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Rest Day Recipes: Baked Fish Wrapped in Bacon and Rosemary

It's nice to be blogging about Rest Day Recipes once again! Because I got an extra day off, I decided to cook something for last night's dinner. As tweeted, it was another dish inspired by Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food. I thought fish would be the easiest to cook and so I landed on the page of baked cod wrapped in bacon and rosemary.

Well, I don't think we have cod here in the Philippines (do we?) so I decided to substitute cod with my personal favorite - cream dory!

Baked Fish Wrapped in Bacon and Rosemary

Without finishing reading until the end of the page, I thought the dish was good with some vegetables so I also prepared  mashed potatoes and baked asparagus. When I revisited the cook book, it was actually suggested to pair the dish with mashed potatoes or other vegetables.

 
 Baked Asparagus

Coffee Through a 50mm Lens

A lot of photographers say that a 50mm lens is a must-have. Before I wondered why every SLR or DSLR owner would invest on it. I thought there's nothing really special about it. Any kit lens would normally have that range. After acquiring one, I now understand why everyone's raving about this short yet powerful glass. The pictures are noticeably more sharp and the depth of field is amazing! With just the few shots I took, I know this will be one of my favorite lenses! 

Truly a must-have. Simply because it delivers!

I've been wanting to take pictures of coffee in the French press I got for Christmas last year and coffee in my favorite cup. Here are the pictures I took using my Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens.

Bow,

Rest Day Recipes: Jamie's Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce, and My Basic Salad with Roasted Mushrooms

It's been a while since I last had an entry of Rest Day Recipes.  Being my Sunday, I tried my luck at one of Jamie Oliver's recipe from his book, Ministry of Food.  Pasta dishes are relatively easy and I picked probably the easiest one - Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce.  I'm surprised to have cooked a dish with simple ingredients, but tastes superb!  I'd like to post the recipe, but that would be copyright infringement.  Hehehehe!

Because I'd like to share a recipe, I tried to come up with my own.  To go along with the pasta dish, I thought of whipping up a salad.  Hence, my basic salad with roasted mushrooms (for lack of a better title) was born.

First, I just chopped the lettuce and sliced the onions and tomatoes (into eighths).  I planned on using button mushrooms, but since none was available at the supermarket, I had to settle with shiitake mushrooms.  In a pyrex dish (because we don't have a baking sheet), I placed the shiitake mushrooms and drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled minced garlic.  They went into the preheated oven and baked them for about ten minutes.  When the mushrooms were ready, I cut them into quarters and put all the ingredients together.

For the dressing, I once again flipped over the pages of the Ministry of Food and decided to top my salad off with the lemon dressing - olive oil and juice of a lemon.

Voila!  That's dinner for me.

30,000 Pesos and Ministry of Food

What would you do if you have 30,000 pesos?  I'd save it in my bank account and forget that I ever had the money.

I don't think I'm supposed to put it here, but nevertheless, I got 30,000 pesos from work!  Yipee!  Seriously, a big portion will go straight to the bank.

To enjoy the fruits of my labor, I got one of the cookbooks I've ever wanted - Ministry of Food.  I'm such a huge Jamie Oliver fan!  Although I don't get to watch every episode of his cooking show Oliver's Twist, I try to watch it as often as possible.  I normally catch it when I come home from work.  

Aside from the yummy food that he always comes up with, I like the very natural, casual and homey way he cooks his meals.  And at the end of the show, friends and family gather and enjoy the sumptuous food.  Needless to say, you can really get great ideas from this show.

Now is my chance to be my own Jamie Oliver.  Moreover, the book serves as an inspiration to people, like me, to pass on the recipes and share the gift of food to others.

I just can't wait to start reading ... and cooking!  It says, "Anyone can learn to cook in 24 hours."  We'll see about that.  Hehehehe!

By the way, you may want to visit the official site of Jamie's Ministry of Food.