Agar-agar is one, as is carageenan (which is very similar, both being made from seaweed) and pectin (which occurs naturally in fruit, and is what makes jelly “gel”). Sometimes you can find pectin in a regular grocery. Agar-agar and carageenan can be found at health food stores, but be careful if you use them in place of gelatin… agar-agar sets up a lot faster and harder. It’s not a 1-to-1 replacement.
Agar-agar is also a swell medium for mycological cultures.
Or so I’ve heard. 
it is nice to see that there are more people, that do not like gravy on their mashed potatoes.
I also don’t see why you would think that the OP is a troll. The OP was non-inflammatory. He/she didn’t come back, true, but that’s only a minor violation of board etiquette, not evidence of trolling.
Back on topic: I think the OP’s family was being deliberately uncooperative. Bacon in the salad? They could have easily served it on the side if they wished to be considerate. IME, loving families do what they can to accomodate the needs of the family members. For example, my cousin is allergic to wheat. So, we have a traditional stuffing and an all-cornbread stuffing. There is no need to abandon the traditional recipes in order to make sure all people have something to eat.
I was dreading going to my aunts house this year because it is a vegan’s worst nightmare. I usually bring something for me to eat (then the entire meal turns into a “lets gang up on lezlers” party) so this year I decided to take a risk and eat what was there (she usually has some corn or SOMETHING) as to not be harrassed for an hour solid. I get there and my aunt is all happy “I made stuff you can eat!!” It was very cute and I was ever so greatful. Although I have told her multiple times that vegans don’t eat dairy, about 5 minutes after saying “I made mashed potatoes that you can eat!” She poured in half a bowl of butter and milk, then exclaimed “I made pasta without meat sauce!” and proceeded to grate about half a pound of parmasean on top of it. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I couldn’t in fact, eat that stuff. She was so happy and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. So I sat as far away as I could so she couldn’t see my plate and pigged out on corn. Ahhh…thanksgiving…
Actually, my mashed potatoes this year were brown, as a result of the italian herb boullion that I used instead of broth and milk. They were delish!! But yeah, mixing the gravy in beforehand is just wrong.
Incidentally, I had three meat-eaters and one vegetarian to feed. Mr. Bobkitty got his own stuffing, a veggie lasagna, glazed sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, salad with bacon bits (most brands are vegetarian), the mashed potatoes, and misc stuff like olives, cheese and crackers, cranberry sauce, and rolls. Punkin ( ) pie with kosher whipped cream for dessert and kosher wine to drink. I’d say he ate pretty well. 
Course he really missed out on the turkey and meat stuffing, which was cooked in a delightful blend of rosemary and burgandy. 
-BK
You are quite right. Not a trolling thread, but a true complaint. However, once the rant is told, why hover over it for hours waiting for a “reply”. There was no advice asked for, after all. So you even forget you wrote it.
Not everybody has much more than an hour a day for the board, except the high-count types.
However, even if Candygram![land shark] had wanted to come back, the name was already “taken over” by an admin. They change the password and make up a phoney email address, so that it looks like the guy/gal isn’t banned, but they really are.
How do I know it was a sock? Because there were two of them.
… who posted but now the posts have all gone.
and http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=getinfo&username=Candygram!%20[land%20shark]
… who posted several times but just has 1 post left on the charts.
The OP had more than one post? Any proof of that? I saw one post by the OP and one post by the simulname. That’s all I saw. I read both threads the OP(s) participated in and the post count for both was never higher than one.
Proof? Of erased threads? I guess you had to be posting at the same time.
Say, by the way, I noticed that Green Bean also has two profiles
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=getinfo&username=greenbean
and http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=getinfo&username=green%20bean
Funny the stuff you find when you make a typo, huh?
Are you saying Green Bean is a sock? Looks more like an honest mistake on BOTH posters parts.
No, there was a “GreenBean” who signed up long before “Green Bean”, but never posted.
When Green Bean went to get the name it was taken, so a blank was added. Just a coincidence.
But two Candygram![land shark]'s? Posting on the same day? Not a coincidence.
And we have independent verificaion that both were posted with but only one has threads remaining, so there is proof of something erased.
No, I’m no sock. I don’t know who “GreenBean” is. I signed up as Green Bean–with a space.
Ramsmilk–I’m a bit confused as to what you’re getting at, here.
My head hurts.
Green Bean, count me in there. I guess he thinks that because a person may accidentally open two accounts, post in two seperate threads, and say absolutely nothing inflammatory (this thread is far more sympathy than flames) that they’re a sock. shrug
You said ‘only one has threads remaining’ but previously you implied the OP had MORE than one post and those posts were removed (as opposed to the alternate account posting, which I saw involved in the sacawagea dollar thread at a post count of one, which thread has now disappeared, which is probably no great loss anyways) and I see 0 proof of that.
Give me proof you’re not a wacko, Ramsmilk.
What’s so confusing? I saw a coincidence and pointed it out by saying “Funny the stuff you find when you make a typo, huh?” I had tried to look up your profile, and mistyped and got GreenBean’s instead. Something you apparently didn’t know before.
You should be happy. You found your Doppleganger, something most people never do.
Venoma -
[sup]A[/sup] Umm…That’s what a sock is- one person posting under two names. Sock is not a pejorative term like troll.
[sup]B[/sup]Let’s see… One thread was erased, that you admit. The poster has not reappeared with that name. The missing thread was a non-inflamatory one about a coin. So why do you think it was erased, if not because it was a sock’s? And as for the other posts, as I’ve already said, I saw the count at more than 1. I obviously looked at the thread after you and the count had gone up. But* more *proof? That’s impossible. That’s what erase means, that the posts are gone. If you want more proof than an eyewitness and deleted posts, please tell me what would satisfy you. (Hmm… maybe… I can think of something - I’ll email you, despite the fact that you didn’t list an email.)
[sup]C[/sup]Buut, I am a wacko
Is that an admission or a question?
My mistake, I thought a sock was a banned poster returning under another name, or pretending to be someone other than their other account. And I’ve recieved email from the OP admitting his/her sockness!
p.s. as to the ‘more than one post’ (which I have been told was true) you did say that poster had more than one, not that you saw more than one, which could be taken as a presumption. and I so took it.
My face matches my shirt. My shirt is red. Humblest apologies.
Seems to me everyone missed the point being made by the name.
What does Candygram![land shark] mean?
I think it’s refering to the benign party invitation that turned out to be a carnivore in disguise.