Chickpea Salad with Tuna

It's so bloody hot. Hot winds, hot sun, hot humidity. It's too hot to cook, too hot to eat. "Cold" dinners are always salads, cereal, sandwiches. Just making these in the hot, hot kitchen cause sweat to bead up. Days like this need a dinner prepared first thing in the am and ready by dinner.. something refreshing, cool. What better way to cool off than with a nice cold Mediterranean Tuna Salad.

Modifications Made:

Albacore tuna is a trend in food because it's healthier than regular tuna. It's also more expensive, dry, and lacking in flavor. Instead of plain albacore tuna, the recipe was split. One can albacore, one can regular. Not three cans, but two and both in water not oil.

Red onion was omitted nor was it replaced with any other onion. Parsley was omitted. Grapeseed oil replaced olive oil. Only 1/2 of lemon and lemon zest were used.

One cucumber is vague as cucumbers are all different sizes. The current cuc in use was over 16" long. It didn't even fit in the crisper drawer. Using the red bell pepper as a basis, I matched the cuc to the amount of pepper. Roughly about one cup each.

Scaled for Likeness: Great

Not only was this meal tasty it was super quick and easy to make. The whole ensemble took less than 10 minutes make. It was refreshing, cold, and had a wonderful mixture of textures. Best yet, it paired well with chip and salsa on the side. Not quite a T&T meal as I would not want to eat this in winter but it will be served again before summer's end.

But....

There is always a but. This non mayo tuna salad was everything I was hoping it would be. However, not even with the third can of tuna it would not serve 10 people. As made it barely served three people, one who is an non eating teen table counterpart. If it had not been for chips and salsa there would have been fighting for the last half cup serving. Luckily, dessert had already been planned so leaving the table with a slight hunger was okay. Mediterranean Tuna Salad is good the recipe needs to be doubled so there are leftovers for lunch.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

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