Trader Tuesday: Herbed Fish and Vegetables

So this recipe is taken from Prevention's Healthy One-Dish Meals in Minutes. It's on our meal plan for Friday night, so I can't speak to how good it tastes, only that it's quick (40 minutes total - prep and cooking time) and easy! 

Herbed Fish and Vegetables 

1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice 

1 tsp dried thyme leaves 

1/2 tsp onion salt

1/4 tsp ground allspice 

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper 

Pinch of ground red pepper (optional) 

4 swordfish, halibut or other firm white fish fillets (4 oz each)

4 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes

4 onions, quartered 

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced 

1 large green pepper, cubed 

4 tsp butter or margarine 

Preheat the oven to 425F.  

Lay four 12" x 18" pieces of aluminum foil or parchment paper on the work surface and lightly coat with no-stick spray. 

In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, thyme, onion salt, all-spice, black pepper and red pepper. Add the fish, potatoes, onions, celery and green peppers. Toss to coat. 

Place a fish fillet in the center of each piece of foil or paper. Divide the vegetables evenly among them. Top with the butter or margarine. 

Fold the long sides of foil or paper together, making several folds to encase the food snugly. Fold the ends closed, like a package to enclose securely. 

Lay the packets, seam side up, on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the fish and vegetables are tender when tested with a fork. Be careful of escaping steam when opening the packets. 

Per Serving: 373 calories, 8.8g total fat, 3.7 g saturated fat, 55 mg cholesterol, 369 mg. sodium

Meal Planning

Not actually Chorus.

I did it, I did it, I DID IT! I planned our dinners for the WHOLE WEEK yesterday, and then we went to the grocery store and bought all the groceries for all the meals I've planned. If that doesn't seem like a big deal, trust me, it's a big deal for us. This week will mark the first time EVER that we've actually planned a week's worth of food and then followed-through with it.

So here's what's on the menu, starting with last night:

Sunday: Orange Cumin Chicken, white rice and steamed carrots.
Monday: Chili (WH is making this for the crock-pot right now!) I'll go home and make some muffins to go with it.
Tuesday: Chicken Quesadillas with green salad
Wednesday: Marinated Pork Tenderloin with baby potatoes and broccoli
Thursday: Penne with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Friday: White Fish (probably halibut) with potatoes and veggies, all done in a tin foil pocket in the oven!

The only thing I have left to buy for the week is the fish, which I'll buy fresh from FredtheButcher on my way home from work on Friday. I'll provide a recipe or two tomorrow for Trader Tuesday!
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In other news, the first concert of the year for Chamber Choir went very, very well. This concert was a joint project with one of our local youth choirs, so we had a huge audience and they were very responsive. The choir sounded great!!!

A Musical LOLCat

Friday Five: Funny Papers

Today from the Revgals, we have a Friday Five about comics! Presbyterian Gal writes:

After an exhausting election here in the states it's time for some spirit lifting! Join me with a nice cup of tea or coffee or cocoa and let's sit back and read the Funny Papers!

1. What was your favorite comic strip as a child?2. Which comic strip today most consistently tickles your funny bone?
3. Which Peanuts character is closest to being you?
4. Some say that comic strips have replaced philosophy as a paying job, so to speak. Does this ring true with you?

Hmm... that's interesting. I definitely think that there are some comic strips that express a certain philosophy brilliantly... Calvin and Hobbes was great for that... Opus too!

5. What do you think the appeal is for the really long running comic strips like Blondie, Family Circus, Dennis the Menace as some examples?

I think that the appeal is probably to a generation of comic strips that were relatively simple and un-complicated in their approach. An approach that proved to be timeless, even when the comics themselves were running out of steam in the "funny" department.

Bonus question: Which discontinued comic strip would you like to see back in print?
See above, re:

On the Other Hand...

So now, despite my glee at the election results, and the rush I still get when I think of Obama's acceptance speech, I feel like I have to say something about the aspects of this election that went badly.

Because frankly, my heart is broken.

Broken for gays and lesbians in California who have once again had their right to marry taken away.

Broken for gays and lesbians in Florida and Arizona, who have had the right to have their relationships recognized excluded from their own constitution.

Broken for gays and lesbians in Arkansas, who have been excluded from the state's newest legislation regarding the adoption of children.

But more generally, I am saddened that some segment of the population has taken it upon themselves to define what it will mean to be in a committed and loving relationship. That some segment of the population feels that it is their RIGHT or RESPONSIBILITY to tell other people that their relationships are somehow less valuable. And to insinuate, in the absolutely most ridiculous of terms, that their own relationships are somehow threatened by the love that two people feel for one another.

And you know what I hate the most about this? I hate the way it makes it sound as though straight people are perfect. As though straight people never do anything to damage the sanctity of marriage. As though straight people would always make perfect parents for a child in need of a home.

Because we all know that that is complete crap.

We all struggle. Most of us get more relationships wrong than we get right. We all have good parenting moments and bad parenting moments. And none of that has anything to do with our sexual orientation.

So to the people that voted to keep gays and lesbians from enjoying the same rights afforded to you I say, please get over yourselves. If you devoted even half of the energy that you have put towards this insanity towards loving your neighbour, the world would be a much, MUCH, better place.

And I'm Back

Landed in Prairie City early this afternoon after another uneventful travel day. Happy to see WH and the kittehs again and to have an afternoon to get re-settled at home and plan for the rest of the week, which includes a Chamber Choir dress rehearsal and concert.

WH is at a rehearsal this evening, and Mama Cat is asleep in my lap. Good to be home.

And the experience of witnessing the U.S. election last night? VERY cool. I did a lot of grinning.

Lovely things purchased in City with Lots of Roses:
-a black turtle neck, a black cardigan, a grey jacket
-a new pair of nylon-tipped tongs from Williams Sonoma, where I had to resist the urge to buy ONE. OF. EVERYTHING. Also bought a bottle of sauce. Resisted the table linens.
-a bottle of wine for our fancy-schmancy wine collection
-a couple of presents for CR, which I can't reveal because I haven't given them to her yet!

Quick Check In

Hi all!

I'm in City with Lots of Roses, and things are going well so far! We had good travel experiences on both flights here (with the exception of a little bit of turbulence) and have spent our first day here getting familiar with the downtown and doing a little bit of shopping. I finally found the black cardigan I've been looking for all these months!

The hotel is just fine, and all the conference events are right in the hotel, so I never have far to go. I went to the pre-conference workshop today, and that was valuable, if not as interactive as I would have liked. I'm just about to head downstairs to the opening speaker and reception, and then the conference kicks off in earnest tomorrow morning!

Take care, all!

Chorus