It gets easy to find yourself in a rut, making the same dishes over and over because the dish is either easy to make, the ingredients are cheap, your comfortable with the meal...name your excuse.
Growing up in my parents' household those "go-to" meals were meatloaf and spaghetti.
We all live very busy lives and it gets hard when you have to come home from work to take care of your family, cook dinner only to look forward to logging back into your work computer again later that evening.
I recognize that this rhythm is tough, and you've gotta eat. But it doesn't always have to be the some old meal prepared the same way over and over (I'm guilty of it myself. Ask Kristi about my spicy rubbed grilled chicken).
So here's my solution: I declare Pretentious Tuesday to be a day that no matter what stand-by meal I make, I prepare it differently, and describe it with as many snotty, foodie snob buzzwords as humanly possible. It mixes things up, even if it's just a psychological boost and it gives my snarky alter-ego the opportunity to make fun of the foodie elite blogger/critic/home-cook/author/food porn hipster that exists in all of us.
On my inaugural Pretentious Tuesday dinner, I offer Spice rubbed baked cod and rustic roasted cauliflower over a bed of local greens.
Key ingredients
- Wild cod
- 4 cloves of garlic - whole, unpeeled
- Half Mayan onion, thinly sliced
- Mixed greens
- Half lemon, sliced
- 1 pad of organic butter
- Rub for fish
- Murray salt - no substitutes
- Crushed habenero chili flakes
- Ground black pepper
- Fresh thyme - hand shredded
- Herbs de Provence
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 4 cloves of garlic, whole, unpeeled
- Ground pepper
- Himalayan salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
Throw the cauliflower ingredients on a roasting pan and cook in the oven at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cooking the Cod
Spray coconut oil (or Pam) on a baking sheet. Apply the rub ingredients to your level of heat, taste. Scatter the sliced onion and garlic on the same sheet. Squeeze the lemon over everything and throw on the pan. Cook at 400 degrees for approximately 12 minutes, but check regularly. Remove when flaky.
Let us know about your Pretentious Tuesday meals.
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