This has to be one of the easiest ways to prepare fish. You would have to be armless, legless and eyeless to have trouble preparing this. In other words, if you are a human, this shouldn’t be trouble.

I think fish, if it’s fresh, requires very little doctoring, especially when it’s meaty, flaky sea bass. The bright, clean flavors in this easy preparation make a great summer to fall transition lunch or beefed up with some jasmine rice, dinner. I served it with some French bread right out of the tinfoil for a light lunch. And I just had it again with some steamed carrots, so really, endless possibilities.

For the Recipe, click here:

Ginger and Garlic Soy Sea Bass with Wilted Greens

Confession: I once ate so many shrimp off a shrimp cocktail platter that it soured my love for the little pink crustaceans for 8 years. I distinctly remember eating them on my parents porch as a kid and thinking to myself, “Why the heck am I still eating these things? I am stuffed.” I couldn’t even stand to look at a shrimpy until recently.

But the good news is, I am finally over my binge-induced aversion and enjoy a moderate portion from time to time. Here’s a healthy way to put some pep into them.

For the Recipe, click here:

Curry Shrimp with Sweet and Spicy Couscous

I am hooked on barley. It is such a versatile and satisfying, chewy little grain. This fresh salad sparked when I came upon these cute clementines that looked almost too perfect to eat. Clementines remind me of my childhood and the single orange ball I would find at the toe of my Christmas stocking every year. Once we pulled everything out, my brothers and I would sit and eat our clementines while admiring our loot. Something about them just makes me happy.

So for a lunch date with my friend Jamie, I marinated and grilled some beautiful salmon to go with this spring salad. It was a perfect lazy lunch on the porch accompanied by sunshine and Monty contentedly munching on his favorite stuffed beaver.

For the Recipes, click here:

Orange and Maple Glazed Salmon

Clementine, Barley, and Spinach Salad with Cinnamon Citrus Dressing

Growing up in New England, we had seafood for dinner a couple times a week and I definitely took it for granted how amazingly easy it was to find fresh, just caught fishies. Then I moved to Chicago. I remember during one of my shifts at the local Irish Pub hearing someone exclaim, “Oh wow, this smells so fresh!” when I brought out a previously frozen piece of stinky specimen and thinking… this person is not aware that fresh fish doesn’t smell at all. Or at least, it doesn’t smell of fish. It smells salty if anything. And then I moved to Las Vegas. And I continue to miss the fresh Atlantic catch of the day.

So, every now and then, I pay a slightly inflated price for responsibly farmed fish at Whole Foods and remind myself that if I went to a restaurant, it would cost way more anyway. Plus, I love the fishmonger at Whole Foods. Always honest, and always friendly, he doesn’t get annoyed by my spattering of questions about delivery time, the origin, if it was previously frozen, colors added, etc… What can I say, I like to know whats going on with my food.

I hope this doesn’t make me sound like a snot. It just effects the taste so much that I think it’s worth the extra couple of dollars!

For the Recipes, click below:

Marinated Citrus Swordfish with Dilly White Wine Butter Sauce

Roasted Garlic Asparagus

I am a huge nerd and seriously cracking myself up right now! I’m nicknaming this “Game Thyme Tilapia” because I just watched Roger Federer slam his way to a win at the Australian Open and it was so thrilling I nearly bit off my own tongue! Nothing like a “beet down” from the “down under” by Federer to get you excited! Muahahahha. I could keep going, but I’ll stop there. Here’s the recipe!

You can use any firm white fish. Tilapia just happened to be looking extra fresh and tasty when I visited my beloved Whole Foods this week. If you make these two together, start the beets first as you can cook them in the same oven and the beets need about 15 minutes more than the fish! Also, I recommend wearing gloves when prepping and tossing the beets. Stained red hands are no fun!

Game Thyme Tilapia with “Beet Down” Chips

For the Tilapia

6 filets fresh Tilapia or any firm white fish

1 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme, pulled off the stems

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp agave or honey

1/2 tsp Worstershire sauce

2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay the fish in a glass baking dish and liberally season both sides with salt and pepper. In a bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together. With a brush or spoon, cover the topside of the fish with the mixture. Crack some extra pepper over the top. Cover with tinfoil. Bake 10 minutes covered. Remove tinfoil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Set the broiler to HI and broil 1 and 1/2 minutes until top is slightly crusty.

For the Beets

3 bunches fresh beets, stems cut off, peeled, and cut into 1/4” disks

3 tbsp olive oil

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 cracks of the pepper grinder

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp fresh chopped parsley

In a bowl, toss all the ingredients together until beets are coated evenly. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, flipping periodically. Garnish with fresh parsley.