Tofu Salad

July 4th wound up being a very lovely day for us here in New York City. We have been getting an unusual amount of rain lately, so much so that many have joked around that we’re actually in Seattle. Somehow we managed to have the perfect day for barbecuing and picnicking, and took full advantage of the weather to enjoy ourselves and good food.

One thing that I decided to make this year was this tofu salad. It’s easy to make, and if you used to eat eggs, you may be surprised at how very much this tastes like egg salad. True, eggs have a distinct flavor and a starring role in egg salad, but you’ll realize that just by switching out the eggs with tofu and any other non-vegan ingredients for vegan ones that the supporting ingredients have a far bigger impact on the resulting flavor of the spread.

Tofu Salad

• 1 block firm or extra firm tofu, drained
• 2 or 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 or 2 dill pickles, chopped
• 2 sprigs dill, chopped or 1 teaspoon dill, dried
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise, like Vegenaise
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mash the tofu with a fork or potato masher.

Mashing tofu

Chop up your onions, celery and pickles.

Chopped onions, celery and pickles

If you have fresh dill, chop up a couple of sprigs. We have some growing on our back porch this year, so I used some of that (be sure to clean well).

Fresh dill growing in the garden

Chopped dill

Add in all remaining ingredients and stir. Taste test to see if you need to increase any ingredients or add in others not listed.

Finishing up the tofu salad

Once you’re satisfied with the flavor, chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Tofu Salad

This is a great salad to put on toast at home, dip crackers or chips in, or just to have as a side dish. We have made this for road trips, although it can be messy if you’re eating and driving at the same time (a lesson we learned for ourselves).

Do you make tofu salad spread? What other ingredients do you typically use?

Ah, summer. It seems that we’ve finally gotten there. With 100+ degree days in spring, it kind of makes wonder what to expect for the next few months. If it’s anything hotter than what we’ve had so far, I am not sure that I want to be turning on the stove – or at least for very long.

One of my favorite things to have during the summer is pasta salad. It’s both flavorful and filling, plus if you stick it in the freezer for a few minutes it can be really refreshing. We used to make it all the time, but somehow got out of the habit. I knew I had to revisit it, and now we’re both saying that we have to have some more.

Summer Pasta Salad

• 1 pkg. of pasta (I used tricolore farfalle, or three color bow-tie pasta)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 – 3 large cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 – 2 pickles, diced
• 1 can black olives, chopped or sliced
• 1 small jar artichoke hearts, chopped
• 5 pieces sundried tomatoes, diced
• 1 small can mushrooms, diced
• 3 – 5 Tbsp. Vegenaise
• 1 Tbsp. mustard (I used horseradish mustard)
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. dill
• 1 tsp. salt

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking revert back to your childhood and throw some olives on your fingers.

Unfortunately, now that I am slightly bigger than a small child it doesn’t work so well. I probably should have put this one on my pinky.

Go back to being an adult, and prepare your other ingredients.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse it with cold water, and put it back into the pan you cooked it in or a large bowl. I personally like to not dirty extra dishes so I usually just put it back in the pan.

Dump the rest of the ingredients on top of the pasta and mix. Taste test it and adjust the seasonings and other ingredients like Vegenaise.

Once it is at a good combination of flavors, put it in the refrigerator for at least a half hour or more and then serve.

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can pretty much dump whatever you want into it. We like ours with these ingredients, but we also like to play around a bit. Sometimes it is nice to add an extra kick with diced banana peppers (or pepperoncini), add green olives, or try other spices.

Happy summer…gotta go come up with some other recipe ideas now that it looks like it might start heating up again.