People who know me well know that cooking is not among my favorite activities. So, when Jeff, my son, asked if he could bring some friends when he came over on Christmas Day (2010), he told me I would not have to cook. He would pick up something for dinner. It must have surprised him when I responded: “Oh, I don’t mind cooking, providing you and your friends would be willing to eat vegan.” He said that would be fine, because one of his friends was a vegetarian¸ and the other had an adventuresome spirit.
I had just become a dietary vegan five months earlier. My collection of recipes totaled four, one of which had never come out quite right. But there was a bigger problem. I had never prepared a vegan dessert; and you can’t serve a holiday meal without dessert. So, I turned to a reliable friend for help, the Internet. I surfed until I found a recipe simple enough for me to handle, a no-bake strawberry cake.
My Non-Traditional Holiday Menu
A 7-Vegetable Layered Garden Salad
Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna
Okra Gumbo
Black Eyed Peas, with Collard Greens and Sweet Potatoes
Strawberry Cake
Mom’s Original Holiday Punch
The young people were delightful. Although the meal was not traditional, they ate seconds. My son had thirds. We had planned on playing scrabble after dinner; and the board was already set up. But my first vegan dinner guests and I ended up talking, opening gifts, and enjoying the blessing of friendship on a blessed Christmas day.