— Mel Dorling

So yeah, let's share an idea. And, these ideas, I also want to give a shout-out to Chef Char, who has been a part of this conversation. And Chef Char shares a favorite go-to three-course menu, now that fits the bill for you, Mel. And, a main course could be a lasagna, a vegan lasagna that is focused on a tofu filling or a bean filling. And a white bean filling works well. It looks nice. It could be small navy beans, it could be larger cannellini beans. There are other varieties, flageolet and other varieties of white beans that can provide that different visual look, as well as some small variation in mouth feel as you assemble this particular dish. Think about a bean-based béchamel. And so it's a nice substitution to a nut-based béchamel, which is a nice substitution to the roux and milk-based classic béchamel. And, you want to flavor that with some onions. If you like garlic, feel free to add garlic. A touch of wine, reduced, adds a little bit of richness to that as well. A pinch or two or three of some nutritional yeast can boost the umami factor in that particular sauce. And you can also add, as a second sauce, a classic marinara, right, or tomato-based sauce, really of your preference. You can add some herbs to your liking, whatever might be in the garden or at the farmers market this time of year works very well. And this sort of a thing comes together very nicely. You'll see an example with a photograph, and that particular version is garnished with some nice sliced tomatoes. Again, your choice. If you have some nice ripe heirloom varieties of tomatoes, they can be of different colors. Green tomatoes, red, yellow, et cetera. Or if you want to go all red or all yellow, that works well. And to top that off with a little crunchy element in the way of some breadcrumbs, can work very nicely, as well. Okay? And then, as a secondary component to the meal, a salad always works nicely. It can be a mixed green or a tossed greens sort of a salad. And the greens can vary tremendously. You can use some of the greens that you might find at an Asian or a Chinese or Southeast Asian grocery store, like baby bok choy. It could be things like mizuna. Arugula works very well. In addition to the more mainstream greens that you might find in a mixed or a tossed salad, which includes red leaf and oak leaf and other usually baby or adolescent varieties of these salad greens. And those smaller varieties allow you to use the greens in their whole state rather than tearing them. Although there's nothing wrong with that either. But it just provides a little different look for the final presentation. Okay? But keep in mind, there's a lot of variation you can use in the way of textures and colors and the visualI'll say texture, whether the leaves are flat or they're crinkly, or some other variegated sort of a presentation. They come in some different flavors as well. Some lettuces have more sweetness, others have more bitterness to them, and others have a peppery bite. And this is why a mixture of greens works very well with a salad. It provides a lot of interest across the spectrum of tastes that is usually appealing for most of your diners. And then, as a third course sweet item, we have a few, I think, to choose from on our Rouxbe website recipe library. But one that is pretty versatile, and I think almost universally popular, is the chocolate pudding that's based on tofu. And a silken tofu or a otherwise very soft variety work very well. And once you get the melted chocolate and other ingredients folded in, then they tend to mask that delicate bean flavor that's associated with those lighter, less dense varieties of tofu. Versus if you use a denser variety of tofu, there tends to be more beaniness, some of which can carry through. This is why we recommend silken or the very soft variety of tofu. And so this is a great three-course suggestion. And if you have any other questions, Mal, on this sort of a composition, probably the best bet is to reach out at support@rouxbe.com, where we can have a little more give and take in our conversation to get you to where you envision being for your retreat.