LULU'S SUMMER TUNA SALAD

This salad was a mainstay in Lulu's summer kitchen and it sure has been also in ours. Last week I made it for perhaps the last time this year. The hot weather seems to have left us and we are now experiencing very Fall-like temperatures. G never says no on a hot day in the summer when I ask if he would like Tuna Salad. It's kind of an adlib sort of salad depending upon what you have in the house besides tuna!

LULU'S SUMMER TUNA SALAD

-One 12 oz bag of mixed salad greens, chopped a bit more

or

the equivalent other salad greens (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a head of iceberg chopped)

-1 or 2 cans of tuna, drained & chunked up (I usually use 2 cans)

-1/2 a basket of cherry tomatoes, quartered or halved

or

1 C. seeded regular tomatoes, cut in chunks

-1/2 C. green stuffed olives, sliced (See #3 below)

-1/4 C. to 1/3 C. diced purple onion (I use the 1/4 C.)(See #4 below)

-3 or 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled & cut up. (see #5 below)

-3 or 4 shakes of McCormick's California Lemon Pepper Seasoning

-Mayonnaise

1) In a fairly large bowl, dump the lettuce in after having cut it up a bit more in smaller bite-size pieces than it comes in the package. I've also been known to use a bag of shredded lettuce, but I don't like that as much. Lulu always used a head of iceberg lettuce.

2) Add in the tomatoes

3) On a paper towel blot the olives and slice the olives in thirds. My kids used to call these the eyeballs in the salad. If you don't like green olives, I don't see any reason you couldn't substitute a little can of black olives.

4) Add in the onion. If you would prefer yellow or white onion, you can substitute it.

5) Add in the eggs. I cut up the peeled hardboiled eggs with my handy slicer by first slicing them one way and then turning them and inserting them to slice them the opposite way. Hmmm, this is hard to explain, but hope you get my drift. If you don't have an egg slicer, just cut up the eggs.

6) Now toss all the ingredients together and sprinkle on the seasoning.

7) Add mayonnaise to desired consistency. Spoonfuls should mound. G likes this salad a bit sloppier than I do.

NOTE: Amazingly good even the 2nd and 3rd day. We always "fight" over the leftovers! Living in a very hot summer area of California when I was a kid, Mum used to make this a lot. For a fancy luncheon for her friends Lulu she would serve this in or on a lettuce leaf/cup along with other things. Back then I got all the leftovers since I was the only one left at home!