Salmon-noodle casserole

I based this on a tuna casserole recipe to create this. I think it turned out really good.

Salmon-noodle casserole (makes 4 large servings)
3 cups uncooked whole-grain rotini noodles
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

3/4 cup fat-free milk
6 ounces cooked salmon
1 cup steamed green beans, chopped (or you could use chopped bell pepper or shrooms)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper, to taste

optional: 3-4 tablespoons shredded parmesan

1.) Heat the butter in a large pan and cook the celery and onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the soup and whisk.

2.) Add the pasta, salmon, and beans, and stir gently. Take off heat.

3.) Spread into a casserole dish. Sprinkle with parmesan.

4.) Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

Citrus-roasted snapper

Well, here it is, the final fish dish in the week's worth of dinners. The photo's not much to look at, but this is a good dish if you're in the mood for something mild and low fat that could accompany a wide variety of sides.

I had no idea initially how this would taste because I'd never made it before. Actually, I'd never made any of the fish recipes I've posted here since last Monday. My top pick is the oven-steamed tilapia, but the others all ran a close second.

This one takes the cake for simplicity -- and it's so low-cal (151 calories per serving)! I recommend serving this with a veggie side and some brown rice to soak up the juices. Some recommended sides are listed after the recipe (which, by the way, is from The Wellness Kitchen).

Citrus-roasted snapper (serves 4)

4 red snapper fillets, about 5 ounces each

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

optional: 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1.) Spray a small baking dish with oil and preheat oven to 425.

2.) Sprinkle the snapper with the lime and orange juices, then with the sugar and salt. Top with mint, if using.

3.) Roast for about 10 minutes. (I cooked a single fillet that was 0.83 pounds for Dan and me, and it took twice that amount of time.) Fish should flake when tested with a fork.

Possible sides:

spiced spinach

corny corn bread (instead of rice)

Scandinavian cucumber salad

Today's food fact: Shrimp is the number-one seafood consumed in the United States.

Today's question: What's your favorite fish/seafood? I don't think I can pick a fave.

Mahi mahi parmesan

Do you ever find yourself sitting in a doctor's waiting room, flipping through a magazine, when you realize the only thing you wanted to read has been ripped out by some selfish person?

I'm coming clean. I'm the guilty party. You can direct your anger to me now.

Truthfully, I've only done this a couple times, and only for recipes. The following recipe was acquired that way recently, from the September 2008 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Let's hope it was worth it!* In the future, I will bring along a pen and paper...

Note: This recipe originally was for tuna steaks.

Mahi mahi parmesan (serves 4)

2 lemons

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 ounces asparagus, trimmed

16 ounces mahi mahi, in four equal pieces

5 ounces salad greens (the recipe called for mixed baby greens)

1/3 cup freshly shaved parmesan

1.) Preheat oven to 450. Finely shred 2 teaspoons of peel from a lemon, and squeeze the juice.

2.) In a small bowl, whisk the oil, peel, juice, pepper, and salt. Set aside. Cut second lemon into wedges.

3.) Put asparagus in baking pan in a single layer, and drizzle 2 tablespoons of dressing over it. Bake for 8 minutes.

4.) Heat 1 tablespoon dressing in a large skillet. Add fish, and cook 4-6 minutes per side, until browned. (If cooking tuna, the inside should be slightly pink.)

5.) Put greens onto plates. Top with fish and put asparagus on the side. Drizzle the rest of the dressing over the salads, and sprinkle with parmesan. Serve with lemon wedges.

* Definitely worth it!

Sicilian-style grouper

"Scrape up any brown bits." A recipe that says that is a recipe after my own heart.

This grouper recipe says that, and it's incredibly healthy and yummy, to boot!

This is the most labor-intensive fish dish during this fish-heavy week. (Still coming up we have mahi mahi and red snapper recipes.)

The recipe comes from Lidia's Italy, a cookbook whose dishes make my mouth water! The recipes are so very specific -- calling for, say, "hand-crushed" tomatoes -- but I trust whatever Lidia says because of the success I've had with her recipes -- especially my all-time favorite beef goulash recipe. (I will post that someday, I promise.)

Well, this is called "grouper matalotta style," and Lidia explains that "alla matalotta" can be done with halibut or striped bass or black bass. It's a dish rich with garlic, capers, and green olives. A true kitchen adventure for me! While I love green olives and capers in meals, I don't think I've ever cooked with them myself. And, I know I've never cooked with grouper.

Note: This recipe requires a heavy-bottomed sauce- or saute pan, about 13 inches wide with a cover. (Dan said that sounds like a Monty Python skit: "I've got a bit of heavy bottom sauce...")

I cut the recipe below in half for just Dan and me, though, so we didn't need a pan quite that large, but I used one anyway.

Grouper matalotta style (serves 6)

2 pounds skinless grouper fillet (halibut, striped bass, or black bass will also do)

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, or to taste

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

all-purpose flour, for dredging (about 1/2 cup)

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (let them sit for 10 or so minutes before using; their most healthful properties will be activated)

1/2 cup finely chopped celery hearts and leaves

1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste (I couldn't find these anywhere, so I left them out, unfortunately. I'm sure they gave a little zest to the dish.)

1 cup Sicilian or other large green, brine-cured olives, pitted and halved

2 tablespoons small capers, drained

2 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes, crushed by hand (Lidia recommends San Marzano, a brand I found at Bloomingfoods, but I used chopped tomatoes)

3 cups hot water, or as needed

6 large fresh basil leaves, shredded

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley (I wasn't sure what Italian parsley was, but here it is:)

1.) Slice the grouper into six chunks, roughly equal in size. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.

2.) Pour the olive oil into the saucepan and put it over medium-high heat.

3.) Dredge the fish chunks in flour, shaking off the excess, and set them in the hot oil. Cook for about 1-1/2 minutes.

Turn them and lightly color the other side. Remove with a spatula and place on a plate.

4.) Scatter the onion slices in the pan, and stir, scraping up bits. Toss in the garlic and celery, stir, and season with the peperoncino -- if you have it -- and another 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir for about two minutes as they sizzle, then toss in the olives and caper, stirring until they sizzle.

5.) Pour in the crushed -- or chopped -- tomatoes and hot water. Turn up the heat, and stir until the liquid boils. Adjust the heat to keep it bubbling, and stir in the basil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Partially cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

6.) Lay the grouper into the sauce in one layer, pouring any juices that have accumulated on the fish plate. Make sure the chunks are nearly covered with sauce; add more water if necessary.

7.) Heat rapidly back to a boil, then simmer gently, partially covered. Shake the pan to distribute that sauce.

8.) When grouper is tender and sauce is slightly thickened -- 20-25 minutes later -- turn the heat off.

9.) Just before serving, drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on top and sprinkle with parsley.

We had this meal with roasted lemon broccoli, a staple in our house, and I highly recommend warm Italian (or French) bread alongside to soak up the sauce!

Baked salmon salad

This recipe was adapted slightly from a grilled tuna salad recipe in The Wellness Kitchen, one of my favorite cookbooks. It was super tasty!

Baked salmon salad (makes 4 large servings)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

4 salmon fillets, about 4 ounces each

1 pound potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1/2 pound sugar snap peas, ends trimmed

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

salad greens (4-6 large leaves per serving)

2 cups plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise

4 sliced green onions

1.) Mix the cumin, coriander, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Brush salmon pieces with olive oil, then rub the cumin mix on them.

2.) Bake the salmon on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven for 20 minutes. Use this time to prepare the rest of the dish.

3.) Steam the potato pieces (about 7 minutes). Put them aside, then use the steamer water to quickly cook the snap peas. Toss them into the boiling water for about 2 minutes.

4.) Whisk the remaining salt, lime juice, oil, and mustard, and add the potatoes and snap peas to that dressing. Add the tomatoes, green onions, and lettuce, and toss all that together well.

5.) When the salmon is done, arrange the salads on plates and top each with a piece of sliced salmon.

Oven-steamed tilapia fillets

First up: Oven-steamed tilapia. *

This recipe is incredibly versatile, so feel free to substitute with a different fish, starch, or veggie.

Two major bonuses to making these packets: They are quick to make, with very few prep dishes to clean up. Hooray!

Oven-steamed tilapia fillets (serves 4)

4 sheets of parchment, about 2 feet long each

1-2 limes, washed and sliced

1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced very thinly

4 tilapia fillets, 5-6 ounces each

1 zucchini, shredded or sliced

8 thick slices of sweet white onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

6-8 tablespoons of sweet and spicy chile sauce, such as Mae Ploy (the generic ones taste exactly the same to me)

1.) Lay a sheet of foil on your kitchen counter. In the center, arrange one-quarter of your sweet potato slices.

2.) Top that with one-quarter of the zucchini, then garlic and onion, then the tilapia fillet.

3.) Drizzle one tablespoon (or more) of your chile sauce on the ingredients, and top with lime slices and salt and pepper.

4.) Fold the foil or parchment over the ingredients, and fold the edges to seal them in. Leave some room at the top for the steam. It should look a little like a paper lunch sack.

5.) Bake on a baking sheet at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.

* If you love tilapia, try this tilapia chowder with fresh tarragon sometime. It's one of my new favorite dishes.

Today's food fact: Tilapia is now the fifth most popular seafood in the United States, according to the American Tilapia Association, a site hosted by the University of Arizona. But, according to a July article in Science Daily, "Farm-raised tilapia ... has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids...
"The researchers say the combination could be a potentially dangerous food source for some patients with heart disease, arthritis, asthma and other allergic and auto-immune diseases that are particularly vulnerable to an 'exaggerated inflammatory response.'"

Today's question: What do you think are the four most popular seafoods consumed in the United States?

Shrimp, corn, & "sausage" chowder with potato dumplings

I was craving some kind of gumbo-ish, chowder-ish, shrimp- and sausage filled dish yesterday, even though the weather was a sunny 75 degrees or so.

I decided to get faux Italian sausage, and I picked up a Boca box because it was on clearance. (Usually, I would get Applegate Farms, but it's pretty pricey.)

The potato dumplings were Dan's idea. I noticed last-minute, as I was slicing things in the food processor with the oil heating on the stove, that I didn't have any potatoes, and he suggested our instant potato dumplings my mother brought us. They are great as an easy side dish and made from dried potato flakes, potato starch, and seasoning salt.

You could easily substitute matzo balls, American dumplings, or regular potatoes in place of the potato dumplings.

Shrimp, corn, and "sausage" chowder with potato dumplings (serves 8-10)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 small or medium onion, sliced

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

2 spicy Italian sausage links (I used Boca's vegetarian Italian sausage, but you can use real sausage, too -- it would be even more delicious!)

5 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup water

8 ounces frozen corn kernels

8 ounces peeled shrimp

1.5 teaspoons dried thyme

3/4 teaspoon gumbo file (ground sassafrass leaves -- I like Tony Chachere's)

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup soy creamer or light cream (I like the soy because it's a little sweet)

8 potato dumplings, cut into fourths or eighths (If you can't find the instant brand I use, Marena -- which I haven't seen it in the U.S. -- try this simple recipe)

1.) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large soup pot over medium. Add celery, onion, and red and green pepper, and cook about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.) Add chicken broth, corn, carrots, thyme, salt, pepper, and gumbo file, and bring to a boil.

3.) Simmer the two sausage links in 1/2 cup water in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Drain sausages, return to skillet with 1 teaspoon oil, and brown on all sides, about 4 minutes in all. Slice the sausage when cool enough to handle.

4.) Add sausage to the soup pot; bring to a boil. Turn heat to a gentle simmer, and simmer about 20 minutes, covered.

5.) Add the shrimp just as you turn off the heat, and cover. Let sit 5 minutes.

6.) Stir in creamer or cream, and add the hot potato dumplings.

Mango-raspberry salmon

Believe it or not, I am already getting super excited about the holidays. Christmas, especially. We are going to visit my family in Germany -- my sister, her husband and two kids, and my parents!

I've already started thinking about goodies to make them when I am there. The main feature of mine will be a dessert: pear bars with macadamia nut crust that my sister-in-law Kristen made over the weekend. They were UNBELIEVABLE! I ate far too many. The recipe came from her friend Joni, and I'll definitely post it when I make it. ...Until then: Here's something healthy for you, so you can be extra-bad at the holiday gatherings!

Mango-raspberry salmon (serves 2)*

1/8 cup mango chutney (I like Patak's)

1/8 cup raspberry jam

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 salmon fillets

1.) Whisk together all ingredients (except fillets) in a small bowl.

2.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place fillets in a small skillet or roasting pan. Pour the mango-raspberry mixture over them, and bake for 30 minutes, covered.

3.) Uncover, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Serve with a salad or roasted lemon broccoli and brown basmati rice or quinoa.

*A note of caution: The sauce in this recipe is very sweet, so spoon some over the salmon while serving, but not too much. It's best to serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Pesto fish with spelt noodles

Ah, easy and successful. There's nothing better.

1.) To serve two people, I took four cubes -- the equivalent of 4 tablespoons -- of frozen pesto out to thaw. You could use ready-made pesto.

2.) I baked it, covered, over a half-pound fish at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. I bought a kebab at Bloomingfoods because it was cheaper than the other fish they had out. It was a mix of mahi-mahi, cod, and tuna, I think.

3.) I served it on top of spelt egg noodles, with a basic side salad.

Delish!

A note: Pesto works well with mild meats and fish; its flavor is so intense it will overpower or conflict with a fish like salmon.

Tilapia chowder with fresh tarragon

I used to buy those frozen packages that contained several fillets of tilapia; they were cheap, and what did I know? I've come to find it's worth spending an extra few bucks to get fresh fillets. Not only do they taste much more delicious, but they are much meatier than those flimsy frozen ones that have very little flavor until you add a bunch of stuff to them.

The idea for this recipe came from a recipe I saw a long time ago. It sounded so wonderful, but it had bacon and heavy cream. I think those ingredients are great for special occasions, but I wanted to make an everyday kind of soup that I wouldn't feel guilty about. I think part of what's so great about fish is that it's so healthy low-cal, and tilapia in particular is super lean. I also wanted a recipe I could throw in the crock pot and forget about for a while -- especially this week because I've got a lot on my plate (hee-hee).

Here's what I came up with. The fresh tarragon is very important, so don't consider leaving it out! It's a favorite herb of mine, and if you've never had it, take a taste to make sure you like it. It's got a hint of anise (slightly licorice-y).



Tilapia chowder with fresh tarragon (serves about 5)

1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 potatoes, chopped (I left the skins on)

2 carrots, sliced

1.5 teaspoons chicken broth powder

1/2 cup frozen peas

1.5 cups frozen corn

2 cups water

coarsely ground salt and black pepper, to taste

1.5 cups soy milk

about 4 tablespoons fresh tarragon, torn

1.) Put all ingredients except 3 tablespoons tarragon and the soy milk in a crock pot. Stir gently to blend, and cook on low for about 3.5 hours.

2.) Sprinkle the leftover tablespoons of tarragon on top of the chowder just before serving. I sprinkled a little on each individual bowl.



"I believe that if I ever had to practice cannibalism, I might manage if there were enough tarragon around." (James Beard, as quoted at Timeless Quotes)

Leftovers: Lobster, sweet potato, and corn bisque

Finding this recipe was absolute luck.

When Dan and I had whole lobsters quite a while back, I kept the shells and boiled them to make a stock, adding carrots, onion, and celery. I knew I wanted to make some sort of lobster-infused stew or soup, but beyond that, I wasn't sure what it would turn into.

I had sweet potatoes and corn in the house, and I thought those would probably go really well. Lo and behold, I opened a cookbook I had only used for a mushroom soup recipe a couple times -- Totally Dairy-Free Cooking, by Louis Lanza -- and found a recipe for lobster, sweet potato, and corn bisque. I cut the recipe in half and adapted it for my needs (i.e. I didn't have any brandy or white wine). Here's the resulting concoction, which turned out really delicious. The soy milk adds a little sweetness, and the lobster flavor really permeates the whole thing.

You could make your stock with the leftover shells from my broiled lobster tails recipe. Just boil the tails gently in enough water to cover them completely for about two hours -- cover the pot, too -- then strain the broth and discard the shells. Refrigerate if not using immediately to make the bisque.



Lobster, sweet potato, and corn bisque (makes 6 servings)

2 sweet potatoes

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup cooking sherry

1/2 cup water

5 cups lobster stock

1 cup lowfat soy milk or vanilla soy milk (I like WestSoy Plus)

salt and freshly ground black pepper



1.) Peel the sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, and steam until tender (for several minutes).

2.) Heat the olive oil in a stock pot, add the onion and cook about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and corn and cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes.

3.) Add the sherry and water and simmer, reducing the liquid to about half. Add the lobster stock and bring to a boil.

4.) Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.

5.) Add the sweet potatoes to the soup, and blend with a hand blender. Slowly add the soy milk while blending.

6.) Season with salt and pepper.



Coming up this week: I plan to re-create the tasty dipping olive oil from Grazie Italian Eatery, and I will share a roasted broccoli recipe that changed my mind about the green cruciferous veggies that I had been avoiding for so long. Also, I promise to post the Indian pea and potato soup recipe -- finally! If I have the time, I will also post the pecan pie recipe I made for my dad's 66th birthday on Friday. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait for that one. (It's worth it.)

Broiled lobster tails

If you like lobster, buying tails alone is better than getting whole lobsters. Not only is the preparation much, much easier, but eating them is not such a difficult mess -- although I'd still serve a bowl with lemon water on the side.

The tails are the tastiest part of the shellfish, and more affordable, I would say. Dan and I had whole lobsters one year on our anniversary, and we paid about $50 for two. Two tails, frozen, are $12.99 at Kroger.

The other night, we had tails on another anniversary, not our own. September 10 was my parents' 42nd anniversary! Here are photos to prove it.

The first photo was Sept. 10, 1966; the other was taken Sept. 10, 2008.

I decided to broil the lobster because most recipes I saw were for broiled, not grilled. But we grilled local, bi-color corn to have with them, along with this potato salad, made with extra tarragon. This butternut squash-potato puree with fresh thyme would go really well, too.

Check your diet at the door, and pass plenty of melted butter on the side.



Broiled lobster tails (serves 4-5)

8-10 frozen tails *

lots of butter



1.) Thaw lobster tails, unwrapped, in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.

2.) Brush them with butter and place them under a pre-heated broiler, about 4 inches from the flame. Let them cook 10-12 minutes. They will be ready with the tails turn up and the shells turn red.

3.) Serve with melted butter on the side.

* Keep the tail shells to make a lobster-corn bisque. I'll post that recipe sometime soon.

Best blackening mix ever (if I may say so myself)

I frequently buy blackened tofu in the deli of Bloomingfoods, sometimes just on its own, sometimes on the yummy sandwich they make that has red onion, lettuce, tomato, and vegannaise.

I wanted to make my own blackening spices at home, and when I searched the Internet for recipes, a huge array of them turned up, featuring all different kinds of herbs and spices and widely varying degrees of spiciness. I'm really picky about how spicy something is. So I tried a few of them out and came up with my own recipe, and if I may say so myself, it's damn fine. The best, I think.

I use this mix on tilapia fillets and tofu*. It makes great sandwiches. I plan to try it on catfish sometime soon.

*If using tofu, get a refrigerated, water-packed block, and weight it down with a plate while draining it on a paper towel for about 20 minutes before slicing into quarters, lengthwise.

Blackening spices (makes 3/4 cup mix; store in an air-tight container)

2-4 teaspoons salt, depending on how salty you like your food

2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika

2 teaspoons garlic granules

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 packed teaspoon rubbed sage

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1.) Mix all ingredients together with a fork or wire whisk. Pat the fish or tofu dry (rinse fish first). Spread the spice mix onto a shallow pan or plate, and lightly press both sides into it, so they gets evenly and completely coated.

2.) Fry, covered, over medium-high heat in a pre-heated, non-stick, oil-misted pan, about 3 minutes per side.

Today's question: Do you have any suggestions for interesting dishes I can make?

Mmmm...Japanese!

One of the things I love about cooking is that just when you think you've exhausted every option for making something interesting with a particular ingredient, you'll find a recipe or eat a meal that surprises you and puts that ingredient in a whole new light.

This is one of those meals. Not only does it have fun with such healthy staples as brown rice and salmon, it uses green tea -- who'd have thought of that? -- and eggplant, in a veggie-packed side dish.

The first dish is one that traditionally was served to guests "as a polite way of saying the party was over," according to the beautiful book "Japanese Cooking," by Emi Kazuko and Yasuko Fukuoka. It's a very basic dish but with a little soy sauce sprinkled on top -- and a tiny dot of wasabi, too -- it's super tasty. It's more of a snack than a meal, but with a generous side of vegetables, it will fill you up. And don't worry, the green tea is very subtle.

Both of the following recipes are from the book mentioned above, but adapted to suit my needs (i.e. I used a little more salmon and rice, I couldn't find shimeji mushrooms, etc.) The eggplant dish is extra tasty, and it would be great as a main dish, served over rice.

Rice in green tea with salmon (serves 4)

8 ounces of salmon fillet, 1 inch thick

salt

1/4 nori sheet (that's the dried seaweed that comes in sheets), sliced in 2-inch-by-3/4-inch strips

4 cups cooked short-grain brown rice

1 tablespoon sencha (green tea) leaves, brewed for about a minute in 2-1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon -- or more -- of wasabi paste

4 teaspoons soy sauce

1.) Put salt on the salmon and let it sit for 30 minutes. Wipe the salt off, and broil or grill the fish until cooked through. I broiled it on high for about 8 minutes. Remove the skin and flake into chunks with a fork.

2.) Put equal amounts of hot rice in bowls. Divide the salmon on top. Pour evenly over the rice and salmon. Top with the nori slices and wasabi, then drizzle with soy sauce.

Steamed eggplant with sesame sauce (serves 4 -- and would be even better as a main dish over rice than as a side!)

2 large aubergines (eggplant -- the long, light purple ones you can find at Asian markets)

about 2-1/2 cups dashi stock (that amount of water mixed with dashi-no-moto, also found at Asian markets), divided

3 tablespoons extra fine sugar, divided

1 tablespoon plus one dash of soy sauce, divided

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, ground with a mortar and pestle

2 tablespoons sake, divided (sake is Japanese wine; I bought cooking sake)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed

1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut in half

1/4 teaspoons salt

1.) Peel the aubergines and cut in quarters, lengthwise. Prick with a skewer or fork and put in salted water for a half-hour. Drain them, cut them in half, and steam them until tender.

2.) Mix 1-2/3 cups dashi stock, half the sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large pan. Carefully put the eggplants into the mixture, and cook at a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.

3.) Take 3 tablespoons of that stock and mix it with the ground sesames. Pour that back into the pan with the veggies.

4.) Mix 1 tablespoon sake and the cornstarch together, and add that to the pan, stirring quickly to mix it in. When it starts to become very thick, remove the pan from the heat. (I don't think I let my sauce get quite thick enough.)

5.) Mix the remaining dashi stock, sugar, sake, salt and soy sauce in a large, shallow pan, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender.

6.) Serve the aubergines in sauce, with the mushrooms and beans on top.

Leftovers: Trout gumbo

My husband is not a huge fan of dill, so while my first inclination was to make a chowder with the leftover trout, some potatoes, celery, milk or soy milk, and lots of fresh dill, I had to reconsider. Then I remembered I had some frozen okra, a little bell pepper, and onion, so gumbo became the planned dish of the day.

Gumbo is a lot like chili in its versatility. Every year I make turkey gumbo with the Thanksgiving leftovers; after one leftover meal that resembles Thanksgiving with all the fixin's, I'm done with all that until the next time. But there's usually just so much turkey, and a large pot of gumbo is a hit in my house.

You can make gumbo with just about any kind of fish, seafood, poultry, or sausage. Adding a little sausage to any gumbo is especially yummy, but because I'm going with what's already in my house, I'll be leaving that out.

Thickeners used include flour, gumbo file (sassafrass leaves), and okra, but not all at the same time. This makes it easy for people who don't like the texture of okra to leave it out. You can also choose to leave out tomatoes.

While bases such as Zatarain's are easy and tasty, it's also super easy to make gumbo from scratch. Here's my new recipe for trout gumbo.

Trout gumbo (makes 4 servings)

1-1/2 to 2 cups cooked trout, pesky bones carefully removed by hand, chopped into 1-inch pieces (although it might fall apart, and that's OK)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1-1/2 tablespoons flour

1/2 large white or yellow onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

8-10 ounces cut okra (I use frozen)

1-1/2 cups vegetable or fish stock

1 cup diced tomatoes, preferably the fire-roasted kind

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

plenty of freshly ground black pepper

salt, to taste, only after cooking if you're using the trout left over from the salt-crusted trout

lots of hot sauce (I use Melinda's)

gumbo file to sprinkle on individual servings (optional)


1.) Heat the flour in a small, non-stick pan over low heat, stirring, for about 6 minutes. Put aside.

2.) Heat the oil in a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and peppers, and cook until the onion softens, 4-5 minutes or so. Stir the flour in, making sure to coat the vegetables evenly with it.

3.) Add the vegetable or fish stock and okra, and let it gently simmer so it thickens.

4.) Add the tomatoes, thyme, pepper, and hot sauce.

5.) Add the fish. Take the gumbo off the heat, allowing the fish to heat but not continue cooking.

6.) Refrigerate and let the flavors combine for at least a few hours before reheating and serving, with a sprinkle of gumbo file on each bowl.

Fish dish, part 2: Salt-crusted trout

OK, making a salt crust for a whole fish really IS simple. Fun, too.

It's the rest of the mess that's tricky!

First, I must say that the salt crust really created fish that was super flavorful; I stuffed one with fresh dill and two others with a combination of fresh sage, tarragon and parsley. They were delicious. They also cooked relatively quickly -- 35 minutes at 400 degrees. (That's always a plus for people who like the idea of slow food and cooking something all afternoon but know the reality of it doesn't fit into their lives.) The whole process, from the time I unwrapped the fish to the time I had them on a platter, took less than an hour.

But... I didn't realize how tough it was to cut away gills and fins. Literally tough, yes, but I also got pretty squeamish. These things have heads with faces! Yikes. Plus, it was all a bit slimy.

Another difficult aspect was getting the fillets off the bones. Can one ever really get rid of all the bones before serving such fish? I don't know. I do know that the surprise of finding little bones in my mouth has always been an unwelcome one, and it's a reason I've stayed away from whole fish all these years.

All in all, I'm not sure I will repeat this dish. It's just so much easier to get fillets at the store, totally boneless and ready for the oven, the grill, or a marinade.

If you're up for trying a whole fish roasted in salt, have a go at it. I would request a fish that already has its gills and fins removed. Any small, whole fish will do. Here's how I made mine. It's adapted from "Fish: Without a Doubt," by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore.

Salt-crusted trout (serves 4)

3 whole trout, about 2 pounds in all, gutted and scaled, with gills and fins removed

5 egg whites

3/4 cup water

5 cups of sea salt

fresh herbs

1.) Whisk together the egg whites and water until they are very frothy. I whisked by hand for a few minutes.

2.) Add the sea salt into the mixture; it should feel like coarse, wet sand.

3.) Stuff the fish with the fresh herbs.

4.) Scoop about 1-1/2 to 2 cups of the mixture onto a baking sheet that's covered in foil. Lay the fish on top. 5.) Cover them completely with the rest of the salt mixture, and roast at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. When you remove it from the oven, it will look something like this:

6.) Crack the salt crust off, and let the fish cool for about 4 minutes. (My crust cracked off nicely in some spots, but crumbled in others. Not sure why.) Peel off the skin, and lift the top fillets off the bones.

7.) Pick up the bottom halves and do the same on a different surface. (This part is tricky; turn the bottom halves around, so the skin is on top again.)

Serve with lemon slices.

The question of the day: What's your favorite dish to make for a party?

Fishing for info

My quest to find a recipe for salt-crusted fish was successful. I found a book at my beloved public library, the Monroe County Public Library, aptly titled "Fish: Without a Doubt." There's a recipe in there for "whole fish roasted in salt." Pretty perfect.

It seems the process is a very simple one. You basically make a paste with sea salt and egg whites, which covers the fish completely. Any small, whole fish will work. You roast it, then crack the salt crust off. The crust is supposed to seal in moisture and flavor. I plan to stuff the fish with fresh herbs from my garden.

Now, something tells me it might be hard to find a whole fresh fish in landlocked Bloomington, Indiana. If I can't find a fresh one, I'll look for the next best thing. According to a wonderful beast of a book called "On Cooking," if a fish is labeled "fresh," that means it has never been frozen. If it's labeled "chilled," it indicates refrigeration (and I guess is replacing "fresh" in some places). If it's labeled "flash-frozen," it was quickly frozen after being caught; "fresh-frozen" is not quite as quickly frozen as flash; and "fancy" means previously frozen. "Glazed" is a term I'd never heard, and it means the fish was dipped in water while frozen, creating a protective glaze that prevents freezer burn.

My goal is to find a fresh fish, or at least a flash-frozen one. We'll see!

The question of the day: What's your favorite kitchen utensil?