Cooking Canned Sardines With Chicharo Or Snow Peas

As we are enjoying the last month of the Dutch summer, I have a great time at home with my son. I washed our laundry and hang them in the garden. The day is warm and beautiful, a good day to cook something for my lunch. Do you eat canned food? Do you eat sardines? Back home in the Philippines, sardines is our family's all time favorite, also a comfort food. We cook it, sometimes as omelette, sometimes sauteed with a green leafy vegetable like "talbos ng kamote." Sometimes, my father just squeezes a lemon on it and sprinkled salt, and it is already a delicious match to steamed rice.

I am glad there is a Filipino store located at the city next to us, where I can buy some Filipino groceries. When me and my husband bought our new coffee maker in Rotterdam, we also went in Schiedam to buy some Pinoy groceries, especially sardines. I bought sardines, fish sauce, vinegar, bagoong, Mama Sita's cooking mix, Maggie Magic Sarap, and my husband have Nagaraya. Today, I cooked sardines. A really simple cooking. After I hang our laundry on the clothesline, I pick up some tomatoes in the garden. I have a left over chicharo when I cooked pancit last Sunday, and tried if chicharo is a good combination with sardines. Well, yes it is. Chicharo is snow peas in English.

Heat frying pan with a little oil or butter. Fry the garlic, then the onion, and the tomatoes. Add the sardines, mix, then cover, turn the stove in a medium heat. After five minutes, add the winter chicharo, I add Maggie Magic Sarap to add taste, just sprinkle it like when you sprinkle salt in your cooking. Mix and cover again. Cook until the chicaro is cooked but not overcooked. Since we don't have talbos ng kamote here in The Netherlands, I combine sardines with other vegetables. Sometimes with spinach, other times, with eggplant, today, I tried chicharo. And it is also good.

Chicharo or snow peas are extremely healthy to munch on due to the potent healthy nutrients in them that are nourishing to our bodies and protective of our health. The nutrients in snow peas are fiber, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, healthy fats, iron, potassium, magnesium, folic acid and antioxidants. These nutrients have the ability to relieve and prevent inflammation, cancers, eye diseases, scurvies and digestive issues naturally. Yes, I love sardines but I see to it that it is also a healthy diet. And good food always comes from home. Happy eating!