Oh For the Love of Cod

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!