Fish Tacos

Here in Seattle, we have a great restaurant along Portage Bay - Agua Verde. Not only do they have great fish tacos, delicious margaritas and killer key lime pie, they also have kayaks that you can take out and paddle around the bay and into Lake Union and Lake Washington. However, when the weather gets nice, they get packed, and it can be an hour or more to get a table for dinner. The weekend before last was downright hot in Seattle, especially since air conditioning isn't really something that is done here, particularly in houses, and fish tacos sounded like the right thing to do, but without the silly long wait.

I didn't really follow a recipe for this, and just made use of what I had on hand, and it was the perfect amount for two people. I chilled a bottle of Rose to serve with it, and it was just right - not very sweet, and it went with the spice pretty well.

I chose radicchio because it was so pretty - it has a bit of a bitter taste, that I think plays well off the other flavors. If you're not into that, I'd go for some cabbage or some other crisp leafy thing. As for the radishes, they got added to the mix because they were getting bored in my fridge, and I wanted something to go with the peppers. Do what you want!

Fish Tacos
Serves 2

1 fillet of halibut, cod, snapper, etc (I used snapper), washed and patted dry
2-4 corn or flour tortillas
Roughly 3/4 cup of radicchio or cabbage, chopped roughly
5-6 radishes, sliced thinly
1/2 jalapeño (or to taste - I like spicy), diced
Juice from 1/2 lime

Garnishes: sour cream, guacamole, salsa, etc

1. Heat a small pan to medium-high heat with some oil. When the oil is hot, sear the fillet on both sides for 2-3 minutes or until it is done (it should flake easily). Set the fish aside to cool for a few minutes, and then flake the fish into pieces and season with salt, pepper and some of the lime juice.

2. Combine the radishes and jalapeño and cook in the same pan as the fish, adding a little oil if necessary and seasoning with salt and pepper.

3. Combine the radicchio with the remaining lime juice and some salt and pepper.

4. Serve the fish on the tortilla with the radicchio, and add the radish mixture to taste. Top with garnishes as desired, and serve with additional lime slices.

Fool!

Majuer Dilemma, guys. Our oven has broken! Our stove is fine, but for those of you who know my other half, you know that missing an oven is a big deal. How will we get our emergency cookies? Make cupcakes for our friends? Prepare our muffin-y breakfasts? While we don't have dessert every night, or even the majority of nights, the lack of an oven makes me crave basically everything that I can't have right now, including most of our typical desserts.

Dinner the other night called for a little somethin-somethin afterwards, and I refused to be thwarted by the lack of an oven. You all may remember Brian's attempt at Rhubarb Fool at St. Patrick's Day, and after that, the idea of fool had a bit of a taint to it around here. However, we had some whipped cream leftover from... whatever use whipped cream for, and some raspberries that were meant for some not-meant-to-be raspberry bars (no oven, you know?). So - to fool we go. A fool is basically a dessert with fruit puree and whipped cream. Or, basically - whipped cream.

Raspberry Fool

1 pint raspberries
1/4-1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipping cream

1. Take 1/3 of raspberries and 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and mix in food processor or blender. The mixture should be sweet, so add more sugar if necessary.

2. Press the blended raspberry mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds. You won't get all the juice off the seeds, but you'll get a lot of it.

3. Whip the cream with a tablespoon of the sugar until it forms soft peaks. Add the raspberry puree and blend until incorporated.

4. Toss the remaining raspberries with a bit of the sugar, and then fold into the whipped cream.

5. Serve in custard bowls and garnish with a mint leaf if you'd like to be fancy.

Cauliflower Head!

For the past few weeks, we've been getting a produce box from New Roots Organics, which comes every other week, filled with greens, fruits and vegetables. As a result, I've been trying to use more of our new found produce in our meals. Happy kale, tons of arugula, delicious apples... but then we get something like.... cauliflower. Cauliflower. It's white, without nutrients, without flavor... what's the point? Under normal circumstances, I would never buy cauliflower... order cauliflower... I might use it as an insult. You cauliflower head! But now, it's here, waiting in my kitchen. Looking all white, and broccoli-like. It needs to be something - mashed? In a soup? Roasted? In a gratin?

So - I made some Asian-inspired (Asia, you inspire you me!) tofu for dinner, and decided to roast the cauliflower with some spicy spices. I enjoyed it, but if you don't like spicy things, you might just want to stick to the salt and pepper.

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400º. Toss the ingredients together, and spread onto a baking sheet. Roast for about 25-30 minutes or until soft.