as i’ve mentioned, i’m not on any kind of diet nor do i often say, “i don’t eat that” {unless it’s overly-processed ickiness} — i try to live by the general rule of “everything in moderation.” i’m what i like to call an “intuitive eater”… more on that in the future…
having said that, i tend to eat like a vegetarian or even vegan during the week, and i somewhat splurge a little on the weekends in the sense that i treat myself to a few things for my good food behavior during the week. it’s kind of odd, and i know freud would have an opinion as to how and why, but there really is a relationship involved with food… especially for me… and i am aware of it. i believe in part, that is why i appreciate where my food comes from, how it was grown and how it got to me, etc… but i like to appreciate all kinds of food – just not necessarily all the time…
i digress…
this weekend i splurged a little — mostly because i bought tilapia on sale and while i was there, the sweet team member offered me a sample of dover sole. i asked how to prepare it since dover sole is so thin, and he then gave me a sample of a crab cake as well. he said to wrap it around the crab cake and bake it… uhm, YUM!
so, since i typically cook brunch on sundays, i figured it was okay to skip lunch and have supper… a big one. we started off with the crab cake, sort of like an appetizer i guess. since it was already prepared, this didn’t take long.
ingredients :
easy steps here – preheat oven to 400 degrees. wrap the sole filets around the crab cake {i split it in two} and place in a baking pan with a little bit of olive oil
cook for about 25-30 minutes – until crab cake is golden brown
remove pan from oven and it’s time to plate it up. we will leave the oven turned on at 400 degrees for round two…
i served mine on top of a bed of fresh watercress – which i have recently learned is a superfood and is quite tasty and beautiful!
this could be a lunch in and of itself… but we are splurging… so after this, we’ll go for more…
now, for the main course i started with these ingredients :
– 2-3 small tilapia filets
– 1/2 pound asparagus
– 1/2 red onion
– 1 sweet onion
– 1/2 lemon
– veggie stock
– real butter
i rinsed and chopped my asparagus into spears like so –
then i chopped up my onions like so –
start by heating a pan or skillet on medium heat – add in onions and let them sizzle – but avoid allowing them to stick to the pan. keep on low allowing them to cook down.
in a second pan, begin warming about 2 tablespoons of organic butter on low-medium heat. toss in asparagus and a little S&P. keep on low so to not overcook. we want them to be slightly crispy.
keep an eye on both pans.
in the meantime, let’s quickly get this fish going. place in same pan used for crab cakes. squeeze the juice of one half a lemon and sprinkle a little S&P on top then place in oven. this will only need to cook for about 10 minutes.
back to the stovetop…
when onions have started to wilt down, begin adding a little stock to steam and cook them. this will also keep them from sticking to the pan.
cover the onions with a lid and keep them cooking on low.
cook on low to your desired tenderness – mine looked something like this :
{one regret i have is i meant to add breadcrumbs at this point… so you should try that!}
when fish is fully cooked, remove from oven and turn everything off. here’s how i plated mine up :
tilapia is locally available here and the asparagus is in season, as well as the onions. 🙂
food & foto 
this looks amazing!
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