Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Gustus Vitae Taste of Provence Roasted Fillet of Sole

July 27, 2016 by Mary 10 Comments

Gustus Vitae is a Californian crafter of authentic, artisan, small batch seasoning blends and gourmet finishing salts. Using locally harvested herbs and spices, their all natural, certified non-GMO ingredients are blended in small batches, before being packed by hand in their unique magnetic tins. Yes! It’s true! The bottom of this can is magnetized so you can stick it anywhere where there’s metal and it will always be within each reach! And you will want this within easy reach because the herbs are so fresh and flavorful, even thought they’re dried, you’ll want to use this on anything and everything.

The Taste of Provence is an amazing blend of fragrant, fresh herbal flavors. Use this on chicken, meat, vegetables or fish to create a bright, perky, delicious dish.

Besides the tin being magnetized, I love the entire package, particularly the lid that swivels so you can just sprinkle out the right amount, either through 3 small holes or large long one. It’s very nifty!

The recipe I made here is so stupid easy – it’s perfect for a quick weeknight meal that is really special tasting, all because of this Gustas Vitae Taste of Provence.

I wanted you to taste the herbs pure, so the dish is really simple. I mentioned before that I have really been getting into finishing a protein with an acid, mainly a citrus, lemon or lime or even orange. But the difference is that in some cases, I have been roasting that citrus before using it on the dish and that obviously produces a different flavor, less bold and sweeter with still a little acid.

So here I roasted the lemon and squeezed it on to finish. I also did one version where I placed the fish on top of peeled sliced oranges and that produced a delicious result too, but I neglected to take pictures. Either way, give this a go! You will LOVE it.

I served this with some sautéed Chinese cabbage and garnished both with cilantro or you can use any green herb. I really should have added a tomato for color to this picture but actually I kind of like this duotone plate. Sometimes you just need things simple. Truth be told, it was so good and gobbled up so fast, it didn’t matter.

GUSTUS VITAE TASTE OF PROVENCE ROASTED FILLET OF SOLE – serves 2

2 fillets of sole
Olive oil
Salt – preferably French Grey
Fresh ground pepper
Gustus Vitae Taste of Provence seasoning
½ of a lemon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash your fish and pat dry with paper toweling.

Slick a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Lay the fish on the pan and drizzle a little olive oil on top of the fillet, spreading it around evenly with your fingers.

Season the fillets with salt, pepper and Gustus Vitae Taste of Provence seasoning.

Place the lemon cut side down on the pan and roast the fish for 10 – 12 minutes, until done and white throughout.

Remove the fillets to your dinner plates, squeeze on the roasted lemon and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!

Laiki Rice Crackers Crusted Flounder

December 19, 2015 by Mary 14 Comments

These Laiki Rice Crackers taste like they should be bad for you, they’re that good. They’ve got a great crunch, flavor and just the right amount of salt I crave. And they’re made with just 3 ingredients, rice (red or black), oil and salt. They’re whole grain and baked so they really are good for you!!

Obviously these crackers are just great on their own. Or pair with any dip, hummus or salsa. But crush them and use them to coat fish, chicken or even vegetables and you’ve now gone to a whole new level. Because they’re made with rice, they’re completely gluten-free and gluten-free people often have difficulty with crispy coated proteins because flour and panko are not gluten-free.

So here, I crushed each .74 oz. bag to coat a fillet of flounder. I painted the fillets first with a hot Korean sauce I made, which added some nice flavor and heat. And then the crushed crackers added just the right amount of crunch. You could also use a Dijon mustard or even just olive oil and then pat on the crushed crackers.

You can see with my photos that I used crushed red and black rice crackers to test it out and both flavors were delicious and equally as good, so it’s really your choice.

Have fun with this cracker this holiday season. So many ways to use as an appetizer dipper and then crush them to replace any sort of panko or flour you might use as a coating.

Experiment and have fun!!

Laiki coated fish on a plate with roasted potatoes and broccoli.

Laiki rice crackers crusted fillet of flounder with roasted potatoes and broccoli. Total yum!!

LAIKI RICE CRACKERS CRUSTED FLOUNDER – serves 3

1 Tbs. of Gochujang Hot Pepper Paste (Korean)
1 Tbs. all natural ketchup
1.5 lbs. fillet of flounder
Olive oil
.74 oz. bag of Laiki black rice crackers, crushed
.74 oz. bag of Laiki red rice crackers, crushed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and pat dry your fish.

Whisk together the hot pepper paste and the ketchup, or use 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard. Slick a rimmed baking sheet with oil.

Combine the crackers or keep separate, your choice. I coated ½ of the fish with each flavor.

Brush the ½ of the ketchup/hot pepper paste (or Dijon mustard) over one side of the fish. Coat with the cracker crumbs. Place fish, coated side down on the oiled baking sheet. Complete the top side with the ketchup paste and crumbs.

Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, until fish is white and cooked through.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

Discover other unique, good-for-you products in our upcoming spring box – mails March 25th! You can download a gift card at check-out to put under the tree.

Striped Bass with Shallots, Fennel and Persimmons

January 18, 2015 by Mary 19 Comments

Ready to go into the oven to roast.

Do you think I will live long enough to cook all the recipes I’ve clipped from newspapers or marked in cookbooks? I have made it a New Years Resolution to go through all of the Times Dining sections I’ve saved from the past year that have piled up, that I never seem to have time to get through on my subway ride to work because there are just way too many business messages I need to take care of first. I used to keep piles of those clipped recipes on my kitchen counter for easy access and inspiration. When the piles got to be over a foot tall (seriously), one of my friends told me I was being ridiculous and to move it somewhere. So now I am hiding these piles – in a space in a kid’s closet, under my bed, taking up two deep drawers in a dresser. It’s pitiful.

And then you know what – I come home from work, late, starving and I just want to eat something good and different, so I just make something up, quickly, with what’s on hand, no time to read a recipe. So on Friday night, I made up this dish, always welcoming sweet and savory combos and this, this roasted striped bass with shallots, fennel and persimmons was really, really delicious and different! (and super easy)

Striped Bass Roasted with Shallots, Fennel & Persimmons - finished.

Sorry, I cut this already, getting ready to serve and then remembered to take a pic.

Here’s what I did.

STRIPED BASS WITH SHALLOTS, FENNEL AND PERSIMMONS – serves 2 – with a little left over

1 lb. striped bass fillet – washed and patted dry
Olive oil
1 shallot, sliced very thin on a mandoline
1/4 of a fennel bulb, sliced very thin on a mandoline
Salt – preferably French grey salt
Pepper – fresh ground
Paul Prudhomme’s seafood seasoning
2 persimmons, cored, peeled and sliced very thin

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Slick a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Lay out the shallot and fennel evenly in a shape mimicking your fish shape. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper.

Lay your fish fillet on top, covering everything. Drizzle a little olive oil on top of the fish and spread around to cover with your fingertips. Sprinkle on Paul Prudhomme’s seasoning to your liking. Cover with persimmon slices and drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on top of those.

Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the fish flakes to your liking.

Serve with love – enjoy!

A question for you all:

What is the difference between the dull and shiny side of aluminum foil? Can somebody tell me? I mean, I know they’re different but for what purpose, if any?

Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Gustus Vitae Taste of Provence Roasted Fillet of Sole

Laiki Rice Crackers Crusted Flounder

Striped Bass with Shallots, Fennel and Persimmons

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