Fish Tacos with Fresh Mango Salsa and Chipotle Yogurt Sauce

Now that it's springtime and its getting warmer every day and staying light out later, it's time to start making summery food! Fish tacos are wonderful anytime but this recipe is very refreshing and is loaded with flavors I associate with summertime: cilantro, mango, lime. I made these fish tacos with tilapia and they turned out wonderful! The fish is flaky and absorbs a lot of the lime juice that I cooked it in. I topped the fish with fresh mango salsa and chipotle yogurt sauce that was delicious and so tasty. Whenever I get fish tacos at a restaurant, they always come with charred red cabbage but I had never figured out how to make it. Anyways, I figured it out and it's so easy and adds great flavor to the cabbage and to the tacos. The charred cabbage was so delicious I wanted to eat it all by itself!

Fish Tacos with Fresh Mango Salsa and Chipotle Yogurt Sauce

• 1 pound of flaky white fish
• 4 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil 
• 10-12 small flour tortillas, warmed

Mango Salsa:

• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 ripe mango, diced
• 1 handful of cilantro, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• juice of 1 lime

Chipotle Yogurt Sauce:

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup chipotle sauce from can 
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Charred Cabbage:

• Small head of red cabbage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or can use cooking spray to cut calories
• pepper, as needed
• lemon pepper seasoning, as needed

Preparation

1. Cook fish in a frying pan with olive oil and lime juice until cooked through. 
2. For salsa, cut up mango, onion, red pepper, cilantro and toss together with cilantro, garlic, and lime juice. 
3. For yogurt sauce, mix greek yogurt, chipotle sauce, garlic and lime juice. 
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees for charred cabbage. Slice cabbage and pull sections apart so seasoning and oil reaches every part. Drizzle with oil or cooking spray and then sprinkle pepper and lemon pepper seasoning over cabbage. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until charred. 
5. Warm tortillas. Top with fish, salsa, charred cabbage, and yogurt sauce. 
6. Enjoy!

Quinoa Tabbouleh

This recipe was so refreshing and filling! The flavors were super intense but I wish I had added more lime, parsley, and mint to it to make it even more delicious. I also think my ratio of quinoa to tomatoes and cucumbers was a little off...too much quinoa. The recipe is essentially exactly the same as the traditional tabbouleh made with bulgur. The only difference is that it calls for quinoa, which I liked because I think more people will likely have quinoa on hand and know how to prepare it than wheat bulgur. I also didn't rinse the quinoa and I've heard that rinsing it changes the flavor dramatically. 

Quinoa Tabbouleh 

• 1 cup of quinoa, rinsed well
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for taste
• 1 large cucumber, diced, chef's choice
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped mint
• 2 scallions thinly sliced

Preparation

• Prepare quinoa as directed on package or follow the simple directions below:
• Bring 1 cup quinoa, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups water to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low or to simmer, cover, let cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Take off heat and let stand for 5 minutes, uncovered. Fluff with fork and allow to cool completely before using.
• Combine olive oil and lemon in small bowl and add salt and pepper as desired. 
• Chop up veggies and herbs and combine with cooled quinoa.
• Pour olive oil/lemon mixture over the quinoa mixture and stir thoroughly.

Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts Pizza Crust

Hmmm...not sure where to start with this post because this was an interesting experiment. I loved the result but hated the process. I don't currently have the right kitchen gadget to make the process a lot less time consuming. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning...I love pizza. And I love cauliflower and brussel sprouts. I think  it was probably last year when I started hearing about this alternative way to make pizza crust out of ground up cauliflower and was immediately intrigued. Cauliflower is a much more versatile vegetable than I ever thought. Side note: A few weeks ago I made beer battered buffalo cauliflower bites, which turned out delicious...I'll have to post about that experience sometime soon.

Anyways, I only have a blender, not a food processor so that made the whole grinding up cauliflower and brussel sprouts a much longer process than it would have been with a food processor. Other than that, it's a very basic recipe...put it all in a bowl, knead it up, shape into pizza crust, bake and vous la!

***please note: I found that this recipe makes two smaller pizza crusts. I like very thin pizza crust so a little goes a long way for me. 

Cauliflower Brussel Sprouts Pizza Crust 

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 8-10 brussel sprouts
• 1 cup of flour, chef's choice
• 1 teaspoon of nutritional yeast
• pinch of salt
• pinch or red pepper flakes
• 3 eggs

Preparation

1. Separate cauliflower into florets, and blend until they are the consistency of quinoa
2. Line a bowl with cheese cloth or paper towels and put the ground cauliflower to squeeze out moisture. Do this several times till it seems mostly dry. 
3. Grind up brussel sprouts till well shredded before adding to cauliflower. 
4. Mix in flour, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper flakes. 
5. Add three eggs and knead them into mixture. 
6. Line a pizza pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper and form dough into pizza crust shape desired. 
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown on top and edges. 
8. After crust is crispy, add whatever toppings desired and then cook at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. 

Recipe credit goes to What's Cooking Good Looking. 

Pollotarian, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan...what am I?!

When I first started cooking my own food when I moved away to college, I was introduced to all the different kinds of diets in regards to meat and animal by-product consumption...pollotarian, pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan. Most people haven't heard of pollotarian or pecatarian even though they might identify with those eating habits. I had a friend in college who called herself a pollotarian when I first met her, became vegetarian shortly after, and a couple years later went vegan. Because of the nature of the vegan diet, it was difficult for her to get the protein that she needed so she has since gone back to simply being a vegetarian.

So...not that I've used all these different words, let me define them for you.

A pollotarian is someone who eats poultry i.e. chicken, duck, turkey, etc. Some have used this term to mean someone who eats both poultry and fish but technically one would not consume any fish.
A pescatarian is someone who eats fish i.e. cod, salmon, swordfish, shrimp, etc.
A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat any kind of meat but eats animal by-products i.e. eggs, dairy products, honey, etc. You can even break this category down more into two more categories:

1. ovo-vegetarian, someone who eats eggs
2. lacto-vegetarian, someone who eats dairy products

A vegan is someone who doesn't eat any kind of meat and won't eat any animal by-products.

I haven't done a whole lot of research on these different eating habits and lifestyle decisions other than what I learned in the general nutrition class I took in college and from the many friends I have who have either tried out one or more of these options or who are have been eating one of these diets long term. For short periods of time, I have only eaten fish and poultry but never for very long. For me, I hate to say it but rather than being about animal rights, my diet is much more about nutrition.

I have threatened to become a vegetarian many times in the last 10 months but every time, my boyfriend has talked me out of it and convinced me to simply have more moderation in my consumption of beef and pork. Personally, I think that all diets are about moderation...cutting something  you love out of your diet can make you want to binge on something else thats unhealthy. It's easier to eat healthy when you treat yourself a little bit as a reward for eating well.

Thoughts? Comments? Criticism?

Cilantro

There's nothing quite as flavorful or mouth watering as a pile of minced cilantro...
Recently, I've been experimenting with it by putting it in salads and it really adds a whole new dimension to an otherwise mediocre spinach salad. My boyfriend tried the salad and couldn't quite put his finger on it but said that it was the most flavorful salad he had ever eaten...I don't think he was just trying to flatter me, I think he really enjoyed the cilantro flavor in the salad.

I love the way my hands smell after I tear the cilantro leaves off the stem!

Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey Cupcakes

About a month ago, my boyfriend and I decided to buy several different kinds of liqour to make mostly wintery drinks but also to make a refreshing gin and tonic on the days when we want to pretend it's summer time again. One of the liqours we picked out was Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey. It tastes like maple syrup and whiskey, just like it sounds. When we first tried it, we just had a little on the rocks and the second time we put it on pumpkin ice cream, the latter of which I would highly recommend. 

Recently, I've been wanting to experiment with using liqour as an ingredient in baking so after I tried the coconut, chocolate chip, banana, honey whiskey muffins my roommate made, I wanted to make something similar. Today, I used it to make maple whiskey cupcakes with maple buttercream frosting and a bourbon drizzle. I found a recipe for honey whiskey cupcakes and simply substituted maple whiskey for the honey whiskey. As a full time nanny, I spend a lot of time cooking while I'm with my 2 year old charge, Molly and today she helped me. Don't worry, I didn't let her anywhere near the whiskey :)

It was very easy making the batter and the ingredients were simple, nothing that a regular cook or baker wouldn't have in their kitchen cupboards. The only ingredient that would need to be bought is the maple whiskey.














Making the buttercream frosting was the hardest part for me because I wanted to use milk instead of 1.5 cups of butter which seemed like a lot to me. Looking back, the butter would have made the consistency of the frosting much less runny. I had to add a lot more confectioners sugar to the milk and ended up with almost double the amount of frosting that I needed for 12 cupcakes. Next time I make them, I would use more of the maple whiskey and possibly add some maple syrup to the mix.

The drizzle was very easy to make and added a very distinctive maple flavoring. Boiling it for a couple minutes tamed down the whiskey flavor leaving it more maple-y which was exactly what I wanted.

Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream frosting and bourbon drizzle


For the Cupcakes:
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey
• 3 Tbsp Milk
• Cupcake liners
For the Bourbon Drizzle:
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For the Buttercream Frosting:
• 1 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or substitute such as almond or soy milk (as much as needed to get correct consistency)

Preparation

To Make the Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix just to incorporate.
3. Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add to the wet mixture and beat until just combined. Add the whiskey and milk until just combined.
4. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners and divide batter evenly into cups; approximately 2/3 full for each cup.
5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes; test with a toothpick; the top will be firm so make sure the inside is cooked through.
6. Cool completely on a wire cake cooling rack before frosting.
To Make the Bourbon Drizzle:
7. Add all ingredients together in a small pan, bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before drizzling on cupcakes.
To Make the Buttercream Frosting:
8. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar.
9. Add the vanilla and Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey and combine thoroughly. Add the cream a Tbsp at a time until your frosting is very light and fluffy and the correct consistency.
10. Using a large serrated icing tip, pipe the frosting onto cupcakes.
11. Garnish with the Bourbon Drizzle.

Hi. I'm Brooke and the short story is that I love to cook, eat food, be healthy, and write. That's about it. Welcome to my food blog and please feel free to comment with constructive criticisms, ideas, encouragements and anything else you'd love to share. Looking forward to sharing my edible adventures with you...