By February is almost over and the workshops have their own rhythm now: Orem on the first Thursday, American Fork on the third Thursday, an occasional Saturday session at the Provo center when the schedule allows. I have started a waitlist, which is a thing that has a waitlist, which means I am a person who runs a thing that has a waitlist, and I am still getting used to this information.
The newsletter went to two hundred and seventeen women this week, the full workshop attendance list since June. I sent it from the email address Brandon set up for me at Christmas: freezermealmom at gmail, which he came up with and which I thought was embarrassing and which I have been using for two months and have accepted. A woman I have never met emailed back and said she forwarded the newsletter to her sister in Colorado who is a mother of four and has been looking for exactly this. I did not ask how the sister found her way to the newsletter. I just added her to the list.
Olivia is studying fractions in fifth grade and came home Tuesday frustrated with a problem she had been working on for twenty minutes. She explained the problem to me while I was making dinner: dividing fractions, the part where you flip and multiply, the part that feels arbitrary until it does not. I listened, and then I said: let me show you with the recipe. I was making a triple batch of taco soup and I showed her how one and a third divided by one-third worked out using the cups of beans in the pot. She stared at it for a moment and then said: oh, it is not arbitrary. I said: nothing useful is arbitrary. She did the rest of her problems in twelve minutes and then helped me label the freezer bags.
One month until the first day of spring. The asparagus is back at Costco, which is my personal harbinger of the season.
The night I showed Olivia how fractions worked inside a recipe, something clicked for both of us — not just the math, but the idea that the kitchen is one of the best classrooms we have. I’ve been reaching for recipes like this Southwest Tuna Salad ever since: quick to scale up or down, easy to walk a child through, and flexible enough to fit into whatever the week throws at you. It’s the kind of dish where the measurements actually matter, which makes it perfect for a fifth grader who just discovered that nothing useful is arbitrary.
Southwest Tuna Salad Lettuce Boats
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 cans (5 oz each) albacore tuna in water, drained
- 1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup frozen or canned corn, thawed/drained
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (about 1/2 lime)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 8 large romaine or butter lettuce leaves, for serving
- 1/4 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (optional)
- Sliced avocado, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Drain and prep the tuna. Open both cans of tuna and drain thoroughly. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and flake apart with a fork until no large chunks remain.
- Add the vegetables. Add the black beans, corn, red bell pepper, red onion, jalapeño (if using), and cilantro to the bowl with the tuna.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt (or mayo), lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder until smooth.
- Combine. Pour the dressing over the tuna mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Assemble the lettuce boats. Lay out the lettuce leaves on a serving platter or individual plates. Spoon the tuna mixture evenly into each leaf.
- Top and serve. Finish with shredded cheese and sliced avocado if desired. Serve immediately, or refrigerate the tuna filling (without the lettuce) for up to 3 days.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 195 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 380mg