Fresh, mostly

So I've learned something about fish. It's not supposed to smell fishy. Walk by the seafood case at your fave grocery store. If it smells fishy, keep walkin' past the frustrated lobsters and buy some ground turkey instead. Something else I've learned about fish - when it's fresh, it looks shiny. (But not too shiny as in eeeoooh that's really shiny - that's not a good sign.) Don't buy dull-looking fish. Turns out the shiniest fish in the window this week was flounder. Really thin filets. Here's how we ate 'em...

I sprayed a large ceramic baking dish with olive oil spray and then laid, layed, ok, spread them out, and then squeezed fresh lemon juice liberally over them. Dusted them with a little salt and brushed on a little olive oil. In a small bowl I tossed panko with some parm shavings and pepper, and then sprinkled the mix on top. Here's the best part - they bake in 15 minutes because they're so thin! So while Maze and Pipes were milling about the kitchen mostly naked (still not sure why that was the case because I was at work when they disrobed), Arthur and I ate fish and greens and dammit did we enjoy the meal. So now you're wondering about that delicious looking lasagna, right? That's Amy's Organic - Arthur tried to get the girls to eat it before I got home, but SURPRISE, they wouldn't touch it. Why the surprise? Because last time I made it (ok, microwaved it), they totally gobbled it up. Kids = nuts. They eventually did a fridge-raid and made due on some yogurt, other leftover pasta, some pears, and some of that cheeseless (why is my computer telling me that's not a word?) Rhode Island "pizza."

The large ramekin (that's restaurant talk for smallish-sized bowl) is soup I made yesterday. An easy go-to for those root veggies you bought the last time you went to the farmer's market (maybe like a month ago, when they were actually fresh) and thought looked like something that would be so easy to incorporate into a meal or two (but alas, they're still in the fridge). Here's the how-to on the soup: slice up carrots, beets (they add some nice bite) and sweet potatoes to broth or stock (still don't know the difference) and some ginger (fresh or powdered). Boil until soft and then blend the whole thing (ok, not all at once) with a can of cannelloni (cannolini?) beans, some salt and pepper. Serve with sour cream or creme fraiche and something green like parsley or chives (not pictured). I found this recipe in a magazine recently - BHG I think. (For those not from the midwest, that's Better Homes and Gardens). Anyhoo. Get fresh people or at least, resurrect some veggies from the vault and brew them into something new.