Still underneath a fellowship proposal and a bunch o' job applications, although tonight is a bit of a breather. So, for no particular reason, I'll try to keep the creativity going with another in a very occasional series of the Bug House's favorite recipes. (No, no bugs were involved. Well, okay, a couple of interesting spiders, a leafhopper, and some strange arthropod eggs did enter the kitchen attached to the Swiss chard I brought in from the garden. But we didn't eat any bugs. At least not on purpose.)

This one is my best imitation of something I had at Legal Sea Foods about 15 years ago.

1. Start with fillets of your favorite reasonably firm-fleshed fish. I especially like to do this with salmon fillets. Put them in a dish that will fit into the refrigerator without too much rearrangement, and will allow them to be covered with a marinade.

2. Scatter the following over the fish;

* Chopped scallions
* Grated fresh ginger
* Grated fresh garlic
* A little chopped celery (optional; I don't always use it)

3. Pour over everything:

* Soy sauce (I use Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead, because it's unfermented and doesn't tweak Rick's mold allergies). Dilute it with a little water first if you like things less salty. (I'm sure white wine would be nice in it as well, but Rick's allergic to that too.)

4. Stab the fish a whole bunch of times with a sharp knife or other pointy object, to help the marinade penetrate.

5. Stick it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. You can turn the fish if you're so inclined.

6. After marinating the fish, lay it in a pan (oil the bottom a little if it's not a non-stick pan). Pour enough marinade over it so that the fish is pan-steamable. (I don't know a better way to describe this. It takes practice, but it's a pretty forgiving process.)

7. Sprinkle a little hot red pepper on the fish, and scoop the ginger, garlic, scallions, and such out of the marinade and put them on top of the peppered fish.

8. Turn the heat on, cover the pan tightly, and steam the fish until fully cooked (usually about 15 minutes), controlling heat as necessary so it doesn't burn or boil over. The nice thing about this method is that a little overcooking won't dry out the fish.

9. Eat the fish. It's really good with rice (white or brown) and steamed or sauteed vegetables. If you make brown rice, you have the perfect opportunity to start it while the fish is marinating!

Brain food. That's what we need ....