#FreshTastyValentines: Pistachio-Crusted Tilapia

So.

I know I've expressed before my love of the Podleski sisters and their cookbook series, Looneyspoons.  J's and my commitment to healthier eating means that I've spent more time leafing through the pages of my copies, looking for new things to try.
With my promise, I spend lots of time looking for ways to cook fish.  I can't make blackened tilapia every week!  This crust for fish was great on tilapia, but I'd like to try it on salmon too.  Versatility.  That's what we're all about around here.
I present to you now from the Looneyspoons Collection, Pistachio-Crusted Tilapia:

#HotSummerEats: Panko-Crusted Tilapia Sticks with Dipping Sauce

So.

I don't think fish sticks are something that we often think of when it comes to summer food.  But here's where I'm coming from:  on the Victoria Day weekend, J and I went to visit Toledo and see friends.  On the Sunday night of said weekend, we had no plans; and so were left to our own devices. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and we went and played mini golf.  Then J asked what I wanted for dinner.
It was hot, and I was tired, and I told him that I would love to go somewhere and sit on a patio for dinner with a couple of nice drinks and scenery.  He suggested Webber's, a restaurant that his parents had loved, that was on the banks of the Maumee River, not far from the shores of Lake Erie.  So that is where we ended up.
The patio was lovely - we looked out over the water, I had some delicious berry sangria, and J was thrilled that the Lake Erie yellow perch was as good as he remembered.  He just wished that he'd ordered the shrimp cocktail as well - we could smell the cocktail sauce as they went by.
Fast forward to opening my box from the Sauceology Group:  one of the items included was Caribeque's Island Thyme spice mix.  One smell, and I knew what I wanted to make - fish sticks!
So, for those of us who can't sit on a deck overlooking the Maumee and eat perch, might I suggest these little beauties?
I present to you now from the May 2007 issue of Everyday Food, I present to you now Panko-Crusted Tilapia sticks with Dipping Sauce:

Finally It's Spring! (Pasta)

So.
Have I mentioned how enamoured I am with PC Points?  Probably not.  I know I mentioned them on Facebook one night, and heard from friends who have saved them up as well.  J and I managed to save over $200 this past year in points.  We spent them once at the beginning of the summer to buy our supplies for a big summer kickoff BBQ.  The second time was the week before Christmas; where we stocked the larder with expensive things we don't buy very often as treats for the holidays.
One of the recipes I planned over the Christmas holiday (and I'm finally getting around to sharing) was what we had for brunch Christmas morning.
For Christmas this past year, J and I went to family Christmas with my dad's family Christmas Day, stayed overnight at my mom's, and then brought Mom back with us to the mountain.  We had our actual Christmas on the 27th, with presents and brunch and a big fancy dinner.  It's the advantage to no kids - you can open the presents any day you choose.
When I got my copy of the 2015 Milk calendar this year, I flipped through looking for things that I might like to make.  This was one of the things that caught my eye, which is weird because it has some things in it that I don't make or cook with very often.
I don't buy smoked salmon very often.  Frankly, I think this is the first time I've ever bought it.  My comment was that in this dish it almost tasted like bacon, which would be a good, cheaper option.  I also had the chance to try my hand at making poached eggs, something I'd never done before.  It was a lovely dish - especially in the winter when you're waiting for Spring.  Or now...when it's Spring...and you're waiting for...Spring.
I present to you now from the 2015 Milk Calendar Finally it's Spring Pasta:

Weeknight Dinner: Blackened Tilapia

So.
I don't cook fish for J as often as I've promised in the past.  His cardiologist told him at one point that he should eat fish 2 or 3 times a week.  I promised to try and cook fish once a week.  I'm not great about the follow through.  Fish will never be my favourite.
Tilapia is not a particularly strong fish, and will often take on the flavour of anything that has been cooked with it.  In the past, I've used tilapia for fish tacos and coated it in cornmeal and served it with salsa.  The spices of this version were lovely, and J and I both enjoyed it.
Once again, I found a recipe on Budget Bytes that was quick, easy, and fish for those of us who don't enjoy it.
I present to you now Budget Bytes' Blackened Tilapia:

Magazine Challenge: Mini Salmon Loaves

So.
Fish is not one of my favourite things.  It is one of J's, though.  I promised a while ago that I would start cooking fish for him more often, and I will when I see it on sale.  When I saw these in the December 2005 issue of Everyday Food, I figured they were worth a shot, and then promptly forgot about them.
In the past couple of weeks, I've been watching Save with Jamie on On Demand.  There are 4 recipes in each episode, and I would like to try most of them!  One thing that he makes every week is a "mothership roast" that can be turned into other entrees during the week.  One episode, he roasted a side of salmon and made a fish pie with the leftovers.  Fish pie doesn't really turn my crank, but one of the things he talked about in the episode was that if you were serving just the meat roasted, buy fresh.  In something where the texture of the fish wouldn't be noticed in the same way, you could use frozen.
When I went to the grocery store, the 3-day sale for fresh salmon was over.  I decided to see how frozen would be.
This was really a huge experiment.  I halved the recipe, probably overcooked the fish, and then couldn't get it to form into patties.  But based on what went into them, and the improvisation that I did, it all worked out.
I present to you now my adaptaion of the December 2005 Everyday Food's Salmon Cakes:

Magazine Challenge: Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with Salsa

So.
You know how I said I was going to continue with the Magazine Challenge this year?  That I'd marked the recipes and was ready to go?  Yeah, that.  It's February, and I just made my first recipe from the January/February 2006 issue.
When going through the magazine, there were a lot of good looking desserts.  J keeps reminding me, however, that I can't just serve him dessert as a meal.  A tempting idea, but no go.  So this past weekend, I sat down and had another look through the issue for some entree-type things that we might eat.
A while ago, I promised J that I would start cooking more fish.  While he's a big seafood fan, I'm not nearly so much.  Tilapia is a fish that I'm willing to eat because it doesn't taste like much of anything.  When I unwrapped it tonight, it didn't even smell like fish (I buy my fish from the fresh counter and use it usually within 24 hours to help with the smell aspect).
There are a lot of things going for this recipe.  It's easy.  It's quick.  It uses salsa.  I went from start to eating in 20 minutes.  On a weeknight, that's all good.
I present to you now from the Jan/Feb 2006 Everyday Food issue Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with Salsa:

Magazine Challenge: Fish Tacos

So.
In my quest for new ways to eat fish, I'm always on the lookout for new recipes.  While flipping through the Jan/Feb issue of Everyday Food for 2005, I came across this recipe for fish tacos.
I like tacos, and I don't mind tilapia, so this seemed like a decent candidate for something that would make both J and I happy.
Despite Martha's assertion that this would take about 45 minutes to make, I didn't find it that long to put together.  In fact, I started cooking at about 7:05 and we were eating just after 7:30.  We're late eaters.  But, it went together quickly on a work night and had lots of flavour.
I present to you now Everyday Food's Fish Tacos:

Magazine Challenge: Sole with Lemon Butter Sauce

So.
I haven't been cooking much recently.  I think about it a lot.  Mostly while feeling guilty that I don't have time, that I'm not meeting the challenge I've set for myself, that I'm eating a whole lotta fries and drinking a whole lotta pop.  I have, however, made a few things recently and seem to be getting my groove back.  I hope so.  There are too many good things to make to spend all my time in restaurants.
Here is a case in point.  It's February, and I'm finally making the first recipe in my magazine challenge.  I am still looking for new ways to cook fish that are easy, and that J and I both like.  The beginning of the year EDFs are always the healthy magazines.  There are a couple of fish recipes that I want to try.  This one went together fast, and I would be willing to eat it again.  I also had never tried poaching before.  It was easy.
I present to you now EDF's Sole with Lemon Butter Sauce:

Fish for Friday: Salmon and Feta Burgers

So.
In the summer, I promised J that I would cook fish once a week.  I'm still not a fan of fish, but I've started broiling a whole lot of salmon this winter.  Fresh salmon is something that I'm finding not hard to take.  Especially when it's very fresh and not particularly fishy. 
In flipping through my copy of the Looneyspoons Collection, I came across this recipe.  Surprisingly, I wanted to make it.  J wasn't complaining.  He loves fish. 
I present to you now the Looneyspoons Collection Dilly Whoppers:

Toasted Sesame Ginger Grilled Salmon

So.
We're working on healthy cooking/eating for J.  While this project has fallen a bit by the wayside while I clean out the freezer, I have promised that we will eat fish once a week.  With the help of Pinterest, that promise is coming to fruition.
This week, I decided to cook salmon on the grill.  I found a recipe, watched a tutorial on Youtube, and we were good to go.  I highly recommend the tutorial I watched.  It was dead simple to cook.
I present to you now How Sweet Eat's Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon:

Baked Fish en Papillote

So.
J has been told to lose weight.  Frankly, I probably have more to lose than he does.  We find that eating at home has helped us in the past year to shed a *little*.  I can fit into clothes that didn't fit this time last year, but there's a long way to go.
One thing that he has been told to eat is fish; at least twice per week.  I'm not a fan.  I've told J that I will try really hard to cook fish once per week.  I spent some time on Pinterest, looking for possible recipes.  I polled my friends on facebook for the ways they like to cook fish.  I also spent some time reading.
A cookbook that I have from some point in my past is put out by the Canadian Diabetes Association called, Choice Menus.  We have spent time studying the meals, looking for things we like and things we'd like to try.  This was our first choice out of the book.
I present to you now Baked Fish en Papillote: