simple cracked pepper pollock

One Sunday when we were in Michigan, yes, it has taken me this long to post this, the Trainer and I had to leave early in the afternoon. First thing in the morning Mom and I took him to see our local Whole Foods Market. After breakfast we were all sitting at the kitchen and Dad asked the Trainer: how would you like to do a little manual labor? So while I fretted over the taxes the Trainer learned how to rake a yard.

After he finished we packed up the few things we brought and made this pollock, using the simple recipe from the guy at the Whole Foods fish counter. We ate and I went upstairs to brush my teeth and do a sweep off the guest room and bathroom to make sure we weren't leaving anything behind. I heard voices from the top of the stairs so I waited until they stopped before going back down. A few minutes later I walked into the kitchen and the Trainer said: Mija, your parents have given us their permission to get married.

I was smiling so big as I hugged first Mom, and then Dad, and then the Trainer. I'm not a crier, but I have to admit there were tears. Then it was time to leave. At the airport Mom asked if it was official, and I was still so happy and surprised I could barely say anything.Later, after our return, I was able to pull myself together enough to confirm that, yes, we are engaged.

Cracked Pepper Pollock

2 pollock fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
fresh dill

Preheat oven to 425 F. Arrange pollock on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In a small bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour evenly over fish and top with fresh dill. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve with a spritz of lemon juice.

tuna pomegranate & roasted garlic wraps

On Saturday we had a little breath of spring here in Queens. On Wednesday the puddles along the gutters looked like spills of iced coffee. Thursday the weather was slightly above freezing, Friday it was downright balmy, but it rained in the evening. Saturday dawned bright and clear, with a nip in the air but the promise of actual warmth from the sun.

This close to the end of winter, our stores were running low. The Trainer used the last of the walnuts and pecans on his oatmeal and after making bread and test running a few recipes I could see the bottom of the proverbial barrel of my dried fruit stores.

A trip to Trader Joe's was in order, and in this weather we decided to take the bikes. I'm always fascinated as we pedal through cross-sections of ethnic neighborhoods. On a Saturday afternoon we see Latin people strutting along Roosevelt avenue. There are so many Italian restaurants along one section of Queens Boulevard that it smells perpetually of pizza and tomato sauce. As we push up the hill barely pass Jewish families walking home from Temple, the women in long skirts and kerchiefs over their hair. Here all the restaurants are glatt Kosher and the signs read in Russian. When the signs shift to Greek we turn onto Whitestone Boulevard for the final push to the store.

We loaded up on nuts, nut butters, dried fruit, mesquite honey and just a few other necessaries. With more than 20 pounds of food split between two packs we step out to unlock the bikes to discover that winter was back. By the time we got home I wasn't feeling my toes and my hands were stiff around my handle bars. Just once it would be nice for the ride home to be the easier one.

After putting the bikes back in the basement and filling the cupboards with our haul I was famished. I wanted protein after a trip like that and I just happened to have a brand new can of Trader Joe's tuna, packed in water with no soy or anything. I had some kind of inspiration and threw together a quick wrap, which was so filling and unexpectedly delicious that I got the ingredients and made a prettier version tonight.
Tuna Pomegranate & Roasted Garlic Wrap

2-3 large leaves of lettuce
1 can tuna, drained
6-9 cloves roasted garlic
1-2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Salt

Was and dry your lettuce. Smush garlic along the length of the rid of one lettuce leaf. Spread the tuna on top of the garlic. Drizzle pomegranate molasses along the tuna and salt to taste. Fold lettuce and wrap with the other leaves.

Tuna Pomegranate & Roasted Garlic Hor Devoures

1 tuna steak
roasted garlic
pomegranate molasses
lettuce, cut into ribbons
fleur de sel
olive oil

Pour a little but of oil into a skillet and heat until it's very hot. Sear the tuna steak, no more than 2 minutes on each side. Remove to a cutting board and slice into 1 1/2inch wide strips. Sear the fresh sides of the tuna. When the tuna is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/4inch thick slices. top each slice with a smear of pomegranate molasses, one clove of roasted garlic and wrap with a ribbon of lettuce. Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with fleur de sel and serve warm or cold.

roasted salmon with lemon oil

This morning as I was cooking my spicy-crispy kale I thought about how our bodies tell us they need, if we're only able to listen. In going gluten free, and even following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) I've longed for replications of baked goods and comfort foods that I used to have.

But when I think bake to me early childhood I wasn't a big fan of bread, or cake (even is I have always had a sweet tooth), or even pasta. I shied away from them when I was young, but somehow, when I learned that those thing made me ill, I wanted to find replacements. But those replacements don't agree with me either.

When I stop and listen to my body, it tells me that it wants protein. Meat, fish, poultry, any kind will do as long as it's protein. Fresh vegetables are great too, but right now my body wants meat. Whatever nutritionists may say, I know that I feel my all around best when I have more protein than anything else.

This then presents the challenge of how to eat my meat and enjoy it too, without getting bored and eating the same thing all the time. I try to mix things up, having fish a few days a week and I found this great roasted salmon recipe. It's great fresh from the oven, the left overs freeze well, and it's especially good cold over salad, the lemon oil negating the need for any type of salad dressing.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I am.

Roasted Salmon with Lemon Oil

1 large lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
4 6-8oz salmon fillets
kosher salt
fresh pepper

Set rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 450° F. Zest the lemon and mix zest and olive oil in a small bowl and set aside. Arrange the fillets on a heavy baking sheet, skin side down, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the salmon for 10-13 minutes and remove from oven, immediately squeeze the lemon over the salmon. Arrange over fresh salad or cooked vegetable and drizzle with lemon infused olive oil.

Tilapia on a Whim

Last weekend, while watching TV, my boyfriend asked me what tilapia was. He had read in his Flex magazine that some professional body builder was helping to train another and he recommended eating lots of tilapia. So naturally, my boyfriend wants to try tilapia too.

I did a little web research and learned that tilapia is not only on the “safe” list, it’s low calorie, high in protein and low in fat compared to, say, sea bass or tuna.

Never one to turn down a challenge I decided to give it a shot. I thought about what would be fairly fool proof, in terms of my boyfriend trying new foods: nothing fancy or spicy, and what ingredients I already had at home: the end of a bottle of white wine from my last seafood project.

On the way home I stopped at the local grocery, grabbed what looked good and threw this together.

2 fillets Tilapia
1 medium Vidalia or yellow Onion, sliced
2 cloves Garlic, sliced
1 Tomato, diced
3 sprigs fresh Rosemary, partially chopped
White Whine
Olive Oil
Salt and Fresh Pepper

Wash the tilapia and lay on a plate. Sprinkle salt, fresh ground pepper and chopped rosemary over fish. Clean and slice garlic and onions. Sautee garlic, onions and rosemary with salt and pepper until onions are translucent. Push onions to sides of pan, lay tilapia fillets in pan to sear on one side. After 3 minutes flip fillets and cover with onions. Add diced tomato and enough white wine to cover bottom of pan. Cover and cooked until fish is cooked through, about 7 minutes.

We had this with brown rice. I started the rice before I started to prepare the fish and they were done at just about the same time.

My boyfriend really liked it, the only thing that slipped my mind in the mad-dash for groceries was the lemon, luckily we always have limes in the refrigerator. I expect I’ll be making tilapia in ever more creative ways in the future.