What I Think About When I Think About Cooking
Grilled Sea Bass with Lime Herb Salsa
Ingredients:
- Sea bass fillet
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Lime juice
- Fresh parsley
- Green chili
- Red onion
- Capers
Method
- Pat fish dry, rub with olive oil, salt and pepper
- Grill, pan fried or roast until skin crisped up
- To prepare salsa, chop parsley, green chili and red onion. Mix them with capers, olive oil
- Serve fish with salsa over
Notes
- You'll see I don't put measurements, that's because it all depends. I used a fillet. You could use the whole fish. I use less salt because I have high blood pressure, you could use more if you like. All I ask is that you taste the salsa and make adjustments as you go.
- If you are using an oven you'll probably need to preheat, cooking time honestly depends on your own setup and how thick the fish is but I normally use the fish skin as a gauge
I've always loved cooking. I am quite sure cooking and feeding people is one of my love languages. There is something so magical and comforting in planning, preparing and cooking a great meal for the people you love. The kitchen is my favourite place in the whole house. Sometimes my meal revolve around the fact that I have this specific ingredient in my fridge and I need to use it. Sometimes my meal revolve around the fact that I have this very specific itch I needed to scratch. Sometimes it's because I am trying to get healthier on a Mediterranean diet and am experimenting with new recipes.
I keep a mental note on what my loved ones eat or doesn't eat. (My MIL is currently topping the list with the most complex and vague dietary preferences, not restrictions.) I ask them about how they are feeling physically. I look at what is fresh. I search for the perfect recipe to follow.
I spend hours in the kitchen to prepare a meal and I can feel myself in my zone. Sometimes I put on music, sometimes I put on a crime documentary, sometimes it's silence and only kitchen chaos. Sometimes I find myself thinking about the people I am cooking for. I think about the last conversation we had. I think about the last time this person (might've) slighted me. I think about the last laugh we had together. I look forward to seeing them on the dining table, with my food.
If you've ever watched a Studio Ghibli movie, do you ever feel a very very specific kind of warmth when they are cooking? No matter how turbulent the movie has been or will be, when they are cooking everything just pauses and it felt like things will be okay. The feeling you get when you are sitting down with a hot cup of beverage after a long day. That's how I feel when I think about cooking. I'd say when I am cooking I feel this but I am in a different zone when I cook and I am still struggling to put that into words.
Some days I find myself wondering if they hear the quiet I love yous that passed through the plates. Love is a very strong word but I honestly have no better substitute because surely if I don't love all these people I cook for I won't remember that this person doesn't eat beef for religious reason, this person doesn't eat chicken with bones because of childhood trauma, this person doesn't eat food with slimy texture because of personal preference, this person cannot eat shellfish because of allergies and red meat because of preferences and the list goes on. You get my point.