Glad to hear it went well. I love those kind of summer, salady meals! And I am a huge fan of anitpasta platters, where folks can pick and choose their own perfect little plates! As for lentils, like I said, I love lentil salad too and I always have to struggle getting the lentils just right--not too mushy, not to hard. I now special order French green lentil and also have tried the black beluga ones. They are both rounder and seem to be better for salads. But anyway, glad to hear the dinner went well. I knew it would! But I still love it when folks report back. What can I say, I am so busy and devoid of a social life I have to live vicariously through others, lol! So thanks for sharing the fun!

I found a recipe if anyone is interested 7 layer salad 1 pound bacon 1 large head iceberg lettuce - rinsed, dried, and chopped 1 red onion, chopped 1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas, thawed 10 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese 1 cup chopped cauliflower 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise 2 tablespoons white sugar 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese Directions 1.Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Crumble and set aside. 2.In a large flat bowl, place the chopped lettuce and top with a layer of onion, peas, shredded cheese, cauliflower and bacon. 3.Prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, sugar and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle over salad and refrigerate until chilled.

Just reporting back to let everyone know how the lunch went. Despite on and off showers, the temp was great so we were able to sit out on the deck, half of which is covered so we were dry and comfortable and enjoying the outdoors. Friend brought a hot appetizer with melted cheese that was delish. I had a Latin salami slices with cucumber slices; roasted red pepper hummus with pita chips, smoke gouda and jarlsburg cheese with crackers, and a dish with celery and carrot sticks. Lunch rec'd all kinds of compliments...grilled chicken breasts marinated in a lemon BBQ sauce and I served it with quinoa pesto (found it at TJs). Lentil salad with carrots and celery. Haricot vert with fennel and toasted pecans in a lemon dijon sauce (Martha Stewart). I sliced up a whole wheat ciabatta bread and had an herb package from which to make a dipping sauce with EVOO. For dessert I made a mixed berry crumble (blue and rasp) with choc chip ice cream from a local creamery. Coffee and tea. The beauty of it was that most of the cooking was done a day ahead so I was able to enjoy the company on the deck and not be a slave to the kitchen in prep.

That looks good! He probably should have given his product packaging. Some commenters had trouble with a very wet mix. I'm guessing those looking for exact recipes are not necessarily intuitive cooks. And lots of steps involved. But the trifecta is a win-win. This fella seems really good at what he does and seems healthy, HERE ,He does all the replacements that is a bit of a yawn for me. But I always learn something and he does use lots of spices instead of the usual salt lick soy sauce soaks in the packaged stuff. We don't have any close friends vegan or vegetarian, just some family members, so I'm not much help. Great vegan restaurants here but I order soup and salads and veggie 2 bite balls to share. Can't commit to a big burger. Most of our larger gatherings with secondary friends, or a friend will bring a guest, I make so many vegan choices in salads I don't play with the meat replacements. So this is an environmental issue and not a 'lets make some vegan kids' ? . The vegan kids at work just out of college are so unhealthy eating the packaged junk not having much cooking experience. Is she set and limited to the one supplier? Maybe a few products grown somewhat locally, PNWest...a good educational lesson?. I buy from Palouse,WA. Garbanzos and red winter wheat once a year. 5 pounds of each. Good slicers, dicer, shredders, juicer, blender? No way can they use mandolines like high end trained restaurant staff. And slow. My cuisinart discontinued back in the 80's has a side shoot. No need to empty the container as it just keeps going into a bowl.