The Yuca Diaries

This is my first attempt at Paella. As I’ve mentioned before, B. and I follow kosher laws so it’s not your traditional Paella.  Traditional Paella has shrimp, fish, mussels, clams, and any other seafood you’d like to add. There are also other varieties that include chicken and even chorizo.  I decided on sticking to a simple fish paella for my first attempt, but if you’re feeling more daring, go ahead and add any protein you’d like.  You could also make it a vegetarian Paella if you’re not into meat by adding lots of fresh veggies like asparagus and artichokes.

Ingredients:

2 onions, medium

6-8 cloves garlic

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

2 bay leaves

4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 cups Valencia rice

3 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tsp. crush saffron threads

1 1/2 lbs. cod

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp.  fresh chopped parsley for garnishing

1 lemon cut into wedges for squeezing at the end

red pepper flakes for sprinkling at the end, optional

First finely dice the onion and green pepper and grate the garlic cloves.  Add three tbsp. of olive oil to a non-stick pan with a lid and turn the heat to medium high.  While the oil heats, cut the red pepper into slivers.  Add the onions, garlic, peppers and bay leaf to the oil, reserving about half of the red peppers for later.   Stir everything around and cook bring down the heat to medium.  Cook for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a holding plate.  Wash the rice really well, until the water runs clear and drain it well.  Cut the fish into large chunks and set aside.Turn the heat up to medium high and add the rice into the pan.  Saute, making sure to evenly and lightly toast the rice.  Turn the heat to high,   and add in the onions, garlic, and peppers that were in the holding plate and combine well.  Next add in the chicken stock, wine,  and the saffron threads.  Stir everything around and let everything cook until about half of the liquid has evaporated.  Now add the fish gently into the pan, along with the rest of the red peppers and the peas. Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat to low.  Let everything cook undisturbed for about 15 minutes.  Let the Paella sit with the heat off  and the lid on for an additional 5 minutes before serving.

When serving, plate the paella into a dish and add a little freshly chopped parsley to the top.  Also, squeeze a little lemon juice and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.  For those who like it hot, sprinkle a few crushed red pepper flakes.  Voila…. or should I say Ole?

In February of 2008, our aquarium was plagued with the most awful sickness, killing all but one of our 30 fish.   I blogged about it then, not knowing that cleaning the tank would make things worse, not better.  Come to find out months later that we may have gotten the aquarium “too clean” and removed the beneficial bacteria that was present which would have helped the fish fight off the sickness they got. We were total novices to aquariums and the internet can provide less than perfect information.  Needless to say we were so frustrated that almost all of the fish died, that we just kept the one sole survivor and didn’t bother with the aquarium anymore.

A couple of years passed and now we were ready to buy new fish and try this aquarium business all over again.  We discovered a great pet store not too far from our house that has an amazing selection of African Cichlids (which is what we currently own).   Below are a few pics of the new additions:

The most disturbing thing happened to us this week. One of the first things I do when I get home and put my stuff down is go turn on the lights over our aquarium. The fish have been looking somewhat sluggish, but Brandon and I cleaned our tank two weeks ago so it couldn’t have been that the tank was dirty. As I walked up to the aquarium to greet our little fishies, I saw, to my horror, the largest member of our tank floating upside down. He wasn’t alone either… one of the oldest members of our fish family also kicked the bucket. Poor zebra and blinky… they were nice fellows. They were old timers- it would have been a year that they were brought home from the pet store this month. Clearly, we are sad to see them go. It all started with one fish being sick. Before we knew it, it seemed as though this plague was spreading. A few days prior, one of our fish, Cobbler, started getting little white spots all over his little body and the following day he died. I decided that it was time to clean out the aquarium. I was a determined woman. Usually cleaning the fish tank is a two man job, but not this day. Brandon was working late and I had no idea how long he would be. As I cleaned the tank I discovered two other dead fish. It was so disgusting, but if the rest of the clan was going to be saved, cleaning the tank was their only hope. Brandon got home and helped me and before we knew it, the tank was sparkling. I hope this has rid the infestation that took over our beloved aquarium. Now we just have to mourn the loss of our fish family that have gone on to bluer seas.

I have come to appreciate this verse so much more over the last few years of my life. Growing up, I was so messy. The concept of hanging up my clothes and filing important papers was as foreign a concept as deciphering hieroglyphics. But then I met Brandon. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, he is extremely neat. At first this really irritated me about him. Why the constant need to fold everything and put things back in their original boxes? Why the need to wipe our kitchen counters with anti-bacterial spray as soon as we were done eating? Then suddenly one day it happened to me. I was reading this book that I could not put down. I looked forward to coming home and reading my book all day while I was at work. I came home changed clothes and jumped in bed to read my novel. All of a sudden, I was bothered. I could not get comfortable, my mind was racing with to do’s and I have to’s. The pillows were all over the place, the sheets were all crumpled. My slippers were tossed next to the bed, and my glass of water from the previous night was on the nightstand table. I could not enjoy my book. I had waited all day to read it, and I could not concentrate. I gently put the book down and thought to myself “what is going on here, Roxanne, get a grip”. The more I tried to ignore the mess, the more it felt like it was crowding in on me. My room began to feel like the rabbit hole Alice fell through. Except this was no wonderland- far from it. It was just my messy room. Without giving it another thought, I got up and began to frantically clean. I changed my sheets, vacuumed, took my glass of water into the kitchen, dusted, put away my slippers, made the bed, and sprayed the sheets with lavender linen water. It didn’t end there. I walked in the bathroom, and arranged all my toiletries. Folded and put away the freshly dried towels and swept the floor. I cleaned the bathroom sink and toilet, and poured some disinfecting cleaner into the bowl. I was a whirlwind- a force to be reckoned with. Before I knew it, I had cleaned most of the house. I was exhausted. My feet throbbed. My hands ached. I felt as if I had been beaten like a piñata. I then decided to take a hot shower. I washed my hair and repeated, shaved, applied a face scrub and polished my skin. I scrubbed away with my loofah, applied intense conditioner to the ends of my hair and scrubbed the bottom of my feet with a pumice stone. I jumped out of the shower and put on my pj’s. This sense of accomplishment, and calm came over me. It felt so great to know that everything was in its proper place and that everything was clean. My room even looked a touch brighter. I just looked around for a minute and admired how clean everything looked. It wasn’t just about appearances either. My mind was at ease. I was once again able to relax and focus. That awful feeling of being consumed by my stuff disappeared. It was a joy to be in my room again. And it’s not just me. Brandon and I cleaned out our aquarium last Saturday night. We are supposed to clean out the tank about once every month, but this time, 6 weeks passed before we were able to. The fish started looking gloomy and lethargic. Their colors looked faded and the aquarium looked dull, not to mention dingy. After cleaning the tank, it typically gets worse before getting better because you stir everything around in there. This makes the water look cloudy. And since you’re only supposed to remove about a third of the water at a time, some of the debris still remains. But boy that water was yucky- we waited too long to clean it out. Because of this, we were very detailed and careful when cleaning the tank. The following day we walked up to the aquarium. We observed it for a bit. They were playfully swimming around. I know they’re just fish, but they looked happy. There was definitely a boost in their mood. The tank also looked so bright. The colors in there were so vibrant. It looked like a different fish community than that of the night before. I know some might say that it’s a stretch to say that the fish seemed happy, but if you would have seen this with your own eyes, you would have arrived to the same conclusion. These fish were affected by the cleanliness of their environment. Then that verse clicked my mind- Cleanliness is next to Godliness. This concept holds true in the physical sense as well as in the spiritual sense. If your conscience is compromised, or if there is something that you have done that is making you feel guilty- doesn’t it make you feel in some ways dirty or tainted? Doesn’t it feel good to come clean, or to make amends? To have a clean and sound mind is even more liberating than having an organized and sanitized home. And to have both is especially gratifying.

I have wanted a little dog for as long as I can remember. But this is one battle that I am definitely not going to win. You see, I live with a neat freak. Under mostly every circumstance this would be a great thing, but not when it comes to the issue of co-habitation with pets. Papo’s theory (one of the nicknames I gave my husband) is that if anyone should have the right to poop or pee on the floor it should be him. He also doesn’t like pet hair. I dropped this issue because he has been very complacent in areas of much greater importance than pets. To my surprise, when we bought our new house, we inherited a 75 gallon-built-in aquarium. I know fish are not exactly man’s best friend, but believe it or not I have grown to know the personalities of those little suckers. Papo has even grown fond of our aquarium. He even keeps a log of all of the fish, their names, and the births and deaths of the fish community. We currently have 30 African Cichlids and we love every last one of them!