Korean-Style Grilled Mackerel

This seems to be the season for me to try new fish!  Today it is Mackerel.   Mackerel is well-known for its numerous health benefits.  It ranks right up there with the other oily fishes like Salmon and Sardines as being food for the brain and the heart. Many people take fish oil capsules to substitute but nothing can be better than getting your oils from directly from the fish. 


Before you all rush out to buy you a mackerel fillet for grilling, I should offer up a fair warning.  This fish is, well....fishy!  It needs to be eaten as fresh as possible and you should anticipate a nice, rich, fishy aroma during cooking.  That being said, if you can overcome the smell, the taste isn't bad. 

In Korea, Mackerel is grilled and enjoyed with medium grained rice. Koreans would also serve at least 2 or 3 vegetable side dishes to round out their meal.  I find that Mackerel stands up well against the strong flavors of Sauteed Rainbow Swiss Chard and Pickled Beets; two of my family's favorite "panchan" (that means "side dish" for those who don't speak Korean).  Heat up the grill, get out your chopsticks and give this Mackerel a try!


Korean-Style Grilled Mackerel

1 Mackerel fillet
1 wire-mesh fish grilling basket
salt

1. Heat the grill.
2. Rinse the mackerel fillet under cold water.
3. Open the wire-mesh basket.
4. Place the fillet, skin side down, on the bottom half of the basket.
5. Sprinkle the fleshy side of the fish with salt.
6. Close the basket and secure.  The fish should be squished tightly inside the basket.
7. Place the fish, flesh side down, on the hot gril.
8. Cook for about 7 minutes, or until the fish begins to brown, then flip the basket over.
9. Cook the skin side of the fish for about another 7 minutes, or until the skin begins to crisp and brown.
10. Remove from the basket and place on a serving plate.
11. To eat, use your chopstick to break off a piece of fish.  Eat both the flesh and the skin with a bite of rice.

Allergy Friendly "Egg" Decorating

Inevitably when people think of Easter, they think of decorating eggs.  When we first discovered our angels egg allergy, this left me at a loss.  What else can we do?  How will she decorate eggs?

Until this year, we have avoided decorating eggs. However, this year seemed to be the year for questioning.  "Why are the eggs colored?  How do they color them?" After a few trips down the Easter aisle, I realized that I would have to find an alternative.  With a sever allergy to eggs, we would have to find a safe way to enjoy this Easter tradition. 

So, off to Michael's we went, armed with coupons, time, and an open mind.  It was kind of like a scavenger hunt - who can find the best feaux eggs for decorating?  We began scouring the aisle of "eggs".  Our hunt ended when we found a bag of 6 paper mache eggs.  Oh, the things we could do with these!  Armed with our "eggs" and goodies from our craft closet, we were ready to decorate.


Supplies: 6 paper mache eggs, stickers (paper not plastic), pastel paint, glue, paint brushes, pastel colored tissue paper, rhinestone stickers, colors, sequins, glitter, scissors, patience, imagination


Ideas for decorating:

Tissue Paper Mache  For these eggs, we cut up pieces of pastel colored tissue paper.  Then, we mixed glue and water in a 1:1 ratio and painted it on the eggs.  One piece at a time, we began covering the egg with the tissue paper, painting over the pieces with glue when necessary to help them stick.  We did this in several layers, allowing each layer to dry in between, until the egg was covered. (ages 3-12 years old) 

Coloring  Using crayons (markers didn't do very well) color the eggs.  These will probably not be your prettiest eggs but they were perfect for the littlest angels to do by themselves.  (ages 18 mos - 5 years old)

Painting We painted the eggs using acrylic paints.  We added glitter to some to make it shiney but the glitter could also be used to sprinkle over after painting.  The youngest ones will need help holding their eggs for this but the painting is fairly simple.  (ages 2 1/2 - 10 years old)

Stickers  Before painting or after painting, cover the eggs with stickers.  We found that small, paper stickers worked best.  The plastic stickers didn't want to stick on the paper mache and the large stickers puckered.  (ages 1 - 6 years old)

Rhineston-ing (can we say that?) This was a simple thing to do but it required incredible patience.  We covered the egg with rhinestone stickers.  Although we didn't paint our egg first, that would probably make it a little more attractive.  For the little ones they can place the stickers on the egg without trying to cover it entirely.  But, for your older children, they may cover the eggs using stickers of varying sizes placed closely together.  These eggs were especially pretty.  (ages 7 - 18 years old)

I would really love to hear how you are safely decorating "eggs" this year.  I hope that you will share how you are including your angel in this holiday tradition.

The Perfect Easter Basket

Every Easter, our "bunny" would leave us the most perfect Easter basket.  It was never store-bought, it was always full of the things we love and each item was perfectly nestled amidst the straw.  The whole basket was then loving wrapped in cellophane with a giant bow at the top.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I had a very talented "bunny".  Our bunny cooked and cleaned with the best of them.  But her real talent could shine around Easter when those perfect baskets were thoughtfully left for us to find.




While I am not nearly as talented as the original Easter bunny, here are some suggestions on how you can make a basket more perfect than those in the store!


Step 1: Choosing the perfect basket  In our house, we each have our own basket or bucket that is especially selected to be used at Easter.  It is not too big (too hard to fill) nor to small (won't hold larger items) but perfect.  The color of the basket doesn't really matter though our are usually neutral or white.  Those colors just work better with the items that might find their way into the basket.  Also, remember that the basket does not have to be a basket at all.  You may choose to use something different like a beach bucket, helmet, make-up box to make the basket extra special one year.  I have even seen someone roll and tie a beach towel then stuff the goodies in the top.  Step 1 is the beginning of your chance to be creative.

Step 2:  Choosing the items These items should be a variety of shapes and sizes.  You will need a few large items for the back of the basket, some medium sized items as the bulk of the basket and some small eggs or items as fillers for the bottom.  Remember, if the items are too large, they won't fit in the basket.  However, one very large item is ok because you can place it next to the basket and hold it in place with the cellophane wrapping.  Also, too many very small items will be lost in the bottom of the basket and won't be found until the straw is removed.  For very tiny items, it is best to put them in a small bag and tie them with a ribbon.  For some ideas, see my post "Allergy-friendly Easter Treats".

Step 3: The straw  Straw comes in plastic, paper and even authentic varieties.  Which straw you choose is less important than how you place it in the basket.  You will begin by wadding paper bags or tissue paper and placing them in the bottom of the basket until it is just below the top of the basket.  Be careful not to push this paper down but place it gently in the basket.  This paper will help support the filling and give it height.  On top of the paper, you will place the straw.  Place enough straw so that the bottom papers do not show through.

Step 4:  The goodies  It is now time to fill your basket.  Decide which side of the basket with be the front.  Begin in the back of the basket by placing your large, tall items across the corners and back.  This backing will give help hold the medium sized items in an upright position.  Next, work your way toward the front of the basket leaning medium sized items in front of the taller, larger items.  Finally, place your fillers, eggs and other small objects in front.  If there are any small spaces behind the larger items, you may fill it with these items as well.

Step 5:  The cellophane  Cut a very large piece of cellophane from the roll.  Lay it flat on a large hard surface.  Place your basket in the center of the paper.  If you have extra large items, you may place that behind the basket on the cellophane.  You may also put a few small items like jellybean-sized candies or eggs on the cellophane at one of the front corners for added interest.  Now, grabbing one corner at a time, pull the cellophane to the top of the basket and gather it in your hand.  While gathering, tuck any open sides in so that the pleats come together.  Tie a piece of ribbon at the top to keep the cellophane closed.

Step 6:  The bow  For those of you who know how to make a bow, this would the time to let your talent shine.  Make a large bow and tie it where the cellophane is gathered.  For those who are not so much of a bow specialist, you may purchase a pre-made bow from a florist like that at your grocery or at Michael's.  For a quick and easy bow,  you will need about 1 yard of ribbon (the kind you might use in your hair) or wired ribbon from Michael's or your local sewing store.  Tie that ribbon around the gathered cellophane just as you would tie your shoes.  Pull the loops to make a large floppy bow.

VOILA!  The perfect Easter basket ready to deliver to your favorite angel!