Monday :: Fish Tacos in Brooklyn

Just back from a lovely lovely vacation with my darling family down in Brooklyn. We missed seeing our beautiful friends there so much as well as doing the things we love in the city! We missed it so much that the five days were chockerblock full of wonderful adventures and of course some eating adventures too! I was pleasantly surprised to find amazing food like these fish tacos at the Flea though -- so I had to put them down in words here for you to try too.

These fish tacos were served up right at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturday and man were they tasty. I found a recipe which seemed quite close to these so am sharing that with you here. Of course you should try and make some handmade tortillas too - but I want to get a friend's recipe for those as we have done them together. For now, grab yourself some fine multi grain ones for these babies. Here is a recipe I found and modified from All Recipes

Fish Tacos:

• 1 lb of very fresh fish fillets - codfish or haddock please!
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

• 1 doz corn tortillas (3 tortillas per person)
• Vegetable oil or butter for the tortillas to fry in in the pan

• Salsa
• 1 ripe Avocado

• Red Cabbage
• Cider vinegar
• Salt

1 Prepare the salsa. Either use store bought or make your own. (See above link for Mango Salsa, which is especially good with fish.)

2 Prepare the cabbage and avocado. Thinly slice cabbage. Put in a small serving bowl. Sprinkle with cider vinegar (about a Tbsp) and salt (about a tsp). Mix in the vinegar and salt. Peel avocado and remove seed. Chop and reserve for later.

3 Heat the tortillas in a pan with the fat you chose from above.

Remove the tortilla from the pan and place it folded on a plate. If the pan is large enough you can prepare two or more tortillas at once. Continue until all the tortillas (estimate 3 per person) are cooked. Set aside.

4 Cook the fish. Soak the fish fillets in cold water for at least one minute. Pat dry with a paper towel. Heat a large stick-free skillet to medium high heat. Add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to the skillet. Place fish on skillet. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the fillets. Coat them a little with some loose cornmeal/flour combo before turning ... A thin fillet may take only one minute on each side to cook. A thicker fillet may take a couple of minutes. Fish should be still barely translucent when cooked. Break off a piece and test if you are not sure. Do not overcook the fish. Remove from pan when done to a separate plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5 I think tacos are best when you assemble them yourself. Place the plate of tortillas, the plate of fish, the salsa, the cabbage, and the avocados on the table and let everyone assemble their own.

Thursday: Shrimp Scampi

Oh the lure of the shellfish. I didn't make this meal - but Rainer did and it's not too hard, from what I watched and saw. It also can be made in a frying pan a top of the stove, so not to panic dear Grace.

Take a pound of raw shrimp and make sure the tails are off and they are nice and clean. Put into a pan a tablespoon of butter and olive oil. Start that up and chop finely a quarter of an onion and four cloves of garlic, handful of parsley leaf and plenty of salt and pepper. Squeeze a little lemon into this and then mix it up and throw it into the pan. Let it heat up a bit then add the shrimps.

Cook them until they are pink and start to curl up - but not too long as you are not making rubber erasers out of them!

Serve them the way you like or the way Rainer did with thin carrot chips, steamed asaparagus, and a nice jasmine rice with tumeric. Yummy!

Thursday: Leftover Chili?

ok, not a pretty photo but it is still yummy!
This is no April Fool! It's one of the best loved make ahead meals here at our home. It is Tamale pie and the best thing leftover chili has ever met. It's so good you can make more chili just to make this  So, if you have enough leftover (or ready to make more)  - grease a baking pan with olive oil - 8x8 or 9x13 depending on how much chili you have. It should be about half filled.

On top of the chili put

1 cup of salsa - spread over the entire chili surface. Add 1 cup of shredded cheese - sharp cheddar is great, but anything works. Then mix up some cornbread:

1 cup of flour

1 cup of cornmeal

1 tsp baking powder

3 tablespooons of sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup of milk

1/4 cup of oil

you can add to this to jazz it up a bit:

1/2 cup of whole kernel corn

and/or

2 chopped jalepeno peppers for some additional zip!

Mix up and pour over the top of the mixture. Bake in a 375F oven for 20 -25 minutes.

Serve with avacado, sourcream, additional salsa or just as it is. It's a good one.

Tuesday: (Vegan) Chili today, hot tamale!

OK so I am being a little silly, but this might be the last of the cold weather here for a while... it's meant to be warmer as the week goes on, so now is the time to get your CHILI on.

In a large pot on top of your stove put:

1/4 cup olive oil

3 chopped sweet onions

1 chopped green pepper

1 chopped red sweet pepper

2 jalepenos sliced

4 cloves of minced garlic

Saute these veggies until they are soft. To this mixture add:

1 can of drained organic black beans

1 can of drained organic white kidney beans

1 can of drained organic red kidney beans

1 can of drained organic pinto beans

3 large cans of diced organic tomatoes or Cento if you can't get the organic ones.

2 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tsp seasalt and ground black pepper

1 tsp sugar

Stir these additions and then simmer them for three hours. This can be done in a crockpot if you have to leave the kitchen. Just make sure that you do the first step in a pan on the stove!

After the cooking is done, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve in a nice bowl with corn chips and avocado slices. Pass the sour cream if you are so inclined and have some extra salsa and hot sauce on hand for those who like to "spice it up" more! A nice IPA goes well with this dish.

Friday: chop suey

Such a New England dish - one that at the ripe young age of 11 I came to know from the school cafeteria, or "caf" as they called it in Vermont. It was so much fun to be a foreigner from the midwest and not know what "soda" and "hamburg" and "chop suey" was! Since that time, it's been part of our meals here in chez schwake - in a variety of forms. Mine comes with the dreaded soy crumbles and rice pasta, due to my issues with all things wheat and animal. Rainer however was at the stove last night and whipped up a pretty darn good version as you see it below. It's easy to change out your personal favorites for the main ingredients too, so please. Take liberties!

Boil a 12 oz box of elbow rice pasta, rinse and drain (change out for your favorite elbows)

In a large deep pan cook down two cans of Cento diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, garlic and chopped onion to taste.

In another fying pan cook up a pound of ground organic turkey (or you use my soy crumbles in the next step)

Drain and mix into the tomato mixture. Add the noodles and stir until hot all the way through.

Serve with a variety of cheese toppings. We like parmesan, feta and as pictured, my choice: crumbled goat's cheese. C'est manifique!

Monday: Baby Kale with beans and champignons

Something green to boost those vitamins and minerals! Easy too ...

Steam one small bunch of baby kale until tender. Make sure to chop off any tough stems parts!

Drain and reserve any kale water for later use in broth. Add three tablespoons of olive oil, one cup of white beans and four sliced mushrooms. Heat through and sprinkle with a tsp of sea salt and ground pepper, mixed with a clove of garlic minced and a hearty dash of tumeric. Top with a couple of squeezes of lemon and enjoy!

Wednesday: Bubble and Squeak!.

Toad is in jail and the washerwoman brings him his dinner of "bubble and squeak" ... ah "The Wind in the Willows"! One of our favorite books and claymation movies features this delicious meal so humble and so good for a winter's night. Bubble and Squeak! Even the name makes you smile. I know you love this Grace and so do we. Bonus points as you can really do it in the one pot - but using a frying pan makes a nice crust. This should serve four or make enough for leftovers for a few meals

Boil 4 russet potatoes and a half a head of cabbage chopped up in salted water. When the potatoes are cooked through drain thoroughly. In the same pot or better yet a frying pan, melt two tablespoons of butter with a tablespoon of olive oil. A non stick pan works well for this dish.

Mash the drained potatoes and cabbage well and add a chopped spring onion or three greens and all together. Add a splash of milk or cream - if you want to,but you know me I don't - and lots of salt and pepper to taste.

Put this mash into the oil/butter pan and press down all around to make a giant pattie. Cook it slowly so it doesn't burn but becomes deep brown on the bottom. If you can manage it, flip it over piece by piece (say four wedges worth) and brown the other side. Often I just do one side and that works for me! Don't crowd the pan too much and make two batches if you have more than two inches of mash mixture in the fry pan. It will keep in the fridge for another go round the next day!

You can enjoy it just as it is without a side of sausage but here we have to have bratwurst for a select few. Most any kind of sausage is a great accompaniment to this dish. Me? I like it just the way it is - no meat!

Friday: meatballs!

Oh my daughters both love them some meatballs. Spaghetti and meatballs, again? Sigh! So I know you want the skinny on this recipe dear Grace, so here it is. I am sure everyone else reading has their own recipe, but this one is solely for you my darling.

I use the ancient Cuisineart for mixing up meat stuffs as I can't stand it on my hands that much. I also like what it does for the consistency of the end product. So: in a mixing bowl or food processor:

1 pound of organic, grass fed beef ground - make sure there is some fat in it
1/2 cup of grated fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (you can do this first in the bowl if you are food processing it)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp basil dried
1 tsp oregano dried
2 cloves minced garlic

Mix up this mess good and smooth. Then - pull out a cookie sheet or baking pan. Yup, I bake them. It must be against the rules but this is how I do it.

Form small balls of the mixture and put them on the pan. Coarsely chop another sweet onion (yes, indeed we eat a lot of onions in our house if you have been following along and paying attention) and sprinkle that between the meat. Drizzle a 1/3 cup of olive oil over the entire pan and grind some more pepper on top to dust them.

Bake for 45 minutes in a 350F oven. Let cool and then add to your sauce mix. I like them to cook slowly with the sauce for a good two hours or more. Can't hurt.

The onions are nice in the sauce too as they have baked and take on a nice flavor. Serve over some pasta of your choice or make them into a sandwich with a good baguette. I know you can get a good baguette in France! Bon Appetit!

Thursday: the healing soup

Oh the nasty bugs continue to roam our part of New Hampshire with a vengeance and that calls for soup. Healing soup! Get your soup pot on and add in:

1 Tablespoon of vegetable soup base (i love organic better than bullion) or start with homemade soup broth.(recipe coming)
2 quarts of filtered water
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 sprig of rosemary

Let simmer. In another pan saute two sweet onions in small dice until translucent.

Add the onions in to the pot along with:

2 carrots cut into a small circles
2 small diced sweet potatoes
1 small bunch of kale chopped very small
1 or 2 leaves of fresh basil
1 cup of cut corn
3 small red potatoes diced
5 thinly sliced baby portabello mushrooms
and salt and pepper to taste

When all the root veggies are tender, add in a handful or two of brown basmati rice. Cook until rice is done and enjoy with your favorite bread!

Wednesday: Beans and Greens

The old standby: Beans and Greens. I started making this about 20 years ago after eating in an Italian resturant somewhere near Syracuse New York. It takes little time and effort, yet comes out delish every single time. How to make?

One or two large bunches of greens. This one pictured features beet greens and was great. Other more traditional choices might be kale or swisschard. Get the freshest you can ...

Trim the greens and cut into 2 inch sections.

Put 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large pot. Take two cloves or more of garlic and crush them and pop them into the pan with the oil.

Chop up two red onions, medium size or one large sweet onion and saute with the above until transparent. Then add two cups of beans - organic cannelli and red kidney beans are great.

Wash the greens well and leave wet. Toss into the pan with the other ingredients and liberally salt the pot as well as many turns of freshly ground black pepper. Keep the lid on and stir it occasionally until the greens are soft, the beans coated with the oil mixture and all is steaming. The cooking time will vary with the greens you use, but usually it will take around a half an hour. It holds well, as well as tastes great the next day too. And damn, it's good for you!

Thursday : Sweet potato frikadellen

The German frikadellen hasn't been seen messing about with sweet potatoes to my knowledge, however, it's a delightful twist on a traditional favorite.

I can't take the credit for this one, as Rainer is the frikadellen king in this house. Hmmm, he is the only king in this house actually ... but I digress. I love a good vegetable plate and he never fails to please me. So dear Grace, if you are needing a bit of Germany and can't get out of France and want to spare the pigs, try this one. You need a little more time, but it's worth it!

Sweet Potato Frikadellen (served with steamed cabbage and carrots with a side of salad)

Bake up three medium sized sweet potatoes (or find them leftover from the night before)

Mash them with:

1 egg

2 chopped pepperoncini

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp cumin or more if you want

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

a small handful of oatmeal

Form them into the little patties and dust them with breadcrumbs. They should be moist enough to have the breadcrumbs stick on their own.

Fry them slowly in olive oil over a medium heat - watching them closely so you don't burn them and then drain them on paper towels. It should make enough for you and a friend or two!

Tuesday : Penne with artichokes

Something easy, fast and always good the next day too!

A 12 oz. box of rice penne pasta, cooked as directions require. Of course you can use any penne pasta, but I love rice penne.

In a large frying pan heat up:

1/3 cup virgin olive oil

Stir in:
4 crushed cloves of garlic (it's a lot, but it's good)

Stir in and cook until almost caramelized:
2 thinly sliced onions - you can use sweet onions or standard yellows, but the sweet are a little nicer

Add these, thinly sliced:
1 pound of mushrooms (baby portabello or white)
cook until browned around the edges

Finally add and heat through:

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup quartered artichoke hearts

Add any additional olive oil as needed -- then toss in the penne pasta, sea salt to taste and lots of fresh ground pepper and heat through.

Serve with some freshly grated parmesan cheese - if you wish and some green ripe olives. It's a hit.