Good morning all,
Seems we all had busy weekends full of food and fun, family and busy work. I am glad. It seems like we are leading full and productive lives despite the pandemic and keeping ourselves busy.
I got the plants watered yesterday afternoon. My Ocotillos poked out their first leaves and my prickly pear is sprouting new pads. A few pole cacti have flower buds. It will be a warm day here today so I am looking forward to getting outside and potting up the plants we bought yesterday. Just a few small ones to put on the back patio. Two are small Cayenne pepper plants. They're green, leafy and pretty and do well in containers so we shall see if I can get them to produce some patio peppers this summer providing the bugs don't get them.
Tomorrow and the rest of the week will be cooler and normal in temps. Hopefully we will get some rain. So I am going to play outside today. The house is clean for the most part. I'll just touch up the usuals; sink, toilets and mirrors and vacuum tomorrow. Wednesday and Thursday have estimates for work on the floor.
Rosie...adorable bunny Twinkies.
Way too much sugar and calories for any human to be consuming in one sitting but adorable to look at and kudos to whomever came up with the idea. It is cute and clever. Nice job on giving the son a hand with the flagstones also. His walkway and yard looks nice. Want to come help me garden? Our yard needs some work after the inside is done.
Anyway as promised....
COD PUTTANESCA
INGREDIENTS:
4 -5 pieces of cod; each about 5-6 ozs. (I used previously frozen; wash and make sure it is dried very well before cooking)
2 cans San Marzano plum tomatoes in puree (28 oz. each); cut up the tomatoes with kitchen shears or pulse a few times in food processor so they are in large chunks/dice. Separate the tomatoes from juice. Reserve the juice! It will be used later in the recipe.
6 large cloves of garlic; finely minced
1/2 cup capers; drained do not rinse
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives; rough chopped ( I used a mix of Kalamata, black and Castelvetrano)
5-6 anchovies
1/2 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio)
2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes
1/2 cup parsley; finely minced
pinch of sugar/Stevia to cut acid
EVOO
salt, pepper to taste, lemon and parsley for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.) Wash and pat fish dry. Make sure it is very dry before cooking. Season with salt and pepper.
2.) Heat some EVOO in large sauté pan and sauté the garlic and anchovies on medium (if you can not find fresh anchovies use a few tablespoons of tomato paste as a thickener) for a minute until fragrant.
3.) Add in the capers, olives and hot pepper flakes. Sauté for another minute.
4.) Add the white wine and mix together about one or two minutes to let the alcohol evaporate and then add in the tomatoes.
5.) Add in some of the tomato juice in small increments until it is liquid enough for your preference. Use your judgment as to how 'saucy' you want the dish to be. Add the 1/2 cup parsley and pinch of sugar to cut the tomato acid (should not 'taste' the sugar/sweetness in the sauce; it is only used to 'balance' the acidic aspect) .
6.) Adjust seasoning if need be with squeeze of lemon juice and adding pepper and/or salt.
7.) Lower heat to medium-low and put lid on sauce. Let cook 5-10 minutes.
8.) Put fish in sauce and spoon sauce over the fish. Let cook 5 minutes and check. Adjust liquid if need be and add more tomato juice if needed.
9.) Put lid back on fish and let finish cooking until done.
Serve with lemon wedges, and a sprinkle of parsley on top. Enjoy over thin pasta. If not having with pasta you can use a lot less liquid or halve the 'sauce'.
Enjoy all
AG
