fish in crazy water

one of our default every-other-week dinners is baked tilapia with lemon and rice. it's delicious, quick, and easy. and boring.

greek baked tilapia

i've done a pretty good job at losing the baby weight - all 45 pounds of it was gone within six months. next on the list is getting rid of twelve pounds of what i affectionately call "wife weight." i tend to go through phases of eating really well, working out every day, and eating ok, working out once or twice a week. having meals that are quick, delicious and not so mad for me really help. and this fish is one of them. if you can cut tomatoes and boil pasta, you're set. we served ours with sauteed spinach for an extra dose of vegetables.

beer battered haddock

since announcing to our friends, family and coworkers in december that i'm pregnant, there's three questions that everyone asks. do you know if it's a boy or girl - are you going to find out? how are you feeling? and have you had any weird cravings?

no, we don't know if it's a boy or girl and aren't sure if we will find out. i've been feeling a lot like myself - just in different clothes and working on gaining weight this time of year while everyone else is focused on losing it. and i haven't really had any weird cravings. unless sour cream and onion potato chips and fried fish sandwiches count.

broiled tilapia with lemon buerre blanc

i have some explaining to do. you see, i thought there were two classes of meatless eaters: vegetarians, who abstain from meat, but eat eggs, dairy products, animal products, and fish, and vegans who eat no animal products whatsoever. when i mentioned that january is vegetarian around here, i honestly didn't realize there were so many kinds of vegetarian. good thing wikipedia set me straight:

ovo vegetarian: eats eggs but not dairy products
lacto vegetarian: eats dairy products but not eggs
vegan: eats no animal flesh and animal products
raw vegan: eats only fresh & uncooked fruits, nuts, seeds, and vegetables
fruitarian: eats fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter than can be gathered without harming the plant
pescetarian: eats fish & shellfish and no meat

as it turns out, mom and i didn't realize at the time, we're really pescetarians for the month, since we've limited our "meat" consumption to fish and shellfish only, eliminating all meat from animals that walk.

soy glazed cod with zucchini

i can't believe i paid $1.75 for 2 zucchinis. correction: i can't believe i paid for zucchini.

last summer i made the critical i-just-bought-a-house-and-i'm-super-excited-to-have-a-garden mistake and planted six - yes, six - zucchini plants. and for about three months i was picking zucchinis every day, sometimes five at a time. until finally, there was a frost. and i gave up and declared zucchini season over (by stomping on the plants). all in all, i picked about 200 of those suckers. i had so many i couldn't give them away. my coworkers knew not to buy zucchinis because in the next day or two, i'd bring in another pile.

so jason was a little shocked when he asked me what his list was when we went to the grocery store. he didn't say a word when i asked him for two zucchinis - and the only response when he came back with them - "can you imagine if we got $1 for every zucchini we grew last summer?! we'd be rich!!!"

i should have passed on them. don't get me wrong, sauteed zucchini is a perfectly good side. it's just that those from the store aren't ever as good as the ones grown in your own yard. but since i just planted my zucchini plants on monday, i settled with the store.

but enough about the zucchini, the fish is the star of this dish. light and flaky, perfectly cooked in 7 minutes, and with a sweet glaze, it was the perfect dinner for an evening that finally felt like summer!

soy glazed cod with sauteed zucchini
adapted from real simple, june 2010
20 minutes start to finish, 2 generous servings

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated ginger (i used my microplane)
2 six ounce fillets cod or other white fish
2 small zucchinis, thinly sliced
canola oil
salt, pepper, crushed red pepper

1. heat broiler (set oven to 500F). line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, and ginger in a bowl and set aside.
3. heat a saute pan over medium heat. add ~1 teaspoon canola oil and the zucchinis. saute for about 10 minutes, or until softened. season with salt, pepper, and a little crushed red pepper flakes.
4. while the zucchini is sauteing, place the fish on the foil lined sheet. drizzle with canola oil.
5. broil the fish for about 5 minutes. spread about half of the glaze over the fish. broil another minute, add the remainder of the glaze, and broil one more minute (for a total of 7). check to ensure fish is done - it should be opaque and flaky.
6. serve the fish with a side of zucchini.

baked haddock & roasted potatoes for two

fish night is easy night. usually. unless i decide to forgo baking or pan frying for beer battered. which tastes amazing, but is not the quickest or cleanest process.

the potatoes were already on the menu since i had them left over from the potato salad i made last week. since i had to turn on the oven for the potatoes i figured i may as well bake the fish too. and it couldn't have been simpler. all in all this took a total of 35 minutes. and there were 4 things to wash - knife, cutting board, and two baking dishes. easy on the cook and the clean up. works for me.

since my house is surrounded by chives, i sprinkled those on the potatoes before they went in the oven and added it to the lemon butter for the fish. i bet rosemary would be really good too. too bad my rosemary didn't make it through the winter. bummer.

oh. and the flavored butter. that's joy of cooking's "serving suggestion" for baked fish. and it was perfect for me, just the perfect amount of lemon. but if you really want to be quick, skip it and just squirt your fish with a lemon wedge. it'll work just as well.

baked haddock & potatoes for two

1 pound haddock fillet, cut in two
about half pound potatoes, cut into wedges if they're big or if they're small, leave as is
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
couple tablespoons chives, parsley, or other herbs you have on hand

1. preheat the oven to 425. wash the potatoes and cut into wedges (if they're big). place in a baking pan or sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and herb of your choice. mix with your hands so all potatoes are covered. bake for 30 minutes.
2. while the potatoes are cooking, prep the fish. in another baking dish, coat the bottom with olive oil. place the fish fillets in the pan and drizzle the top with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. when the potatoes have 6 minutes left to cook, put the fish in the oven and bake with the potatoes.
3. while the fish & potatoes are cooking, make the flavored butter. mix together the butter, lemon juice, season with salt & pepper, and add the herb of your choice.
4. serve the cooked fish with a dollop of the flavored butter and lemon wedges.
5. easiest dinner ever.

cornmeal crusted haddock

i love a good fish fry. i'm talking the beer battered, fish bigger than my plate, fish fry. the kind only served on friday night with a side of fries and coleslaw. the problem is that it's relatively time consuming, takes a lot of oil, and because my stove is so finicky, is difficult to get exactly perfect to make at home. that's when lightly breading and frying comes in.

i've made this a bunch of times before - with tilapia and cod and as whole pieces of fish as well as smaller pieces - and it comes out great every time.

one word of caution - don't overcrowd the pan. if you can't fit the pieces in one pan, cook them in two batches. but keep the first batch warm in the oven, don't put a cover over it. otherwise you'll end up with soggy fish.

not only is this good, easy, and quick (start to finish it took 20 minutes - the same amount of time to cook the fries), but i had everything except the fish already at home.

cornmeal crusted fish

2 egg whites
1 pound haddock, cod, or tilapia
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup all purpose flour
vegetable oil
salt & pepper

1. cut the fish into strips for fish sticks or cut into larger pieces that fit in the pan.
2. place the egg whites in a bowl and whisk in some salt & pepper. place the fish pieces in the egg whites.
3. in a separate container (i use a 9x13 pyrex pan) mix the cornmeal and flour together. season with salt & pepper.
4. heat about 1/4" vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. if you need to cook the fish in batches, turn your oven onto warm (or the lowest setting) and line a pan with paper towels. the first batch of fish will go in the oven while the second batch is frying.
5. remove the fish pieces from the egg white mixture, let the excess drip off, and place in the cornmeal mixture. flip the fish around so all sides are covered. place in the hot oil and cook about 3 minutes on each side.
6. if cooking in batches, place the first batch in the oven to keep warm and fry the second batch.