Thursday 9 June 2011

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, New Dish

One of the things I love best about Victoria is the incredible natural beauty and the animals live in it.

Sometimes I can't believe that the mountains in the distance aren't painted in the sky, that the magnificent trees around me aren't man made, and that the animals aren't Disney characters.

I know that Victoria is overrun with deer and rabbits, but I can't help thinking about how cute they are. And since they're still a novelty to me, I always think I am lucky to catch a glimpse of them. 

That being said, the deer and rabbits are one thing because I have seen them both in the wild before.

One animal that I have never seen in the while before arriving here in Victoria is a seal. And now the novelty of them has almost worn off because I don't have to do much more than dangle a little piece of frozen fish above the water at a dock and one pops up to greet me.



Last weekend, however, was very different. The fat seals were happily silent in the water and did not budge out to sniff for fish once. 

They didn't flap their flippers when I showed them I wanted to see that trick by hitting my own hand against my leg. They didn't bark at me once. And they certainly didn't jump from the water to bite a piece of fish off the dock. 


Why weren't they eating? Were the little guys sick? Were they going to get better?

I had piles of questions running through my head until someone came up behind me to let me know that the salmon were running and the seals weren't interested in the frozen bits of mackerel I had to offer. They had already eaten their fill of the good stuff. 

Well that explains it. And I think I'd be the same way too. 

I thought about making a salmon recipe to eat like the seals, but when I saw fresh red snapper -- I couldn't pass it up. 

I bet even the seals would budge to eat this dish. 



Fresh Red Snapper 

4 fresh red snapper fillets 
1 large tomato, diced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil 
pinch of salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350. 

2. Place fish fillets in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh dill. 

3. In a small bowl, mix together lemon juice and olive oil. This will make a Greek style sauce called latholemono, which just translates to oil and lemon juice. Mix the two together to emulsify and pour over top of the fish fillets. 

4. Top with the diced tomato and bake for about 30 minutes or until fish turns opaque. 

Serve with rice and veggies or whatever your heart feels like. 

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