It’s been a while!
[Not sure how I would feel about fish for breakfast – guf!]
But they are back! I found his maple flavor at Whole Foods. It was dryer than other brands packed in oil, but very good. The sweetness was subtle – like a maple bacon.
I mixed together half the tin (which included 3.5 servings) with a carrot, chopped spinach, 1 heaping spoonful of greek yogurt and paprika. OH and a bit of cinnamon! That was a key delicious ingredient.
Served with Stacy’s Pita Chips (which I bought with a coupon I received at some blog conference – BlogHer?) and clementines
DAaaaaannnng those pita chips are good!
Water, however is boring. Matt, please make us a sparkling keg soon!!
Lata playas!
{ 67 comments… read them below or add one }
I found myself instantly wrinkling my nose then I thought, “you’ve never even tried them, don’t assume!” So I may just get some so I can love it loud or bash with authority.
I feel the same way whenever I see Sardines posted! But I haven’t tried them so who knows. I also used to wrinkle my nose at raw fish and mussels and now I eat both and enjoy them so maybe someday I will brave the tinned fish!
I tried them but I still feel the same way – three different attempts, strike out for me!!!
What an unlikely, but intriguing paring! Sounds delicious.
Why don’t I eat fish?!?! Oh well. Have an extra serving for me?
does anyone else have a problem with pita chips, like need to go to pita rehab? only me?! i will eat an entire bag in one sitting, regardless of bag size, because they taste so dang good and they’re “healthy”. yeah, an empty bag later, not quite as healthy…
just run it off……. HeeHee
Not all of us can run it off. I just way overeat them (and more). No burning it off
Jazz up your water with some lemon or lime Kath
until Matt does his thing…..
I so get what you’re saying about fish for breakfast! The english do it, but I don’t think I’d like it. The first time I went to San Francisco, we stayed in Japantown and our hotel served lots of fish for breakfast breakfast choices. I’m like a coffee and scone type person…. very hard to stomach the smell early in the morning!
Lata Playas! You’ve got vacation on the brain! I’m so jeally!!
Beautiful meal! ….. Love the note to Matt. HA! I would have added a ‘pretty please’
You need to try the Gingerbread Stacy’s Pita chips! THey don’t sell them everywhere, but I found them at my local grocery store. They are AMAZING. A great sweet treat for the holidays!!!
GINGERBREAD!?!?!?
Yes
. Limited edition so I stocked up! And bought a few bags for my parents because they can’t seem to find any! They are THAT good!
i just ate sardines too! i made a random dip and chips yesterday:
http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/strange-sightings/
and ate the leftovers for breakfast today!
Pita chips are the best! They are so addicting! Your lunch looks cheerful
Lunch has never looked better! I have one more can of sardine as well, I might try something like this tonight. I love that you eat so much tangerines.
Hey Kath! I love how you use sardines so often. I have 2 cans which I have yet to use (I’m a bit intimidated). Do they taste similar to tuna? Also, do you eat the entire can as one serving or do you split it? Finally, if you DO save 1/2 the can for another serving/time, how do you store the unused portion? THANKS SO MUCH!!
Only one way to answer those questions – TRY it! You can’t judge whether or how much of something to eat something based on how someone else eats it.
I always eat a whole big tin (and that’s only a part of the whole meal….oye).
If the can is for 1 or 1.5 servings, I eat the whole thing, but lately we’ve been getting bigger fancy cans that are 2.5 – 3.5 servings so I save half. Sometimes I go ahead and make a salad and take out half for another meal (Matt often eats it on Sundays) but today I just removed some of the fish and will maybe do a different style of salad – or a dinner – later. Stored in the fridge in tupperware.
They taste a little like tuna, yes.
Man I still don’t know that I can do sardines. MY mom says the same thing as you – she loves them! I just can’t get over the heads and how they look in the tin!
THIS.
Maple sardines is a unique combo but it does sound good! I haven’t had sardines in quite a while either but thanks for the reminder – they’re on my shopping list now!
When I was a kid I loved these mustard marinated sardines. They were fantastic!
LOVE STACY’S!
That is an interesting combo. I am vegan so the sardines don’t exactly work for me, but, you did make me want to make a vegan tuna salad or chickpea salad. I am always happy to see all your creative meals, they are very inspiring.
David Lebovitz had a video of him buying fresh ingredients from the market in Paris last week. He bought 6 sardines. They were a lot bigger than I thought they’d be. Interesting video. You’d enjoy it.
Tho’t I’d better share the link to David’s post with the market video.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/12/visit-to-a-paris-bastille-market-video/
That way anyone can just click rather than have to hunt for it.
Thank you for posting that link. I love the video!
This was great, thanks for posting. Sardines in the can are smaller than those he was buying.
The only time I ever ate them was in Lagos, Portugal and the sardines were HUGE! And delicious. I haven’t worked up the nerve to eat the ones in the can.
Loved the video!! Food is so beautiful! His sardines were big – reminded me of the ones my dad got at this restaurant: http://www.katheats.com/mother-of-the-bread. The ones I had today were pretty large too!
Also loved his comment about relating sardines to bacon
Mmmmm….maply sardines!?!?! Sounds delicious!!! I wish I could find fun varieties like that near me!
Hi Kath, I meant to ask you the other night. You mentioned that when you were eating gelato, the employees noticed that you were displeased. I often find myself very underwhelmed by my choices when I eat out but nobody seems to notice!!!! How does one convey their distaste in a way that actually results in more gelato for you? I am amazed at how many times you order something and get it taken back without actually mentioning that you don’t like it! Lucky gal.
Hey Katie,
There were very few customers in the shop and I just commented that the ginger was making my throat burn and I didn’t think I could finish it. I wasn’t totally unhappy per se, but she still offered me something else to soothe it. Had there been tons of customers in there I definitely wouldn’t have taken it up to the counter or anything.
However, I’m not afraid in a restaurant to point out if something was prepared incorrectly (like I asked for no onions and it’s covered in them) or is flawed in some way – but I don’t send things back if I just don’t love them.
Your sardine salads always looks so good but anytime I think about making it, I can’t get past the thought so I still have yet to try ‘em…
We call Stacey’s pita chips “crack” in our house b/c they’re seriously gone in 2 days once we open a bag. So good with hummus
looks great! how cool, I have never tried sardines before!
Sardines are such a great source of Omega-3s!
Oh my… I have to say, when I think of “sardines”, I think of something really really gross. The picture in my mind is NOTHING like what you just showed us! I may have to check these out for myself…
love the title of this post!
I am not a sardine eater but when I was pregnant, I remember reading all kinds of things talking about how good they are for you…but I never ventured into sardine territory.
I LOVE sardines – but the posh ones do taste better – its one area (okay there are MANY!) where quality really does make a difference I think. I also especially like sardines with chilli … but the cinnamon addition is clever in any case.
AND I totally agree about adding cinnamon to just about anything – I put it on my lattes and on my bananas with almond butter AND (sometimes) with smoked paprkia, mushrooms and a spoonful of yogurt into my scrambled eggs – delicious!
Loving all the clementines! They’re just incredible at the moment. I haven’t eaten sardines in absolutely ages, I’ve been neglecting fish in favour of veggie food!
Kath, you have turned me into a sardine lover! After watching your video a few months ago, I made a sardine salad and loved it. Definitely not as aesthetically pleasing as canned tuna or salmon, but still delicious. I also tried a Vietnamese banh mi with sardines at Best Baguette, a sandwich shop in Portland, and it was good!
Woo hoo! another convert
Eek – I’m with ya on the breakfast thing! Although eating smoked salmon is common in many places.
I wonder if they said “for breakfast” because it’s in maple syrup….sardine-cakes for breakfast?
Love ya but sardines are a no go for me
Eat ‘em for all the haters!!
I miss my sparkling water when I run out, too.
I gave sardines a try for the first time last month. Bought just the ones packed in oil so I could doctor them up myself and I found they were perfect with some dijon and a touch of maple syrup! I’m still warming up to them, but thanks to you I even gave them a try in the first place!
ooo maple flavor sardines sound good, I’ll have to see if I can find those next time I go to whole foods!
Looks and sounds delicious
I love sardines.. your lunch looks veeery tasty!
Still not sure about the sardine thing…although, you make it look and sound so good!
I love those pita chips. SO dang good.
I don’t really know about the sardine thing either, but you sure made them look good!
Wow, that sounds SO good. Though I’ve never tried a sardine. In fact I’ve always been squeamish about fish. I’m up to salmon, white fish and tuna now, but hmmm, HEADS? I don’t know…
Mind you, my husband can’t go hiking without a tin of sardines, for some reason.
I wish I had sparkling water at my discretion
Ah hah… I get it… That sparkling water that Matt makes is your fountain of youth, huh? Matt puts something in it that keeps you both so young
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
MAPLE – wow, looks DELICIOUS. I will look out for that at WFs
I have a tin of sardines in my pantry that I’ve been wanting to try. I like the simplicity of pairing them with spinach and carrot. I usually use plain Greek yogurt + mustard as a base for tuna or salmon salads. I might try something like that. Maybe paprika over cinnamon, as a compliment to the mustard. I’m scared of what I’ll find inside that tin…just tiny, headless fish, I’m assuming? I’ve cleaned my share of large fish, but sardines are foreign to me.
Yes, no heads! You should watch my sardine video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RAl12K-nHg
As a fish lover I dont know why sardines scare me- must give them a shot!
This looks amazing! I haven’t had sardines in ages, but I’m a big fan of both sardines and anchovies. I had these gorgeous lemony anchovies with a Caesar salad at Vic’s on the River in Charleston last month and now I’m on a kick! Adding sardines to this weekend’s grocery list. Yum.
Always looking for fun new options for sardines… and Greek yogurt. It’s a twofer! Did you use smoked paprika?
Hi, Kath! You said Matt makes you a “sparkling keg”?!?! Seriously? How do you do that because I’m a die-hard sparkling water fan & we’re wanting to put taps in our bar at home. That would be a HUGE money saver for us. Any info or direction would be much appreciated!
It’s very simple – Matt just fills a keg with water and then puts our CO2 tank for the beer on it to carbonize it. It’s awesome!
As someone who’s been mostly vegetarian for four years now, I’m learning to like sardines. I did a bunch of research about the time we left for Peace Corps and decided that eating lower on the food chain and less processed food was more environmentally responsible and generally healthier than the packaged food laden Weight Watchers inspired diet I had been eating. (Not that Weight Watchers is bad in any way; it just doesn’t discourage processed food or look at environmental concerns or at least it didn’t in 2002.)
Now that I’m pregnant I’m revisiting my diet and doing research from the “growing a fetus” point of view. I’m blending my former dietary goals into a real, traditional food plan that includes more fats and proteins as well as micronutrients.
Sardines are one of the foods that have lots of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, and iodine (good for brain health) and are in no danger of over fishing or contain high levels of mercury. Plus they are lower on the food chain than most fish.
They do have a pungent flavor, I’m surprised to find I like it. I was looking up recipes that involve sardines when I came across your post. This recipe also includes raw veggies and dark leafy greens so it gets bonus points. I’m definitely adding it to the lunch rotation and perhaps summer dinners as well. Thanks!