One of my dear friends, Lindsey, is a farmer and a sustainability director for a large dining company. The energy and love she infuses with cooking is remarkable, and it’s in her name that I talk about this project tonight.
Historically, I’ve had a pretty casual relationship with food. I liked it, it liked me. When I got in my 30s, my thyroid started processing food differently, and though I still like it, I needed to like it in a way that was still good for me. Now my metabolism is jacked and I don’t want to make it harder. The thing is, it’s hard as hell to find a good “diet” for hypothyroidism – has anybody found anything?
To try something different, I made sardines tonight. Now, I have always associated sardines with Garfield, the cartoon cat. I hate Garfield and I hate cats, so I was leery of trying sardines. But I am nothing if not adventurous, and with a faithful step I bought a little tin. I had found this recipe, and was fairly certain it wouldn’t kill me or make me pee all over the house, like cats do.
- Sardines,
- Lemon juice,
- A titch of extra virgin olive oil and salt and mint (mint!), all mixed up
- Then stacked on toast with tomatoes and onions.
Wow.
I couldn’t decide what was the best part of it – the tomatoes, the onion, or the mint. I grew up with a mother who grew mint and put it in her tea in the summer, so I’m well associated with the beautiful smell. Yet I haven’t cooked with it, ever; I don’t even know that I’ve eaten too many recipes with it at all. (I think this will be my new food for my 36/36 challenge, actually!) Have you cooked with it? How do you like it best?
Like Lindsey, though not nearly as much, I like creating with food. I like successful food experiments that are good and make me feel good. But if they remind me of cats, those experiments will be a little harder to try.
I Didn't Just Wake Up This Morning With A Craving 