Pan Fried Atlantic Cod Loins

I grew up in a very small, rural town that had 2 small grocery stores.  The grocery stores were quaint especially by today's standards.  The selection was rather limited but both had a meat counter that would cut cheeses and meat for you, somewhat like a butcher shop.  Most of the produce was either seasonal or canned.  My Mom didn't drive so we had no need for a car which restricted most of our activities to town.  Twice a year we would board the bus to go into the city.  My gosh that was aways exciting but other than indulging in a sandwich and drink at the lunch counter in the Metropolitan store, food was not on our shopping agenda.

My Mom bought meat in bulk and our farm fresh eggs were delivered to our door every week like clockwork.  The ladies in the neighbourhood held canning sessions using produce that was either home grown or bartered for.  Most of the fish I ate growing up came in a box already breaded or was from generous gifts from family and friends.  My Mom regularly bought from Watkins and shopped through catalogues.  Local farmers used to go door to door selling their extra produce.  They knew my Mom would always buy so our house was a sure stop!  It's funny thinking about the way we did things that my Mom used to say if someone came to your door selling you could always get it cheaper elsewhere and yet a vast amount of food was delivered directly to our door!

In some ways I have kept some of the tradition of having certain foods delivered right to my door.  Online shopping has allowed me to be able to get certain foods not locally available shipped right to me.  I can even get Ontario cheeses and Digby scallops delivered from the source directly to my door via overnight delivery!  Local schools and organizations have taken to selling certain types of foods (eg. gourmet popcorn) for fund raisers. 

Elite Gourmet Food Service delivers gourmet foods to your door throughout all of southern Ontario.  Their prices are a bit higher than the butcher shop or M&M Meat Shops but in terms of quality the food is top notch.  I can't recall how we first learned about this company.  I know their representatives will contact you but it is based on recommendation by a friend or relative not door to door sales or telemarketing.  The representative leaves a small flyer with your purchase along with their phone number for placing another order if you choose.  It is very low keyed selling which rather nice.  Unless they are out the food is available right from their vehicle so there's no shipping costs or waiting for the food to arrive.

Our area representative was at our neighbour's so dropped by to see if there was anything I needed.  I bought a 5 lb box of Atlantic cod loins.  The cod came in at $12 per lb for a 5 lb box.  There were 17 pieces of cod in the box, vacuum seal 2 or 3 to a pack.  Cod tails go for $9.99 lb on sale at the butcher's shop and $14.99 for 2 lb at M & M Meat Shops.  However, the cod from Elite Gourmet Food Service is cod loin which is a thicker cut of cod, over an inch thick.  It definitely is worth the extra cost! 

We used a light fish coating on the cod for pan frying.  I served the tender, flakey cod with homemade French fries and marketmore cucumber freshly picked from my garden. The French fries were topped with French fry dip.

The cod did not disappoint!  It was tender and flakey with a wonderful fresh flavour and texture.  Each piece was thick enough that two each were enough for a meal.  In terms of price this is still expensive for meat coming in at about $7 per 2 piece cod serving however it is cheaper than eating out at our favourite English style pub where we pay $12.95 for a 2 piece cod dinner plus drinks, tip and transportation cost to get there and back.  Our tab there for 2 usually comes out to about $45 plus gas but the homemade version for 2 was only about $17 total including fish, coating, potatoes, cucumber and electricity for cooking.  In that perspective getting this gorgeous fish delivered directly to our door becomes a rather frugal choice.