Tuna Salad…the best

 I will occasionally use canned tuna, usually packed in water but when Brenda is not looking, packed in olive oil. For Lent though we buy Ahi Tuna usually frozen and I use this for tuna salad.

6 ounces Ahi tuna, thawed if frozen

2 stalks of celery fine dice

1/2 medium onion fine dice

1/2 lemon juiced

3/4 c mayo or more to taste

1 teaspoon dill weed

Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. I used Trader Joe’s Rainbow peppercorns. 

I pan fry the tuna in olive oil till medium rare, flipping once. It has a nice golden crust on it. Flake the tuna steak with forks to 1/2 inch chunks and place in a bowl with the veggies, mayo, lemon juice and dill. Stir, careful not to break up the tuna. 

Lenten Spring Pasta

 I have been very Vegetarian /vegan  this Lenten season and had some great veggies in the fridge looking for a dish to be involved with. Brenda loves Trottole pasta shapes and I have been jonesing for some mushrooms so dinner was formed. 

Medium onion in 1/4 inch slices 

2-3 garlic cloves minced

1tbl oil and one of butter. 2 tbl oil if you’re  strict about the fast

3/4 c dried mushrooms  reconstituted in 3-4 cups boiling water. Reserve water

1bunch of asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces, tips reserved

1/2 c shelled edamame

Tbl corn starch

2 teaspoons of dried thyme

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 pound of Trottole or pasta of choice

Drain the mushrooms and set aside the liquid for your sauce. I added the asparagus stems to the hot liquid to blanch. Chop the mushrooms into pieces. 

In a pan, add the oil/ butter and saute the onions till translucent then add the garlic and cook a few minutes more. Salt and pepper here.  I added the mushrooms and cooked again then added the edamame and asparagus stems. I had blanched the stems briefly in the water I took the mushrooms from. I added the asparagus tips dead last to preserve the crunch a bit. 

Once the veggies were all crisp/ tender, I added the mushroom water and thickened the sauce with a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water. Add the thyme and lemon zest and juice. Check the seasoning. 

Cook the pasta al dente. I placed the pasta in the dish and ladled sauce over it. Enjoy! 

Lenten treat…Crawfish Etouffee

 I have a few pounds of frozen crawfish tails in the freezer so tonight we made an etouffee.

Not a huge fan of green pepper so I used all red peppers for a sweeter version. This is a Lenten version so I used Vegetable stock. 

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup flour

1 onion chopped

3 celery stalks chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

2-3 cups of vegetable broth

2 tbls of Cajun seasoning

Hot sauce to taste

1 lb of thawed crawfish tails

Rice for serving

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil and add flour. Cook on low- medium heat until it turns the color of peanut butter. Add onion, celery and peppers at this point. Coke a few minutes the add garlic and cook another minute. Add the tomatoes and their juice. After it heats for a minute add the Cajun spice. Now add the veg or chicken stock. Let come to a boil and thicken. Give a taste and add hot sauce, I used Tabasco. 

Add the crawfish tails, heat through and serve over rice.