Good afternoon, Everyone.
It’s a gloomy and wet Thursday. These are the kind of days when I’m lost in nostalgia. I fixed myself a sardines + egg baguetti for a much-needed dose of childhood sentimental affair.
Iberia or Marock’s canned sardines is an unforgettable food that I associate significantly with my childhood, notably when I grew up in Vietnam.
My mom put canned sardines and baguettes on the dining table once a week, preferably on a weekend as breakfast or lunch and sometimes as dinner. (I actually looked forward to it because my mom wasn’t a very great cook. Hope she doesn’t read this). On good days, my mom fried some sunny side-up eggs to jazz up the meal. I laid out sheets of newspapers on the floor (we didn’t have a dining table in our small one bedroom) for ease of cleaning. On top of the newspaper would be two cans of sardines (which cost us less than ten cents, fed our family of 4), a few eggs and some baguettes.
It wasn’t a fancy expensive meal, but it was surely a palatable and memorable meal.
Oh, one addition ingredient that we would never leave out was the Maggi, the best seasoning soy sauce one could ever taste.
On one side of the baguette was the runny yolk of the egg, where it met with a few drops of Maggi atop a sprinkle of freshly grounded pepper. On the other, a piece or two sardines soaked in tomato sauce. When folded together, the taste and flavor were unbelievably sensational.
This is not the only way to eat Marock’s canned sardines, but it’s still my favorite way.
What’s your nostalgic food affair?
Have a beautiful day!
a beautiful day 
A slice of devon ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon_(sausage) ) wrapped around mashed potato so that it looks like a cannoli. A bit of tomato sauce. Yum.
That looks fabulous! I have never had a sardine sandwich but I love fried sunny side up eggs with soy sauce! This must be delicious. I have never seen sardines with tomato sauce before, where can I find those?
Sardines sandwiches! I completely forgotten about them!!! it has been ages since I last had one. Yours look really good. Thanks for the post. 🙂
Your food photography is superlicious!!!! You make everything look incredible.
That looks so good, it’s stupid.
Beautiful pics! On rainy days we eat biscuits and sardines. The sardines are crushed and we add hot pepper and onions. Sounds awful? 🙂
If you can taste childhood, it must be fantastic!
OH MY GOD! I haven’t had this in years! You’ve inspired me to go make me a sardine and egg baguette! Thank you so much for sharing Irene – absolutely wonderful! 🙂
This looks delicious and what wonderful memories you’ve shared! It will always amaze me how a taste, a scent, a song can transport us back to our youth. A nostalgic food affair for me is a beef, macaroni and tomato dish that my mom simply called goulash. It always takes me back to simpler times.
I remember eating this too! Nostalgic, indeed. I also love Maggi soysauce.
beautiful photography, as always!
I feel like we just ‘get’ each other. First, Dumpling Post twinsies, Second, posting about dining rooms when I’ve been obsessing about them all week, and now Sardines (Yes, as weird and random as it sounds) – because JUST bought 8 pack of Sardines from Costco! I have never tried them with Maggi sauce, but i LOVE maggi sauce. How come I’ve never thought of this before. I cannot wait to try it (though this isn’t Nostalic for me as it is convenience since i have an unopened pack of sardines waiting to be eaten!).
Ps. the sardines I got are not in tomato sauce but in olive oil. I’ll still try it with maggi and egg though!
Great pictures as usual.
Alice
http://borderlinefab.wordpress.com
The food pics are great. I also like sardine. Check out this sardine recipe from the Caribbean. Let me know what you think about it 🙂 http://www.simplytrinicooking.com/2009/06/bake-and-sardine-choka.html
Yum! That looks delicious!! My nostalgia food of choice is canned dace fish with salted black beans. I could eat an entire can with rice. Your post has given me a serious craving. 😀
Irene, that baguetti looks incredible. I’m not a huge fan of sardines but… well, your gorgeous photography tempts me to change my mind! Thanks as always for being inspiring, sweet and real. I love a bit of sentimentality!!! xx
I love your photos. Tried your Shepherd’s Pie yesterday with a few leftovers thrown in and it was fantastic!
I love every single thing you post Irene. You can even make foods that I dislike (sardines, ick) look divine. That fried egg looks perfect. Perhaps the gorgeously creamy yolk would disguise the sardine enough for me to like it. Either way… gorgeous post! Yay for nostalgia. I have a special place in my heart for foods that my mum used to simply prepare also (like Marmite and cheese sandwiches in my lunch box. I still love them now!). Thanks for sharing these memories with us xx
I am so ashamed! I had not visited your blog in a while… It is better than ever! Your photography is amazing and inspires me so much! Great job. I promise to come back often as I used to 🙂 LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your blog 🙂
My family makes sardines in tomato sauce for breakfast too but sans egg. My dad fries sliced onion and garlic then add the sardines into the pan. He drizzles lime, salt and pepper onto the sandwich. And we’d have a fried egg with rice, tomato, and soy sauce for breakfast another day.