I was fortunate enough to grow up in a house where the family garden informed our family dinners. Of course, “fortune” had nothing to do with it. It was economic necessity that prompted my to Dad plant a garden every spring and, in turn, committed my Mom to can the produce from it every fall. Rows of homegrown goodness, beautifully preserved in Mason jars, lined our kitchen cupboards.

Tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, cauliflower, cucumbers and even garlic cloves were all grown by Dad and canned, or pickled, by my Mom for future meals. The recipes made with these items were endless. My parents made the most of everything their garden produced, and fittingly, the prepackaged foods my parents bought were put through similarly rigorous paces. Few found as many incarnations as condensed cream of mushroom soup, though. My parents stirred it into soups, dips, and casseroles, and sometimes poured it over vegetables in saucepans.

No wonder I stayed away from the stuff for years.

I’ve since made my peace with that soup, and the recipes my parents’ made with it. I understand that product was a cost-cutter and time-saver for them, and – given the hours they logged putting up countless bushels of the fruits and vegetables they grew – how could I begrudge them the occasional shortcut?

Nostalgia can make us long for lots of things we thought we’d never revisit. So when I had a recent craving for tuna casserole, I relied on what I had on my shelves, with a little indulging of my own. I made a béchamel and added mushrooms, instead of using soup, and I replaced the celery salt of my parents’ pantry with the sublime AllStar Organics Celery Salt.

AllStar’s Celery Salt is a perfect example of how a good ingredient can make for an exceptional dish. The standard spice-rack celery salt that I remember from my youth was all sodium, no celery. I dismissed it as something I didn’t need, or even want, to use. But now that I’ve tried AllStar’s product, I can’t believe the flavorful opportunities I’d been missing. It takes tuna casserole recipe below from humble to haute. And can I just say it makes for one of the best Bloody Mary’s… Ever!

Tuna Casserole with Shiitake Mushrooms and Edamame

Since AllStar Organics raised the bar on what Celery Salt should be, I couldn’t make any old tuna casserole with it. At first glance this recipe might seem like a lot of work, but it’s fairly easy, and it will definitely reward your efforts in the end. I apologize now for dirtying most of the pots and pans in your kitchen! The good news is that this recipe will make a lot so you might just be able to re-heat leftovers for your next meal! Use the code “testkitchen” to get 10% OFF AllStar Organics Celery Salt through 3/21.

Ingredients

• 4 six-ounce cans albacore tuna, packing water reserved
• 1 lb bag of egg noodles, preferably wide
• 1 lb bag frozen, shelled edamame
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 lb shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed (or you can use an assortment of shiitake and other mushrooms, such as cremini and white button.)
• 3 large leeks, white part only, sliced in rings, separated and cleaned
• 1/3 lb white cheese, grated (I used Bravo Farm’s Silver Mountain Cheddar)
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon AllStar Organics Celery Salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
• ½ cup white all-purpose flour
• 5 cups milk (I used 1% Milk in this to lower the fat content.)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Using 2 tablespoons of butter, rub the bottom and sides of a casserole dish. (* Check size of casserole.) Set aside. Meanwhile in two separate pots, bring enough water to boil to cook egg noodles and edamame, respectively, according to package directions. Drain when done, and set aside.

2. Put milk in a pot to heat over low flame. Watch so that milk doesn’t begin to scorch.

3. As milk heats clean mushrooms of any dirt or debris and chop coarsely.

4. Cut roots from leeks, and working along the stalk, cut rings, up to the green part of the stem. With your finger, poke the center of the slices of leeks so as to loosen all of the inner rings. Place the rings in a bowl filled with water and swoosh around to dislodge any dirt or sand. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Shake loose any excess water when leeks look clean.

5. Place leeks and mushrooms in a frying pan and begin to cook over medium heat. The moisture from both will help to sauté the mushrooms and leeks, so there is no need for oil or butter. When moisture seems to be cooking out, add ½ cup of white wine and bring to a boil. Stir frequently. When the wine seems to have been absorbed by vegetables, remove pan from heat.

6. Melt butter over medium heat in a tall-sided pot. When butter is bubbling and beginning to brown, add the ½ cup of flour to the butter. Stir constantly, approximately 1 minute, until butter and flour are mixed together. Begin adding warm milk, half cup at a time to the pot with the butter/ flour roux, continuing to stir or whisk.

7. Whisk constantly as the mixture thickens. You can help this along by turning up the heat slightly so that the milk mixture begins to bubble. When a thick sauce has formed, add the mushrooms and leeks to pot. Stir to coat, and then add grated cheese. Once cheese has melted, season the sauce with AllStar Organic’s Celery Salt, as well as the two types of pepper. Turn off heat.

8. Empty cooked noodles and edamame into casserole dish. Using lid from tuna cans, squeeze water out of canned tuna and pour water into casserole dish. Mix water with the butter and noodles and edamame. When tuna water seems evenly dispersed, fork tuna out from cans and into casserole, and again, mix thoroughly with noodles and edamame.

8. Empty cooked noodles and edamame into casserole dish. Using lid from tuna cans, squeeze water out of canned tuna and pour water into casserole dish. Mix water with the butter and noodles and edamame. When tuna water seems evenly dispersed, fork tuna out from cans and into casserole, and again, mix thoroughly with noodles and edamame.

9. Pour the sauce with the mushrooms and leeks from pot into the casserole. Mix to combine well with the egg noodles, edamame and tuna.

10. Place casserole in oven for 20 minutes to heat through. You can sprinkle with Panko breadcrumbs if you prefer a crunchy top. After 20 minutes, remove casserole from oven and allow to sit for approximately five minutes. Using a cake-serving utensil, cut casserole into squares and serve.

Food writer, published author and Foodzie producer, Steven Gdula, will be helping us to create a Foodzie Test Kitchen in the coming months. Steven’s double duties as a vendor with a product as well as a food writer gives him a unique perspective on the roles of producer, product and consumer. Steven will chronicle his adventures in and out of the kitchen here on the blog. You can read his work at thewarmestroominthehouse.blogspot.com – the companion blog for his book,The Warmest Room in the House – and also at www.gobbagobbahey.com – the home page for Steven’s gobs etc. (a whoopie pie-like confection popular in Pennsylvania.)