Potato Salad

Recipe adapted from:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/potato-salad-recipe1.html

Ingredients:

4 pounds red potatoes
4 jumbo eggs (or 5 large eggs), hard boiled
2 1/2 cups mayonnaise (I use Wegman's brand)
4 green onions, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon yellow or dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (or black pepper)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Add red potatoes to a large stock pot. Cover potatoes with 1.5 inches of water. Generously salt the water.
Bring to a boil. Simmer the potatoes (whole) until they can be pierced through easily with a knife - about 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and place them in an ice bath to stop the cooking.

While potatoes are boiling, make the hard boiled eggs. Place the eggs in a sauce pan and cover with 1.5 inches of water. Bring to a boil - as soon as the water comes to a boil, take the pan off the heat and cover it. Let cook for 12 minutes (14 if using jumbo eggs) and then drain and place the eggs in an ice bath.

Chop the potatoes into chunks (you can optionally peel them first). Peel the eggs and chop them.

Add the potatoes, eggs, mayo, green onion, celery, mustard, pepper and salt to a large bowl (I used my 4 quart large pyrex bowl and even there it was difficult to stir). Stir until well mixed. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Three Bean Salad

recipe from: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/three_bean_salad/

INGREDIENTS
1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper (any color)
1 cup (lightly packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 to 4 Tbsp granulated sugar, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (jarred)
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Chop bell pepper into very small pieces. Chop onion into small pieces, then add to a food processor and pulse until pieces are very small. In a large bowl, combine all of the beans with the pepper and onion.
In the bowl of a food processer, combine oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, garlic and parsley. Pulse until mixed and parsley is finely chopped.
Add the dressing to the bean mixture and mix until coated. Chill beans in the refrigerator for several hours, to allow the beans to soak up the flavor of the dressing.

Tofu ("Egg") Salad

adapted from http://theveganstoner.blogspot.com/2011/04/corn-salad-sandwich.html#comment-form
and from recipe in "You Won't Believe it's Vegan"

1 package firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 can corn (drained)
1/2 cup vegenaise
1/2 tsp dried parsley
2 Tbsp stone ground mustard (I used dijon mustard)
1 tsp onion powder (I left this out because I didn't have it)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp tamari

In a small bowl, add the parsley, onion powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, turmeric and nutritional yeast. Set aside.

Drain and press excess water out of tofu ( I used my tofu express). Add to a large bowl and mash until crumbled. Add the drained corn, vegenaise and mustard and mix. Add tamari and mix. Now, add the dry spices and mix until well combined.

verdict: WAY more delicious than I thought it would be! I don't think this would fool anyone as far as being an egg salad substitute, but for someone who does eat eggs, I still love this version.

serving suggestion: I ate it for lunch on a wheat bun with some baby spinach. Also good by the spoonful straight out of the bowl...