Meal of the Year

My 10 year-old son came home from fishing, face beaming, with 2 beautiful looking salmon! All other plans for dinner were immediately cancelled (leftovers), as I started to think about how to cook these magnificent creatures of the sea.

I don't cook fish much, even though I love it, so I was a bit stumped for ideas. I rang my partner, who just happens to be a dab hand at fishing and cooking. 'Simple is best' is his philosophy when it comes to cooking fresh produce, especially from the sea. He recommended cooking the fish in a parcel in the oven. I wandered out to the wintery herb garden to see what flavours I could find.

The coriander has re-seeded from my summer crop, little babies grow like grass everywhere (my mum calls me the 'coriander queen' - I can grow it year round down here on the coast). I decided thyme and parsley would go well, along with sage and rosemary. I just love rosemary, with nearly any meat. It is especially delicious with chicken. I remember growing up and only having rosemary with lamb, but that was awhile ago now... how food and flavours have changed. I went back inside and looked at these beautiful, white-fleshed fish, their eyes glistening. We had a moment, I took my time.

I placed all my aromatic herbs in the fish cavity along with butter and sliced lemons (from my mum's lemon tree). I salted the skin with Murray River Pink Salt and added more sliced lemons on top, then wrapped them in foil with some Rowallan Olive Oil from my local farmers market (one of the best oils in our region, in my opinion). Baked for about 20 mins and served with rice and steamed green beans, tossed in olive oil and garlic.
This was the meal of the year in my house so far. I felt happy to be eating such fresh produce, locally and home-grown goods and to see my boy grinning from ear to ear was just priceless. He wanted dessert but I was just so sated, I want the flavours to last forever. I know the memory will.

Baby it's cold outside

Winter has hit with a big icy chill, bucket-loads of heavy, heavy rain and wind whipped straight up from the Arctic ice. It is the wind I dislike intensely but I get out in it anyway, embrace the enemy, my foe. What other options do I have? To be cold and bitter? Well, bitterly cold at the least.

What I do love about winter is food! Hearty casseroles, slow cooked, stirred lovingly & tasted at regular intervals, seasoned 'just right' and then indulged in. Usually with piles of creamy mashed potato, French style. Butter is no issue. In fact, I do like to include most dairy products in my mash - cream, milk, cheese, even yoghurt if need be...
I also love moist cakes. An afternoon cinnamon tea cake, or an almond & orange cake, eaten warm with fresh cream and orange flower syrup. The evening generally calls for a chocolate pudding, soft and delicate with a bit of sweet crunch on the outside, slathered in dark chocolate sauce, ice cream and cream. Dairy intolerance? Thank goodness NO!
I was reading a copy of Delicious at work when a fellow co-worker commented "fantasising again are you Dani?". I was taken aback and gushed, "this is reality, REALITY I am living here". I am memorising these recipes and going to cook them all. Yes indeed, so righteous about my food. I take it seriously. I know that many people don't get enough, and that many over consume themselves to death. What a strange world we live in.

So, tonight was all about leftovers. I'd made a hearty bacon-bone and red lentil soup during the week, just enough left for one big steaming bowl. The son and heir was happy with noodles, yes from a packet. Bad mother, bad. I had planned on a beef bourguignon, but as I type it's still in the oven, cooking slowly and luxuriously. It's going to taste amazing tomorrow. Dessert was the fail-safe chocolate pudding that I'd made for the kids yesterday, making sure to leave some for leftovers. Glass of red in hand, I am sated and can settle in for the evening 'cos baby it's COLD outside.