Posts Tagged ‘fish’

I don’t like going into pet stores because it makes me sad to see the animals confined to tanks and cages. Recently though, I’ve found myself inside a few. Betta fish especially, in their tiny tanks, pull at my heart. I had the thought, “Maybe I should save one.” For months, the notion of bringing a fish into my family had been swirling around my mind like a persistent current, growing stronger and stronger until the direction was clear. I would save a fish. My floating thoughts meshed together into […]

My friend Matt Johnson stopped by to borrow a blow dryer to fix a window screen. (Yes, it’s actually a thing). As a thank you, Matt brought over homemade clafoutis. What is clafoutis? I didn’t know either until I took a bite of this decadent French pastry. The dessert is traditionally made with black cherries and placed in a shallow, buttered baking dish. It is then covered with a thick flan-like batter and topped with powdered sugar and butter. It’s served lukewarm and sometimes with cream. Matt’s been baking all […]

Several months back I treated myself to a weekend subscription to the New York Times. It’s taking over my physical world. I want to read and look through every page so I’ve been saving the sections I don’t get to every week. It’s piling up. The paper has effectively taken over my dining room table and now has expanded to the living room coffee table. And it sort of feels good. Besides enjoying the articles, I get really excited looking at the illustrations, layouts and typographic design. It’s been inspiring […]

Summer is the best time to eat fresh fish! I love it and so does my husband. I’ve been trying to make fish once a week. Rockaway people – if you can’t make it to the Cross Bay Market, Stop and Shop on 70th street actually has a great selection. I recommend buying your fish the day of, wherever you get it. I found this tasty recipe on the FoodNetwork.com. It’s easy to make and only takes about a half hour, start to finish. The sauce is Indian inspired – creamy and full bodied with a kick. You can […]

We’re back from our summer hiatus and have we got an episode for you! I visited my very talented and beautiful cousin Sarah in Park Slope to learn how to make Paella. Not only did we get the high end paella but we got to cook it on the roof with views of the city. If I didn’t love her so much, I’d hate her for how jealous I am of her setup and skills! The recipe looks intimidating, but trust me, its worth it. Check out episode 8 here: […]

My Friend Ed has an aquarium which is a hobby I’m interested in as well. Perhaps once things settle down with the house I can start one. Ed told me something interesting, when he changes the water in his tank, he saves it and uses it to water his plants! My first thought was… hoarding old, dirty fish water is totally weird and gross but Ed explained that fish excrements in the water act as a natural fertilizer for plants*. Ed has a stellar plant collection (see above), so it all makes sense. Google also concurs: Before you pour […]

I’ve finally gotten around to posting our Christmas Eve Baccalà ball recipe which some of you have expressed interest in. It’s a long process but tradition warrants this meal a must on Christmas Eve. A Sicilian tradition on the Feast of the Seven Fishes: “The most famous dish Southern Italians are known for is baccalà (salted cod fish). The custom of celebrating with a simple fish such as baccalà is attributed to the greatly impoverished regions of Southern Italy.” I was thinking though, why only make this once a year? It’s essentially a finger food, perfect for […]

I always have a couple of cans of tuna lying around, and I end up using them when the fridge looks bare and I don’t have time to food shop.  I like to embellish everything in my life so why not my tuna salad? Add more than just mayo – try mixing in some peppers, onions, olives and thyme. Here’s the recipe, it takes only 10 minutes. Enjoy. Serves two 1 12oz. tuna can in water (dolphin safe!) 1/3 cup chopped black olives 1 large red pepper 1/3 small red […]

I’ve been getting into shrimp lately. I never cooked it until recently but it is so easy to cook. (that is, if you get the deveined shrimps, why do they sell the shrimp with veins, it doesn’t make any sense!) I like to make dinner during the week, something that looks like a lot of effort, but isn’t. Something like the below! I made brown rice pilaf with this. Just follow the box instructions for the rice. Ingredients: 1.5 pound peeled and deveined medium or large shrimp 1 pound asparagus, sliced into […]