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Jan

Making Food Options Count with Sustainable Seafood Choices

The problem is a matter of grasping the reality. The oceans seem infinite and unflappable. The reality is they are not and they are. They are not infinite. They are not without their vulnerabilities, especially when it comes to food fish.

Fish like the Chilean sea bass are in danger of being over-fished. Don’t get me wrong. Sea bass prepared well is fabulous. Yet, we are loving it to death by continuing to buy it at grocery stores or order it on the menu. The supply is at risk of not meeting the demand. That is why you need to embrace sustainable seafood choices.

Options like Atlantic cod, Pacific halibut and Dungeness crab are all good choices. Seafood such as imported King crab, monkfish and orange roughy are not. Your choice matters because it drives the market. When you buy sustainable seafood, you are doing your part to ensure that you and others will continue to enjoy the best that the sea has to offer without depleting the resource.

It’s not a tragedy if you don’t have monkfish again. It is wrong to know better and choose the unsustainable option. Life is all about choices. Make yours good ones.

Dec

Staple Recipes for Quick Dinner

Chris

If there is one thing that every cook needs no matter what skill level, it is a set of staple recipes. These are the recipes that you can whip together quickly if you’re running late, you have nothing else prepared or you just want a quick bite. You won’t regret having a few up your sleeve. Someday, they will save you lots of time and effort.

Simple Pan Sauce

A simple pan sauce is the king of quick staple recipes. It is extremely adaptable. You begin by cooking your entree in a skillet. I like to saute chicken breasts or steaks for this recipe. Set the meat aside once it is done, wrapping it in aluminum foil.

You can do a few things at this point. You can add finely chopped shallots and saute them in the same skillet, unwashed, of course. You can also use onion or a mixture of garlic and either one. Then, deglaze the pan with a liquid. I like to use a bit of the wine we are having, but you can also use whiskey, brandy or sherry. Whatever you have around will do. You want to make sure and scrape up the yummy browned bits.

Then, you can add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of broth or stock. Get the liquid boiling to reduce by one-half. You can then thicken it with a 1:1 mixture of cornstarch and cold water. Test for seasonings, and you have a sauce.

Compound Butters

These butters are ridiculously easy to make and yield fantastic results. All it takes is a little prep at the start of your meal. You can save the leftovers for another day.

The basic plan is to soften butter to room temperature. Figure about 1/2 tbsp per serving. Next, add salt and pepper with your choice of herbs. Some good combinations are:

Chives and rosemary
Chives and thyme
Parsley and thyme

Shape the butter into a log with wax paper. Place it in the fridge and finish preparing your meal. This gives it time to meld and develop its flavor. When dinner is ready, top your entree with a pat of the compound butter. As it melts, it will deliver its tasty flavor to your dish. It couldn’t be simpler. Butter in the freezer will last six months or longer, making compound butters a great way to extend the life of your fresh herbs.

Category: Foods and Recipes, Lessons Learned Tags: dinner recipes, sauces, staple recipes Leave a Comment

Dec

Celebrating Your Accomplishments

Chris

You probably have a few of those goals, the ones that have been in your Inbox forever. You may find it hard to get motivated. Seeing them or getting the reminders makes you feel as if they are too formidable to tackle.

It doesn’t have to be that way. You can summon the strength and will power to overcome the task by visualizing the reward. That is what I did when I finally published my ebook, “101 Things to Do on the Wisconsin Great River Road.” For a long time, I pushed it aside because I was looking at the journey instead of the reward at the end. I let myself think it was too much work.

Then, I found the motivation. It became an obsession. I can’t express the feeling of delight and accomplishment I felt when I received the Congratulations email from Amazon. I did it! I overcame my own insecurities. I won.

Of course, I know that’s only the beginning. The fact remains that I reached a milestone. Now I have the fodder to build momentum. This is extremely powerful. It’s a lesson I want to apply to other areas of my life.

Celebrating your accomplishments gives you the appreciation you deserve for meeting goals. That don’t have to be gigantic steps, just little ones that make your life better and happy. Here’s to you and your milestones!

Category: Lessons Learned, Motivation Tags: goals, Motivation 2 Comments