Steamed Pollock in Black Bean Sauce

     So here we are with my SECOND post of 2017! I have tried to make up the difference with my YouTube channel, but sometimes people just want printed recipes. This makes no sense to me as I am a beautiful, beautiful man and am worthy of consideration by all the people of Earth. Anyways, here we are. I've been super busy with The Spud and all sorts of home improvements (bathroom remodel, replacement of our back patio door, fence installation, yard and garden work, reorganizing rooms to maximize space). I have let the blog slip and I apologize.
     This particular recipe makes use of a bamboo steamer basket. If you don't have one, a steamer rack or some other form of rigged up steam system should work fine. I had some pollock I needed to use up and went to my trusty copy of The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook and tinkered with a recipe. The end result surprised myself and The Wife. This made a really delicious sauce and a wonderful meal. The fish turned out nice and flaky. We served it up with some steamed sesame buns I got from the local world market. You could also use steamed pork buns and they would be great. This was super easy to put together. You could pretty much use any sauce you'd like with the fish, but I recommend giving this one a try for something a little different. As always, notes are in blue.

Steamed Pollock in Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound pollock (or other whitefish) 3-4 fillets
• 1 tablespoon garlic black bean paste (available in the Asian section of most supermarkets)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 inch ginger, finely grated
• 2 scallions, chopped

Directions

1. Dry the fish with a paper towel
2. Lightly rub the fish with a bit of salt and pepper
3. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients that are not the fish
4. Line a steamer basket with parchment paper, making sure it goes up the sides to prevent spillage
5. Lay the fish in the steamer basket and pour over the mixture from the bowl
6. Steam for about 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork
7. Serve fish and top with sauce 

Good Times!

Monday Recipe: Salmon with Tomato-Basil Salsa

     This is one of the first recipes I tried when I started to really get into serious cooking at home. It was on the back of a health newsletter my wife got from the NEA. I had just begun a 1,600 calories a day diet and was looking for filling recipes that were super low in calories. Salmon and vegetables was a sure thing.  Everyone really likes the tomatoes and onion. The red wine vinegar works well with the veggies and gives a nice tang to the salmon. You could use fancy salmon steaks if you wanted, but what you're seeing here uses the bagged salmon fillets from Walmart. Serve this up with a nice salad and a side of garlic bread; you've got a solid, healthy meal.

Salmon with Tomato-Basil Salsa

Ingredients

• Cooking spray 
• 4 salmon fillets (about 4 ounces each) rinsed and patted dry 
• 3 tablespoons light mayonnaise 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder 
• ½ teaspoon paprika 
• 6 ounces grape tomatoes 
• ¼ cup fresh basil 
• 1 to 1 ¼ ounces sweet onion 
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 375F 
2. Spray shallow baking pan with cooking spray, place fish in pan 
3. Stir remaining spices and we ingredients, lightly spread on each fillet 
4. Bake 15-20 minutes until fish flakes easily 
5. Chop tomatoes, basil and onion. Put in small bowl with vinegar. Stir to combine and spoon over cooked fillets 

4 servings, 200 calories per serving.

Good times!

Fundamentally Horrifying Foods That I Have Eaten

     There comes a time in every one's life where they are presented with a food they find fundamentally horrifying. The reasons for this visceral horror may vary. It could be a questionable ingredient. It could be an odd blend of flavors. Maybe it's the color or texture. Sometimes it's the presentation. Whatever the reason may be, the food is repellent. When faced with this type of food you have two options:

     Or you can go for the gusto and attempt to conquer your fear and digestive system. I have been confronted with a number of questionable dishes in my time and in most cases have made a genuine attempt to see if it's truly as bad as it would appear. Here are a few examples:

Haggis

This is one of the more infamous horrifying foods. For those who aren't familiar with haggis, here is the definition from Merriam-Webster:  a traditionally Scottish dish that consists of the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep or a calf minced with suet, onions, oatmeal, and seasonings and boiled in the stomach of the animal. I agree, it sounds absolutely vile. It doesn't look particularly appetizing either, even the version I had. However, the taste is surprisingly good. For lack of a better comparison, it's kind of like corned beef hash, but made with everything that's left over after they make hot dogs.

Gefilte Fish

Let's hit the definition from dictionary.reference.com first:  a forcemeat of boned fish, especially such freshwater fish as carp, pike, or whitefish, blended with eggs,matzo meal, and seasoning, shaped into balls or sticks and simmered in a vegetable broth, and often served chilled. OK, only moderately horrifying. That is, until you get to the chilled part. That means that these babies are swimming in a big vat of fish flavored gelatin. Check that picture again. Not very pretty. The consistency is sketchy, too. It's very much like a firm sponge. However, add a touch of horseradish and you've got a shockingly tasty dish!

Pickled Herring in Cream Sauce

No definition is needed here. Everything you need to know is in the name. It took me a while to get past this dish. It is visually unappealing. It doesn't smell particularly good. Even in concept it is unpleasant. However, you throw a hunk of this on a Triscuit and power it down and it's not half bad. It's not half good, either. You definitely need something crunchy to offset the texture of this dish. It's quasi-firm pieces of fish slathered in cream. The consistency is fairly hard to get past.

     So will you be a better person for eating these? Probably not. There's a good chance you'll be thoroughly repulsed. However, you can at least say you gave them a fair chance. Plus, there's also the possibility you'll find something you like that you can eat in front of friends and family in order to make them sick!

Good times!

Nutritionally Irresponsible Cooking: The ALDI Fishwich

     Once again I delve back into my apartment days for another horrifyingly irresponsible meal that was served with alarming regularity. The wife and I knew it was bad. It couldn't be anything but. However, we loved it. It was hot, crunchy, cheesy and decadent. It was the ALDI fish sub. Cobbled together entirely from items available at ALDI, the Fishwich was truly a force to be reckoned with. It's no Burger King Whaler (people under the age of 20 have no idea what I'm talking about), but it was a gastric bludgeon.

Am I the only one who still misses these?

     We stopped serving these about five years ago after an unfortunate incident where I did not cook the fish quite long enough. The aftermath is still something we don't like to talk about. Suffice it to say we challenged the plumbing that night.

Good times!

Ingredients

• 1 loaf garlic bread
• 4 frozen breaded fish fillets
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2-4 tablespoons tartar sauce (depending on how much you like)

Directions:

1. Cook fish fillets according to package directions
2. Put cheese on open garlic bread and cook according to package directions
3. Put fish on cheesy garlic bread
4. Slather with tartar sauce
5. Eat and get wretchedly ill

Nutritional Information (Approximate if you eat the whole sub):
Calories: 2290
Fat: 122.17g
Sodium: 4554 mg