Exploring new tastes

White anchovies on Finn Crisp

One of my mother's favorite snack foods has long been a product called Finn Crisp. When I was a kid, I was not keen on the flavor; but like many things, as an adult, I have come to find I really like their crisp breads.

I didn't like sardines or anchovies while I was growing up, either. But two or three years ago, Sam's Wines in Chicago had a rather large wine tasting right before the holidays, and among the many items to taste was a selection of food items from their upscale deli. One of the choices was boquerones - white sardines. And let me tell you, these petite fish were delicious.

Anchovies and sardines are actually quite healthy to eat, provided you fully drain them from the olive oil they are generally packed with. I buy a 200 g/7 oz. sleeve of Dinon white sardines from Whole Food; the package says one serving is the whole package (drained) is 190 calories - but I usually only eat about 1/4 of the package at a time.

I get produce weekly from Fresh Picks, a local organic food delivery service. Thanks to Fresh Picks, I have introduced a wide variety of items to my diet that I would previously, at best, have glanced over in confusion at my local grocery, such as celery root, ramps, and collard greens. They give lots of "normal" vegetables, also, but the point is that I have a weekly box of fresh organic food, and I have been experimenting and delving into my forty (yes, forty) cookbooks in order to come up with new and interesting ways to cook food.

Four years ago, I hit my highest weight, and literally cried when I stepped off the scale. I have lost and kept off 85 pounds, and I still have more to go, but one of the most important things I did for myself was to take a long, cold look at my diet, and ruthlessly refine it. Out went the pastas and cereals and breads that seemed to make up the bulk of it. Goodbye, excess sugary snacks. Hello, healthy, organic eating. It took a lot of little steps that turned into bigger steps, but I vastly changed my diet, and my health, along the way.

So now I try to eat a lot more vegetables, although I would not consider myself vegetarian. I can go long stretches without meat, but personally, I believe that humans are omnivores for a reason. And despite my love of a meat-heavy diet, I've even changed that. But I still need to get protein, and when I limit my protein intake to just vegetables, I don't feel right. (I have plenty of vegetarian friends who are strictly vegetarian and have no problems; but I believe in listening to my body, and sometimes, my body wants/needs a little meat/fish/fowl.)

This brings me to anchovies, which are reportedly some of the most nutrient-rich fish you can consume. Being low on the food chain, they are also far less likely to contain concentrations of things like mercury or other toxins found in large fish such as swordfish and tuna. And you know what? Turns out, they're really tasty.

Now, I haven't tried "common" brown anchovies/sardines, because I've been so pleased with the boquerones/white anchovies. I'm not much of a fan of herring, either, but it turns out that herring is directly related to anchovies and sardines. (So it amuses me to know some people who love herring but who adamantly refuse to touch anchovies/sardines.) Herring is very popular in Scandinavian cuisine.

So, in my effort to come up with some new ways to enjoy various foods, I thought about the Finn Crisp, and the white anchovies, and that's when I came up with the snack that you see in the picture at the top of this entry. Two boquerone fillets (drained, of course) per cracker; topped with a spoonful of pico de gallo, and some chopped raw spinach. Total calories - around 40-50 per cracker. Time to prepare - 3-5 minutes. Lots of protein, omega-3's, and mm-mmm flavor goodness! The crisp crunchiness of the Finn Crisp is a great balance to the rich, oil-tender anchovy.