Newfangled Fish Fry

Tonight I made a faux battered fish recipe, a-la fish n' chips. I'm not from an area where fish n' chips is on every menu, but I usually order it when it is. So I was intrigued when I came across a recipe for a faux battered fish (no flour, no egg, no grains, gluten free), especially since it called for cooking the filets in coconut oil. Instead of 'deep frying' as the recipe directs, I 'shallow fried' these Weed 'em and Reap: Crispy Fish n' Chips. 

(I only made the fish...no chips).

I purchased 1.3 pounds of wild caught pollock for under $10 which fed two adults. I followed Weed 'em and Reap's recipe for the batter but I halved it: 1/2 cup arrowroot flour, 1/4 tsp salt and paprika, 1/8 tsp tumeric. For me, the seasonings/spices could have been kicked up a knotch. If you are planning to half this recipe, I'd keep the salt paprika and tumeric at full strength and just reduce the arrowrooot. Coating the fish in the arrowroot mixture was as easy as could be, it stuck to the fish immediately.

A TIP: when coating your first piece of fish in the 'flour' mixture, do not flop the filet down onto the plate causing flour to shower your counter, appliances and cell phone.

For the cooking, I put roughly 2 tbsp of coconut oil in a non-stick frying pan. I did not use a thermometer as indicated in the recipe because I was not deep frying. When tiny dots of sprinkled flour started sizzling in the oil, I decided it was time to place the filets in. I let them cook on one side until golden brown, and then flipped.

A TIP: when flipping fish filets in very hot oil, do not flop the filet down into the pan causing the oil to splash onto your hand and clothing.

When the fish was golden colored and cooked through I removed the pieces and placed them on a paper towel on a plate. The final product looked and tasted very good.

Mexican Breakfast

On the weekends I usually have some creative breakfast ideas brewing, and today was no exception. This creation turned out to be really delicious and I'm extra proud because it is made from all "whole food" ingredients, nothing processed and everything home made (except for the cholula hot sauce). Another great thing about today's breakfast was that I was able to use some things I already had in the fridge. 

And I present to you:

Griddled Brown Rice Patty with Mixed Beans and Fried Egg

I used cooked brown rice from the fridge to make the patties. I put two handfulls of cold rice into my Blendtec blender on the "grind grains" setting until it was fluffy and uniform. I seasoned the rice meal with salt and pepper.

Then I formed the mixture into flat patties and put them on the griddle with a little butter.

Using the brown rice was more nutritious than an average slice of bread, and beans on bread is just too fluffy/starchy for me. The rice patties came out crisp and sturdy, a nice contrast to the soft beans.

I fried some farm fresh eggs hatched only days ago that I picked up with my first CSA share from my local organic farm.

Finally assembly:
I topped the brown rice patty with a spoonful of mixed beans (previously cooked with chicken stock), a generous dousing of Cholula hot sauce and a beautifully orange yolked egg.


Yum. And it was a hit with my testy tester as well.