Potato Salad with Homemade Rosemary Mustard

Time and time again I have made my own ketchup but I never thought to make my own mustard. The inspiration to make it myself came from my husband's distaste for it. He claims to hate anything with vinegar in it and mustard can be pretty stringent. I thought if I made my own, I could adjust the vinegar to fit both of our palettes. The process is pretty quick and painless and lends it's hand to making mustard in any flavor you want.

Red potato salad with corn, red onions, scallions and celery for crunch tossed in homemade mustard while warm.

Rosemary Mustard
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbl fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
1-2.6oz container yellow mustard seeds
2 tbl white wine vinegar
1 tbl agave
1/3 cup water
salt & white pepper

Saute the shallot and garlic in olive oil until soft and fragrant, 5 minutes. Add the rosemary and mustard seeds and cook until the seeds have toasted. Add the vinegar, agave and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary to get desired consistency. Cool for later use or toss in potato salad while warm.

Potato Salad
8 red potatoes, medium dice
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small red onion, small dice
1 celery stalk, minced
1 cup fresh corn kernels
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
1 bunch scallions, green parts only, small dice

Combine the potatoes with salted, cold water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender but not falling apart. Drain.
Saute the onion in olive oil until tender, 5 minutes. Add the celery, corn and garlic. Season with cumin, salt and pepper. Add half of the scallions.
Mix the potatoes with the vegetables and toss with mustard. Garnish with the rest of the scallions.

Buffalo Tofu, Fingerling & Corn Chimichurri

The spicy-sweet taste of these tofu sticks go great with this cool and refreshing salad filled with summers greatest produce, fresh corn and tomatoes.
Keep this chimichurri sauce recipe around to toss on other foods like grilled seitan, rubbed on whole corn on the cob, or a replacement for pesto in a pasta dish.


Buffalo Tofu
1 lb extra firm tofu
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/4 cup agave nectar
3 tbl earth balance vegan butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
salt
1/4 cup canola oil

Drain the tofu from the package and press for 30 minutes. Cut into 9 sticks.
Combine all of the ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a boil, reduce
to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Heat the oil in a saute pan and brown on all sides then toss in hot sauce right before
serving.

Corn and Potato Chimichurri
1 lb red fingerling potatoes, halved
2 yellow corn cobs, kernals removed
1/4 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1 hot house tomato, seeded, medium dice
1 head parsley, stems removed
8 garlic cloves
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 tbl white vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put the potatoes in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes then add the corn kernels. Continue to cook until the potatoes are fork tender and drain. Transfer to a bowl with the red onion and tomato.
In a food processor, combine the parsley, garlic, oregano, paprika,salt, pepper, cayenne and vinegar. Blend for a few minutes. Stream in the oil while the machine is on and combine. Toss with the hot potatoes and serve.

Loco Moco and Macaroni Salad

Loco Moco is traditionally a Hawaiian dish composed of a hamburger steak with gravy and a fried egg. My version involves tender seitan-bean steaks with savory mushroom gravy and caramelized onions. Macaroni salad with fresh carrots and red onion is served on the side with a green salad. Those Hawaiians know what's up.

Hamburger Steak
1/2 white onion, small dice
1 1/2 tsp ener-g egg replacer
1 tbl spicy mustard
1 tbl vegan worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
1-15oz can tri-bean blend (white/red kidney/black), drained and rinsed
8 oz ground seitan
3 tbl minced fresh parsley, divided
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
5 tbl ap flour,divided
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 walla walla onion, thinly sliced rounds
1 tbl canola oil
1 celery stalk, finely minced
1/4 red bell pepper, very finely minced

In a food processor, add the onions and pulse until very fine and wet. Add the egg replacer, mustard, worcestershire, garlic powder, paprika, alt and pepper to taste and beans. Pulse to combine and break down beans. Transfer to a bowl and add the seitan, 2 tbl parsley, panko and 1 tbl ap flour. Form into 4 patties. Chill for 20 minutes while making the rest of the meal. When ready to cook, coat in a thin layer of the remaining flour and brown in a saute pan with olive oil, 10 minutes total. Garnish with remaining parsley.

Saute the sweet onions with oil and salt over medium low heat until soft and caramelized, 30 minutes.
Serve the hamburger steaks with onions, celery, red bell pepper, mushroom gravy and macaroni salad.

Mushroom Gravy
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, small dice
2 cups no-chicken broth
2 tbl shoyu
1 tbl vegan worcestershire sauce
1 tbl cornstarch
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
2 tbl fresh chopped parsley


In a large saute pan, heat the oil and sweat the onions, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute over medium high heat to brown the mushrooms, 7 minutes. Add the broth, shoyu and worcestershire sauce and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Return back to the pan and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water and whisk into a smooth paste. Add to the bubbling gravy and whisk to combine and let thicken. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

Macaroni Salad
2 cups elbow noodles
1 1/2 cups veganaise
1/3 cup grated red onion
1/3 cup grated carrot
1 celery stalk, minced
1 scallion, small dice
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the noodles and cook for 10 minutes or until slightly OVER cooked. Drain, toss with cold water, drain again and set aside.
Combine the remaining ingredients, season to taste and salt and pepper and toss with the noodles. Chill and serve cold.

Alternatively, if you don't eat pasta, this dressing goes great over cooked yukon gold potatoes as a great potato salad. The potatoes might soak up more dressing than the pasta so make sure you have enough dressing or make a double batch.