by Anna Ervin & Dondi Cobb
You know those dishes that just taste like summer? Like one bite instantly takes you back to camping trips at the lake, or BBQ’s with your family?
If you’ve been following my recipes for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I begin the majority of my recipes with a blurb about how my mom made this for me when I was a kid, and how I’ve adapted it to fit my diet and lifestyle.
The reason I use so many of my mom’s old recipes is that through those familiar flavors, I can relive some of my favorite memories.
I think a lot of people realize that cutting animal products out of your diet is a pretty major lifestyle change. It doesn’t take long after exploring a vegan diet to realize that 90% of your favorite recipes include the ingredients you’re striving to avoid. When I first made the switch, it was the home style comfort foods that I had grown up watching my mom create that I missed the most.
I made it my goal to transform as many of those dishes as I could into something that I could enjoy with a healthy conscience. I share them today because I want people to see that eating plant-based doesn’t always have to mean sacrificing the flavors you love (unless that flavor is prime rib, I still haven’t figured that one out).
This is one of those side dishes that you could easily buy a tub of at the store, but my mom took the time to make it at home summer after summer, which just made it that much more special. We would have it during camping trips, hikes, and backyard hangouts. I honestly have very few memories from summertime during adolescence that didn’t involve this salad. We still enjoy it to this day, only now it’s in a way that the whole family can experience.
The recipe calls for regular macaroni noodles, but I highly recommend chickpea noodles for a gluten-free option. I don’t personally have an sensitivity to gluten, but I do notice that my body functions a little slower when I consume a lot of it. As with cannabis, even the most delicious things in life are sometimes better explored in moderation.
Speaking of moderation, I decided to microdose this recipe, depending on how many servings you get out of it. I added 1-2 Tbsp of cannabis-infused oil, amounting to about 75-100mg of THC in the entire dish. For an extra pop of flavor and medication, try sprinkling a little bit of Two Twisted Girls’ medicated Lemon-Lime Beer Salt over the dish.
Check out the full recipe!
