Hi everybody! The Fresh Pioneer here and I have a special guest with us today. Lynn Huggins Blackburn is releasing her FIRST BOOK in a few weeks! It's called Covert Justice.
Doesn't it look amazing?? Here's the blurb:
AGENT UNDERCOVER When a woman drags Blake Harrison out of his wrecked car, he knows the mysterious stranger has saved his life. But more shocking than the hit-and-run is the news that a crime cartel has infiltrated his factory. There's a fortune to be made by tampering with the factory's products…but only if Blake is out of the way. Undercover FBI agent Heidi Zimmerman has two goals—catch the criminals in the act, and keep Blake alive. Falling for the single dad and his adorable daughter isn't in the plan. But everything changes when an abduction leaves Heidi face-to-face with a killer, revealing the danger that's been hiding in plain sight all along…
Lynn Huggins Blackburn believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. She’s passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don’t make her choose) and experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in South Carolina with her true love, Brian, and their three children. Her first book, Covert Justice, releases June 2015. You can follow her real life happily ever after on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and at lynnhugginsblackburn.com.
So, now I'm turning the cafe over to Lynn!
Thanks for having me
here today!
I’m excited to be with you to talk about food, although I
must say that writing this post has convinced me to stick with fiction. I would
make a horrible food blogger. I’m way too messy in the kitchen when I cook!
Anyway…
I’ve always enjoyed
food.
Probably more than I should.
When I was a kid, the contents of my lunchbox could bring
joy or dismay.
Oreos – Yes!
Doritos – Fabulous! Orange fingertips were cool!
PB&J – Great! No reason to complain about a classic.
Ham sandwiches – Fine.
But there was one lunch box regular that I’m sorry to say never
made me smile.
Tuna fish.
It made my lunchbox smell like, well, fish. And it always
left my bread soggy.
I don’t do soggy.
My feelings about tuna fish were so ingrained that I avoided
the stuff for many years.
Two things changed my mind about it:
1.
I found
some fun things to add to it that amped up the flavor. (Getting over my childhood
distaste of onions helped…)
2.
I quit
trying to eat it as a sandwich. I rarely eat bread these days. (I love it –
it doesn’t love me). And it turns out
that it wasn’t really the tuna I didn’t like. It was the soggy bread that I had
to gingerly peel away from the still soft bread in order to eat the sandwich.
As a busy mom of three, I don’t have time to fix fancy meals
for lunch. I’m lucky if I get to eat lunch sitting down! So tuna salad has
become one of my favorite quick meals. I can make up a big batch on the weekend
and then I’ve got lunch prepared for several days. A bowlful of lettuce topped
with a big spoonful of tuna salad, maybe a few slices of tomato, and I’ve got a
healthy and filling lunch that will keep me running until supper!
I never make it exactly the same way, but I have a handful
of ingredients that usually find their way in there:
Celery – chopped
small for crunch and color (I guess it add flavor, but that’s not why I use
it!)
Nuts – leave these
out if you’re allergic. I like to mix it up. Pecans, walnuts, almonds –
whatever I have in the pantry is fair game.
Something sweet –
Diced apples (I like fuji or jazz) or Apple-Juice sweetened craisins are my
favorites.
Something savory
– Onion (red, white, sweet, scallions – I use whatever I have on hand).
Sometimes I use diced dill pickles. My mom always used sweet pickle relish, but
I rarely have it. If you’ve got some, try it!
Salt & pepper
Mayo, and
sometimes a little squirt of mustard!
Here are my three favorite flavor combinations.
The Classic –
Tuna, dill pickle, celery, onion, mayo, mustard, salt, pepper.
The Waldorf –
Tuna, apple, celery, walnuts, onion, mayo, salt, pepper.
The Family Favorite
– Tuna, craisins, celery, walnuts, onion, mayo, salt, pepper.
I may never be asked
back to the Yankee-Belle Café, given that this isn’t a real recipe, but here
you go.
Directions:
1.
Pick your favorite combo.
2.
Open your tuna.
3.
Dump it in a bowl and break up any chunks.
4.
Add your ingredients until it looks right.
5.
Mix in as much mayo as you need.
6.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
Thank you again for having me here today!
Virginia here again and YES, you are welcome back anytime!! I love tuna and my whole family does, too. We can't wait to try these. :)
