February Resolution Update

February is turning out to be a busy month!  My special man friend and I have a lot going on it seems.  My mom is coming to visit! My Bailey girl had surgery and started her 12 week long recovery process - she hates being crated...  Despite all the craziness, I'm trying to stay committed to my resolutions:  One new recipe a month, one book a month, eat clean/move more/crunch often.

Today I'll update you on February's new recipe!  I tried a citrus and chili salmon dish that came out pretty decent. My boyfriend (gulp - we call each other boyfriend/girlfriend now...) brought over a nice salmon fillet and a large lemon from his lemon tree to help me try my hand on this dish.   I'd never used fennel before and actually had to watch a YouTube video on how to cut fennel.  It was pretty simple turns out :)

Looking pretty on a dish of lemons and blood oranges!

The recipe calls for 3/4 cup of olive oil which seemed like way to much.  As I poured it over the top of the fish and lemon/orange slices, it felt like it was about 200x more oil than was really necessary.  So, if I can recommend anything to anyone who may try this - use less oil! Also, the recipe calls for a specific type of chili or substitute jalapeno.  I used jalapeno as that was easily found at the grocery store, but I was very underwhelmed by the flavor it added.  I think the heavy layer of oil that was covering the fruit and chili really just muted everything.  It was... very light in both citrus and chili flavor. 

Paired with some pan roasted veggies for a colorful meal!

I had a craving for some really crunchy veggies while I was at work and knew I had to stop by the grocery to pick up fresh dill and blood oranges anyway, so I added some broccoli and Brussels sprouts to my basket as well.  I coated a skillet with some olive oil, added a chopped clove of garlic and sauteed the garlic until brown.  I cut the broccoli into large pieces and the Brussels sprouts cut in half.  I sprayed them all with olive oil also, to be sure they were evenly covered and tossed them into the skillet.  I let them sit until they started to brown, then tossed every so often until the broccoli was showing signs of browning on the majority of the stalks - I love a crunch cooked veggie!  A few moments before the veggies were done, I took about a forth cup of water and tossed it into the pan also.  This immediately steamed which I think makes the veggies just a touch softer on the inside.  Nothing worse than an under cooked inside of a Brussels sprout.  Toss some sea salt in as well and then enjoy!

So the veggies were awesome if I do say so myself.  The fish was really nicely cooked but not super flavorful.  The citrus and chili came off dull and flat vs sharp and spicy.  So - probably not worth repeating, but happy I gave this a try!

More on the other resolutions later this month (when there is more to report!)