200th Post and Crab or Tuna Salad in Avocado Halves

Today is my 200th post. The end of July marks the dabble’s one year in the blogosphere and I will have at least 40 more posts. Math is not my strong suit but that is 240 posts in one year. Woot woot with a celebratory dance!

Before I forget, I want you to check out this article from Travel + Leisure about the world’s strangest vending machines. I would love to hear the pitch to someone’s boss about getting a gold bar vending machine in the office. That could be great for today’s issues.

As I was saying about the 200th post, I’m going to leave the sap out of this considering 1) I’m not a sappy person but I do thank you for coming along on my cooking journey or catching up with me every once in a while 2) thanks to my clumsy nature, my most utilized fingers are not useful in the typing process since having that mandolin accident Sunday. I will keep this shorter than normal. My advice on the big 200 is to watch where your fingers are around sharp blades/objects and stop thinking about other things that need done, just focus on the cooking.

It’s been a real you know what the last few days to do all those daily activities, the ones where you’re on autopilot until someone throws a wrench in the works. In order to accomplish simple tasks, it’s taking me 1½ times longer to finish, not quite twice so I’m not overly annoyed with the pace. The wounds really aren’t that bad but I can’t put pressure on them so you should see the way I have to type-looks like a monkey given a laptop, mimicking humans. I don’t know how that’s different from any other day.

Are you aware of how great crab/tuna salad is stuffed in an avocado? I am now. It’s simple to throw together a crab/tuna salad, grab an avocado and take it with you to work or wherever you go in your day. Cut open the avocado right before you eat (they turn dark very quickly without a citrus juiced over it to prevent this) and you have a wonderful lunch. Bring some for a friend- a small container, utensils and 2 avocados are compact and it’s healthier than what you might have been planning for lunch.

It’s great for weekends spent in the sun ( we don’t have any right now-it’s only 50 degrees out, I’m dreaming) and quick meals if you’re writing or grading papers, working on a project or just in a hurry to get your kids to their game/concert/doctor/therapist/you name it. I pretty much use whatever is in the fridge and cabinets to throw together the salad so here is a loose recipe.

Crab or Tuna Salad in Avocado Halves
Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados (slightly soft but not overly ripe)
1 to 1½ cups cooked flaked crab or tuna (I use canned)
3 tbsp celery, diced (or something else crunchy)
2 tbsp cup carrots, diced-optional
2 tbsp apple, diced (grapes are great too)
2 tbsp onion, diced
handful of dried cranberries or currants-optional
handful of pine nuts, walnuts or nut of choice, finely chopped- optional
juice of ½ a lime or lemon
1/3 cup mayo (more or less, to your taste)
½ to 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp thyme-optional
handful cilantro or parsley, chopped
salt/pepper

In a large bowl or airtight container, mash the crab or tuna, celery, carrots, apple, onion, nuts, cranberries, thyme, cilantro or parsley and salt/pepper. Once combined, add the lemon or lime juice, mayo and mustard and stir just until combined. Before serving, halve the avocado by slicing it top to bottom and gently twist the two halves until it opens. Remove the seed with a spoon or carefully hit with a knife and twist out. The avocado will darken quickly so serve immediately with the salad placed on top. You can slow the darkening by adding lemon or lime juice.