Okay, it is really hot outside – so hot that eggs could really fry on the sidewalk – this is NOT exaggeration. Still, one needs to eat something. Because I don’t want to fire up the stove, I decided on another salad. Yesterday I had a green salad with a boiled egg added (you can boil several eggs at once without heating up the kitchen – this was done days ago.) Today I decided on a tuna salad. Truthfully, it has been a long time since I wanted a tuna salad – I used to eat it regularly, that and egg salad. My usual recipe for tuna salad includes binding it with Miracle Whip ™, one of my long time favorites. I also usually buy those single serving tuna packages – economical and smart. I had two of these packages in my pantry. Well, I prepared the other ingredients for my tuna salad, I don’t use onions, and I like a sweet/tart salad that diminishes the fishy flavor. I get the salad dressing from the fridge, it’s practically a full jar, open it and notice it looks a little more gelled then usual. Hmmmm, I wonder. Well, I mix it in with the tuna anyway and plate the salad on top of a layer of fresh baby spinach to serve it with slices of paired apple and a slice of whole grain English muffin. This looked yummy. First taste, not so good! Flavor off, a bit flabby, not tart, but stale. Hmmm, well, I looked at the jar of salad dressing, squinted my eyes and was finally able to read the ‘use by’ date – it indicated that particular jar should have been used by June 2014!!!! Good grief, I say to myself, ummm, no wonder it is stale in flavor. Geesh! Although refrigerated, nothing should be expected to be that good that far past its shelf life! I hadn’t realized that I hadn’t had a desire for tuna salad in that length of time. (Mind you, the tuna’s expiration date was not until the end of this year!) I hate waste, I’m sorry I bought such a large jar. I will see if a smaller jar is available – maybe I’ll buy one, maybe not. I just don’t use that kind of salad dressing that often any more. And, I’ve now discovered that tuna, with a good helping of sweet pickle relish and chopped apple, is pretty durn good without the extra salad dressing. So went my lunch preparations today. A glass of chardonnay made the “medicine” go down a bit better!
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