Food Friday: Mock Tuna Salad Spread

Another of my favorite treats I try to make without animal products is tuna salad.  There are a million "no-tuna" salad spread recipes out there.  Today when we returned from our second week as temple ordinance workers here in South Carolina, I was starving.  (Dear One had found the hidden stash of nutty, dried fruit-y emergency trail mix in the car while he was waiting for me outside the Joann store.  He was NOT starving when we got home!!!)

There were three cans of garbanzo beans on the counter waiting to be put away.  I grabbed one, pulled the ring, drained the beans and started in.

The nifty Ninja Express Chop was the perfect helper here.  In went the drained beans.  A few pulses and it was the perfect texture for me.  Tossed them into a big bowl the added 1/4 of a sweet onion, 2 skinny stalks of celery that I had chopped into smallish pieces, and 2-3 Tablespoons of dill pickle chips.  A few more pulses of the Ninja and dumped into the bowl on top of the beans.

Next I opened a bottle of capers...something I had never purchased before and have totally forgotten the purpose for the purchase...and, using a fork, dug out about 2 teaspoons that drained then put into the Ninja.  One teaspoon maple syrup, 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning, and about 3 Tablespoons of tahini and I pulsed again.  This made a great dressing for the "tuna".  After stirring well, I put about 1/4 cup onto a slice of whole wheat bread, some more sliced onions, and a second slice of bread.  All this in about 15 minutes.

It was heavenly.  Or at least, it filled the bill wonderfully.  Foolishly, I ate it so fast that I did not realize I was full so I took a small tortilla and added another small pile of spread to it, rolled it up, and scarfed it down.  Now I am uncomfortable.  When will I learn?

Not at all an appealing picture, but it really is tasty.

Anyway,  this is really not bad at all.  Even Dear One might like it if he gave it a chance.  He nicely declined but said he would love some strawberry shortcake with the strawberries I got at The Pig yesterday on their reduced produce shelf. 

Okay, so it was just a matter of hauling out the ingredients to make the baking powder biscuits, mixing them up and putting them in the oven to bake.  Next was washing, capping, slicing, and sugaring the berries and finally opening some oldish, but unopened, heavy whipping cream I had gotten to make something when my sister and her husband were here weeks ago but which never happened.  Whipped cream was ready by the time the biscuits were cooked and the berries all set.  He loved the strawberry shortcake...