go fish

When I was in elementary school, we would often write a short story or essay on what we did during March Break upon our return.  Depending on where we went, it felt like I had to remember every little detail in order to fill the page.

After our family travel getaway, I often wonder what my kids would find most memorable enough to write about.

On the eve before the kids headed back to school from March Break, I asked them what they enjoyed most about our time off.  I will admit...this conversation was partially self serving.  I guess I wanted to know...Was there anything we should have done differently?  Were there things on our list that we didn't get to check off?  Are there things they'd love to do again?

A pelican visited the beach one day and it was amazing to watch it circle above
the water, then dive right in to catch the fish.

Both kids said they loved snorkelling with sting rays.  They enjoyed the beach and splashing around without a care in the "private pool" (our suite surrounded a small but quiet pool where for the most part, we were the only family swimming there).  But oddly enough, my son said one of his favourite things about our holiday was the food.  "It's not every day we get to eat all the bacon you want for breakfast, BBQ pineapples on chicken burgers at lunch and try different variations of blue marlin, swordfish and fish fritters for dinner!"

While in Antigua, I was reading the book "The End of Overeating", and my son's comment about the food reminded me of this particularly striking quote from the book.

"Given the sensory power of sugar, fat and salt, we might expect everyone to be drawn to much 

the same foods.  But we're not, in part because our preferences are strongly influenced by 

what has happened to us in the past.  A history of personal experience gives particular 

foods an emotional charge, and those emotions become lodged in our memory"

 {quoted from  "The End of Overeating", by David A. Kessler}

It made me think of our food choices, not just the ones we make every day, but how much we associate food with special occasions...particularly the ones that would be associated with positive memories, like a beach vacation.  Although the kids enjoyed indulging in the hamburgers, pizza and nachos at lunch, I'm glad they were keen on trying the different flavours of the Caribbean.  Grilled fish.  Guava.  Pineapple juice.

Just as our previous beach vacations (I wrote about our trip to Prince Edward Island, here), some of the greatest memories have always been water related.  And we were either catching, watching or eating something from the sea.

I'm hoping that when the kids get older they will always have fond memories of all of our ocean explorations, but will also associate those great childhood memories with healthy culinary explorations as well.

Given our history of seaside vacations and their love for seafood...I think we'll be smooth sailing.  

Pan Seared Swordfish

(serves 4)

Since today is the first day of spring, this dish is a perfectly light dish for the season. This recipe is also amazing when grilled on the BBQ.  Unfortunately it was still too snowy on the day I made this, so I pan seared then cooked it in the oven.  It still tasted great.

Ingredients

• 4  swordfish filets
• olive oil for searing/grilling
• garlic cloves, minced (I used 1 tsp. or 2 garlic cloves)
• 1/2  cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4  cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• black pepper to taste

Directions

• Lightly coat a cast iron skillet with olive oil and heat on high.
• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Lightly rub the fish with oil, then add garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat the skillet on a stovetop.  Once the skillet is very hot, add the fish and sear on both sides. (do not flip the fish for the first few minutes so it can sear nicely).
• Place the skillet with the fish in the oven for about 10 minutes (usually fish cook for approximately 10 minutes per 1 inch of thickness...cook according to size).
• In the meantime, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and black pepper.
• Once fish is cooked, remove from oven and pour the olive oil mix on top of the fish.  Let rest.
• Serve.