Saturday, August 21, 2010

Sardines

At some point in the first year after Cliff's open heart surgery, we happened to read that sardines are one of the most heart-healthy things you can add to your diet.  Rich in Omega-3's and not full of pollutants, since they are at the bottom of the food chain.  We decided to make them our entree of choice when we went picnicking on the motorcycle.
Funny thing, though:  The cans of sardines we bought for less than a dollar didn't jive with our prior knowledge of sardines.  What we got was three fat fishes floating a lot of oil, mustard sauce, or whatever, depending on which kind you chose.  They were not "packed like sardines".
Being a cheapskate, I bought them repeatedly, though.  If there wasn't enough there to be filling, we ate a few crackers along with them.
When I was shopping, I noticed another brand of sardines on the shelf, but I didn't pay much attention to them because they cost about twice as much.
Cliff and I would be sitting in a park trying to pretend like those three fat fishes were enough for anybody, and we'd have the same conversation, over and over.  "When I was a kid, there were a whole bunch of tiny little sardines packed into a can."
"Yeah, I know!"
A while back I took a closer look at the pricey sardines.  King Oscar, the brand was.  And the can was wrapped up in cellophane, real fancy-like.
I threw caution to the wind and dropped two cans into my cart.
Our motorcycle has been disabled for awhile (bad alternator), and it was finally repaired yesterday.  Today we rode it to a tractor show; on the way home, we had our hobo picnic.
Oh, my dears, those King Oscar sardines were gourmet fare!  The old adage, "You get what you pay for," was never more true.
I may start eating sardines at home once in awhile.  Seriously!
I know many of you are gagging at the thought of sardines, but they're good.  Just trust me on this.  Fifty million hobos can't be wrong.


Oh, here's a little slide-show/video from the tractor show.


8 comments:

  1. I like all kinds of canned fish except tuna.

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  2. My Dad used to love sardines, but looking at them didn't seem very appetizing to me. So I'd never taste one. One of these days I'll just have to try it I guess. They do say they are very good for you. I do love tuna and salmon and eat them. They're good for you too.

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  3. Lindie11:32 PM

    I will try that brand. I like sardines on crackers. I also get baby clams in olive oil which I like on crackers. Oysters, not so much!

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  4. Back when we were forced to live two places because of a job. And believe me, we couldn't really afford to. As an alternative to eating out, my hubby and I use to pack picnic lunches with sardines, as we traveled back and forth between our homes in Illinois and Ohio. We looked forward to our sardines on the weekends. They were YUMMY with crackers. Glad you found a good brand. ENJOY!

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  5. My mama always said buy quality, cheap has to be replaced too soon. I guess that would be true about sardines too.

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  6. But aren't they full of sodium?

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  7. Yes, Toon, but since we only eat one can apiece when we're picnicking maybe twice a month, I don't think it is much of a problem.

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  8. I LOVE sardines!!!

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