YAY! Poached fish!!

Seventh time is a charm for me and poaching fish.  I have tried 6 previous times, and have had everything from undercooked fish to fish that separated apart into little bits when I tried to lift it from the pan.

Tonight, with the mission of poaching in mind, I searched Youtube for yet another informative video to help me in my learning curve, and I found this one...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQMn9pRFyLs

I keep a bag of vegetable bits in the freezer to use for broths.  I grabbed some carrot pieces and celery ends from the bag and added them to the pot with some sprigs of Rosemary, slices of lemon, and crushed garlic cloves.

I think that the thing that helped me this time was to turn the water up to boiling in order to flavor it, then turn it down gradually to poaching temp from boiling.  I think it was mental, that I just could not get the water warm enough by bringing it strictly up from regular temperature.  Bringing it down from boiling helped me feel more in control, I think.  Weird, but it worked for me.

I floated 3 fillets per batch for 5 minutes per batch, and they were well cooked and tender.  Flaky to the fork.  I think that next time, I am going to put a sliver of butter on each portion as I take it from the water.

I served it with broccoli that had been steamed with water flavored with crushed red pepper and a salad with artisanal greens, spinach, and iceberg lettuce.

6 Tilapia Fillets - 1/2 bag @ 5.49 per bag                                                2.75

Broccoli     1/2 of a 2 crown pack @1.49                                                  .75
Sprinkle of crushed red pepper                                                                   .10
Spinach                                                                                                      .90
Artisanal Greens                                                                                       1.00
Iceberg Lettuce                                                                                          .55
Dried Cranberries                                                                                      .25
Grated Carrot                                                                                            .15
Diced Mushrooms                                                                                     .20
Diced Tomato                                                                                            .20
vinegar sprinkle                                                                                          .15
                                                                                   Dinner Total  =     7.00 for 4 meals

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