Tonight my friend Kyla’s radio documentary, “Gerda and Olcott” will air on CBC Radio One. It’s about some love letters she found at a Berkeley flea market and the resulting meeting with one of the letter writers. It’s an amazing story and I think everyone should tune in their radios at 8:43pm PST tonight. If you aren’t in Canada, you should tune in your computers to stream here. If my brilliant sales job didn’t get you up to tune in your radio dial, you can read a bit more about the documentary on the CBC Outfront website. If you miss it, I’m sure it will be available as a podcast.
And on that note, I figured I’d make a fitting dinner tribute to my dear old friend, Kyla Sweet. Believe it or not, I had never eaten tuna casserole growing up and Miss Sweet (as she was known at the time before marriage added a hyphen Chavez) decided to remedy that fact. One night after a nursing a broken heart, it was decided that a tuna casserole had to be made. Before popping it into the oven, we topped off the casserole with Miss Vickie’s Salt & Vinegar chips. Growing up, Kyla’s family always ate their tuna casserole with soy sauce and I’m glad to say that I’ve picked up the tradition. Though, I have doctored my tuna casserole with ketchup if the occassion strikes. I think Kyla would have a heart attack if she knew.
Kyla now lives in Portland, OR and I only see her a few times a year. I’ll be listening to the CBC tonight while eating my soy sauce-laced tuna casserole.
tuna casserole
In a large heavy oven proof pot, bring water to a boil. Add salt and add half of a 450g pkg of short pasta to the pot. Just before pasta is aldente, add about 2 cups of chopped broccoli florets (stems too!) and cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and keep in colander. In the same pot, heat 1 T of oil and add 1 chopped onion and 2 chopped celery and saute until soft. Add the pasta and broccoli mixture and stir. Drain a can of flaked or chunk tuna (in water) and add to the pasta. Add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and 1 cup of grated cheese and mix well. Add crushed chips to the top. Put the whole thing in the oven and cook until the top is golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with soy sauce or ketchup!
Print This Recipe
