To Market, To Market...

Last Saturday I rode my bike downtown to check out the Farmer's Market. I picked up some kuchen, salsa, and jam. Then I discovered a must have jewelry item and my day was complete.

My new flatware patterned bracelet with a buggy charm. Charming, eh?

Because I recently wrote an article on the Townsquare Farmer's Market I decided to try one of the things I featured.. kuchen. It's a German food-- something I'd never tried. They were decent but not something I am dying to have again. Still I can imagine that for some folks there is a powerful nostalgia involved with Karen's 100 year old family recipe. I tried the chocolate chip variety and the rhubarb.



I sampled some of the Wild Moon Salsa and decided to splurge on the pineapple variety. I was determined to cook some fish and top it with this. I found a recipe for tilapia using a pineapple salsa. I followed the fish prep part and skipped the salsa bit since I had some on hand. It was "okay" and I'm not sure I'd do it this way again. I found what sounded like a yummy marinade I'd like to try next time. And BAKE the fish. I am not sure I like it fried like this with a batter. You live, you learn.

Here's the recipe for the whole shebang in case you want to try it on your own:

Ingredients -

1 cup chopped Fresh Pineapple
1 small Sweet Red Pepper, seeded and chopped
3 Scallions, chopped, including part of the green
2 tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon Hot Pepper Flakes
1/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Cornmeal
1/4 cup Reduced-Fat Mayonnaise
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
4 Tilapia Fillets
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Butter

Preparation:

Combine first 5 ingredients, set aside. Place flour and cornmeal in separate bowls. Whisk mayonnaise and Old Bay in a bowl. Dip one fillet in flour, shake off excess. Brush both sides of fillet with mayonnaise then dip in cornmeal, shake off excess. Place on wax paper lined baking sheet, repeat with remaining fillets.

Heat skillet. Add oil, then butter. Add fillets and cook 5 min. or until golden. Turn and cook another 5 min.

Serve with pineapple salsa.

Makes 4 servings.

Two notes:

I didn't follow that pineapple salsa part to produce what is pictured.. that is what I bought at the Farmer's market and it was delicious. I may try this salsa recipe sometime or shop the net for others. What I was experimenting on was the way I COOKED the tilapia.

I didn't have any Old Bay Seasoning so I used another online recipe to create my own homemade herb blend, not sure if that had any effect, but I felt like the fish didn't have a lot of taste when it came time to eat.