A Manly Vegan Football Party

I was reading through the Forum on The Kind Life this morning and came across a thread about someone throwing a Football Draft party for her husband. She had a lot of meat eaters coming but wanted to keep things Vegan. I responded to the thread but also thought it would make a good blog post. No pictures, since my party was months ago and those pictures are trapped in my old, broken computer.

My husband and I host an annual Super Bowl party. It is not about the football for me at all. As you know, if you've been reading this blog, I love a good party. I love the chance to throw a party with all of that heavy, guy food that no one eats everyday. One year I did it with a retro theme and got out my grandmother's old recipe book for inspiration. This year, since going veg, I made everything Vegan. It was an interesting challenge to make a whole vegan party menu for a group that included no vegetarians, let alone vegans. But I did it, and everyone was happy. I used no faux meats in this menu. I find that a lot of meat eaters can detect even the best of it, and are often put off by them. Instead I just used vegetables.

Here is the menu:
Muffaleta Sandwiches from one of my favorite Vegan cookbooks, Veganomicon
Bean Chili served with tortilla chips, chopped cilantro and tofutti sour cream as garnishes
Alicia's Cheesy, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip
Spinach Artichoke Dip, inspired by the recipe in The Kind Life (recipe below)
A giant salad with lots of goodies in it and vinaigrette dressing
A big platter of these delicious Snickerdoodles
Plenty of beer and lemonade (we have a tree with tons of lemons always needing to be used)

It was a big hit. No one noticed or cared that there was no meat.

Spinach Artichoke Dip, inspired by the recipe in The Kind Life

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip:
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and mashed up with a spoon
1 bunch spinach, washed, steamed and the water squeezed out (I wrap it up in a clean dish towel and wring it out that way)
1 cup Low Fat Vegenaise
1 cup grated vegan cheddar cheese (or regular cheddar cheese if you roll that way)
1 garlic clove, finely minced

In an oven proof casserole dish place artichoke hearts and spinach and mash/mix together. Add remaining ingredients and mix together well. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve hot with tortilla chips or veggies.