Late Night Sardine Supper

Sardines in tomato sauce, hot with chilli peppers or plain, are a staple of a lazy-Filipino snack. When we were children, sardines, corned beef, and Spam were our favorite fare when a typhoon raged outside and the cook could not go to market for fresh produce. Corned beef like Hormel and Spam were obviously American, from my mother's childhood days, I assume, when the country was introduced to American convenience foods i.e. canned foods and we inherited the love for "americano" style foods, including "pan americano," great to sop up the sardine sauce! The most famous brand of sardine was Ligo, introduced in 1945 in collaboration with the Chinese-Filipino businessman, Gregory Tung, and Liberty Gold Fruit Co. of California.

The original impetus for the Filipinos' love for "sardinas" must have originated from the Spanish. Iberians have been fishing for sardines for centuries. Even today some of the best canned fish come from Portugal, Spain or, across the Gibraltar Strait, Morocco. Spanish anchovies are a special treat when one could get them. They are still harvested and prepared the centuries-old way. While Americans think of anchovies on pizzas and Caesar salad, they have a more profound role to play in Spanish cuisine, similar to the role played by "guinamos" in the Philippines and fish sauce in Vietnam and Thailand.

As children, my sister and I harbored a special fondness for sardines, especially the Tomé brand in a hot, oil sauce with thin slices of carrots. Food was not always enough. Merma had a secret source of pin money. She would send the girl helper to the sari-sari store in front of our uncle's house on Burgos Street for Tome that we would consume in the bedroom after an insufficient supper. Thus was born for me the status of sardines as comfort food.

They are excellent with pan de sal, native Spanish-style rolls with a thick floury crust, or with white rice. They are, of course, wonderful as hors d'ouvres, served on salt-free crackers with sliced manzanilla olives stuffed with pimento and/or whole garlic cloves. Here I've paired them with rice, caponata and ripe strawberries. I would have wanted to crown the plate with a long, arching stalk of chive, another produce in season in early spring, or braised asparagus but late at night I get lazy: I want my comfort sardines!

Tilapia with Caper Cheese Sauce

Asians scoff at the lowly tilapia, fish imported to countries like the Philippines where indigenous inland fish has been wiped out by widespread use of fertilizer. In the U.S., Wal Mart, among others, has been marketing frozen tilapia fillets that health nuts and body builders are scarfing down. Stripped of their skin, the fillets tend to be bland which suits Midwest American palates just fine but for those of us who want more flavor there are many ways of enhancing the flavor without drowning it in macabre sauces.

This recipe is simple. Crush a couple of peeled garlic and throw on a hot non-stick pan with a cover. When slightly golden, add the fish and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle scant olive oil along the edges of the fish, tilt the pan to let the oil run around the fillet and cook another minute or

two before gently turning the fish. Top each with a teaspoonful of salsa picante or just capers with fresh salsa, top with strips of a slice of American cheese, cover over moderate heat for two minutes and voila! An impeccably cooked tilapia. Here I paired it with Romaine lettuce with a plain Balsamic vinegar dressing and sliced Roma tomatoes quickly seared in the same pan as the fish, and Japanese sushi rice.

Mozarella Egg, Seared Vegetables with Soy Bean Paste

Spring brings out adventurousness. My friend, Kevin Logan, has suggested I avoid salads and cold food to give my pancreas a break. So I cooked my salad. In a nonstick pan that I spray with extra virgin olive oil, I quickly seared garlic, yellow onion slices, cucumber, celery, tomatoes and Romain lettuce. I add a fourth of a teaspoon of Chinese soy bean paste and a tablespoon of hot, filtered water, shake and plate.

On the same pan I break an egg, top it with low-fat mozarella and grated Parmesan and cook for a couple of minutes until the white has set.

Toast is my own sourdough topped with chilled eggplant caponata (sorry, unlike St. Anthony, I resist temptation poorly). Finally a small bowl of vegetarian minestrone, hot, of course, to complete a late-lunch feast!