Fish in a Pinch

So I'm in the process of making some serious life style changes.

I've cut back on alcohol significantly - much to the detriment of my mind's well being, I'm sure.

I'm eating less cheese. Again, how will my brain survive?!

I'm keeping serious track of what I'm eating, when I'm eating, and how I'm eating.

I'm moving. A lot. Thank YOU Jillian Michaels, strange yoga videos that I'm not quite sold on, and Gaiam TV.

For the past few years I've lived and breathed and ate local, small scale, organic, seasonal, pastured food. But I haven't been the least bit discriminating against calories or fat. This in combination with a sedentary student lifestyle = pants don't fit no more. Seriously. There's a collection of clothing (3/4ths of my closet) that is boxed up in the laundry room yearning for the day they can live again.

I'm by no means obese. Or unhealthy. I don't consider myself over weight. What I do consider myself, however, is blech. I feel lazy. I feel tired. I feel bored. I feel generally just plain shitty.

So what to do? Change some things. I'm not sayin' you won't find me mowin down on some of these or this or this - what I am saying, is I'm gonna eat less of those things, find more balance, and make a point of gearing toward a less ass-expanding life plan.

I want to be strong. I want to be active. I want to be powerful. I want to be nourished. I want to laugh more. I want more love. And more joy. I want to live smaller. I want to feel good. I want more of fish in a pinch.

Fish in a pinch was a quick but very healthy dish I threw together in about 30 minutes that utilized our CSA produce, fresh in season locally caught halibut, and a stellar powerhouse seed called quinoa (yup! it's a seed, not a grain). Good energy foods give me good energy..... at least until I cave and decide to whip up a batch of these. 

....is it just me or did all those "this" references contain bacon? Mmmmm bacon...

Fish in a Pinch:

pan seared Pacific halibut with cumin scented red quinoa, 

oven roasted tomatoes 

& Saanich Organics braising greens

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

2 6oz Halibut Fillets, pat dried & seasoned well with salt and pepper.

1 C Red Quinoa, well rinsed.

6 C Braising Greens (raw), roughly chopped.

1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes, halved.

5 Garlic Cloves, peeled.

2 Shallots, peeled and halved if large.

1 Tbsp Capers, rinsed.

1/4 C Kalamata Olives, roughly chopped.

2 C Chicken Stock or Water.

Juice of 1 Lemon.

Pinch of Cumin. 

1 Tbsp Fresh or Dried Italian Herbs.

2 Tbsp Blanched Almonds, toasted.

1 Batch Balsamic Reduction.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What to Do:

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degree F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Place the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots on the paper, toss with a generous glug of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast in the oven for approx 30 minutes or until everything gets nice and tender. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring chicken stock or water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan with the juice of half the lemon, 1/2 Tsp of olive oil and cumin. Once boiling, add the rinsed quinoa, stir, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from the heat and let sit about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Once the quinoa is sitting, heat a non stick pan over medium heat with half a cup of water in it. Once the water is very hot, add the greens. Cover, stirring occasionally, until greens are wilted and tender - approx. 7 minutes or so. If the water evaporates before the greens are done cooking, simply add more water. Once they're tender, remove the lid and allow excess moisture to cook away. Remove greens from the pan and set aside.

Wipe out the pan and add a couple Tbsp of olive oil. Place back on the burner and allow to heat thoroughly but not smoke. Add the fish to the pan (skin side down if you've left the skin on) and let it crisp up for about 3-5 minutes. Gently flip the fish and continue cooking a further 3-4 minutes until fish flakes but is still moist. Remove from the heat and place the fish on a plate or wire rack to rest for a couple minutes. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

As it rests, throw the greens back in the pan along with the tomato mixture, olives, capers and a little lemon juice. Heat through for about a minute. Plate, drizzle with a little good quality olive oil if you have it, about a Tbsp of the balsamic reduction & serve.

Eat.

What do you make for dinner in a pinch? Do you have go-to meals? What do you do that makes you feel good & healthy? What are your food weaknesses? What gives you strength?

This post is linked up with Whole Foods Wednesday; Cast Party Wednesday; Simple Lives Thursday; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Foodie Friday; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; The Hearth & Soul Blog Hop via The 21st Century Housewife; Tasty Tuesdays.

RPI: Mission Mango...

I know what you're thinking. I thought it too. Unfortunately, I lost this first challenge of Rock, Paper, Ingredient. Haydn's selection? Mango. Are you kidding me?? What on Earth is sustainable or healthy or happy about fuel-laden mangoes??! Those of you that follow Gastronomical Sovereignty (no, I won't mention my other blog in every single post...) will know that I eat - which is to live - by the season. Locally. Organically. Happily. So accepting this first challenge was actually a bit of a challenge for me.

I fought with my ethical stance on food and whether or not I was prepared to ditch my morals in the event that Haydn selected something that I ordinarily wouldn't have. After all, it's his blog too! Shouldn't we do some of the things he wants to do? Ultimately, I acquiesced to mangoes this week. But I'm vetoing any further unhappy produce. At least for myself and for future RPI assignments.

From now on, there are rules:

1. You do not talk about Rock, Paper, Ingredient.
2. You DO NOT talk, about Rock Paper Ingredient.

Hang on, wrong rules...

1. The ingredient selected by the winner of Rock, Paper, Ingredient must be locally (Pacific Northwest) in season and somehow accessible.
2. Refer to rule #1.

That being said... I rocked that shit. Mangoes are rad. I'm not sure I've actually even eaten a mango before but as of this week, I ate 3. And they were juicy, brilliant yellow in color, and a massive pain in the ass. Do you have any idea what a process it is to get the fruit off the little buggers? I googled it and figured it out but it took me a while. Aye.

The flesh of mango is delicately sweet, floral in scent, pliable, and moist. The juices trickled over my fingers, across my wrists, down my arms and onto the counter - I made quite a mess! Oh the succulence of it all!

Note to self: Enjoy it while the left-overs last, sister. No more mangoes for you!

Mangoes 2 Ways: Firely Lime Sauce & Tempura Sliced Mango

(printable recipe)

Ingredients for the Sauce:

2 Mangoes.

1 Lime for juice.

1 Bird's Eye Chili, thinly sliced (you may remove the seeds for less heat if desired).

1 Tbsp Ginger, peeled & finely grated.

1 Tbsp Local Organic Honey.

Ingredients for the Tempura:

1 Mango.

1 C All Purpose Flour.

1 Tsp Baking Powder.

1 C Iced Soda Water.

1 Free-Range Organic Egg.

2 to 3 C Vegetable Oil for frying.

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What to Do for the Sauce:

 To begin, remove the flesh of 2 of the mangoes. Mangoes come with very large seeds in the center which you can't cut through. Therefore you must cut away the "cheeks" (fleshy sides) of the mango, carefully dice/cube the flesh and peel it away from the skin.

Chuck the flesh into a food processor along with the ginger, lime juice, honey, and just a touch of salt and pepper. Puree until the mixture becomes soft and silky. Gently mix in the chili and set aside. Ta da!

As you can see from the photo, I served my mango with some pan-seared halibut. If you wish to do this, just pat your fish dry with some paper towel, and season well on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a bit of oil and/or butter over medium heat in a frying pan, and once the butter starts to sizzle, gently place fish in the pan. Cook 3 - 4 minutes, flip, and continue cooking a further 3-4 minutes. Fish will be done if flaky and white. Remove from the heat and set fish on a surface, covered in foil, and let rest about 5 to 10 minutes. Top with some pea-shoots and a little green onion.

Otherwise, it would also work very well with chicken also or maybe some chick-pea patties.

Eat! (almost...)....

What to Do for the Tempura'd Mango:

As above, cube or slice the mango flesh from the cheeks. Set aside.

Pour your oil into a deep wok and heat over a medium-high setting. The oil is ready when a 1" cube of white bread dropped into the oil browns in 60 seconds; that oil temperature will be about 365 degrees F. Be careful to not heat too high and keep water away from the oil because water + oil = explosive disaster. Literally.

As the oil heats, mix together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, gently whisk the egg. Add the cold water and mix well. Throw in the flour mixture and stir to just barely combine. Do not over mix or  the starches in the flour will active and you'll end up with a very "doughy" tempura.

Lightly dredge the pieces of mango in the mixture and very carefully drop them into the hot oil. Always drop away from you (think of it like pushing the food away rather than pulling toward) to avoid splashing yourself with oil. Watch your fingers!

Allow to brown and crisp up, turning often to ensure even cooking. Once golden and crisp, remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and let drain on a side of paper towels. Serve immediately.

Eat!

This post is linked up with This Chick Cooks; Full Plate Thursday; Tasteastic Thursday; Tasty Tuesdays; Tuesday Talent Show.