Lemon Rosemary Basa Fillets

While I love to cook, it's not always possible to cook an elaborate, fancy meal on week nights. My husband and I try to take turns cooking and come up with a schedule that works best for all of our commitments, but sometimes we just need a quick and easy albeit YUMMY dinner.

I refuse to trade in convenience for quality. This is one of the reasons fish has become such a staple in our house. The sky (or in this case, the ocean or lake) is the limit when it comes to dinner possibilities featuring fish - from salty soy sauce to sweet maple syrup to bold ginger.

And then there's the convenience factor. For the most part, fish tends to take less time than most other meat options.

I hadn't heard of basa fish until a couple of weeks ago. They were on sale at the grocery store, and I wanted fish that night. I decided to give it a try. Apparently basa is a type of catfish variety, but I thought it more comparable to a mild white fish and treated it like I would tilapia.

This dish is very easy, quick, and delicious. If you prefer, you can substitute the basa for tilapia or a mild white fish.

Lemon Rosemary Basa Fillets
2 basa fillets
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon flour

1. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once heated, lay down the basa fillets. Pour the lemon juice mixture on top. Cook for 5 minutes, then flip the fillets and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

3. Plate the fillets, and add the flour to the remaining liquid in your skillet. Stir quickly and let cook for about 30 seconds to a minute. Pour on top of fillets.

Easy Vegan Rosemary Bread

I don't know if there are many things better than bread fresh out of the oven. When AJ and I got married, I made pretty much all of our bread, and it was just so satisfying to bite into that first slice while it was still warm and fragrant. Mmm.

A few years ago, I was looking for a bread recipe. I hadn't ever made bread before and I had no idea where to start. My friend Hannah had recently been cooking and baking a lot because she was a vegan living in New Orleans. She was probably the only person who baked their own bread, so I asked for her recipe. You may think....wait...vegan bread? But don't knock it until you try it. The recipe Hannah gave me is so easy and so versatile.

I know people get intimidated by the thought of making their own bread, but seriously the hardest part is the WAITING. Seriously. I've made some recipes that call for kneading and letting the bread rise THREE TIMES. It's out of control.

Anyways, this bread recipe is NOT like those really long, laborious, intense ones.

I've made this bread countless times, with variations of the seasonings and flour types. I've shared one of my favorite rosemary variations below.


Vegan Rosemary Bread
3 cups All-Purpose flour
3 cups Whole Wheat flour
3 cups water
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons salt (I like my bread less salty, but you can add more)
2 Tablespoons dried Rosemary
1 Tablespoon fresh Rosemary

1. In a big bowl, mix everything together (don't knead). It should look like dough. Essentially, you're just incorporating everything and making sure all the dry ingredients get moistened.

2. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours.

3. Pull out some and put in a greased loaf pan. It should reach about halfway up the side of the pan. Alternatively if you don't have a loaf pan or want a different shape, grab about a grapefruit size and place on a greased baking sheet. Put another layering of dried rosemary on top for extra rosemary flavor.

4. Cover and let rise for another hour. While it's rising, heat your oven to 450.

5. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. An inserted toothpick should come out clean.

This recipe will yield 2-3 loaves. If you don't want to bake it all at once, you can over the bowl of dough and keep in fridge for up to a week.