Fiddly-Twitchy

Gah, I am all fiddly-twitchy today, and have been since last night. I think it started last night when I had some fish and then orange juice not long before bed. (I had a craving for some protein, and then a craving for orange juice.) The fish was heavenly-blissful. (My eating habits have been crap lately, so, beyond the fact that I have a great recipe for fish, I think my body was really grateful to have decent nourishment. Part of my problem is laziness (cooking, cleaning dishes, and shopping for ingredients), the other part is lack of ideas... I've been eating the same stuff for long enough that it's time to introduce some new variety, but I haven't yet figured out what the new stuff should be.)

The orange juice could be the culprit, because sugar in the evening can make me jittery... but that would have worn off by now. It could also be accumulated lack of exercise... I guess weeding a bag of dandelions out of the front lawn last night doesn't count as exercise.

The fact that I got my joint-aches last night doesn't help. I blame the cool weather for them, although it wasn't all *that* cool.

I was going to do some gardening and/or house-chores this afternoon, but I guess I should finally get on the bike, and see if that makes a difference. This jittery feeling is really annoying... not only is it in my muscles, but it's making my head and ear pressure feel funky too. It's like I can feel my heartbeat all over.

Anyway, should you wish to make it, here's my recipe for heavenly-blissful fish (originally from the back of a package of on-sale white fish of some variety I had never heard of before... nor can I remember what it was called. I do remember that it was fished off of South Africa, though. What a long way my cheap fish comes from.):

Over medium heat, heat a bit of olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed) in a cast iron frying pan. When the oil is hot, add two pathetically thin fillets of whatever frozen white fish is cheapest (this probably works with thicker fillets too, but the cheap fish in my grocery store is wafer thin... I think I currently have sole), then add a liberal squeeze of fresh lemon juice from a lemon that has been getting scary looking in the fridge. (I don't get around to cooking fish as often as I intend. As long as it hasn't gone brown inside, it's fine.) *After* the lemon has been added (the "after" is important, as the juice will wash off everything else if it isn't added first), sprinkle on some salt, pepper, parsley, and whatever else in the spice cabinet floats your boat. (Last night it was savory. I've also had success with poultry seasoning (hey, it's a white meat too), and Montreal Steak Spice... but I wouldn't recommend both at the same time.) After the fish has browned, flip it over, and apply lemon juice and seasonings to the other side too. Finally, once the fish is brown on the second side and has cooked all the way through (with the thin fillets, the cooking all the way through probably happened when the first side got brown), transfer the fish to a plate, and squeeze on some more lemon juice if there's any left in the lemon. (With a particularly juicy lemon, sometimes there's even some left after this third application. So as not to waste it, I squeeze it into a little tupperware container I keep in the freezer... I suspect it'll taste as good as fresh should I crave fish when I have no real lemons left.) Eat. Swoon. Consider cooking a vegetable for an afterthought side-dish. (I've never really gotten the hang of cooking so that multiple things ready at the same time, and overcooked vegetables are dreadful.)

Although that recipe typed up long, it's really quite simple if you ignore all the commentary. ;)

Oh... two unrelated items: The first is that "I Capture the Castle" had a quite unexpected ending, but I won't say what it was in case you want to read it. It's not quite how the fairy tale romantic hidden inside me would have liked it to end, but it was a good ending... and open enough that my fairy tale romantic self could choose to add a bit on after where the actual text stops. The second is that I did indeed forget something in my last long post... the bottom of one of my window panes has come off again, but I think I know how the caretaker fixes them now, so I'll try dealing with it myself. (I'd want to deal with the remaining unpacked boxes in my office, and then my not-quite-finished desk in the hall, before I asked the caretaker in. They make the window rather hard to get to.)

Well, the bread is done and cooling, so now I should cut my hair then have my shower so that I can go out and hopefully burn off the twitchies riding my bike.