Grilled Bluefish Salad

Grilled Bluefish Salad

Grilled Bluefish with Curry and Lemon

Grilled Bluefish with Curry and Lemon

Isn't it neat how the weather directly effects our eating habits?  A month ago, a dinner of soup or stew or pasta wasn't out of the question.  But now the mere thought of turning the oven on makes me sweat.  Thankfully, I have a talented grill-master of a husband who knows how to cook fish perfectly, so we've taken most of our food preparation outside.

Over the last few weeks, we've been preparing a lot of bluefish.  Caught along the East Coast, bluefish is meatier and more oily than a lot of other seafood from this region.  It's a turn off for some, but I find that grilling it takes care of the "fishiness."  The price of bluefish, which is usually found in local stores for $7 or $8/lb, makes it very appealing as well.  We'll often buy an extra portion or two to make this salad, which we enjoy for lunch throughout the week.  Credit must be given to our friend, Kat, who served a bowl of this when we were together on the Cape last month and had mixed in some minced lemon slices.  It's a wonder I hadn't thought to do the same before, since I'm known for adding lemon zest or juice to almost everything I make.  It provides a surprising amount of zip, which is exactly what I want in summer fare.

Grilled Bluefish Salad

Grilled Bluefish Salad

Servings Grilled Bluefish (alone): Serves 4 for dinner Grilled Bluefish Salad: Approximately 8-10 people for lunch

Ingredients

For the grilled bluefish 2 - 1 lb bluefish fillets, bones removed 4 tablespoons olive oil Coarse ground black pepper 2 garlic cloves, sliced 1 tablespoon minced ginger Curry powder 1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds, seeds removed Soy sauce

For the salad 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 1/4 cup chopped cucumber 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped 1/2 shallot, minced 1 teaspoon minced flat-leaf parsley 2 grilled lemon slices, minced

Pita bread, for serving

Instructions

1. Prepare the bluefish for the grill.  Place the fish fillets in a large glass baking dish. Rub each fillet of fish with 1 tablespoon olive oil, curry powder, and black pepper. Spread and gently smoosh (yes, smoosh) garlic slices and ginger into the flesh of the fillet.  Top with lemon slices.  Pour 3 tablespoons of soy sauce over the fillets. Let sit for 30 minutes.

2. While the fish is marinating, prepare the grill.  Pour some canola oil on a paper towel and rub this over the grates of the grill.  Preheat the grill to medium heat.  Once it has preheated, place each fillet, skin side down, on the grill.  Close the cover of the grill and cook for approximately 10-12 minutes until the fish is firm and starts to flake as you lift it.  If necessary, cook for an additional 3 minutes and check again.

3. Transfer the fish to a large platter.  At this point, you can eat some of the fish as a meal and just use leftovers for bluefish salad, or you can make one large batch of bluefish salad.

4. Before you make the bluefish salad, make sure the fillets have cooled. Once they have cooled, remove the skin from the fish.  Don't worry if a little remains.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and flake the fish with a fork.  Add the cucumber, carrot, shallot and minced grilled lemon slices.  Add the mayonnaise and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and, if necessary, add salt and black pepper.

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

“All men are created equal. Now matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.” - Harvey Milk

How far we've come.

Last week, when the Supreme Court announced it's decision to strike down DOMA and to allow same-sex marriages to resume in California, I sat at my computer, stunned.   I wasn't exactly speechless.  In fact, I screamed so loud I'm pretty sure our neighbors heard me. I hadn't expected to be so emotional, but it hit me hard.  As much as we've tried to tell ourselves that our marriage (which took place four years ago on June 20th)... our love... our life... was no different than anyone else's, DOMA was always there to point out that it wasn't real.  At least that's how it felt... and it hurt terribly.

When the decision came in, I knew we had to do something to celebrate.  Maybe lobster and champagne. Something decadent.  I spent the afternoon buying groceries to prepare a nice meal.  By the time Eric got home from work that evening, I had the table decorated with wine glasses, cheese and cut up rounds of baguette. As he entered the kitchen, I rushed over and threw my arms around him.  "We're married... again!" I said. He laughed and gave me a kiss.  "Yay," he replied. "Now let's pop open some vino!"

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Servings 6-8

Ingredients

For the filling 2 pounds apricots, pits removed 1 cup pitted cherries, sliced in half 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the topping 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup sliced almonds 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Vanilla ice cream Lemon verbena, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Using 1 tablespoon of butter or cooking spray, grease a 9 inch glass pie plate.

3. Place the apricot and cherries into a large bowl, toss with sugar, flour and nutmeg and spread across the pie plate.  Drizzle the lemon juice over fruit.

4. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients for the topping.  Using a fork, mix the topping ingredients while drizzling the butter in, until it begins to come together. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and pat it down until it has completely covers the pan.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top has turned a slightly golden-brown.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream topped with fresh lemon verbena.

Spicy Carrot and Quinoa Tabbouleh

Spicy Carrot and Quinoa Tabbouleh

Spicy Carrot and Quinoa Tabbouleh

Yesterday afternoon I looked at Eric and suggested that maybe we head back to Boston in the morning. Yes, we'd have to wake up at 5:30 to give ourselves enough time to get to work, but it's totally worth it.  It would mean another sunset, a few extra glasses of wine, and, most importantly, additional time surrounded by nature... rustling leaves, chirping birds and croaking frogs, and the soft, repetitive sound of rippling waves hitting the dock.

This weekend was rejuvenating. Amidst the stress in our lives, we took these few days to have some friends on the Cape to eat, drink, and play Taboo. Unfortunately, we need at least a few days to get into vacation mode (isn't that sad?) so when we all began chatting about departing, a few of us suggested that calling in sick to work would be a good idea (unfortunately, Facebook ruins this).  We just all felt like this was what we needed right now... some time to clear our heads, to enjoy the presence of close companions, and indulge in epic feasts.

Before our journey down here, I made sure to have a few containers of food prepared. When I was making this bowl of tabbouleh and frantically photographing each ingredient, something I completely neglected was that I'd already posted a quinoa tabbouleh.  The good thing, though, is that they are quite different from one another.  The first is loaded with tomatoes and cheese and beets and can stand on its own as a meal, where as this is definitely a taboulleh that you serve with other dishes, like hummus and pita and all that good stuff.  But I do apologize.  I hope you're not sitting there at your computers, completely bored by the site of this bowl.  I promise, though, it's quite delicious and worth giving it a try.

Spicy Carrot and Quinoa Tabbouleh

Spicy Carrot and Quinoa Tabouleh

Yields: 4-6 servings, as a side

Tools Pot, for cooking quinoa Whisk

Ingredients 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained in a colander 2 cups veggie broth 4 large carrots, grated 1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon chopped shallot 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1/4 cup finely chopped mint 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1 jalapeño or serrano pepper (depending on the amount of heat you want), seeds removed and finely chopped 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. To cook the quinoa, add the veggie broth to a pot and bring to a boil.  Stir in the quinoa, cover and reduce heat to medium low.  Simmer until all the veggie broth has been absorbed, approximately 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Once it has cooled, transfer the quinoa to a serving bowl.  Stir in the carrot and chopped walnuts.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the shallot, lemon juice, parsley, mint, allspice, serrano pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Add this to the other bowl and stir until it is evenly distributed throughout the quinoa and carrot mixture.

4. Let sit for 30 minutes before eating.  Test for seasoning and, if necessary, add more salt.