I like the challenge of trying to cook for all kinds of different kinds of eaters. But, I also know a few people that have lots of problems with all kinds of foods, if they want to bring something so they know there is something they can eat - great. Even before I was diabetic, I was interested in what food had in it - and I can get a bit obsessive on the topic. So people have to tell me to hush occasionally.

now to the population website

My usual response to an invitation to dinner at someone's house is, "That would be great! By the way, I'm vegan. Would you like me to bring something?" But most of the dinners that I go to are the sort where everyone brings something.

I always ask for dietary restrictions/preferences when I'm going to be cooking for someone I don't know. I'd much rather know in advance and be able to make something everyone will enjoy eating!

The only time that I've given up on this is with one of my cousins, because it's just too frustrating. She says no dairy, no gluten, no sugar. OK. No problem. My mom makes brisket. I make a vegan main dish that has gluten, but a potato and spinach side dish that's gluten-free. My mom makes a vegetable dish with margarine instead of butter. Cousin comes to dinner. Cousin won't eat the brisket, because there's a little bit of flour in the gravy. OK, that makes sense -- flour does have gluten. She won't eat the vegetables, because she insists that all margarine has dairy in it, even though there's one vegan and one kosher person there pointing at the label that says "Non-dairy" and "pareve" and every other formulation of "Does not contain milk" on the margarine container. She won't eat the potato and spinach dish, because "You never know what goes into things, it might have gluten," even though I made it, from scratch, and can tell her every single thing in it, can even show her the boxes that the very few processed things came in, and while she can't point to anything that actually has gluten, she still won't eat it, because "You never know."

Then she eats the matzoh balls. And the noodles. After a few years of this, I just stopped factoring her into my holiday cooking plans, since even making something that she eats is no guarantee that she'll eat it. My mother continues to make special things and then get disappointed when they're not eaten.

There's nothing you can do with people like that. Except not invite them. But if they're family, smile sweetly and say "well, I guess that you'll starve"

Then she eats the matzoh balls. And the noodles.

um, what?

There's nothing you can do with people like that. Except not invite them. But if they're family, smile sweetly and say "well, I guess that you'll starve"

::::scribbles more Vortex notes for future use:::::

Yeah, that's kind of cracked.

(But only because she's obviously made such a stink of it before. I try to keep in mind the kind of thing Steph was talking about. If you eat gluten free but once in a while decide you really want a pancake, well, it's not my job to police your choices or consistency or whatev. It is my job to respect your stated restrictions as best I can.)

Re the origami discussion, this was a hobby of mine as a teenager. (My favourites were a rather lovely rose, and a stegosaurus that took two hours to fold.) the names of folds within the literature were simple and descriptive, like valley fold and mountain fold.

I don't know what a hamburger fold would be supposed to look like.

She's also the person with whom I had this conversation when I was a teenager. (This was at the dinner table, and my mother had made it very clear to me when I first went vegetarian at age 13 that statements like "beef is dead cow" are NOT appropriate for the table, so I was trying to be polite and phrase all of this in dinner-table-appropriate ways.)

Her: Why are you vegetarian?

Me: For animal rights reasons.

Her: But what does that mean?

Me: Uh? I care about the animals?

Her: But what does that have to do with being vegetarian?

Me, glancing over at my mom for silent permission to be a bit more explicit, because this is just getting frustrating: I don't think it's right to kill animals for food when I can survive perfectly well with doing that.

Her: But what animals are killed?

If you eat gluten free but once in a while decide you really want a pancake, well, it's not my job to police your choices or consistency or whatev. It is my job to respect your stated restrictions as best I can.

exactly, but if I'm respecting your stated restrictions, and you're ignoring what has been done (i.e. claiming that "all" margarine has dairy), then I can't help you.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I've had a lovely, low-key birthday. I cannot quite get over that I am 41. I am so much more immature than that number!

I have lived with vegetarians and vegans and think nothing of accomodating them. And I know so many people with Celiac that I usually make sure there's something gluten free too.

I eat nothing from the sea and am not afraid to declare it. Though I have choked it down on occasion to be polite. I do try it every once in a while...

Hil, your cousin reminds me of my crazy ex Best friend who was a vegetarian and developed food allergies as it suited her. It turns out she was hiding an eating disorder from everyone. It kind of came to a head at a birthday dinner her Boyfriend's mom had cooked and when she brought out the cake, she made a point of saying that she had made a white cake, since my friend was allergic to chocolate. Me, being drunk and kind of shocked by that statement blurted out, "WHAT? But she eat my chocolate chip cookies ALL THE TIME." It got a little awkward because the boyfriend's family very much wanted to ignore the little lie and kept making excuses, and me being drunk, kept poking hole in all the excuses and wouldn't let it drop.

Also, I learned to type putting book titles in a database so I do tend to Capitalize the Important Words without realizing it.

(Most brands of margarine and "buttery spread" type things do have some dairy in them. Fleischmann's, Willow Run, and Earth Balance do not. I prefer Earth Balance, because it tastes the best. My mom prefers Fleischmann's, because it's available at most regular grocery stores.)