i have been remiss in my writing. i assure you (dear one reader), that i think about food a lot more than i write about it here. i guess i am still a little shy about my writing. at any rate, last night, just your regular ole tuesday, i pulled together a tasty meal that reminded me that planning isn't the only way to go. every week, my husband and i determine our weeknight commitments and plan our shopping around how many nights we plan to be at home during dinner. still, we don't plan out all the components to every meal.
so yesterday, as i wondered what we'd have for dinner, i remembered the idaho rainbow trout that would need to be consumed soon or tossed. i'm not a fish-cooking expert. i almost always overcook it. it seems i would have made that mistake only once and not again, but somehow i manage to continually overcook fish. i think it's because i try to multi-task and fish requires your undivided attention, if only because it takes about 2-3 minutes to cook a thin filet. last night, i began with some sweet potatoes and onions (about 2-inch pieces), doused them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder (sorry mom, i used powder) and threw them in a preheated oven at 425 for 35 minutes. then, i steamed some broccoli and finished it with earth balance (have you gone out and bought it yet??) and some salt and pepper. finally, i melted some butter, coated the fish with old bay, sea salt, pepper, and a little cayenne, and sauteed it on medium-high heat, 2 minutes on each side. i was careful to remove it from the heat before i thought it was actually done. that's been my trick lately. when in doubt, under cook since it's my tendency to overcook. the dinner was colorful, delicious, and aside from the butter, pretty light. my culinary wizard of a mom always made sure that our meals contained a multi-color palette. i guess that comes from her art history background. and she is right. the orange, white, and green meal last night was gorgeous, but that didn't stop me from devouring it.
to get back to my under cook philosophy, it annoys me from time to time that i can't just learn how to pay attention to what i'm doing. i almost always over-broil everything (burnt garlic bread is a specialty of mine). i will leave the kitchen and come back to a half-empty bubbling pot of water i started and forgot about. i've served brown green beans much to my dismay. to another, less appreciative eater, this might be acceptable, but i simply cannot stand it. so, i have spent years fist-clenching and growling at myself when i fail to learn. the last bit of burnt garlic bread launched me into an unreasonable depression (that lasted a good 20 minutes -- and that's a big commitment for me). lately, instead of getting angry at what i know well to be my patterns, i've just tried accepting them and setting timers, not allowing myself to get distracted, and forgiving (that's the hardest one) my mistakes. it's a whole lot easier than fighting my unchanging patterns.
