The Boyfriend and I decided to skip grocery shopping this week. The main reason is we have no money, but I suppose there is some benefit to cleaning out the cupboards a little and taking stock of what we have. We have planned out breakfast, lunch, and dinner all week. Perhaps we’ll find some buried treasure in the back of freezer. That would be nothing short of fantastically and wonderfully awesome.
Instead of eating old Larabars for lunch everyday this week (as appealing as THAT sounds), I forced myself to get a little creative and scrounged around for the makings of a pasta salad. I ended up with half a box of orzo, a can of tuna, and clementines. I was trying to recreate this salad my aunt makes that has orzo, chicken, mandarin oranges, celery, and a dressing with mayo, dry mustard, and white pepper. Unfortunately, I did not have chicken, celery, oranges, or mayo. So… pretty much the only thing that links these two dishes is orzo. Think of this Easy Orzo and Tuna Salad as an homage.
I started by cooking the orzo and tossing in the tuna and clementine. Tasty, but it lacked a little crunch, so these guys got chopped and added:
I also added a sad half of an avocado that was losing life in the fridge. It added some creaminess that replaced the missing mayo.
For the vinaigrette, I just winged it since I was missing the key ingredients. Check out the recipe!
I ate a nice bowl for lunch this afternoon:
I wanted to put it over some spring mix, but to my dismay the remains of the bag was past its prime. (We are FAIL on the vegetable front over here.) I still think this is a good way to get a little more filling fiber into this lunch.
The salad is very light. At first I feared it was too light, but I think I am still caught in the doldrums of heavy winter stews and sauces. Each bite is quite refreshing and keeps you guessing: you’ve got a little heft from the tuna, a nice citrus spritz from the clementines, carrot-y crunch, and creamy avocado. The recipe makes a nice batch to last you through the week.
Penguin Tupperware: for use all year round! Let’s hope this sunny weather keeps away any real penguins, though!
