Sautéed Rockfish with Caprese and Roasted Vegetables

Fish is fast and simple. Honest. But: Don’t leave the stove for a minute. Be the boss of it and have no fish fear!
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I run hot. Who doesn’t in July? It makes me tired and fussy, sighing over and over inordinately and picking fights with the dog. I often want to live in the basement forever or bathe in iced tea. But I cheer up when there’s a dinner that looks and tastes like this on the table. And even though we cook quite a bit of our summer meals on an outdoor grill, the weather isn’t always cooperative. Sometimes I take one look out on the deck (see left photo) and decide we are cooking indoors. The other option is to go out to eat but we rarely go out to dinner. This isn’t a complaint. We could do it. We just don’t do it very often as we like to eat at home. (In hot weather, some restaurants aren’t really cool, either.) The other day, my rockfish was thawed. The plan was to grill it simply and top it with a blueberry-peach salsa. Maybe some asparagus? Instead, moving indoors after glancing at troublesome skies, I knew a different meal was about to take place. I had had a taste for roasted vegetables for days and, despite them not being terribly summer-ish, thought I’d roast them up in my countertop Breville oven. Carrots and baby potatoes are nearly always in my larder, so I’d go with those. Should I grill the fish in the stovetop grill pan or do something different? The rockfish is kinda flakey and tender; I had had concerns about grilling it and keeping the thin fillets intact. I knew I was jonesing for a solid pan of some sort.

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Green Bean Caesar Salad

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Avoiding lettuce right now? Save this recipe for later! Or consider using homegrown or farmer’s market greens. You might also serve the dressed beans on a large layer of big, ripe, sliced tomatoes instead of the romaine. Don’t forget the parm and croutons!

It’s for sure the Dog Days of Summer wherever you live unless you’re in Australia. (And if you ARE in Australia, I’m jealous! I’ve just checked the temperature in Melbourne.) What are “Dog Days” anyway? The Old Farmer’s Almanac tells us:

The Dog Days of Summer run from July 3 to August 11 each year. Far more than a modern saying, the phrase comes from ancient skywatchers who noticed that the brightest star, Sirius, rose with the Sun during this period. For centuries, this hot part of summer has carried both astronomical meaning and layers of folklore.

Our Miss Rosie, 12-yr labradoodle

By the way, Sirius is the alpha star of Canus Major — greater dog. Hence, “dog days.”

Dog days make me think more of a hot old dog dragging around with its tongue hanging out after too long of a walk in mid-summer. (And there are people who walk their dogs midafternoon; their poor burning feet!) Or perhaps I’d consider these warm weeks to be the height of hot dog season, as in wieners at the ball park or on the backyard grill. After all, it’s also baseball season.

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