Tuna Fish Salad

 Okay, everyone knows how to make tuna fish salad.  Mix some mayonnaise with some canned tuna, bam, done.  Maybe some pickles added in.

However, there are a lot more things you can do to it, to add flavor, texture, and nutrition.  I have honed my recipe over many years, taking bits and pieces from various recipes I liked, until I ended up with what I will share here with you - and I really love the result.  It is, in my opinion, the best tuna fish salad, and I have had a number of other people agree with me.

This recipe will be somewhat less precise than most.  A lot of how much of this or that to add comes down to personal preference.  So play around with it until you find the magic ratios for your tastes!

It is also for a very large batch. We like it a lot, and eat it almost nonstop besides dinner for about a week, at which point it starts to taste not quite as good, so it's the right size for us.  It is also conveniently proportioned for pre-prepared ingredients, but you can make smaller batches, of course - you just have to do more chopping.

Refrigerator Pickles

 There are few things I enjoy more than gardening and growing tasty foods.  One of my favorites to grow - quick, easy, and prolific - is cucumbers!  Since there's only so much you can eat at one time, and they really are prolific, this quickly means needing a recipe for pickles!

There are two main 'categories' of pickles.  Heat-canned pickles, which are shelf stable and can be stored almost indefinitely; and refrigerator pickles, which are simply cucumbers soaked in the pickling brine, and must be kept in the refrigerator.  For those unfamiliar, think of the difference between, say, Vlassic dills on the grocery store shelf, versus Claussen pickles in the refrigerated section.  The uncooked, needs-refrigeration variety are always my favorites, crisp and fresh tasting.