Fried Chick-un Waldorf Salad

This recipe is a fusion of a two classic recipes: a basic chicken salad with grapes and mild mayonnaise dressing, and a waldorf salad--the infamous apple, celery, walnut salad tossed in a slightly sweetened version of the aforementioned mayonnaise dressing. It was born out of a chain of shows on Food Network that ran back to back one afternoon...one with Paula Deen making chicken salad sliders, one with Ina Garten making her classic chicken salad, and another with Rachel Ray making some sort of waldorf salad wrap mess. I thought it might me tasty to roll them all into one recipe and then veganize it to make it edible. The end result was quite delicious. Try it next time your thinking about what to make for lunch. A little side note: it's made with those frozen vegan chicken nuggets...so Sandra Lee (semi-homemade) watch out! Why are there no vegetarian shows on that damn channel?!

1 box vegan breaded chickn nuggets (prepared according to package directions and cooled), cubed

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil Veganaise

1/2 cup soy sour cream

1/2 cup sliced green grapes

1 teaspoon agave nectar

1/2 cup chopped green apple

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a large bowl. Fold to coat all ingredients with veganaise and sour cream. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and chill until ready to use. Makes about 3 cups.

Serve as a sandwich spread, on toast, with crackers, or stuff into fresh vegetables. This would also be great just served on top of some bibb lettuce, or combined with some cooked, cooled elbow macaroni in a pasta salad.

Enjoy :-)

Rotisserie Tempeh Salad

Rotisserie seasoning blend can be found on the spice aisle of most supermarkets.

1 cup tempeh, cubed
1/2 cup grapeseed Veganaise
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dill relish
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
2 teaspoons soy sauce (I used Bragg's)
3 cloves roasted garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste
1 tablespoon Rotisserie seasoning blend
Steam the cubed tempeh for 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine the Vegenaise, celery, relish, shallots, parsley, soy sauce, mustard, garlic and hot sauce until well blended. Cover and refrigerate. Toss cooled tempeh with rotisserie seasoning. Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet and gently fry tempeh cubes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside to cool. Once tempeh is cooled, toss with refrigerated dressing mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to blend flavors and to allow the mixture to thicken. Serve on toasted bread, or with crackers.

Serves roughly 4-6 depending on the size of your portions.