This family recipe = summer

For as long as I can remember in my family (and no, I don't have long or short term memory problems)...summer has been quietly announced officially by the first batch of our homemade macaroni salad. Usually somewhere near Memorial Day weekend. Last year, I found myself giggling to myself when my then 6-year old came into the kitchen and said, "Hey! It must be summer--you're making macaroni salad! Tradition inadvertently and successfully passed on! Sometimes we call it macaroni salad, sometimes noodle salad. And I have NO idea why my family only made it during the summer, nor why I only make it during the summer. I just do, kind of like how I only make apple spice cake at Christmas time.

I just know this is the only kind of macaroni salad I like.

I made the first batch of the season shortly after Memorial Day. And have made 5 batches since....and we have eaten it all. We eat it for lunch. And sometimes I eat it for breakfast. I will need to make some more today. And probably 3 days from today. And then 3 days after that. Repeat. Until Labor Day weekend.

So, this is not your typical macaroni salad--there's no chopping involved, and you are probably not going to find a version of this already made at the grocery store.

It only has 3 ingredients, 7 if you want to count the seasonings. And I am totally guessing about the amount of seasonings---I eyeball it when I make it until it looks about right, especially with the parsley flakes. But we cannot stop eating it.

My Family Macaroni Salad Recipe

1 box of elbow macaroni

2 cans of tuna, drained

2-3 Tbsp. Hellman's Mayonnaise (Don't get me started on this. It matters. Just use it.)

1 Tbsp. Celery salt

1/4 cup Parsley flakes

Salt/Pepper to taste


Boil macaroni according to package directions, rinse with cold water and chill. If you are in a hurry, throw some ice cubes in it to chill it faster, or put them in the freezer for a few minutes..but you really want the noodles cold before you mix in the mayo, otherwise the noodles will just suck the mayo up and you will have to add more mayo.

Once you have chilled noodles, add everything else and mix it up. Adjust salt/pepper to taste...I tend to use more salt than pepper. And then let me know what you think!