Baked Trout with Lemon and Paprika

Also in today's Globe!

Serves 4

Finding time to cook a fancy meal for company sometimes seems as likely as a celebrity chef showing up to fill in. If you can find boned and butterflied whole trout, which cook in a very short time, they make a beautiful presentation. Fill the cavities with lemon, thyme, and garlic and bake the fish inside foil packets to keep the flesh moist during baking. Serve with steamed potatoes sprinkled with parsley and black pepper.

1 teaspoon olive oil
4 whole boned trout, butterflied
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup white wine

1. Have on hand a rimmed baking sheet. Set the oven at 350 degrees.

2. Cut 4 sheets of foil (each 16 inches long); line them up on the counter. Brush each piece of foil with olive oil. On the center of the foil, place 1 whole trout, skin side up; season with salt and pepper. Flip the fish over and season the flesh side with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with paprika.

3. Divide garlic and lemon slices among the fish. Top with thyme, dividing evenly. Sprinkle white wine over each. Fold one fillet over the other, closing up the trout.

4. Fold the foil up and around each fish, and make a seal on top. Set the packets on the baking sheet.

5. Bake for 10 minutes or until the fish is firm and opaque.

To My Readers:

You are a small but loyal crew. I must apologize for my absence. With 30 looming down on me, I've been busy making all the preparations to celebrate the fateful day -- and not by having a solitary pity party! In addition to the chaos of the celebrations of my birth and fortunate continued existence, I have been working like a dog, scrapping together recipes and photos for the Boston Globe (and 1 or 2 other publications that I will let you know about later). The really fantastic thing about the Globe is that they pay me. So, you will understand that is why I sometimes make my world revolve around the demands of said paying gig.

Fear not, though, my friends, unprocessed is still in full swing. A giant batch of hoagies sits on my counter next to an even larger bag of gaufrettes that Ben made at work. The remaining ingredients for an unprocessed birthday party sit in canvas sacks, ready to make their arrival into this world. We'll be sure to post a few new recipes that came about as a result of this soiree. And, if you happen to be in the area, stop by and give an early Happy Birthday salute to me and my dear friend, Suzan. We'll be commemorating the big 3-0 all night long!

Below is a post from today's Boston Globe Short Orders section. You may have seen me touting the merits of Blue Grass Soy Sauce before, but this is the "professional" version.

Microbrewed, small batch, and single barrel are not terms usually associated with the production of soy sauce. But Matt Jamie, president of Bourbon Barrel Foods, is doing just that. Made with non-GMO soybeans and spring water, Blue Grass Soy Sauce ($5.99 for 5 ounces) is one of Kentucky’s finest. The condiment is fermented and aged in bourbon barrels; each label states the batch and bottle number, handwritten by Jamie’s father. The subtle smokiness, derived from its time in oak, perks up a simple stir-fry or rounds out a sharp balsamic vinaigrette. From the land of whiskey and thoroughbreds comes an artisan elixir deserving of space on your shelf. Available at Don Otto’s (formerly Lionette’s), 577 Tremont St., Boston, 617-778-0360; City Feed and Supply, 672 Centre St., 617-524-1799, and 66A Boylston St., 617-524-1657, both in Jamaica Plain; or from www.bluegrasssoysauce.com.

Enough with the Nut Butters, Already!

I realize that at this point, you must think that my infatuation with all things nutty and ground in the food processor borders on serious insanity. Well, I can assure you that I am certifiably crazy, but it has nothing to do with schmears intended for toast.

That being said, our latest venture into the nut butter world was cashew. Ben is interested in trying out one of Martha Stewart's recipes that calls for cashew butter. I must admit that out of the three that we have tried thus far, cashew butter is my least favorite, although I can't clearly articulate why. Perhaps there is a higher starch content, which in the end yields something slightly more difficult to spread than the good old Peter Pan standby. While this may not sound like a ringing endorsement, I do suggest you try it. Variety, after all, is the spice of life. Who knows? Maybe I will even venture into the world of Brazil nut butter. Does that even sound good?

4 cups raw, unsalted cashews
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup oil
4-6 tablespoons water

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, spread the cashews. Roast for 20 minutes, or until nuts begin to brown and release their oils.
2. In a food processor, grind the nuts with the salt, scraping down the sides often.
3. With the machine running, pour in oil and water, again scraping the sides as necessary. If the butter seems too stiff, feel free to add more water or oil.
4. When the cashew butter is smooth and homogeneous, transfer to an air-tight container. Store in the refrigerator.

Project Foodie

My mother's house - much like my own postage stamp in the Mission - was filled with stacks and binders of decades worth of food magazines and newspaper clippings. Hers were namely Gourment; my secret hoarding fetish includes mostly Saveur. I remember the sadness in her eyes when the basement flooded and she was forced to throw away the moldy back issues that had brought her so many gastronomic pleasures. Eventually, I would grow overwhelmed by their presence -- so many layers of precious information, but without the Dewey Decimal system or a computer driven search engine, how the hell does one find something even remotely specific?

Enter Foodie Pam of Project Foodie, a delightful personality that I had the pleasure of dining with at Cav Wine Bar and Kitchen this evening. Pam is the founder of this ingenius site that searches only reputable food publications and provides the user with links to recipes that will surely not result in disaster. No longer is it necessary to while away the hours in fruitless search of an elusive dish (although, I admit that there is nothing that I would like more). Nor are you forced to place your evening meal in the untrustworthy hands of less-than-average-blogger-Joe. Registration ensures that you can return to your favorite recipes again and again -- carefully bookmarked in your very own e-recipe box, ensuring that your prized instructions won't be set aflame on a misdirected burner or covered in Bordelaise sauce.

Foodista!

I stumbled upon a contest on Foodista. They are looking for recipes and photos from food blogs to be chosen for an upcoming book. So far, I entered my Vegan Pumpkin Bundt Cake and Kayo's Homemade Ketchup (to be fair, it is mostly Ben's ketchup, but we are a team!). You can vote for me by clicking on the Foodista links on the side. There is one link for each recipe entered. Fingers crossed!

Practice Makes Perfect

Just playing around...
Above - Chickpea ragout with couscous
Below - Roasted shallots (pre-roasting, of course)
(I'll post links to both of these recs when they become available.)

Good Thing I am Not a Junkie

I have bad veins - terrible, hidden, spindly little things. Unfortunately for me, I have to give blood regularly, which usually means a few hundred feeble attempts to find a vein, sticking me all the while and causing major bruising and discomfort. Blech! While the whole affair is rather miserable, it is typically quick and usually brings good results.

As I have mentioned previously, I have PCOS, a condition which renders my ticker vulnerable to attack and the rest of my poor body highly susceptible to diabetes. So, we have to keep an eye on things. This last series of tests included a check of my Hemoglobin A1C. What this number reveals is an average blood glucose level over the prior 6-8 weeks. Healthy patients should expect this number to be under 7. (Diabetics typically see a level higher than 8.) Mine was 5.4! Yay! It seems that my regular exercise and healthy diet (aided by my intake of the prescription drug Metformin) are keeping my blood sugar levels stable.

On to the fun stuff - cholesterol! Anyone over the age of 45 is probably familiar with the complicated lingo related to blood lipid levels. In my most basic layman's terms, cholesterol levels are measured 3 ways, total, LDL, and HDL. Total cholesterol is a combination of the LDL and HDL.

LDL is bad cholesterol - found in animal fats like red meat, lard, butter, egg yolks, dairy, etc. This is the "killer" cholesterol that clogs arteries and stops your heart. This number should be less than 130; mine was 88. Yay, again!

HDL is good cholesterol. How can it be good? HDLs actually help to rid your arteries of lipids (fats) and lower the LDLs. HDLs are found in vegetable fats like olive oil, avocados, and nuts -- all of which I consume at an ungodly rate. So, it is with no shock and awe that my HDL numbers are good. This result should be greater than 46. Mine was 89. Triple yay!

Total cholesterol should be between 125 and 200. Mine was 195 -- still healthy, but on the high side. What I can only deduce is that I might be going overboard on the daily avocado intake. Perhaps I will slow down, but only a little. I wouldn't want those nasty LDLs to take over the joint!

For more reading, visit the American Heart Assoc. website.

(If there are any medical professionals reading my blog, feel free to give me a head's up if my understanding of such things is at all erroneous! Much appreciated!)