Run to Win

At the grocery store this evening, I was chatting with the guy behind the counter and asked how to prepare a new type of fish that they are selling that I had never heard of called barramundi. He wasn’t really sure, but since it is a new offering and he couldn’t help with the preparation, he was able to give me a couple of filets for free. Works for me, I’ll give it a try!

My trusty How to Cook Everything book didn’t actually contain anything for barramundi, so I had to improvise. I did all right, because the following recipe is not only fast, but it is very tasty!
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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we wrote about food and recipes for the month of January. I’d like to finish the month up by offering a few of my favorite chicken recipes.

Chicken is a great source of protein because it contains all of the essential amino acids in the correct proportions required by the human body for optimum growth of lean tissue. If you have a local butcher or farm, it might be worth investigating the possibility of purchasing your chicken through them rather than getting prepackaged chicken at the grocery store.

In my experience, buying chicken from the farm or the butcher yields a bird that has not been injected with water to make it appear plumper (or to add to the weight before purchase!) I prefer the taste of fresher chicken, although it cooks faster and can become dried out easier if you aren’t careful while you are cooking.

Here are 2 of my favorite chicken recipes, which are both quick and easy to prepare. I recommend warming up a good loaf of bread to serve alongside of either meal.
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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about food and recipes for the month of January. This week, Scott shares 50 protein shake recipes that you can make at home.

Along with the 50 recipes, he offers some advice for making substitutions and has a list of tips for how to make the shakes. For example, you can add frozen fruit to add flavor and to thicken the shake. Is the shake too thick? Add some water (slowly) to thin it out a little.

If you are tired of just mixing up some protein powder with milk or water and calling it good, then take a look through Scott’s list of 50 recipes and see if there are any there that you already have the ingredients for.

In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about food and recipes for the month of January. This week, I would like to recommend that you add quinoa to your diet. It has become a staple in our household over the past few months.

Quinoa is very similar to rice and cous cous, it has similar properties to them, and you can cook and prepare it in the same fashion. It has a slightly nuttier flavor, but tastes quite similar as well. Quinoa is not actually a grain, however, because it does not come from grass. It is also more nutritious and easier to digest than most grains, is high in magnesium and iron and is made up of between 12-18% protein with a balanced set of essential amino acids. It is gluten free and is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus. On top of the nutritional value, it cooks very fast and is easy to prepare.
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In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about food and recipes for the month of January. This week, Scott shares a method for making your own protein bars out of a few simple ingredients.
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My fish choice at the grocery store is often based upon the current market price of what they have available. This week, tilapia and the chowder mix were the only things worth shelling out for, and it has been a month or so since I last had tilapia. I wanted to try something new, though, so here is a simple recipe for rolled tilapia that came out really well.
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Tonight’s main dish was catfish. Catfish is pretty easy to cook, and tastes great fried or grilled. Tonight, I opted for grilled. Here is how I prepared it:

1. Mix the bread crumbs, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and onion salt on a plate.
2. Wash the catfish filets and coat in flour.
3. Wipe the coated catfish through the egg.
4. Coat the catfish with the breading mix.
5. Grill over low heat. Turn over after 3 or 4 minutes.

Making use of a paper bag to coat the catfish with the flour can save a little time. Once you wash off the catfish, just drop it in the bag of flour, shake a little, and pull it out.

When you are done cooking it, the catfish should have a nice crunchy breading on the outside, and soft tender meat on the inside.

You can tell when the catfish is done cooking by seeing if it will flake when you touch it with a fork. This is easier to check if you leave a few small patches unbreaded.

Running through the market yesterday, I saw that Shark Steaks were for sale for $3.50/lb. Well, I have never eaten shark before, and I thought I would give it a try. I bought two steaks; they were about 1″ thick and about 1�” to 1�” thick. The smaller one weighed about � lb and the larger weighed about 1 lb. I broiled the shark steaks in the oven after marinating it for 20 or 30 minutes, and it tasted quite good. I did not really like the skin, but the meat was very good and quite filling. I served the fish with mixed vegetables and egg noodles on the side.

Here is the recipe that I used:
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