summer party tofu salad

June 28, 2011

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Don’t you just love summer?

If you say no, you’ll have to stop reading now. It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just that… well, not liking summer is like not liking Christmas. Unless you don’t celebrate Christmas. In that case, not liking summer is like not liking a free spa day — and if you’re a boy, well then I’m out of comparisons.

Let’s just agree that we all like summer.

To me, summer is all about the salads.

You were expecting to see some dark, leafy greens up in here, weren’t you?

I like to keep you on your toes — the dark leafy greens isn’t where it’s at today.

Summer is filled with a boatload of get togethers with friends and families. Grilling out, family parties, holiday shin-digs… you get the point. And I bet you there are salads at every single one of them — none of them being of the dark leafy green family.

Every party I go to (unless my mom is there — then we have those dark leafy greens), there is a salad. Can I just tell you that 9 out of 10 times I can’t eat the salad?

That seems pretty unfortunate, wouldn’t you agree?

In summer, however, all of those fancy shmancy salads get busted out — pasta salad, potato salad, cole slaw (which I think is a “salad”), quinoa salad, tuna salad, egg salad, chicken salad.

You got that?

If you’re me, there’s only a few things wrong with this situation. One — gluten. Two — mayo. Three — meat.

Hi, my name is Chelsey and I am the lame girl at the party who won’t eat any of your food. It’s not you… it’s me.

June 28, 2011 018

It’s about time I changed the tone around here — with some tofu salad.

Taking on the consistency of egg salad, tofu salad is a great alternative if you don’t eat meat or mayo based salads.

I’m ready to party now.

Summer Party Tofu Salad (makes 4-5 sandwiches)

1/2 block organic, non-GMO tofu (I used TJ’s Organic Sprouted)

1/2 celery stalk, diced

3 tbsp. hummus

1 and 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

3/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Drain and lightly press your tofu (just to get a little bit of excess water out — I only did so for about 30 seconds with paper towels). To get an egg salad consistency, crumble your tofu with your hands into a large bowl. Dice your celery to your liking ( like bigger chunks, but some people like them really diced/minced). Add your hummus and Dijon mustard and stir to coat. Add your spices and adjust to your liking. Refrigerate until use — will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days.