the best effing tuna salad EVER!

Happy Spring everyone! I'm so happy the sun is finally starting to make an appearance in Seattle. We've finally had 3 days above 60 (and I realize that sounds incredibly pathetic, but hey, I'm embracing the positive!) and I even was able to wear a t shirt and flip flops to the beach and not freeze! Speaking of beaches, as swimsuit season is nearing, I'm finding myself uber motivated to cook foods from scratch and steer clear of overly processed items.

At the insistence and nudging of some of my friends who are more fledgling cooks, I'll be posting some more basic recipes on here. One thing I make really well is tuna salad. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I recently made this for one of my best friends for lunch and he said it was pretty much the most amazing tuna salad he's ever tasted. So rest assured, folks, you're in good hands! (And a note to my gentlemen readers: even though there's some random ingredients in this thing, it has been dude approved.)

Amazing Tuna Salad:
Combine the following in a large bowl:
-1 can solid white albacore tuna, flaked with a fork. This is key folks. That chunk light crap looks and tastes like cat food. Solid white albacore is the key to amazing tuna salad!
-1/2 chopped crispy apple, such as a honeycrisp or pink lady
-2 diced celery ribs
-1 large or several small diced crispy dill pickles. If you can find garlic and/or spicy pickles, they taste even better!
-1/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries (or regular craisins - I'm still avoiding sugar a bit)
-1.5-2 TB regular lemonnaise - the key to good tuna salad is not too much mayo. Just add enough to moisten and adhere all of the ingredients together. We don't want a goopy sloppy mess!
-2 TB minced fresh dill
-Cracked black pepper, to taste

The tuna salad works great either as is, served atop spinach or mixed spring greens, or served warm and gooey with havarti cheese as a tuna melt. (Note on gluten free breads: I made this as a tuna melt with Rudi's multigrain gluten free bread and it was pretty awesome. Even my friend Ryan said it was good.) It pairs well with sour cream and onion kettle chips, which incidentally, are also gluten free. Enjoy!