Dinner to go

It's been too hot to cook lately . . . been doing too much take out. But it's all right.

Blueberries

Blueberry bushes are full of blueberries.

Tomato plants are full of little green tomatoes.

The blueberries are lovely.

I hope to be eating the tomatoes soon. . . . .

Today's word of the day: Scorpacciata

From CNN.com's Eatocracy: Scorpacciata

Scorpacciata is a term that means consuming large amounts of a particular local ingredient while it's in season. It's a good way to eat.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/06/08/on-ramps/?iref=allsearch
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/09/10/scorpacciata-mario-batali-explains-it-all/

And miles to go . . .

So I've been trying to focus mainly on food, but I wanna scream to the world that I swam a mile this morning!

It wasn't all freestyle - kept switching to different strokes. But it was a mile!

Latest dinner menu:
Chicken in sage browned butter on top of a spring mix salad with berries (raspberries, blackberries and - my favorite - blueberries! Which reminds me: I need to go check how the blueberry bushes are doing, see if there are any ripe berries.)

Memorial Day

A few recipes for Memorial Day week:

Hawaiian Chicken
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/healthy-chicken-breast-recipes-00412000070045/page5.html

Chicken sauted in sage browned butter
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/healthy-chicken-breast-recipes-00412000070045/page6.html

Meatloaf (a request from #1)with carrots and veggies (a request from #2)

Follow up from last week:
I didn't make the chicken divan, and the pizzas were merely okay. The chicken for the taco pizza was good, and the garlicky fries were wonderful. Panini would have been better with different veggies, but the goat cheese was good.

Weekly Menu

Since straightforward blogging to the great unknown doesn't exactly work, I figure I'll use it to track menus for the week . . .

Grilled Chicken taco pizzas
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/grilled-chicken-taco-pizzas-recipe/index.html
Makes several small pizza which will be good for customizing for #1 (carbs) and #2 (can't handle spicy)

Stuffed Chicken Divan
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/stuffed-chicken-divan-with-a-sherry-dijon-sauce-recipe/index.html
More of an adult dish, but they might eat the chicken

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/stuffed-chicken-divan-with-a-sherry-dijon-sauce-recipe/index.html
More pizza - probably won't make both this week

Fish tacos
Current favorite of the kids - maybe make some for them with the frozen halibut and some for us with blackened salmon

Grilled Veggie Panini
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/grilled-summer-vegetable-panini-recipe
Sounds good, but not sure about the kids.

A few potato recipes. . . .
http://purplefoodie.com/garlicky-baked-fries/
http://purplefoodie.com/hasselback-potatoes/
http://purplefoodie.com/crispy-roasted-potatoes

Cherokee Chocolate

I finally made it to the local farmer’s market. I know – it’s sad it’s taken me this long to get to it. Of course, until a few weeks ago, I didn't know basic details such as place and hours of operation.

I admit I was a little disappointed at first. It seemed there were more people selling soap than there were fruits and vegetables. But then I found the organic heirloom tomatoes - yum! And I’ve been back several times to get more. My favorite so far is the purple/black tomatoes – Cherokee Chocolate (who could pass up a tomato with Chocolate in it’s name?) and Russian Krim.

But then the question becomes what to do with such lovely tomatoes? Ah, such a dilemma!

I’ve made some Tomato Vinaigrette plus some Tomato Bruschetta (with some fresh basil and mozzarella) and have had lots of sandwiches with tomato on them. I'm still trying to find other recipes that use fresh tomatoes. Unfortunately, I think I'm running out of time since the heirlooms are near the end of their season (unless we get some rain!)

Happy Birthday, Miss K! (redux)

On the other side of my reality – work – another Miss K had a birthday. She requested Chocolate Raspberry Mousse pie - a creamy cool treat. I came up with the recipe based on a couple of different ones.

Like most dessert recipes, it’s best to use the best chocolate you can get, but chocolate being yummy in almost any form, you can’t go too wrong with using basic chocolate chips (white, milk, or semi-sweet).

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Chocolate cookie crumb crust (made with Oreos or Chocolate Graham crackers or other chocolate cookies)

4 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
12 ounces chocolate, chopped – semisweet, white, dark, or milk
1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup liqueur – Raspberry (framboise), Amaretto, Kahlua, or Irish Crème

Whisk eggs and sugar in large bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water) and whisk frequently until candy thermometer registers 160°F. Remove bowl from over water, and beat egg mixture until cool and very thick.

Melt chocolate by placing in top of double boiler over simmering water or by slowly heating in microwave (1 minute on low). Stir until melted and smooth. Remove chocolate from over water. Cool to luke warm, and mix in with egg mixture.

Combine cream and liqueur in medium bowl; beat to stiff peaks. Fold in cream mixture (if the chocolate mixture is very thick, start by mixing in about ¼ cup of whipped cream, then gently fold remaining cream into chocolate-egg mixture). Pour into prepared crust, cover, and chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Can be served with additional whipped cream.

Taqueria del Sol

Last week I went to lunch at Taqueria del Sol – one of my favorite lunch places. It’s fairly small, so unless you want to wait in line, you got to get there early. The menu’s fairly simple, too – tacos, enchiladas, and a few sides. There’s also a weekly special – a taco and a blue plate meal. My favorite meal is a fish taco with a side of greens. Maybe a few chips (always warm, lightly salted and served with freshly made salsa) or some jalapeno coleslaw. Yum!

So over the weekend, I finally broke down and tried to recreate their fish taco recipe. I started with the menu description, made a few tweaks to fit my tastes and voila! I tried finding their recipe for Jalapeno coleslaw – it was posted on-line as part of a Georgia Chef program – but wasn’t able to, so I developed my own. I’ve added my mango salsa recipe which I served with the tacos. And as always, adjust the seasonings and jalapenos to suit your own tastes!

Fish tacos

1 pound tilapia
½ cup corn masa
½ cup fine bread crumbs
egg wash
peanut oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 - 6 flour tortillas
sliced jalapenos

Cut the fish into small pieces. Season the corn masa with the salt and pepper. Dip the fish in the egg wash, then roll in the corn masa. Dip in the egg wash again, and roll in the bread crumbs. Fry in the peanut oil in a cast iron skillet.

Heat the tortillas following the directions on the package. Spread some jalapeno tarter sauce on one of the tortillas, then place the fried on half of it. Add a few sliced jalapenos, and fold tortilla over filling. Repeat with remaining tortillas and fish.

Jalapeno tarter sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup relish
2 tbsps diced capers
2 tbsps diced jalapeno (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons lime juice

Mix together. Cover and store in refrigerator. Best if made a day head of time.

Jalapeno Coleslaw

1 small head of cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, grated
½ onion, grated
2-3 diced jalapenos (remove seeds if you wish)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp cider vinegar
¼ cup lime juice
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Toss cabbage, carrots, onion, and jalapenos together. Make dressing by combining mayonnaise, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Toss vegetables with dressing to coat.

Mango Salsa

1 mango, chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ - ½ cup red onion
½ cup diced cucumber
2 tsp dried cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice

Mix all ingredients together and let sit while making the tacos.