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Fishy Revelations

Let me start by telling you that when emails were flying back and forth and we were getting to know each other, OC told me he would eat anything.  Then we end up in the same home — sharing the same kitchen, table and meals — and I discover that he doesn’t care for, or hasn’t even tasted, many of my favorite foods.  I queried his, “I will eat anything,” assurance and discovered that while I was thinking in terms of preference, he was being quite literal.

Canned tuna was on OC’s list of things he’d eat if he had to, but would rather not, thank you.  I don’t know about you, but tuna was a staple in our house when I was a kid.  Tuna salad.  Tuna casserole.  Tuna sandwiches.  Tuna gravy on toast.  Canned tuna is good stuff.  Not only that, I was thinking of fixing tuna sandwiches for lunch when OC expalined that while he would eat whatever was put before him, he would just as soon what was put before him not be canned tuna.

Okay.  Note to self, be more careful about how you phrase questions in the future.

So for the last couple of months I have had tuna a time or three when OC wasn’t joining me for my meal, but the time finally came — the Thursday evening before our weekend trip to the grocery store — when I had nothing else to prepare for his work lunch.  I  emptied a can and made my favorite sandwich spread.  I decided that if OC hated it he could buy lunch on campus and I would have enough tuna for my next couple of lunches.

So that night just before dinner — before dinner so that if he hated it he’d have something to eat to clean the taste from his mouth — I offered him a bit of my  tuna spread.  He stared at it suspiciously and asked what was in it.  I told him.  He frowned, but agreed to taste it — and his eyes lit up like Christmas. Still he nonchalantly said, “It’s okay I guess.”

Pft.  It’s more then okay. He likes it.  When pressed he reluctantly admitted as much.

Until I talked to OC, I thought everyone ate tuna my way … tuna, chopped onions, dill pickle relish, a dash of pepper and mayo to taste (or Miracle Whip for those of you who need sugar in everything).   Now I find that’s not so . . .  So, what’s in your tuna spread?

Quilly is the pseudonym of Charlene L. Amsden, who lives on The Big Island in Hawaii. When she is not hanging out with Amoeba, she is likely teaching or sewing. Or she could be cooking, taking photographs, or even writing. But if she's not doing any of that, she's probably on Facebook or tinkering with her blog.

22 Comments

  1. Mmmmm! Well… firstly – like you, I’m a tuna-holic! However… Miracle Whip has never touched MY tuna! (nor my lips if I can possibly avoid it) I make mine different ways. Probably the MOST normal for me is chopped onion and dill pickles (not the relish – though that would work too) with mayo. Sometimes I add some celery. Occasionally I add some grated carrot. Sometimes I add a wee little bit of mustard. Then sometimes I make it with sweet pickles. And sometimes I add sliced tomato to the sandwich… Tuna can be sO anything! Sometimes I just STUFF a tomato with the tuna … And then I make a mean pie with Tuna, corn, cheese, onion, and egg… it’s sort of like a quiche I guess… YUM!!!

  2. Yum! Mine has tuna, dutch mayo (extra yum!), pepper, onion, a touch of garlic powder and some parsley for colour. If I’m feeling really health conscious I substitute half the mayo for mustard. Mmmm. I wish we could get relish here. I relish the thought, but it’s just not sold.

  4. My tuna has mayo, mustard (usually dijon or spicy), hard boiled egg, pickle, and tomato.

  6. I never said I didn’t like the stuff. I merely said that I had, of late, had a sufficiency of it. Sheesh. Next thing I know, you’re going to start calling me Mikey.

    Of course, the other problem is that many species of tuna are becoming endangered due to overfishing …

    albacore
    (what a tradeoff – mercury dosage plus threatened-species
    issues vs. saving Flipper)
    celery, diced
    (green) onions, ditto
    celery seed
    dash black pepper
    scant pinch salt
    dash Worcestershire sauce
    mayo (or, yes, Miracle Whip)

  7. Here in Australia, you can buy canned tuna seasoned with all sorts of things. My favourite is tuna with sundried tomatos. It is lovely on toast.

  8. Melli — talk to OC about the Miracle Whip. That’s his greatest flaw.

    Morgan — I think I want you to send me a jar of Dutch mayo, please. Now I am curious.

    Dr. John — then don’t come here for lunch tomorrow.

    Stella — hard boiled egg in my tuna is one of the few things I can’t eat. I mean can’t literally. My throat refuses to swallow it.

    CSG — he’s your relative. Until we got here to Hawaii I had never purchased a jar of Miracle Whip in my life.

    OC — uhm, Hon, guess what’s for lunch tomorrow? And btw, didn’t we just have a conversation about not spoiling the story for the sake of whole truths? :*

    Mumma — you can buy it in the states, too. It was my lunch staple in Vegas. My favorite is Thai Chili Spiced Tuna. My only complaint is the amount of oil it is canned in.

  10. i like tuna as is from the can with a few drops of lemon juice
    or as a salad of sorts, miced with boiled rice, hard boilded eggs, diced tomatoes, sweet corn, olives or capres – whatever is at hand – and mayo

  11. Kat — tuna melts, YES! Sweet pickles, NO!

    Polona — from the can with lemon juice is one of my favorite ways to eat albacore — especially with homemade bread. I had a neighbor who’s kids practically lived on the stuff and I loved lunch at their house, while they envied me my Campbell’s soup at mine!

  13. For pete sake all this tuna talk and I have chicken soup planned for this evening; guess what I’ll have tomorrow, tomorrow??

  14. Tina — WordPress fries you. It thinks you are spam. Bad WordPress. Bad.

    Pauline– tuna, tuna? Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow; you’re only a day away!”

  15. Too add a little excitement to my tuna, along with the dollop of mayo and a larger dollop of mustard, add a few red pepper flakes or a healthy dash of tabasco. Your nostrils will be smokin in no time.

  16. And now I am ready for tuna……..any way, any way at all !!! It just sounds so very good and I haven’t had any since Dean made sandwiches for me. He used miracle whip for his but would open another can and make mine with mayo, always onions and mustard with finely chopped dill pickles. I miss the sandwiches and most especially the maker! His tuna casserole was to die for!!
    xoxoox call

  17. Bob — sounds good!

    Caryl — we’re having a cold pasta salad with albacore tuna for dinner tonight. You’re welcome to join us. We’ll be eating in about 30 minutes ….

  18. I don’t like tuna. well…I don’t like the smell of it and have never tried it as a result. Smells fishy to me! If you would serve it to me, I’d eat it up real nice, but i’d ratehr you’d not serve it 🙂

  19. Hi Quilly, I am like you, raised on tuna, when we had nothing left in the house, we always had a few cans of tuna and Mom would cream it in gravy and serve it over toast. We loved it. We had tuna casseroles also, which I love to this day, and we had tuna sandwiches on homemade toasted bread. Yummy.

    I put a dab of mustard, cut up onion, a little pickle, mayo, salt and pepper, and on occasion I add an egg. But not usually. I can eat it on crackers and call it a meal. The only thing that doesn’t go well with tuna to me is tomato but my husband likes to spread tuna over a slice of bread, put a slice of tomato on top, then cheese on top of that and then put in the toaster oven…….that to him is a meal.

  20. Minka — do the other penguins know you won’t eat tuna?

    Nea — people keep telling me about mustard in their tuna. I guess I’ll have to try that. And creamed tuna (we called it tuna gravy) over toast was a staple of my childhood as well.

  22. Alastair — OC will eat anything, but he might not enjoy it. There are very few foods that I out-right won’t eat, but there are plenty I will do without if I’m not starving — unless served to me at someone else’s house. In such cases I eat and smile and say thank you.

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