Vegan Picnic Potato Salad with Mushroom and Dill

Yesterday, while posting a recipe for Ol' Reliable Chickpea Salad for Sandwiches and Wraps, I was also keeping a secret. 

While making the chickpea salad, I was simultaneously throwing together a potato salad. It happened on accident. As I have mentioned, I tend to go heavy (um, overestimate) on the vegetables. While prepping the chickpea salad, I cut up so much onion, celery, and red pepper that I realized I was hardly going to have any chickpeas in my chickpea salad (which is actually okay with me). To even out the chickpea:veggie ratio, I had to use the chopped veggies elsewhere. I also happened to have a leftover baked potato in the refrigerator, along with some mushrooms I thought it would go well with. The result: a picnic-worthy potato salad.

Potato salad makes me think of picnics and now I am daydreaming about picnics on the beach this summer! Especially since Bill's grandma gave us the most adorable wooden picnic basket last fall and we haven't had the chance to use it. Plus, I've never lived near the ocean. I know you can have picnics anywhere but on the sea just sounds so picturesque. Other picnic-friendly items will be on my mind as I consider new recipes to try...

In the meantime, I'm just going to keep playing this song (from a New England band!) on repeat...

Vegan Picnic Potato Salad with Mushroom and Dill

Ingredients:
1 leftover baked potato
2 baby portabello mushrooms
Fresh dill (to me, the dill makes it)
Onion
Celery
Red Pepper
Mustard
Salt and pepper
Vegan mayonnaise (you can buy in most stores, or make your own)
*Optional: splash of apple cider vinegar or squeeze of lemon juice, sun dried tomatoes, sunflower seeds, fresh herbs, roasted garlic, broccoli florets, chopped pickle or relish, sriracha sauce

Chop ingredients and combine. Use any amount of ingredients that sounds good to you. My philosophy in cooking is that you should adapt recipes to what makes sense to you and your taste buds (and budget, availability, diet restrictions). 
Place the potato salad in the refrigerator for at least an hour before eating to let the flavors come together in holy deliciousness. 

I like that this is creamy enough without being drenched in mayonnaise or mashed smooth. I appreciate the texture that all of the ingredients offer. The crisp crunch of the onion, celery, and red pepper complements the softness of the potato and mushroom. Then there are the flavor bursts of green onion and dill... yum. Cheap, delicious, and an easy option to throw together especially if you have leftover baked potato you want to use up.

*We ended up tossing this potato salad onto a bed of arugula, adding some fresh squeezed lemon juice, a sliced avocado, and a handful of sun dried tomatoes. It was a delicious salad!