35.0 Prelude to a Fish

Starring Erin & Mike and Adam & Josh
Filmed on Location in Beautiful Downtown Sellwood
Soundtrack: Wedding Album by Leon & Mary Russell

“Where do we go from here?”

Welcome to the 3rd Anniversary of In the Sellwood Kitchen. Our first article published in the May 2007 issue of The BEE. Remember it? Me neither, so I had to check the scrapbook. Of two things, we can be certain: my writing style has not evolved (it’s been replete with obscure references from the get-go); but Erin has broadened and refined her culinary skills. If I didn’t have the metabolism of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, I’d weigh as much as Stirton's Thunderbird! (Oh, there I go again!)

Quick! What’s your fave ITSK recipe? I know – how can you choose just one? Mine? Whatever one I’m currently eating (at the moment, a swell whole wheat pasta dish with honkin’ sautéed mushrooms).

Adam and Josh (who else?) have joined us for tonight’s celebratory meal. Adam asks what we’re listening to. It’s Leon and Mary Russell’s “Wedding Album.” I’d thrown it on the turntable on a whim. Jackpot, I thought to myself. The first album by newly married Leon & Mary Russell served as fitting accompaniment to our long-running stage piece “In the Sellwood Kitchen.” This is our 35th performance.

The bulk of each article is merely the preface to the recipe. Conveniently, in The BEE, Erin’s introduction and her recipe can be found in a shaded box at the end of the article. The hungrier reader can scan ahead to this point and disregard the appetizer of the article (unless of course the recipe is an appetizer).

I understand scatological humor is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s my teapot! Do you have any idea many much overtime my internal censor logs each month as I compose these articles? Time and a half, he gets! It’s costing me a spiritual [expletive deleted] arm and a leg! I’m considering going back to pre-Comics Code Authority days.

Nobody knows your friends, Josh would say.

He and Adam are a big reason I have hard time coming up with these family-friendly episodes! Often I’ll start writing the article “live” in the living room whilst the shenanigans progress in the kitchen. Curls of colorful language pass the kitchen’s threshold.

While they prepare the guacamole, I hear, “Well, honey, put it all in.” Or, concerning the removal of a felled tree from the April windstorm: “The backyard is gigantic.” Or, “Why are there two spoons in the guacamole?”

Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue said (in this documentary I’m watching as I type), “Fashion’s not about looking back, it’s about looking forward.” I feel the same way about the Kitchen.

One thing won’t change: good food done good. Scratch that (though it flows better): Great food done better! Like these fish tacos Erin’s prepared for us this evening! These will be Josh’s first fish tacos.


Erin’s Intro: It is time to bust out the BBQ! And thank goodness, too! For our super special 3 YEAR anniversary episode, we did something fancy. And by “fancy” I mean – not chicken. I don’t have a lot of experience making fish, and I’ve only made tilapia for the Sellwood Kitchen. Of course you could use tilapia for this recipe, but we needed to change it up. Plus, cod was on sale. The fish recipe is simple but tasty. The coleslaw is something my mom always makes, I don’t know where the recipe came from, but it’s super fresh and delicious by itself. Add it to the taco and it’s a pretty delicious combination. This was a fun recipe to ring in spring with, and to celebrate three years of great friends and great food.
BBQ Fish Tacos

For the fish:
1 ½ to 2 lbs Cod (Tilapia or Halibut can be substituted)
Chili powder
Salt and pepper
Fresh lime juice (1/2 lime)
1 to 2 Tbsp butter

Cut fish into approximately 3 to 4 inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper, lightly sprinkle with chili powder, and drizzle with fresh lime juice. Let fish rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Make tin foil packages for each piece of fish. Top with small piece of butter and close package. Place packages on BBQ for about 10 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Remove from packages and break fish into chunks with a fork to serve.

For the Slaw:
1 tsp lemon zest
¼ C lemon juice
½ C mayonnaise
¼ C sour cream
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp celery seed
½ head of green cabbage, sliced into thin strips.
6 to 8 carrots, peeled and shredded

Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, salt and celery seed. Toss with carrots and cabbage. Chill for ½ hour before serving.

We topped ours with fresh cilantro from the Sellwood Kitchen herb garden.









The “In the Sellwood Kitchen” cast and crew can be contacted at: erinandmike@sellwoodkitchen.com