Author Archives: Nancy

VENEZUELAN AVOCADO CHICKEN SALAD

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Everyone’s always looking for a good no-mayo chicken salad, right?  Well, no one I know, but surely someone is.  And for that person, I offer this recipe for Venezuelan Avocado Chicken Salad.  It uses avocado in place of mayonnaise, and is sort of like chicken guacamole.  Sounds great, right?  Actually, it’s pretty tasty, and one bite will instantly transport you to Venezuela, which looks a lot like my dirty kitchen and hurricane-ravaged street.  (This, by the way, is one of my most hated blogger phrases — “you will be instantly transported” — who are we kidding?). One caveat — do not make this until you’re ready to eat it, otherwise the avocado will turn a most unappealing shade of brown and you’ll no longer want to be instantly transported to Venezuela.

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VENEZUELAN AVOCADO CHICKEN SALAD
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Ingredients
  • 2-1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (rotisserie chicken is great)
  • 2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
  • ½ red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced
  • 3 tablespoons minced onion
  • 3 tablespoons minced cilantro
  • ½ jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Place avocados and lime juice in a large bowl and mash together. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. (Note: this is best eaten the day it is made -- the avocado will discolor after that, and although it will still taste good, it will not look good.)

Get ready to rumba

MEDITERRANEAN TUNA AND GARBANZO BEAN SALAD

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Here we go again.  4 days ago, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Beryl was predicted to make landfall in South Texas, “far from Houston,” and it was likely that wind and surge impacts would be south of the Houston area.  2 days ago it was predicted that Beryl’s impact on Houston’s weather “could now be a little more significant than anticipated.”  Yesterday Houston was in the dreaded “cone of uncertainty.”  Today, Houston is in “holy crap” mode.

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I’m not going to let Hurricane Beryl disrupt salad month.  I pulled out my handy “The Houston Emergency Preparedness Cookbook” to find a hurricane-worthy salad recipe:

Looky here on page 55 — Mediterranean Tuna and Garbanzo Bean Salad, by Nancy Elliott, Winner of Judges’ Gold Star Award.

Yep — not only did I get a Gold Star Award, I also won a $25 Target gift card.  It was a proud day.  But seriously — this is an easy recipe to throw together, with or without power, and it’s quite tasty.  I reprinted the recipe exactly as it appears in the cookbook, the only change being that I used fresh parsley because I have it in my garden.  May the odds (of not losing power) be forever in your favor, but just in case, you might want to consider keeping a few cans of tuna and garbanzos on hand.

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MEDITERRANEAN TUNA AND GARBANZO BEAN SALAD
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Ingredients
  • 2 5-ounce cans albacore tuna, drained
  • 2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained
  • ½ cup jarred roasted red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 4 teaspoons dried minced onions
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, to allow onions and parsley to soften and flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

 

I hope you won’t be blown away by this salad