Love and Marriage: Horse and Carriage: Soup and Salad: Pan Fried Fish, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, Cornbread and Beer

I seem to have ready-made food pairings when I cook. Burgers and fries, obviously, but also green enchiladas and a red onion and orange salad; chicken salad and corn-on-the-cob; cassoulet and baked tomatoes; and, last night’s dinner, pan fried cod, baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread and beer. I’m in a bit of a rut, but if it ain’t broke. . .

I usually dredge the fish in cornmeal, but last night I used flour, which works just fine. I used a Bob’s Red Mill cornmeal mix for the first time and it was really great—more fluffy than my normal cornbread.  A bit of left-over kale with garlic gave the cornbread an extra kick.  My baked beans are just from the can, but someday I want to get out of that lazy rut and make my own. My daughter Kate cooks up a storm on the weekends and stores cooked beans in the freezer in meal-size portions, making them almost as easy as canned beans.

Bagged coleslaw is problematic for a household of two. Even if I use it two or three days in a row, te remainder left in the bag goes bad before I have had a chance to use it all--coleslaw the first day, a handful of  coleslaw tossed into any kind of soup or stew the second day and another handful tossed into a salad for day three. But even that doesn't use up all the coleslaw. I do resort to the bagged mix now and then, but I love to buy small green and red cabbages whole—they’re so cute! I always hated it when my mother put red cabbage in a salad, but lately, the idea that it's so healthy has converted me to doing the same thing.