Fish Tacos

Fish tacos, a relatively new dish, perhaps, for us in Ontario, but so good and versatile, easy weeknight dinner, takes maybe 15 minutes to prepare, most of the time it's about what you want on the taco, the more choices, the longer it will take to prepare, here is a simple fish taco, and I will provide various sauce recipes to vary the taste.

6 inch soft wheat or corn tortillas,
1 pound halibut, or basa fish fillets
Shredded lettuce
Pico de gallo
Jalepeno pickle
Lime and cilantro mayonaise
Lime sliced into eighths

Warm up the flour/corn tortillas wrapped in foil on the lowest setting on the oven 200 degrees F, meanwhile, wash and dry fish fillet, add salt, pepper, a squeeze of lime juice, and either grill the fish, dry fry it in a teflon coated fry pan, or on a microwave plate, cover fish with plastic wrap, punch a hole into the top with your fork, cook in microwave for 4 minutes, pull the plastic wrap back, cook for 1-2 more minutes until cooked through, remove from microwave, let stand for a couple of minutes still covered, then cut into strips. Whichever way you cook it, the fish should not be over cooked, or it will be too dry.

Pico de gallo is a mixture of fresh tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, 1/4 jalepeno, avocado (optional), cut all into small dice, toss in a bowl with salt, pepper and lime juice, you can add a dash of olive oil, but it is not necessary, just optional.

Jalepeno pickle can be a simple jar of pickled jalapeños, or could be a green salsa, or you can use a regular Tomatoe salsa, just know you don't want too much or it will overpower the fish.
Shred the lettuce, you can sneak more veggies in by adding shredded carrot and zucchini, and you can also add shredded cucumber, load it up, or keep it simple.

Lime and cilantro mayonaise made by putting 1/2 cup mayonaise in a small bowl,zest the lime,then squeeze 1/2 lime into the bowl, chop 2-3 stalks of cilantro. You can also add all these ingredients into a processor bowl and pulse for a minute, taste for salt and pepper, if you want it a little more zesty, add a dash or two of jalepeno hot sauce.
To assemble the taco, butter the hot tortilla with the lime cilantro mayo, add the shredded veggies, the Pico de gallo, the jalepeno pickle, then a couple of fish strips, dip the taco in a little more mayo as you are eating it, if desired, So good, so light, so easy, yum!

Meatballs and Romesco Sauce

Romesco sauce is a combination of tomato and sweet pepper, delicious for a change of pace from regular tomato sauce.

Meatballs

1 pound of ground pork
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup Romano cheese grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 stalks fresh parsley leaves chopped
(keep the stems for the sauce)

In a medium bowl, mix the milk, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper thoroughly, then gently mix in the ground pork and parsley, until it is all mixed together but not compacted. Cover, let stand 20 minutes to let flavours develop. Roll into small balls using about 1/4 cup meat mixture for each meatball.

Romesco Sauce

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-14 ounce can of Italian tomatoes (Aurora)
1 cup water
1 large roasted red or orange pepper, chopped

Brown the meatballs in 2 tablespoons olive oil, when all are browned, remove carefully, sauté the onion and garlic use more oil if necessary, add tomatoes,water, and roasted red pepper, cook over medium heat and stir occasionally for about 20 minutes, using a hand blender, blend sauce til smooth, return meatballs to pan with sauce and simmer for 30 more minutes, enjoy with spaghetti, or make meatball sandwiches using good Italian bread, to soak up the sauce, top either choice with grated Romano cheese.

Salad Season is here!

This is one of the most flavorful salads, great with plain or barbecued chicken or pork. If you use frozen corn, no need to cook first, leftovers can be kept a few days in the refridgerator.

Curried Corn Salad

4 cups frozen corn, any variety, thawed
6 black olives, sliced
12 pimento stuffed olives, sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons miracle whip salad dressing
Juice from 1 lime

1 medium red onion, diced
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
1/2 orange pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, diced fine
1 teaspoon madras curry powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped Cilantro, as garnish( optional)

In a large bowl, mix the corn, green and black olives, mayonnaise, miracle whip and lime juice, set aside. In a medium sauté pan, heat the oil, add the chopped onion, all of the chopped peppers, sauté until just crisp- tender, add the curry powder, turmeric and oregano, season with salt and pepper, but just a little. Cook and stir until the spices bloom, that is until you can smell them, making sure all the veggies in the pan are coated with the spices. Remove from heat, let stand for 10 minutes, then mix thoroughly with corn/ olive mixture, taste for salt and pepper, cover and refridgerate for at least an hour or overnight to let the flavours blend together. To serve, garnish with cilantro, enjoy!

Best Ever Tomato Soup!

I love fresh Tomato Soup, especially with a crispy cheesy grilled cheese sandwich, or even cheese toast, you know the kind, crunchy French bread, best butter, great cheese broiled in the oven, so that the cheese is melted, the edges of the bread are crispy and toasted, dunked into a bowl of my tomato soup, heaven!

Fresh Tomato Soup

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 (white or yellow)onions, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, or 2 smaller carrots, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, (depends on size)
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 extra large tomatoes, chopped
1-28 fluid ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
1-14 ounce can Aurora tomatoes
1200 ml or 42 fluid ounces very hot water (fill tomato cans with water)
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 vegetable or chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup 5% cream (optional)
Fresh basil, torn into small bits

In a large stock pot, melt the olive oil and butter, add onions, celery, carrots, braise in butter/ oil for about 5-7 minutes, until onion is translucent, add the garlic, cook for another minute, add the fresh tomatoes, cook and stir for a minute, coating with the butter mixture, add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and the bouillon cubes. Stir all together, cook for a minute, stir in the water, stir to combine all ingredients. Turn heat to medium, put the lid on but askew, simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper to taste, simmer for another 5 minutes. When all vegetables are soft, and broth has a nice aroma, turn heat off, and blend till smooth with an immersion blender. Stir and blend until all is smooth, add cream if using. Serve with a small chunk or two of Parmesan cheese and a bit of fresh basil.

Brownies!

I happened upon a recipe for no bake brownies that you can whip up as you are waiting for dinner to cook....or as a treat anytime! That recipe called for graham wafer crumbs, which you could use instead, but it is definitely more delicious with the chocolate crumbs. I have several go to recipes for brownies that are rich and chocolaty, just perfect for bake sale, coffee with your friends, or fancy dinner parties, I will share those recipes as well, but for today we will make this easy version, quick, chocolaty, delicious......enjoy!

No Bake Brownies

1-1/4 cups chocolate crumbs
1/4 cup Dutch cocoa
3/4 cup chopped nuts, I used walnuts because they are just bitter enough to foil the sweetness of the other ingredients
1 tin condensed milk
1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt
4 squares unsweetened chocolate melted

I usually melt the chocolate in the microwave on the speed defrost cycle, which takes about 1-1/2 -2 minutes, do this first, meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the chocolate crumbs, cocoa, salt and walnuts, stir until well combined. With a strong spatula or wooden spoon, mix the condensed milk into the crumb mixture, by this time, the chocolate will be melted, add it to all of the ingredients in the bowl. Stir well.
At this point, you can spread the mixture it into an 8 inch (buttered and lined with parchment paper) baking pan, or you can roll the mixture with buttered hands into balls, or you can put a bit into cute baking cups, suit yourself as to how you want to present these luscious chocolaty treats.
Put in fridge for at least 1 hour to finish setting up, serve and enjoy!

It's Ray's Birthday!

This is a big day for my guy, Ray, he will get these treats today, for his big day!

I have made a great vanilla Cheesecake, with boozy Raspberry sauce, I have provided the recipes below.

Vanilla Cheesecake.                                                   Convection oven 325 degrees F

1-1/2 cups chocolate crumbs
3 tablespoons
1/4 cup butter, melted

4-8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream, out of fridge 30 minutes before mixing

In a small bowl, mix the crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar and the melted butter, press into a 9 inch springform pan, wrap the bottom of the outside of the springform pan with foil-set aside.
In a stand mixer, paddle attachment,  whip the cream cheese well, scrape down sides, make sure there are no hard bits, that it is smooth, about 3-4 minutes, lower speed, add sugar in a slow stream until it is incorporated, whip for another whole minute, scrape sides, lower speed while you add the eggs one at a time speeding the machine up after each egg to thoroughly incorporate the eggs, scrape down sides, add vanilla, mix well, then slow machine down add cream, in a slow stream until it is mixed in then whip the mixture for a full minute.
Add mixture to pan over top the chocolate crumb base, scrape all of the cream cheese mixture, jiggle the pan a little to make sure it has no air bubbles and it is evenly distributed.
Place foil wrapped springform pan in a larger baking dish or roasting pan, so that you can add hot water to the bottom pan, to ensure that the cheesecake will not crack as it bakes. Take the two pans to the oven with the kettle filled with hot water, place roasting pan on middle rack, fill the bottom roasting pan with water until it comes up to about 1/2 up the sides of the springform pan. Make sure to pour along the side to avoid getting water in the cheesecake. Bake at 325 degrees convection oven for about 1-1/4 hours, or 350 degrees regular oven, for an hour. In both cases turn oven off, let cheesecake sit for 30-40 minutes, then remove springform pan to a cooling rack, top with your favourite fruit, chocolate, caramel, or just enjoy as is for a sumptuous, heavenly treat!

Burger Mania!

The recent craze in burger mania is the stuffed burger! You can easily make these at home, just a matter of choosing the right combination of ground meats. Your choice of cheese, also can affect the excitement of hiding stuffing into your favourite burger.
I have a few versions of a stuffed burger, each has different stuffing, and a different spice mix, as follows:

Dutch Girl Stuffed Burgers

Basic Burger Mixture

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pounds of medium ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup fine bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion powder


Smoked Stuffed Burger
To the basic meat mixture add:

1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash of your favourite hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Cut 4 ounces smoked Gouda,into 1 inch slices, not too thick, or use any smoked cheddar cheese

When ready to stuff your burger,
Take about 3/4 cup of meat mixture make a ball, then flatten out into a 5 inch circle put your cheese into the centre, fold the meat around it, keeping the cheese covered, Roll into a ball, then flatten into desired burger size

Kid Friendly Burger

Add to the basic meat mixture
2 tablespoons Ketchup
cut into 1 inch slices, 4 ounces of mild Cheddar, Mozzerella, mild Gouda, Monterey Jack

When ready to stuff your burger,
Using 3/4 cup of meat mixture, make a ball, flatten out into a 5 inch circle, centre 2 pieces of the cheese, fold meat around it, then roll back into a ball, keeping the chees covered, flatten into desired burger size

Spicy Stuffed Burger

To the basic meat mixture, add
1 jalapeño pepper chopped finely, if you don't want it too hot, take out the seeds
1/2 tablespoon of jalepeno hot sauce
2 spring onions chopped

cut into 1 inch slices, 4 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, red pepper Havarti, or any spicy cheese of your choice

When ready to stuff your burger,
Using 3/4 cup of the meat mixture, make a ball, flatten out into a 5 inch circle, centre 2 pieces of the cheese, fold meat around it, then roll back into a ball, being sure to keep the cheese covered, then flatten into desired burger size.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Burger

To the basic meat mixture, add
2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
2 spring onions, chopped fine
cut into 1 inch slices or crumble 4 ounces English Stilton, Danish blue cheese, cambazola cheese(this comes in wheels a mix of Camembert and Italian blue cheese)

When ready to stuff your burger,
Using 3/4 cup of the meat mixture, make a ball, flatten out into a 5 inch circle, centre 2 pieces of the cheese, fold meat around it, then roll back into a ball, being sure to keep the cheese covered, then flatten into desired burger size.

Garnish burgers with slices if Vidalia onion, good tomatoes, roasted red peppers, olive tapenade, shredded lettuce, spring onions, cucumber, avocado slices, alfalfa sprouts.....the list can go on and on, use what you love, add additional cheese if you like, change up the cheese to Swiss, Brie, feta, cream cheese(but use the blocks, kept cold)

Flavored Mayonaise Recipe
To 1 cup of mayonaise, add crushed garlic, salt and pepper, sliced spring onion
Or 1 cup mayonaise, add 1 chipotle pepper, chopped from a can of chipotles in Adobo sauce, chopped red onion
Or to 1 cup mayonaise add shredded cucumber, sliced spring onion- use on feta stuffed burger, or spicy burger

Rhubarb!

Lots of people love rhubarb just as is, out of the garden washed, with a dish of sugar, dip and crunch! Natures sour sweet treat! So natural, so delicious! I loved it when I was a kid, and while I have fond memories of those sweet/sour treats, my tastes have changed. I have made many a strawberry- rhubarb pie, or crisp, and it too is delicious. But recently, I saw a new way to deal with an abundance of rhubarb from the garden.

Rhubarb Chutney
1 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 -6 inch cinnamon stick, broken in half
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
3/4 cup dried currants, soak for 5 minutes in boiled water, drain
1/2 red onion, chopped fine

Bring the first 8 ingredients to boil until a syrup forms, about 3-4 minutes, turn heat to medium high, add the rhubarb, the drained currants and the red onion, cook until the rhubarb is tender, about 4 minutes, remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool. Remove cinnamon stick. Makes about 4 cups of chutney. Ladle into 1 cup jars, Process (canning pot or large Dutch oven- boil sealed jars for 10-12 minutes in enough water to cover the jars) any that you are not going to use right away. Great on cheese tray with salty cheese, hard or soft goat cheese, pork chops, chicken, the list is endless! Enjoy

Greek Night

I love the vibrant flavours of Greece! A friend of mine went to Greece a long while back, he loved everything about Greece, except he said they used too much olive oil. well, there is an easy way to get the flavour, and make it lighter too!
Today I am making Orzo salad with baked chicken, in a lighter but full of flavour version.

Greek Chicken

Oven 350 degrees F

4-8 pieces of chicken(generally one piece of chicken per person)
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup Olive oil
1-2 tablespoons Fresh or dried oregano
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Lemon zest from 1 lemon

Wash and dry the chicken, Place in baking dish, then, in a small bowl mix the oregano and garlic, salt and pepper, lemon zest, then add about 1/4 olive oil, for 8 pieces of chicken, (less if you are using just a few pieces of chicken), mix all together. drizzle over chicken pieces lightly, put chicken in oven. If you have left over olive oil mixture, it can become part of the dressing for the orzo salad, so don't worry if you have made too much!

Bake chicken for about 25-35 minutes, for breast skin on bone in,  35-40 minutes for legs and thighs.

Meanwhile, put pot of water on about 8-10 cups of water for the Orzo Salad

Orzo is a small rice shaped pasta that takes very little time to cook, you can add it to osso bucco, or soups and stews, it's very versatile and good to have on hand. I like making it into a Greek pasta salad, as follows:

1/2 900 gram bag of Orzo
1-2 ripe tomatoes! sliced, then each slice quartered
1/2 English cucumber, each slice, quartered
1/2 red onion, diced fine
1/2 cup Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano,or fresh oregano to taste
1 clove Garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper
Lemmon zest from one lemon
Lemon juice, about 1/4 cup
1/2 tablespoon of mint dried
1/2 cup feta cheese, or other strong cheese

Make sure that you don't overlook the orzo, it should still have a bit of a bite in the core, drain, cool the pasta by running cold water through it until just above room temperature, put into large mixing bowl, pour the dressing on it, taste for salt and pepper, Then when you are satisfied, add tomatoes, cucumber, onion,and cheese, mix thoroughly then sprinkle the top with a little mint. When serving, you can keep the chicken in whole pieces with the crispy skin on, or remove from the bone and add on top of the orzo salad. enjoy

Pork side ribs and jalapeño corn bread

Every spring, around end of March or early April, all the side ribs go on sale at my local grocery store, I take advantage of this sale, even though side ribs aren't that meaty, they do have an inner meaty bit that I cut from the back of the side ribs, and cut off the small riblettes with cartilage attached, that are ideal for Chinese sweet and sour, garlic black bean sauce, or simply used in a soup with some lentils and veggies.
Today I had a variety of small ribs with cartilage and a few with bones, so I prepared a marinade as follows:
Start this recipe in the morning or the night before..
1-1/2 pounds of pork side riblettes
1/2 of an 8 ounce can of pineapple juice
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons corn oil or other oil that has no real flavour
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, and thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste, heavy on the pepper

Cut up the ribs into 1-1/2 inch pieces, put into a large zip lock bag, then in a small bowl measure and mix up the rest of the ingredients, pour over the ribs, then put in fridge until 1-1/2 hours before dinner time.
When ready, turn convection oven on to 325 degrees F, put the ribs into a baking dish, without the marinade, just what is clinging to the ribs, cover with foil, bake for 1 hour, remove foil half way through cooking, turn the riblettes, recover with the foil.(toss the marinade, do not reuse.)
You can put together a quick barbecue sauce using the rest of the pineapple juice, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, a few drops of chipotle sauce(I use Buffaloe brand chipotle sauce from Walmart Jamaican section) about 2/3 of a cup of regular barbecue sauce, shake together, then pour a bit on the riblettes, leaving the foil off, bake for another 15-20 minutes turning once to coat the meat in the barbecue sauce.

Jalapeño Corn Bread Convection Oven 375 degrees Fahrenheit Use small loaf pans, or lg muffin tins

2 cups corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1-1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup frozen corn
1-12 ounce can cream corn
1-1/2 cup sharp cheddar grated, or use pepper jack
1 whole jalapeño, deseeded, chopped finely
1 or 2 small baby sweet red peppers,chopped
4 green onions sliced into small rounds white and about 1/2 the green part on each
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
A few dashes of jalapeño hot sauce

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl,set aside, then in a separate bowl, mix the milk, sour cream, eggs and butter, add the frozen corn, the creamed corn, and the cheddar to the dry ingredients, but don't stir yet, chop both kinds of onions,chopped red pepper, and the chopped jalapeño, add to the dry ingredients, but don't stir yet. Then stir your milk and egg mixture again, then add to the large bowl holding all of the other ingredients, mix well now, until all of the ingredients are incorporated, but not too much, (as you will start to develop the gluten in the flour which will make your corn bread tough)so your corn bread remains tender.
Using 4-5 small buttered loaf pans, or 12-15 large muffin tin lined, fill with the corn bread mixture. bake for 25-35 minutes,for the muffins, 35-45 minutes for the small loaf tins, or until the bread is golden brown,and toothpick comes out clean.
serve with you riblettes, a little cole slaw with a spicy creamy dressing, enjoy!

Spring has sprung!

Spring is finally here, my daffodils are blooming, the hyacinths are fully blooming, grape hyacinth are starting to show, tulips have flower buds on them, and in the last 3 days, the peonies have grown up to 6 inches from the ground! My baby rhododendron is just about ready to pop, the bridal veil bush has leaves all over, and my forsythias although not yet fully blooming, show that they are ready. I am excited about all of the changes in the garden over this past 3 days, just since we had a bit of sun and warmth.I am pleased that the hellebore that I thought was dead, is showing life, so those very expensive, but beautiful Lenten rose are stars this season, I am hoping to have many more once I am finished, as they are truly beautiful!