By DAVE KESSLER
Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted 

I had a tin of sardines and a couple of slices of ciabatta bread for lunch today, and I recalled when I learned about eating sardines. I was a kid around 12 years old and had taken the bus to Richmond, Ind., to go to a movie.

While enjoying the movie, a Hopalong Cassidy thriller in the darkened theater, I heard a 50-cent piece fall and hit the cement floor several rows behind me.

Then I felt something hit the heal of my shoe. Lo and behold, it was that 50-cent piece.

Riding the bus home I thought I should do something special with that 50-cent piece. Remembering that Dagwood (a newspaper cartoon character) always put sardines on his sandwiches, I decided to buy a can of sardines.

Note: My family never had sardines in the house and could offer no advice on how to eat them.

I just put the sardines between a couple of slices of white bread and have been a fan of them ever since … even though it was a long time before I found another 50 cents.

Since omega 3 is big in the healthy-eating category I have sardines every now and then.

Today I drained them and ate them off a plate.

Sometimes I still make a sardine sandwich, and sometimes I have enjoyed them as the meat on a chef salad.

This week’s column is a recipe for making a sandwich spread like you do when making ham or tuna salad. This is extremely good when spread on dark rye bread for a special treat.

2 cans of sardines in oil, drained

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated onion

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (this is for looks only, as it doesn’t taste like anything)

Drain the oil off the sardines and place them in a small bowl. Mash them with a fork and stir in the mayonnaise and mustard.

Next, stir in the lemon juice, grated onions and pepper. Put this on a serving plate and spread some of the parsley over the salad.

Spread on some nice dark rye bread or even on crackers for a tasty treat you likely haven’t ever tried before.

Readers with questions or comments for Dave Kessler may write to him in care of this publication.