DAY 103: NOT FISH..BUT FISHY..

So I woke up really late this morning,  really late...
Because the kids and me were watching Harry Potter till really late in the night...
We love Harry Potter..
Well who doesn't..
And while I was wondering what I should eat for breakfast ..
I decided that today I need to go to the fish market ..
So I wore my fish market shoes and put on my bargaining face ..
And with a few plastics in tow , took off for the Versova fish market .
I love that place
And no the smell of the fish does not bother me at all.
The buzz of that place is actually fun..
Many familiar fish-folk and a lot of fish I still have not met.. ..
I wanted Tuna, because I wanted to make a salt baked fish with lemon butter, it's one of the recipes that I have in my book , and I really love it..
But I could not find any, the size I wanted..
So I walked around,  browsing , and in my head I was also trying to figure ingredients I would need , for something else if I did not get what I want..
So yes I completely confused myself , because I had various spices running through my head and various fish ..
And in the middle of all that ..
I spotted lobsters , so that's what I bought  , because my favorite fisher lady was selling it...
And then bought prawns because I think I will make a prawn pickle and also bought Pomfret, because felt I should...
Why do I always go over board with buying fish ..
Gosh ..
But I guess I don't understand when to stop ..
Or then I just like a lot of everything ...
Maybe I'm greedy ..
Or maybe I just am a "much too much " kinda person ..

You know , I'm sure there are there are more people like me ..
Who go a little over with everything in life ..
I guess sometimes, Ok , most times, I do fall in that category ..

You are allowed to love who you want, as much as you want, as long as you 'Love"...

It's like I feel it's OK to love the crap out of the people you love, how can you do things in half measure..
I dont understand that ..
Anyway, we leave that for another blog...

We now attend to the Lobsters..

INGREDIENTS

Lobsters -1 doz
Butter -1 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Bechamel sauce - 4 tbsp
Fish stock -1/2 cup
White wine -1/2 cup
Flat leaf parsley - 4 tbsp finely chopped
Garlic - 8 pearls
Onion -1 finely chopped
Cheese -1 slice
Dry Oregano -2 tsp
French Mustard - 1 tsp
Lime -1/2 squeezed
Egg yolk -2
Cream -1/4 cup

Method

Clean the lobster and separate the tails from the head..
Cut the tiny fins on the under side of the tail , and then cut through the centre of the shell from the underneath , and pull out the lobster flesh delicately.
Wash , de-vein , chop into tiny bite size pieces and keep to one side ..
Wash the shells.
Leave them to dry.

Then in a non-stick pan , on a medium flame add the butter and the olive oil.
Then add the garlic and sauté for 30-40 seconds, add the onions and cook it till it gets translucent, about 3 minutes, then add the wine and the fish stock .
And let it simmer on a low flame , till it has become half.
Then add the bechamel sauce, oregano , parsley the and the cheese( I did not have cheddar cheese at home , so I just used a slice)
Let this all nicely mix together and let the cheese melt, you should have a nice thick slightly bubbling mix, please do this on a low flame.

In another bowl, mix the yolk, cream, mustard and the lime.
Then pour the hot flavoured bechamel mix over the yolk mix, continuously stirring.

Place the cleaned shells on a baking tray.
Then place the raw flesh of the lobster into the cleaned shells.
Spoon the flavoured sauce over the raw flesh and sprinkle it with bread crumbs.
And place it in the top rack of a pre heated oven at 200 degrees, bake it for 15-18 minutes.

Serve hot with a yummy tomato flavoured wheat pasta ..
Why wheat, because it's healthier, than maida..

Whole wheat pasta in a tomato and basil sauce.

So when I went to the market today , and saw so many fish .
The line , "so many fish in the sea" just came to mind, and I was thinking , sometimes in life , we run after something , or pursue something with blinders on , or have such a narrow vision , that we do not even see, all the options available...
And sometimes, because we have such a narrow vision in life ..
We may miss out on the stuff that actually may be right for us ..
But as normal human tendency we always pursue stuff that we can't get or have..
Maybe we are not supposed to live life in pursuit ..
Maybe what is good for us , will come to us organically ..
Maybe all the trouble and strife in life is completely brought on by our own unreasonable greed in life .

Like frankly in this world of 7 billion people (sorry if the count is wrong, i have yet to travel the world), how come in our entire life time we meet only 10000 to 200000 people in our life time, depending on where we live , the kind of job we have and the kind of life style we lead.
And among , all those people , we meet, we may make maybe 10000 friends over time , but the maximum amount of really close relationships would boil down to 3 or 4.
Which leaves the rest of the population to be close friends with one another.
So yes most of us broadly are loners or little islands , that live completely alone inside us , with a few chosen few that we open up to .
And how do those chosen few who come our way, completely by chance?
Beats me ..

I have realised that geographical distance, wealth, social status or colour of our skin has got nothing to do with human relationships.
They really make no difference.
That is why I guess we have soul mates.
It's such a weird concept, but I do believe in it.
I'm not saying that all of us find our soul mate , and our lives are like a fairy tale from then on.
But I do think , many times , we mistake someone for a soul mate , and hence close all doors to everyone else...
But I feel if you do meet a soul mate, both the lives of both the souls will be dramatically enriched in every sphere , and will give you freedom and you will never have to choose ..

But if you are always in a state of confusion with your supposed soul mate , then this is not the one ..
Its very much like when you are looking to buy fish, if it smells of fish, do not buy it ...
The same applies to life, if it does not feel light and smells of heart-break , it is not right..

I think the reason we make friends and are close to a few people , is because something in this universe does bind these particular souls together..
So I feel that soul mates are probably souls that you meet in your life that bring out the best in you, or then pass through your life , because they make you discover something in your self , you never knew existed..
And yes I do believe we all come across our soul mate ,once in our life at least ..
And when you both do , it will be a very deep , beautiful and powerful soul stirring part of your life , that will frighten you to your deepest core and also give you unimaginable happiness.
Where there is potential for a deep love, there there is also potential for the deepest pain ..
This is something that we all need to acknowledge ..

Well if you are one of the lucky few , who is able to spend a life time with your soul mate , then I guess, this life time is where it was supposed to happen ..
And if not , then let me say , that , it will happen when it is supposed to ..
So do not fret..
Maybe there are many more people we need to meet, and many things we still have to learn , before , we have what we are looking for ..
Like in the words of the Dalai Lama , " Remember that not getting what you want , is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck"

And that's exactly what I was thinking as I pulled out the lovely lobster from my oven..
I wanted to buy Tuna, actually , and that's what I went to the market for..
But since , I was not able to find what I was looking for, since , I'm a bit picky about the freshness and the price..
I found these beautiful chubby tailed lobsters , looking at me beckoningly..(if that is a word)
Frankly when I bought them , I had no idea , what I was going to make ..
And did not want to make a curry again..
But felt something or the other will fall into place..
And so went for a lobster Thermidor kinda recipe...

But yes, today with the full family home ,and kiddie friends ,it was a very bad idea to be making a recipe that had to be done in parts and put together..
Because I was being constantly asked if lunch is ready ..
And frankly no one should be baggering the chef with a knife in her hand ha ha ha ..
But all's well that ends well..

The Thermidor turned out beautifully, In fact I should have had more lobster,because it got swiped really fast, because I was told , it was really yummy..
Or they were just very very hungry..
One of the two, I'm hoping it was the former..
(Just remember to taste the mustard, before you add it, because some mustard has salt in it, and some is a bit bitter , so use your mustard discreetly.)
I was told that this is like food in a restaurant , that you pay for ha ha ha ..
I love kids..
And so there will be another round of this dish happening soon..

So here's presenting, "Not Fish..but Fishy.." served with freshly made tomato and basil pasta, made with a lot of hard work, and a lot of conversation with myself, about plenty of fish in the sea and soul mates, served with lotsa love , only from "Maria's Kitchen" ..