Plans for the Break, Bittersweet

My family has moved to Seattle for my father’s new job in Redmond working for Microsoft. I can’t believe that it took an event of this magnitude to get us all in the same place for Christmas. I mean, my immediate family always celebrates together… But this time we’re doing it with our extended family in Mississippi. We haven’t been down there as a family in at least a decade.

So on Saturday I fly out with my mother and sister. They get to say their final goodbyes to Denver then… I’ll be returning for the spring semester.

Everyone will be together, even though my sister’s depressed and my mother’s depressed and my dad’s just crazy-excited for his new job. Even though we all forgot to call on my mom’s birthday (her fortieth!) and she’s pissed at the world. Even though I’ll get reams of questions about my love life and my apartment life and plenty of lectures on moving out. Even though I had to pay for new glasses so the pictures wouldn’t have masking taped frames. Even though my phone died in the last few days. I’ll have free food and family, even though there aren’t any available hours to work at the Computing Center over break.

Ten whole days with my family is a blessing and a curse. They drive me crazy and I’m crazy about them (most of the time.) But when I get back? Total freedom. I hope I’m not rambling too much. I get the feeling I am.

We’re holding my sister’s sweet sixteen party early, as in tomorrow. We wanted her to have all her friends there even though it’s not quite as huge as mine was. (My mom surprised me with a Mardis Gras themed shindig on my 16th.) Hopefully I can help make up some of the difference. My friend Keith has agreed to DJ the party and bring his speakers/amp/DDR (!) to liven things up. I’m borrowing Guitar Hero III, two controllers, and an Xbox 360 from my roommate Eric. Finally, I’m renting a projector from the school for the games so we can display them against a wall.

I made -a- sign for the party. I tried three others and they just look like crap. Part of one other one is salvageable but we’ll see. It’s the thought that counts, right?

I’ll try to post pictures at some point. Hopefully I remember my camera.

Good Food for Cheap Bastards, part 2

Today’s Topic: Tuna

Tuna fish is everybody’s favorite cheap meat.  On sale, you can get the brand-name stuff for about 20 cents a can and each can generally constitutes a meal for anyone.

First things first, there are a few items to have on hand if you plan to make tuna a regular part of your diet.

Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip: Both are equally useful and it all depends on taste.  My aunt prefers her tangy zip whereas my uncle is a mayonnaise-man.
Sweet Relish
Bread or Crackers: I personally prefer wheat bread or saltines.
Salt/Pepper/Seasonings: Use anything, everything.

Now, from the Ramen post, you should be completely familiar with my policy on adding things to your food staples: Do it.  My general policy is that if they taste good alone, they probably taste even better together.  I recommend cold things generally, chopped so that they can easily be eaten on a cracker or in a sandwich.

Basic Tuna Salad

1 can tuna
1 egg, hardboiled
Mayonnaise to taste
Sweet Relish to taste
Salt and Pepper

Mix the tuna, chopped egg, and the rest of the ingredients.  Adjust amounts to taste and spread on bread or crackers.

OM NOM NOM

Variation #1

1 can tuna
1/4 c. Red Beans, cold
Mayonnaise to taste
Tony’s Creole Seasoning, to taste

Mix the tuna and beans, add mayonnaise and Tony’s to taste.  This is best on crackers.

I used Red beans because I bought a few cans on sale about 2 weeks ago.  I made anko with one of them (an experiment that was successful!) and had the other sitting in the cabinet.  Any kidney bean would work great in this.

Variation #2

This is actually the filling I use for when I make onigiri.  It’s not very different from plain tuna and mayo but I like it a lot.

1 can tuna
Wasabi, Mayonnaise to taste

Mix ingredients and spread on bread or crackers :)