Gourd Bowls & Oven Fried Zucchini

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in a month. Time sure flies. I was working like a mad person through most of May and June, though, trying to finish up any work for my now ex-job, which basically ended on June 20th. I hear commercials on the radio while listening to Mets games about retirement. All these jolly people chuckle and say really stupid things like, now I have no more homework, or we call it Jubilation [not retirement]. I guess retirement is a whole lot different. Since anyone who has read my earlier posts knows, I have a real hard time getting seriously depressed, although maybe not such a hard time getting slightly neurotic. I did get a bit moody back in March, and sad again in May as the job was starting to really wind down. It felt like someone had died. After 18 years, you have an attachment that's hard to break and I admit I cried some. Rick had bought me a bunch of really cool stuff on Mother's Day to make copper jewelry and shawl pins so I could focus on something else. But for my birthday in early June he got me a super cool, incredibly awesome, pyrography burner called an Optima 1. I didn't even know something like it existed! He has got to be the best husband ever. (Remind me I said that when he annoys me.) I woodburn his Navajo spindles, so this new machine will make it easier to get more detailed, plus it's just more fun. He also bought some gourds for me to decorate and I just finished burning a design on a small gourd, using colored pencils to add a touch of color, and then applying an acrylic sealant. I posted it on my etsy shop. I have no idea if selling shawl pins or pyrographed gourd bowls is going to provide any kind of income, but it's been gratifying to get my old artistic juices flowing and to not be sitting in front of a computer screen all day. I am having fun!!!

Bottom view of my gourd bowl

I do need a routine or structure of sorts. Hmmm . . . maybe a bad choice of words, but a groove for my days so I can be more productive. I've only sporadically set the sun oven outside because I haven't been able to concentrate on getting dinner going in the morning or early afternoon. I always cook from scratch, but it's been a bit chaotic as I rush around trying to accomplish way too much and getting nothing really done -- or what feels like a whole lot of nothing. Sheesh! Dinner keeps getting started at 6:00pm with the thought, "What can I cook in half an hour?" I did do a bit in the solar oven yesterday. I put some greens from the garden, minced onion, 1/4 cup chicken broth, minced garlic, and a few bits of bacon in one pot, and in the other pot I placed a few sausage links drizzled with olive oil. Today, though, I was back to starting dinner after everyone was already hungry, but I managed to cook penne a la vodka and some oven baked zucchini sticks in short order. The zucchini sticks have just become a favorite, as they are super easy and make a great side.

Oven Baked Zucchini Sticks

2 medium zucchini, cut into fat french fry style "sticks"
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
a tablespoon or two of freshly grated parmesan cheese
dash of fresh or dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of mustard

I'm kind of guessing on amounts, since I rarely really measure. But after I cut the zucchini I threw it into a tupperware bowl and drizzled oil and mustard into the bowl. Then I covered it and shook it real well until the zucchini sticks were coated (healthier than using an egg). In a separate bowl I mixed the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and spices. I rolled the mustardy-oily zucchini sticks in the breadcrumb mixture and placed them on a parchment covered baking tray. Bake the zucchini sticks in a 450º oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Just keep checking until they look golden brown.

Sea Robin Fish Cakes

Rick and Annalee went fishing for the first time this year. Rick's hand still hasn't completely healed since he smashed it last August, so fishing was out for a while, but he was ready to give it a try. It wasn't looking awfully nice in the morning, but after a downpour, it brightened up and was just gorgeous the rest of the day. So, around 5:00 pm, Rick and Annalee got their fishing poles out and trooped on down the street to the beach. I decided to tag along just to see if the fish were jumping. I was hoping if they were biting we'd have some nice fresh fish for dinner since I hadn't done much planning yet on what to eat. We live only 1,000 feet from the beach, and as we walked down we reminisced on all the times I dragged the girls down to the beach in the wee hours of the morning so they wouldn't wake Rick up, since they woke up with the crack of dawn and he was often working 100 hour weeks and needed his rest. Or how the priest at the local Catholic Church would walk the mile from the church down to the beach carrying a huge wooden cross, while parishioners followed along behind. He would give a short sunset service followed by refreshments (someone would drive down with containers of coffee and tea, and assorted goodies) while the kids would take an evening swim. We made a habit of being down there on sunset service evenings because it was such a wonderful experience, no matter your religious affiliation. I was sorry when that tradition ended. And, of course, we remembered all the "old timers" who would wander down each evening and sit on their overturned buckets, holding their poles, waiting for the fish to jump. We would always arrive to find everyone staked out at their favorite spot on the beach, or standing at the top of the stairs for a better view, joking back and forth, watching and waiting. Then you'd hear a shout, and the fish would be jumping, and everyone would start casting. When we first moved here 31 years ago, Rick and I weren't savvy about a lot of things. Mr. Mattson, our neighbor (whose father-in-law built our house in 1929 and from whom we bought the house) took us under his wing. He passed on a lot of his knowledge of fishing to Rick. Mrs. Paccione, our neighbor on the other side, would catch these tiny little fish then stick her fingers in the gills and rip the heads off, tossing the bodies into a bucket to bring home, batter, and fry up. The girls would pop them in their mouths like candy. She taught me how to make fish head soup, which didn't go over well (although it was pretty good), because we kept trying to find the eyeballs. Most all of those old timers are gone now and I miss seeing them all sitting on their buckets. Fishing at the beach is still a popular past time, but it lacks some of the color and camaraderie it had back then.

Annalee casts off

Anyway, we were in luck. We were barely there -- maybe 10 minutes -- when Annalee caught a good-sized sea robin. We used to throw sea robins back until someone told us that they were actually pretty good eatin', just ugly looking and a huge pain to clean. Shortly after, Annalee caught another. Rick kind of shrugged and said she could always out-fish him, but I think he really wanted to catch one, too. By then, though, I figured we'd be eating fish, so I took off for home to get dinner going. I made some German potato salad and a zucchini corn soup because Annalee had been craving that. Then I got the ingredients ready to make fish cakes. Since sea robins are hard to clean, the meat gets kind of shredded during the cleaning process, so we usually make fish cakes with them, although battered and fried nuggets are good, too.

I forgot to take a photo of the finished fish cakes, but I did take a few not very good photos of Rick and Annalee fishing. Oh, and Rick caught himself a fish, too.

Rick and Annalee fishing

Sea Robin Fish Cakes

• 1 lb. sea robin, picked free of bones, chopped

• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 1/2 cup onions, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon spicy mustard

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• flour for dusting

1. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour. Shape into patties then dredge in the flour.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet. When oil is hot, carefully place fish cakes in pan and fry until browned. Carefully flip the fish cakes and fry on other side until golden brown.

We ate our fish cakes on toasted English muffins with everyone's personal combination of mayonnaise, horseradish, ketchup, and relish.