Feta Tomato-Basil Fish

I pulled up tomato plants with Gayle Saturday. Nine plants, by her count. We worked from 8 to 10 a.m. I dug, she supervised, she pulled small roots with her left hand and steadied herself with the right on a chair I had brought from the kitchen. She did not complain. She said, at one point, "Larry hated the garden." I said, "I know, Ma." She said, "He said it was a waste of a Saturday." She laughed. "He ate more tomatoes than anyone in that house." I laughed. I loaded the pulled plants into the bed of the Taurus (Amber let me borrow it) and hauled them to the compost pile at the county fairgrounds. When I came back, Gayle had made coffee and a tomato sandwich. We sat at the formica table and ate. She did not say anything sentimental about the garden. She just ate her sandwich and looked out the window at the half-garden that remained. I did not push her. The garden said enough.

Drove a Sioux Falls run Monday and Tuesday. Normal. Returned home Tuesday night. Ate Amber's dinner (she made chicken pot pie, her second solo attempt; better than the first). Slept ten hours. Woke at 4 to a thunderstorm that took out a branch on the ash tree in the front yard. Dave chainsawed it apart Wednesday morning. The neighbor across the street, Mr. Parikh, brought over a pie to thank Dave for clearing the branch, because Dave had also dragged the remains out of the street. Mrs. Parikh's pie was a rhubarb pie. It was tart and wonderful and we ate half of it Thursday.

Cookbook update: a woman in Canada (!) emailed Sarah to say she had made three recipes from the book in her kitchen in Nova Scotia and her husband, a trucker, had said he felt seen. My book is in Canada. My book has crossed borders. Sarah said, "Brenda. The book has a life now." I said, "I know." I mean, I know now. I didn't know then. I know now.

Amber starts at UNK in three weeks. Twenty-one days. I am trying to be brave. Dave said, "Brenda. You are going to be a mess." I said, "I know." He said, "It's okay." I said, "I know." He hugged me. Marriage.

After we pulled those nine plants, I still had tomatoes on the counter from the last picking — more than Gayle and I could eat in sandwiches alone. I wanted something simple that would let them be the star one more time before the season was really over. This Feta Tomato-Basil Fish did exactly that. Ripe tomatoes, a little cheese, fresh basil from the pot by the back door. Nothing fancy. Just the garden, saying one more thing before it went quiet.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 white fish fillets (cod, tilapia, or halibut), about 6 oz each
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil or cooking spray.
Season the fish. Pat the fillets dry and place them in the baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.
Add the tomato topping. In a small bowl, toss the diced tomatoes with the minced garlic and half the basil. Spoon the tomato mixture evenly over each fillet.
Add the feta. Scatter the crumbled feta cheese over the tomatoes and fish.
Bake. Place the dish in the oven and bake uncovered for 18–20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork and the tomatoes have softened.
Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining fresh basil. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Feta Tomato-Basil Fish — For the Tomatoes We Pulled and the Ones We Still Have