For The Halibut.

I love good food.  I hate wasting my hunger on mediocre fare.  I think "food as fuel" is blasphemous--or at least ungrateful.  I want to show my gratitude to God for all the amazing flavors he created for us by eating as many as I can.  So what am I supposed to do, two heart events later, when I'm not supposed to eat fat, or anything that can turn into fat--aka, "everything."  My buff friend, Ryan, says I need to eat lots of veggies and lots of protein.  Okay okay, that's great.  I can go for the veggies, I can go for the protein--lotsa good stuff--beef, pork, lamb, seafood, yes!.  But, nOOOo, that's not what he means.  it's whey.  What? no, no, no, that's way wrong.  You see, after strength-training, your muscles are like hungry sponges just waiting to soak up liquid protein from whey shakes to create more muscle.  I'm not saying that he's wrong, I'm just saying, isn't there a better way?  So, if anyone knows a better way, I wanna hear about it. I Way want to hear.  Whey!

So, when I heard how I was supposed to eat, several years ago, before the "events," I got thinking, I'm sure I'm not alone.  There's probably lots of people who need to eat well, And, Stay well.  I went to work on some low-fat, high-fiber, high omega-3 ideas.  First came our halibut tacos, then our Halibut Veracruz, which still ranks at the top as my own Los Hermanos personal favorite, and our Chipotle Lime Caesar shrimp salad.  I also got real interested in Japanese food--it's fresh, it's low-fat, it's good. (btw, there are lots of good Japanese restaurants in Utah Valley.)   I even thought it might be a great idea to try a new kind of fusion--Japanese and Mexican food!  Luckily for all of you, I never got past the clever-names stage,  Japanamex, Nipponomex,  Japican, Mexipan.

If you ever get an inheritance, and can afford to buy some halibut (currently 22.00 a pound wholesale for the best cuts) here are some tips on selecting and cooking it:  First, unless you like your halibut fishy tasting, be sure you are getting Alaskan halibut.  Stay away from the Russian stuff.  If you can't get wild-caught, farm-raised can be almost as good.   For the best texture and cleanest flavor, try to get loin-cut fillets, and avoid the blood-line--a brown streak in the fillet.  I like to grill it highly seasoned, in a small amount of olive oil--tastes better, and why wreck the good-fat of the Halibut with the not so good fat of cooking oil.  Grill it rather hot and fast. That way you get the best of both worlds--crisp, flavorful crust, and moist deliciousness inside.  Don't overcook it, because it can easily become dry and chewy, unless you like your fish dry and chewy.  No, on second thought, don't ever overcook it, because once you've tried it cooked right, you will never go back.

Well, it's 3:30am again, and besides eating right, I need to sleep right, I still have twelve kids at home, so I can't die yet.

What's For Dinner

When I first started working on my fajita marinade, I noticed that every recipe I looked at included tequila.  Operating on the myth (yes it IS a myth) that the "alcohol just cooks out," I thought it would be a good idea to try tequila in mine.  As a Mormon living in Happy Valley that posed a little problem: should I risk someone (my bishop, maybe) seeing me go in, or worse, come out of the state liquor store, or should I send my friend, Dave, who didn't care.  I decided on Dave.  Nah, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do--I went myself.  As I emerged, I notice a familiar turquoise van driving by, and the driver waving.  I waved back, "Hi, Bishop"  (just kidding, but it is the kind of thing that seems to happen to me more than it should.)  I don't think he really saw me, or did he--that could explain my early release from teaching the fourteen-year-olds in Sunday School--ah, Serendipity!)

Anyway, to make a long story short, every combination of traditional or original ingredients I tried with tequila didn't work.. I think the stuff must be an acquired taste, and since most of my customers never acquired it, I decided to leave it out.  What we finally came up with 20 years ago was really good.  Now, after eating, what, 2000 fajitas, I still can't get enough.  I think it's the combination of those original ingredients--never changed--and the beautiful sweet red onions.

Although I have the old-school attitude of keeping my recipes secret, I will tell you a little secret--what makes everything delicious--extra virgin olive oil.  Another secret--maybe not so secret, but true, nonetheless--it's all in the Sauce.  Perfect your sauces, salsas, dressings, gravies, etc, and you go from good cook to genius chef. More about that later.

Well, it's past 3am, and my three-year-old "baby" just trundled downstairs--gotta go she what she needs, gotta catch some Zs.