"Flash Fish" w/ Red Pepper Salsa

As a Southerner, and as a Jamaican, one of the best things ever to exist is fried fish. It brings comfort to the soul. What most people don't know, is that you can "fry" without "frying" -- does that make sense? In this recipe, I take a basic white fish (which is CHEAP) and coat it in cornmeal, then lightly saute it with a tablespoon of olive oil, which gives it that crisp "fried" flavor and texture without the vat of grease. 

A great topping to the fish (even though it tastes amazing on its own) is a red pepper salsa, which I made in 5 minutes by chopping a red pepper into strips and tossing it with avocado, black beans, and corn. Healthy, fresh, flavorful, and tastes like you're at a restaurant.Yup, best thing to ever exist.

Servings: 2

What You'll Need: 

• 2 filets white fish
• Examples: Whole Foods has frozen packages (2 filets each) of Tilapia ($2.99) and Cape Capensis ($3.99)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Frying pan
• 1 red pepper
• 1/4 cup corn (canned is fine)
• 1/4 cup black beans (canned is fine)
• If you do not have corn or black beans, salsa is fine!
• 1/4 an avocado, cut into small chunks

The Step-by-Step:

1. If your fish is frozen, take the package and thaw it in a bowl of cold water for an hour.
2. Place the egg white in a small bowl, and the cornmeal in another small bowl.
3. Wash your hands!
4. Take fish out of package and pat it dry with a paper towel (this will ensure it "fries" properly.)
5. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
6. Put the frying pan on the stove and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Let heat.
7. Dip one fish filet in the egg white, then try to shake off any excess (so its not dripping.)
8. Dip the fish filet into the cornmeal, and use your fingers to make sure it is coated all around.
9. Drop fish filet onto pan. After 2 minutes, flip over with a spatula. After another 2 minutes, remove from pan and place on a plate. Keep warm.
10. Repeat with the other fish filet, making sure to add another tbsp of oil to the pan.

Good on its own, with rice, or over salad! Get creative!!

To make the salsa, simply remove the core/seeds of the pepper, then cut the pepper into small strips. Put in a small bowl, then add corn, black beans, and avocado chunks. Toss lightly with your hands. The salsa tastes great fresh, but feel free to bag it and let refrigerate -- it tastes even better the next day!

xoxo n

Bok Choy with Red Pepper & Ginger

Imagine a veggie that is stalky like celery, but white -- and has leaves so green, but doesn't taste like lettuce? Enter into the realm of Bok Choy -- a vegetable used for hundreds of years in China with a slightly sweet, yet light and crisp taste. (best part? low in calories -- holla!) 

A fresh head of bok choy came in my From the Farmer produce delivery this week, and I honestly had couldn't delay using it. This vegetable is actually a favorite of my father's -- but instead of boiling it (i'm not a fan of the texture) -- I sautéed it with some fresh ginger and red peppers for a fresh and colorful twist. Absolutely scrumptious. I packed it up for my lunch all this week -- after making myself stop reaching into the pot.

Servings: 4 (about 1 cup each)

What You'll Need:

• 1 head of fresh bok choy
• 1 small onion (or 2 tbsp onion powder)
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger (or ginger powder)
• Cooking Spray
• Salt/Pepper

The Step-by-Step:

1. Chop up the onion and red peppers into small pieces.
2. Heat a large pan on the stove over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
3. Add peppers and onion, and let cook for 5 minutes. Every minute or so, give it a good stir.
4. While the peppers and onion are cooking, break a stalk off the bok choy head and cut it into slices (starting with the green side and working your way to the white.)
5. Add in the bok choy slices as you go.
6. Keep stirring :)
7. Take your ginger and grate it directly into the pan until you see the equivalent of about 2 big spoonfuls. (If you don't have a grater, cut the ginger into very small pieces then add.)
8. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and stir.
9. Serve immediately.

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Good on its own, or as a side dish -- and including the chopping and slicing, this bok choy only takes 20 minutes to prepare. Perfect for a fall day when you're rushing to get things done. Not to mention, its chock full of Vitamins A and C, as well as calcium. I think my dad would be proud. Sounds fantastic to me.

xoxo n