Macaroni Salad To Eat While You Watch LOST

Last night, Rutiger took me out for an early dinner after he got off work. In the small town that I live in, there are very, very, very few vegan dinning options. However, among the bars and greasy spoon-diners, there is a Mexican restaraunt that makes pretty good food. I always order two crunchy bean tacos with a side of guacamole and pico de gallo. Spooning the fantastic spicy salsa over the whole concoction makes for a wonderful meal. Not to mention it's so inexpensive!

So, anyway, my favorite show (besides Monk, Project Runway, Top Chef, Six Feet Under and Ace of Cakes) is Lost. I have been addicted to it ever since the first episode. But by 9:00 I was hungry again. So, I put together a light snack/late meal and had it ready just before the new episode of Lost started.

If you don't know what macaroni salad is, it's that stuff you can find at any American cookout or 4th of July party--cooked macaroni pasta drowned in mayo and tossed with peas, celery and sometimes shredded cheese. So, here's my vegan healthy version that tastes 1,000 times better:

Ingredients (for one good-sized serving):
* 1/2 cup uncooked whole grain macaroni
* 3 tablespoons Creamy Herb Tahini Dressing (recipe below)
* 1/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted
* 1/4 - 1/3 cup (total) of chopped celery and carrots
* 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (preferrably raw)
* Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in boiling water until done to your liking. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Dry out the pasta, stirring contstantly over medium heat. Be careful not to let the pasta stick to the bottom of the pan. Mix the dressing with the other ingredients in a serving bowl and toss with the pasta. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes to let the starch from the pasta thicken the dressing. Enjoy!

Creamy Herb Tahini Dressing:
* 1/2 cup tahini
* Juice of 1 lemon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 garlic clove, minced
* 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (preferably raw)
* 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed or 1-2 tablespoons fresh dill weed
* 1 teaspoon dried parsley or 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
* 1/3 cup water (more or less, depending on how thick your tahini is)

First, combine the lemon juice and tahini and a mixing bowl and wisk until very thick. Add the rest of the ingredients and wisk again until smooth and the consistancy of ranch dressing. Store in a jar in the fridge. This also makes a good soy mayo substitute in things like eggless tofu salad (see a previous post).