Spring rolls, the rice paper wrapped around salad (not fried kind) using roasted tempeh. Super easy and always good.
A huge warning - I am mostly vegetarian (because meat is expensive as fuck) and in a lot of vegan circles.
While I think your idea is commendable, also know what kind of vegan she is.
Vegans can literally be salad eaters. Or only eat vegan burgers/nuggets. Or they eat a bunch of soups and noodles.
At one party, the host made this beautiful vegan salad with chickpeas. The vegan looked at it and was like, “ew.” And then ate all the potato chips.
It’ll be easier if you both make the meal. But if you surprise her, it might not go the way you think it will.
I’ve been vegan for a bit now, and my favorite lazy-ish meal has just been red curry! I just chop up whatever veggies are in my fridge (and maybe some tofu, seitan or soy chunks) and then add coconut milk and curry paste. Tastes great with some rice or bread and I can make a huge pot of it with not too much effort.
But I think one of the best things you could do to be supportive is to stock some vegan staples and condiments in your fridge. Oatmilk, vegan mayonaise and vegan butter come to mind. It’s an easy 1:1 swap and will make her life a lot easier if she wants to grab a quick sandwich.
Not a specific recipe but a helpful resource: https://veganhomecooks.online/
What I like about it is that people tend to only share recipes they have personal experience with. Not everyone has the same taste of course but it’s a bit more certainty the recipe doesn’t have a glaring error.
That’s extremely useful! Thanks :)
This one is great: https://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-bolognese-with-mushrooms-red-lentils/
Oh hey! I actually made that for her on our first date. Thanks for the suggestion :)
Not very impressive. But boiled potatoes and cabbage is nice.
Grilled spaghetti squash with marinara. Is nice.
Aisling Bea is a UK comedian. She says these vegetarian sausage rolls always get rave review.
“This is roughly the veggie sausage roll recipe I use, but I also add mustard. SO easy to make.”Chickpea curry
Any curry is the answer, really. Chop veg, sauté, add curry sauce, you can’t fuck it up and it’s delicious. Rice as a side is also dead easy even without a rice cooker.
That’s been a staple as of late. Chickpeas are adored in this house :)
I went to a food fest last weekend and there was a booth for a Gambian restaurant serving peanut butter soup. It was so good. I found a recipe to try making it at home, it happens to be vegan. Imma go out on a limb and say it will be good.
https://rainbowplantlife.com/vegan-west-african-peanut-stew/
I’ve made a few recipes from this same author and have been pleased with every one.
Edit: it was delicious. I thought about adding some chicken since I’m not actually vegan, but ended up not adding it and that was a fine choice. The soup had plenty going on without adding chicken.
There’s a vegan cooking community on lemmy with some truly amazing looking home cooked creations. Just top notch. I’ll try to find it.
https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Babaganoush.html
Very easy, I usually make some pita bread to enjoy it with
Chili.
Not including a recipe because there are so many ways to make it, and none are wrong.
I’ve made aloo gobi in the air fryer a lot. Turns out it’s vegan. https://pipingpotcurry.com/roasted-aloo-gobi/
Blackbean Burgers:
Squish a drained and rinsed can of black beans together with minced garlic, onion and taco seasoning. Use a vegan egg or 1tbsp of flax meal soaked in 2tbsp of warm water for about five minutes as the binder. Form into patties and bake or fry. Or bake, then fry to get crispy sides.
Note that if you fry them, use oil and wait until a side is entirely cooked before flipping, or else they won’t hold together.
Serve on a thin bun with greens, vegan cheese and whatever fixins. Avocado, Valentina’s and sriracha (vegan) mayo is good on these.
Side of Baked Yam Fries:
This is going to sound werid but — toss your thick fri-cut yams or sweet potatoes with cheap italian dressing and cinnamon. Trust me. Bake at 375 for 15ish minutes. Don’t let them burn, you just want them a little brown and cooked through. Goes well with various dipping sauces. I like sriracha (vegan) mayo.
Vegan butter chicken.
I haven’t tried any of the recipes online, but in my more veg phase of life I would use store bought sauce and tofu and it was always delicious.
