the fish counter.

I rarely cook fish. I always walk right by the fish counter, never expecting it to offer me anything in my price range. Working at a preschool, how much we don't get paid is often fodder for coffee pot gossip (the Seattle equivalent to the water cooler). It stands to reason that I never consider fish as an option for me unless it is a splurge. Well, was I wrong! It turns out that there are many reasonable options for a lady on a budget and I just need to do my research. What was I thinking? I live in Seattle where salmon is its spirit animal.

So, when Corey's mom made us cod, lightly coated in parmesan cheese and served with red chilies, avocado and lemon, I knew I was going to have to eat it again. I headed out, in the 28 degree weather, to the massive grocery store with the gigantic fish counter in search of my ingredients. After buying a nice fillet of cod that would easily feed myself, Corey and Sonya (our lovely roommate), I did a little recreational shopping. This means wandering down the chocolate aisle. Our neighborhood grocery store has a sizable selection of "gourmet" chocolate. I wasn't the only one with dark chocolate on the brain - there were about 20 people crowding the aisle, looking for the highest percentage of cacao and throwing chocolate everywhere. It dawned on me that dark chocolate is a major food trend of the new millennium. With all of this talk of anti-oxidants, how French women eat, low carb, natural, organic, shade-grown, and free-trade, dark chocolate has had a rebirth as the must-have dessert. There are chocolate tasting parties and FoodNetwork specials devoted to cacao. The range of choices I had in front of me was mind boggling. Anything from 59% cacao to 88% (I totally bought it!). I spotted chocolate "infused with mint and a hint of rosemary," chocolate that "explored the essence of hazelnut and currant." These are only the tip of the iceberg. I looked down the aisle, towards the more pedestrian candy and spotted Hershey's getting a piece of the pie with their Special Dark Chocolate. It's everywhere, totally unavoidable and awesomely delicious.

I walked home, weighed down by cod and chocolate. My dinner was a success. I arranged three bowls in a line - one filled with seasoned flour (salt and pepper), the second with a beaten egg and the third with grated parmesan. I dipped the pieces of fish in each bowl and seared them in a hot pan for just a couple of minutes on each side. I served the fish on a bed of lettuce tossed with olive oil, lemon juice and avocado. I'm pretty sure the three of us ate in 7 minutes or less.

After dinner, Corey and I ate two different types of dark chocolate - one that was 88% cacao and another that was a mere 70% (but had espresso beans in it!) and watched Manhattan. Not bad, not bad at all.