It started with sardines

I was born in the early fifties. An adolescent in the sixties. Married and started our family in the seventies.

I was not brought up to be familiar with the kitchen and the secrets it held.

However, I do love food, I love eating. As an adolescent I remember filling a cake mixing bowl with a whole packet of cornflakes, sloshing in a pint of milk and a couple of tablespoons of sugar. That was just for starters. I was always hungry. Never put weight on. That certainly lead to a false sense of security in my later life.

In my mid twenties I joined the Territorial Army. All the exercise that that entailed just increased my appetite. I was nicknamed; 'The Gannet'.

My future mother in law had to 'have words' with my wife to be when I came ' a courting'. They had never met anyone with my ability to consume the volumes that I did.

My stomach was a money pit.

By now you may have a picture of a young man with little idea of how to satisfy his prodigious appetite.

My wife is a wonderful cook. She has always been happy to spend time creating meals to fill my seemingly endless appetite. A challenging job. She still remembers the marathon eating sessions where I just never seemed to stop eating. I have no particular foibles when it comes to food but I did like volume when I was younger.

There was one issue; fish. She has never been a lover of fish. Hates the smell of raw fish and will not eat the skin even when crispy.

I love fish...................oh dear.

I remember enjoying some grilled sardines in an Italian Restaurant some years ago. I didn't feel comfortable asking my wife to repeat the experience so..................I'll try it myself.

Simple dish. Fried sardines. Still remember it. Three of them.

It was heaven...............and a release. I enjoyed the process. The kitchen was now a place to explore.