Squashing a Flounder

Reading the local St. Petersburg Times this morning I saw a photo of a guy with a big fish net pulling little frozen fish out of the local waters.  Its too cold for the little guys and they're just freezing.  The turtles and manatees are really cold too.  At least its getting a bit warmer now. 

That being said, brings me to what I had in the freezer yesterday - frozen fish.  Orange Roughy to be clear.  (you can use basically any type of fish here like snapper, talapia grouper or sole.  Keep in mind the sole will cook much faster since its such a tender fish) I had lots of winter squash (zucchini) too so it got me thinking about how to marry these two strangers without a court order.  For those who are kitchen challenged:  Thaw the Fish First Before Trying This Dish at home. 

First I had to see what was on hand.  There were kalamata (pitted) olives in the fridge (I love those things), parmesan cheese (always on hand) canned tomatoes (a staple for the pantry), a big shallot and garlic.  Hummm, not a lot but I think it will be the dowry I need to make a lasting union between freezer and fridge.

I took a round pyrex oven proof dish, heated the oven to 425 degrees (220 celesius) then started slicing the zucchini into really thin slices about 1/8 inch thick (3mm).  It takes patience with a sharp knife but if your a gadget freak like me and have a mandoline it may be easier.  I have both but opted for the knife cuz I like to play and even run with sissors!

NOTE:

I love my knives and I sharpen them myself on a sharpening stone with specialized food-safe sharpening oil (or mineral oil in a pinch).  Do Not use olive oil or anyother type of oil that is not specifically for sharpening as it can go rancid and settle into your stone ruining taste and maybe make you sick in the bargin.

After slicing 2 zucchini's I coated them with olive oil (not sharpening stone oil - heh) then I put my de-frosted fishies - the package came with 3 nice size pieces - in a fish bowl on a plate and layered the zucchini on them to look a little like fish scales (eww, like that's appetizing), sprinkled them with salt and pepper and covered and refridgerated them while I was trying to figure out what should come next.

I started up some brown rice in the rice cooker and let it do its little 40 minute puff job.  Don't forget to RINSE the rice first.  You want to rinse until the water runs clear.  I put the rice in a wire strainer and under the tap I move it all around with my hand until I think its all clear.  This will make better tasting rice or rice without rice dust!

Then in a medium skillet I added 2 Tbls (I don't measure stuff so you don't either if you don't want to) of olive oil and tossed in the sliced shallot (it was a big puppy - figure 2 Tbls), cooked that for a minute or so then added about 2 good size cloves of minced garlic, saute'd them till I started smelling the garlic then added 1 can (8 oz) of crushed/stewed tomatoes.  If you only have canned whole tomatoes then cut them up small size (or squeeze the heck out of them and take out some kitchen rage as you tear them to bits!) or use a couple 3-4 roma tomatoes if you have fresh and like some peeps MUST use fresh.  Big whoop.

Some people like to sweeten the acidic tomato taste with sugar but I wouldn't add more than 1 tsp.  We're not making a friggin' cake here.  I like tart and tangy so I cut up about 8 kalamata olives into quarters and tossed those in.  Let it cook on medium for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors. 

If you have an attractive baking dish (obviously I didn't) you can add the sauce to the dish then top it with the fish you put in the fridge earlier.  Bake until the fish flakes easily, about 20 minutes depending on how well your oven works. If you live in a real hot climate then leave it on top of the hood of your car and see if that works.  I serve directly from the dish since I like the way it looks all put together. It also stays warmer that way while you're waiting for the non-cooks to get up off their lazy lard butts and get to the table before you turn this meal into a Flying Fish.  Sprinkle it with a little parmesan cheese if you're so inclined and a dash of tarragon or maybe a dill sprig for color.  Red food color will make it look like you had a kitchen accident.  Hee hee (not recommended)  Here's what it looked like when it was properly Married!

I had so much zucchini that I rimmed the platter with the remainder.  Believe me there was nothing left!  Served with the brown rice was all that was needed.  Oh yeah.  And some wine.  I wouldn't use white wine since you have those olives and garlic and shallots and they're as strong as moving men going up three flights of stairs with a piano.  You can drink water if you want.  I don't care.  Do whatever you like but make it a nice red like a Shiraz.  And pour me a glass too!

Winter Comfort Food - Pot Roast

When the weather gets as cold as it has been I long to cook me some old fashioned comfort foods.  This week it was Pot Roast.  The chuck steaks went on sale (when did the price of chuck meat get so high?!!) so that was all the encouragement I needed.

I grabbed the staple ingredients that I had on hand (tomato sauce, ketchup, broth, flour, some herbs (cumin, thyme, bay leaf, Worcestershire Sauce) and veggies like carrots, onion, celery, garlic and red potatoes and got to work.  I decided to use my crock pot instead of cooking it on the stove which takes up room if I want to cook other stuff, and didn't want to put it in the oven to save energy (although heating up the house sounded good I didn't want the electric bill to rise). 

Since there are only two of us here I bought a fairly small piece of meat, about 2 or 2 1/2 pounds (no bone).  I put about a 1/3 cup flour in a zip lock baggie, added some kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and then added the meat and shook it up to coat the meat.  I heated up a cast iron skillet, added some canola oil (about 3-4 tbsp) and browned the meat on both sides and edges.  I made a little mix of cumin and thyme, about 1/2 tsp each and sprinkled that over the meat then put it in the crock pot after I coated the pot with Pam non-stick spray.  That makes the clean up easier by far.

I coarsely chopped the veggies and tossed those in then mixed up about 1/4 cup ketchup with some chicken stock (didn't have beef stock) and poured that over the meat, added the can of tomato sauce pictured above, about 1-2 tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce a bit more salt and pepper, the bay leaf and about 4-5 cloves of minced garlic (I love garlic).  Over all, I added about 2 cups of chicken stock to almost cover the meat.  I then plugged in my crock pot, set the timer on High for 5 hours and relaxed!

That's my way of cooking sometimes.  I love it when the cooking is done by "leave alone".  It gives me time to do a crossword, a puzzle, read, give myself a bubble bath.... you get the picture.  Comfort foods mean Comfort All Around!

We each had dinner of it one night then I had the remainder for lunch today.  Not a bad cost cutter either!

Yum!

Topped Out on Ramen

2010 started out pretty miserable so I'm thinking things can only get better from here.  I caught some kind of bug New Years Eve day and it settled in my chest and struck me down like a cheap pair of heels.  I was sick with a fever which I hadn't had in maybe 7 or 8 years and all the coughing, some sneezing and some nose blowing.  I thought it was a cold/flu but I'm not sure. 

True to Kitchen Bitch form I applied a package of Pictsweet baby lima beans for the fever two nights in a row.  I'm thinking I've struck on some kind of magical new health cure because the fever only lasted two nights.  Maybe frozen corn would have had it linger longer?  Frozen peas most likely would have raised the fever by 2 degrees.  I'm not sure and still have plenty of experimentation to do at the next opportunity.  Which hopefully won't be for another 7 or 8 years.  

When I was finally able to rise from the deathbed and crawl to the kitchen all I could manage was to make my favorite Top Ramen soup, throw in some frozen broccoli (saving that package for toothaches), and some pre-cooked chicken.  I managed to survive the next few days with ol' Topper Beef Flavor and 'scroung' foods. 

I felt exiled for 5 days in some remote cold hovel....  trying not to infect the cat or my roomie,

but I think I faired better than Hillary Clinton when Obama made her Secretary of the State just to get her out of the US. 

I did eventually improve and am ready once again to bitch in the kitchen!