Q.E.D.: Scott's Tuna Salad in Avocado Boats

Readers of this blog will recall that my husband Scott basically doesn't know how to cook save for a few dishes. Tuna salad happens to be one of them. His tuna salad is one of our typical summer lunches, but I asked him to make some for dinner so we could try the avocado boats. Delicious!

Notes: Not only is this Q.E.D., it's no-cook. You don't even need to look at your oven. Perfect for a hot summer evening.

These would be lovely on top of a bed of greens. To serve it that way, just scoop the avocado flesh out of the peel first. Run a spoon around the edge so you can scoop it out whole. Then (carefully) put it on the greens and mound the tuna on top. A little drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice and you'd be all set.

This is a light meal, so it's perfect for a night when you're not that hungry or you had a late lunch.

If you wanted to serve 4 people, the recipe can be easily doubled.

Ingredients (serves 2 people):
1 large (or 2 regular sized) cans of tuna (in water)
3 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
3-4 tablespoons mayonaise
2 ripe avocados
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Put the tuna in a mesh strainer and rinse. Press out as much of the liquid as you can.

Scrape the tuna from the strainer into a bowl. Add relish, mayo, celery seed and stir to combine.

Slice the avocados in half and mound the tuna salad into the holes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy your no-cook Q.E.D. meal!

Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad is one of our classic family dishes. It's a summer time food for us and a staple at cook outs. Every time I make it, it reminds me of my childhood in the warm, humid climate of the coast.

I have never been able to recreate the version my mom makes. That and her famous brown eggs are two things I can't get to taste exactly like hers. I think there's some mom voodoo going on there, but I can't confirm that. So rather than be faithful, I decided to be innovative. I've tried to make a healthier version of it.

I tested this on my mother while she was visiting and she actually liked it! I figure if it has the original maker's seal of approval it can't be all that bad.

Notes: Normally, this recipe calls for celery. I have a hard time using up celery, so I went with cucumber instead. This is a mayonnaise-based salad. I'm afraid it just wouldn't taste the same without it.

The only reason this isn't Q.E.D is because it has to chill overnight or for at least six hours.

Ingredients:
1 box whole wheat shells or elbow macaroni
1 small can of tuna (I used wild caught)
1/2 greens (I used microgreens, but you could use chopped spinach or kale)
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1/4 cup chopped dill pickle
3 shallots
1 English cucumber
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Bring a stock pot of water to a boil, add two small handfuls of salt, and cook pasta according to the directions. When it's done, strain it and allow it to cool to room temperature before you add your veggies.

Stir the pasta periodically to help it cool.

Chop all your veggies while you're waiting.

Add everything to your pasta, season with salt and pepper.

Mix well and chill in the fridge. Enjoy in a warm summer day (any time you want to relive one!)

Tarragon Tuna Salad

Tuna salad is a classic that we eat a lot at my house. It's a budget-friendly lunch staple, but let's be honest. Tuna salad isn't exactly the most exciting thing to ever grace a plate. I decided to try to add some pizzazz to it.

Notes: This makes a small batch of tuna salad. It fed the two of us for two days. If you need to feed more people, I think doubling it would be no problem.

Normally tuna salad is heavy on the mayo. My husband is not a mayo guy. Ergo, my goal was to use a smaller amount of mayo and use something else as a binder. For me, the clear choice is mustard. I'll confess: I'm anti-yellow mustard (unless we're talking hot dogs). Too plain, not enough depth of flavor. There are so many different kinds of mustard out there, squirting out some French's just seems like a waste. My favorite mustard is whole grain, but we had some sweet and hot on hand, so I used that.

I had some leftover tarragon from my brown rice risotto and I thought the mild licorice flavor would round out the sharpness of the mustard. 

I planned to make tuna salad wraps, but the Louisiana humidity plus Target's subpar packaging resulted in an entire package of wheat wraps that were fused together. So, I served it over spinach instead -- a tuna salad salad, if you will.

Ingredients:
1 large can of tuna or 2 small cans, drained
1 tablespoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of mayo
1 tablespoon sweet relish
3 celery stalks, diced
1/4 cup tarragon, chopped
Zest of one lemon
Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl (you can even make it right in your storage container to save time). Mix well. Refrigerate overnight.

Summer makes me naturally nostalgic, so I ate my tuna salad with a classic childhood snack:

Ants on a log, anyone?

 I plan to test out more versions of snazzier tuna salad, so you'll likely be seeing more posts like this in the future.