WHAT’S COOKING?
Fish and house guests stink after three days. ~Author Unknown (1865 – 1966)
WHAT TO BUY . . .
I was ambling through the grocery store last night, endeavoring to think of something inspiring to cook for dinner. Thinking I’d know it when I saw it, I bought an odd assortment of things that I anticipated crafting into something new for the upcoming weekend.
Lingering at the fish counter, I had a yen for some plump, fleshy fish. Since I couldn’t decide whether to get catfish for breading or snapper for Snapper Negril, so I got both.
The leeks looked good, so I bought a bunch, knowing I could think of a light springtime soup. Red-skinned potatoes because I’m out of them, too. Murcotts for no reason other than I don’t want to run out. And bread. And oats, molasses, honey, coconut and raisins because I’m out of granola. And while I’m in the bulk department, lentils and brown basmati rice.
HOME AGAIN
First thing back in the kitchen while putting the groceries away I fire up the oven. Preheating is important. Baking is done at a certain temperature and best not to put in the food until it is reached. Butter in the baking dish, dish in the oven. Big enough so that the fillets fry in the oven and get a little crisp around the edges rather than steam from crowding in a pan too small.  Cornmeal in a pie pan, fish in the cornmeal, then in the melted butter and back in the oven it goes for twenty minutes.
Let’s see. Getting the Brussels sprouts from the crisper, I also grab the pecorino from the butter compartment. Ooooo. Don’t want to forget the gigantic green onions found at the green market yesterday. And a sweet red pepper. I coarsely chop the green onions and throw them in the butter sizzling in the frying pan, then add slivers of bell pepper.
RICE?
Potato? No. Forbidden rice! Saucepan of water, covered, on the stove to boil. Measure out the rice, add a little sea salt.
Shake the pan to redistribute the sautéing vegs whose aromatic fragrance is wafting about the apartment quite nicely at this point. Oh! A clove of garlic, I remember, reaching into the fridge.  Thinly sliced, it gets added to the pan before giving it a good shake. Mmmmm. Now we’re cookin’!
Water’s boiling so I add the rice, give it a stir, replace the lid and turn down the heat to low. Shake the Brussels sprouts in a wire basket under cold running water, slice off the ends, cut in half and toss in the gently sizzling pan.  Flip the halves of the tiny cabbages so the cut side is down and drink in the garlicky aroma mingling with the vegs.
WHAT , NO TARTAR SAUCE?
SFish’s almost done. Baste with the butter puddling in the baking dish, add about a dozen capers and return to the oven. My gaze goes to the pecorino sitting on the counter-top. We won’t be needing this, I say as I return it to it’s cubby in the fridge.
Wanting tarter sauce to go with the fish but, sadly, I have no relish. Or yogurt. Hmmmm. What can we do here? There’s that silken tofu I bought so long ago I’m not sure I should use it, but I open it anyway, taste it and pronounce it fine. A spoonful of tofu, one of mayo, chop up the top of a green onion, a squirt of lemon juice, a supcon of balsamic vinegar and a few capers. Stir and taste. Mmmmmm! I’d never know it wasn’t made in my usual way. Except that I made it! Ha ha!
GORGEOUS
Plate from the cupboard, fish from the oven onto the plate. Turn off the oven, squeeze a little lemon into the rice with a little butter, give it a stir and nestle it next to the fish in a little pile. Wow. The deep violet of the forbidden rice next to the yellow of the cornbread-covered fillet is stunning. The dark green capers look like sunbathers on a sunny beach. This dinner is the picture of spring. Vegetables dive into a bowl, the red and green a nice addition to the springiness of the yellow and purple.
You’ve got to try this combination. It is a feast for the eyes and then the stomach. Smiles on the outside and the inside. This is cooking.
So, how was it? Your description of making it was wonderful! Now tell us about the experience of eating it, no, devouring it. That’s what I would do. Did you serve it with wine. If so, what kind did you choose? Did you eat alone? With family? Friends? Company come over? Was this lunch, dinner an occasion?
I’m sorry for all the questions, but I love the conversational way of reading people’s recipes and preparation mnethods. I tend to do the same when I do a recipe. That reminds me, maybe I should go over and post one today.
Thanks. Sounds divine!
Peace.
Spadoman´s last blog ..Getting Ready for Summer
Thanks for your take. I tend to focus more on the food and its preparation, but you’re right. Eating is integral to the process. I’m rather a ‘just the facts, ma’am’ writing sort, thinking that my eating experience is less important than informing or teaching, and perhaps less interesting. What I am really aiming for is your eating experience.
So, let’s finish this off, then. This was a solo meal. After coming home, I put my laptop on the kitchen counter pass-thru – to make notes while cooking and to chat with my bff in Seattle – and turned on Jamie Oliver’s fourth episode in the living room, so I hardly felt alone. This night, multi-tasking was my companion.
Wine? Not tonight; not usually. Preferring my wine mixed right in with the food, I’m more of a gin & tonic girl. I don’t drink at home, or alone.
As I said, its beauty impressed. The eyes play a key role in eating. The combination – fish, rice, vegs – was satisfying, recalling the springtime freshness that is about to bloom. I do love vegetables, and the tiny cabbages, combined with bell pepper and green onions, brought out the best, freshest qualities of each. I’d recently discovered forbidden rice, and was glad to continue to experiment with this little-known grain.
The delicacy of the fish was enriched by the butter. Almost too delicate for dinner which is why I wanted the tartar sauce. It’s always fun to discover new substitutions. The forbidden rice was an excellent counterpoint to the fish – richly nutty – and I loved the combination.
I appreciate your feedback. Always happy to hear about better ways to attract people to the art of feeding themselves. I’ll try to introduce more of my own experience into this blog for wider appeal to people like you!