Beloved's Choice

My Beloved was out and about on errands and called to ask if he could bring home something for lunch. I checked the fridge and, oops, nothing in there that qualified as lunch, so I said yes - and why not something a little different for dinner as well?

Here's what he found - lovely snapper, locally caught. I went looking for easy on the epicurious.com website and successfully downloaded this recipe.

Mild fish and toasted almonds are a natural together, especially when a nice big blob of butter and a big squeeze of lemon juice are included. Simplicity itself, and that lets the fish shine as well as the preparation. From start to finish it took no more time than steaming the veggies did. Apparently, this recipe comes from the book, "French Women Don't Get Fat." Frankly, I'm surprised. The generous browned butter, olive oil and almonds in this recipe aren't exactly dietary fare. Maybe if I had had the fresh parsley the recipe recommended, it would have cancelled out the calories?

In any case, it was fresh, mild and wicked-delicious. I'm sending the boy out for lunch makings more often.

Fish and Fudge

When Cousin J-Yah comes down from Petaluma to visit, I never know what goodies she will bring with her. Sometimes, it's kitchen magic, other times it's a mystery, but it's always slightly surprising.

Last week, in honor of my Social Security birthday (62 - I'm not waiting, in case they run out!), she brought me fish and fudge. See what I mean?

Here's one of the pieces of fish, a lovely mild snapper that she purchased from her "fish man," to date a mystery figure. I've gotta meet this guy, however, as he has wonderfully fresh fish.

I prepared it simply by brushing it on both sides with olive oil and broiling it on one side only, 6-8 inches from the broiler until done, just about five minutes, then brushed with a butter melted with lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano and pepper to taste. I broiled a fresh tomato at the same time, drizzled with some olive oil and brushed with the same butter once it came out. Delicious. Scrumptious, in fact. But, next time, I'd try broiling the butter, too, as I think the nutty flavor of the cooked butter might have been even better.

J-Yah also brought us a nice big piece of salmon; stay tuned. And I'm thinking about what to do with the fudge, too.