Tuna Salad (for those who don’t do mayo)

Tomorrow I have to start working on the first of five packets of work I’ll have due, one every three weeks, by the end of the semester. My plans are to read Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a chapter on character development in a text book called Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway, complete the exercises at the end of that chapter, work on some other writing exercises, and begin an analysis of some blogs. (More on that later, I promise.)

So, as you can see, I’m going to need something good to eat. I thought I’d share one of my favorite study treats.

I have always, for as long as I can remember, had a rather dramatic aversion to mayonnaise. Even looking at mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip…they are the same to my irrational self) makes me feel pukey. Yes, looking at it, even though it’s the smell that turns my stomach. I don’t have an allergy or anything, because I occasionally eat a tiny bit of mayonnaise mixed with something (like tuna) that smells stronger than the gross stuff, and I don’t get sick. I just plug my nose and close my eyes when I scoop out my fraction of a spoonful.

I have a mayo story. When we’d been dating about three months, Kevin and I took the kids (only Adrienne and Nick, this was about 7 years ago) to an outlet mall outside Vegas just before Christmas so they could ride the huge merry-go-round there.  We ate lunch in the food court. Kevin got some big sloppy thing from Burger King. To my utter horror (it still makes me shiver to think of it) he lifted that messy thing and literally sucked the dripping mayo from around it’s perimeter. I couldn’t do anything but stare in abject disgust.

It’s a damn good thing that I already loved him, or I would have taken a kid with each hand and left and never looked back. I’m not even kidding.

So, all of that is a long prelude to my recipe for tuna salad for anyone who doesn’t appreciate fish swimming in nasty white goo. My grandma used to make it for me, never once mentioning how silly it is to be pathological about something like mayonnaise.

Tuna Salad (without mayo)

12 ounces of albacore tuna

2 T chopped black or green olives, or a mix

2 T pickle relish

2 T finely chopped white onion

Mustard (yellow is fine, whole grain is better)

Red Wine Vinegar

1-2 T  plain yogurt

Salt and Pepper

Start by opening the cans of tuna, draining them well and putting them into a medium-sized bowl. Add the onion, olives, and relish. Mix very well, breaking up the tuna. Add about 1 T of mustard, or to taste. I love mustard, so I use at least a Tablespoon. You might want less. Add the yogurt a spoon at a time, mixing until you have the consistency you want. Dash in some vinegar and season to taste. Mix again and taste, adjust as necessary.

This makes a fairly dry tuna salad. If you want something more creamy, you could add more plain yogurt (I especially like Greek.)  It’s great on a salad. I’ve dumped it all in my Magic Bullet and made a spread which was delicious as well.

More recipes here. And here. And here.

And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here.