Sardines, Lightly Cured and Pan Fried

Hey guys, I have a short and sweet post for you today featuring one of my favorite little fishies of all time: sardines. Up until a few years ago, I had dismissed any kind of fish often found in cans as little more than cat food. Anchovies, sardines, pickled herring, even tuna. Perhaps it was a lingering sense of embarrassment from school lunches where anything smellier than a ham and cheese sandwich elicited a chorus of "eww" and "gross" from other children, and where bringing in something like tuna fish ensured you would be the cafeteria outcast. As trivial as those past experiences seem now, they were clearly wounds that cut deep.

These days, I say screw what other people think. When I finally tried all of the aforementioned fish, it was love at first taste, I'm never going back. So here is a simple and delicious recipe for sardines that highlight their natural, briny flavor. They are lightly cured in a bright mixture of salt, sugar, and lemon zest then quickly pan fried to enhance their tender texture. Because the curing preserves them slightly, they'll keep in the fridge for up to a week if you don't finish them immediately.

Let's consider this recipe my love ballad for fish of all types, we'll forget about childhood pettiness and start anew. Hope you all enjoy these sardines as much as I do!

Trout Po' Boy with Jalapeño Jicama Slaw

This is the type of sandwich you eat with abandon. Where you let the sauce drip down your hands, the crumbs stick to your face, and forget about the judgement of other people who may be watching you. It's going to get messy in here and they can deal with it.

There is a lovely restaurant within walking distance of our apartment. We went for lunch one sunny day a few weeks back and ordered their grilled trout po' boy. Our server warned us it wasn't the kind of sandwich you want to order on a first date, since you truly are a sight to behold when eating it. That wouldn't be a problem for us as we've been watching each other eat for the past seven years and have seen far worse. In the end, it was worth the mess a hundred times over. The fish was tender, the sauce tangy, the cabbage crunchy and refreshing, all nestled within a soft, chewy french baguette. It was everything.

The thought of that sandwich lingered in the back of my mind until some time later, when I found myself at a beer hall with friends late one night, chowing down on a bratwurst topped with an unconventional jalapeño jicama coleslaw. I don't know if it was my half delirious state of mind, but an idea was suddenly born: I must make my own version of the trout po' boy with this delicious new slaw I've just discovered! A few test runs and photographs later, and that's how I found myself here, sharing this recipe with you.

Arctic Char Rice Bowl

You may think that as a food blogger, we would eat well in our household. The truth is, outside of what is posted on this blog, we eat a lot of junk. Boxed mac & cheese is a part of our weekly rotation, as is packaged ramen, way too much thai takeout, and the occasional ice cream bender. To our defense, I try to sneak in veggies wherever possible: frozen peas and mushrooms in our mac & cheese, peppers and scallions in our ramen, but still, a lot of junk.

Why? How? Well, I think it comes down to not wanting to cook after making and eating whatever it is I'm making for this blog over and over again in a short period of time. I'm reminded of an article by Mark Bittman for the New York Times where at one point he talks about writing his first cookbook and his daughters proclaiming he "fed them squid every night for two weeks," a claim which he declares as "ridiculous; it couldn't have been more than three or four times a week." I must assume he's being cheeky with that last comment, as three or four times a week is more than plenty!

What I ate for breakfast for two weeks straight, aka The Smoked Trout Bagel

The most important meal of the day, so they say. Unfortunately breakfast and I, we have always had a tenuous relationship. Back in my school years, it never really made its way into my repertoire even at the behest of my mother. Some people just aren't morning types, you know? Between turning off the alarm and sleeping for another 45 minutes, rolling out of bed, brushing teeth, and putting on real clothes, how does a girl find time for breakfast? It was always a wonder how mom and dad could get up in the morning and fry up some eggs and buns (in Chinese families we eat buns, no toast to be found here) AND have time to eat them before heading out for the day.

Now that I am well into my working years and certainly not as young and sprightly as I used to be, breakfast has begrudgingly made its way into my everyday life. The challenge these days is to find variety in a meal where it is so easy to get stuck in the egg sandwich or yogurt and granola cycle of monotony.