Vegan Mayonnaise

Let's be honest, mayo, any mayo, even if it's delicious homemade Vegan Mayonnaise {page 573}, is not very photogenic.

Although it will never win any beauty contests, this mayonnaise is dynamite! First off, the ingredient list is short, and is made with things I generally have on hand. The ingredients are inexpensive, to boot. Secondly, it is super fast to make! Literally 5 minutes and voila! Vegan mayo! Third, it is MUCH lower in calories and fat than your standard mayonnaise {even a vegan mayonnaise}. This stuff has no added oil or fat in it at all - not a drop! Last but not least, it is YUMMY. So yummy! It has a tangy but pleasantly smooth flavor. I don't usually like the flavor of mayo enough to really put it on much, but I can see myself becoming very addicted to this stuff. I've already used it twice today.

First off, I used it to make a delicious classic macaroni salad:



{Please note: my cute kitty bowl. NOTE IT!}

It gave great flavor and creaminess to the dish without overwhelming the over flavors and textures. I'm sure it would be KILLER in potato salad as well.

Secondly, I decided to make my grilled corn Mexican-style by slathering some on the corn and sprinkling it with paprika:



You know you've got a good mayo on your hands when you like the taste of it enough to put it on your corn. This was DYNAMITE.

All in all, I am extremely thrilled to have found this lower fat, lower calorie, inexpensive, easy, and DELICIOUS alternative to store-bought vegan mayo. Try it today! You won't regret it.

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl

Macaroni Salad

When I was growing up, my mom never made macaroni salad, not even one time! She did make potato salad but never macaroni salad. Whenever we were getting take out (only on special occasions) at a very non-vegan place that shall remain nameless, I always gravitated towards the macaroni salad. It wasn't even that good and sort of tasted artificial, but I got it anyway because that was the only time I could get it. Fast-forward to my teenage years. I still bought it when it was available wherever I was eating or shopping and also made it quite frequently a little later on. You've probably figured it out, but I love macaroni salad, so how could I pass up the Macaroni Salad (page 92) recipe?

It's your classic deli-style salad in a creamy mayo-based dressing. Now, any sort of pasta salad isn't complicated to make, but you want to get the ratio right of your dressing ingredients. I usually make mine to taste and put in a few other things but I wanted to try this recipe. The recipe has an excellent ratio of ingredients that produces a great base dressing for the salad with room to customise to your tastes. I ended up adding in more onion, celery and red pepper than called for and also added in more mayo (I couldn't help it, I'm a Vegenaise fiend) and sweet relish. On my second helping, I added in a little ketchup since that is usually what I put in mine (just a little).

If you like a classic mayo-based macaroni salad and are looking for a recipe, try this. It's quick to throw together (aside from chilling time), inexpensive and it's a great salad to bring to a vegan or non-vegan potluck.

— Ms. Veganorama