Milagai

Thanks for all the suggestions, especially for the "nots de creme" and tofu and the eggless puddings. I'll think more about those.... I prob won't go the rice ball or fruit-based routes because I was really envisioning something puddingy, but will experiment and see what emerges. I don't think of adaptations as "erstatz" or a negative thing. Sometimes some really good stuff emerges and I am not against innovating / experimenting.... Thanks again Milagai

ps: why is it so unreasonable to think of eggless pots de creme? i believe ice cream recipes used to be egg-based too, and there are plenty of ice creams now that don't use eggs and don't use any industrial thickeners either, and taste excellent. no other suggestions? milagai

Sure they can be made without whole eggs or egg yolks. It's not clear what you mean by "egg substitute" because what I think of as egg substitute (e.g., "Egg Beaters") are egg whites with coloring and lecithin added. If your guests object to eggs in any form, then egg substitutes won't do. If they only object to yolks, you can make them with substitutes+cream+starch (cornstarch or tapioca starch or arrowroot). The eggs (mainly the yolks) act as the thickener as well as providing flavor and mouth feel. Egg whites alone will be too dry. You can finish with a bit of butter whisked in. ← Egg substitute NE egg beater. Egg substitute is a product made for persons who are allergic to, or choose not to, eat eggs, so it does not contain any egg products. I found a box in Whole Foods. Milagai

Dairy OK Eggs not OK Milagai

any suggestioons other than panna cotta? because of the gelatin issue... or would agar agar work? milagai

I've never made pots de creme before, but they sound easy and delicious (am I sadly mistaken?) Can they be made without eggs for some of my egg-free guests? Egg replacer + extra cream to compensate for the diminished fat? Or should I just go for something else? All advice welcome. Milagai

My 4 yo repeating the pre-meal chant from his Montessori: Thanks for food Thanks for food Suck your knuckles! (no idea what the actual words are) Milagai

All the Diwali sweets! The essence of feasting on this holiday is sweets, sweets and more sweets, even if you don't have a sweet tooth. Almonds, pista, sugar, milk, cream, ghee, khoa, chhena, all these ingredients and more... One of the fattiest is ghevar, with rabdi (roughly speaking, milk boiled down to khoa, lots of sugar added, deep fried in ghee, and cream with nuts poured all over the top.) Just reading the description makes my arteries slow down.... Milagai

two theories: it's only the survivors who live to be interviewed; or repeated exposure to germs strengthens the immune system (vaccination like) milagai

thanks for putting the word out; will try and get a copy and report back. ss

and all the research on the miraculous properties of turmeric (anti inflammatory is the most recent, just a while ago it was also anti microbial and anti fungal). viva old home remedies! milagai

eh, there's the rub for ALL of us.... enjoying healthier choices.... my kids look like they will parallel yours. skinny, healthy eating, athletic 8 yo girl vs. currently skinny but who knows later, picky-eating junk loving (despite us being a mostly junkfree house) hates-to-move 4 yo boy. early on we established that there would not be multiple menus so i hope that may head off issues later when each kid wants to eat something different.... but who knows? nowt so queer as kids.... i don't know what your views are on alternative therapies but do you think hypnotherapy may help your son to enjoy better choices? pediatric hypnotherapy is fairly well regarded for a variety of issues (ranging from pain control to ....) and since you said you were open to any and all advice ...... this is something i am keeping in my mind for us if we get to that point...... milagai

Not sure where this link belongs but may be here: Indian Thanksgiving feast with extensive discussion of wine recommendations: http://www.avalonwine.com/East-Indian-Thanksgiving-Feast.php Milagai

not a souffle or spoon bread, but my family's favorite sp recipe is from "the world in your kitchen" by troth wells (oldish UK vegetarian cookbook) and is sp wedges glazed in butter with grated ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, s&p, and honey, with raisins added somewhere midstream..... milagai

divalasvegas: that dessert is most likely semiya (=vermicelli) kheer. kheer can also be made with rice or grated carrots, or lots of other things.. milagai

me, a foodie? don't know... i grew up with my mother's cooking, which was fabulous and i took for granted because all my friends' moms cooked superbly too.... therefore i grew up good for nothing unable to boil an egg... until i left home and came to earth with a thud realizing if i wanted to eat well i had to learn to cook. several disasters the first few times, then it started to come together.... but my style of cooking is still to only vaguely look at the recipe and then throw things together until they look and smell right, so i still cannot bake to save my life....i leave that to mr methodical step by step spouse.... if i could only turn my kids into foodies i'd die happy but they are still on the "air-etarian" diet... milagai

is it possible the article meant to say "pawpaw" instead of papaya? http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pawpaw.html milagai

Look at it this way, a person is so clueless that the only reason they decide to become a vegetarian (note: they'll probably still eat fish !) is that JO slaughtered a lamb on TV! If I was a strict vegetarian I would not want them to be one. why? Because they are "nitwits" . ← Right on the money -- and thank you, FoodMan. I'm not bashing vegetarians. But yeah, I do bash nitwits -- sorry. But it's not as if I'm bigoted or nuthen -- hey, some of my best friends are vegetarians! (Okay, I done told a lie right there: some of my closest friends were vegetarians). I mean, fer Pete's sakes, I eat vegetables every day -- I ain't prejudiced. Friend of mine grew up with animals bred for human consumption, and his parents named the animals -- which might not seem like a good idea, but well... The beasts were given names like Pork Chops, Ribeye, Chasseur and Coqauvin, that kinda stuff. It sounded a little morbid to me the first I heard of it, but I think it makes sense. There's something inherently hypocritical about a meat-eater who is unaware -- and refuses to be made aware -- of the fact that an animal had to die, to provide the good stuff on their plate. I don't think vegetarians are nitwits. I think meat eaters who suddenly become vegetarians when they realize that their ham sandwich could not have reached fruition without the death of a live, breathing animal, are nitwits. ← quoting something someone else said on some other thread (can i get more vague than that?): when in a hole, stop digging! it does not matter *why* people become vegetarians or whether they were raised that way or changed in mid-bite in mid-life.... so many people are raised without any knowledge of food; scarcely know that potatoes grow in the ground (e.g. inner city kids who have scarcely seen a veg in their lives; leave alone actually raising a pig to slaughter). so when people DO come to a realization of what their food involves, why do you see it as "nitwittedness" if they react strongly? would you prefer apathy? and if the new found knowledge leads some to swear off meat, then why is that an inferior pathway to being vegetarian? i hate to keep digging at this topic, i am only questioning certain threads of the argument.... milagai edited to add: i should really stop reading this thread..... then i won't feel impelled to keep on at it...

Don't know much about wine, but people have recommended that wines from Alsace - not just gewurtztraminer for Indian food, vegetarian or otherwise... My point is that it's the spice level and content of the food, not whether it's vegetarian or not, that may be the key.... (and no, if it contains fish it's not vegetarian ) Here's one opinion on which wines to pair with Indian food: http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/eat_feat_wine_curry.asp And here's a link for wine with vegetarian food: http://wine.newarchaeology.com/wine_vegetarian.php Milagai

To clarify: i felt that only the post using the word "nitwit" crossed the line into vegetarian bashing. Others: not you, so you may return to your regular lunacy. Milagai

One of the best tweaked pancakes I've ever had was from the Cafe de la Paz in Berkeley: Corn pancakes with roasted red pepper ____ (something, I'm calling it chutney) Take your usual pancake batter and add corn kernels to it (frozen or fresh, amount depends on amount of batter, should be a lot); add salt and pepper and chopped scallions and maybe cilantro. Roast red peppers, peel, and chop or mush with a fork with toasted cumin powder, salt, cayenne, and a splash of lemon juice. Excellent! Milagai

Yes, we are able to connect the dots between animal suffering and our personal refusal to eat animals. (i.e. you do what you want). That makes us "nitwits"? (Moderator, where art thou?) Those of you who revel in eating animals should be happy that more people make a Linda McCartney decision... more for you, right? I do appreciate the fact that people should know where their food comes from and how it is made, which is why I would never have dreamed of complaining about JA's show and not get bent if kids watched it...... Why that conversation should turn into vegetarian-bashing I fail to understand. Was it vegetarians who complained? Or the meaters who didn't want to be reminded where their fun food comes from? Let us eat carrots! Milagai

Megan: the "disdain" observation was not aimed specifically at you, I should have made that clear, sorry. I mean it as an observation for an overall culture that deems children, or any potentially 'embarassing' or 'demanding' (insert your choice of group here) group be kept out of sight and hearing until they can meet behavioral norms set for and by others..... This is one of the interesting (to me) American paradoxes that a culture that overtly claims family values etc. really wants to keep the nitty gritty of raising a familiy well out of sight. I still chuckle when I see wedding invitations that say kids not allowed, it's the bride and groom's big day and no rumpus please. I contrast this with weddings in other cultures where kids run around, elders doze, guests of all descriptions do whatever, and it's all seen as the tapestry of family life. I chuckle because when and if this same bride and groom get around to having kids, their views on invitees may change drastically..... And I am not surprised that the percent childless in many societies is going up and up.... Milagai

Another boiled peanut lover here! and in the rarefied NC triangle, they are occasionally available in the farmer's market, but not that widespread elsewhere, believe it or not! Milagai

So much disdain and hostility toward kids and families with kids trying to socialize said kids......... And berating of un-socialized kids..... And people wonder why the fertility rates (and thus the population) of "advanced" industrial societies are declining.... And wonder how to integrate the immigrants who will inevitably have to replace a shrinking indigenous population.... Milagai