Canned Sardines

If I had a daughter, I would name her Sardinia and call her Sardine for short.

Ingredients:

Half a dozen sardines

As much garlic as you like

2 medium white onions

The amount of tomatoes it would take to fill your can, I used about 6 different sized romas

Chili flakes

Olive Oil

Pepper

Salt

These were frozen whole. Defrost. Chop off the heads unless you want them. I slit their bellies and gutted them. Be very very gentle because sardines are extremely delicate fish. The silver skin scrapes easily too. Their bones are thin and once cooked will not do much harm but I was able to pull the entire skeleton out. Try not to damage the flesh so much. You can split them in two fillets or keep them whole.

Half tomatoes and remove the seeds, half them again and again . Roughly cut up garlic and onions.

In sauce pan on medium high heat, drizzle in olive oil. Fry chili flakes, very fragrant. Mine turned a little black there. Throw in vegetables. Stir and break down tomatoes. Put a lid on it for a few minutes, take lid off to stir. Add more olive oil if mixture evaporates and tomato flesh is sticking.

Stir in your sardines, fold gently to incorporate. Cover for a minute.

Off the heat, into your sterilized jar. 

Put the jar in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Refrigerate.

 

Enjoy! The tomato sauce is great on rice or pasta.

Pickled Peppers

My palate loves spice and heat. Peppers are sometimes more potent when dried, smoked, and pickled. Am I forgetting any? A bag of 15 serranos are a dollar at my favorite produce outlet. This is the perfect way to use them. I made a very small batch here just to see how they would turn out...

Ingredients:
6 serranos
2 garlic cloves
carrot for sweetness and presentation
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 teaspon salt per cup of pickling liquid, a generous pinch will do

My jar is so cute! Sanitize the jar in boiling water. Add in peppers, garlic and carrot.

Boil water, vinegar and salt.

Pour in boiling liquid, close the top. In a sauce pan, boil some water and gently put the jar into the water for 10 minutes rapid boil. Remove jar, let cool. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Chicken Phở

 

I loved Phở when I ate red meat. This is not a dish or just any bowl of soup, it's a meal. Traditionally it uses almost every part of the cow. Bones full of rich marrow make a delicious broth after at least 4 hours of cooking. Rice noodles are then topped off with different cuts of steak, brisket, tripe and beef balls. The simmering broth is what makes Phở so unique and exquisite. However, I have only been eating chicken broth Phở for the past two years. It certainly does not compare to it's beef counterpart but is equally as unique.

On the right is my mother's great big pot of beef stock that has been cooking for hours, to the left is my petite pot of chicken broth with the same spices.

Ingredients:

Star anise

Cinnamon bark

Daikon radish

Ginger root

Onion

Chicken meat

Rice Noodle

Green Onion

Parsley

In boiling water, cook rice noodles until soft.

Add chicken meat, a mixture of brown and white is tasty.

Ladle broth over noodles.

My sister eats beef pho plain like this.

Chop your scallions and parsley.

Sprinkle desired amount over top, usually it's 1tbsp for garnish, I love onions and parsley though.

yum!

Yes something is still missing..

A side dish of basil, bean sprouts, chili, hoisin sauce and hot sauce. A lime wedge would be nice too.

That's more like it!

See? Chicken pho can be amazing!