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Spicy Cod with Heirloom Tomatoes

September 6, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Summer produce really hits its peak at the end of August and in early September here in Massachusetts. It takes us quite awhile to warm up, but when we do, there is no shortage of colorful, flavorful, local beauty. It’s comforting, when everything becomes so much about autumn, that our summer gets to linger a little in the form of vegetables, warm days, and meals outside.

As I mentioned in my Saturday post, we both had a rough work week. I won’t get into it, but it was more than your average bad week, and it brought a lot of uncertainty, one of my least favorite things.

What do I do in those tough times? I cook and take pictures of food, of course!

I found these glorious, spicy local peppers and knew that I needed them, not just to eat, but to photograph. I arranged and re-arranged them and took more than a few shots before chopping them for a Spicy Cod with Heirloom Tomatoes.

This summer I have fallen in love with these sweet little gems, Sun Gold tomatoes. They are truly sunshine in a little bite, and I had a hard time not eating them all on the way home.

Other ingredients in this simpler is better summer dish included cilantro, lime, and fresh ginger.

And of course about 2.5 pounds of beautiful cod.

Making this dish was simple; I did not want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on a perfect evening after a long day, so I simply chopped a bunch of the peppers and added them, along with tomatoes, to the cod, which I sliced in thin fillets. I drizzled the fish with a beautiful olive oil I picked up at Trader Joe’s, a spicy but fruity, aromatic oil that only cost about $6. A sprinkle of sea salt, and I put the fish into the oven at 400 until it was nice and flaky, about 12 minutes. Definitely keep an eye on it, as you don’t want it to dry out.

When I plated the fish, I made sure to include lots of peppers and bursting tomatoes, as well as adding a squeeze of fresh lime juice, grated ginger, and cilantro.

Perfect, summery, simple. And I should mention, inspired by Michelle’s recent fish with tomatoes and cilantro.

How are you enjoying the simple pleasures of the last lingering bits of summer?

Technorati Tags: dinner, fish, Food, produce, recipe, summer, vegetables

Tags: dinner, fish, Food, produce, recipe, summer, vegetables

Aromatic Fish in a Packet

April 6, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 17 comments

So easy, so delicious, so healthy! Fish cooked in a foil packet means a juicy, flavorful, healthy meal with very little cleanup and little to no butter or oil required. Winning! (Did I just write that? For the record, there are few people I can say I hate, and Charlie Sheen is one of them. What a jerk.)

Anyway, back to the good stuff. I have been resisting tomatoes all winter. They are all grown so far away or are just not very good in the winter that I don’t bother. But I have been craving summery recipes in the worst way, so I decided to take the leap and buy a box of cherry tomatoes over the weekend.

I built the rest of the dish around them. A beautiful filet of haddock from my favorite little local, Dorchester Market, played the part of the healthy protein. I simply laid it in the foil and surrounded it by juicy tomatoes.

Then I topped it with three cloves of garlic, cut into thin slices. Well, as thin as my patience allowed. To that, I added a drizzle of blood orange olive oil. You could leave this out and just let the fish steam in its own juices, but I am obsessed with blood orange olive oil, and I knew it would make this dish super fancy. Smile

I topped the fish with slices of lemon and some black pepper, wrapped up the foil tightly, and popped it in the oven at 400 for 17 minutes.

I should mention that I cooked the fish from frozen. I bought it fresh, but when I realized we wouldn’t have time to eat it for days, I put it in the freezer. It was very thin, so the cooking time was perfect. Discovering the ability to cook fish from frozen and still end up with something so fresh is a miracle.

I served this dish with a great veggie side, which I will share in tomorrow’s post. It was a meal that not just tasted really great, but it also felt really good. Now if we could just get some spring weather, and I am talking 60 degrees or higher.

I forgot to announce the winner of the Starbucks giveaway. . . congratulations, Taryn! Please email me with your address so I can send your coffee.

Technorati Tags: blood orange olive oil, fish, garlic, haddock, healthy recipe, lemons, recipe, vegetables

Tags: blood orange olive oil, fish, garlic, haddock, healthy recipe, lemons, recipe, vegetables

Fear of Frying

January 19, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 18 comments

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Some foods are just fantastic when fried. Potatoes, mozzarella cheese, and even pickles can benefit from a roll in some batter and a dip in boiling oil.

Fish cakes, like the ones I made last night, are another food that, even when lightly pan fried, taste just a little bit better. Unfortunately, my fear of frying got the better of me, and I baked them.

It turns out that they didn’t need to be fried, even only slightly browned, they were fresh and healthy without all of that extra oil.

I started with a cup of teeny tiny potatoes, tossed into boiling water until they were nice and soft.

I also got some water boiling to steam the last of the Alaskan cod from the Foodbuzz Alaska Seafood recipe contest. They sent me a serious amount of cod, and it lasted very well in the freezer over the months. I cooked all of the cod from frozen, as Alaska Seafood mentioned in the materials that they sent me, and I was always surprised how good frozen fish could taste. In this case, I used my steamer basket to cook the cod until it was flaky.

I whipped up the seasonings on the side, a cup of panko bread crumbs, some salt-free dill and lemon seasoning, and a few spoonfuls of Dijon mustard.

When the fish and potatoes were tender, I added them to the bread crumb mixture, then mashed my heart out with a potato masher.

Once the mix was a bit cooler, I added two whole eggs and thoroughly stirred everything up. The cod cakes went into a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes and ended up nicely browned. They reminded me a lot of Morton’s crab cakes which are full of crab meat and not fried. It turns out some things are good fried, but they are even better baked Smile

Served with a simple side of roasted Brussels sprouts and mushrooms left over from my chicken dish the other night, this was a great meal for a night when I wanted something healthy and warm. Since we are going on vacation to Ireland soon, I am doing my best to get in lots of workouts, vegetables, and water. Once I get to Ireland. . . well, all bets are off. It’s called Supermac’s, it’s Ireland’s higher-quality answer to McDonald’s, and it is fabulous.

Random story and question: The other day, when I was running, I saw a Manwich can hanging out of someone’s busted open trash bag. It brought me back to childhood and the Manwich commercials. My mother would never buy Manwich despite my desperate requests for it. We also never ate Hamburger Helper or sugary cereals like Cookie Crisp.

What food/s did you really want to eat when you were younger but were prohibited by parents? Have you tried them as an adult, and if so, did they live up to expectations?

Technorati Tags: baked not fried, brussels sprouts, cod, cod cakes, cooking, easy recipes, fish, Food, healthy, healthy cooking, healthy recipe, mushrooms, protein, recipe, roasted vegetables