From prior posts you know that I only buy wild fish, no farm raised fish for me. 'Color added' freaks me out. I'm not a fan of red velvet cake either for the same reason. My husbands' cousins are shrimp farmers in Mexico (this is a great story for another day) and we've had conversations on why fish and shrimp farming are good. I get it, I understand sustainability. I understand that fish farming is good business, it just isn't for me.
A friend recently questioned my stance on farm raised fish and brought up tilapia. Blah! She said tilapia is like chicken. Blah! I'm a fish-loving girl. I grew up eating pike, perch and bass from Lake Erie and Lake Michigan and little lakes inbetween. I eat trout, smelt, sardines, sole and squid. But tilapia. No thanks. Tilapia is claimed to be the fish Jesus of Nazareth multiplied a thousandfold to feed the masses. Maybe when I'm starving I'll eat it. Until then, I'm excercising my options.
I buy my fish at Santa Monica Seafood, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Henry's. A great resource in knowing what to buy is Santa Monica Seafood's Awareness Guide: ,http://www.santamonicaseafood.com/downloads/Seafood-Product-Awareness-Aug2010.pdf This is a 150 page download that I refer to often.
The most versatile fish that often frequents our table is the namesake of this post, Cod. White, meaty and delicious, I use cod in everything from tacos, skewers, stew or a good fish fry. Delicious. Because it is a fatty fish, it is a forgiving fish. It is difficult to overcook cod. Though I cook it many ways, my family loves (LOVES) Ina Garten's recipe in the Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook for Parker's Fish & Chips. With some homemade tartar sauce and coleslaw, this is Oh For the Love of Cod Delicious!
I got to thinking about cod from the Grilled Garlic Lime Fish Tacos recipe in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine. This is the little 5 x7 magazine found at checkstands or my mailbox. Great easy recipes that my family loves (as opposed to Rachel Ray recipes that they consistently dislike - interesting, I know). I'm going to get some cod and grill up some tacos this weekend!
Yum!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Confessions from my Pantry
We all have our issues. Some are secret, not visible on the surface. Others, like mine, are obvious. (I love lines that make me laugh from the inside out.) My issue is collecting food. I don't save every last morsel of leftovers wrapped in tin foil like I was raised in the depression...then I would truly be my beloved Mother In Law (aka MIL). My issue results from the love of grocery shopping. I can barely tolerate clothes shopping. Shoe shopping isn't fun because I have an old lady bunion/foot problem that needs to be corrected. As a result, I collect food. I guess this is the byproduct of my affection for recipes, cookbooks and other cookery.
I cleaned out my pantry and freezer this weekend. I saw a moth and freaked. I think it was the oat bran improperly resealed, but not for certain. My pantry is 47" wide, 6' high and 23" deep. Plenty big enough for my collection!
I love my pantry. Now that it's cleaned and straightened, it looks good, it smells good, and it inspires me with its crazy variety of contents. I have 37 spices, not including salt and pepper. I counted them as I restocked the pantry and thought of my friend in Arizona who once told me whenever she made a recipe that called for a spice she didn't have, she skipped it. Yikes! Would you (could you?) make chili without chili powder? I made a list of the ones I know I'm missing and plan to get them soon. I have an herb garden, but I can't grow everything - tumeric, curry, nutmeg...or can I?
Now that I've organzied/reorganzied my collection, I realize that I need to focus my menu this week on what I have stocked up. Take a look at your pantry and freezer and use what you have before adding more on top!
Monday - Meatloaf and baked potatoes and green beans- this is carried over from last week - I never made it and it still sounds good!
Tuesday - Lentil Soup and cornbread - a classic - and a complete protein.
Wednesday - Pasta with tuna, capers and white wine sauce
Thursday - Grilled chicken breast with quinoa, olives & herbs
Friday - In & Out - Flag Football Game and School Carnival
Saturday - Killer Shrimp - this is an awesome combination of flavors, serve in bowls, dip bread in broth
(Killer Shrimp was a fav restaurant in Marina del Rey in the 90's)
2 tbl rosemary
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp fennel seed
2 quarts chicken broth
8 oz clam juice
3 oz tomato paste
1/2 lb butter
2 lbs shrimp or prawns, tails on
French Bread
Sunday - Roast Chicken, potatoes and carrots and most likely, artichokes!
Be inspired.
I cleaned out my pantry and freezer this weekend. I saw a moth and freaked. I think it was the oat bran improperly resealed, but not for certain. My pantry is 47" wide, 6' high and 23" deep. Plenty big enough for my collection!
I love my pantry. Now that it's cleaned and straightened, it looks good, it smells good, and it inspires me with its crazy variety of contents. I have 37 spices, not including salt and pepper. I counted them as I restocked the pantry and thought of my friend in Arizona who once told me whenever she made a recipe that called for a spice she didn't have, she skipped it. Yikes! Would you (could you?) make chili without chili powder? I made a list of the ones I know I'm missing and plan to get them soon. I have an herb garden, but I can't grow everything - tumeric, curry, nutmeg...or can I?
Now that I've organzied/reorganzied my collection, I realize that I need to focus my menu this week on what I have stocked up. Take a look at your pantry and freezer and use what you have before adding more on top!
Monday - Meatloaf and baked potatoes and green beans- this is carried over from last week - I never made it and it still sounds good!
Tuesday - Lentil Soup and cornbread - a classic - and a complete protein.
Wednesday - Pasta with tuna, capers and white wine sauce
Thursday - Grilled chicken breast with quinoa, olives & herbs
Friday - In & Out - Flag Football Game and School Carnival
Saturday - Killer Shrimp - this is an awesome combination of flavors, serve in bowls, dip bread in broth
(Killer Shrimp was a fav restaurant in Marina del Rey in the 90's)
2 tbl rosemary
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp fennel seed
2 quarts chicken broth
8 oz clam juice
3 oz tomato paste
1/2 lb butter
2 lbs shrimp or prawns, tails on
French Bread
Sunday - Roast Chicken, potatoes and carrots and most likely, artichokes!
Be inspired.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Glass Half Full
I'm a Glass Half Full kind of person. Life gives me lemons, I make lemonade. I have always looked at life's lessons as good character building material. I take life head on, with a plan in place, ready to scrap the plan and punt when necessary.
My menu didn't go according to plan last week. I started good then I had to shuffle - my track star daughter wanted pasta on Thursday to be fueled for Saturday's meet (of course, how did I miss this?). Friday came and my husband was at a 12 hour planning meeting, 6 AM - 6 PM. When he called to say he was on his way home, the kids wanted him to pick up In-N-Out so we had burgers...uh oh...that was Saturdays plan. Saturdays menu was going to pick up where Friday left off but after sitting in the sun all day at the track meet I didn't feel like cooking, let alone eating (you know the feeling - give me a glass of wine and let me go to bed). I picked up Papa Murphy pizza, which is pretty good for $6 2-topping pizza.
As I began the menu for this week, I had stuff left from last week so if you're following my menus, there are repeats....................................................................................................................
Sunday - Shrimp with pesto and fresh tomato (this was Friday nights' fish tacos)
Monday - Burgers and mac salad. My carnivores love burgers so much they would eat them every night.
Tuesday - Flame Broiler on the fly. I have had a rash since Friday...turns out to be shingles. My husband was out mountain biking, one kid had soccer practice and it was freaking hot. Take out was invented for days like these.
Wednesday - Barbecue Chicken and baked potatoes and artichokes (from the garden - I have 25 growing at the moment!)
Thursday - Teriyaki Salmon and rice
Friday - Football game and Track meet - again, food on the fly.
Saturday - Spot Burritos. The Spot is a vegetarian restaurant in Hermosa Beach. They serve a Garden Burrito (steamed veggies, brown rice, beans, cheese) wet with Mexican Sauce (chili powder, onions, water, garlic) topped with sour cream and avocado. We love The Spot and the kids love the burritos.
A note here...my menu planning is to be a guide but it is written in pencil, ready to be erased, shuffled, substituted or changed as necessary. I'm flexible. As much as I love cooking, no tears or broken hearts here if I don't have to prepare a meal.
My favorite recipe of this past week was a Strawberry Tiramisu that I made for dessert on Sunday. It is Bon Appetit's 2006 recipe. The recipe says to let it sit for a minimum of 8 hours so the lady fingers absorb all the fabulousness and get soft, but it really needs to be overnight. This recipe makes a 9 x 13 which is a LOT of tiramisu. It was my food therapy while I coped with the misery of shingles.
Have a good week!
My menu didn't go according to plan last week. I started good then I had to shuffle - my track star daughter wanted pasta on Thursday to be fueled for Saturday's meet (of course, how did I miss this?). Friday came and my husband was at a 12 hour planning meeting, 6 AM - 6 PM. When he called to say he was on his way home, the kids wanted him to pick up In-N-Out so we had burgers...uh oh...that was Saturdays plan. Saturdays menu was going to pick up where Friday left off but after sitting in the sun all day at the track meet I didn't feel like cooking, let alone eating (you know the feeling - give me a glass of wine and let me go to bed). I picked up Papa Murphy pizza, which is pretty good for $6 2-topping pizza.
As I began the menu for this week, I had stuff left from last week so if you're following my menus, there are repeats....................................................................................................................
Sunday - Shrimp with pesto and fresh tomato (this was Friday nights' fish tacos)
Monday - Burgers and mac salad. My carnivores love burgers so much they would eat them every night.
Tuesday - Flame Broiler on the fly. I have had a rash since Friday...turns out to be shingles. My husband was out mountain biking, one kid had soccer practice and it was freaking hot. Take out was invented for days like these.
Wednesday - Barbecue Chicken and baked potatoes and artichokes (from the garden - I have 25 growing at the moment!)
Thursday - Teriyaki Salmon and rice
Friday - Football game and Track meet - again, food on the fly.
Saturday - Spot Burritos. The Spot is a vegetarian restaurant in Hermosa Beach. They serve a Garden Burrito (steamed veggies, brown rice, beans, cheese) wet with Mexican Sauce (chili powder, onions, water, garlic) topped with sour cream and avocado. We love The Spot and the kids love the burritos.
A note here...my menu planning is to be a guide but it is written in pencil, ready to be erased, shuffled, substituted or changed as necessary. I'm flexible. As much as I love cooking, no tears or broken hearts here if I don't have to prepare a meal.
My favorite recipe of this past week was a Strawberry Tiramisu that I made for dessert on Sunday. It is Bon Appetit's 2006 recipe. The recipe says to let it sit for a minimum of 8 hours so the lady fingers absorb all the fabulousness and get soft, but it really needs to be overnight. This recipe makes a 9 x 13 which is a LOT of tiramisu. It was my food therapy while I coped with the misery of shingles.
Have a good week!
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