Pan Fried Pollock

No, it's not a new nickname I've taken up...it's really Alaskan Pollock (aka walleye pollock) which is a member of the cod family. It's the world's most abundant food fish, which is why it's usually the least expensive type you see at the supermarket. You could use pretty much any mild white fish here, but actual Pollock is good for people who arn't exactly crazy about fish, as it's so lightly flavored you'll be mostly tasting whatever seasonings you use. It's the tofu of fish (tm). Ok, I just made that up.

Anyway, I shallow-fried mine outside on my BBQ side burner, in a cast iron pan. Shallow-frying means you're essentially deep-frying it, but as the oil only goes up about one half of the depth of the food, you're deep-frying one side at a time, in effect.

I seasoned the fish with a good coating that was 1/2 flour, and 1/2 Emeril's Essance, with some extra salt and pepper added also.

The vegetables I just blackened a bit on the main grill as I was doing the fish on the side. Served with a cup of steamed white rice.

No recipe other then the spice mix linked previously...hey, that was easy.

Root Vegetable Soup w. Cauliflower

Wow, summer has really put the beatdown on the blog. I mean, unless I want to post "hot dogs" and "chicken with some sauce on it with foil-wrapped potatoes" things are gonna be slow. I'll try to find some summer stuff soon.

Anyway, this is from the previous weekend when it was raining and unpleasant, so it's more of a winter soup. It's really good, but not exactly inspiring for June.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
3 large potatoes, diced
3 celery sticks, diced
7 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 medium cauliflower, chopped
1 tbsp chopped dill
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1 cup light cream
salt and pepper to taste
chopped chives and parsley for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven, add onions and garlic and fry until softened. Add potatoes, celery, and stock and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add carrots and simmer for another 10 minutes.

3. Add cauliflower, dill, lemon juice, mustard powder, and caraway and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Process soup with a stick blender, or in batches in a food processor. Return to pot and add the light cream. Season to taste, serve garnished.