Better-Than-Tuna Salad - Vegan Month of Food

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE)
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
  during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

One, two, three, four, five
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Then I let it go again.
Why did I let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
The little finger on the right.

Great little jump-rope thyme for vegans and other fish lovers. Great recipe for EVERYONE! We could not believe how good this is…..actually BETTER than tuna fish salad. It’s natural to crave salt and fat no matter what we eat, and this simple recipe provides both. Don’t be shy with the mayo and be sure to include the celery seeds. (secret ingredient)

A reasonable explanation to avoid eating tuna – please consider all the annual bycatch that is killed when tuna longline fishing occurs. That’s hundreds of thousands of dolphins annually, hundreds of thousands of sharks annually and hundreds of thousands of turtles annually that are carelessly killed just because we want to eat tuna. Don't forget about the hundreds of thousands of albatrosses annually that are also 'non targeted kills.' I don't want to be a part of that ugliness anymore.  Just give the amazing chickpea a chance. You might be surprised – we were. 

No Tuna Tuna Salad (adapted from Colleen Patrick Godreau)
2 15 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 - 3/4 C mayo (Veganaise is the all time best)
1 medium size red bell pepper, minced
2 carrots, peeled and minced or shredded
2 celery stalks, minced
2 T fresh parsley
1 C chopped walnut
1 t celery seed (my addition, and oh so good)
salt
pepper

Here's what you do:
Grind the chickpeas in a food processor until somewhere between whole beans but not  mush. Think small flakes. Use the pulse button. Pour chickpeas in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients - adjusting for taste. Salt and pepper at the end.