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NUTRITION: IT’S ALL GOOD
Tasty tips for
keeping kids
well-fed at
school, home
A
ugust is National Back to School
Month, which seems appropriate
since school children across the
nation are heading back to in-person
learning. That noise you heard was the
collective sigh of relief from those chil-
dren, their parents and teachers. It has
been a long time in coming.
With back to school comes the question
of what to do about breakfast, lunch and
afterschool snacks for all those children.
After approximately 17 months since some
children have been in the classroom, it is
hard to remember what a school break-
fast, lunch or snack might look like. Many
children participate in the federal Free and
Reduced Meal Program which provides a
free, or reduced cost lunch and breakfast to
students in Oregon schools.
Mornings can be hectic and the last
thing children and their parents need or
want to think about is what to make for
breakfast or lunch (if children pack a lunch
to school). Everyone needs something
easy, fast and yet nutritious.
Here are some ideas:
• A toasted, whole wheat English muffin
with peanut butter or hummus (a spread
made with garbanzo beans), plus a piece of
fresh fruit (a banana or some grapes) or a
glass of 100% fruit juice, is one idea. The
English muffin can be substituted with a
piece of whole wheat toast.
• Another quick breakfast is a bowl of
cold cereal (100% whole grain is best),
with fruit or juice. Low-fat or fat-free
yogurt, coupled with a piece of fruit and
toast is also quick and easy.
• A whole wheat bagel smeared with
peanut butter or hummus, is portable and
nutritious.
• Hard-boiled eggs, kept in a bowl in the
refrigerator, are a handy breakfast item.
Breakfast should include a protein
source and a source of complex carbo-
hydrates. The complex carbohydrates (as
opposed to the simple carbohydrates of
a doughnut, or sugar-added cereal) take
longer to break down in the body and
provide a longer and steadier source of
energy so a person does not get hungry so
soon after eating. This helps to avoid that
“crash” feeling at 10 a.m. and the need to
eat long before the noon meal is available.
Just about anything can be turned into
a breakfast including leftovers, such as
soups, stews, even leftover pizza warmed
in the microwave. A tortilla, either whole
wheat or corn, can be spread with refried
beans and cheese, topped with a little
salsa and warmed in the microwave, and
wrapped in aluminum foil it becomes a
quick, portable breakfast. The point is
something for breakfast is better than
See, Nutrition/Page B2
Living
B
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Seeking the top tuna sandwich
A selection of
recipes from chefs
role. It’s one of those comfort
foods for me. Quick and easy,
an extra dose of mercury, and I
am happy.
By BETHANY JEAN CLEMENT
MELISSA MIRANDA of
Musang
The Seattle Times
SEATTLE — The tuna
salad sandwich inspires such
strong feelings that two fans
recently filed a class-action
lawsuit against Subway for
how bad its version is, specif-
ically alleging that said sand-
wich actually contains zero
tuna. Some independent labo-
ratory tests seem to show tuna
is, in fact, present in Subway’s
tuna salad sandwich. But other
results have been inconclusive,
perhaps due to the processing
of the fish combined with the
ensalading [technical term] of
it diluting the tuna DNA. The
fact that this is wending its way
through our legal system feels
like some end-times stuff.
We certainly all can agree a
tuna salad sandwich starts with
tuna. And while restaurants
might dabble in fancier ver-
sions — at Seattle’s Old Salt,
chef Liz Kenyon uses local
albacore loins confited in olive
oil from (the great) Villa Jerada
— here we’re talking about
canned tuna, in its familiar
puck-shaped tin. Mayonnaise is
— it must be — another nonne-
gotiable, with the abomination
that is Miracle Whip beneath
consideration. From this point,
however, we descend quickly
into a morass, made more
morassy by the feelings deeply
rooted in childhood sense-
memory that many people
bring to the matter.
Shall pickles or a cousin
thereof be incorporated for
complementary flavor and tex-
tural contrast? What about,
contrariwise, sweet relish,
because somehow a cloying
element is desirable with fish?
(Sorry, but see Miracle Whip
above, and also: SHUDDER.)
Then there’s the matter of
onion: essential or really alto-
gether overpowering? Maybe
celery, just to do some extra
chopping for some reason?
Extra herb(s), just to compli-
cate matters? On the sandwich
as a whole, should lettuce and/
or tomato be added as if tuna
salad, correctly made, does
not stand humbly yet mag-
nificently on its own? What
kind of bread, and to toast or
not to toast (how is this even a
question)?
But of course — of course
— the way you like it is the
only correct way, and also the
reason the tuna salad sandwich
I love, love tuna sandwiches.
My love for them definitely
came later in life — growing
up Filipina, I didn’t really get
the opportunity to eat it until
I was older. But I love that it’s
something so quick, simple
and healthy to make. Skipping
the bread altogether and eating
it with tomatoes, lettuce and
cucumbers is also a delight!
1 can tuna, packed in water
Kewpie mayo
Celery
Red onions
Capers
Dill/parsley
Salt and pepper
Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times-TNS
Chef Liz Kenyon from Manolin in Fremont prepares her version of their ulti-
mate tuna salad sandwich, adding salt before stirring everything together
on Wednesday, July 7, 2021.
made at home is the very best
one. Have your sweet relish,
you pervert! I make mine with
olive-oil-packed tuna (extra
richness), organic or Kewpie
mayo (the latter even better
because MSG), Dijon mustard
(Amora is the world’s best),
capers (Julia Child agrees!),
grated Parmesan (for secret
extra umami), a little salt, and
a little pepper, with snipped-up
chives a pleasing optional
touch. Not-too-nice white bread
like Franz buttermilk or nicer
brioche both perform excel-
lently (not toasted, need it be
said). But — heretical though it
may be — I like my tuna salad
maybe very best on Saltines
(assembled salty side facing
down so it hits your tongue).
Following, please find The
Very Best Way to Make a Tuna
Salad Sandwich from five
Seattle-area chefs. Turns out
Kenyon likes her homemade
stuff on crackers, too, and I
might contemplate her idea of
a squeeze of lemon. But, sweet
pickles: agree to violently dis-
agree. Holly Smith’s dash of
hot sauce and Wayne John-
son’s celery salt are also under
consideration. (Note that chef
Johnson has here eschewed
canned tuna — fair enough.)
Out of curiosity, I also asked
everybody whether they call it
a “tuna salad sandwich,” “tuna
fish sandwich” or just “tuna
sandwich,” and a half-dozen
people can’t even agree on the
name. (From my small sample
size, this does not appear to
be a regional thing; I have yet
to harass a linguist about it.
I’m on Team Tuna Fish Sand-
wich.) One actual fact, if the
National Fisheries Institute’s
Tuna Council is to be believed:
52% of all canned tuna is used
in sandwiches. That seems low,
though, doesn’t it?
LIZ KENYON of Manolin,
Rupee Bar and Old Salt
I love tuna salad. When
we go down to Oregon to my
in-laws, we stock up on their
house-canned tuna they make.
It is the best. If you can it your-
self, there is something that
makes it just [expletive] per-
fect — excuse my language,
but I am passionate about this.
The juices and fat from the fish
confit in the jar with a pinch of
salt ... nothing added but good,
local fish and salt. Perfection.
At home, I mix the tuna
with salt, mayo, extra sweet
pickles (cucumber and, if
they are in my fridge, pickled
onions) and a squeeze of lemon.
I like my tuna salad on nice
sliced white bread — nothing
fancy. But what really tickles
me? Crackers! Anything from
those tasty little rice crackers to
Ritz crackers. Or lettuce cups
or celery. Any type of small
vessel.
Growing up my parents
worked a lot ... Tuna salad was
a staple. If there were leftovers,
it was turned into tuna casse-
Sometimes I like to add the
Everything Bagel Seasoning
from Trader Joe’s. I love it
on brioche bread and also am
down with Dave’s Killer Bread
— any type.
HOLLY SMITH of Cafe
Juanita
My mom’s tuna snack
growing up was pretty great
— she would open the can and
then coat the top generously
with Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up
Salt. Ate it straight from the tin.
No idea if that seasoning mix
still exists [Ed. note: It does!]
or what exactly was in it [“Salt,
Herbs and Spices, Dehydrated
Onion, Dehydrated Garlic,” so
who knows?], but it had crunch
and flavor and was pretty deli-
cious, as far as I recall.
Key is to get the best fish
you can — find one you love
— oil-packed for sure. I enjoy
different jars/tins, ranging from
wild yellowtail to Bonito del
Norte (skipjack, albacore, belly,
loin ...). If I have the really
expensive stuff, then I simply
flake onto a salad or veggies
with great extra-virgin olive
oil, smoked Maldon salt and
maybe some olives.
Now for a sandwich, it’s
Kewpie mayo, capers in large
quantities, Dijon mustard, a
bit of extra-virgin olive oil
such as Laudemio, and some-
times celery. A dash or two of
hot sauce, such as Tapatio, is
always good. I tend to eat my
tuna on salad greens more than
not. I love it on a homemade
or fabulous bakery-bought
See, Tuna/Page B6
Must-have skills for cooking mussels
By JAMES P. DeWAN
The Daily Meal
Most people haven’t cooked many — if
any — mussels in their lifetimes. Just the
sight of that little cluster of blue-black shells
is sometimes enough to send one scurrying
back toward more familiar sea creatures
like salmon and shrimp.
Today, though, we’ll embrace the unfa-
miliar and discuss what to do with mussels,
starting when you first lay eyes upon them
in the market.
How many mussels to buy
per person
Buy enough mussels for the whole gang.
Remember to take into account what we in
the biz call “yield percentage,” which, with
mussels, is roughly 25%. This means that
a pound of mussels will yield about four
ounces of meat, a typical serving for one
person. So if mussels are your main course,
purchase at least one pound per person. If
they are an appetizer, a quarter- to a half-
pound per person will be just fine.
How to store mussels
Once you get your mussels home, keep
them in the fridge. Remove them from their
netted bag and keep them in a bowl that’s
loosely covered by a damp cloth or paper
towel. They’ll keep like this for a couple
of days.
How to tell if your mussels are
fresh
Mussels need to be alive when you cook
them because their meat begins to deteri-
orate very quickly. Thus, before cooking,
you need to examine your mussels.
First, they should smell fresh, like the
ocean. They should certainly not smell
fishy. Also, mussels with cracked or broken
shells should be tossed, as they’re probably
dead.
Another telltale sign that your mussel
has died is that its shell is open. Now, It’s
fairly common for mussel shells to be open
a little, like they were about to say some-
thing but then thought better of it. Here’s
what you do: Take that mussel and tap it
lightly on the counter. If the mussel’s still
alive, it will close its shell. If it doesn’t
close, toss it.
How to clean mussels
Before cooking, dump your mussels into
a colander in the sink and run cold water
over them. Today, most mussels are farm-
raised, which means they’ll have less mud
or seaweed than if they were plucked from
their natural habitats. If there is any dirt or
mud stuck to the shell, clean it off with a
clean sponge or brush.
Next, you need to engage in the process
called “debearding.” The beard or byssus
(rhymes with “missus”) is the little stringy
bundle emanating from the shell. It’s
made up of protein strands and is what the
mussel uses to stay anchored and prevents
it from being washed away with the tide.
To remove the beard, grasp it with a clean,
dry towel and yank it out.
How to cook mussels
You can use dry heat with mussels.
Layer them in a dry cast-iron skillet and
cook them on the stovetop. You can also
balance them individually, if precipitously,
on a grill rack over hot coals. You can also
roast them in a shallow pan in a hot oven.
The most common way of preparing
mussels is steaming. For this, you need a
covered pot, a little bit of liquid and a little
bit of time — usually five to 10 minutes.
One of the things that makes mus-
sels such a treat is that they hold saltwater
in their shells. When steamed, that salt-
water turns into a kind of natural mussel
broth and mixes with the cooking liquid,
delicious and perfect for sopping up with
fresh, crunchy bread. You can steam mus-
sels with plain water but you’re going to
get a more robust tasting final product if
you use wine, beer, cider or stock.
Herbs and aromatic vegetables like shal-
lots, garlic, leeks, celery and carrots are
often simmered with the liquid for extra
flavor. You can also add a little heat with
crushed red pepper flakes or fresh chiles
like jalapenos or serranos. After the mus-
sels are cooked, the liquid can be enriched
with cream or butter.
Kristen Mendiola for The Daily Meal
Mussels steamed in white wine.
Here’s what you do for a couple of
pounds of mussels:
1. If you’re using aromatic vegetables,
sweat them in a little butter or oil over
medium heat in a large, covered pan.
2. When they’re limp and translucent,
add a cup of liquid and any herbs or spices,
increase the heat to very high, and bring it
all to a boil.
3. Add the mussels all at once and cover
the pan. When the liquid returns to the boil
(another minute or so), reduce the heat to
medium-low and let the mussels steam until
they’re nearly all opened.
4. Discard any unopened shells. For
family style, simply serve the mussels as-is
from the pan or dump the entire contents
See, Mussels/Page B2