leftovers

I'm sitting here comfortably on our couch, enjoying my early morning cup of coffee. I can see that it's cold outside, snow banks everywhere, yet there is something so warm and pleasant about this morning. This is our last day here, my last cup of morning coffee facing the beautiful forest. I feel teary, yet excited that this is a start to a whole new beginning for us. There are a lot of changing coming our way - moving in with my parents for a few weeks, a new house, a new job, a highly coveted position for Mony....

It seems to be that 2008 is working out to be the year of change for us.

The above photo was taken this past summer, after our trip from Morocco, as we sat outside sipping mint tea. The weather, the view, the quietness - I think this was one of my favorite nights at the condo. We've had a lot of good times here, and well, a few bad, as well (a particular someone needing to climb 4 flights of stairs daily while in a foot cast comes to mind). But I do think that overall we've all enjoyed our time here and will miss it.

All week we've been slowly emptying out the condo, including things in the fridge and pantry. This dinner was a miche mache of leftovers that we had lying around. No real recipe, but it was a delicious filet of tilapia topped with a blend of onions, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives with a splash of vermouth. Here is the recipe that inspired us...

Spicy sauteed fish with olives and cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds tilapia, red snapper, or orange roughy fillets
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Add half of fish to skillet and sauté until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer fish to platter. Repeat with remaining fish. Add parsley and crushed red pepper to same skillet; sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes, olives, and garlic; sauté until tomatoes are soft and juicy, about 2 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper; spoon over fish.


House update...hopefully just a few weeks away from moving in...

Due to our upcoming circumstances, we will be taking a short break from the blog. Please check back with us at some point in March as we start a whole new beginning and return to our love of cooking. We hope you will join us.
D & M