Baby Beets

Lately I am feeling like an inadequate food blogger. I am just not a good food photographer. I know that the number 1 reason for success as a food blogger is in the pictures. For example, check out these photos. Ridiculous! I am going to have to work on this little problem.

Anyway, let me tell you about my baby beets. They are so delicious and tender! And they cook very quickly in a saute pan. Butter. Yummy with baby cucumbers, fresh dill, and sour cream. I just love thinning out the beet rows!

Also noted this week: Ariel had her first ice cream sandwich, my favorite childhood treat.

Worries & Fish Cakes

As most of you know, my daughter, Ariel, is the most awesomest person on the planet. I am so proud of her all the time. She is beautiful, joyful, friendly, caring, and intelligent. Most of all, she is beautiful. That is because she is so joyful, caring, and intelligent.

After spending time with her for a year and three months, I had to send her into the outside world, to preschool. You know, to broaden her horizons and such. I know she needs it; she needs more than me. But it has been painful and worrisome to me. How will other people react to her? How will she react to others? Will she be excluded? Will there be racism? etc. etc.

Raising a child brings out the best in me. It is also a mirror to my fears and my self-esteem. When her teacher told me some things about her that I had not seen as problems, they seemed like problems, and I took it personally. I worried all day about whether or not my daughter was going to be okay at preschool. So I did something even more worrisome: I made fish cakes!

I have eaten great fish cakes, and awful fish cakes. I have watched them made on TV, and read recipes on how to make them. Once, I was at a company Christmas party where we made fish cakes as an activity. I have to tell you, it has never, ever looked easy.

But WTH! I tried it last night. And they were damn good.

More with tilapia from CostCo!!!

FISH CAKES

Use frozen fish; thaw it half-way. I used tilapia and shrimp.

Process in a food processor, on pulse: 1/2 of the fish & bread crumbs. Keep it chunky.

Process the rest of the very cold (partially frozen) fish, plus one egg.

Process with more bread crumbs.

Mmmm... this paste looks good. Handle with care. Make cakes, and pat with Saltine cracker crumbs. Fry in oil.

Oh, it's amazing, and it has no mayonnaise. BTW, I used my strawberry-dill sauce for dipping.

Side Dish: SAUTEED FRESH CHARD

Fish On!

In celebration of Father's Day, my mom and I arranged for my husband and my dad to take the boat out on Lake Johanna. You see, the first boat trip of the season is an event full of frustration and foul language, and I didn't want to go this year. So, it worked out great! DH caught a fish on his first cast: a very nice bass. He brought it home for dinner. It tasted like fresh spring water, which is not always the case, but we've had so much rain this year that the fish tasted very clean. DH pan-fried it covered in Saltine cracker crumbs. I made the side dish.

This is a classic recipe my mom used to make when we were kids. I have always loved it. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to cook, but it is worth it.

FISHERMAN'S POTATOES
Serves 3-4 people

3-4 potatoes (I like gold or yellow potatoes)
1 large onion (I like Vidallia sweets)
1 stalk celery, sliced or diced
2-4 T vegetable oil
herbs (I used rosemary, oregano, and tarragon; you can use whatever you like!)
salt & pepper

Cut onion into dice. Saute in oil in a cast iron pan. Add celery. Saute until transparent and soft.
Wash and peel, if necessary, potatoes. Cut into chunks. Add to pan and use additional oil if necessary.
Add salt to bring the water out of the vegetables.
When the pan is almost dry (but not burning; this takes about 5 minutes) add water to cover, just barely. You can always keep adding water. The more water you have to continue adding, the more the potatoes will break up and become mushy and sloppy. I recommend putting in just enough water the first time.
Add delicious herbs; I prefer dried herbs for this dish.
This dish requires a lot of stirring, that's why the potatoes break down.
When the potatoes are cooked and the consistency looks good to you, remove from heat and serve.

Speechless

Quickie redirect for you:

I don't read Spanish, but my friend Carmen alerted me to this link.

I am sort-of speechless when I look at that blog. Be sure to click on 12 Meses 12 Platos.

Spring Harvest

The cucumbers are never ready when the dill is, but the strawberries are! For a couple of spring harvests I have been wondering if a strawberry-dill sauce would be good. Guess what? It is!

STRAWBERRY DILL SAUCE
Use for fish, I think. I don't know yet; I just made it.

Blend strawberries, dill, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender. Taste.
Add garlic chives to taste.

Really good chefs (for fancy restaurants) have "laboratories" in which they experiment with ingredients. They put all sorts of items on the counters, rub them between the fingers, smell and taste them, and then try to make new and interesting combinations, that, of course, must also taste good. If I had any time to mess around this way, I would be messing around with:

strawberries
sage
winter savory
summer savory
chives
nasturtium
radishes
beet greens
dandelion greens
parsley
tarragon

Life is good.