Orange, Honey and Balsamic Glazed Tilapia

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Ari

One of the best things about having this food blog is the fact that we are more or less “forced” to try out new dishes pretty consistently. This is especially important since I have the tendency to find a dish I like and then not make anything else for months at a time…and while that might work when I’m only cooking for myself, it really isn’t too effective when you’re cooking for friends/families/roommates. It’s especially easy to fall into this rut when you’ve got limited time on your hands, and you know that your muscle memory can take you from prep to cooking to eating without actually having to activate your brain. In an attempt to avoid this common pitfall during my first rotation, I checked out a wonderful little book titled “Make it Fast, Cook it Slow” from the library. It’s chock-full with Crock-Pot recipes that take much of the brain work out of cooking. What makes this book even better is that the recipes are arranged into categories of how much it would cost to prepare each meal, with the most expensive meal only costing $15.
This particular recipe was the perfect Friday night meal. After getting home from the hospital, I was able to put the whole thing together in under 15 min, set the timer for 2 hours, and run errands while our dinner simmered away. By the time I got home, all I had to do was steam the asparagus for 5 minutes and voila! a delicious and very nutritious dinner (aside from the olive oil on the asparagus, there are no oils in this recipe).
Just a warning, the number of fillets you can cook is limited to the diameter of the crock pock. I tried to cook multiple layers of fish and while the bottom layer was absolutely delicious, the marinade didn’t reach the top layer which meant those fillets turned out kinda bland. Anita and I were thinking that you could also attempt to cook this dish for 2 hours in an oven set at 225 degrees F, but we didn’t try it ourselves, so proceed at your own risk.

What you need (adapted from Make it Fast, Cook it Slow by Stephanie O’Dea):

  • 4 tilapia fillets
  • 2.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 11oz can mandarin oranges, drained
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

What you need to do:

  1. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil along the bottom of the crock pot so that it extends up the side.
  2. Lay the fillets along the bottom of the crock pot in a single layer.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together the honey and balsamic vinegar.
  4. Pour the honey and balsamic mixture over the fish and top with drained oranges.
  5. Add a little fresh ground pepper and coarse salt (you can add more when it’s done cooking).
  6. Fold the aluminum foil over the fish and crimp closed so it forms a packet.
  7. Cook on high for 2 hours.
  8. To prepare the asparagus, steam it in the microwave for 5 minutes then toss in 1/2 tbs olive oil, 1-2 tbs lemon juice and garlic salt to taste.
  9. Enjoy!

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Besan Ladu – Prasād on behalf of the Hikers

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Anita!

I had the good fortune to go abroad my senior year with an amazing group of people, and to travel to several different countries within one semester.  It was both an unforgettable passage and a test of my ability to adapt to different families and cultures.  One person who made the journey even more memorable was our trustees fellow (~TA) Josh Fattal.  Throughout the four months we were with him he exhibited an ability to lead while hanging back, and his life experiences added to each part of our journey.

I’m writing about Josh because it has been two years since I returned from abroad.  It has also been almost two years since his unlawful detainment by the Iranian government, when he and friends Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd were found hiking near the Iraqi-Iranian border.  Despite considerable efforts by their families, friends, and the US government to free them, only Sarah has been able to return to the states.  Josh and Shane have now had two trial dates pushed back without explanation.  Worse still, their families have not had contact with them for over sixth months.  When I think about how much I’ve grown in two years, I’m heartbroken to think that their own lives have been put on hold for no reasonable explanation.
Ladu is an Indian sweet made of flour, butter, and cardamom, and rolled into a ball.  One of its traditional roles is in prayer.  The sweet is offered to the gods, after which it is called Prasād.  The prasād is then eaten as a blessing.  For the sake of the Hikers and their families, please learn more about their situation.  If you have time, watch the video in this post.  Visit their site, and if you’re inspired to support these innocent people please do so.  At the very least, please keep them in your heart and prayers as we await their safe return.

Ingredients (adapted from the blog Bhaatukli)

  • 1 cup besan (chickpea flour…available at Indian, Middle Eastern, and health food stores)
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2-3 cardamom pods, crushed to release the seeds, the seeds ground into powder
  • handful of raisins (optional…I skip it)
  • water
  • a microwave safe container such as a pyrex loaf pan
Put the besan into the container, and microwave in 1-minute intervals, stirring in between.  The goal is to microwave the rawness out of the flour, which may take anywhere between 3 and 6 intervals depending on the power of your microwave.  Meanwhile or afterward, place the butter in a small pot over medium-high flame.  The butter will melt and eventually the solids will separate from the liquids.  You can strain out the solids using a paper towel in a funnel, or scoop them out with a spoon–the remaining oil is the ghee.  Pour 3/4 of the ghee onto the cooled besan, and then mix with your fingers until it looks like a coarse meal (see the picture above).  Add the sugar and mix again with your fingertips.  Attempt to form a ball about the size shown in the picture above — if the flour is still too sandy, add the remaining ghee and mix again.  Form balls carefully with your hands (the texture is like wet sand, so the balling process is delicate).  Place the balls on a plate and allow to cool completely–after an hour or so the ladus will be firmer, with a sandy texture upon consumption.
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Posted in Dessert, Indian, Non Recipe | 6 Comments

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Ari

Phew. Two weeks down…many more to go. Friday was my last day of neurosurgery, and to be honest, I’m not really feeling relieved. I won’t deny that I’ll enjoy “sleeping in” till 6/6:30 and being awake late enough to see the sun set, but I really enjoyed these last two weeks…and that makes me nervous. Today marks exactly 2 years from our graduation from medical school (congrats to the class of 2011!), but I’m starting to realize that this day in 2013 will pale in comparison to a day that is only one year away – the day that I start filling out residency applications. That will be the day that I declare to the world (well, to the residency programs) that I want to be a surgeon…pediatrician…gastroenterologist…urologist…? I’ve been saying for years that I wanted to be a pediatric surgeon, but how can I be so sure? I didn’t expect to enjoy neurosurgery, but sure enough I was really sad to leave on Friday with the understanding that I won’t be back on Monday. What if I spend the next year loving every single rotation? I guess that’s really not something to complain about…I mean, enjoying every minute of your life sounds like a pretty good deal…but then how are you supposed to narrow down your options?
Since deciding at the age of 3 that I wanted to be a doctor (no joke), I’ve received plenty of advice about what specialty I should enter. My mom says that my hands were meant for surgery, while others have said I don’t have the “ego” for it. Friends say that I need to end up in a field with a lot of patient contact, while others have warned me that I’m going to start resenting my patients (that advice was actually from the same person who made the ego comment…I think they were trying to steer me towards their specialty – pathology). In reality, I’m sure I’m not going to end up enjoying every field of medicine, but knowing how enthusiastic I can get, it’s a pretty legitimate concern. Ultimately, I know I’m just going to have to trust my gut in this. I’ve always felt a certain drive towards surgery, and I KNOW that I was meant to work with the pediatric population (I definitely identify better with 5-year-olds than 50-year-olds), but rather than closing myself off to all other options, I am going to try to keep an open mind over the next year and trust in the fact that for the past 23 years, everything has worked out better than I could have ever imagined. Who knows, maybe I will end up as a pathologist…
This week’s recipe is in honor (?) of the residents who oversaw my neurosurgery rotation. I really do think they had a lot to do with how much I enjoyed myself over the past two weeks. They were relatively patient with us, and very eager to teach. As a little thank you for everything they did (and a little bribery to get them to fill out our evaluations on time), I decided to bake cookies. Upon making this decision, I realized I had never actually made chocolate chip cookies from scratch, so I decided to consult my favorite cookbook – How to Cook Everything. As with every other recipe from that book, they turned out delicious. You can find the adapted recipe below.

What you need:

  • 2 sticks of butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

What you need to do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixture and beat until blended
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beat for a few seconds, and add the vanilla and chocolate chips.
  6. Drop tablespoon-size mounds of dough about 3 inches apart onto a non-stick baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes (until slightly browned).
  7. Cool for a few minutes before removing from the baking sheet.
  8. Enjoy!
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Club Isabella – Opening Soon!

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Anita!

Club Isabella & Fabio Mota

As Cleveland slips into mid May, Ari and I anxiously await two happenings: one is for the weather to stay above 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  The other is for the opening of Club Isabella, the restaurant whose progress we have been following since we moved in together in June 2010.
In February we had another opportunity to meet chef and owner Fabio Mota, who gave us a tour of the restaurant in its in media res state: Club Isabella signage had been mounted, half of the seating had been installed, and a gorgeous bar stippled with hanging globe lights claimed an entire side of the main room.

Club Isabella & Fabio Mota

We also heard a little more about the progression of the menu, which promises the “twist of the familiar” Mota described at the end of autumn.  The menu will include dishes such as croque monsieur topped with avocado salad, assorted tartars with a deep fried egg & toast, and cuttle fish fried sweet and spicy eastern style.

The best thing about this last visit was not only the promise of “clean,” no-frills good food, but also Mota’s attitude toward the entire building process.  Building from scratch is no “croque walk” (my bad joke, not his), especially when Cleveland weather delivers snow in April and winds that can chuck our mailbox across the street. But our new acquaintance seems calm and content, pleased with the body of his restaurant, and ready to instill it with soul as soon as the kitchen has been completed.

Expect Club Isabella to fire up in late May for the public after a few preceding soft openings.  Expect to find us drooling from the sidewalk until then.
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Posted in Non Recipe | Tagged , , | 11 Comments