Grilled Mahi Mahi with Lentils

Learning to fly isn't easy, but I think I'd have to say landing is even harder.

Stepping outside yesterday morning, my eye immediately went to something floating in our pool.  Stepping closer, a baby bird floated, wings outspread, feet dangling with his beak barely above water.  No bigger than a mouse, I scooped him into my hands and nestled him in a soft towel.  And then I held him.

Mama??

With the towel hopefully soaking up some of the water and the warmth of my hands pushing away his chill, his eyes closed and we sat.  Shortly his body began to tremble, but amazingly his feathers slowly began to puff up and dry.

After some 20 minutes or so, he opened one eye and peered into my staring face, and slowly the trembling subsided.  Feathers drying, he began to look around and uttered a small "cheep".  Closing his one eye he puffed his feathers again and huddled deeper into the towel.  Apparently content.

Then suddenly, his head popped up and an amazingly loud "Cheep!!  Cheep!!  Cheep!" came from his tiny body as a larger version of himself fluttered close by in a tree answering with "cheeps" of her own.  Setting the little baby under the tree his Mama darted close by and I left them alone.  An hour later he was gone, hopefully flying a better course than his first one.

My first (and last!) flight attempt... circa 1992

As for his landing, I totally get it.  You see, some 20 years ago my fighter pilot husband attempted to teach me to fly.  Amazingly caring and patient, he guided me through the basics I had learnt in flight school and we embarked on an adventure north to my parent's house.

Taking off wasn't too difficult, though his guiding hands probably had something to do with that.  And turning right wasn't too difficult either, however left-hand banks somehow caused the wing to dip and a loss in altitude.  Luckily, my husband handled anything on the left.

Then came time to land.  Making right-handed turns into our approach I actually had us decently set up for final.  Following a glide slope that seemed fine to me, we made our way towards Grass Valley with a runway set up on a bluff.   Patting myself on the back I settled in and prepared for the rest of our descent as my husband calmly asked, "Does it bother you that you can no longer see the runway?".

"Nope!" I responded, "Should it?", to which he calmly stated, "My airplane."  And he skillfully took us back up to where we had the runway in sight, something I've learned is fairly important when not preferring to land into the side of a bluff.  ;)

So my little birdie friend and I have something in common.  Flying, and landing, are not some of the easy things in life.

This Grilled Mahi Mahi dish though, is fabulously easy and anyone, experienced or not, will be able to maneuver their way to a fantastic meal with a few simple steps.

Enter Trader Joe's, my all time favorite store.  Always friendly and fun, TJ's also provides quality ingredients that many times work together like magic.

Mixing together Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils, Fresh Bruschetta Sauce and a handful of Mediterranean Feta, these simple ingredients blend into something other worldly, something beyond fantastic and totally gush-worthy.  Adding a piece of grilled mahi to mix serves to make the dish a complete meal and will have your guests asking for your secret recipe.  You can just tell them, it's all in the landing...

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Lentils
Simple ingredients mixed together bring an other worldly experience!  Fabulous beyond description, apparently I'm one of the last people to discover this recipe.  First put out by Trader Joe's, I've had it served at gatherings no less than three times in the last month, and it's now become a regular in my house.  Whether the concoction be used as a dip, a base for fish or chicken, or a simple side salad, it's all good.
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4 pieces mahi mahi
oil
salt and pepper 
1 package Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils
1 tub Trader Joe's Fresh Bruschetta Sauce
1/2 tub Trader Joe's Mediterranean Feta

Open the lentils and place into a large bowl.  Stir to break the lentils apart (they pack tightly in the packaging).  Add the tub of bruschetta and 1/2 of the tub (more or less as you desire) of the Mediterranean Feta.  Stir to combine, and then chill.

Preheat grill on medium high.  While grill is heating, oil fish with oil (I use either olive or avocado) and sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Lower one side of the grill to medium-low, and place fish on clean grates.  Grill 3-4 minutes and flip.  Grill another 3-4 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork and is cooked through (you may have to adjust your time up or down depending on the heat of your grill and the thickness of your fish).

Spoon the lentils onto a plate and top with fish.  Serve with a slice of lemon if desired.  Sit back and wait for recipe requests... Enjoy!

Liv Life Note:  The lentils in this dish will serve more than 4, I'm guessing it would do nicely as a base for the fish for 6.  Prepare as many fillets as you need, and save the rest for later!