Baked Fish Wrapped in Banana Leaves

Last weekend I went to the Asian store and bought some fish. I bought trout heads, croaker and unknown fish. I cook soup with some of the fish heads. It was just a simple salt, ground black pepper and herbs in the fish soup. The fish was very sweet. I finish them in a jiffy.

For the croaker, I deep fry them. Now, I am left with the unknown fish. I decided to cook this fish wrapped in banana leaves. I was not sure if honey will like baked fish. He usually prefers fried fish. The weather is very humid today despite some showers earlier of the day. The idea of frying the fish and heat up my kitchen is not to my liking.
The first step in preparing for this meal is to cut some herbs that I grow around the house. Above, in the bowl of water, was chives, thyme, thai basil, sweet basil and sage. The aroma from these herbs was wonderful.
Ingredients:
2 fishes
1 big red onion
2 chinese eggplants (long and skinny shape)
2 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon salt
4 pandan leaves
fresh herbs (thyme, sage, thai basil, sweet basil, chives)
Some olive oil

Wash and clean the banana leaves. I am using about 6 banana leaves. Three pieces is used for each fish.
Rub turmeric powder and salt on both fishes.
Lay cut side down of the eggplant on the banana leaves.
Then layer it with the onion and pandan leaves.
Add all of the herbs and lay down the fish on top. Drizzle the fish with some olive oil.

Wrap nicely and put it on the tray or cooking dish.
Bake this fish on 350 degree F for about 1 hour.

Serve this fish with tartar sauce.
How to make the tartar sauce. My simple recipe is as follows:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (I prefer honey dijon)
1 tablespoon sweet relish
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped chives

Method:
Mix everything in a bowl. Seasoned to taste.
As for dessert, I served few slices of watermelon.
Honey enjoyed the fish very much. I am very happy to see all my effort are paid off.
The tartar sauce was tasty despite lacking anchovies and vinegar.
I must say that the fish doesn't have that yucky fishy smell at all.
The eggplants was tender and very sweet.
I am not sure where the sweetness in the eggplant came from. I suspect it could be from the juice of the fish and onion. I did not serve the eggplant to my husband. He will not eat the vegetable.

Tomato with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This year I am blessed with lots of juicy tomato from my rental garden plot.
So, for tonight dinner, I have decided to eat tomato salad. Last week when I was at Gertrude's house, I 've got to taste Carlos balsamic vinaigrette . I don't remember much what he put in his mixing. Yeah! I was not prepared for cooking lesson that day.


Anyway, here is my version of the balsamic vinaigrette:
5 tablespoon olive oil
5 tablespoon balsamic vineger
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
a pinch of salt

Wisk all ingredient in a bowl. Slice about 3 medium size ripe tomato. Line it on a plate as shown in the picture. Drizzle vinaigrette onto the tomato. Dress it up with 2 leaves chopped sweet basil. The reason I lined up the tomato and not mixing it like Carlos did because the tomato was too ripe. It will break apart if I toss it. Believe it or not, this one plate of tomato salad was just for me. :-)
My husband prefers his tomato grill to prefection. He said must slice the tomato thinly, dress it up with spices that I have yet discover and grill on both side. Or was it bake in the oven? I forget which one he likes. Emmmm.....

Zucchini and String Beans salad

2 medium size zucchini (cut bite size)
1 medium size onion (dice thinly)
2 green tomatoes(cut half and slice thinly)
½ lbs string beans (slice thinly)
1 red bell pepper(cut length wise)
½ cup red wine vinegar (can substitute with regular vinegar)
¼ cup sugar or splenda
a pinch salt
a pinch black pepper
a pinch dried thyme
a pinch dried oregano

How:
Boil vinegar with a ½ cup of water in a saucepan. Add sugar, salt, black pepper, thyme and oregano. Let it cool down.
Blanch zucchini, onion, tomatoes and green beans. Quickly drop it in cold water to stop the cooking process. Toss it. Mix everything in a bowl and serve chill.

Flat Leave Parseley
I sit this flat leave parseley outside the house on the deck in the backyard. It is my experiemnt to see if this plant will attract bugs. Last year the sweet basil and chives was eaten by the black bugs.