The 2nd recipe I am sharing is Tuna casserole. This recipe has been in my life since before I was born. I loved when my Mom made this for dinner as a child, it was one of my favorites. As a young Mother I baked it for my daughters and now I cook it for the Daycare kids and still it's one of my favorites. The flavors of the tuna and cheese, peas and onion baking in the kitchen, it's like breathing in the good places of my childhood, warm memories on a winter's day. The funny thing is, as a child I was a finicky eater. On my plate there were boundaries and they weren't to be crossed. Vegetables did not touch potatoes, and potatoes did not touch meat. Ever. And yet, here was this delicious casserole where everything was mixed together. So what's a little girl to do!?! This little girl meticulously separated my serving back into it's individual components. Most of the cheese usually stuck with the rice and I accepted that, because it was cheese. Finally when I had a pile of peas, tuna and rice separated out on my plate I relished every bite. Now days I think the term I've heard on Top Chef is "deconstructing" and if you ever need to practice patience try separating rice from peas! Some days I'm not sure where that little girl went but she sure makes me laugh.
So here I am about 45, or so, years later and I serve this casserole for the first time and I watch what the kids do with it. It's always fascinating to watch what they do with something new and unfamiliar, food or otherwise. Our boy who loves his utensils eats it with gusto, he eats everything with gusto. Our girl who loves food, loves it like it's food and signals me to give her another spoonful. And then I see our picky eater and I find myself holding my breath waiting to see if she will like it. I don't really like to call her a "picky" eater and she isn't actually finicky. When I watch her it's more like she is a careful eater. Her food has to pass inspection before she determines whether she likes it or not. And sometimes she is not just careful but down right suspicious. First there is the visual inspection as if she has, at 17 months of age, seen with her own eyes, every food on the planet and will know instantly if you have handed her a non-food item or perhaps some toxic substance instead. Next it has to pass the feel test. It has to feel a certain way in her fingers or she will throw it back on her highchair tray with the disdain of a Queen. And then it is a competition between taste and texture. Texture often can rule out taste if it's too much. If the rice isn't cooked soft enough it won't matter how good it tastes. Also this girl must have the control of a Queen as well. You will not get a spoon past her lips without her permission, "Though she be little, she be mighty" as the quote goes. And yet, if the other kids are eating it she is more likely to let me give her a spoonful, as if they are her taste testers. You can almost see her thinking, "They seem to like it and it didn't kill them, yes my lady, I will allow a spoonful." And from that first spoonful I often have to just put it on her tray and let her eat it with her fingers no matter the mess. And so she is, with my heirloom tuna casserole, she allows a spoonful and then I must put it on her tray and she goes to work. Deconstructing. First the peas, because she loves peas, then the tuna and then the rice. And it's a winner! She likes it and I let out my breath and feel victorious. Heirloom Tuna Casserole, I should have called it that on the menu it sounds like a casserole fit for a Queen. Enjoy!
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