Tuna Salad Finally!

First of all I'm so sorry I have been so delinquent and not posting... Momma, don't punish me!! I have a good excuse. I'd been working on a Fundraiser for the National Blood Clot Alliance in honor of my dear friend, Anna Frutiger, who died in May of 2010 at the young age of 23, from a pulmonary embolism, which resulted from a blood clot. The Fundraiser was this past Saturday and a big success.

Anyway, I did make the Tuna and Bean Salad last Tuesday... I just didn't have time to write it up and post it.

So, here goes: My momma is absolutely right that this is a very very easy recipe. All I needed to buy was Cento canned tuna and cherry tomatoes. I had the celery, a can of white beans and a yellow onion -- which I just used that instead of a red onion-- and things worked out fine! Also, on my way home from work I stopped by my friend Jenny's house to pick up some fresh rosemary from her plant in her garden. I didn't have fresh parsley so I used 2 teaspoons of dried parsley instead. Now, I was ready to go! I rinsed the tuna and added it to a medium sized bowl. Next, I chopped up all the celery, onion and rosemary and placed them in the bowl. Next, I sliced the tomatoes in half and added them. And last but not least, I rinsed and added the beans. Like my momma said in the recipe, I used a forked to fold everything together (I attempted to fold, but really more like gently mixed).

Now I was ready for the dressing. I've seen my mom make this dressing at least one hundred times and always loved it!! Yet, I'd never made it myself-- so I was excited to try-- hoping my version could live up! First thing, the juice from half a lemon. I could have sworn we had a lemon in the kitchen, but alas, we did not. So I called my mom in a slight panic and told her I was going to use lemon juice from a bottle. She responded with, "No you are not!! That would ruin it. Do you have any vinegar?" We did have white wine vinegar, so I used 2 tablespoons of that instead. I added the mustard and the sugar and whisked them together. Finally, I slowly added the olive oil and whisked that. Then I added the dressing to the salad and ... AMAZING we were done!!

SO delicious. The recipe says it is makes 2-3 servings. I definitely stretched it to 4.

Thanks again Momma for accommodating my request for a super quick and easy recipe. And check out my video from the benefit concert below!