Potato Salad and Friends

This is not your standard potato salad! The key to this yummy dish is roasting everything. There is a good, simple quality about roasting vegetables with just olive oil and salt/pepper- it really brings out the flavors of the vegetables, both sweet and savoury.
This involves some chopping, but is still pretty simple and you can clean everything up and make the dressing while you wait. It's good hot or cold, and the flavor really shines through, and isn't covered up by the dressing (the recipe for that is also below).

Potato Salad and Friends
-Red and/or brown potatoes (you can do sweet, too), unpeeled and cut into roughly 1/2" cubes
-Onions, peeled and thin sliced
-Cauliflower, cut into-bite sized bits
-Garlic, crushed
-Carrots (unpeeled, cut into coins a little smaller than 1/4 in thick)
-Celery, cut into 1" pieces (include the leaves)
-Red and green bell peppers*
-Olive oil
-Salt/pepper to taste

Wash, cut as directed and lay ingredients on a flat baking sheet (or several baking sheets) sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Suggestions for several baking sheets:

Onions/garlic on one
Peppers* on one
Cauliflower/celery on one
Potatoes/carrots on one

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt/pepper. Bake at 350-400 degrees, checking the done-ness of each item.
They have slightly different cooking times; the onions won't take as long as the potatoes, the celery/cauliflower take a little longer than the onions, and the potatoes/carrots take the longest. Since the potatoes are cut small, this will take under an hour. If you have to put all of the veggies in one large baking dish, that's ok.

You will need to check periodically and stir vegetables to ensure even cooking and no sticking.

*For the red and green bell peppers, you can either chop them and roast them along with other veggies, or you can roast them separately and skin them. I like to make sure the red pepper are roasted and skinned. I can take it or leave it on the green. Here is a Google Search on how to roast a pepper. I will do a tutorial sometime when I have several peppers and a helper.

Once vegetables are done, allow to cool slightly (or completely, if you are eating it cold) and gently mix in a large bowl. Set aside.

Creamy Dijon Parsley Dressing
This is *really* a personalized dressing, as some people like saltier, some people like the dijon taste to shine through.

about 1/8th block firm tofu (don't need to drain)
about 2 Tbsp dijon mustard (the kind with the grainy mustard seeds inside)
splash balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper to taste
olive oil
soy milk to thin
large handful roughly chopped parsley (don't worry about chopping finely)

Blend all ingredients in a or food processor, scraping down sides to ensure even blending. Now is the time I warn you not to scrape *while* the blender is running. Don't say I never did anything for you.

Once you have a sufficient amount of dressing, combine with all the roasted vegetables. Serve hot or cold. Top with a little more parsley if desired.