Sometimes I am looking for that impressive recipe to blog about when I should look at what I just ate for lunch.  Cobbled out of leftovers and yet very satisfying and yummy.  I needed a quick Sunday lunch.  Reaching into the fridge I pulled out some leftover tuna salad made with sweet pickles and a small amount of rice pilaf made with an incredible variety of rices from brown short grain to wild to red and all shades and sizes in between.  It looks beautiful, I love the flavor of it, and the texture is just chewy enough for my liking.

Then I found a baggie of steamed broccoli florets.  Bingo. I laid down a bed of cold pilaf and spread a mound of tuna salad on top.  To the side was a few of those chilled broccoli florets.  I had some raspberry vinaigrette which I poured around the rice and on the broccoli. And there it was.  Simple, satisfying and different from previous combinations of tuna/rice/broccoli.  I have made tuna casseroles or stir fries but I never put tuna salad on cold rice before.  Genius if I do say so.  I have no picture to share as I sat at the kitchen table munching it down while I read my book.  Tasty and it was all gone before I realized that this simple meal was worth sharing with you on my blog.  

 I am sure you could modify it to your taste in rice pilafs. I used a fancy Yarlsburg rice pilaf made with a touch of vegetable bullion in the water.  Whatever you prefer or have around.  And it was just simple homemade tuna salad.  My usual is made with light tuna, well drained of the water; which the cats and my dog fight over. I like light as it is softer and mixes up into something that sticks to the bread better than say albacore tuna would. I put light mayo, some Dijon mustard, a bit of finely chopped onion and some chopped sweet gherkins in it.  Make it how you like it.   If raspberry vinaigrette is not your thing, use whatever vinaigrette floats your boat.  Don’t pour it on too thick or it will swamp the rest of the dish.  Just enough to moisten the rice and the broccoli.   Now dig in and enjoy this simple healthy gluten free meal full of protein, green vegetables and brown rice. Surprisingly filling and with a piece of fruit you have a decent lunch made in moments!