On the menu this month: Omega 3 fatty acids!

Ever hear the song, "Well I'm gonna miss her" by Brad Paisley?  It's about a man who loves to fish and his girlfriend asks him to choose: her or fishing.  He choses fishing but says he's gonna miss her.  Well let's just say I'm not that girl by far.  While some women may get upset that their husband wants to fish all the time, I'm just the opposite.  I love when my husband goes fishing.  Why?  Because it means he's coming back with dinner.  I love fish- it's a great source of healthy omega 3 fatty acids that the body needs (especially when pregnant) and is so versatile!  Marinade it, bake it, make it into a stir fry, fish tacos, you name it- it's yummy!  What's even better is that the kind of fishing that Okinawa offers is the kind that brings in the good stuff.  Deep sea fishing brings in yummy kinds of fish such as mahi mahi, marlin, and of course tuna.  

As you remember, last year I posted about our Tuna Massacre.  The guys had gone fishing and brought back a ton of tuna for us all!  We made a fun time out of it, filleting it all together then having a fish fry the following day.  This year was no different.  Unfortunately though, this year's fishing trip landed on Fourth of July, so things were a bit more rushed!  When the men got back, we had to quickly fillet the tuna before firing up the grill to celebrate the fourth.  In any case though, it was a success.  

Last year the guys brought back a lot of Skipjack Tuna, a more meaty, fishy kind of tuna.  Many people don't like skipjack because of the strong fishy taste, but it's actually very good in sauces and casseroles. The guys did catch a lot of skipjack again this year, and I fully intend on making and freezing some sauces and casseroles for after the baby is born.  The fishing trip couldn't have come at a better time, as I've just begun making and freezing meals for after the baby is born and things get crazy busy.  (I know, I'm nesting!)

What the guys brought back this time that we were most excited for though was yellowfin tuna.  Last year they caught a few, but this time they caught much more!  Yellowfin is what is used in a lot of sushi and dishes like ahi tuna (one of my favorites).  Don't worry though, I won't be consuming any raw yellowfin tuna because I don't know the sushi grade of this fish.  Yellowfin is a lighter fish that is great marinaded and grilled.  I look forward to cooking a lot of yellowfin in the next few months!  I have plans on saturday night with some friends for some fish tacos!  Needless to say, the cost of the trip covered all of the fish plus much more of what we brought home!  Like I said, I love when Dima goes fishing!  

After all the fish was filleted, the grills were fired up and we all brought some food out to share.  Chris made some amazing fried tuna and grilled some yellowfin that Ashley had marinaded in a fantastic soy/sesame marinade.  As part of my summer 60- I had planned on making homemade ice cream.  So this was my first try at that.  I went with a healthy recipe and it came out pretty good for being healthy!  The recipe is over at Chocolate Covered Katie if you're interested in trying it.  I made some vanilla and a few with coconut extract which was my favorite.  Unfortunately, they had to be eaten FAST because of the heat!  

We had a great fourth up on the hill and are grateful for the beautiful weather that Okinawa gave us today to enjoy it all!  I'm not sure if we will still living in Okinawa next year, but if we are, I hope our fourth of july is just as special as the last ones we've had!  

They left very early in the morning.  This was just as the sun was rising

Eric

Dima, trying to get some sleep in the hot sun

Ashley's dad got the first catch of the day

Tim, falling off?

Chris

Gotta love Okinawa's sunrises!

All the guys

Exhausted from the sun!  It was over 100 out with over 100% humidity!

Look at that beautiful tuna!

All the guys after catching their fish!

Zach and I spent the day playing.  Here he is coloring

He loves taking the crayons in and out of the box!

Skipjack Tuna

Never seen a children's picnic table look quite so grotesque!

Some of the guys hosing it all down

The cooler- after the massacre

Ashley's yummy cookie/cake bars!

My homemade ice cream.  I added some sprinkles to celebrate the 4th!

Stepanoff Summer Sixty Checkoff:

Fishing

Cookout

Make Ice Cream

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