I Like Big Fish and I Cannot Lie: a State-of-the-Art Summer’s Day Trout Recipe

Judging by the frantic and overly forceful manner in which I scrape off the ice from the car windows every morning, I can tell you that summer is very much over. However, with fresh ingredients, it never quite leaves you. Although, my father does make my sister and I fresh herbs gardens every year (pause for reaction), which makes every single meal we prepare extra fresh and flavourful (cue the 'ohhhh' and 'ahhhh' moments), so it does make the trips to the grocery store to buy the herbs-in-some-plastic-container rather appalling (I was going to write morbid but that's just outrageous). I've found that if you make sure to invest in good oils and spices (ahem, or collaborate with companies to send you some), it elevates your meals in much needed times. Again, it's really not the end of the world, but winter food can get truly bland if you let it. So I say to you, don't.

A good, fresh meal can seem unnecessary in a busy schedule/lifestyle but sometimes it is what turns your day from a stressful mess to a relaxed, contemplative evening- not trying to get overly romantic, but I grew up in a family where having meals together was very important and it pretty much made everyone's day complete- it's something we shouldn't forget about, no matter how busy and noisy life gets. We would always wait for our dad to come home from work to start- and yes, the dog would always get greeted first but he deserved it as he was always the first one at the door. Even when I left home and lived on my own (with my sister, the only roommate I've ever had before living with Rene, which is insanely adorable to think about), I would still take the time to make myself a nice meal between the essays and the late-night shifts at whichever restaurant I worked at. The only time I didn't, I passed out at work whilst carrying food platters, got deep cuts on a bunch of my fingers which required me to renew my tetanus shot, and managed to break my left elbow in the process. It was yet another glamorous and embarrassing airport story which should remind you to EAT WELL and enough. It mattered then and it matters now. An appreciation moment: my friend who picked me up from the hospital that night brought me McDonalds, an appropriate choice for the circumstances (Kharesh can you marry a family member of mine already!?) and he didn't even flinch when I completely ruined his fries as I aggressively reached for them and all my wounds reopened- perhaps even a stitch or two. So are you hungry yet? Good. Kick back and follow along, this recipe takes 4 minutes to prepare:

Apparently Mercury retrograde ends this Wednesday, so, honouring this, just kidding I don't get it, ever. And we're talking about the planet, not the level of mercury in fish, so joke's on me. This is just a maple-balsamic trout recipe because I love to make it.

You will need,

Garlic (1 clove)

Parsley (2-3 stems from the garden, *sniffles*)

Basil (2-3 stems from the garden, *tears streaming down*)

Maple syrup (1 tbsp)

Sea salt (basil-infused)

Black pepper

Lemon olive oil (2 tbsp)

Balsamic glaze (a dash)

A few simple steps,

1. Absorb the excess water from the trout with paper towel (just like you would a greasy New York pizza ) and set aside

2. In a bowl, combine olive oil and maple syrup and whisk until *somewhat* homogeneous (spoiler alert, they won't be completely but do your best)

3. With a brush (my fingers, to be honest), apply the mixture on both pieces of trout evenly (have the fish on the baking tray, ready to go)

4. Add the salt and pepper, sprinkle the herbs and minced garlic and go POLLOCK with the balsamic glaze

5. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees and leave fish in for no longer than 20 minutes (depending on how you like your texture)

6. Pour yourself some Chardonnay, your day is done and you deserve it darling