Salt and water depleted

No matter how many times I wash or otherwise disinfect my hands while at the hospital, I still feel like some nidus of nasty ready to spread god knows what germ-laden remnants of bodily fluids over everything I touch. Between that and the fact that on most rotations there aren't lunch breaks--those mythical beasts!--legions of nurses, doctors, and medical students go for hours with nary a drop past their lips. There's a reason why the lack of bathroom breaks during surgery was never a problem, and it has nothing to do with less than savory strategies. Or surreptitious ingestion of anticholinergics.

But thanks to a certain aforementioned Rite-Aid's 99-cent sale, I can slurp down one of these puppies as soon as I come home.

The neon green and neon orange flavors are the best by far.

Speaking of salt and water, I salt-baked a whole branzino tonight! The way it works is this: pick a nice, fresh whole fish. Clean it. Stuff it with things you like--I chose black garlic, fennel, and blood orange--and pat the outside dry. For every pound and a half of fish, measure out 3.5 cups of kosher salt. Mix that with about 1 egg white per cup, or until the mixture feels like wet sand in your hands. Pack it over the fish. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes per pound of fish, or until the crust is golden at the edges. Crack open the crust, which is the most satisfying feeling ever, peel it off, and disassemble your moist, fragrant fish.

The Things I Like

Black garlic, by the way, is just garlic that has been dried
at constant warm temperature for a very long time. It has a
funky, molassesy taste.

The stuffed product!

Covered in salt

Post-bakeage.

The freshly decrusted product

Aaand the finished plate.

N.b. If you feed blood orange to your guinea pigs, they'll look like they've been mauling knights.

I also made a black garlic, fennel, and blood orange pesto (with pine nuts and olive oil), roasted potatoes, and green beans. Lots of green beans.

Andy reminds me to mention that last night, with minimal guidance, he made truly delicious lentil tacos with chipotle yogurt sauce. He agrees that his photography skills leave something to be desired.

SO much more delicious than it looks.

An FYI to anyone in NYC: tomorrow is Free Macaron Day. I plan to indulge around my work schedule; do you?