Tuna Guacamole!

Tuna Guacamole in endive leaves

Tuna Guacamole is great dish for an appetizer, snack, or impromptu little meal. I know it may sound a bit strange, but trust me, it’s yummy! And it takes less than five minutes  to make — especially if you start with a high-quality, freshly-made, store-bought guacamole.

INGREDIENTS

Freshly-made guacamole (homemade or store bought)
Canned tuna, flaked with a fork
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Thinly sliced green onions (green part only)
Chopped fresh cilantro
Fish sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Leaves of Belgium endive or Butter  lettuce
Diced red onions
Diced red bell pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place the guacamole into a bowl and then mix in the tuna. Then add, according to your taste: lime juice, green onions, cilantro, fish sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix it all up; taste and adjust seasoning.

• Take a leaf of endive and partially fill it with a dollop of Tuna Gaucamole. Garnish with finely diced red onions and red bell peppers. Serve!

- OR  -

• Place a small scoop of Tuna Guacamole into leaf of Butter lettuce and top that with the red onions and red bell pepper. Wrap the lettuce around the mixture and enjoy!

FOOD SHOPPING NOTES

Tuna:  I really like the Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna. It’s pole-caught, high quality tuna, that is “highest in omega 3 and low in mercury.” And, it’s  canned without added oil or water in BPA-free cans! It’s a premium product for a premium price, but it’s a good value when you buy through Amazon Subscribe & Save (which is what I do)!

Fish Sauce: Tra Chang Brand Fish Sauce is my current favorite. It is made from anchovies, salt, sugar – and nothing else. I bought a 25-ounce bottle for just a few dollars at one of our local Asian supermarkets. For a side-by-side comparison of popular fish sauces, see the blog post, Thai Fish Sauce Taste Test. Note: All fish sauces are sky-high in sodium, but the Tra Chang Brand is lower in sodium than most. And, you don’t need to use a lot to get a great flavor hit!

Red Bell Pepper: Because red bell pepper is on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen Plus list (in 2013), I only buy organic red bell peppers.

Enjoy and be healthy!
~ Leni

Baby Romaine and Arugula with Tomatoes, Blueberries and Mango

Did you know that…

• Baby romaine lettuce comes in absolutely gorgeous deep red and green leaves?
• Arugula is a cruciferous vegetable and therefore has the same anti-cancer properties as broccoli and cabbage?

This salad of Baby Romaine and Arugula with Tomatoes, Blueberries and Mango is stunningly pretty, absolutely delicious, and wonderfully HEALTHY — a great way to enjoy summer’s bounty.

BABY ROMAINE and ARUGULA with Tomatoes, Blueberries and Mango

For each serving of salad

1. Fill a dinner plate with a couple handfuls of Olivia’s Organics Baby Romaine (absolutely gorgeous green and red leaves) and one handful of Olivia’s Organics Baby Arugula.
2. Scatter 1/2 cup of each of the following over the salad greens on the plate:

• bite-size chunks of tomato
• bite-size chunks of peeled mango (I used a champagne mango.)
• fresh blueberries

3. Scatter 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts over the salad greens.

4. Scatter 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves over the salad greens. (See tips about fresh thyme leaves below.)

5. If desired, sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of Fresh Lime Salad Dressing (see recipe below) over each serving.

Ingredients – Fresh Lime Salad Dressing

To make 1 serving (about 2 tablespoons):

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To make 4 servings (about 2 tablespoons per serving):

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions – Fresh Lime Salad Dressing

Place the salad dressing ingredients into a little bowl and mix with a fork or a little whisk until fully mixed.

TIPs: Fresh thyme leaves

1. If the thyme  is very tender and you are using the tips of the plant, then you really do not need to take the leaves off the stems. Just use a pair of kitchen scissors and cut the stems and the leaves into small pieces.
2. If the thyme is not that tender, then you will want to take the leaves off the woody stems. Here’s a nice trick for doing that easily!

• Wash the fresh thyme and spin dry it.
• Place the spun-dry thyme into a quart-size plastic bag for the freezer and freeze.
• When the thyme has frozen, remove the bag with the thyme from the freezer, and without opening the bag, take hold of the sprigs of thyme and rub them vigorously against each other. Very soon, almost all of the leaves of thyme will fall off the stems and end up in the bottom of the freezer bag!
• Now when you need a teaspoon of fresh thyme, just spoon it out of the freezer bag!
• Note: To be kind to the environment, re-use the plastic bag — without washing it. When you’ve used up all the thyme leaves and only the stems remain in the bag, keep the stems for your next pot of soup. Also keep the empty plastic bag, as is, in the freezer until you have some more fresh thyme to put into it.

Enjoy and be healthy!

~Leni