quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Poppop’s baked Tilapia

This is so easy and so good. We like Tilapia. We always have some in the freezer waiting for us to try a new way of doing it. (Maybe I’m too old for that)

Butter (or olive oil) cooking spray

2 -4 tilapia fillets depends on how hungry your gang is.

Salt and black pepper

1 lime, finely grated zest and juice

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a large cast iron pan or a cookie sheet with Pam..

Rinse fish and pat dry; place on the prepared baking sheet or skillet. Season each fillet with salt, pepper, lime zest and lime juice. Add fish to the pan. Place a pat of butter on each fillet and cook in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes. Serve with some lime or lemon wedges.

The last time we did this we had string beans with butter, sliced almonds and lemon squeezed on them. Also French fries and some chilled white wine,,,boy it was good!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

deli-style rye bread

My good friend Butch gave me this recipe.

Makes 4 1 lb loaves. you’ll think you’ve died and gone to a jewish deli in nyc.


3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp caraway seeds, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup rye flour
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

cornmeal for sprinkling
cornstarch for cornstarch wash
Mix the yeast, salt and carawy seeds with the water in a large bowl. mix in the remaning dry ingredients without kneading. cover with a towel and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. at this point, you can prepare the dough for baking or store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off 1/4 of the dough. dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball. elongate the ball into an oval-shaped loaf. allow it to rest and rise on a cornmeal covered surface (pizza peel if you’re going to transfer to a baking stone or a baking sheet if you’re baking right on the baking sheet) for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450 F with an empty broiler tray on the shelf underneath the one you plan to bake on. heat the baking stone up with the oven if you are using one.
Make the cornstarch wash by combining 1/2 tsp cornstartch with a small amount of water to form a paste. add 1/2 cup water, whisk and microwave for about 60 seconds. paint the top of the loaf with the cornstarch wash and then sprinkle on caraway seeds. slash with a deep parallel cuts across the loaf using a serrated bread knife.
Bake the loaf on a baking sheet or slide it onto the hot baking stone. bake for 30 minutes. as you put the bread in the oven to bake, pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. allow to cool before slicing or eating. Great with hot pastrami and/or corned beef.