geek

Cod with salsa and feta

baked cod with salsa

I usually have little or no luck cooking fish. I’m good with bivalves and crustaceans, even cephlapods…but anything with scales and gills totally eludes any culinary excellence in my hands. However, in my pursuit to improve my nutrition I continue to try. My most common mistake with fish is to overcook it into a mush. Trial and error has taught me that frozen cod filets have a texture, when cooked, that I find acceptable. Plus they’re cost effective, easy to find, and nutritionally excellent.

Really this isn’t a recipe at all…this is me just showing off a picture of my most perfect fish dish ever. It’s cod with salsa and feta cheese, baked for about 20 minutes and then served. I hesitate to offer any cooking advice on how to create this fine meal because it seems like it may have been a fluke…I mean really, good fish…from my own kitchen…no way!

The cod was purchased at Costco and is each portion is individually wrapped and sealed in plastic. I ran cool water over the frozen, wrapped portions while I assembled the other ingredients. That may have taken all of 10 minutes and I probably turned them over half way through. Once they were less frozen I arranged them in a shallow baking dish with some olive oil rubbed over them. I then spooned on a large amount of fresh salsa, also purchased at Costco. Then I crumbled on some locally produced goat’s milk feta, shoved it into a 350° oven and baked it until the internal temperature of the fish reached 140°.

I attribute the success of this dish to several things…the salsa from Costco is excellent, almost better than my own in late August, the cheese from my friend Diana is superb, I like cod, and I used my trusty thermometer to gauge when the fish was cooked and therefore I didn’t screw it up.

The best part about this dish is the flavor. The cod is firm and almost sweet, the salsa adds a fabulous mouthful of zestiness and the cheese is fabulous…the little crusty brown bits have a savory flavor that compliments the other components. Plus it’s low fat, low cal, quick and easy. I love it!

June 24, 2009 | Filed Under beef, fish, poultry, pork, favorite products, food, geek fast food, low carb, low cal, lowfat, quick and easy, recipe | 6 Comments 

Not actually vegetarian

apple_mustard_pizza_2

I’ve been thinking about what it takes to be vegetarian, not so much because I want to be a vegetarian but mostly because I’m personally trying to eat less meat, more plants. I find that the flavor of a dish needs a boost either from spices or from fats, usually both. Because I’m also counting calories I just can’t add butter and cream to increase flavor and that certainly creates a situation that requires more thought than I’m ready to give it. Luckily there is always the pizza solution.

Pizza is easy because it requires little work and can be thrown together and baked up usually in a half hour. Remember to make the dough ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator, actually the longer it sits in there the better it gets…I’ve used some that was in the frig for 2.5 weeks and it was excellent. This lovely pizza is adorned with slices of a peeled green apple, red onion, mustard greens, a scant toss of cheese and a link of AmyLu’s Smoked Chicken, Apple, Gouda sausage. According to the nutrition data one link is 110 calories and 5 grams of fat with 460 grams of sodium and since this pizza serves 2 with leftovers it falls within my range of low fat, low cal, low meat.

Yes, I know it’s not actually vegetarian, but then I’m not either. Note: for my local readers, the AmyLu sausage is available at the Middleton Costco.

June 14, 2009 | Filed Under baking, beef, fish, poultry, pork, food, lowfat, pizza, quick and easy, recipe | 5 Comments 

Serendipity

The Best Dog In The World

It’s a typical Spring day here in Wisconsin. Rainy, windy, and about 50 °F . The trees and shrubs are on the verge of bursting, their buds so ready to unfold that I can almost see them vibrate with anticipation. I love Spring for days like this. My flower beds are filling up nicely with the beautiful variegated leaves of the Pulmonaria, the Lady’s Mantle that forms soft cups to catch the morning dew, and the enormous ornamental rhubarb with its prehistoric looking leaves. Of course the weeds are growing like…well, weeds. But I have every intention to get out there and pull their little weedy roots right outta there…as soon as it stops raining.

At work we have a lovely enclosed courtyard and last week I noticed that the crocuses were in bloom, this week it was the daffodils. The tulips, which have sent out their luscious green leaves, will be next. I can’t wait. All this blooming activity made me think about bees. This morning I started my internet day at the Science Friday website; I heard a portion of the program yesterday about synthetic biology and I wanted to learn more. While there I found a great video about bees and where they poop. The funny thing is, as I watched the video on my laptop the Lucinda Williams song Honey Bee was playing …serendipity! I love, love, love moments like that and that song totally kicks ass!

I’d like to say that I’ve been cooking up a storm this week but that’s just not the truth. I’ve been busy elsewhere. However, one day I really wanted to eat rice but I wanted to bake it in the oven so I Googled “oven baked rice” and the great Google gave me Arroz Forno, a melange of chorizo, chicken, onion, chickpeas, rice, potatoes, saffron, and paprika. A typical Spanish comfort food that could easily be whipped up in 30 minutes and eaten from a bowl while curled up on the couch watching The Daily Show…and again with the serendipity since I had all the ingredients on hand and I’m totally in love with Spanish food. Anyways, it was fabulous! Especially the sweetly satisfying potatoes…their texture and flavor are the perfect counterpoint in this dish. I think chicken thighs would be better but then again I always think that.

arroz forno

Arroz Forno
printer-friendly recipe

8 ounces chorizo
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups medium grain rice (like nishiki or la bomba)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 russet potatoes, peeled
4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 strands saffron
4 cups hot water
Extra virgin olive oil
paprika

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Measure out 4 cups of hot tap water and add the six strands of saffon to it. Set it aside.

Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts so that they are an even thickness. Rub with olive oil and set aside.

Slice the potatoes into 3/4” rounds. Rub with olive oil and set aside.

Saute the chorizo, onions and garlic in olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet. Add the chickpeas and rice. Pour in the water and stir to distribute everything equally. Place the chicken breasts on top and then place the potato rounds on top. Drizzle some olive oil over the top, sprinkle with paprika and place it in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

April 25, 2009 | Filed Under baking, food, geek fast food, quick and easy, recipe, rice and other grains | 3 Comments 

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