Spring is Here, and so is this Tuna Salad (the good kind)!

Merry Christmas!  Happy New Year!  Hope you had a great Easter weekend!  Now that we've caught up, let's waste no time on fluff.  This recipe is yet another favorite that I have since added to my collection.  It's out of Sara Forte's wonderful cookbook, "The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods" which I had bought for my mother-in-law.  I know it's cheap, I know, but I made a copy of the tuna salad recipe out of the book before gifting it (teeheehee).  I am so glad I did.

Jhet and I took a trip to California last summer, and I brought this recipe along with us since we booked a hotel with a kitchenette.  Best beach picnic food EVAR!  Sara Forte reminisces about how her mom used to make beach picnic food like this, and it brought back memories of my mom packing us up in the car and spontaneously hauling us off to the beach.  Jhet and I had a blast, sitting on our little blanket in the cool sand (I emphasize cool sand because in Texas, the hot sand burns your feet until you hit the water!) and munchin' out on some refreshingly non-goopy tuna salad.

California!

I am very excited to share this recipe with you all, especially since I can't seem to find it on Sara Forte's site online.  I made a few minor adjustments to it but it is essentially the same.  The great thing about this recipe is the lack of mayonnaise.  Too often I get a hankering for tuna salad, and get disappointed by the soupy mess of mayo and fish.  Gross.  This offers a split between mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, a happy alternative that I will use from this point on!  The photos for this aren't the best I've done, but don't discount the recipe for lack of a better visual reference!

As a side note, this is what has been keeping me away from the blog:

New Orleans

...We got to ride in the St. Patrick's Day Parade!!

Oregon

Utopiafest

Okay enough biography, time for food!

Beach Day Tuna Salad

Adapted from the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook

Printable Version

Takes: 15 mins   Makes: 4 servings

You Need:

• 4 (5-oz) cans water-packed tuna
• 1/2 C golden raisins
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 2 Tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 4-6 Tbsp whole-grain Dijon mustard (If you can't find this, use some dijon and some whole-grain mixed up hehe)
• juice of 1 lemon (about 4 Tbsp)
• 4 Tbsp good mayonnaise or olive oil (I typically use the mayo since it's so little)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• crackers or your favorite bread for consumption!

1.  Drain tuna and put into a medium mixing bowl (or the container you're taking to the beach with!).  Soak the raisins in warm water for 5 minutes.  While that's soaking, chop your other ingredients.  Drain raisins, coarsely chop then add to the tuna.  Add celery, parsley, mustard, lemon juice, and mayonnaise or evoo to the bowl and mix well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  This keeps, refrigerated, for up to 6 days.