Take today for example. I dug out my February 1970 issue of Weight Watchers Magazine. You remember the one with the 51 prize-winning recipes? Still don't remember? Does the name Mrs. Gerald Abramowitz ring a bell?
Anyway--I am currently obsessed with this issue and have been cooking up a LOT of these prize winners. I don't know why, but they have just been appealing to me lately. NOTE: Stay tuned - as soon as fish month is finally freaking over, I have BIG PLANS for this little magazine.
So today, I decided to toss together one of the "Honorable Mentions" from the top 51 recipes of 1970. A fresh little lunch dish called "Tuna Salad in Orange Cups" sounded perfect for a lazy Sunday - easy, cool and breezy. It was also just one serving and very light. No cooking involved either! Woohoo!
As instructed, I cut off the top of an orange and scooped out the innards. I then began to assemble the following ingredients:
4 ounces flaked tuna
2 tbsp chopped orange pulp
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp chopped cucumber
1 tbsp chopped green pepper
1 tbsp chopped pimento
2 tbsp chopped orange pulp
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp chopped cucumber
1 tbsp chopped green pepper
1 tbsp chopped pimento
But then there was one final ingredient that made me cringe in horror: One heaping tablespoon of Tomato Sauce. Ohhhhh Fuuuuuuuudge!
Now, at this point, those of you who have never been privileged enough to follow the Retro WW Program are probably thinking, "What's the big deal, Mimi? Crack a jar of Prego and get on with it, girl!"
But here's the snag: One does not use canned or jarred tomato sauce on the Retro WW program. Ever. Never ever. It is "illegal".
We must make our own sauce. Legal sauce. Here's how...
Combine the following in a saucepan:
1 1/2 quarts tomato juice
3 tbsp dehydrated onion flakes
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp basil
1/8 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Cover over low heat and simmer for 2 hours until mixture is reduced by half.
3 tbsp dehydrated onion flakes
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp basil
1/8 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Cover over low heat and simmer for 2 hours until mixture is reduced by half.
That's right I said simmer for TWO FREAKING HOURS!!! Son of a biscuit eater! Who has that kind of time?
OK. So I admit this recipe caught me off guard. I am fresh out of legal tomato sauce and, well, I really don't know if I want to wait 2 hours just to get the tablespoon of sauce I need for this recipe.
Tomorrow, I swear to Jean Nidetch, I will whip up some legal sauce. But, just for today. Prego it is...
Oh by the way--this recipe was submitted by Mrs. Lorraine B. Manley of East Hartford, CT. Well done, Mrs. Manley. You really earned that Honorable Mention. Next time, maybe you could add more weird crap to your recipe. The flavor combination of tuna, celery, orange, cucumber and tomato sauce just wasn't freaky enough for me. Bleh.
4 comments:
It seems as though quite a few retro WW gals held stock in the pimento industry.
Sorry you got caught off guard but I gotta say your post cracked me up ! :-D
That actually sounded rather edible, until you threw in that tomato sauce curve ball. I'd eat it without the sauce, and maybe throw some chopped tomato in instead.
Your blog just keeps getting better & better. I dont thinkI have commented before! Sorry!!! There is just something weird about tuna and oranges. But this is the old WW plan. I have my grandmothers old WW cookbooks and I am a lifetime member trying to get back to goal. I should test some along with you lol
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