from the first day i went vegan, i told myself i wouldn’t let “missing a food” get to me. i’ve stuck to this since then, and i really haven’t missed much at all! i’m always trying to expand my food and cooking repertoire so that i’m never bored, and i often try to recreate “classics” from my childhood. you know, gravy and mashed potatoes, lasagne, mac n cheese, those kinds of foods.

i’ve not once missed a steak dinner or anything so extreme; it’s the little details i miss – being able to sneak a few pieces of candy from the bulk section without having to read the ingredient label, unpeeling my 10th string cheese in a row, running out for a milkshake in the middle of the summer with friends. don’t get me wrong, i know now just how bad those things are, and i honestly don’t want to go back to the way i used to live. but it’s those things that push me to try to veganize everything in my life, so that maybe one day i can just consume with abandon once again. (to those who aren’t vegan, trust me – even with “giving up” all of those moments, i’ve learned to make new ones just as good or better than the old ones.)

egg salad is one of those foods. my mom would keep a dozen hard-boiled eggs in our fridge at all times, and offer to make us a stack each when she cooked on the weekends in the summer. it’s truly a homestyle meal for me. so imagine my excitement when i discovered a simple egg-less salad recipe over at lunch box bunch!

this recipe is a cinch to make – besides pressing time, it takes less than 5 minutes to go from ingredients to plate. not only that, but it really does taste JUST like how i’ve always remembered it. PLUS it’s got all that coveted protein and calcium that we vegans are always apparently desperate for! nothing could be better than that, in my vegan book :p

the very first thing you’ll do is get out a block of extra-firm tofu. wrap it in a towel, place it on a plate, put some heavy books on top,  and let it sit for at least thirty minutes. if you’re doing this on the fly, just go take a shower or eat breakfast while you wait. pressing is essential to get a great texture from the tofu. (rather than that soggy, mushy texture you’ve always heard about.)

prep the rest of your ingredients. this following “recipe” is for one sandwich, but since it’s a “personal taste” recipe you can play around and make your own ratio if you wish.

place about 1/2 cup vegenaise (eggless mayo) in a bowl. squirt about 1-2 tsp of sriracha sauce (chili pepper sauce) and 1 tbsp dijon mustard into the bowl. shake on turmeric for a few seconds, or until the mayo is lightly covered. mix everything together and taste. sprinkle on a pinch of coarse sea salt and a few grinds of peppercorns.

take the pressed tofu and cut it into quarters. just 1/4 of that block of tofu will make one sandwich! so take that quarter and slice it into small cubes. i like mine at a small dice.

then carefully (not to break apart the cubes too much!) mix the tofu in with the mayo mixture. serve cold on warm toasted bread. you can place the rest of the tofu block in a resealable container to use in the future – just pour in water to cover the tofu and close the container. use it as soon as you can, but if you can’t, be sure to change out the water every couple of days. (i suggest making a stack of these, rather than letting the raw tofu sit alone in the fridge!)

hope you’ll enjoy this childhood classic just as much as i did!