberrytart]

now i am doubting my proportions a little, so just in case, i would recommend buying a large container (32 oz) cottage cheese and more than 8 oz of mozzarella.