Captain Nick's Bass-erole

My husband Nick is an avid fisherman who loves nothing more than hauling in a big bass. And, bonus for me, he also enjoys cooking up his catch. The past few weeks, he landed two bass, each around 35 pounds. That's a lot of striper! This recipe doesn't have one ingredient from my garden, but he was so proud of it and wanted me to share -- he even came up with the name 'bass-erole'.



Captain Nick's Bass-erole
Ingredients:
1 box elbow macaroni
1 lb bass
1 can cream of cheese soup
1 small can evaporated milk
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. breadcrumbs (or crushed Ritz crackers, yum!)
hot cherry peppers, diced (more or less, depending on your heat preference
1 tsp Cajun seasoning


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add macaroni to pot and then place strainer with fish above the boiling water. You essentially want to steam the fish, until flaky, as you cook the pasta. They both should done in about 8 minutes.

In large bowl combine bass, soup, milk, cherry peppers, Cajun seasoning and macaroni. Pour into greased casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top and then breadcrumbs. Dot with butter. Bake 20-30 minutes in 350-degree oven until bubbly.

Harvest Time!

My garden is jamming and I am enjoying the fruits of my labor! Nick and I threw together a quick dinner the other night with a nice ribeye steak on the grill and veggies. He was the one that noticed the Asian snap peas were ready for harvest. I quickly plucked them from their vine, boiled them until tender and seasoned with a touch of butter, salt, pepper and a little garlic powder. He wanted some corn as well. It's not fresh, but soon enough it will be ready!

Also flourishing is my lettuce, though for some reason my other greens, the arugula and spinach, are not doing as well. I've been eating a lot of salads lately with my greens, with some of my radishes chopped and tossed in. I make a couple salads at one time, that way I can just grab and go in the morning before work.

So everything is growing, including the weeds. I guess that's the downside to gardening, but the key is to just stay on top of it. I was shocked the other day when I came out and found the weeds had sprung up so high that they were almost as tall as the string beans! I've read numerous tips online to help keep the weeds under control, but really, the best method is to get to plucking!

I'm also happy to report that it seems the pesticides have worked and the cucumber beetles that were decimating my crops have moved on to greener pastures.