Me? Cooking? No way!

This is a little different for me....I'm writing a food post!!

I have been wanting to cook a meal for my boyfriend, Dylan, for a long time, since he almost always does the cooking, but there were a few obstacles standing in my way. Firstly, I didn't want to cook while his roommate was there, just because things get crowded and I kind of wanted the dining experience to be as "date-like" as possible. We have to cook at his place because I only have a toaster oven and no stove at my place. Secondly, I just didn't have the money to spend on all the ingredients I would probably want. Lastly, I knew I would need a day that was feeling well overall, so that I wouldn't easily lose patience and get cranky. Yesterday, everything just kind of fell into place and I ended up cooking a meal that actually turned out to be the best combination of flavours I have ever tasted in my life. I mean, I love food in general, but I haven't even had something I liked more at a "high-class" restaurant. Needless to say, I was quite proud of myself....and the ingredients were actually surprisingly inexpensive!

I decided to look up some healthy recipes online yesterday afternoon. Dylan and I have really gotten into trying to eat healthier, so I knew that I wanted last night's meal to be as healthy as possible.

I found a recipe for Almond- and Lemon-Crusted Fish with Spinach and I figured that I really couldn't go wrong by making that. Fish is one of the healthiest things you can eat and it can be sooooo delicious. I absolutely loved cooking with the fresh ingredients, too...it made it into a fairly relaxing experience, because it was like aromatherapy! Fresh lemon and dill?? Mmm! Here's the ingredients list:

• Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided (I used normal salt)
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 pounds cod (see Tip) or halibut, cut into 4 portions (I used cod)
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, slivered
• 1 pound baby spinach
• Lemon wedges for garnish

*I used the same bags of spinach and almonds for the fish and the salad*

I'll copy and paste the preparation part too, but I'll add my little notes along the way:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. (I had to use vegetable oil to grease the pan, but it worked out just fine!)
2. Combine lemon zest (I used the a fine cheese grater), almonds, dill, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place fish on the prepared baking sheet and spread each portion with 1 teaspoon mustard. Divide the almond mixture among the portions, pressing it onto the mustard.
   
3. Bake the fish until opaque in the center, about 7 to 9 minutes, depending on thickness. (A combination of frozen fish and my lack of speed at the next step caused this time to be quite a bit longer. I just turned the heat down and the fish was cooked just fine!)
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven (I used a little cast iron pan...I don't think it matters) over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not brown, about 30 seconds. Stir in spinach, lemon juice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; season with pepper . Cook, stirring often, until the spinach is just wilted, 2 to 4 minutes. Cover to keep warm. Serve the fish with the spinach and lemon wedges, if desired.

Okay, so the last step was a little different from what I did. I knew that we were having spinach salad, so I only used a tiny bit of spinach, quite a bit of garlic, and lemon juice. I put two little spots of that mixture on our plates, more as an aesthetic thing. Haha. It was still tasty. I love garlic.

 The above picture does not do the fish justice. It was so colourful and fresh-looking!

I just kind of kept everything warm while I prepared the rest of the stuff. I made a spinach salad with chopped up strawberries, almonds, and raspberry vinaigrette, as well as (the far less classy) Uncle Ben's Bistro Express Long Grain & Wild Rice - Fine Herbs. Both of those things were not only healthy, but they went along perfectly with the flavours of the fish, in my opinion. I loved how the sweetness of the salad complimented the savoury and lemony taste of the fish topping.

 Man...pictures of food suck. Anyway, that was also very colourful, with the green of the spinach and the bright red of the strawberries! Yum, yum, yum.

I bought a bottle of white Pino Grigio wine to go with our dinner, but we didn't have a corkscrew until it was time for dessert, so we had it after we were finished eating everything. It would have been perfect with the fish, though.

Dessert was simple and also wasn't entirely classy, but at least the presentation wasn't terrible. While Dylan was out buying a corkscrew, I made a (pretty heavy) mousse by combining Jello chocolate pudding and low-fat Cool Whip. It probably would have been lighter if I had have used an electric mixer and if the Cool Whip hadn't been frozen. Anyway, I put a strawberry on top, but we ended up finishing the rest of strawberries, just by dipping them in the mousse and eating them with our wine. Mmmm.

Overall, the meal was a complete success! I won't stop thinking about it for a long, long time. 

Be your own superhero.

Hello, hello!

I don't even know why this busy bee has a blog. I mean, I really do love to write new posts, but I'm having trouble finding the time to write. I hope this whole thing makes sense.

This year has been the most demanding year of my whole life, by far. 

• I had to take 2 overloaded terms, in order to graduate in May (6 courses each), so the homework gets pretty intense sometimes. It's especially hard when I only actually enjoyed 1/6 courses each term.
• I teach 4 nights a week (dance, musical theatre, and Zumba) to pay the bills. I do like my job, but the lesson plans and choreography take up a lot of extra time. 
• I got my first-ever role in a musical, which I absolutely love, but that takes 2 days out of my week, sometimes 3. And, I, unexpectedly ended up choreographing a few complicated numbers for the show. I was out of my comfort zone, because the numbers are waltzes, which I know very little about. But, I glow with pride whenever I see the actors doing my choreography onstage at rehearsal.  

It's the extra stuff doesn't help. This week, all my teaching jobs were gearing up for their final performances, which is more stressful than usual. Newdale Tap & Jazz has their dress rehearsal tonight, their recital tomorrow, and their final performances at Rolling River Festival of the Arts this-coming Tuesday and Wednesday. They always have me as a "guest dancer" at their recital, so I had to relearn and practice one of my dances for the recital. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a space that allows for that! I also help out with recital preparation, such as figuring out the order of the program, coming up with some sort of small finale...this year, I even found time to make a little themed "mashup" of songs to use for their finale.

Alexander Dance Club has their recital this-coming Wednesday night. These dancers have two "sessions" in a year: one before Christmas, and one after Christmas. So, I had to choreograph and teach the dances extra fast in very few weeks, so we could have them just right for recital. 

Mecca Productions has their dress rehearsal on Monday and their final concert on Wednesday. Yep...the same night as Alexander's recital. I hope I can make it back for Mecca's concert, in time for my groups to perform, but I this-past week, I have had Dylan in all my classes (he usually assists with the one, anyway), so he knows which students to look for and what to help them with. Thank goodness for my assistant. :)

The musical I am in had a full weekend rehearsal last weekend, so we were there on Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday...and it is the same again this weekend. I'm going to try to make it to my rehearsal after Newdale's dress rehearsal tonight, and I can go to rehearsal before Newdale's recital tomorrow. 

This week had been so crazy that I was forced to ignore a 15-page paper that was due today. So, I stayed up all night last night, finishing my paper at about 7:30 in the morning because that was my only option.

Don't get me wrong, I really do like keeping busy. I thrive off it! But, most of my decisions this year have been based on what is necessary for me to do, not really want I have wanted to do. I know that's how life goes, it's just too bad that I haven't had a day off in a month. Haha.

BUT! I have been looking forward to this-coming Wednesday for weeks because all of my jobs (with the exception of teaching Zumba), wrap up that day. It will be an absolutely crazy day, as I'll be in Rivers for Festival during the day, I'll be in Alexander in the evening, and then I'll be rushing back to Brandon to try and catch Mecca's concert. But, I won't know what to do with all the time I will have afterwards. Oh, wait...final papers and studying for exams! :P That's okay! That just means that I'll feel like I have all the time in the world to do that.

There is a reason why I'm typing all this out, though. I'm not just rambling about how busy I am.

If there is something I have learned about myself, it is that I feel like I really can do the impossible. There have been countless times this year where I have completely broken down. I was even having anxiety problems a few weeks ago. I felt, more than once, that something was not going to get done in time, that it wouldn't be produced with the necessary quality, that there were too many responsibilities on my shoulders, or just that I just couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, I found a way, for the most part, to get everything finished when it needs to be finished, and it is typically of fine quality. In the middle of the night last night, I was completely discouraged. I was only halfway through my paper at about 5:00 a.m. But, I thought about how great I would feel, and how I could reward myself with sleep, once the paper was done. 

Unfortunately, this isn't the only test that has shown me how tough I can really be. But, it's these sorts of tests, where you think there's no way of passing, that shows our true potential. It's okay to lack motivation sometimes, that's not what defines you. It's having to create your own motivation when outside sources aren't providing it that shows your true character.

Maybe I have written a blog like this before, but I don't think it really matters. Everyone needs a good reminder of this point, I know that I do very often. I truly believe that it's possible for everyone to be their own superhero. Go ahead, accomplish something, even if it's small. Make yourself proud.