I was just looking at chickpea cauliflower patty recipes.. which made me think of falafel. I think this is a great option! (and *I* will prefer this to bbq beef.. so an added bonus for me)

Panzanella is a good idea too. I've made it with cherry tomatoes when I can't get nice regular tomatoes. For the vegan in my house, I add a can of rinsed garbanzo beans.

Hmm Do you have an instapot? I have a Vegan bolognese recipe that is fabulous. you don't have to tell her it has eggplant ( you will never know it is so small I hate mushrooms and i eat it) you can put it on rice, potatoes or pasta.

Mind bringing the fixings for a rice bowl that people can mix or match? I have some good dressings for that. and I eat it almost every day ( I make them up ahead, but you could just make the fixings and put them in containers for people to mix their own.)

Fresh veggie spring rolls are lovely for a picnic, especially with a good dipping sauce such as Thai peanut or plum sauce. You could even make some with just veggies and some with meat.

These Turkish red lentil kofte are very good and substantial enough to be an entree for a vegan. Because I cook for a gluten free crowd I use millet in place of the bulghur.

Not at all spring-y, but I make a mean vegan chili (black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, and corn).

Asparagus says spring to me. Pasta with asparagus, pine nuts, and olive oil?

Boop.. I won't make Bolognese for this gathering but she would LOVE it. When she ate meat (like a minute ago!! LOL) she loved Bolognese.

Tish, Spring rolls is a great idea! We love thai.. and they are sooo pretty and the sauces are so fun!

I messaged her a little bit ago and gave her a choice of hummus and roasted veggie wraps or Falafel Gyros. She loved both ideas but settled on hummus and roasted veggies wraps. I may just make up a platter of hummus and roasted veggies with a basket of warm pitas so it can be a dip, a side dish or a sandwich.

I think I'll make a chickpea panzanella too.

Chickpea Palooza!!

cawaps.. I was going to do an asparagus pasta salad with pesto-- it's so perfect for spring and summer! She's never had pesto so I will send her the recipe to make on her own! I can't imagine never having had it!

Ok, well for the future if she sticks with it. 0 this is amazing and I dont like mushrooms or eggplant. it freezes well too. vegan bolognese

I am not being 100% fair to her-- she has stuck with being vegan for about 6 months. The other things (gluten free, dairy free) were things she's done for various intervals over the last 5 yr. She's known to announce her new eating restrictions JUST as we finalize menus for family get togethers lol. Obviously she's dairy free now as that comes with being vegan. I commend her overall for being more aware of what she's eating and that she's learning to cook more healthy meals (she's working to lose baby weight). I don't know that she needs to go to the extemes.. and I wish that she'd make the effort to better understand the nutritional needs of a vegan diet.. but overall she's improving her health so I will bite my tongue. :)

Thank you for the recipe, Boop! I know she'll love it (and I will too!)

I make a yummy Israeli style salad w/ chickpeas, cucumber, green onions & tomatoes, dressed w/ lemon or lime juice, S&P & a bit of olive oil. Super simple & delicious & can serve as either salad or entree as well. I don't really have a recipe, but here's a rough guideline that can be scaled up or down:

1-2 scallions chopped fairly fine

1 medium cucumber, diced small

1 large or 2 small tomatoes, diced the same size as cukes (may use cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered)

2 cups cooked chickpeas

handful fresh parsley, minced

several sprigs fresh mint, minced (optional

salt & pepper

3-4 Tbsp. fresh lemon or lime juice

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

Mix well & serve chilled. The juices tend to settle to the bottom, so stir & scoop from the bottom when serving.

HTH

I make a similar salad with no name for myself all the time.. love it! I find it is especially good after sitting in the fridge. My plan was to do this and add bread before serving for a makeshift panzanella. Think it will work?

I've made this chickpea salad several times. It's really good. I am not vegan so I make it with regular mayo, but I'm sure it's not too hard to find vegan mayo if you use this recipe. The pickles really make it.

Faro is a very hearty and satisfying grain whether in a salad or served warm with the addition of roasted veggies. Freekeh is another wheat grain that can taste new and fresh. We're currently making a freekeh salad with edamame, roasted beets, shredded carrots, sliced radishes and baby spinach; it is crunchy and filling.

I have this saved on Pinterest to try....Sesame Asparagus Noodles

hot-sesame-rice-noodles-asparagus-mushrooms-vegan-gluten-free/

While I was on my boards, I also spotted this. I make fresh spring rolls all the time, but they are never this beautiful. I'm going to try this next time:

Psychedelic Spring Rolls

eta: oops, I see while I was down the Pinterest Rabbit Hole, you've made your decision on what to take...well, maybe someone else will find these useful!

Those spring rolls are so very beautiful!! I will make them when my sister and I get together for wine and snacks! I will also make the sesame noodles..

While I won't make everything for this particular party, I will try many of these recipes-- so please don't hold back! I am not vegan but I do eat a lot of vegetarian dishes (I couldn't give up eggs or parmesan!).

Greek Pasta Salad

12 oz. Vermicelli – cooked and cooled ( I use angel hair,
too)

¾ C. Olive oil

3 Tbsp. Cavender’s Greek Seasoning

4 ½ Tbsp. Lemon juice

1 can sliced black olives

1 4oz. jar pimentos

½ C. Mayo

½ C. chopped onions

Add olive oil, seasoning and lemon juice to vermicelli and
chill 5 to 6 hours. Add remaining ingredients and serve.

P.S. I mix in cubed tofu, red, yellow, and
green peppers and most anything else I have on hand. And it’s pretty tasty mixed and eaten warm,
too!

Imhappy, that looks good...just be sure to use vegan mayo...because the regular has eggs (not vegan). I always buy vegannaise and quite like it.

Those spring rolls are gorgeous, Olychick. Is there a recipe link?

If you have an air fryer and are in the chickpea palooza mood, roasted chick peas with seasonings are super yummy and easy to make.

Fun2bhere, I edited my post to include the recipe. I hadn't actually read it before, but kept the pic pinned so I would remember to use colorful veggies, and was happy to find she has a dipping sauce using almond butter instead of peanut butter!

I'm in love with chickpeas. I'll eat them any which way.

My favorite new thing is curried chickpea salad. It's not strictly vegan because it uses mayo, but I'm sure there is some mayo-ish thing that could sub for it.

I pulse them a few times in the Cuisinart to break them up a bit but not moosh them. You could also do a very rough chop by hand. Put in a bowl and add raisins, nuts (pecans or almonds or cashews), chopped celery, sliced green onion, parsley. I make a dressing of mayo, lemon juice, curry powder to taste (I like lots), salt, pepper, a dab of honey. Mix together then pour on chickpeas and veggies. Best if you let it sit for 4 hours or more. Gets better with every passing day.

I eat meat but I also appreciate vegetarian food. This meatless, almost vegan dish has body and flavor. It's like curried chicken salad, and you don't miss the chicken.

I'm sure there is some mayo-ish thing that could sub for it.

Me, I'd rather go without, but they seem to like this:

Thanks, Olychick, for the link. I agree that it's nice to see a non-peanut option for dipping sauce.

Just an FYI, SO and I had what I call "chopped salad" last night with fresh cukes, radishes, scallions, yellow pepper, celery, parsley, oregano and dill, with a red wine, EVOO dressing. It was so delish. Roma tomatoes chopped and added before serving. You could add chickpeas to make it vegen and with protein. Also could add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts if you wanted to stick with the Greekish theme it has, and toasted pita chips if you wanted to make it more like fataoush.

As for another dish, well I'd try and stick with something Mediterranean. One dish I like is roasted butternut squash, Sicillian style, here's one recipe. The nice thing about that is you can serve it warm or room temp. It's a little unusual though, and you have to like mint and sweet and sour tastes.Zucca Agrodolce, (Sweet and Sour Squash)

Or any other type of roasted vegetables, and you can add tofu to that, and season with Rosemary and garlic and use red onions for color. Yum!

The curried chickpeas sound great-- perfect to take to the office for lunch!

I love love love chopped salads-- the flavors seem to blend so much better. I don't always like the time it takes to chop everything but it's worth the effort.

I may revisit this thread and rethink my plan as it's going to be colder on party day than it has been. I don't want to bother the hostess for her oven.. but I am not sure a cold dish will fly.

Well, a pasta or farro salad could be the main, with beans and a nut topping it will have protein. And then maybe something like carrot salad . . . I make mine with currants, celery, a scallion or two and a dressing made out of EVOO and orange juice, although you could also add pineapple and maybe a "nayonaise" type dressing. With that nayonaise you could also do something like a waldorf salad. Or tabouleh (bulgur wheat, mint, parsley, lemon juice, EVOO, scallions and whatever other veggies you're in the mood for, add garbanzos for protein) and then a mixed fruit salad.

I wanted to circle back and let you all know what I am making --

For tomorrow's casual party I will be making wraps with my "famous" Cuban black beans, roasted veggies, and brown cilantro lime rice. I decided this primarily based on what I have on hand.. and I think they'll go nicely with the pulled pork that is being served by the hostess. It also won't require her oven or stovetop or any disruption to her kitchen. No salad needed-- they're covered.

I am hoping that by assembling them when the ingredients are room temp (vs warm) that the tortillas won't get soggy.

Thank you all so much-- I will be making a number of the other recipes in the weeks to come (especially those gorgeous colorful spring rolls!)

Funky art,

your choice sounds great. Your niece is very lucky to have such a caring aunt that also cooks so well. could I ask you for your asparagus pasta salad with pesto recipe. It sounds delish.

I used to get those kinds of wraps at the local takeout place at a college where I worked. They made them somewhat in advance. They were delish, a campus favorite among vegetarians.

Thanks all-- the wrap/burritos were a huge hit. I made the ingredients Sunday morning and assembled them Sunday afternoon. Last night, I had the leftover grilled veggies, cilantro-lime rice and Cuban beans for dinner and they were delish! My niece sent me a message at lunchtime TODAY saying the leftover wraps were STILL good today.

Lyban, I don't have a recipe for pesto pasta salad.. I just wing it with what I have. I usually use orzo pasta, a selection of veggies (grape tomatoes, cucumber, asparagus, broccoli, whatever I have that looks good), pesto + vinegar and/or lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

ETA I don't usually add cheese but it would be a nice addition!

Thank you funfkyart I will give that a try.