Wednesday, June 18, 2008

What's Cooking Wednesday and Yellow for Bri: Cornmeal-Dusted Whitefish on a Sea of Gold and Green




Please go to Shan's place for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.


In addition to this being my regular What's Cooking Wednesday recipe, this is also my attempt to publicize an important blogging event/fundraiser:

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.
Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.
You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

I don't think I'm actually entering because I've had too much difficulty figuring out how to resize the photo, but here's the recipe I created for Yellow for Bri:

Cornmeal-Dusted Whitefish on a Sea of Gold and Green






Ingredients:

1 lb. of whitefish fillets or the equivalent (somewhat firm, thin fillets) cut into four pieces
2 cups course ground cornmeal, preferably local and/or organic
3 baby yellow squash or yellow zucchini, sliced in half and then cut into slices
2 cups chopped, fresh asparagus (about 1" pieces)
3 green onions with bulbs attached (sliced thin and chopped)
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup white wine (I used chardonnay)
1 lemon
1/4 tsp of dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat 1/2 TBS olive oil in large skillet on medium. Saute onions until fragrant and soft.
2. Add squash and asparagus. Cook until asparagus is bright green and squash is softer, but not mushy.
3. Remove from heat and sprinkle with oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Heat 1 1/2 TBS olive oil on medium high in large fry pan.
5. Wash fillet pieces and pat dry. Pour cornmeal into a shallow bowl. Pat fillets into cornmeal, covering them thoroughly.
6. Cook fillets on both sides until golden brown (NOT dark brown). When outsides are crispy, pour in wine and cover pan. Cook another 5 minutes or so until fish is flaky.
7. Place a generous spoonful of vegetables on a plate, top with a fillet and garnish with lemon.

Enjoy with white wine, orzo or rice and a fresh salad.

34 comments:

Peter M said...

That cornmeal crust does look wonderful and the word is gettin out for Bri's cause...she'll hit the target, I know it.

Jen said...

She's getting close. I still have to get my donation in. I sure hope this treatment gives her some respite! Thanks so much for stopping by, Peter!

Korie said...

Unfortunately I'm not really in the position to donate anything. I used what was left of my money topay off student loans last month. If I can blog for the cause, I will certainly participate in that.

Jen said...

Absolutely, Lilac - the three things they want are picture entries (especially if you can actually work gimp, which I stink at), publicity (which I helped with here - just click on the links and they'll tell you what to do) or the donations. Student loans are student loans.

thailandchani said...

That really does look very good! Wish I could eat half the things you post here. LOL

Jen said...

Thanks, Chani. That may well be because I think you and I are following similar pathways right now in terms of health, wholeness, etc.

NĂºria said...

Great post darling!
You did a great job with the tittle (first ;-) ) and the recipe (second). Sounds like a wonderful way to eat my fish :D

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Great cause...(I need to get myself in on that). I love how you used the cornmeal as a crust. Looks delicious!

Jen said...

Nuria and Peter - Thanks! I had fun with the title. ;-) The cornmeal does make a delicious crust, and you don't need much oil, so it doesn't taste greasy.
Peter this is a really fun event, as well as a helpful one. I bet you'd do something wonderful with mangoes. (For some reason I'm associating you with a great mango recipe?)

Proud Italian Cook said...

Thank you for getting the word out for Bri, so many bloggers are posting for her, and along with that,you gave us a fresh looking whitefish meal, yummm!!! Perfect photo too!

Jen said...

Thanks for stopping by, Proud Italian Cook! I was glad I could contribute a little bit. I'm pulling and praying for her.

anno said...

I think I count on you to bring things together like this. Excellent post & another fantastic recipe. Thanks so much!

Jen said...

Hi Anno - fish from Monahan's, veggies from Tantre and the Farmers Market and the cornmeal from Ernst farm. It was a nice haul!

Momisodes said...

What a great cause. THank you for all of the links and info. I will certainly need to check it out.

That recipe looks divine as always :)

Jenn in Holland said...

What a wonderful post Jen. Not only does the dish look excellent but you've inspired us to join a very worthy project. On my way to see what I can do.

Jen said...

Sandy and Jenn - thanks for the kind words. This is a wonderful project, and almost 3/4 of what Bri needs this year has been raised. Yay for the power of blogging! Peter M., Nuria, and Proud Italian Cook have all participated, too. (See their comments, above).

jennifer said...

Awesome, Jen. This reminds me of one of my husband's Italian recipes.

janey jay said...

How wonderful -- both the cause and the dish. And you, of course.

I shall check it out and lend a hand. People helping people like this is perhaps the greatest thing this blogger world has to offer.

jennifer said...

I didn't mean to hit send so quickly. Thanks for the rest of your post, too. I'm committed to doing whatever I can to help women with this disease. I appreciate the connection.

Jen said...

Jennifer - I'm trying for more of an Italian spin on things in terms of simplicity and focus on a few ingredients, so your comparison was greatly appreciated! This is a good cause for Bri. Proud Italian Cook (see above) also had a wonderful post on the Susan G. Komen Three Day today - you might want to check that out.

Thanks, Jane! This would be a good thing to get involved with, and I know you have a huge heart. ;-)

Thistlemoon said...

I think it is a beautiful dish, Jen - it screams yellow! My mom always uses cornmeal to coat catfish and it is soooo good!

Looks like Bri is getting close to her target number! I just love how the community is pulling for her. Amazing what can happen when everyone does a little. Such an awesome thing to see!

Jen said...

It truly is, Jenn. This is what I find so remarkable about the food blog community, in general - there is so much extraordinary support and warmth out there.

Renaedujour said...

It's great that your blog could help contribute to such a good cause. (And I love the recipe. The squash/ fish combo is beautiful.)

Jen said...

Thanks for the kind words, Renae! And as you know, I loved your WCW recipe. I truly can't wait to try it.

glamah16 said...

Great recipe for Bri. I have yet to catch up and do something for this. Its amazing all the support out there.

Jen said...

I'm sure you'll do something spectacular, Glamah!

Becca said...

This sounds delicious, and the beautiful golden colors are so appropriate.

I will certainly check out this very worthy cause. I have a good friend who has just been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer - they haven't found the origin yet. It's a heartbreaking disease, and I will add Brianna to my prayer list.

Thanks for stopping by Write on Wednesday and sharing your writing space. I hope you have a porch to write on again someday :)

Amy said...

That looks so yummy!

Liz Dwyer said...

This is such a great idea to raise the necessary funds for Bri's cause! She's really close. Gosh, that week in the apt. in Italy sounds amazing! I wish I could donate that much!

Anyway, I don't eat fish, but I wonder if cornmeal dusted tofu would be any good because this sounds (and looks) amazing!

Jen said...

Becca, thank you for stopping by, and I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. I hope they can find something to help her once they figure out the origin. This is a horrible, horrible disease.

Amy - thanks!

Los Angelista - I think the tofu would work just fine. I think you might want to marinate the tofu first, though - maybe something with ginger and soy and honey?

Anonymous said...

If you still want to enter your photo in click yellow for Bri, I will resize the photo for you, ok, sweety?
Just email me the photo :)

Jen said...

Maryann - thank you so much! I'll definitely do that.

Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...

Fabulous, delicious post all around. Brava :)

Jen said...

Thanks so much, Michelle!