Farm Lesson #2: Mice like potatoes almost as much as I do
I do not have a lot of experience with mice, but that changed when I moved here. It began with Ray, our dog, who loves to hunt for mice in the fields and yards by the house. He plays with them and brings us the dead ones in his mouth. I thought this was very gross. We live in an area nicknamed "The Grass Seed Capital of the World." Little did I know that when grass seed farmers cut the grass in late July, all the mice who inhabit the grass fields are immediately evicted from their homes. The day after the cutting, there were mice EVERYWHERE. It was terrifying. They were scurrying around the yard, making holes in the herb garden, and worst of all, they found the garden.
One of the sad ironies of growing your own food is that sometimes you have to use drastic measures to keep pests (i.e. cucumber beetles and mice) out of the garden so it can thrive. Well, let me tell you, when there is a plethora of delicious vegetables to snack on, mice are not interested in cheese or peanut butter spread thickly on a mouse trap. We had to employ the use of an edible poison to keep them from devouring all the potatoes underground. Consequently, the area around the garden and our yard became a gruesome mouse graveyard. They were literally belly-up all over the lawn.
Currently, the mice population is somewhat under control, and we were able to harvest the beautiful Yukon gold and red potatoes that are featured in this recipe. We used all vegetables from the garden for the baked foil packs, which I learned to make from my mom and dad. The halibut was caught in Alaska by Cole's uncle Greg, and we used his blackening method to make some seriously savory fish.
Blackened Halibut with Summer Veggies
Ingredients: (the number of fillets and vegetables can be adjusted for the amount of people you are cooking for)
- 2 Halibut steak fillets
- 1/2 C melted butter
- Blackened fish seasoning - we used Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Redfish Magic
- About 10 small potatoes - a mix of red and yellow, sliced thin
- 2-3 zucchinis - sliced thin
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- Olive oil for drizzling the veggies
- Salt, pepper and garlic powder for seasoning veggies (I also used a garlic and onion spice blend)
Instructions:
1. Slice all vegetables and place in large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and add seasonings. Mix well until all vegetables are coated.
2. Cut 4-5 squares of foil large enough to hold an individual serving of the vegetable mixture. Using your hands, place the vegetables in the foil and wrap up the packs. Place in the oven at 350 and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until tender.
3. While the veggies are baking, prepare the the halibut for blackening by melting the butter in a large shallow bowl and heating a cast iron skillet on high. Coat the halibut with seasoning on both sides, then dip in butter. Cook the fillets about 3-4 minutes on each side or until the inside is white and flaky. We cooked on an outside stove.
*** If you are able to get the cut of the halibut called the "cheeks" in addition to the fillets, they are delectable cooked in the same way. A smaller cut full of flavor.
4. Serve blackened halibut with the foil pack of veggies, a squeeze of lemon on top, a glass of Pinot Griggio, and savor every bite!
