Have you ever known Nana CWD to follow a recipe? Do you actually think Nana CWD has the patience or the skill set?
When I was 15, I had a friend named Audrey whose 16-year-old sister went on a diet. Back then there was no "low calorie" mayonnaise, but cottage cheese was the rage for dieters (we're talking 1975), although I do not recall there even being "no-fat" or even "low-fat" cottage cheese at the time, only whole milk cottage cheese, so I am thinking in retrospect the cottage cheese was actually as "fattening" as a small scoop of mayonnaise. But the cottage cheese added "bulk" to the tuna, which is a good thing when you are hungry. And vinegar has no calories if you stick with wine vinegar or cider vinegar, so definitely couldn't use balsamic if you were dieting, which I don't even remember existing back then. Anyway, Audrey's sister (can't remember her name, but it will come to me in the dark hours of the night) lived on tuna mixed with cottage cheese, dijon mustard and vinegar for weeks at a time, and actually did lose quite a bit of weight. She did not include any mayonnaise, but she did add celery because at the time we were all told that when you eat celery you actually lose weight because you burned more calories eating celery than the calories of the celery because it took so much effort for your body to break the celery down (???......however, at the time, due to belief of this theory, I thought eating peanut butter loaded on celery was a dieting tool). I think Audrey's sister also added onions, which I like to do, but Dad and you kids did not like onions growing up (maybe Joe did, but he was overruled).
So basically that's how the "recipe" started for the tuna with cottage cheese, dijon mustard (another "dieter's staple back then), and vinegar, although no one on a diet in 1975 would even consider tuna packed in oil. I always used tuna packed in water, probably because Grammy only ever bought cans of Starkist Albacore Chunk White tuna packed in water when I was growing up (which was considered "premium" tuna); however, I bought the cheaper Bumblebee Chunk Light tuna packed in water for you kids--it was fine, before you all became so picky.
I guess the secret to this recipe is to make sure the tuna is drained really well, especially if it's packed in water. If not, the tuna mixture becomes eerily watery clumpy. That being said, tuna packed in water might really be a dummy-down stretch as it is probably NOT the GOOD STUFF. I also like to make sure the cottage cheese is not too watery either but more solid, which the good stuff probably is. I also think too much seasoning ruins the tuna, as I have experimented with garlic powder, onion powder, cajun seasoning, etc., and think the "purist" version is best, most especially if you are using high-end tuna and other ingredients.
Have you ever known Nana CWD to follow a recipe? Do you actually think Nana CWD has the patience or the skill set?
When I was 15, I had a friend named Audrey whose 16-year-old sister went on a diet. Back then there was no "low calorie" mayonnaise, but cottage cheese was the rage for dieters (we're talking 1975), although I do not recall there even being "no-fat" or even "low-fat" cottage cheese at the time, only whole milk cottage cheese, so I am thinking in retrospect the cottage cheese was actually as "fattening" as a small scoop of mayonnaise. But the cottage cheese added "bulk" to the tuna, which is a good thing when you are hungry. And vinegar has no calories if you stick with wine vinegar or cider vinegar, so definitely couldn't use balsamic if you were dieting, which I don't even remember existing back then. Anyway, Audrey's sister (can't remember her name, but it will come to me in the dark hours of the night) lived on tuna mixed with cottage cheese, dijon mustard and vinegar for weeks at a time, and actually did lose quite a bit of weight. She did not include any mayonnaise, but she did add celery because at the time we were all told that when you eat celery you actually lose weight because you burned more calories eating celery than the calories of the celery because it took so much effort for your body to break the celery down (???......however, at the time, due to belief of this theory, I thought eating peanut butter loaded on celery was a dieting tool). I think Audrey's sister also added onions, which I like to do, but Dad and you kids did not like onions growing up (maybe Joe did, but he was overruled).
So basically that's how the "recipe" started for the tuna with cottage cheese, dijon mustard (another "dieter's staple back then), and vinegar, although no one on a diet in 1975 would even consider tuna packed in oil. I always used tuna packed in water, probably because Grammy only ever bought cans of Starkist Albacore Chunk White tuna packed in water when I was growing up (which was considered "premium" tuna); however, I bought the cheaper Bumblebee Chunk Light tuna packed in water for you kids--it was fine, before you all became so picky.
I guess the secret to this recipe is to make sure the tuna is drained really well, especially if it's packed in water. If not, the tuna mixture becomes eerily watery clumpy. That being said, tuna packed in water might really be a dummy-down stretch as it is probably NOT the GOOD STUFF. I also like to make sure the cottage cheese is not too watery either but more solid, which the good stuff probably is. I also think too much seasoning ruins the tuna, as I have experimented with garlic powder, onion powder, cajun seasoning, etc., and think the "purist" version is best, most especially if you are using high-end tuna and other ingredients.
I think I overstayed my invite.
A thorough dissertation on the origins of your tuna salad! Your welcome is never overstayed!
Audrey’s sister’s name is Wendy, FYI.