Panko Fried Sole

Cook: Robin

Main dish: Panko Sole (William Sonoma Food Made Fast Asian)

Side dish: Asian Asparagus Salad (tasteofhome.com)

Side dish: Wasabi Mashed Potatoes (care2.com)

Dessert: Baked Rice Pudding (allrecipes.com)

Dessert: Jasmine Green Tea and Honey Ice Cream (mostly my concoction. Used a recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream as the base.)

Jimmy and I always want to get to Findlay Market early on Saturday mornings, but now that our kids are older, we can sleep in. So, we usually don’t make it out of the house until at least noon. This Saturday was no different. Instead of eating at the market, I had a halfpricecincy certificate for Melt in Northside. This is a great place for vegetarians, as well as their omnivore husbands, friends, whomever. My sandwich was good, but I was most excited about the nachos. I just can’t find good nachos that don’t have meat in them. Melt’s were made with a bean-based chili, but it had a very Cincinnati-chili taste to it with hints of cinnamon and a little sweetness. They serve the chili on Sunchips, which was fine by me. If you know of any other places to find yummy veggie nachos, please tell.

We were able to head to Findlay Market with full bellies, which always makes for smarter shopping. I needed only a few ingredients: sole, asparagus and cream. It’s nice now that we have a pretty stocked pantry. Here are a few pics from Findlay Market that day.

A band playing outside.

Madison’s, our favorite place for fresh herbs and the gelato is pretty good, too.

Frank’s Fish & Seafood - I bought the sole here. After he weighed out the amount I needed, the clerk tried to sell us the remaining sole at a discount. We declined and the clerk loudly lamented: I can’t even sell you my soul at a discount.” It was pretty funny.

I made the sweet-and-sour sauce for the fish. Cornstarch was used as a thickener. To use, the directions normally tell you to mix the cornstarch with room temperature or cold water or milk, and then pour the mixture into the hot ingredients. This recipe skipped this step, and so did I. Result: clumps of cornstarch in the sauce. I was able to whisk most of them out, but it was a pain. Any advice on working with cornstarch, or an easy way to remedy lumps of cornstarch? See the offending white lumps? Those aren't bubbles.

Overall, this meal was a “Meh.” The fish was good. The asparagus was OK, it was really good when Jimmy added it to a pasta dish later in the week. The wasabi mashed potatoes were not a hit. We love wasabi with sushi or in mayo, but did not like it in mashed potatoes.

The baked rice pudding was alright. I love rice pudding, but I think I’ll use a stovetop method next time to really draw the starchiness out of the rice. I really liked the rice pudding when I added a little milk and cinnamon, heated it in the microwave and ate it for breakfast.

The ice cream was basically inedible. Jim said it was too flowery. I thought it was bitter. This was a disaster for my first real improvisation with ice cream. Jeni’s ice creams are always fantastic, and the recipes I followed in the book have turned out really well, with the Gravel Road (Salty Caramel with Smoked Almonds) being the best ice cream I’ve ever made. So, I don’t blame Jeni, I just let the tea steep too long in the ice cream base. It was a lesson learned.

Robin