Lighter mexican salad

The winter is getting to me, so i thought it would be nice to make a colourful salad full of "fresh" ingredients to help perk me up. This one's base was canned corn and black beans - i know not exactly fresh, but corn is a total reminder of summer, and i had both in my pantry.

Ingredients Chopped up

I mixed the corn and black beans with seasoning, including some lime zest.

I added all the veggies - except the romaine lettuce and toss it with a little sour cream and lime juice mix - its a nice low fat dressing that seems decadent, but isn't.

Fish Tacos on a Rough Day

Food, as you are probably aware, is one of my obsessions, and really a good meal can totally change my mood. I had a pretty rough week, and was feeling a little isolated and sorry for myself, so i thought i would put the extra tortillas and black bean mango salsa back to work and make myself some fish tacos. Fish tacos can cheer me up any day - especially when i make them just like i want them.

I ended up using a frozen haddock fillet from the President's Choice Blue menu which is sort of a short cut, but i do like my fish breaded in the tacos - i've made it many ways, but the crunch is essential! The other essential with this dish is the cabbage/coleslaw - its a nice contrast to the fish, and is very Californian. I made this coleslaw with a light sour cream-lime dressing along with some jalapenos to spice it up.

I did this one deconstructed - putting everything out and assembling it. I also made myself a margarita to make the meal even more festive - bad mood solved!

Above:

Feel good meal
The fish
Ingredients (pretty simple)

Country Sandwiches

I don't really eat all that many sandwiches, in part because i never really have good bread at home, and i'm definitely a bread snob. I mean i tend to keep those Ace Bakery baguettes frozen, and some semi-stale rye in the fridge, but a good sandwich deserves some good bread. When i arrived at my parents to look after the place, my mom pointed out that there were two fresh rosemary focatia buns in the fridge that needed to be used. Always one to take a food hint, i was totally preoccupied with what kind of sandwiches to make.

Since my parents have a bbq i had been planning on doing a really nice grilled vegetable sandwich with maybe a pesto goat cheese, but when i was feeding the cat his tuna (yes the cat gets tuna - he's old and its the only thing he'll eat) I decided that i too wanted tuna. I then thought that i would make a tuna wasabi sandwich - but was disappointed to find out that i did not have any wasabi! I had to make something a little more usual. I did my regular tuna salad, onions and carrots with a dijonaise - and added tomatoes, cucumbers and an avocado spread. Pretty sweet actually.

It was my second sandwich that i really made something amazing. Quite a few times i had seen these specialty brown tomatoes - specialty tomatoes can be really tasty, but sometimes they are disappointing. These ones were on sale at Zehrs so i thought i would try them. I did them with avocado spread, extra-old white cheddar, basil and some arugula lightly dressed in a vinaigrette. This was possibly the best sandwich i'd ever had!

Above:

Fancy tomatoes
Ingredients
Tuna sandwich
Tuna ingredients
Best sandwich!

Good Friday Dinner Part 3 - the sides

As i've already told you - Jarred and I really cheffed it up on Good Friday, and along with the burgers, fries, grilled veggies and Apricot tart i also made a caesar salad and a selection of dips (or for some burger toppings). I used to, many moons ago, work for a great caterer who always did an amazing bread and dip station that was so lovely and a total crowd pleaser. This was my inspiration for the dips. I made a guacamole, a bruschetta-esq topping, sauteed some finely diced mushrooms, onions and garlic and there was some hummus in the fridge

I had also gotten it into my head to make a caesar salad - of course it turned out that we didn't have a number of the usual ingredients - red wine vinegar, worschester sauce or anchovies - or a blender, so i had to do some improvising. I had always seen on cooking shows people making their salad dressings in mason jars and shaking them vigorously - i used to be a bartender so i used my skills from making martinis to blend the dressing. I also mixed white vinegar and balsamic to replae the red wine. I am the Macgiver of cooking!

I used the baguette that i purchased at Ma Maison, which was phenominal by the way, to make the crostini for the dips. The baguette was quite slender, so sliced them on the bias into small thin pieces. Unfortuantly, as i mentioned, the knives left something to be desired, so this was something of a challenge. Once cut, i lightly seasoned them and brushed them with olive oil and put them into the oven. They came out really well, and i will definitely be going back there to get more Baguettes.

And there is the final installment of the Good Friday Meal - told you it was epic!

Goat Cheese Pesto Quesadillas

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In university i worked at a really cool bar/lounge in the east end called 2066, and we had some very interesting food on the menu. One of my favorites, and definitely a really popular item were the goat cheese quesadillas. The ones on the menu also had grilled chicken in them, but i omitted the chicken since i don't eat it, but a lot of people really liked it with chicken.

The real key of the dish is the goat cheese pesto - its super tasty and gives it a unique tang. They made it at 2066 with goat cheese, cream cheese and pesto. I didn't have any cream cheese, so i just made it with the the basics. This is also a nice spread for a sandwich, in particular with grilled veggies.

As for the toppings you can use whatever you want, but i stick to the version that they made at the bar - sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and red onions. You simply spread the tortillas with the goat cheese mixture, then top with the ingredients, fold the tortilla in half if you're using a large one, or as i only had small ones, i topped it with another tortilla, and a bit of the left over mixture.

You can bbq these, and they were made on the grill at 2066 - in my case i simply baked them, flipping them half way through so that both sides firmed up. Its best to serve this with salsa and sour cream and a salad. I made a fresh avocado salsa for mine.

Above:

Quesadillas
Ingredients
Assembling the quesadillas
Two quesadillas
(i added the red peppers after this pic - i forgot)

Rainy Saturday Baked Tofu

Dinner

Baked Tofu

Marinating the Tofu

My leftovers Bento Box

Steamed Veggies

Working with what i've got

This saturday was so nasty out, rainy, windy and cold, but i guess it was March and there was so snow, so i shouldn't be so unappreciative. I had gone out in the late morning for a brutal run/speed walk, and really didn't want to venture outside unless totally necessary. I spent almost the entire day sitting on the couch watching the NCAA conference play - so really it wasn't a bad day to have crappy weather. It was getting close to six when my stomach reminded me that i hadn't eaten that much. I had been out to Nami and gorged myself on fish for my brother-in-law's bday the night before so it took a little while to get hungry.

I really didn't have all that much to eat at home, but there was no way i was going out, so i thought i would challenge myself to make a meal out of what was in the fridge. The meal was pretty good, and i incorporated things that i've made on this blog, along with a few ingredients. I actually made a pretty tasty meal, and had the leftovers as a sort of bento box.

I also too the opportunity to make some baked tofu, which i'll be able to use all week in lunches and whatever. I used some extra firm tofu, simply cut it into smaller pieces, and made a marinade of honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce. I oiled the pan, and baked the tofu at 400 degrees, rotating the tofu so that all the sides got browned. Its a great way of making tofu for a variety of dishes including salads.

The Trouble with Avacados

A small rant about avocados....

I really enjoy avocados, in part because i really like tex-mex meals - and they are always a perfect addition. The only thing i don't like about them, in particular in the winter - they are never ripe. It seems that there is a really small window of them being ripe. Its hard when you have a recipe that you want to use avocados in, those are always the times when they are hard as rocks.

Often i put them in in my front window in hopes that the sun will help them ripen. Not sure if this actually does anything, but it makes me feel in control. I've read various tips on how to ripen them faster, but i've never found any of them to work in the time frame i need. I've taken to just buying a couple every week and using them whenever the ripen. (you've probably noticed that half the stuff i make involves avocados!)


Alternatively, if they aren't hard as rocks other times, almost rotting, and you have to use them immediately or throw them out. Picking a recipe with avocado as an important ingredient always leaves me scrambling around, hitting every grocery store, fruit market in proximity to my place in the search for an appropriate avocado for the job!



This of course does not mean that i will be stopping using avocados anytime soon. They are so tasty!



Above:



Finally ripe

Getting on the use now side

Unripened

I had to laugh at the sticker - hard as a rock!

Dufferin County Breakfast

Being as it was the family day long weekend, and since there wasn't much going on in the city, i ventured up to my parents place - aka winter wonderland.They told me they didn't have too much snow, but for anyone who's spent this winter in Toronto, it was quite a bit. Waking up on sunday, no one was really in too much of a hurry to eat. It was sort of a dreary morning and we were all taking it easy hanging out with our coffees.

Eventually i got a little motivated for breakfast, so i just started looking around for inspirations. I didn't really want to make anything too spectacular, but my mind was all over the place - i get like that cooking in a foreign kitchen. My mother has an amazing kitchen - granite island, gas stove, good pots, every gadget and her kitchen is always stocked. Its always a pleasure to cook there.

Looking at all my options, i couldn't decide, my pallet was all over the place - i had eaten chocolate first thing in the morning (it was Valentines after all) and had a huge meal the night before. (Grouper with roasted veggies) So i just decided to make a little of each of my favorite brunch items - eggs, toast, hash browns, salad and guac.

For the hashbrowns, i just sauteed some heavily seasoned potatos, garlic, red onion, red pepper and jalapeno on the stove. (god i love gas) While that was cooking i made the salad - spinach and arugula in olive oil and balsamic with salt and pepper. The guacamole wasn't really true guac, it was more of an avocado salad, i didn't really mash it or add garlic or cilantro, but i did use lime juice to dress it. Once the potatos were almost done, i fried a couple eggs and threw the toast in the toaster.

Voila - Country breakfast. We washed it down with pineapple juice.

Above:

Breakfast

Ingredients

Avocado Salad

Potatos ready for the stove

Random Tostada

I've mentioned before my problem with the number of corn tortillas i have to buy for many of the recipes i like to make. One of the best things you can do with tortillas that are getting stale, but aren't too old to eat is to make a tostada. This can be done but simply baking the stale tortilla until it is crisp. You can also deep fry it until its crisp also. I find the baking option not only healthier, but also easier as you don't have to watch it as carefully so you can chop your toppings.

Basically you can put whatever you want on the top of the tostada, i usually just use the leftovers from the dish i made that required them, but on occasion i've made something particular for the tostada like Chipotle Shrimp Tostada. (see Corn Tortilla Ideas) You can also your leftover tortillas to make a taco salad. You don't need to form the bowl, and/or deep fry it, instead you can cut the raw torillas into strips, then bake them until they are crisp and top a mexican-themed salad with it. A lot healthier than Taco Bell.

Also, corn tortilla are essentially corn chip, if you have a bunch left over cut them into triangles, baking or frying them. You can season them with taco seasoning, and serve them with salaa or guacomole. Instant corn chips without a lot of the guilt. Tostadas are generally considered an appetizer, but i am quite happy to eat one as a light meal, but they are pretty impressive and easy to assemble if you want to serve them that way. You can use all the ingredients you would use in any taco situation, refried beans, pulled pork, chicken even fish or shrimp.

For the one i made this time i did a "tostada vegetariana" in other words a vegetarian tostada. Using bib lettuce, left over from a nicoise salad, the cabbage and tomatos left over from the Marlin tacos, and an avocado that was about to go i put the ingredients together while the tortilla baked in my toaster oven. I dressed the cabbage in light sour cream, some redwine vinegar and pepper. I also had some of the tomatillo sauce left over, a few dots of that really give the dish more depth. A quick, pretty random dinner.


Above:

Finished tostada
Random ingredients
Dressing the cabbage.

Dips for Football munching

In honour of the SuperBowl i thought i would write about a few of the things i make for snacking during the game or a party. They are both pretty easy to make and i always notice they get devoured. I try and make things a little on the healthy side, but what really determines that is not the dips themselves, but what you use to scoop them up. Baked chips and vegetables are a good way of making things a little healthier, but lets be honest, sometimes you just gotta dig in!

Once of my favorite things to make is guacamole, i make mine fresh, a little spicy and full of different ingredients. Generally i use a lot of lime juice, one per avocado depending on how juicy they are. This may seem like a lot, but since i add quite a few tomatoes i think it balances out. One of the things i do when adding tomatoes is using grape, or smaller ones as you don't want them too watery. I also put in red onions, jalapeno, chopped cilantro and lots of fresh pepper. Depending on the crowd i might add a few dashes of hot sauce.

Another tasty and healthy dip i like to make is a Tomato, Corn and Feta Salsa that really you could almost eat as a salad if you were inclined. This one i first had in Vancouver a number of years ago and have been making it ever since. The ingredients don't sound that good together, but this dip is addictive and simple, and as long as you eat it with something healthy, its probably not bad for you.

I use a can of corn (the low sodium kind), diced plum tomatoes (usually 3) - in this case you want them to be juicy as it makes even better. I then add red onions and jalapenos to taste - obviously if you don't like bite use these ingredients more sparingly, but i don't suggest to omit them all together, the contrast is good. The final, and surprise ingredient is feta cheese! I know this sounds a little weird, but use approximately 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of light feta - crumble and stir it in. This dip is actually better the second day. Serve with scoops, as they are better for getting all the goodness on the chip.

Above:

Dips with scoops
Guacamole ingredients chopped and ready
Tomato, corn feta ingredients
Tomato corn in scoops
Guac ingredients