Spring Cleaning...

It happens to all of us, or well that's what I'm telling myself anyway.  The grocery store is having a sale or you plan a dinner that just doesn't happen, then before you know it the freezer will barely close, and there is no telling what is hiding in there.  In the interest of not allowing it to get any worse I decided to implement spring cleaning on the kitchen.  The pantry could definitely benefit from some cleaning out as well.

Tonight, I found some orange roughy in the farthest corner of the freezer, no surprise there, I do not like fish.  I'm certain I bought it at some point to cook for my husband, who loves it, but then couldn't convince myself to actually cook it.  I suppose I figured I would psyche myself up to cook it another day and stuffed it in the freezer.  Today was the day, no more excuses!  Since I've only cooked fish about 3 times in my life, I didn't really have any recipes in mind.  I searched the pantry and happened to see a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, perfect I thought, that will help to hide the fishiness of the fish.  There was a can of stewed tomatoes next to the chipotles so I grabbed that as well.

I suppose I should take a break for a moment to say that I frequently make up recipes on the spot, without any idea if they will turn out.  I've certainly made some...ahem...interesting combinations in the past, but I've also ended up with some dishes that have turned into favorites.  I wasn't in the mood to go find a cookbook or recipe tonight, so I did what I do best in those situations, stared into the panty until something caught my eye.  I've learned that this method of cooking has actually made me a better cook.  I evaluate how the flavors mix together more than if I just blindly follow a recipe.  I've also become a bit bad at following recipes.  I am frequently teased about not bothering to read instructions on the computer or probably anywhere else.  Recipes are no different, I may read the ingredient list and skim the directions and just go make my own version of whatever it is I'm making.  I find I get more flustered and don't enjoy cooking near as much if I feel like I'm bound to a recipe.  Yet I still love cookbooks - a good cookbook is more than a list of recipes so there is always something to learn.

Lets see where was I...

Ah yes, making dinner, and I needed a vegetable.  I found some sliced yellow squash in the freezer, they were from a CSA we participated in last year.  We had so many that there was no way the 2 of us could eat them all, so I ended up slicing and freezing the overstock.  There are still more left, so we'll get to enjoy the rest another day.

From here it was just a matter of putting it all together.  Different ideas were swimming around in my head - mixing the tomatoes and squash, or making a tomato sauce for the fish, or possibly leaving out the tomatoes as I wasn't too sure how the flavors would combine.  In the end I mixed the squash and tomatoes and allowed the juice to thicken into a sauce.  I pureed the chipotle peppers and used them to season the fish and to spice up the tomato squash mixture.  If I had planned my time a bit better I would have cooked some brown rice to go with it, but since it was close to 8 all ready I opted for cous cous since it only takes 5 minutes.

I can't say I'm a fish convert, but I did manage to eat half of my piece, which is a huge improvement over the 1 or 2 bites I usually take.  I loved the seasoning on the fish, just not the fishiness.   I'll have to try a different type of fish next time, I'm sure there is one out there I will like.  The vegetables were delicious, and I'm sad that there aren't any left over for lunch tomorrow.

Spiced Orange Roughy with Tomatoes and Squash
Serves 2

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp pureed chipotles in adobo sauce
• 4 tbsp butter
• olive oil
• 2 filets orange roughy
• 1 or 2 yellow summer squash
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp parsley

Procedure

1. Salt and pepper the fish on both sides.  Using a basting brush spread a thin coat of pureed chipotles in adobo on both sides of the fish.
2. Slice the squash to 1/4 of an inch thickness.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt 2 tbsp of the butter.
4. Heat a second skillet over medium heat for the squash.  Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and add 1 tbsp of olive oil.
5. Cook the fish until opaque in the center, about 2.5 minutes per side.
6. Add the squash to the second skillet.  Add 1 - 2 tbsp of pureed chipotles in adobo to the squash and season with salt and pepper.  Sautee the squash until tender, but not over-cooked.
7. When the fish is cooked, remove it to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.   Add the stewed tomatoes with their liquid to the skillet used to cook the fish, and bring to a simmer.  
8. Pour the squash in with the tomatoes and stir to combine.  Season with the basil and parsley.  Allow the sauce to thicken for 1 - 2 minutes.  If you like more heat add more of the pureed chipotles.

Serve over rice or cous cous.