Cumin Cod with Potatoes au Gratin and Broccoli

I wanted snapper but Save On didn't have a package with two fillets roughly the same size. They were all a great white and a minnow. So I bought cod. Last week I overcooked the cod so this time I wanted to watch the fish more carefully. The problem with cod is it can be quite thick and take a while to cook to the centre. I started the potatoes first.

I peeled four small potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced. An onion diced and sweated to golden in an 8x8 square pan. In a small pot a roux of a tablespoon of olive oil and a heaping teaspoon of flour.  I cooked the flour taste off and removed from heat. Then I whisked in 1/4 cup chicken stock. (I intended to use beef but the beef stock is in a box and the chicken stock I make myself and is in a glass pitcher, so anyone could confuse them!) Anyway, beef would have tasted better than chicken but no one complained. I quickly added half a cup of milk and whisked it in, then added more and put the pot back on medium heat.  Cheese sauce has to be whisked to keep it from burning on the bottom. (or heat it slower at lower temperature) If it thickens too much add a little more milk. Add one cup grated cheddar. Armstrong Extra Old is a nice one. It pays to buy quality cheese for sauce because the whole meal hangs on the flavour of the sauce. Kraft isn't good enough. Once the sauce is ready add the onions to it, mix and cover the bottom of the square pan with sauce. Add half the potatoes spread out and half remaining sauce. Add remaining potatoes and sauce. Put in 350ºF oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave as long as possible to cook the potatoes.

The broccoli was steamed then run under cold water to stop cooking and reheated in olive oil. The cod was salted and dusted with onion powder and a little cumin. I got plenty of oil hot in a large pan and added Fern's big fat piece first. I only waited about half a minute before adding my smaller piece. I should have waited a full minute as it turns out. Fern's piece was a little under done in the centre and he wasn't convinced I had created a new dish of sushi stuffed fried cod.

Otherwise it was a wonderful meal. I have failed to make good scalloped potatoes on several occasions so it was reassuring to turn out good potatoes au gratin.  

Chicken and Asparagus with Hollandaise and a Green Papaya Salad

I boned the breasts and put the skins in a pan to crisp up for the dogs. The meat I seasoned with salt, onion powder and poultry seasoning, sprayed with olive oil and put it on the BBQ. I wanted the BBQ on high for the first couple of minutes but forgot to turn it down so the seasoning on the outside tended to scorch. It tasted good but would have been better cooked slower. The rice was done in the microwave with salt, olive oil and lemon juice. Not enough lemon to taste, just a little acid to heighten the flavour. Done this way the rice tastes good on it's own, it doesn't need soy sauce to bring it to life.

I steamed the asparagus and served with:

Quick Easy Microwave Hollandaise Sauce

1 egg yolk

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp water

salt

1/4 cup butter

Melt the butter but don't get it hot. If the butter is hot it will cook the egg and you'll get scrambled eggs. In a glass bowl slowly whisk the melted butter into the yolk just like making mayonnaise. Also, just like mayonnaise, if butter is added too much at a time, the sauce will break. When all the butter is taken up whisk in some lemon juice, water and salt. At this point it should be thin so it can thicken as it cooks. Warm it up on high in the microwave for 20 seconds till it starts to thicken. Have a taste. It probably needs more lemon and will take more water in minute. Keep putting it back in the microwave for ten seconds at a time, taking it out to whisk then back in and repeat till it's cooked. It takes about two minutes over all.

Green Papaya Salad

1/3 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts or cashews (I used cashews)

1/2 cup chopped coriander (cilantro) or mint (I used chocolate mint) 

1 green papaya

3 green onions or 1/2 a red onion

optional:

3 or 4 green beans ( I used four)

1 cup glass noodles - left out

1 choko (a type of squash) - left out

jicama - left out

Dressing

2 tbsp lime juice

4 tsp fish sauce

1/4 tsp hot sauce or fresh jalapeno (I used jalapeno)

The chicken was a bit scorched but still juicy inside and tasted good. The rice is wonderful with a hint of acid from the lemon. The Hollandaise was perfect. The asparagus was almost overcooked but I got it just in time. 

The green papaya salad was good but not terrific. Patty Bowes, chef Dave's wife from the Laughing Oyster, brought me this recipe from their recent trip through Vietnam. I'll bet the version they tasted was a lot better than mine. That's why I don't try recipes for foods I'm unfamiliar with, I haven't got a clue what it SHOULD taste like, so I don't know what to do to improve the flavour. 

Fern's Back Spaghetti

Fern is back from Vancouver so I made spaghetti because it can be kept hot and finished quickly when he gets home. I sweated an onion, carrot and celery stick. Fern had sweated some mixed peppers for me and I had some mushrooms. When all the vegetable ingredients were started I removed everything from the pan and put the ground beef in, about 500gm or a bit more than a pound. While that was browning I chopped up a small chorizo sausage for a little spice. This one was from Save On Foods, cost about $3.50 which put me off but hopefully it will be better than the much cheaper one I tried several years ago.

Once the meat was browned I added a cup of beef stock and two cans of tomato paste and a can of Aylmer tomato soup. A smashed and diced garlic clove followed by some water to thin it out. Add salt, pepper and plenty of basil. Taste it to see where it is then add more beef stock or water as needed. Simmer it slowly for a couple of hours and it's done.

Vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp white wine vinegar

salt

pepper

1 tbsp fresh oregano

dot of mustard

Whisk the dressing and add tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and half an apple diced. Toss and serve. The spaghetti has fresh grated parmesan on top.

It was very good. I think I'm going in the right direction with tomato paste instead of buying tomato sauce. A can of tomato sauce has tomato paste, beef stock, water and salt so why not mix that up myself and save a few bucks?

Home Alone Rib Steak

Fern had to go to town overnight so I had a nice rib steak for dinner. Asparagus was on sale so I picked that up.  I planned to make hollandaise sauce for it.  A baked potato with sour cream and a few prawns in the hollandaise rounded out the plate.

I seasoned the steak with salt and black pepper then did it on the BBQ in 2x2x2x2 minutes to get crossed grill marks on both sides. Baked potato was done in the microwave, the asparagus was steamed. 

The hollandaise sauce was made in the microwave from fresh ingredients. I needed sauce for one so I used only one egg yolk and put all the sauce on the plate. That is how much hollandaise that can be made from one egg yolk.

Microwave Hollandaise Sauce

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup melted butter (NOT HOT - hot butter will cook the egg)

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp water

salt

Whisk the butter into the egg a little at a time till it is all emulsified, like mayonnaise. Whisk in lemon juice and a little water, pinch of salt and put on low heat. The emulsion will melt first then thicken as it heats and cooks. If it thickens too much add a little water.

I used frozen cooked prawns that I took the tails off. When the hollandaise was ready I added the prawns to the hollandaise to warm up while everything else was plated. 

This meal was delicious from every angle and it is absolutely worth while making all this for one person, me.

Rosemary Chicken

I marinated the chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, white wine, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary and paprika. Only for about half an hour but it was enough to pump the flavour up. I steamed the vegetables and finished them in olive oil.  The potatoes had butter, salt and milk. The salad had iceberg lettuce, English cucumber, tomato, apple and pine nuts.

Vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

1 tbsp fresh oregano

I'm amazed at how good fresh golden oregano is on chicken, pork and even in salad.

Pork Schnitzel

These schnitzels from Save On Foods taste great and are super easy to prepare (assuming all stores have the same seasoning). They are seasoned at the store and the seasoning tastes great, it even has enough salt. All I have to do is make sure the oil is hot. If the oil isn't hot enough, the breading sinks through the thin layer of oil and cooks onto the pan. Hot oil cooks the breading before it can stick to the pan.

The rice is basmati with salt, olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice. Not enough lemon juice to taste it, but enough to make the rice a bit acidic and bring out it's flavour. Done this way it doesn't need anything else to flavour it.

The salad was iceberg lettuce, English cucumber, tomato, black olives, chives, fresh golden oregano and feta cheese. 

Vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

Whisk, toss and plate.

The condiment with the pork is Fern's ketchup of onions, tomato and pear. 

The meal was wonderful. The only flaw was the bland, flavourless black olives. I tried a can of Lindsay olives, I think it has a red label. The salad would have been better without them.

Pork Souvlaki

It was time for pork and it was late in the day so I went to Mitchell's and picked up a couple of pork souvlaki skewers. I did them on the BBQ and the rice was done in the microwave.  The rice had salt, olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice. I'm amazed that a little lemon can perk up a starch the way it does. Done this way I don't need soy sauce to make the rice palatable. 

The salad was lettuce, tomato, cucumber, apple, walnut and chive.

Vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper

1 tbsp fresh chopped oregano

Whisk, toss everything together and serve.

Mitchell's uses a really good marinade for the their souvlaki so the pork was predictably delicious.  As I said the rice was good on it's own and the salad stood out for it's fresh crunch. For a quick, last minute meal, this one takes the cake.