one pan wonder

My kitchen phrase of the week has been "I just want my freezer to have a fresh start." How ridiculous!

Let me explain....

I really hate having to freeze my fresh food but have no choice. When, like myself, you live a 2 hour drive from a decent supermarket freezer space is precious. After a while you accumulate sooo much 'just in case we run-out food' in your freezer that it becomes a hazard to even open it (a frequent occurrence for me) and you get the shits and swear (as I have this week) not to buy anything else until you have eaten your way through it. And I am proud to say that I have stuck by this for the first. time. ever.

So what do you do when you defrost a heap of what once were fresh fish fillets??

Cook them, in a pan, with stuff:

white fish - I used combination of coral trout and red throat emperor
red onion
capsicum
tomato paste
olive oil
sweet paprika
balsamic vinigar
sea salt
cracked pepper
fresh parsely

I sautéed the onion and capsicum in lots of olive oil until juicy and caramelised. Then added the paprika, salt, pepper and tomato paste and let it cook down a little more. Towards the end I splashed a decent amount of balsamic in and let it meld and become sticky and glossy. I put the  parsley on top when ready and took out of pan.

I then cooked the fish in the same pan, slowly letting it become golden from the pan juices. Once fish was cooked through I add the onion and capsicum back to the pan and married the two.

a perfect catch - all three of them!

I've never loved shellfish. I mean I enjoy a chilli prawn pasta and fresh bugs at Christmas but these creatures of the sea don't send me crazy with edible excitement. 

What I have learnt however, is if you throw a man you love into the mix shellfish just happen to become slightly more appealing. 

A recipe for shellfish success:

1x man you love (preferably with the ability to hold their breath, for a while)

wetsuit

flippers

snorkel and goggles

underwater torch

the ocean

and then...........

Two giant painted lobster!

We enjoyed these guys on the barbecue with a fresh marinade of crushed garlic, fresh red hot chilli, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh parsley, sea salt and cracked pepper.  

coco-nutty muesli

muesli. (wheat-free)
there is nothing quite like the crunchy and nutty goodness of home-made toasted muesli. i gave up on bought muesli a while ago now. i got sick of having to add all the healthy extras that NO packet muesli had.

here's what makes up my wheat-free muesli

• rolled oats
• shredded coconut
• peppitas
• sunflower kernels
• chia 
• flaxseed (linseed)
• hazelnuts
• almonds
• pistachios
• cinnamon
• rice malt syrup
• coconut oil 

Mix it all up. Toast till golden. YUM!

caught and cooked coral trout

YES! I finally caught my first coral trout! After living only a two hour drive from the Whitsundays for almost a  year now, it has taken a week long amazing sailing trip around the islands to experience this great catch!

Although I've cooked and eaten coral trout many times it was this super quick and easy meal of Chili Ginger Coral Trout with coconut rice and steamed broccolini that had my taste-buds dancing! 

INGREDIENTS

Coral Trout 

Eschalot, sliced

Ginger- Finely grated

Sambal Oelek

Tamari

Mirin

Rice wine vinegar

Lemon Juice

Fish Sauce

Brown sugar

Sesame Oil

Rice- I used medium grain as that's all I had

Coconut milk

Water

Broccolini

WHAT I DID WITH THEM

First thing I did was get my fish dressing/marinade ready. 

I mixed together the Sambal Oelek, tamari, mirin, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, ginger, ecshalot, brown sugar and set aside. 

I then steamed my broccolini. I don't mind if it cools before serving. I love it super crunchy so I only steam until there is the slightest hint of green in the water- this means all the nutrients stay locked in as well :)

I put my rice on to cook. I have a rice cooker. And I hate using it. In fact I hate cooking rice altogether. Its usually my husbands job but he wasn't home so I sucked it up and did it all by myself! I used half coconut milk and half water to cook the rice. 

I cut the coral trout into chunky pieces and placed in a hot wok with sesame oil. Just before the fish was fully cooked through I poured the marinade over to coat and mingle with the fish until it was shiny and sticky.  Right at the end I squeezed the lemon juice over the fish.

(please don't be offended by my cheesy photo of leftovers!)