yet another reason why i need to live near the beach

i got an intense craving for this crab salad that we used to have at lemongrass in nola. i cobbled together a recipe and went to three different grocery stores to secure all the ingredients. it's not exactly what i imagined, but not too shabby. here's the recipe.

Mel's Wasabi Crab Salad
1# jumbo lump crabmeat (i think it's best that way, i like the big chunks)
(the first thing you should do is set up a colander lined with a paper towel and dump the meat onto it, picking out any stray orange bits of fat you see and letting it drain)
1 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp wasabi powder
1 tbsp olive oil
splash cream until proper consistency is reached
a spoon of horseradish to taste
a squeeze of dijon mustard to taste
one packet of sweetener (i used stevia) to taste
a bunch of cilantro diced
half of a large tomato, diced
1 whole avocado, cubed
2 or so limes for juice
1/3 of a colored bell pepper, diced

mix up the mayo, wasabi, oil, horseradish, dijon, sweetener and cream. squeeze a little lime juice into teh sauce and a little over the crabmeat itself. mix in cilantro and tomato. this is the tricky part here--to really keep the jumbo lumps of crab meat nice, you have to mix gingerly. i used tongs and just sort of carefully turned the meat and avocado into the sauce to mix and coat. ooh, i almost forgot, squeeze a little lime juice over teh avocado before you mix it in, and squeeze the reamining juice into the salad while you mix it. i think the flavors work best if you let it sit overnight.

i can't emphasize enough how important it is to taste the sauce before you put in the crabmeat. depends i'm sure on where you live, but around these parts it was $26. too expensive to come out gross, i'm so cheap i would have to eat it anyway.