I have been debating on going pescetarian for a while now, and it has led me to try a lot of new things lately. My newest thing is fish tacos… I know, it sounds strange and I thought the same thing until I tried them. THEY ARE DELICIOUS! I took Beth’s roommate to Cabo Fish Taco when she did her cross-country trip, and we were all blown away. I decided that I needed to find a way to make my own version of my favorite fish tacos. I am so proud with how this recipe turned out. I really hope you will give it a try, even if it sounds scary. This taco in particular is a combination of baja taco and sushi, but the pairings are like a party in your mouth! You could also try just seasoning a basic white fish or shrimp (with old bay and salt or fajita/taco seasoning) and traditional taco fare (with my homemade pico de gallo: RECIPE HERE). I’ve also been doing this with portobella mushrooms and onions… so yummy.

Erin’s Tavarua-Inspired Tuna Tacos
Inspired by Cabo Fish Taco’s Tavarua (TAV–A-ROO) Tuna Tacos
Serves 2

Taco Ingredients:
8 oz. Ahi Tuna steaks
1 serrano pepper, diced (optional)
4 small flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce (I use romaine)
1/2 cup diced, fresh tomatoes
1/2 avocado, diced
Mixed cheeses (optional – I don’t use)
Kiwi-Pineapple Marinade (recipe below)
Wasabi Drizzle (recipe below)

Kiwi-Pineapple Marinade Ingredients:
2 kiwi
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
Pinch salt

Wasabi Drizzle Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/2  Tbsp. wasabi
1/2 juiced lime (about 1 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. honey
(this might be nice with a little sour cream thrown in too)

Start by making the marinade for the fish. Cut kiwis in half and scoop the fruit into a food processor. Add pineapple juice, olive oil, and seasoning and blend until smooth. Use half this marinade and put washed/dried tuna steaks into it to soak (save the other half for tomorrow or make a double batch of tacos). I recommend letting it sit at least an hour in the fridge, but it will work if you don’t have the time.

Next, make the Wasabi Drizzle. Mix all ingredients together with a whisk and set aside for taco assembly. NOTE: If you do not like hot/spicy things, add a little wasabi at a time. I like mine hot so I add 1 1/2 Tbsp, but this may be too much for your liking. Take it easy.

Chop lettuce, tomato, and avocado to serve with the tacos.

Put 1 Tbsp. oil in a wok on the stove and heat to med-high. Throw in chopped serrano pepper, if using. Place marinated tuna steaks in the pan and start searing them. Depending on the thickness of your steaks, they may take up to 10 minutes to cook through. After searing each side for about 2 minutes, throw the rest of the marinade (in which they were soaking) into the pan with the tuna (continue kinda basting the fish with it). As the tuna cooks, I continue chopping the pieces in half to check for doneness. By the time they are finished cooking, they will already be broken into good sized chunks for tacos (about 1/2-inch sized pieces) and the marinade will all be soaked in and cooked out.

Now assemble the tacos! I like to warm my tortillas on a flat pan right before serving. Top with cooked tuna, avocado, lettuce, tomato and finish with the delectable wasabi drizzle. SO GOOD!!!

Next I plan to try grilling the tuna steaks, while basting with the marinade consistently, and see how they turn out.

Today the clan came down to my house for brunch to enjoy this Baked Oatmeal! It’s delish and would be wonderful with different fruits and such. Everyone went home with the recipe, so make sure you give it a try too! It was featured in the magazine “Whole Living” and is from Heidi Swanson. Her website 101 Cookbooks is full of awesome vegetarian recipes, and of course I had to go get her cookbooks! Enjoy!

BAKED OATMEAL
Serves 6 to 8

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for coating baking dish
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup walnuts or almonds, toasted and chopped
• 1/3 cup fine-grain natural cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 1/2 cups huckleberries, blueberries, or mixed berries
• Maple syrup, for drizzling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. Combine the oats, half the nuts, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg, half the butter, and the vanilla.
3. Arrange bananas in a single layer on the bottom of the coated baking dish. Sprinkle with two-thirds of the berries, then cover with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle milk mixture over the oats. Gently tap dish on a work surface to distribute liquid. Scatter remaining berries and nuts across the top.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Let cool slightly. Drizzle with remaining melted butter and maple syrup.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Baked Oatmeal

I had promised this recipe back at Halloween because we had it at the Wild Witch Ball, and well… I got behind so I am just now posting it. I originally found this at Cathy Zielske’s site. Here’s the Chicken Chili recipe which is great for this cold weather:

White Chicken Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (shred by hand)
2 onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can chopped green chile’s
juice of 1—2 limes
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
3 cans white beans, drained & rinsed (I think I use two… I thought this sounded like too many beans… sometimes we use just black beans)
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
4 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more
hot sauce (optional)
Chopped avocado (optional)
shredded Jack cheese (optional)
lime wedges (optional, but delicious)
tortilla chips

Cook chicken breasts, cool, and shred by hand. (You can use any leftover chicken, or rotisserie chicken works well too.)

Chop onions, sautee in heavy pan with chopped, green chilis, until soft. Add garlic, saute a few minutes. Add dry spices, stirring until distributed evenly. Add chicken broth, beans, corn, lime juice, ciliantro and chicken. Add hot sauce if ‘n your chili powder spices aren’t kicky enough. I use a few dashes of cayenne.

Simmer gently for a few hours. Toss in a handful of shredded Jack cheese, that no one should know is there. Add a bit of cilantro and more lime juice right before serving.

Serve with jack cheese, lime wedges, cilantro, avacado and tortilla chips. (You can also thicken the chili by making a roux; you can also toss in some chopped roasted red peppers if you like.)

Back in June, Aunt Kris and I took a cooking class, and this was one of the dishes we made that I have been meaning to share. It is SO DARN DELICIOUS and excellent if you have eggplant to use! It is known as a Catalan Ratatouille and is perfect for a warm summer night for dinner or as an appetizer. Even David likes this recipe and he is the pickiest eater I know.

Samfaina is an exuberant vegetable mixture widely used in Catalan cuisine as a sauce or base for meat, fish and fowl dishes. It’s a succulent vegetarian dish that you can eat as a first course or side dish too. Traditionally, the Catalan ratatouille recipe includes onion, peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes. And as usual, there seems to be as many variations as households.

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Sweet and Sour Samfaina:

1 large eggplant, cubed
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
2 bell peppers, cut into 1/4–inch squares
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup orange juice
3 tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch squares
1/3 cup olives, pitted and chopped
3 tbsp capers, chopped
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper
¼ cup parsley leaves, chopped

Place eggplant in a colander and layer with salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a deep skillet. Add onion and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add celery, peppers and garlic and sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Add orange juice and cook uncovered for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, olives, capers, vinegar, and raisins and stir. Add sugar and stir. Cover the pan and let it simmer for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Pour mixture into a bowl, add parsley and set aside. The eggplant should now be ready. Rinse it thoroughly with water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the last 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and add eggplant. Saute for about 5 minutes until tender. Add the eggplant to the rest of the vegetables and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 12 hours. For this purpose, the samfaina should be served at room temperature.

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Toast:

White country bread
2 garlic cloves, skin removed
Extra virgin olive oil
1 recipe of Samfaina (above)
Slices of Serrano ham (optional)
Manchego cheese (optional)

Prepare a grill or broiler. Slice bread and brush each side with olive oil. Grill on both sides until toasted. Gently rub each side with the garlic clove. Top with a generous amount of samfaina and a slice of Serrano or Manchego.

This recipe is SOOOO good and healthy. Please try it because it involves NO COOKING in the ridiculous heat! And it’s gluten free, dairy free and more for those with restrictions. Serves 8.

Raw Berry Crisp from Whole Foods Market

Rich nuts and sweet dates make a tasty topping for mixed berries in this no-cook version of berry crisp.

6 cups mixed berries, such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, more or less to taste depending on sweetness of berries
1 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

I just recently got this recipe from one of my cookbooks and I wanted to share it because it makes the most delicious quick pickles that will stay good in the fridge for weeks! They are crispy and good like a Clausen pickle! I have tried canning them and will report back later on how they turn out, but I make them in the jars even if I don’t can them because it is easiest.

4-6 pickling Cucumbers
1 cup white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar (I only use 2 Tbsp. because I don’t like them as sweet)
3 Tbsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. dill seed (I also add fresh dill to the container and a few peppercorns)
2 crushed & peeled garlic cloves
2 cups water

Quarter cucumbers lengthwise, then place in a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine all the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar and salt dissolve; pour mixture over cucumbers.

Use a small plate to submerge cucumbers in liquid. Refrigerate until cool, at least 2 hours. Pickles can be refrigerated in a airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Makes 1 quart.