Green herb shrimp with zucchini couscous

It's my ongoing quest to, slowly but surely, like seafood more and more. I can't say I've always been the biggest fan. As a kid, I really disliked the smell of seafood. Walking through the seafood isle at the grocery store was a struggle. Annual family vacations to the Oregon coast often consisted of trips to the fresh seafood market - where I would wait outside and try to avoid the wafts of oysters, crab, and goodness-knows what else with scales. Clam chowder was always a terrifying mystery...there could be a big chunk of rubbery clam in there that I don't know about! That being said, I have grown-up a little (I think), and I'm more openminded when it comes to seafood.

Being willing to try various seafood is one thing; cooking it is another. Hence, I thought it was time to cook some shrimp. The big ones. With tails. Make fun if you want to...I know it does not sound like a big feat, but I was proud of myself. (Ha.)

Now. I was drawn to this recipe because the shrimp are marinated and coated in a green herb sauce, which sounded like the perfect thing. Plus, basil, feta, zucchini...what a wonderful combination.

Green herb shrimp with zucchini couscous

As adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups diced zucchini (about 4 medium)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat couscous
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for herb sauce:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 green onions, white and light green parts, chopped
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 2 limes

In a food processor, combine all sauce ingredients and blend until fairly smooth with a few herb flecks. Put half of the sauce in a bowl along with the shrimp and set aside to marinate for 1 hour, reserving the other half of the sauce. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and sauté until edges are browned, 8-10 minutes. Cook couscous according to package instructions. Transfer couscous to large mixing bowl and add zucchini, remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the basil, crushed red pepper flakes, feta, and vinegar. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large skillet (or alternatively, a grill) over high heat. Cook shrimp until they just turn pink, flipping halfway through, about 6 minutes. Toss cooked shrimp in remaining herb sauce and serve with zucchini couscous.

Well. I can say that I learned something by making these shrimp. My amateur tidbit is this: if you are going to cook shrimp that are coated in sauce, make sure to remove any excess sauce instead of dragging them through additional sauce, prior to cooking. That way, your sauce won't cook faster than your shrimp. I think this could definitely be applied to cooking any fish or meat in sauce. Just a good tip. Maybe I'm alone on this one, but it was a lesson that I had to learn.

In conclusion, this shrimp was delicious. The herb sauce is so colorful and vibrant, and could really be used on other types of fish as an alternative. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I actually enjoyed these shrimp. And I don't always enjoy shrimp. Shrimp lovers and not so very shrimp-loving readers, this recipe will not disappoint. Give it a try.

Hearty spinach and chickpea soup with turkey

Since I had "mushroom success" with my winter greens and mushroom pasta, I decided to give mushrooms another go. I had tried this recipe before, omitting the mushrooms and adding ground turkey as a protein instead. The soup was wonderful the first time. I find that some good ground turkey adds amazing flavor to soups. Anyways, I decided to make this again with both the turkey and mushrooms.

For some reason, this soup has sort of an Asian feel to me, but that is somewhat strange because it also has dried rosemary and calls for grated parmesan as garnish. Whatever feel you get from this soup, it is a really solid recipe and one that I know I will be going back to again and again. And Zack loves it too.  And it's a nice detour from my usual, go-to tomato-based chilies. 

Plus, you can be assured that this soup is good for you. According to Power Foods, mushrooms are "bursting with compounds that can reduce cholesterol and improve immunity." I didn't realize, but apparently they have not only nutritional benefits, but curative abilities also. I know, it sounds a little hokey-pokey, but they've been shown to have antioxidant and cancer-fighting properties. Guess I'll be cooking with mushrooms more often. And we all know spinach is wonderful - vitamin K, anyone? Lastly, brown rice offers up the antioxidant vitamin E, B vitamins, and plenty of fiber. There's your nutritional overview.

Hearty spinach and chickpea soup with turkey

As adapted from Power Foods - 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups water

1/2 cup short-grain brown rice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4-1 pound ground turkey

8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps cleaned and thinly sliced (4 cups)

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock

1/2-3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

8-10 ounces baby spinach

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 ounces (1/2 cup) grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Bring the water to boil in a saucepan. Sir in brown rice, return to boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid, 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Push onion and garlic to edges of pot, add additional olive oil if necessary, and add ground turkey to middle of pot. Break up turkey into chunks with a spoon, then add dried rosemary, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, mixing to combine. Cook turkey until it is browned and just about cooked through, mixing in the cooked onion and garlic. Add mushrooms, gently stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Stir in rice and chickpeas; return to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and continue cooking 5 minutes more to allow flavors to blend. Stir spinach into hot soup immediately before serving and sprinkle with parmesan, if using. 

This soup was actually a little exploratory for me because I had to shift around the original instructions a bit to incorporate the ground turkey and mushrooms. I also added the crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of heat, and chose to add the spices sooner (since I wanted them to really penetrate and flavor the ground turkey). I also "eye-balled" my rosemary and red pepper flake measurements, adding a bit more than called for, to compensate for the added turkey. What can I say, maybe I'm starting to make some of my own judgement calls and am becoming some sort of cook. (Ha ha.)

This is a great, wholesome soup with wonderful flavor. Try it and enjoy! We did.

Deep dish chocolate chip cookies

We all know cookies are the greatest. And if you know that, deep dish cookies just might be the next step. The next step up.

I'm a sucker for any cookie- or brownie-like thing with ice cream. Particularly the black and tan brownie with Tillamook vanilla bean ice cream from McMenamins. I don't know what my deal is, but I can never hold back. Which is a problem. Because we go there almost weekly. And Zack makes fun of me because it's not like this brownie is the best brownie there ever was, but it just always hits the spot.

What is it about cookies (or brownies, for that matter) with milk? I think it's the way the warm cookie counter balances the cold milk. Or the way the cookie soaks up the ice cream. Or maybe it's just sweet and that's why everyone likes it.

This all comes down to a wonderful recipe, found on Pinterest, from a blog called the White on Rice Couple.

Deep dish chocolate chip cookies w/ vanilla Tillamook ice cream

As adapted from the White on Rice Couple, whose cookie dough recipe was adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef.

Yields: 8 deep dish cookies (each cookie is a good amount to share between two people)

Ingredients for cookie dough:

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 pound dark chocolate chunks, cut into 1/2 inch chunks or smaller (I chopped a mixture of milk and Semi-sweet chocolate chips because that is what I happened to have on hand) 

Vanilla ice cream

8 4-inch ramekins

Note: There are many options for this recipe. If using this cookie dough for regular sized cookies (versus deep dish), follow cooking instructions as found here. Otherwise, use the instructions as follows, below. You may choose to bake 4 deep dish cookies, and save the remaining 4 in the freezer for later use. Also, you may choose to fill 4 ramekins with dough and then roll the remaining dough into slightly flattened balls to freeze and bake later, if you don't want 8 deep dish cookies. If doing this, put your formed cookie dough balls on a baking sheet so they are not touching each other, put the baking sheet into the freezer until cookie dough is frozen, then transfer frozen cookie dough balls into a freezer bag to store. Bake your frozen cookie dough (no need to thaw, unless you want to) at the original temperature the recipe calls for, but bake for a few minutes longer than instructed.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (or 350 degrees F for convection oven). Beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and salt; mix to combine. Sift flour and baking soda into a separate mixing bowl; stir into batter and mix until combined. Add chocolate and mix. Fill your 8 ramekins evenly with raw cookie dough. Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and put on middle rack in preheated oven. Bake until the top of the cookies turn pretty golden, about 25 minutes. (This baking time is pretty approximate, so keep an eye on your cookies once you hit 20 minutes and monitor until desired doneness is reached.) Remember you want them slightly undercooked and soft in the middle, but not doughy. Remove from oven, top with a couple scoops of ice cream, and enjoy. 

I apologize for the very long "notes" section in this post. The original recipe recommends filling the ramekins a 1/2 inch full, but they did not account for all the dough that would be left over. Hence, I filled mine a little fuller and opted to freeze some of them to pull out in the future to enjoy. As stated earlier, the options for dealing with your abundance of cookie dough are endless. Furthermore, feel free to enjoy with any ice cream you like. I am partial to Tillamook ice cream; we used old-fashioned vanilla, but I'm sure vanilla bean would be lovely as well.

This cookie dough is very good. It has a lot of butter and flour for a reason. This is definitely an indulgence. But what would life be without some of those once in awhile? Everything in moderation. Enjoy your indulgence. Cheers.

Chili with turkey and beans

Everyone loves a good chili. Although Cooking Light's beef and beer chili is one of our go-to favorites, this Power Foods chicken chili is a contender. However, I make it with ground turkey instead of chicken pieces, just because I often have ground turkey on hand in the freezer. I also feel like the ground turkey adds some really great flavor.

Also. Be warned. This chili will make your kitchen smell like a fiesta. I take that back - it will make your whole house smell like a fiesta. Especially if you live in a small house or an apartment, for that matter. I mean, Zack walked in after work and was overcome by this simmering goodness coming from our stove. Furthermore, when I got to work the next morning, I realized that I smelled like chili because I had thrown on the same sweatshirt that I had worn while I was cooking the night before. That went in the wash pretty quick. It did smell good, but it kind of reeked of onion and the smells of cumin and chiles. You get the picture: delicious, but very fragrant.

Chili with turkey and beans

As adapted from Power Foods - 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 onions, finely chopped (about 3 cups)

5 garlic cloves, coarsely minced

1 green (or red, orange, yellow, etc.) bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped

1 3/4 pounds ground turkey

2 teaspoons chili powder

A heaping pinch of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 dried bay leaf

1 can (28 ounces) chopped tomatoes

1 can (4 ounces) green chiles, drained and finely chopped

2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cans (15 ounces each) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt, for garnish (optional)

Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and cumin seeds over medium, stirring, until cumin is lightly toasted and aromatic, about 1 minute. Add onions, garlic, and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Push onion mixture to edges of pot, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and increase heat to medium-high. Add ground turkey, chili powder, cayenne, and oregano; cook until turkey is browned and cooked through, breaking into chunks and stirring until spices are evenly spread throughout. Add bay leaf to pot, then add tomatoes and their juice and green chiles; stir to combine. Bring to simmer. Add stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and beans; season with pepper, and stir to combine. Bring to simmer again. Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently simmer, uncovered, until bean mixture thickens, about 45-50 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with yogurt and/or cilantro leaves, as desired.

Evidently, this chili has a lot of ingredients, many of which could be played around with. You could switch out the turkey for chicken or ground beef, and you could also try different varieties of beans. I would normally use green bell pepper for this recipe, but they were out at the grocery store, so I threw in a combination of orange and yellow. The options are endless!

If you need a good, but healthful chili, this one is great. Here's to good and wholesome comfort food. Cheers.

Thyme-scented roast chicken + chopped salad

This last week, I found a recipe for this wonderful-looking, complex salad from The Sprouted Kitchen. This is another cooking blog that I have grown to love and also treat as a mentoring blog, similar to The First Mess. It has a few of my favorite things (a.k.a. quinoa, sweet potatoes, and apples), so I had to try it. Thus, I was trying to think of what I would make with it, so I perused through some of my cookbooks for ideas.

Lately, I have been all about making things that I could easily buy pre-made at the store. Or using ingredients that have an easy substitute, but instead pushing myself to not use the substitute, such as using actual cardamom pods not ground cardamom spice. So when I saw a recipe for roasted chicken from Nordstrom Flavors, it was just the ticket.

I had never roasted a whole chicken before. I don't know why. I guess I was afraid of what I might find inside. (Ha ha.) I think it's similar to my not really wanting to deal with a whole fish. Eyeballs, skin and scales...it just frightens me a little. It's just a little too close to the real (alive) thing. Well, now that I have kind of embarrassed myself (and am now sort of accountable to tackling a bigger challenge in the future), we should talk more about the chicken.

Are there meals or foods, or even specific scents that just remind you of someone or somewhere? I think a lot of people could list such examples. For me, roasted chicken reminds me of Nana, my grandma on my mom's side. When I was little, I can remember her roasting chicken. I don't know how she did it; I was too young to have any comprehension of the ways of cooking, but I remember it smelled so good. Furthermore, I remember my favorite part was the crispy chicken skin. The funny thing is I don't tend to gravitate towards fatty things or fatty parts of things. I trim the fat off everything. But chicken skin is one thing I can't stay away from. It's just so nostalgic. It's perfect. She would always give me the chicken legs to gnaw on; it was my favorite part. That and a cold can of 7-Up from the garage refrigerator with a straw. It was the greatest.

I guess this chicken, my first whole roasted chicken, is dedicated to Nana. I miss her and am sometimes caught off guard when I am reminded of her through random, little things. Like this.

Thyme-scented roasted chicken

As adapted from Nordstrom Flavors - An Artful Celebration of Food

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

Extra-virgin olive oil for preparing the roasting rack

1 bunch fresh thyme, about 25 sprigs

10 garlic cloves

1 whole chicken (about 4 1/2 lbs.), preferably organic

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon, quartered lengthwise

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Oil roasting rack and place in a roasting pan. Chop enough thyme leaves to measure 1 tablespoon; reserve stripped stems and remaining sprigs. Mince 3 garlic cloves; cut each of remaining 7 garlic cloves in half. Season cavity of chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Stuff cavity with reserved thyme stems and sprigs, garlic halves, and lemon quarters. In a small bowl, stir together oil, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, chopped thyme, and minced garlic. Spread oil mixture evenly over the outside of the chicken. Place chicken, breast side down, on the prepared rack in the roasting pan. Roast chicken for 30 minutes. Turn chicken, breast side up, and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh without touching bone reads 170-175 degrees F, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Carve and serve.

Chopped salad with quinoa, sweet potatoes, + apples

As adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods, who "barely" adapted their recipe from the November 2012 issue of Food & Wine

Serves 6.

Ingredients for salad:

2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 lb. sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large apples (granny smith, fuji, honey crisp, etc.), diced

8 cups packed baby greens (spinach, arugula, kale, red romaine, etc.)

1/8 cup flat leaf parsley

1/4 of a medium red onion, thinly sliced

Ingredients for dressing:

1/4 cup good-quality apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons whole-grain dijon mustard

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Drizzle olive oil in a pot and add quinoa to toast over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 1/3 cups water and bring to boil. Turn down to simmer, cover, and cook for about 15-18 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Fluff quinoa and cool (be sure to place in a cool place - don't want your greens to wilt when you add the quinoa later). On a rimmed baking sheet, diced sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake in upper third of oven for about 30 minutes, until golden. Remove and allow to cool. In a large bowl, whisk together cider vinegar, mustard, olive oil, and pinch of salt and pepper. Add cooled quinoa, potatoes, apples, greens, parsley, and onion. Toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Note: everything can be prepared in advance, kept in bags, and then tossed together when time for dinner, lunch the next day, etc.

I loved this salad. Again, as previously mentioned, it is complex with so many textures and flavors. If you're not a big fan of apple cider vinegar (it can be pungent), you may opt to use some other type of vinegar, such as red wine vinegar. Sara, from The Sprouted Kitchen, used this as a holiday salad; I definitely think it would be wonderful for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Or any other time of year for that matter. Give it a try. 

And the roasted chicken. There's nothing like a home-roasted chicken. The flavor is immense and wonderful. I'll be making it again. And you should too. Cheers.

Butternut orecchiette with arugula

This lovely, foggy Saturday morning, Zack is out renewing his CPR certification, so I thought I would do some blog writing catch-up with a hot cup of tea. And do I have a treat for you in this particular post.

So. Butternut squash. It must be addressed because this is, in a way, a source of struggle in our household. Point blank, I love butternut squash. I don't know why. It's like I'm drawn to it. It's vibrant orange flesh and lovely, smooth yellow skin. The fact that you have to scoop out the "meat" like you would a pumpkin. Maybe it reminds me of pumpkin carvings past, I don't know. Actually, as I write, I just found out online that butternut squash is actually referred to as "butternut pumpkin" in Australia and New Zealand; had to include that here (most of you know of our love for "down under").

Anyways, let's just say, recipes containing butternut squash just flock to me. As I look for recipes/ideas for meals, I'll be like, "oh, that looks delicious," and what do you know - it contains butternut squash. You get the point. I draw this out because the funny thing is that Zack is a little squeamish about this winter squash. In fact, I took this recipe as a challenge because Zack wasn't too sure about it, but I was going to make him like it if it was the last thing I did. I had to make it good enough that he would like it. Love it. It was like a secret mission.

This recipe comes from an amazing cooking blog I have discovered through Pinterest, The First Mess. Wholesome food and beautiful, creative photography. This blog has become one of my mentors (although, Laura of The First Mess probably does not realize it).

Butternut orecchiette with arugula

As adapted from The First Mess

Serves 4.

Ingredients for sauce:

1 small butternut squash, halved lengthwise with seeds scooped out

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Handful of fresh thyme sprigs

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or more grapeseed oil)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped

Good pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup vegetable stock

Ingredients for pasta:

2 heaping cups of dried orecchiette

15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup parmigiano, grated

2 big handfuls arugula, rinsed and dried

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (I did not use because I didn't have any on hand)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Scatter the handful of thyme sprigs across paper. Rub squash halves with grapeseed oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lay face down on thyme sprigs. Roast in oven until very tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Once able to handle, scoop cooked flesh into a bowl, discarding the thyme sprigs.

In a dutch oven or large soup pot, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add roasted squash, stir, mashing squash down into the sautéing aromatics. Add lemon juice and vegetable stock, stirring until roughly combined and remove from heat. Puree squash and garlic mixture in a food processor (or blender), adding more stock if necessary. Return squash sauce to dutch oven over medium heat. Season with heaping pinch of salt and lots of pepper.

Cook pasta according to package instructions, reserving 1/4 cup of cooking water. Once squash is simmering, add cooked pasta, chickpeas, parmigiano, arugula, pine nuts, reserving a bit of each for garnish if you like. Add some pasta water to loosen a bit. Serve hot.

I did not have the pine nuts on hand, but I think they would definitely add a nice crunch to this recipe. Also, next time I would like to loosen the squash sauce a bit; mine wasn't completely smooth. Do this by adding a bit of the pasta water towards the end of cooking. I think I will also puree my sauce a little more in the food processor.

Sometimes I think about ways to disguise things that are good for you. You know, foods that nutrient-rich and healthy (a.k.a. foods that your kids may not like). It's one of the things I look forward to in regards to having kids someday. Arranging vegetables in a rainbow, or making macaroni and "cheese," which is actually macaroni and butternut squash sauce. Seriously, that was one of the first things I thought of when I took my first bite of this butternut orecchiette. It is so much like homemade macaroni and cheese, it's not even funny. The color, the texture, etc. - I'm definitely saving this recipe.

However, this meal is more than a macaroni and cheese look-alike. It was really delicious. So many textures and flavors. I loved it. And I'm pleased to say, Zack was pleasantly surprised (mission accomplished). Here's to eating things that are good for you, and not even remembering or realizing it. Cheers.

Tuna salad

The author of The Sprouted Kitchen calls this recipe "beach day tuna salad." I saw this in her cookbook and just had to make it. Even though it wasn't a beach day. It looked so good.

What threw me a little though was the fact that this recipe calls for raisins. It just sounded a little weird. But I have been on a bit of a raisin kick lately - think pumpkin pecan granola - so I went for it. And oh my. The raisins add this subtle sweetness that counteracts the tartness of the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the kick of the Dijon mustard. It was perfection. Spread on bread for a sandwich, or dip into with some sturdy crackers or bagel chips.

Tuna salad

As adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

4 (5-oz.) cans water-packed tuna

1/2 cup raisins

4 celery stalks, diced

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

4 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 tablespoons good-quality mayonnaise (or extra-virgin olive oil)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whole grain bread or sturdy crackers or bagel chips, for dipping

Drain tuna and put into a mixing bowl. Soak raisins in warm water for 5 minutes to soften, then drain. Coarsely chop raisins and add them to tuna. Add celery, parsley, mustard, lemon juice, and mayonnaise or olive oil to the bowl and stir well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve at once, or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

These. Are. Delicious with the tuna salad. (Yes, those extra periods are for emphasis.)

This tuna salad makes for great sandwiches for a light, healthy meal. And it's a great addition to a wholesome snack or light lunch spread. Raisins...who would have thought? Cheers.