Tuna Pasta Salad

Today is one of those days when I really love my job, because two days a week, I get to eat lunch at home.  I know that sounds silly, but it makes a big difference in my work/rest of my life balance.  Of course, the flip side of that coin is that I work a good number of Saturdays and evenings (so, let's just say it all balances out).


What does this have to do with "Tuna Pasta Salad?"  Well, today, I was looking in my fridge for something to eat for lunch, and nothing appealed to me.  Then, I looked in the pantry:  PASTA!  I love pasta (could eat it for every meal, I think), but it's clearly not the most healthy option all the time.  Today, I decided I'd try to mix in enough other ingredients to make the dish healthy, and I ended up with something that was incredibly tasty - and healthy - so I'm sharing here.  


Keep in mind, I threw in a little of this and that when making, so the ingredient amounts may not be right on:

• About 1/3-1/2 pound pasta - your favorite shape.  I had a box of piccolo (small) fusilli
• couple hands full of cherry or grape tomatoes
• handful of salad greens (I had mixed organic salad greens)
• can of white albacore tuna, packed in water (packed in oil would be even better)
• several ounces of goat cheese (plain, sold in log-shape style)
• 1-2 T olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

I boiled the pasta in salted water.  Halfway through, I added the tomatoes (did not cut them), so they would get soft and sort-of-cooked.  Drained the pasta and mixed with the rest of ingredients.  Viola - a great, warm, relatively healthy pasta salad.  I ate half and put the rest in the fridge for later. We have some fresh arugala in our garden, and I think that would be even better than the mixed greens; call me lazy for not walking out there to get it.

Enjoy!

Mexican Pulled Pork Over Yellow Rice

My friend, Letty, gave me the Augusta, GA Junior League cookbook, Par 3, a few years ago.  YUM.  I've long been a devotee of Junior League cookbooks, and I think this one is my favorite so far.  The following recipe is one of many I cook on a fairly regular basis.  My two-yo daughter likes it.

1 onion, chopped
1 3.5 pound boneless pork shoulder roast (I generally use a pork loin, as it's much leaner, but it's a little tougher)
1 can Rotel
1 (4oz) can diced green chiles
1 can yellow corn, drained
1 t garlic powder
1 t salt
2 t cumin
1 1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t cayenne pepper (I don't use quite that much)
3 T tomato paste
1 package yellow saffron rice
sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Combine onion and pork in slow cooker.
Mix rest of ingredients - except tomato paste and rice - and pour over roast.  Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.
Remove roast and shred with fork.  Remove 1 1/2 cups of the liquid and discard.
Add tomato paste to cooker and cook on high for 30 min.
Return meat to cooker and heat through.
Cook rice and serve with pork and garnish.

Pimento Cheese

Christine's Pimento Cheese


Rarely can I claim a recipe to be my own (versus something I found), but this one actually is-:)  I was tired of following pimento cheese recipes only to be disappointed.  Like anything, good pimento cheese is a subjective thing, so you may not like mine, but I sure do!   I make mine up as I go along, so here's as close as I can get to an actual recipe:

8 oz sharp cheddar - grated

4 oz pepper jack - grated

2 T parmesan - grated

1 4-oz jar chopped pimentos, drained

as much mayo as seems right to you (somewhere around 1/2 cup, I think) - I always use Kraft full-fat, but everyone has a mayo preference

1 T dijon mustard

a pink of cayenne

Mix and serve with crackers, crudités or on a sandwich.  

Not love.

The last post I wrote was about love.  This post is the antithesis of love.  This post is about violence. I recently followed this story about a young UVA student who was beaten and killed by her fellow-UVA student ex-boyfriend (here's a link to one of many stories about the murder) http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/TheLaw/yeardley-love-death-warning-signs-missed-ahead-university/story?id=10581761.  Not surprisingly, Love's friends are now coming out and saying that there was a history of violence in the relationship.  Shocking.

We all know someone who has been in a violent relationship, don't we?  I know too many women - young and old - who have allowed men to physically and mentally abuse them.  I find myself getting angry about this as I type.

Don't let this happen to you.  As I told someone very close to me when she was lying for her then-boyfriend and to herself:  You could end up dead.  Why do women think it'll never be them?  Or - perhaps an even better question - why do women not value themselves enough to care?

If someone - man, woman, boyfriend or not - has tried to control you, threaten violence toward you, or even worse, acted on that threat, hear me now:  GET HELP NOW.  Don't be embarrassed to admit the situation to those you trust; you will likely need help to separate yourself from the psychological hold the person likely has over you.  You may also need help to physically separate yourself from that person.  But - know this:  He will not change.  And - let's say he even could - do you want to risk the chance he won't?

We have this one life here.  We're all worth something.  Don't let someone who clearly has his own issues take your life away from you.  I feel so sorry for the UVA student and her friends and family who wish they had done something.  Please recognize this could be you.