I don’t always have time to prepare an exquisite, gourmet meal during the week. But I do love to eat and frozen pizza doesn’t always do it for me.  Although I love fresh produce (see here and here), I often rely on frozen ingredients for quick, easy meals.  One of my favorite freezer staples is individually vacuum sealed fish fillets.  Now, stop right there gourmet critics/snobs.  I know fresh fish looks better, tastes better and probably is better for me and the environment.  And I strive to do better with my food choices, diet, carbon footprint and sustainability contribution.  But sometimes life gets in the way and I still need to eat.

Here is my favorite, 15 minute gourmet, weeknight meal: Citrus Basil Tilapia with Sauteed Broccoli (or other frozen green vegetable).  Serves 2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil.  Defrost two frozen tilapia fillets.  On one small plate, pour 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk (I prefer local or organic dairy products-yummy).  On another small plate, combine bread crumbs with Citrus Basil salt.  I use a ratio of about 3 parts breadcrumbs to one part salt, but you should combine to taste.   Dip the tilapia fillet in the milk, followed by the Citrus Basil breadcrumb mixture, and lay on the tin foil lined baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining tilapia fillet.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

While the fish is baking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan.  When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add frozen broccoli or green vegetable of your choice.  Cook until heated through, but not soggy.  This should take no longer than the fish.  I like to season with Garlic-Shallot, but French Herb, Herb Garden and Chef’s Blend are all great options.

Voila, dinner is served.  Sometimes I add rice or a green salad, but often fish and veggies is plenty for a healthy, quick meal.

Why do I crave salt?  From time to time, everyone experiences cravings.  Cravings can be influenced by culture, by the seasons, by your particular taste buds. A craving may signal a certain nutritional inadequacy or deficiency.  My cravings typically tend towards savory foods, and I often crave salt.  But why?  Why do we crave salt?  There is a biological theory, but I have another theory too.

Intense salt cravings can be a symptom of an underlying medical condition such as an adrenal insufficiency.  Salt cravings can also mean your body is lacking something that it thinks it can get from salt, such as certain minerals that are found in salt.  But wait, there are minerals in salt?  Well that depends on the kind of salt.  Regular table salt has been processed to remove its natural minerals.  Therefore, if you are craving minerals, processed salt will not fulfill what the body desires.  Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.  Beyond the Shaker Pure Foundation Salts such as Himalayan Pink and Murray River contain naturally occurring minerals that the body associates with salt.

I have yet another theory why we crave salt.  Because it makes our food delicious!  Many of us live in a bland, underseasoned world.  What we crave perhaps isn’t salt, but rather the bright, vibrant flavors that come alive to us when salt is used properly.  What we crave is chicken that tastes like chicken.  We want chicken that was raised on a farm, eating grass and seeds and bugs.  A chicken that is not only cooked properly but seasoned well to highlight its juiciness.  Salt is the light that illuminates those flavors.  Simple Fleur de Sel is enough, or you can elevate it to the next level with Hickory Maple or Chanterelle Vanilla.  What we crave is a tomato.  Not a mealy, watery red vegetable from the grocery store, but a beautiful, meaty, sun-ripened tomato that was grown in natural soil and raised with water and sunlight.  A tomato that has been seasoned with Murray River or Herb Garden Blend, perhaps splashed with a little aged balsamic vinegar.

Our cravings are a signal, a mental response to the bodies needs or desires.  Sometimes, they are biological.  But often they are more primitive.  The need, in fact the hunger, for something more, something better, something to satisfy both the palate and the soul.  Salt soothes the craving and nourishes the body.

Sitting here writing up a new recipe for the use of our Herb Garden Blend in a salt bake application, I got to thinking about the ‘recipe’ as its own genre of writing in literature. The purists in the crowd are probably rolling their eyes, but seriously, why don’t we think of recipes in a different light? Maybe it is because these are directions or instructions, like assembly of child’s bike or setting up some software on a computer. But then that begs the question, why do we even hold these writings in such low regard?

Perhaps I look at the mere recipe differently now that I have written and collaborated on so many, but really, any guide, instructions, directions, FAQ, or other ‘documentation’ contains at least a modicum of creativity which may be of interest to the wayward reader. Will I ever curl up on cool fall evening with the instruction manual for my Pro-Shox treadmill? I cannot really envision this situation, but perhaps if the manual was written in a different way, or there was some extrinsic entertainment value outside of just instructing me on how to tighten the treadmill belt…then maybe I would be more inclined to reach for this particular ‘book’. Simply writing these recipes has taught me that the author must be cognizant of the purpose behind the recipe, which then of course influences the approach toward the task. If my entire goal is to clearly describe for another person how to use several ingredients to create one final unified product, than that is of course completely different from an aim of entertaining the reader. During the recipe writing process, I am also thinking about my audience, and what they hope to gain from reading this recipe. More often than not, when compiling these recipes, I find myself writing for the reader, which is a departure from my own personal creative writing process.

Anyway, I do believe there is more here, and it will become increasingly clear as I draft, edit, revise and complete more recipes. For now, I am simply struck by the fact that until this point in time, I never thought of the recipe (or any directions or manual, for that matter) as anything more than a means to an end. Do A, B, C and D, then you end up with Z. Personally, the act of performing A, B, C and D, always had plenty of entertainment value, and maybe this is why I enjoy shows like “How it is Made” that highlight the steps of creation. Methodology and process are critical to the art, but they seem to be lost when we only focus on the final product. Half the fun of cooking and the discovery of a hobby-chef in the kitchen is about the process. Heck, the truth is most people reading this blog or purchasing Beyond the Shaker premium gourmet salts, probably do not have to cook their meals to survive, but instead could just buy already prepared food. We cook at home and for other people because of something more than just mere sustenance and survival.

So what was once just a rote, almost numerical equation, becomes a trip through possibilities, adventure, success and sometimes failure. And we cook more, refine our process, educate ourselves, and hopefully improve. Along the way we learn not only about cooking, but about creation and we derive some entertainment from the whole of it. At least that is the goal.

Foodies love to predict trends for the upcoming year – what chefs will serve in their restaurants, what the masses will cook at home. For the last decade, one trend continues: globalization and variety. Americans are becoming more adventurous and embracing cuisines from around the world. They are experimenting with exotic produce, fish, spices and seasonings at home. 2009 sees the increasing use of spices and seasonings inspired by international cuisine to bring some variety to our daily meals.

Try the following exotic blends and wet salts from Beyond the Shaker to shake things up!
-Hot Habanero Blend: Bring the flavors of Mexico to your kitchen with this blend that includes several types of chilis (including habanero) and cilantro for a burst of heat and flavor. Use of Hawaiian Black Lava and Red Alaea salts bring bountiful salinity, incredible texture, and a radiant color to the blend. Try it on snapper, chicken, tacos, salsa and more.
-Citrus Basil Blend: G’day mate! This blend uses Murray River salt and lemon myrtle, both hailing from Australia.  Combined with other organic citrus ingredients, this blend tastes great on chicken or any grilled white fish.
-French Herb Blend: Combining the best of France’s herbs from the Provence region (rosemary, thyme, basil, and lavender) with truffles and Fleur de Sel, recreate romantic cuisines with these timeless flavors reminiscent of the foods found on the coastline of France. Great on sole, poultry and in butter sauces. Put on your apron and channel your inner Julia Child.
-Everest Wet Salt: Using Himalayan Pink Salt, kafir leaves, lemongrass and wasabi, get a taste of Asia with this wet blend.  Great for lightly seasoning sushi fish, ahi tuna or even poultry, get ready to climb to new heights with your dining experience!