Pan-Fried Curried Cod

So I was on the phone with my mom earlier today when she tells me about the 'diet dinner' she recently made.  'Honey, it was cottage cheese, sliced bananas, pineapple, and toast.  David was so mad.' 

Now then, I don't mean to take sides or anything, particularly when it is with the one who didn't slave in the kitchen making said diet-dinner.  However, I will say this: I am not a great lover of cottage cheese myself.  And I say this knowing full well that it was one of my grandma's favorites (in the diet-food category), and we should all do our absolute best to live up to Grandma Jo's standards.  (Cottage cheese aside, this can be rather difficult sometimes...)  Anyway, I suppose it wouldn't be so bad for breakfast, or lunch, or a snack of sorts. 

Sometimes breakfast food for dinner is exactly what is called for.  After all, it gets very annoying having to plan meals every single day of the stinking week -- day after day and week after week.  And sometimes it is best just not to be bothered with it at all -- hence a bowl of cereal or something.  In fact, this is the very reason I have become such a fan of frittatas and omelettes and such for dinner, they are very easy and don't take very long.  The Coquette's Eggs we did last week (twice, in case you were wondering) is a perfect example of this -- very simple and ultimately meant to be breakfast. 

I suppose where my problem lies is in the idea of diet food.  There are so many foods that could qualify as 'diet', I suppose, if we simply looked at them differently.  And this is where I annoyed the daylights out of my poor mother (whose cottage cheese dinner was probably very nice).  I told her about our 'diet-dinner' we had last night; although we are not on any diets around here -- despite the fact that my jeans are all wicked tight these days because I haven't felt like running.  Anyway, our 'diet-dinner' consisted of cod fish and rice and asparagus, and it was a breeze to make.  Michael and I loved it.  However, I can promise you that Emilia would have preferred being at grandma and grandpa's house having cottage cheese and fruit.  The only way I could get her to keep the fish in her mouth was through ice-cream bribery.  (Her new favorite thing is chocolate ice-cream.  Can't say I blame the girl.)

Anyway, the recipe is from Jamie's Food Revolution.  Ten seconds into that show on the telly a month or so ago, I signed the petition.  (So did Michael, he just didn't know he had until I told him later: 'Sorry, but it's a good cause, so there.')  And then I immediately bought the cookbook in order to support said revolution.  And I just noticed a few days ago that there is breakfast recipe that will do quite nicely for dinner one night: The Full Monty.  Thankfully it doesn't involve cottage cheese.

Pan Fried Curried Cod
serves 2
3 tablespoons mild curry powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 chunky cod fillets (about 7 ounces each)
cilantro
a pat of butter
olive oil
natural (plain) yogurt

Put your curry powder, salt, and pepper on a plate and dredge your fish in it.  Heat the butter with the oil in a non-stick frying pan.  Once hot, put in your fish, skin-side down.  (Ours did not have skin, so I ignored that bit.)  Spoon a bit of the oil on top of the fish as it cooks.  Turn over after 2 or 3 minutes and repeat on the other side.  It may take a little longer depending on the thickness of your fish.

Serve it alongside steamed rice, with a spoonful of natural yogurt and chopped cilantro on top.  (Recipe from: Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver.  Hyperion, 2008.)