It’s the Time of the Season for Sardines

[Note: When I wrote this, I was listening to the 30 lovely tracks that Bradley created on the Yamaha VSS-30 sampling keyboard for my 30th birthday. You can listen while you read by pushing the play button up and over to the left of where your eyes now fall.]

A few weeks ago, I reminded each and every adult, human member of my household that no matter what brought them to the store in the first place or how quick a trip they were making, they ought to keep a close eye on the fish counter for the next month or so. Why? Because last year we missed the dot dang fresh sardines, and I plan on eating more than my fair share this year to make up for it.

“Sardines? Gross!” you might think. But you think wrong, for at least two reasons: (a) fresh sardines are not the same as tinned ones and (b) tinned sardines are not anchovies. I learned that most people make the latter mistake when I put a (tinned) sardine panino (grilled on sourdough with marinated fennel & red onions and red pepper & olive tapenade) on the menu at the Mississippi Avenue Social Club. It became an exercise in educating people as much or more than one in feeding them. “You’re thinking of anchovies,” I’d say, “Maybe you’ve never tried sardines! They’re very mild.” I didn’t convince them all, but I did make a few converts.

The first mistake can only be corrected by a taste of one of those fresh sardines, so delicate that they can’t really be frozen or kept longer than a few days, so full of those omega fats everybody talks about these days, so mild and yet so flavorful that nothing more than salt, pepper and lemon is necessary to make a believer out of a first-time taster.

Maybe you’ve guessed by now that I stopped by New Seasons on my way home from school today for raw lamb cat food (a story for another day, I suppose) and was considering buying a little hunk of some beautiful tuna to sear up for lunch when I realized that right below the beautiful tuna were nine shiny, silver sardines. A quick peak at the eyes told me that they had been there at least since yesterday, but, even so, they were so delicious that I didn’t even take the time to get a picture of my Fried Sardine, Avocado, Walla Walla Onion, and Cucumber on Three-Seed Baguette Sandwich. Sorry.

I also forgot to get a picture of Scoobie eating a sardine head (thus ending the short-lived Superhuman Housewifery tradition of a hungry-eyed cat in every food post).

Ah, well, if I get my wish, many more fresh sardine photo opportunities await me this summer. For now, have a picture of the guts and heads.

2 thoughts on “It’s the Time of the Season for Sardines

Leave a Reply