Three Pea Salad

We had the most wonderful, relaxing Easter this year. Jared’s parents and brother came over to our house and we enjoyed a beautiful spread of food for vegans and omnivores alike.

Easter Lunch

Rhonda, my wonderful mother-in-law, brought ham, and homemade macaroni and cheese, delicious roasted corn, and an apple pie. Jared and I weren’t short on choices though! I made zucchini basil risotto, balsamic roasted veggies, cranberry orange kale salad, cashew queso in a bread bowl, and three pea salad. We washed it all down with peach iced tea and Bogle Chardonnay. It was quite a feast for the five of us.

We meandered through lunch, then headed out for Jackson’s first Easter egg hunt before heading to the evening church service.

I could have just eaten him up in his little Easter duds. Lucky for him, I was pretty full from lunch.

(Jared and I just got Iphones so I can now do fun things like this with my phone pictures. I’ll try not to share a nostalgic shaded picture of my baby in every post. But know, each time I don’t, it took major restraint. Jared, on the other hand promptly dropped his phone in the toilet and ruined the camera. Thanks to Apple Care, a new one is on the way.)

I’ll share most of the recipes I made on upcoming posts, but I’m starting off with the one I finished off first, the Three Pea Salad. I was trying to come up with a vegan version of the old classic Spring Pea Salad with mayonaise and cubes of cheese, but I was afraid Jared wouldn’t go for just peas in a salad, so I veered off of that path pretty far. What I ended up with was a filling, tangy, spicy side dish. It’s one of those salads that gets better the longer it sits. I ate a bowl for dinner last night and then finished it off for lunch today.

Sweet Peas, Chick"peas," and Black Eyed Peas in a creamy tangy dressing.

Rachel’s
Three “Pea” Salad

Ingredients

1 16 oz can of Chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 16 oz can of Black Eyed Peas, drained & rinsed
1 1/2 cups of Frozen Peas, cooked & cooled (put in ice water to quickly cool off)
3 T. Sweet Onion, minced
1/4 c. Vegenaise (or mayo of choice)
1 T. Rice Vinegar (any vinegar would be fine)
2 t. Frank’s hot sauce
A few splashes of Tabasco (optional for extra heat)
1 t. Salt
1/2 t. Pepper
1 t. Garlic Powder (or one minced garlic clove)
1/4 c. Parsley, chopped

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (overnight is best). Check for seasoning. Serve cold.

Although this dressing uses mayo, it doesn’t call for very much and results in a nice light coating of dressing (the way I  prefer). If you want a thick creamy dressing, you may want to add more mayo and seasonings.