Foodie Friday : Homemade Salad Dressing for all that green goodness in the garden.

If you don't like the thought of buying mayonnaise or salad dressing that was made in a factory and filled with unpronouncable ingredients, this is a tried and true solution. July and August are when there is an abundance of salad fixings to buy at reasonable prices or even in your own garden. Today at my micro urban farm, I will be harvesting loads of swiss chard, spinach, kale, broccoli greens and beet greens. Time for salad!

This recipe is a family heirloom passed down through three generations. I never knew there was such a thing as mayonnaise until I was well into my 20's. For me this is what you put on potato salad, green salad and the best devilled eggs in the whole wide world!! That is, if you add a little bit of homegrown chives of course.


Grandma Snyder's Salad Dressing

Combine  4 tbsp. flour, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp. dry mustard, 1 cup sugar in a deep saucepan.
Beat: 4 eggs, add 1 cup white vinegar, 1 cup water.  Add the liquid mixture to dry.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick.  Add 1 tbsp. butter after cooking, more salt optional.
Leave to cool and place in a jar with a tight lid, keep refrigerated for up to a month.

Yum!

Recipe by Nancy Blokland Pottery 

Foodie Friday : Vegan Black Bean Salad

I love this salad for summer as it is colourful and full of flavour, protein and fiber. Even better, it keeps for a few days to take for lunch.

Ingredients

1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups frozen corn

1 cup chopped red pepper

1 cup celery chopped

1/2 cup cilantro

1-2 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of lime or lemon juice

zucchini or cucumber if desired

Combine all the items in a bowl and leave to marinade for an hour, then serve. Please note the corn can just be added in and helps to keep the salad cooler on these hot days. Will keep beautifully for 2-3 days.

Recipe submitted by Nancy Blokland Pottery

Foodie Friday : Eggless Egg Salad

My whole family is allergic to eggs. I developed the allergy in my early twenties and learning to give up my favourite food has been a challenge. I can work around it by finding vegan recipes online and doing a lot of my own baking, however a replacement for good old egg salad sandwiches was impossible until now.

The brilliance of tofu is that it absorbs the flavours of the ingredients you add to it. The consistency is important! Anything softer than “medium” will make your salad runny and anything harder will make the texture all wrong. 

The most common mistake with tofu (it has a bad rap, admit it…) is using the wrong consistency for the recipe or trying to use it as a meat replacement in a meat recipe. Use tofu specific recipes and you may have more luck. It generally tastes like nothing, until you add your own flavours and it absorbs them. Tofu done correctly can be awesome!

Eggless Egg Salad

-1 Pkg “Medium” Tofu (approx. 454g)

-2 Regular green onions, chopped

-1 tsp dry mustard

-3 to 4 tablespoons Vegenaise Original

-Pepper to taste

-1/2 to ¾ tsp Indian Black Salt (also known as Kala Namak) **Secret Ingredient!

-Step 1:    Slice open tofu package and drain. Get as much liquid out as possible, pat dry with clean paper towel if necessary. Slice into medium sized chunks and dump into a medium sized mixing bowl.

-Step 2:   With a fork, mash up the tofu until it vaguely resembles a scrambled egg.

-Step 3:   Add Vegenaise.

*On a side note: There are several mayonnaise substitutes out there, and I’ve tried most of them. This seems to be the tastiest and closest to real mayonnaise. Most of them have the consistency of snot (ew), but this one doesn’t. If you try this recipe and use a different mayo-alternative, be prepared that it may not be as awesome 

-Step 4:   Add onions, mustard and pepper. Dry mustard works best, but if you don’t have any, regular bottled mustard will work. You will need at least two teaspoons (dry mustard is more concentrated). I like my egg salad slightly spicy so I usually start with 1 tsp of dry mustard then add more to taste. Fold together until well mixed.  

            

-Step 5:   Here is where the magic happens! The secret ingredient is Indian Black Salt, sometimes called Kala Namak. Its origin is African and Indian, and I had a very hard time finding it. I eventually ordered it from Amazon. One sniff and you’ll understand why this is the secret  and MOST important component of this recipe! It smells and tastes like sulphur (which we all know smells like eggs!) It’s incredibly salty so add with care. ½ to ¾ tsp is probably enough. Mix in.

*On a side note, I ordered it in bulk on Amazon by accident and now have enough for 3 lifetimes. If  you are local and want to try it, they sent it in a bunch of sealed packages I could sell off! (a.sawatzky@live.com)

-Step 6:   Add to bread or toast. Yum.

I have fed this to friends and family who did not realize it was tofu. It’s that good! 

Indian Black Salt is also an awesome addition to vegan potato salad to add a bit of eggy taste.

Cheers!

Recipe by: By Blackbird Designs