Tuna Burger and Dreams

I don't believe anything happens without a reason.

It's actually a pretty big thing to believe. That means when I stub my toe, it happened for a reason. That means that when I see someone biking on the side of the road, there's a reason I noticed them. I don't believe in coincidence.

So this means there's a couple of things that I take more seriously than the average person.

One of those things is dreams. Because I don't believe they are random neural bursts.

I'm not saying that every single time I have a dream I think it's some sort of a sign or prophecy.

Ha, if that were true, I'd be married to at least 4 different guys (probably more) and have a couple kids. If that were true, at some point in my future, I will get chased by a black spider the size of a compact-car. Just think about if it was true of your dreams!

But if I have a dream and I remember it, there's a reason. It means something about it is important, whether it's important because it is bothering or worrying me or if it is actually a warning or sign of what might happen in the future.

To a certain extent, we are in control of our dreams.

If we do something wrong in our dreams, then, what does it mean? Does it mean we are at fault? Well, it won't hurt anyone. Except you.

A little over a year ago, I gave up sweets for Lent (I'm actually not Catholic; this is the only time I have given something up for Lent).

It was kind of a big deal. I didn't realize how much I idolized food until I tried to stop eating sweets. And I did give them up successfully. Sort of. I followed the rules that I made for myself all 40 days. It was the nights that I struggled. In my sleep.

I woke up one morning during Lent so upset because in my dream, I had caved in and eaten a couple M&M's. Big deal? Not really. But I felt unbearably guilty.

It happened two more times. The next time was pie or cheesecake or something much better than M&M's, but I woke up feeling the same: so concerned that I'd messed up.

First, this shows that I can be a bit of a legalist. I set these no-sweets rules for myself and if I had "broken them", it really would not have mattered. But of course, it would've mattered immensely to me. I would've drowned myself in guilt, and yada-yada-yada. Not the point.

Most importantly, this showed that I was still idolizing food. Dreaming about eating cheesecake? I mean it's good, but...come on. God's better, right? RIGHT? Sometimes I'm pretty sure I don't believe that He is.

Idolatry--it's sickness.

Dreams like this also happen when I'm trying not to idolize guys. I can get really hung up on a guy and dream about him fairly often.

I used to think I didn't have control over my dreams, so I didn't have to worry about all of the emotional lust that was involved in them. I've dated SO MANY guys in my dreams. And I used to tell myself that was ok.

No, if I was married, that would be a bad thing. If I was a wife, I wouldn't want my husband to wake up every morning having dreamed about some other woman. That'd be...sad.

Why would I be "off the hook" for lusting, as long as I was doing it while I was sleeping? That doesn't make sense. I mean, at times dreams feel so real, I might as well be awake.

I believe dreams can sometimes reveal the dirt in our hearts. The dirt that doesn't seem all that filthy when we try to cover it up. The kind that we really enjoy secretly, but we know we should not allow our awake minds to focus on. Then we have a nice little lustful dream and giggle to our friends, convincing ourselves that we can't control it.

Sometimes these dreams stay with me all day long. 

Honestly, who wants to dream about someone else's boyfriend/husband one night and then not stop thinking about him all day long because you keep remembering what it felt like when he held you like he did in your dream? That's sick.

Our dreams are our own responsibility. They happen for a reason.

Does all that talking about dreams make you want to make some tuna burgers?

I thought so. Well I've got a recipe for you.

One Serving Tuna Burger

This recipe is adapted from http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/03/25/lemon-garlic-tuna-burgers/ (I suggest using her recipe if you want to make it for 4 servings!)

Ingredients:
2 oz canned tuna
1/8 c panko breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tbs chopped, sautéed white onion
2 tsp fresh parsley
small clove of garlic, minced
~1 tsp lemon juice
2 heaping tsp sour cream
1 tbs egg (or egg substitute)
salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients to make a patty.

Let set for 5-10 minutes.

I cooked mine in a skillet with a lid for about 10 minutes (5 on each side) on medium heat. The inside probably could've been a bit more done so make sure the skillet isn't too hot. Make sure you let it set for 10 minutes before cooking on a skillet, and warm up the patty along with the skillet (i.e. don't "preheat" skillet).

If you want to turn on the oven for this (I recommend this method if you're making the recipe for more than 1 serving), preheat to 400 and bake for about 20 minutes.

Recipe for the sauce will come later. (It will be a while, don't hold your breath.)

Tilapia al Forno con Patate (Baked Tilapia and Potatoes)

A couple days ago I had a moment when I thought that Spanish and Italian were basically the same. It's really not. Well, it has some similarities.

But for some reason, I thought I could read Italian at a beginner level since I know Spanish at an intermediate level. Falso. (<--That was a typo, but I decided against fixing it.)

Knowing Spanish does not mean you can read Italian. It means you can maybe guess at a few words of Italian. It helps, I'm sure, but they are not the same. Perhaps I was confusing Spanish with Portuguese...

But let me tell you, I love getting inspiration from different countries! It makes life a little more exciting, don't you think? 

Even if it's something plain, it's unlikely that it's plain in the same way our stuff is plain. Did that make sense? Probably not.

Anyway, this dish is Italian. I know we eat "Italian" dishes all the time via pasta, pizza, bruschetta, etc. But sometimes I feel like we assume that's all they eat in Italy. I'd take a guess and say they eat more than pasta, bread, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil.

So here's something I think might be a typical Italian dinner. But what do I know? I'm mostly of German descent.

This is what it looks like before going into the oven

Doesn't it sound yummier in Italian? I think so. But that's ok, because whether it sounds yummy in your language or not, it is yummy! Thankfully your language doesn't change the taste :)

All cooked and plated!

Tilapia al Forno con Patate (Baked Tilapia and Potatoes)

adapted from Cook Around
Ingredients for 4 servings

4 tilapia filets
4 red potatoes
1 cup breadcrumbs
2-3 tbs dried parsley (or 1 sprig fresh)
2 cloves garlic
5-6 tbs olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350. or 356 if you want to get specific. I did, just...because I could.

Wash then slice potatoes about 1/4 inch thick. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with about 2 tbs of oil (make sure the sides get a slight brushing of oil also to prevent sticking). Then line the bottom with one layer of potatoes. Next, add the tilapia filets, cut in half if necessary. Pour another 1-2 tbs of oil on top of fish, fulling covering each filet. Fill in with the remaining potatoes. Salt and pepper.

Mince garlic and chop along with parsley. Cover potatoes and fish with 1/3 parsley and garlic. Mix breadcrumbs with remaining parsley and garlic, then evenly cover with this mixture. Evenly pour remaining (1-2 tbs) olive oil on the top.

Bake in oven for 40 minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes:
-I used "japanese" breadcrumbs. I have no idea what makes them Japanese, but they tasted good. I assume any breadcrumbs will do.
-The oil measurements are from me being stingy so it wasn't so high-calorie, but the original had more olive oil (and potatoes), although it was possibly intended to serve more people. So feel free to add a little more if you feel the need.
-Make sure the potatoes aren't cut too big, so they bake at the same rate as the fish. The fish I used was half-thawed, half-frozen, so the potatoes may need to be smaller, depending on how cold the fish starts as and how thick it is.