Simply – Fish and Vegetables

Before I share the recipe, I have this to say…

My heritage is from Alsace-Lorraine. Throw in a little German and Dutch, with a whole lot of French, and boom, there you have it. The result is my propensity for Gaulic Sensuality.

This encompasses the total experience of the senses. These are Sight, Smell, Hearing, Taste, Touch and Proprioception. Everyone knows the first five, but for most, Proprioception is not a very familiar concept. Also known as Kinesthesia. It is part of our senses through which we perceive position and movement. It is our perception of equilibrium and balance, senses that depend on motion and force.

Athletes and Artists of all types depend on Proprioception as a sixth sense. It is our center of balance, our mental head space, the control we have over our athletic pursuit or our creative command.

As a drummer, I am constantly searching out new ways to enhance limb independence. A great drummer once said, hands and feet should each be able act independently, with out influencing or depending on the actions of the others. This is an oversimplification, but welcome to my world. What a great analogy of Proprioception.

Any athlete or creative must apply this concept to what they do. At the cornerstone of Kinesthesia is Mindfulness. You have to know where you are and what you are doing in performance.

This takes discipline and commitment. And time, it takes time. Time is the most important limited commodity available.

But a guy has got to eat. And I ain’t missing many meals.

As my friend Pat said the other day, “Bry, you better take more care of yourself, the wind is about to blow you away.”

Thanks for your concern, Pat, and the biting sarcasm. It’s good to have friends.

Discovery

There are no short cuts in art and creativity. When it comes to food prep I have to rely on all available advantages .

Cruising the freezer aisle at Safeway I discovered Riced Cauliflower, Mediterranean Inspired. With grilled zucchini, fried eggplant, red and yellow peppers and a basil sauce. Wow!!! Instant gold.

Why do I like cauliflower? You can bake it, broil it, saute it, boil it, mash it or just eat it raw.

The best thing about cauliflower – it’s a cruciferous vegetable.

Why is that important? I’m glad you asked.

In my misguided years of seeking social conformity, I pursued network marketing. I sold food supplements in the field of nutraceuticals. The company I represented main ingredients for their products was cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, cabbage, and bok choy. Delicious food. Yum.

They all contain phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Enough said; delicious and healthy.

The common ancestor of these veggies would be cabbage. Some very smart, creative botanist types manipulated cabbage into these various vegetables. Thank you, creative botanist types!

Then someone else figured out how to rice cauliflower. One of the things I have discovered about riced cauliflower – preparation is key. If it isn’t cooked long enough there won’t be a rice like quality to the flavor.

Remember that.

The recipe

This can’t get any more simple. My maxim is minimum ingredients, minimum prep, maximum outcome.

Two packages of the Safeway Riced Cauliflower

A half pound of fish of your choice ( Cod works exceptionally well )

Lawry’s Garlic Salt

Some Olive Oil. I’m usually of the mind that there is no such thing as too much olive oil, but in this case, be sparing. Especially if you are using a non-stick pan

Some lemon juice or sliced lemon

Diced Chive if you want to be fancy

Some sort of pan that can be covered

Use a little olive oil, maybe two to three tablespoons. Spread evenly in the pan. Turn the heat to high and add the two packages of riced cauliflower. Saute the rice and get it hot. Be sure to stir as you go. Make sure the cauliflower is steaming hot before you turn the heat to low.

It won’t hurt to add a touch of stock of some sort, you choose. You don’t need much.

Add the fish and season. You don’t have to use Lawry’s. Use anything you want.

Again, make sure your heat is on low. Cover the pan and walk away. Ten minutes max.

I chose to use that ten minutes working on paradiddle variations at 113 BPM. Got to keep up the chops.

If you like your fish on the rare side, eight minutes.

Plate up, add the chives and a little lemon for a some pizzazz. Eat.

So good, you won’t believe it.

The Extra stuff

A side salad of wild greens, some tomato and red onions, olive oil and white wine vinegar.

For dessert, Black Cherries from Washington State.

Go organic on as many of the ingredients as possible. That delivers the best flavor profile.

No macaroni and cheese with this dish. There is no point in burying its delicacy with salt and fat.

My Inner Wine Snob

Any light white wine will do. I have chosen two.

Being a wine snob, I am rarely going to suggest wines that are not unique. I will always try to keep my selections affordable.

Lenz Moser Gruner Veltliner 2019. Gruner is the most widely planted varietal in Austria. The wine has good acidity and citrus characteristics to its fruit. It pairs perfectly with the swordfish and cauliflower rice dish. It also matches quite well with the salad. A perfect artist wine. It sells for 8 bucks a liter; that’s an extra third of a bottle. You can’t go wrong.

Weingut Geil Gewurztraminer Kabinett 2020. Gewurztraminer is generally a heavier white. Geil has created a delicate beauty in this wine. It has very light acidity, typical floral notes in the nose, and pleasing stone fruit on the palate. I loved it. It was awesome with both the swordfish and cherries.

It could not keep up with the salad. The wine vinegar over powered the wine. 12 bucks, Yahoo!

Can we help?