Haddock with Spinach and Tomatoes

Well, I feel that I should start off by apologizing for the lack of a blog in a couple of days. Last night's meal was just too disappointing for me to even deal with until today.  It was supposed to have been a tasty meal of blue crab cakes with lemon aioli, roasted artichokes with hollandaise and some tasty bread.  I should have stopped immediately the second I had to restart my hollandaise.  The first time it cooked too quickly! The second time, Dylan added too much water (when I said just a little, she poured pretty much the whole cup in), so I thought if I cook it just a bit longer maybe it will thicken up. No, it did not. So I gave up on the hollandaise, and made my aioli (mayo, dijon mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, capers, parsley, salt and pepper) which, surprisingly, next to the apricot walnut bread, was the only thing that turned out good!  The crab cakes turned out okay, although a little over cooked and the artichokes well, they never stood a chance.  I put them in a pan to bake with some lemon juice, white wine and salt and pepper.  They were supposed to cook and be happy! The ends were cooked to a crisp and after an hour and a half, the heart still wasn't soft.  So, I ended up making a salad with the red butter lettuce, orange segments and apple slices, mixed with some papaya poppyseed dressing, walnuts and pomegranate craisins.  The salad turned out fine, but I was so unhappy by the time I actually sat down to eat, that I barely touched any of it.  Although, I have now come to terms with it. I suppose after all, that this is the very reason why I have titled my blog "Trials and Tribulations..."

So tonight, I knew that I had no choice but to redeem myself and that is exactly what I believe that I have done.  I placed my haddock fillets in a pan and sprinkled with my lavender salt and a little black pepper. I then sliced some lemons and placed this on top (covering the filet's with lemon slices).  Then I layered fresh spinach on top of the lemon slices and poured a can of diced tomatoes with roasted garlic (and the juices) on top of the spinach.  The entire pan went into the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes.

While the fish was cooking, I boiled some broccoli florets and sauteed some butter and garlic in a pan.  To the pan I added chopped red peppers and parsley, salt and pepper.  When the broccoli was done, I added this to the pan and cooked off any liquid.

To finish my meal, I warmed some butternut squash puree (that I found at Costco, yum!) and put a spoonful of this on the plate and placed the fish on top.  Then I warmed up some mini croissants that Dylan insisted upon getting from the grocery store. 

I'm very impressed with the way this turned out.  Dylan loved it, she had two plates!  The flavors were amazing, very light and fresh!  The fish seemed to melt in your mouth and the red pepper added a sweetness to the broccoli that made you forget that you were even eating vegetables! 

Haddock, by the way, is a fish that I was not familiar with up until today.  It has a mild flavor and just might be the best white fish that I've tried yet!

And now that I've redeemed myself, I can go on to plan my next meal. Although, I do now owe Dylan some artichokes.  She was quite disappointed to hear that they were destroyed.