Contains sole

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I have been making legit dinners lately.  It’s good to be back in the kitchen – planning weekly menus and grocery shopping.  Much more wallet friendly too.

Oddly enough, I now despise going to the grocery store.  Which is SO weird because it used to be one of my favorite things ever.  I used to love browsing the aisles.  I took my time and relished in the fun of perusing products.  Now I’m all about efficiency, get in, get out.  And even then, it’s after a few days of creating food out of thin air because I have managed to put off the errand altogether.  Blah.  I don’t wanna blame it on mommyhood, but yeah, it’s not quite as easy as it used to be (cart plus stroller notsomuch).  And when Kyle is around to help, it seems like a waste of together time.  When it’s the three of us I’d rather be not grocery shopping.

Okay, random rant over.  The point is that I’ve been sucking it up and hitting up the store enough so that we can have home cooked meals again.  And our bank accounts, bellies, and everything else is very happy too.  Completely worth it.

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The asparagus was actually the most expensive thing in this meal.  But I try to get a “treat” ingredient with every trip to the store because otherwise I’ll get too anal about our grocery budget and I’ll miss out on the fun of cooking.  Usually I choose strawberries or Kombucha or a fun bulk bin item.  But the asparagus was looking so pretty.

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Potatoes cost like nothing.  So it balances out.

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Last but not least, the fish.  Contains: sole.  I love an ingredient list with one thing on it.

We got 6 filets of wild Dover sole for under $10 at the Co-op.  Seems like a good deal to me, but what do I know about buying seafood.  It was on sale and fresh and looked good.

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I figured I may as well go all out and make dessert too.  I was feeling very Betty Draper-esque.

So here’s how the meal came to be.

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This is the cooking-ware line-up…all set out so I could prep once P took a nap.

Since the potatoes take the longest to cook (~35 minutes), followed by the asparagus (~20 minutes) and then the fish (~15 minutes), I put them in the oven in that order.  The dessert I left til the end, so it baked while we ate dinner (~25 minutes).

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Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 2 russet potatoes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp truffle oil (optional but delicious)
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Scrub and dice potatoes, then toss in oil.  Add to greased pan and sprinkle with seasonings.

Bake for ~35 minutes at 375 degrees F.  [Time variations depend on the size you cut the potatoes]

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Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

  • 10 –15 asparagus spears
  • 1 tsp truffle oil (or olive oil)
  • 1/2 tsp flaked sea salt

Directions:

Wash and trim woody base off the spears.  Place on greased baking sheet.  Drizzle oil on top and then sprinkle on salt.

Bake in oven at 375 degrees F for ~20 minutes.  [I like mine on the crispy side, so I removed them once they were slightly bronzed on the tips]

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I don’t know much about cooking fish, but we have this book so I skimmed through the beginning intro stuff and then skipped ahead to the part where they talk about sole.

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Dover sole is a delicate buttery fish with lots of flavor.  To me that means, don’t mask it with a bunch of stuff, just let it do it’s thing.  So I kept it simple.

[FYI, I recommend the book.  I plan on reading more and trying some of the recipes out too.  There’s a Caribbean crab cake recipe bookmarked already.]

Back to the sole.  The recipe in the book was for sole meuniere so I just did my own thing instead.

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Even though they’re small, 6 filets seemed like a lot, so I only baked 3 of them.  I saved the other 3 using that press & seal sticky paper stuff.  It didn’t actually stick that well, but I just took care to fold the paper nicely in thirds and put them in a ziplock before I froze them.

Basic Baked Dover Sole

Ingredients:

  • 3 Dover sole filets
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp dried parsley
  • pinch of salt and pepper (+/- to taste)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375.  Combine olive oil and lemon juice in baking pan.  Add filets and flip so that both sides get covered.  Sprinkle parsley, salt and pepper on top.  Cover with tin foil (prevents fish from drying out).  Cook for 15-18 minutes.

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Voila!  Juicy, soft, buttery.  Just plain awesome.

I was shocked at how quickly these cooked, but they are really thin, so I guess that’s why it took no time at all.  When I pulled them out, they all slid on top of one another, so that’s why the photo isn’t great.

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Dinner!

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I now know why they call Dover sole a buttery fish.  It was so soft and buttery, there’s no other way to describe it.  It literally melted in your mouth.  And yet it was so light.  I’m definitely a fan.

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Kyle’s iffy on asparagus, so I got to eat the heads off of his.  It’s kinda funny because growing up, I was iffy on asparagus too, and my parents would eat the heads off of my spears.  Over time, my taste buds matured and I realized the tips are the most flavorful part!  Yum.  I gladly accepted his reject portion.  I’m just happy he’s open minded about the specific veggies that aren’t typically his thing.  Zucchini is still (and will forever be) a lost cause.

[FYI, asparagus does contain FODMAPs and the recommended “safe” serving is 2 spears.  I had more than that, but they were my only source of FODMAPs for the day.]

And now for dessert!

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Guess where the cherries came from?  Our tree!

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Kyle and I have been getting pretty clever resourceful in getting these babies down, but there are still SO MANY way up high and out of reach.  We’d need a professional machine of some sort to get them, which is a bummer.  Such a tease.  Anyway, I used the ones on the left, which I think was ~35 (the ones in the tupperware are the extras).

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Two Cherry Crisps [vegan, gluten free, makes two 6” ramekin servings]

Fillings Ingredients:

  • 30-40 cherries, halved & pitted
  • 2 tbsp brown rice syrup (or maple syrup, agave, honey, etc.)
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Crisp Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole rolled oats
  • 3 tbsp Earth Balance (or coconut oil)
  • 2 tbsp brown rice syrup (or maple syrup, agave, honey, etc.)
  • (large) pinch salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and spray 2 ramekins with nonstick (or grease with butter/oil).

Wash, halve, and pit the cherries.  Combine with brown rice syrup and lemon juice and then divide evenly between the ramekins.

In a separate bowl, make the crisp topping.  Cut the butter into the oats and salt, then mix in the syrup.  Don’t over-stir, it doesn’t have to be completely mixed, chunks of butter are fine.  We’ll call it rustic.

Distribute the topping over each portion of cherries evenly.

Bake for ~25 minutes at 375 degrees F.  The top will get slightly bronzed depending on where it is in the oven, but you can broil for a minute at the end to get a really nice crust.

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Bon appétit!

I had mine for breakfast the next day instead of dessert because cherries have FODMAPs and I’d already maxed mine out on the asparagus, but it’s awesome whenever you decide to eat it.

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I recommend topping with coconut whipped crème or coconut ice cream.

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Comments (24)

  1. claire @ live and love to eat

    I can’t wait until cherries come in to season here! I love the buttery-ness of sea bass, but since it’s endangered Dover sole sounds like a great alternative.

  2. Aimee

    I love asparagus. I steam a whole bag (~30 spears) on the stove and eat about half before I even plate dinner! I just keep reaching in the pan and I chow down while cooking the rest of the meal. My boyfriend is lucky to get more than 5 spears! Do you snack while you cook too or do you have better restraint than I do?!

  3. Crystal

    I’m so jealous you have a cherry tree! They are one of my favorite fruits but they’re so expensive! We just bought a house with a mature grape vine so I guess I’ll be busy eating grapes!

  4. Kathleen

    I am on a low fodmaps diet too and miss cherries. I like your approach to fodmaps better than mine since I completely avoid certain foods and I could balance it out better. I am definitely stealing that recipe.

  5. Missy

    Ditto to the above reference to Chilean Sea Bass…..that one you must try Elise!
    I love seeing seafood on your blog — you always inspire me with ideas and since I am a pescatarian I am inspired +.

  6. sally

    Sole is the best! Any of the white fishes are really great.

    I’m jealous u have such a wide variety of foods.. With my gi, i only have a handle to choose from. I miss bread a lot

  7. Brigid

    I have a delicious (and vegan!) cherry-nectarine cobbler recipe, but I suspect it is loaded with other things you can’t eat. I really need to make it again soon, though. I had a dream last night that I made seafood (which I have literally never done, nor have I eaten it in, like, 10 years). It must be your blog. Ha!

  8. Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl

    Asparagus is definitely a favorite treat of mine. Thankfully, I am finally starting to find it on sale at the grocery store now!

  9. Jamie@SoyMilkMustache

    I’m so inspired now! The cherry crisp looks amazing (and easy) and although I never buy sole, after your yummy buttery description, I’m “sole-d”! (And cheesy about puns. I’m only mildly embarrassed about that one.)

  10. Elise (Post author)

    haha, i love it. im totally using that one!

  11. Elise (Post author)

    im in your subconscious!!

  12. Elise (Post author)

    is this stacy? im confused by your name change. in any event, i miss wheat too 🙁

  13. Elise (Post author)

    i totally snack while cooking. i eat 10x the number of carrots from the bag as i do in my salads 🙂

  14. Aimee

    Ohhh carrots… I can definitely relate. I literally can’t buy them in bulk anymore because if they are in the house I am one with the bag until they are gone!
    Glad to know I’m not alone on the snacking-while-cooking front 😉

  15. Courtney

    I am *still* so freaking jealous of your cherry tree! Why are cherries so expensive?! Your crisp looks delicious. Do you have a cherry pitter? I have been contemplating getting one…what brand do you have? Does it work well?

    Thanks!
    Courtney

  16. stacy

    Holy ever lovin auto correct fail.. Wtf, phone?! Sorry… Remind me to not reply on my cell phone. Gotta love technology

    Any hoo, even tho u can’t do wheat, u are able to have some bread, and Seiten and such. Ur meals always look so delish… Do i smell a cookbook in ur future? 🙂

  17. Elise (Post author)

    im always mulling the idea over in my head…but right now im spread pretty thin. still. its in the back of my head. who knows.

  18. Kim

    This is my favorite way to make both potatoes and asparagus (although I only cook my asparagus for 4-6 minutes at 400 degrees – I like it just barely cooked and tender). All of my kids like it and my DH too. Yummy!

  19. Kim

    PS must try the truffle oil! Is there a particular brand that is good?

  20. Alexis @ Hummusapien

    You have a cherry tree?? How fabulous! I love that you’re cooking fish now– can’t wait to see everything you cook up!

  21. Elise (Post author)

    nope. no cherry pitter. just cut em out with a knife. tedious for sure.

  22. Elise (Post author)

    i have roland white truffle oil, but i have no clue about any others. i really like it so it gets my rec.

  23. Courtney

    Wow. You are my hero. Pitting cherries with a knife is no fun at all. I always do like 3 and then give up, lol. You did a lot! AND with a baby! Very impressive.

    Courtney

  24. Kim

    Thanks for the info!

Comments are closed.