Get Your Juices Flowin.

There are moments. Moments where all is right with the world and especially moments where all is right in the kitchen. Last night was one of those precious moments (and I'm not talkin' about those cheesy figurines some of you collected back in the 80s, no offense to those who are still collecting). Most nights I have a plan for dinner and if not, I have some go-to items for those nights when cooking isn't realistic.

On Monday night, I made a pit-stop at Whole Foods to pick up a few veggies and fruits for the week. I tend to stay clear of packaged veggies but there was a pre-packaged container of stir fry veggies that caught my eye. Chunks of portabella and crimini mushrooms, leeks, napa cabbage, ginger, and bok choy. I was caught up in the "moment" and figured what the hell....I'll give it a whirl. I decided to make a stir fry of these veggies and for the main course I was going to make a piece of halibut (which I purchased from my favorite butcher/fishmonger, McCall's).

So last night was D-day. Earlier in the day, instead of working, I was day dreaming about how to prepare the halibut. I came up with a lemon panko crusted halibut. Added lemon zest, salt and pepper to some panko bread crumbs. Made a egg eash and a plate with all-purpose flour. Three steps - put fish in egg wash, then flour, then panko bread crumbs mixture. I seared the piece of fish in some olive oil before finishing it off in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.

My biggest dilemma was a sauce for the stir-fried veggies. I would not be satisfied with soy sauce alone. So I made a little concoction while the veggies were cookin' and the halibut was roasting. The concoction consisted of chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, and chili paste in soybean oil. I didn't measure, I just played around with amounts and found the perfect consistency (but if I were to guess-timate, I would say, 1 tbs. chili garlic sauce, 1/2 tsp. sesame oil, 1/2 tbs. soy sauce, 1 tbs. chili paste in soybean oil). About two mintes before I took the halibut out, I tossed this concoction with the veggies and let it simmer. Squeezed some lemon juice over the fish and the meal was complete. Sweet victory!!!!!!!!

a homemade life.

I want to plug the heck out of this book, and perhaps the above photo of the Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Crystallized Ginger will do the trick! It's the first recipe from Orangette's, A Homemade Life, that I made and successfully, I might add. Folks at the office really enjoyed it, especially with a cup of freshly brewed coffee (that was the buzz around the water cooler). Last night after a laugh-out-loud telephone conversation with my friend, Lydia, I snuck into bed, bundled underneath purple flannel sheets and finished the book. I've had the book for about a week and it was my intention to make it last as long as possible, but a week later, here I am, done with it. I tried my hardest, I really did, but each chapter was so deliciously enjoyable, I couldn't resist but read some more, which is truly a high compliment. An added extra bonus is that I want to make at least half of the recipes included, which says alot. Often memoirs offer a few recipes I'm interested in trying, but the real reason I read the book is for the "story". In this case, I read it for both. I'm a regular over at Orangette and the book has inspired me to continue blogging, writing restaurant reviews, etc. So thanks, Molly!