Monday, July 18, 2011

Summer Tuna Salad

Oops - all gone.
I'm not typically all that crazy about tuna salad.  But in the summertime, I need to make something that does not involve a stovetop, and I need to put in strange ingredients to make it worth the fact that I'm eating canned tuna.  This recipe satisfies both.

Also, in case you didn't know, lemon makes everything taste better.

This recipe was inspired by a salad I had at the Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth:




15 oz. chunk light tuna, packaged in water, drained
1/4 c. red onion, chopped
6 oz. jar of marinated artichoke hearts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 c. kalamata olives, cut in half
4 Tbsp lemon juice
zest of one lemon
salt & pepper to taste

I made this today and put it over fresh spinach.  TrĂ©s healthy.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Candied Pecans

Do you know how easy it is to make crunchy, sweet nuts?  Really easy.  I learned yesterday:

1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Put the above ingredients into a frying pan and turn the heat to a simmer (medium... medium-low?).  When it heats up, it will look kindof foamy for a while, but then it settles down.  Just let it bubble while stirring it until the sugar dries up.  (Trust me, if you've every had candied nuts, you'll know what it looks like.)

Pour the nuts out onto a piece of parchment paper to cool, and make sure to get that pan into some hot water right away so the carmelized sugar doesn't turn to cement.

That's it.  Really.  (No excuses next time you make a salad.)