Deconstructed Stuffed Tomato

Remember when I posted about the delicious lasagna I was inspired to make from the contents of my fridge? Well, something similar happened this afternoon! It's been a gray, rainy weekend here so when I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was get to baking some breakfast. I had minimal milk and eggs that are past their expiration date (how long do you guys keep your eggs around?), so I decided to make scones. The first recipe I had pinned was in German, and the translation included all of the measurements in grams, liters, and Celsius (what?!), so I moved on to another one. Only it included raisins, and unless they're covered in chocolate, I don't eat them. (You know, I used to think I wasn't a picky eater, but the more I write, the more I'm aware of my quirky food habits.) So I decided to chop up a mango and mix that into the dough instead. I ended up having to add more flour than the recipe called to get the dough to come together, and the scones, although tasty, turned out to be more like slightly sweetened biscuits. And while I'll happily eat them every day this week for breakfast, let's move on to what I'm really excited to talk about: the tuna salad I had for lunch!

There's a late-night dinner in Maryland that has closed a number of times, temporarily breaking our hearts until it reopens under a new name but with the same loved menu. My first experience there was for a friend's birthday party in high school where her mom took all of us girls and allowed us to order two (two!) desserts each from the menu! I believe I went for Oreo cheesecake and a milkshake. Over the years, it became one of my families go-to restaurants if it was late at night, we weren't in the mood for anything particular, or the weather was ridiculously hot and we couldn't bring ourselves to cook in the kitchen. My aunt, grandma, and I were hooked on their stuffed tomatoes. Served on a bed of lettuce, surrounded by slices of hard-boiled egg and slices of green pepper, cucumber, and red onion, these big plump tomatoes were sliced into wedges and served as the vessel for fresh, cold tuna salad. 

Yesterday, after a morning of antique shopping with Andrea, we stopped by the local market just down the street to pick up some lunch. I picked up a container of tuna salad with feta cheese, dill, and almonds and a penne pasta salad with thick-cut bacon, tomato, and basil. I had the pasta salad for lunch and saved the tuna salad for today. I had a tomato and some mixed greens left over from last week when I made the turkey tomato panini served with salad. And on Friday, my colleague gifted me with some 滷蛋, or hard-boiled eggs braised in soy sauce and spices. It was perfect! I spread out my greens on a plate, sliced the tomato and hard-boiled eggs and laid them on top, the covered the salad with the tuna and a generous sprinkle of pepper. The result was delicious! It was the perfect light late lunch. 

Deconstructed Stuffed Tomato

1 cup of tuna salad (you could also use chicken or egg salad)
   *My tuna salad was already made, but when I make it myself, I add mayo, diced onion, dill, salt and pepper. The sliced almonds in this salad provided a nice crunch, and the feta provided a nice salty component. My first job was at Subway and I am in love with their tuna salad...you know what's in it? Mayo and tuna! That's it! So add what you like and make it as simple or complex as you'd like!
1 heirloom tomato
3 cups mixed greens
2 sliced hard-boiled eggs 
assorted sliced veggies (I like cucumber, green pepper, and red onion)

Arrange your greens on the plate and layer the tomato slices on top. Scoop your tuna salad on top and surround with veggies and slices of egg. Season with pepper to taste.