I have gas

I know I am lousy when it comes to writing recipes. As someone who always assembles all the ingredients first, you'd think I could write about it in a more organized fashion. Yesterday, I omitted telling you to toss the pasta in a little butter and olive oil before serving. I also didn't fully explain about the white Worcestershire sauce.

Worcestershire sauce has been widely used since chemists John Lea and William Perrins created the first batch in 1835 in Worcestershire, England. Lea & Perrins White Wine Worcestershire with the often mispronounced name (Wooster-shire is correct) is thicker than original brown Worcestershire sauce and features a combination of white wine with the zest of Indian spices. Lea & Perrins White is specially formulated for use with chicken, fish, pork, seafood and vegetables. I just love the zippy flavor and use it often. Look for it next to the brown Lea and Perrins sauce in your market.

One other thing I didn't expound upon was if using fresh lemons in your piccata, you need to slice them across the "equator" into rounds as thinly as possible and then just scatter them on top of your dish. I usually toss them onto the chicken for a few seconds to soften them and loosen the flavor but you can also use them as a garnish uncooked. I am a big fan of tart and piquant foods so you decide how lemony you want your food to taste.

Dinner last night was fresh, lightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower with mahi-mahi (dolphin the fish, not Flipper) and nine grain bread with spinach spread. Since I had tomatoes that had to be eaten ASAP, I chopped, seeded and drained three, tossed them into a little skillet with a splash of olive oil, added a minced clove of garlic and a bit of fresh, chopped parsley. In two minutes over medium high heat, I had a Spanish style sauce to serve on the mahi. The veggies were so good we didn't even butter or salt and pepper them. A true diet dinner for a change!



For my friends who don't live in the Florida countryside who marvel at the low cost of produce here, a head of cauliflower was $1.50 and broccoli was $1.79. That's the least expensive these two veggies have been all season. I hate to pay over a dollar for broccoli or cauliflower but I was craving it. At least the green (string) beans I bought were only 69 cents a pound.

One more thing, another reason I cook so quickly is I cook with gas. You couldn't pay me to use an electric range. Gas is immediate heat at an immediate temperature with infinite control and you can turn off the heat without needing to remove the pan from the burner. I wouldn't ever cook with anything but gas.