fish

Raking Leaves and Creating Memories

I identify myself as unusual, and here’s why: I recently recognized raking leaves as a 2014 top fall memory. With the identification comes a story. A college friend and I spent our fall break at my house in Minnesota. My friend comes from Hawaii, where leaves don’t fall (weird!), so she had never before raked leaves. Shockingly, I found myself excited to head to the yard with my family and friend for her first leaf gathering experience, and even more shockingly, I enjoyed being out there. Thus, raking leaves is a fond memory. Afterwards the girls went for manicures and pedicures, perhaps favorably tainting my thoughts.

Fall is here, temperatures are dropping, and famers market season is wrapping up, so I’m making the most of the last fall vegetables: broccoli, onions, and parsley.

Balsamic Mahi Mahi with Broccoli

1/2 lb mahi mahi

2 medium heads broccoli

1/4 cup onion, roughly chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp parsley

Salt and pepper

Steam broccoli until still slightly firm, about 6 minutes. In a large skillet, heat butter and olive oil on medium high. Place mahi mahi in skillet, season with parsley, salt, and pepper; and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn mahi mahi and add onion to skillet, sautéing until mahi mahi is cooked through and onion is translucent, 4-6 minutes. Turn heat to low, add broccoli, balsamic vinegar, and garnish with extra parsley. Stir to mix flavors and serve.

Sriracha Salmon

I go back to college in 26 days, my birthday is in 30 days, and I’m not quite ready for summer to end!

Last night my brother Andrew and I ate dinner at Brasa while my parents celebrated 24 years of marriage by seeing a show at the Guthrie. Considering 24 years is, quite literally, more than a lifetime to me, I’m happy and shocked to realize they were married on July 28, 1990. Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Sriracha Salmon carries a hint of sweet and a hint of spicy, but my sweet and spicy averse friends say neither overpowers the salmon. Keep in mind that you don’t have to make this on a cedar plank on the grill. You can also place the salmon directly on the grill or in the over at 350 degrees.

Sriracha Salmon

1 lb salmon filets

2 tbsp Sriracha

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Cilantro

Combine Sriracha, brown sugar, salt, olive oil, and cilantro to make marinade, and place salmon in marinade. Place in refrigerator for a least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. After soaking the cedar plank for at least 2 hours, remove salmon from marinade and place on plank. Place salmon and plank on grill over indirect heat, covered, for 20-30 minutes. Salmon should flake when tested with a fork.

To serve, I usually put the plank on a plate and put the plate right on the table–it’s a fun way to enhance the usual serving spread!

Cod with Sage

Some days I look 16–a reality I realized upon being carded buying tickets to an r-rated movie. Or the timid high school ticket clerk wanted nothing less than to misstep and sell tickets to someone under 17. The worst! Regardless, after showing my ID, the poor kid (he was a kid) realized I am, in fact, old enough to see the movie and sheepishly handed me a ticket. Someday I’ll appreciate lean estimates on my age, but for now I’ll simply laugh.

I would recommend the movie, 22 Jump Street, for a laugh, given the ridiculous nature of the storyline. Two nearly 30-year old cops go undercover as freshman at a local university to uncover a drug trade.Though not the thought-provoking type, I certainly laughed throughout the showing.

Before seeing the movie I made cod. Cod, a mild fish, is low in calories and high in protein. I like to cook it many ways–grilled, oven baked, or pan sautéed. Cod is a thicker filet, so it won’t flake apart as easily as other fish. Once seasoned and cooked, cod is delicious.

I made Cod with Sage on the stove, but the recipe also works on the grill, though I recommend using a grill pan to make sure the fish doesn’t fall through.

Cod with Sage

1 lb cod filets

3/4 cup worcestershire

3 sage leaves, chopped

2 tsp celery root

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp salt

Mix worcestershire and sage together in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine celery root, garlic powder, cayenne, and salt. Sprinkle dry seasoning on all sides of cod. Using a basting brush, coat cod in worcestershire. Heat a drop of oil in a large sauté pan, and add cod to pan. Cook cod on medium high for 7-9 minutes, making sure fish is just cooked through and flaking with a fork.

Saffron Flounder

I’m back in Minnesota, I’m working in a really cool intern position, and it’s finally summer. I am happy.

I’m also in the midst of a bedroom redesign. Even though I’ll only spend three months here, my parents will use the room in the future when guests come, so they support my project. At this point in the process, I would be delighted if I never bought anything from IKEA ever again. Putting my new dresser together was a nightmare, to say the least. Still, it’s coming along, and I enjoy working on the room! Pictures will come later.

We ate flounder at our house this week. This recipe works with other whitefish, too (cod, mahi mahi, etc.). We served the flounder over sautéed spinach, and the spinach absorbed some flavor from the sauce. It also tastes very yummy by itself!

Saffron Flounder

1 lb flounder filets
1/4 tsp saffron threads
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c dry white whine
1/2 c water
4 or 5 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, sliced
Salt and pepper

In a large sauté pan, cook garlic in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add all other ingredients, except flounder, and stir to combine. Add flounder. Cook flounder on medium for about 4 minutes, until cooked through. Turn flounder, cover, adjust burner to low, and let the fish slowly simmer covered for 10 minutes to let the flavors combine.