And why are peppers in everything! "Oh, it needs some flavor, some zing!"

No, it doesn't! My food should not bite back!

I like mayo. Probably too much. I like avocados, but they can be stringy, so they aren't a good substitute for mayo, to me. And I love cucumber pickles, so I'll take them on the side or in the mix.

I hate mushy protein food, which is why there is celery or apple or raw cabbage in all my mayo based 'salads.' Anything else triggers gag reflex.

I get where you're coming from, but apples would be totally okay with me in just about any salad. Why not put in apples? They taste so much better than celery and are better for you! Cabbage, however, is a big no. Unless it's cole slaw.

Oh. Button mushrooms are like biting into an ear. I can't do it.

This so so weird - I can eat small mushrooms, but a big portobello mushroom makes me a bit nauseous just looking at it. No idea why. And I don't like the taste, either, I don't get people who think they taste meaty.

What are the mayo/mustard proportions for these? Has anyone tried them with the olive oil mayos? Would that be ok you think?

Mustard is great for adding that zing the pepper-lovers want. I have no objection to a little mustard, but it can quickly overwhelm all other flavors if not restrained. I tried an olive-oil mayo once, but the taste was just wrong. Similar to what happened when I fried an egg in olive oil. Olive oil and eggs are both delicious, but they don't go together.

Texture is very weird and personal thing. Me, I don't have trouble with mushy stuff, but things that are squishy but not smooth make me have trouble swallowing it. Like when you bite into a cherry tomato and the seeds and little chunks in its juicy insides splat into your mouth. Like, I love a good tomato, but I have to brace myself to bite into those things. My body's immediate reaction to that texture seems to be "this is rotten and partially decomposed, spit it out!"

I never met a mushroom I didn't like.

Celery and apples go so well together, why divide them up?

I need to start keeping cans of chicken and tuna on hand in the pantry. Because our house version of chicken (diced sauteed chicken breasts, sour cream, mayo, dill, mustard) is delicious, but time-consuming to make.

Oooh, I also need to get back in the habit of throwing a handful of toasted slivered almonds into it, too.

I need to start keeping cans of chicken and tuna on hand in the pantry.

It was a great epiphany to me, when I stood in the canned meat aisle of the grocery store and went "Wait--it comes already cooked? And cut up?"

We shop at yuppie/hippie grocery stores, so I don't even know if I'll FIND canned chicken. I hope so.

I'm a big fan of including apple in my tuna salad. Which also has mayo, Dijon mustard, maybe a splash of Worcestershire and usually some curry of some kind. Ideally, I have a hard boiled egg I can cut up and mix in. But I also like and enjoy putting sweet pickle relish into my tuna, though that feels a bit old school.

What's your ideal sandwich construction?

I prefer a good whole wheat with tomato and lettuce. Or if it's a tuna melt (as is often the case in our house) then with gruyere on top (though we'll go cheddar in a pinch, and have successfully done goat cheese.)

Bottom line: apples in tuna salad is good.

Ideal sandwich: I had a great roast beef sandwich last weekend, with salami, pepper jack, lettuce & tomato, and spicy avocado hummus instead of mayo. On wheat. So tasty!

Hey, did you guys all see the bears' pool party? So fun.

Tonight I unpacked my DVDs, updated my mailing/billing address in many, many places, and finally bought tickets to Los Angeles so Lee and I can hang out with LAistas before we head to the South Pacific.

Jilli, they have canned chicken cooked in broth at TJs.

Celery is fine, boring but fine. I don't get disliking it, it's like disliking water, but then again I know people who don't like that either (looking at you, Plei). I rarely use celery anymore, but that's only because fennel root is so readily available and tastes so much better. I vastly prefer fennel in salads, but celery is wonderful in soups and such.

Speaking of aversions to plain tasting foods, it was some Buffista who first pointed out to me how acrid and icky canola oil tastes and it's completely true. Never cook with it anymore, now I use grape seed oil if I don't want to taste it in the cooking.