In all honesty, it hasn’t been the easiest of weeks for us. And by us, I mean Jason.

This guy has simply drawn the short end of the stick when it comes to physical ailments—a problem that mostly exists because of his giant stature. Standing at 6’5”, this beast of a man boasts that much more surface area and thus a higher chance of hurting himself. [As he likes to say: he has a longer way to fall.]

Broken legs, dislocated knees, vein removals, and constant physical therapy sessions for a year-old back injury: the pain he has felt in the last three years alone is astounding [and frustrating]. But he’s not a complainer. Back hurts? Sure! I’ll hop on my bike for a 16-mile commute! Knee hurts? I’ll go snowshoeing anyway! It’s ridiculous and impossible to stop him.

But this week, I finally got my chance.

Here’s how it played out: last Friday, Jason underwent a minor [though I now consider it major] operation on his foot, which has essentially rendered him immobile. So I ordered him to bed and have since attempted to take care of him just like he always takes care of me, whether I’m sick or not.

It’s proven a bit of a challenge, mostly because I suffer from these little things called selfishness and insecurity. I’m selfish because I’m convinced there’s not enough time in the day to do everything I want on top of everything he needs, and I’m insecure because I know anything I attempt will never be half as good as it would have been if Jason had just done it himself. [He occupies a pedestal all his own in my book.]

But when I saw Jason stumbling around the kitchen trying to get a start on dinner, all of those nasty traits fell to the wayside in favor of taking over, no matter the consequences. And so it went last night when Jason finally resigned himself to sitting down at the kitchen island, relinquishing kitchen control and coaching me through the various steps of his vision for our meal.

Which OF COURSE involved the grill.

Oh, the grill…the mecca of manhood and about as scary to me as, I assume, women’s purses are to men.

But I am here to tell you that I survived it. Not only did I survive, I conquered that grill [that is, once I figured out how to turn it on…] and made one of our tastiest dinners since Christmas: Grilled Ahi Tuna Tacos.

All it took was a little direction, a pinch of confidence, and an instant-read thermometer.

Now, what was once a man’s sport is now everyone’s sport. And if I can do it, you can definitely do it [and probably do it much better]. So the next time Ahi Tuna is on sale at your grocery store, buy it, make this deliciousness, and don’t look back.

Grilled Ahi Tuna Tacos

Ingredients

½ head of red or green cabbage
1 bunch cilantro
¼ yellow onion
3 carrots
1/3 c. olive oil
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 pineapple
2 Ahi Tuna steaks
2 Tbs. coconut oil
Salt, pepper, sugar, and spices to taste [perhaps your favorite steak seasoning?]
1 pkg. queso fresco
1 avocado, sliced
Corn tortillas

Instructions

1. Turn on the grill and set to medium heat. Scrape clean if necessary.
2. Prepare the slaw by combining the cabbage, onion, and carrots in a food processor outfitted with a shredder plate. Stir in cilantro and a teaspoon of salt and allow it to strain while in the refrigerator. [It will need to sit awhile to get the juices out.] 
3. Prepare the pineapple for the grill by cutting off the top and bottom of the fruit and slicing the tough outer skin, continuing around the pineapple until fully removed. Slice the pineapple lengthwise around the core to desired thickness. 
4. Place pineapple on the grill. [Girlie note: place them on in a way that doesn’t allow them to fall through the grates!] Grill for about 20 minutes with the lid closed, turning every 5 minutes. Once it is nice and caramelized on all sides, remove from grill and chop into small chunks. 
5. Turn grill on high and wait about 10 to 15 minutes to get it as hot as possible. [The hotter the better!]
6. While you wait, transfer the slaw into a medium bowl, soaking up any remaining liquid. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, honey, rice vinegar, and ½ tsp. black pepper and toss into the slaw. Put back into the refrigerator to set.
7. Prepare the tuna steaks by rubbing the coconut oil on both sides – about 1 Tbs. per steak. Season with salt, pepper, sugar, and any other steak seasoning spices you like. [We used a combination of salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, sugar, and parsley.]  
8. Sear tuna on the hot grill, cooking for only about 2 minutes on each side. The inside temperature should read 115-degrees. Once removed, place on a cutting board and slice across the grain to reveal a nice, medium-rare steak. 
9. Warm your tortillas and build your tacos with the tuna, slaw, pineapple, cheese, and sliced avocado!

The moral of this story? You can do anything. [Especially if your husband is rendered useless and forces your hand into doing so.]