Legumes galore...

Curried lentils with peas, smashed yams, steamed zucchini, and sour cream.

Dinner tonight

Curried lentils with roasted broccoli and pickled ginger. Good combo.

Fish Tacos

Note: Asadero is one of several Mexican cheeses made fresh from part-skim milk -- the Mexican equivalent of mozzarella. Like mozzarella, asadero (along with fresco, panela, an quesadilla cheese) has an equal fat-to-protein ratio. But unlike mozz, these cheeses have an extremely low "melting" temperature, but do not run or separate, or even lose their shape, really; they just get hot and very soft. Also, asadero has a deeper, nuttier flavor than mozzarella. 

Fish Tacos

olive oil

tilapia fillets

salt and pepper

lime juice

6-inch corn tortillas

asadero cheese, sliced or grated

cilantro, chopped

salsa/hot sauce/chilis, green or red

ripe mango, diced

sour cream

lettuce or cabbage, sliced into ribbons

Heat a little oil (about half a teaspoon per fillet) in nonstick pan over medium. While it heats, prepare the other ingredients. Pat tilapia dry with paper towel and set in hot pan. Season with salt and pepper. Let it cook several minutes, until thin side of fillet is almost opaque throughout (it's hard to overcook tilapia, and you want both sides to brown nicely). Meanwhile, continue preparing other ingredients. Flip tilapia and continue cooking. When done, remove from pan, turn heat to medium-low, set fish aside on cutting board or plate and drench fillets with lime juice. Add a little oil to the pan if needed and heat the tortillas on one side, flipping them over after a minute or so and sprinkling hot side with cheese, cilantro, and salsa/hot sauce. When cheese is melted, remove tortillas to plate, add tilapia, mango, sour cream, and lettuce. Wrap up and enjoy.

New Cake o' Dreams

Planning on making it within the week. (Hooray for MONEY and TIME!)

Four buttermilk spice cake rounds, soaked in tres leches.

Orange curd filling.

Mascarpone/whipped cream frosting.

Ginger-infused caramel ganache.

Toasted pecan garnish.

Title ideas: 

Orange-Spice Caramel Torte. 

Autumn Trifle Cake. 

Spice 'n' Citrus Soaked Gateau.

...?

Y'know, tinned fish has its place.

Since (mostly) giving up meat last autumn, I've been experimenting with protein sources -- seafood, seeds, legumes. I've always loved smoked oysters, but I haven't really had any desire to eat sardines since that one time at Sunriver when I was a kid. Turns out, though, that they're full of good stuff, including calcium in their tiny crunchable bones.

So I made a simple sauce of canned fine-dice tomatoes, fresh garlic, fennel seeds, oregano, and red pepper flakes, cooked it down for about thirty minutes, stirred in a tin of lightly smoked sardine, and tossed it with brown rice pasta, white beans, fresh steamed asparagus, and parsley. 

Delish. Can't wait to try it with oysters.

Something New

Confession: I've never bought Brussels sprouts fresh. Or frozen, come to think of it. In fact, these tough, knobby little cabbage buds were the very last veggie on the "DO NOT LIKE" side of my list until three or four years ago, when my aunt brought a braised batch to Christmas dinner and I fell like the S&P 500. Since then I've been on the lookout, but Broulims' specimens have never been very appealing... until now. 

So I roasted a bunch. Aubrey offered me some of her gyoza in exchange for some of my sprouts, and the combination was scrumptious.

Perchance to dream...

Phyllo dough. Browned butter. Roasted butternut squash. Red onion. Maple. Sage. Jarlsberg. Smoked fontina. Spinach. Fine-ground almonds. A drizzle of bechamel. White pepper. Nutmeg. 

Hot, flaky, layer-y goodness. Like my dad says, "I love anything hot in a pocket. ...Except Hot Pockets."

These would not be Hot Pockets.