Plant based Waldorf Salad

Not-Chicken Waldorf Salad made with Kale and soy curls

Re-post for summer:
I have always like collecting recipes and one time I found myself alone with my mother-in-law's cookbooks. In a book that came with her Sharp microwave oven I found a fantastic recipe for a Chicken Waldorf Salad made with bacon and mayonnaise and a pound of chicken meat with enough garlic powder to send the whole flavor sensation over the top.  It was soooo good.
I have kept that recipe in my own collection for the past 25 years although of course I never made it often and now I don't make it at all.  Yesterday was another hot, and I mean really hot day so I was in the mood for a cold dinner.  Here is a lightened version of that Chicken Waldorf Salad Recipe for my future self and anyone else who would like to try it.

Recipe for Not-Chicken Waldorf Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Butler Soy Curls (rehydrated in not-chicken broth) and diced to 1/2"
• 1/4 cup TVP granules rehydrated in:  1/4 cup hot water, 1/4 tsp liquid smoke, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp vegetable bouillon (This will make not-bacon bits which you don't have to bother drying out for this recipe)
• 6 large kale leaves, rinsed and torn into small pieces with center rib removed, steam for one minute until tender and rinse with cold water, toss to remove excess water drops.  
• 2 crisp fresh apples diced 1/2"
• 1 cup chopped celery (or broccoli)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (original recipe called for 3/4 cup--yikes!)

Place everything into large bowl and toss with dressing.  Chill for an hour before serving.

Salad dressing:

• 1/3 cup Miracle Mayo or your favorite non-fat vegan mayo or cashews processed in magic bullet (mini food processor)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup low fat almond milk, or any non-dairy milk

• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic or two cloves fresh minced
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• dash black pepper

Alternative ingredients:  butter lettuce instead of steamed kale, dried cranberries, forego the soy curls, add chia seeds.  Top salad with flaxseed meal.

Additional note:  It seemed that the dressing was inclined to curdle if I added the lemon juice directly to the milk.  Mixing the lemon and vinegar into the mayo first resulted in a creamy dressing without the curdling problem.
This was okay the next morning for breakfast and the apples were still crispy, but it did weep so the bottom of the bowl had a layer of water in it that seemed kind of unappetizing.  Only you know what you can ignore.  (Hey, that should be on a T-shirt.)