Fish Night!

I found myself at West Grey Premium Meats on Highway 6 just south of Varney, Ontario the other day and they had in a bunch of fresh white fish fillets in from Georgian Bay.

So, what to do? I could make my standard fish stew but I really felt like something different today. I had a few shrimp in the freezer so I pulled them out to add to the meal. Hmm, maybe a bit of quinoa would be nice too. Possibly a creamy, garlicky white sauce to tie the whole thing together. 

So here is the result:

Baked White Fish

Ingredients

One large white fish fillet (I cut mine into 3 portions)

3 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Rinse fillet(s) in water and pat dry with paper towel. I took one large fillet and cut it into three pieces for this recipe. 

Squeeze the juice from half a lemon (approximately 3 tablespoons) and pour over fillets in the pan.

In a small, microwaveable bowl, place the butter, garlic, salt, and pepper and microwave on high for about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Pour this mixture over the fillets. 

Bake in preheated oven 20-30 minutes until fillet flakes. 

Creamy Garlic White Sauce

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic, finely minced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Using a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. When butter is melted, whisk in flour to create a roux, keeping heat low. 

Add milk, garlic and seasonings and continue to whisk while cooking over low heat. Continue cooking until sauce thickens.

Remove from heat and let stand 1-2 minutes to further thicken the sauce. 

To Plate: 

I cooked up some peeled shrimp in a pan with about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and a minced clove of garlic. I threw in a couple of chopped up green onions for good measure. 

Quinoa was cooked in the normal method (1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water; bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer covered for 15 to 20 minutes.)

A mound of quinoa, covered with sauteed shrimp and then creamy garlic sauce served beside a piece of baked fish. 

There were no left-overs. :o) 

Coconut Banana Bread (with Coconut Oil)

I've been trying to replace a lot of the butter in our lives lately with coconut oil and other more beneficial oils. So I took my old banana bread recipe and tweaked it a wee bit. Here is my result.

Fresh out of the oven...mmmmm.

Had to try it, just to be sure it's okay, you know. 

So here is my recipe:

Coconut Banana Bread with Coconut Oil

Preheat Oven: 350ºF

Grease a 9X5" loaf pan (I used silicone so no grease)

Ingredients

• 3-4 very ripe bananas
• 1/3 c virgin coconut oil, melted
• 3/4 c white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-3/4 c cake and pastry flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 c flaked coconut
• 1/2 c chopped nuts (Pecans, walnuts, etc)

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas. Add coconut oil and sugar, beat with electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, beat for 2 minutes. 

In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. 

Gradually add the flour mixture to the banana mixture beating on low speed until well-blended. Do not over mix. 

Stir in coconut and nuts. 

Bake for 55-65 minutes at 350ºF

Curried Coconut Carrot Soup

I found this recipe on a friend's facebook page and when I asked if I could share it, he said "Go ahead, it wasn't mine in the first place!" So I'm sharing the recipe here with a couple of little modifications. This is one of those times when organic really makes a huge difference. Do yourself a favour and use organic carrots when possible. They actually taste like carrots!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
6 cups organic carrots, unpeeled and roughly chopped
3-1/2 cups vegetable stock
One 15 ounce can of full-fat organic coconut milk
1/2 - 1 tbsp freshly chopped ginger root
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp chili flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions: 

Heat the coconut oil in a large soup pot and add the onions. Sweat the onions on medium heat for about 7 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour in the stock and coconut milk, add the ginger, curry powder, and chili flakes. Put a lid on the pot and cook until the carrots are softened, about 25 minutes.

When the carrots are soft, using an immersion blender, purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with more chili flakes, if desired.