Sunday's Plate; Making Things Easy

I cook every evening. I make a very nice balanced, nutritious meal that only takes me 30 minutes or an hour if something has to slow cook, but I'm rarely in the kitchen more than 30 minutes. All of our food is fresh. It is never prepared or precooked.

I'm an engineer when it comes to time. I hate wasting time. My motto is get it done like the crow flies - fast and direct and now. I hate chaos and mess. If you are in the kitchen to cook, do it with the fewest possible steps.

So you want a nice dinner of breaded pan fried fresh fish, potato salad and avocado tomato salad? Fifteen minutes tops from cupboard to plate.

First step is find your potatoes and wash, prick, and microwave them for five minutes. 30 seconds.

While they are in the micro, go to the garden and snip your favorite herbs. Trim your herbs and take a slice of pumpernickle and a slice of whole wheat bread and put spices, bread and a 1/4 cup of Parmesan in the food processor until it is crumbs. Put half the crumb mix on a plate. 3 minutes.

Mix an egg and a heaping tablespoon of plain yogurt on a plate until the egg is not discernible from the yogurt. 1 minute.

Put 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour on a third plate. 10 seconds.

Re-up your potatoes and micro for another 5 minutes.

Take your fish and with a fork, dredge the fish in the flour, the egg and then the bread crumbs and leave on a fourth plate. Do all the fish. 3 minutes.

In a heavy frying pan, put about three tablespoons olive oil and heat. 1 minute. While this is heating, cut up a medium tomato into cubes. Cut an avocado in half and pull the pit and put aside for planting.

Put your fish into your hot pan to cook and reclaim your potatoes from the micro. Cut the potatoes into large cubes and let stand on the counter to cool. 2 minutes.

Turn fish. Add cubed tomato to the open avocado and add your favorite dressing and put on a dinner plate. 1 minute.

Put warm but not hot cubed potatoes into a bowl, add mayo, a dab of mustard, and whatever you like in your potato salad. 2 minutes.

Make sure fish is cooked - should be - put potato salad on plate with avocado, put fish on plate and add a little mayo that has been mixed with salsa for a "fish dip." 2 minutes.

Congratulations on a nice meal in fifteen minutes.