Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I Know It Sounds Weird, But Just Eat It

Y'all are just gonna have to trust me on this one, okay? So my dad always raves about this pineapple salad that he grew up on — pineapple rings, cheese, salad dressing (like Miracle Whip), and lettuce. Sounds weird, right?

My mom thought so too, until my dad had her try it years ago. Now they both love their pineapple salad. For some reason, my mom never made this dish when I was growing up though. It was only recently that I learned about Papa Crunk's penchant for pineapple. Even though I thought it sounded weird, I set out to veganize it. And you know what? It's freakin' tasty. Cooling, sweet 'n' savory, creamy, perfect for a hot summer day. Here's my vegan Pineapple Salad:

The cheese is my beloved Daiya, but any vegan cheddar would do. The white stuff is my homemade Tofu Mayo, which is way less fat than Vegenaise. Though I love the V-stuff, I'm too calorie-conscious to plop that much over a salad. But the homemade mayo works great for this recipe. I'm including it in the cookbook's salad section. I dare you to try it.

On the side, I noshed on my Dry Rub BBQ Seitan Ribs, also in the cookbook:

I've been tweaking this recipe for awhile, and it's almost there. In Memphis, barbecue people are all serious about the wet ribs (with BBQ sauce) vs. dry ribs (with a spice rub) debate. I wanted to create a dry rib version of vegan ribs since there are already quite a few recipes out there for the wet variety.

In Soap Nuts giveaway news, we have three winners who will receive samples of soap nuts for all their clothes washin' needs. And the winners are .... drumroll please ... Buddy, East Village Vegan, and Tanya! Yea!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

The photo of your pineapple salad reminds me of church potlucks back in the awesome 80's... That's a complement, so don't be offended! I am mighty excited for your cookbook. You have created some original recipes that I haven't seen in cookbooks yet, and that's pretty commendable!

The Health Sensei said...

"Though I love the V-stuff, I'm too calorie-conscious to plop that much over a salad."

Hopefully in coming posts on my blog I can change that. Calories are much overhyped and overblamed

Vegan In The VI said...

That salad does seem oddly appealing.

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

I love pineapple, so I'm gonna trust you on this one. Nice ribs too!

Sarah @ See Sarah Eat said...

I love pineapples, so that salad sounds really good to me! :)

I've never tried vegenaise or any other mayo alternative!

Velovegan said...

It doesn't sound odd - fruit in salads is amazing! I never really thought about adding pineapple, but a while ago I made a GORGEOUS spicy polenta and pineapple salad and the sweetness went really well with it:

http://thevelovegan.blogspot.com/2010/06/southern-fried-polenta-pineapple-salad.html

You're making me want to have it again!! And I think I will do, need to get more fruit into my diet again, I forget about fruit sometimes!

That seitan looks DELISH ;)

The Kuntrageous Vegan said...

Hey now; my mom makes a salad like that. And what about cheezy pineapple casserole coverd in crushed ritz crackers? AHHH I love the south.

Leslie Richman said...

Yum- I love pineapple on savory dishes!

Jessica said...

I bet your Tofu Mayo tastes good enough to eat by the spoonful! I can't imagine doing this now, but we used to eat canned pear halves with a spoonful of may and shredded cheese on top.

Your seitan sure looks like a dry rib! I can't wait to read the specifics of your recipes.

Ricki said...

It DOES look really delicious! I'm a big pineapple fan and while I used to hate Miracle Whip, I love vegan mayo (go figure!). :)

Hello Veggie said...

I'm too much of a sauce/condiment fanatic to say that I bet they'd be my preference over wet ribz, but your dry ribs to look darn tasty!

Jenn/HeVe

Sheridan said...

Ooooh! Those seitan ribs look amazing! I want to try them! And I've had something very simiar to the pineapple/cheese salad too! My Mammaw makes it.

Suzanne said...

I had a major childhood flashback of sitting at my Grandma's table in rural Mississippi during the 60's when I read about the about the pineapple salad! Being vegan now, I am going to have to give this a try! Thanks.

River said...

It does sound strange, but I trust your good taste. Only a couple more weeks until I can go home and test some more crunkiness! I need to find out if I'm a wet rib or a dry rib person! :D

Anonymous said...

Ha, it's a good thing I trust your judgement in general, bc my first thought on that salad is BLEH hahahah sorry, girl!

Demetrius said...

Both look great. So wanna try your dry rub there. Cheers!

Eric said...

Hmm those Dry Rub BBQ Seitan Ribs look amazing... This cook book best come out soon! :D

Josh said...

did you make your own seitan for those ribs?

Erin said...

The pineapple salad sounds like something I would've put together at the salad bar as a kid. Just weird enough to be tasty! The ribs look amazing too.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

I love pineapple, so I suppose I would try that crazy salad!