Cooking with Celia: Celia's Vegan Potato Salad

Still looking for your Fourth of July side? May not be too late to add my freaking awesome salad to the menu. It's not traditional potato salad--traditional potato salad is loaded with carbs and cholesterol, and not many people like it. This one still has that potato charm, but lots of veggies to make it healthier. The light vegan mayo dressing is virtually guilt-free.

Ingredients for 12 servings

3 1/2 pounds of mixed small potatoes
5 carrots, cut into disks
5 celery sticks, cubed
small package of frozen peas, thawed

one apple, cubed

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 cup vegan mayo

1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

1/2 cup apple cider, white wine, or rice vinegar

1 tsp. dill (2 tsp. if fresh)

1 tsp. thyme (2 tsp. if fresh)

salt & pepper to taste

1. Wash potatoes and cut to bite-size pieces. I prefer to leave the skins on, but you can peel them if you like. Boil until soft (about 15 minutes). Salt the water generously. Drain.
2. Boil carrots separately to avoid overcooking, about 10 minutes. Salt the water generously, and drain.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, mustard, and vinegar.
4. Combine potatoes and carrots with peas, celery, and apple while still warm in a large bowl. Add the dressing a little at a time to avoid breaking the potatoes too much. Add cilantro and spices at the end.
5. I like it warm, but you can cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Feeling the Love at Fringe

As part of the Vintage Fringe feature, the folks over at Fringe are re-featuring my poem, "Blackbirds," and posting an accompanying interview. I can't tell you what a thrill this is! It's one thing to have someone publish your poem--that's already a great seal of approval. But to come back to it? To do it again? Yay.

In the accompanying interview, they've also given me the chance to talk about the poem's composition, as well as how it interacts with one of my favorite forms, the sestina. Fringe's poetry editor, the wonderful Anna Lena Phillips, also asked me questions about this blog, which I (of course!) was very happy to answer.

Please read all about it at the links above, and note that you can leave comments on the interview. I'd love to hear what you think about the poem and about sestinas--how far can you push a form?

My thanks, my thanks and thanks, to Anna Lena Phillips, David Duhr, and all the wonderful people at Fringe.