Fish Wednesday

We've been truly blessed these past couple years to have a neighbor who loves to fish and love to share.  Along with the fish, he shares stories about catching them, and the rules about size, seasons, and numbers allowed per license.  He has strong preferences between types of trout, while I merely like the differences in their pretty skins and strongly prefer that they arrive in my kitchen pre-gutted.  I have learned to really appreciate the art of filleting, and anyone who will demonstrate it for me.

Besides the lake-caught trout, we've enjoyed a variety of treats from the SF Bay, such as Dungeness crab.  One of my favorites so far is fresh halibut (pictured here).

Although fish caught the same day needs barely any dressing up to be delicious, the gifts of the sea are so lovely they deserve thoughtful preparation.  Fish Wednesday, a blog by a friend of a friend, provides some inspiration and very clear instructions.  Pam covers both the adventure of finding sustainable seafood for sale (a doable feat in Seattle) and creating lovely dishes.  The photos (unlike mine) are always appetizing, showcasing the finished dish.

Cooking for One

When I was 18, I met a real live bachelor who cooked.  Not a man living alone who heated frozen dinners up, or ate cereal over the sink.  He shopped often, buying small quantities of fresh ingredients.  And then he prepared them simply but with real care, and enjoyed his creations at the table with a good wine or beer.  A good (European) role model.

I think of Gem from time to time, when single friends confide their solo eating habits, and when I have the house to myself for several days in a row.  Mostly I put together a respectable repast and serve myself with some care. (I'm more likely to make supper of guacamole and popcorn, or salad and yogurt, on a random night at home alone, tired after work.)  But I do notice that I kick my game up a notch anytime I have someone else's palate to think about. 

While Europe is by no means uniformly populated with great home cooks, married or single, there still remains a generally more respectful attitude about meals.  Lunch and dinner are for sitting down and eating something worth paying attention to, not merely ingesting during a rushed break between activities (or while doing them, in the car or on the computer).  If there are friends or family, schoolmates or co-workers to share the meal with, then there is conversation.  If not, there is music, reading, or people-watching for company.  When company is not present, you treat yourself as the person for whom the meal is served, the recipient of your own care.

Baby Food

Two of our friends recently had a baby; and sharing certain core values with us, they were concerned about having time to cook.  As it turns out, that's a valid concern.  Newborns want to eat practically every time they wake up - and they take their time doing it.  Then they have the nerve to expect that someone will carry them around, doing the baby dance and patting them lightly on the back.

Simple as it seems, this routine makes everything I take for granted nearly impossible.  Pop in the shower?  Not til there's another competent adult to key an eye on the little one.  Throw  a quick meal together on the stove?  Suddenly a herculean feat.  Even assembling a simple salad becomes a rare treat.

 

What could be simpler than salad?  Tear some washed greens, slice some veggies, whisk a little balsamic and olive oil together, and toss.   It only took me a few minutes.  But for the tired mom who'd been microwaving stews and soups and casseroles all week, just having fresh raw veggies was bliss.  Three servings of bliss.

Bite-size Remodel

Gentle Reader,
If you are lovely enough to read both this blog for my anecdotes and my site of the same name for all the non-story information, prepare yourself for a shock.
At this very moment (actually, all moments but now - I'm doing this, now), Bite-size Green is being taken apart and reconstructed.  Unlike a kitchen remodel, there is no dust and no having to eat out for weeks while the construction and re-decorating take place.
The host I am migrating to (yay, Yola) lets me build all my new pages, style elements, and navigation on their server before I move the [extremely valuable, I'm sure] domain over.  In non-tech terms, both sites will exist separately until I press the button to make only one show up when you type the site name in.

While the remodel is underway, you can take a sneak peek by visiting www.greenbites.yolasite.com
If you get a chance, please look at both and tell me how you think the new one compares to the old (bearing in mind that styling, links and pages are still underway - it's a beta version, for another week or two).

• Do the main categories across the top work better for you than the long list down the left side?
• Do you like the overall look and feel?
• Is it easy to move around, and find what you're looking for, and go back again?
• Are there any crucial features missing?

Kindly provide your insights at your earliest convenience, with my gratitude assured.
I remain, as ever,
Yours

Carb-alicious

When I realized how much better I feel not eating wheat, at first I felt euphoric - such a simple route to better health.  But then the creeping fears of deprivation began to rear their ugly heads.  No bread?! No pizza?! No pasta?!

As it turns out, going gluten-free is sometimes an inconvenience.  Eating out requires more care; and some places just don't offer much worth eating that isn't served on bread or with wheat noodles.  Thai and Chinese restaurants are a blessing, but Italian joints are fraught with danger.

Rice, corn and potatoes fill the gap very well most of the time.  Polenta is fabulous, and thai rice noodles are marvelous comfort food.  Homemade bread has turned into a regular treat; and it makes better pizza toast than the frozen gluten-free crusts do.

But pasta stayed a real concern during the phase of trying out the fancy brands from various health food stores.  The poor texture, complex taste and tricky performance (easy to cook til it falls apart, and hard to reheat well) made me even sadder than the leaden quality of store-bought pizza crusts and bread loaves.

Finally we discovered Trader Joe's house brand of brown rice pastas - penne, fusili, and spaghetti.  I serve them to guests without bothering to tell them we're enjoying a gluten-free meal, because they can't tell the difference.  And neither can I.  The simple joy of just making a quick bowl of pasta with red sauce is mine again.  I am complete.

Soup Season

Winter may be mild here - no piles of snow, no ice storms, and hardly even a frost to speak of - but it's wetter and darker, and sometimes very windy.  Which makes me crave baked dishes, and soups.

Today I threw some organic russet potatoes in the oven, and then stuck a big pot of (rice pasta) penne with marinara, sweet Italian sausage, and grated cheese in to join the spuds.  While all that cooked, I put together a big pot of vegetarian chili and set that to simmering on the stovetop.

Since chili tastes bests the next day, I may pull out the leftovers of last weekend's comfort food, a marvelous, hearty split-pea soup.  And for more inspiration, I may search Create TV's archives for Jacques Pepin demonstrating how to make his quick and easy potato leek soup.

Honey Teriyaki Salmon

When beekeeper Wayne Pitts appeared on the Bite-size Green TV episode The Buzz about Bees, he was a marvelous guest.  He not only shared humorous anecdotes, facts, and photos; but he also provided a cooking demonstration.  Like many good cooks, he tried a dish at a restaurant and said, "I could make this."  The result became his Honey-teriyaki glazed grilled salmon.  Naturally, it's best if made from wild salmon and with honey from your own apiary.  If you can't become a beekeeper by suppertime, visit one at your local farmers market (Wayne can be found in Palo Alto every Sunday) and ask for a local variety.

Ingredients (to serve eight):

• One cup honey, warmed
• One cup teriyaki
• A large fillet of wild-caught salmon
• Fresh leaf spinach, in bite-size pieces
• Two types of fruit, in small chunks (or whole, if berries)
• Blue cheese crumbles (or goat, if preferred)
• Walnut bits (or other nut, as preferred)
  
• Cherries tomatoes to garnish
• A fruity vinagrette dressing

To prepare:

• While warming the grill, fold a double layer of aluminum foil into a tray, and pour a layer of glaze into it.  
• Place the salmon onto the glaze, and pour the remainder over the fillet.
• Close the grill and let cook approx 20 minutes (med. heat).  
• Check to make sure the salmon is caramelizing.
• While the salmon is cooking, arrange the spinach on each plate.
• When the salmon is done (and cooled, if you like), place a portion on each plate,  over the spinach.
• Add the fruit, nuts, cheese and garnish to each plate, and drizzle with dressing.
• Enjoy the quiet while everyone digs in.