I studied my master in a city bout 100 km away from where I live. And that meant a 2 hour trip back and forth every day. At the time my daughter was 11 months old and I left her at my mum’s which was a heart wrenching good-bye everyday.

The road to the university is through a beautiful mountainous area but I never had the time or the peace of mind to enjoy the scenery.

Today, almost four years later, I took the kids for a trip to enjoy the beautiful spring.I  was surprised at the amount of memories and feelings the trip stirred. I thought the tension that was associated with that road..had subsided with time.. but I was wrong. I felt uneasy to say the least.. memories of exams, deadlines, racing home to get to my little one were coming back too quickly to handle.. I missed a turn I  was supposed to take and was getting nervous about it when my daughter started laughing.. “Mum, we’re in a great adventure! let’s keep going till we run out of gas and then build a tent and sleep in it!”

I couldn’t help laughing and resisted the temptation to explain that we can get gas and don’t have to build a tent let alone sleep in one.. It was right there and then that I decided it was time to make new memories and stop being trapped in the past.

We parked by the edge of the road, picked flowers, took pictures and had a great time. Jana had so much fun and made me promise a picnic next weekend with the hope for a grand adventure.

Here a few of the pictures I took..

The whole experience made me think that too many time in life, we are trapped in the past though it no longer exists and in doing so we miss living in the present and making the best out of it.  Dont you think so? 

My recipe today is really quick and easy. The spices give the fish great flavor while the flour adds a crunchy crust. N ow you may think I over did it with the spices but I really hate bland food and this combo of spices gives the fish such amazing layers of flavor.

I served it with pita chips and french fries and a salad..YUM!

 3 fishes 

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon all spice

 1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon powdered garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

Flour for dredging

Vegetable oil

1 tablespoons butter

Heat a heavy pan over medium high heat.

Mix salt, cumin, turmeric, powdered garlic, coriander and paprika.

Rub  the seasoning into the skin and the inside of the fish.

Mix some of the seasoning with the flour then dredge fish in flour and shake off excess.

 When pan is good and hot, add Canola oil followed immediately by 1 tablespoon butter.

 As soon as foaming subsides, place fish in pan.

 Jiggle pan for the first 10 seconds to keep the fish from sticking.

Cook until golden crust forms on meat.

Carefully turn fish  and again jiggle pan for the first few seconds.

Cook until skin turns golden brown. Remove to a warm plate.

For the pita chips

cut pita bread and deep fry in vegetable oil or sprinkle with olive oil, salt and some paprika and bake in the oven till crisp and golden.

The oven baked ones make a yummy snack.. you could try out different flavors, oregano… garlic….rosmary