As You Like It

Love the opera glasses. Yes, dahling, nothing rounds out a night of Aida like tinned fish.

When I was seventeen, my family was in a car accident that left my mother with severe injuries and the rest of us with more than our share of bumps, stitches, and broken bones. In the aftermath, I did my best to take care of things. Given the chaos, that often meant making do with whatever was at hand to feed the family, since this was in Arabia and running to the store myself was not really an option. We did have a case of canned tuna in the pantry. I suddenly found more uses for tuna than I’d ever eaten in my life. It’s probably lucky we didn’t add mercury poisoning to the list of physical concerns. If only I’d had the help of the Tuna Research Foundation to guide me. After all:

“Open a can of tuna and you open a tale of adventure…of daring fishermen ready to travel far and wide for America’s favorite canned seafood…ready to use all their skill and courage to secure their prize catch.”

“The saga of tuna is a short but merry one. Appropriately, it unfolds in California, the center of the tuna-canning industry, for tuna’s spectacular rise to stardom as a menu of choice rivals a Hollywood success story.”

“In its initial decade, tuna played a modest part at table, slowly gathering a group of devoted admirers. But when World War I darkened the economic scene, tuna scored its major triumph. As many foods became scare, tuna performed valiant service on the home front, breaching the nutrition gap with its rich protein, valuable minerals and vitamins, and introducing many Americans to its pleasing flavor and versatility.”

Swept away by the heady proximity of this canned star of the silver screen and wartime hero, I surely would have tried these recipes.

Tuna Potato Puff

2 eggs

½ cup milk

2 cups soft bread crumbs

¼ cup minced onion

2 T minced parsley

½ t salt

½ t mustard

¼ t pepper

2 cans tuna in oil

1 envelope instant mashed potatoes

½ cup shredded American cheese

Combine eggs, milk, bread crumbs, onion,parsley and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Beat until blended. Mix in tuna. Turn into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake in a moderate oven (350) for 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Increase oven heat to very hot (550). Prepare mashed potatoes according to package directions; season to taste. Pile potatoes on top of tuna mixture; sprinkle with cheese. Place under broiler heat or in oven until cheese reaches melting point.

Tuna Corn Chowder

2 cans (6 ½ or 7 oz. each) tuna in oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 can (1 lb) whole kernel or cream style corn

2 cups diced potatoes

3 cups milk

1 t salt

2 T chopped parsley

¼ t Tabasco

Drain 2 T oil from tuna into large saucepan, add onion and cook until tender but not brown. If whole kernel corn is used, drain corn and add liquid to saucepan. If cream style corn is used, ass ½ cup water to saucepan. Bring to a boil and add potatoes; cover and cook 10 minutes. Add corn, milk, and tuna. Add salt. Heat thoroughly. Add parsley and Tabasco.