Yum Yum Fish Tacos & Homemade Tortilla Chips

Who would've thought that Brooklyn's best Polish grocery, Eagle Provisions (their beer selection is off the hook) would inspire fish tacos? When you can get avocados for $1.35 each (and ripe!) and a whole mass of jalapeños for less than $2.00. In my book, that's half way to a fish taco.

Of course with a package of 36 white corn tortillas from C-Town for $1.25, some limes and fresh tilapia, it's a pure feast for a fraction of what you'd pay at a tacqueria. Just try.

So, we begin with guacamole.
Simply avocados, lime, cilantro, jalapeños, and red onion.


















 (Maybe salt, too.)














Meanwhile, make corn chips with the extra tortillas.

Some baked...

Put in a hot oven until lightly brown.

Even if you forget how long they've been in there, and they're darkly brown, (but not too dark), they're still tasty.

Some fried...



It's hard to tell which version tasted better with the guacamole.

Altogether, fantastically delicious.

What's not to love about a bite like this?

(If like me, you can't get enough fish tacos, check out my Down and Dirty Fish Tacos and Harvest Moon Fish Fry.)

Yogurt Waffles

I went to the Saturday greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza yesterday with the mission of trading in a couple milk bottles for some pourable yogurt from Milk Thistle Farm. I got there on the late side, and asked if they still had any yougurt. The vendor warned me that I may not want it, as it came out on the thin side this week.

Mmm. Perfect. Like sour milk. Suddenly, I had waffles on the brain.

(Sometimes all it takes is a little inspiration to want to cook again.)

Sundays are always good waffle days, because I'll make a huge batch and freeze the rest for the week. (Then one cooking day facilitates a non-cooking week. Not bad.)

If you want to see how I make them, check out my variations on crispy waffles.

Today's batter includes a blend of buckwheat flour, rice flour, corn flour and ground flax.



My trusted Oster waffle maker has been with me since college. Possibly one of the best $18 ever spent.



Ah....



And instead of milk, the pourable yogurt made these extra delicious.





Happy Sunday.

No Cook Oats

Okay, so my foray back into cooking lasted one day.

I'm back to more instant gratification... (at least in terms of oatmeal). The best part about quick oats is that they're even quicker if you don't cook them.

I start with a bosc pear and mission figs (yum!).

Sprinkle with flax seed, and oats.

Then drizzle with honey.



(Thanks Liz, for this honeycomb treat from Savannah.)

With a little milk (almond milk for me), that's a pretty good start for the day.

Back to Breakfast Basics: Asian Pear Oatmeal

It's high time I started cooking again. I pretty much stopped since spring. I've had no lust for making things; eating has been pretty much arranging raw food on my plate. Simple, no fuss. It's kind of addicting.

But the temperatures dropped and suddenly I want hot food again.

Today: oats and an egg.



(with Asian pear)

(and some banana)





I might get back into this cooking thing again after all...

Big Bone Beef Broth

My friend Jim recently waxed poetic about the filet mignon dinner for two he had at Flatbush Farm... complete with huge bones filled with bone marrow! My immediate question: what did you do with the bones? "They're in my fridge," he said. "Give them to me," I said, "I'll make beef broth and give you some." There's nothing like a good beef stock made from grass fed bovines!

So, he did, and I got out my 7-quart Dutch oven and cooked those bones in filtered water for a good 12 hours. I added some bay leaves and a few herbs, but basically, just let the bones continue to simmer until they were completely clean of all the marrow.

I skimmed the top and made about 5 quarts' worth--or at least twenty bucks' worth. Not bad for keeping the pantry going on a budget.

Not bad at all.

Dandelion Sunflower Salad with Guinness Balsamic

Dandelion greens and sunflower sprouts have been the core ingredients of my latest favorite lunchtime toss up.

I vary the fresh ingredients, but generally have on hand: snow peas, red pepper, cucumber, grape tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, sweet potato or yam, sunflower greens.

For protein additions, I'll add black beans (or another recent favorite--lima beans), tuna, tempeh, tofu, egg, sunflower seeds, peanuts.

And drizzle with a teaspoon of this amazing balsamic vinaigrette I made,

The general mix:

2 TBSP herb blend (like green goddess or creamy pepper corn)

2-4 TBSP water

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 TBSP mustard

(thank you Jacinta for bringing back the key ingredient from Ireland--the Guinness Storehouse, no less)

This week's greens include

dandelion, snow peas, baby bok choy, collards, and asparagus.

Every day, somewhat different, but always yummy.

Texas Style BBQ Brisket with Potato Salad

Let the brisket begin!

This week's dish 'n' dish madness began on the early side--by about four hours. Tricia announced brisket would be on the menu--something she's never made. I confess I've only had it once or twice and remember it with a brown sauce. "I'm gonna do it Texas style," she said. "Starting with a dry brown sugar rub, then finishing it off with barbecue sauce."

How can one possibly say no to that?

And so, the brisket commenced.

First, the dry rub: brown sugar, salt and pepper.

The plan: bake in the oven for about 4 hours at 375° F.

About three hours later, the wet rub.

(A blend of favorite BBQ sauces.)

We flipped and repeated about 30 minutes later.

Meanwhile, we boiled a huge pot of potatoes.

Rinsed them with the frozen peas

and let them cool under water.

Once cooled, we tossed with green onions and a whole lotta fresh dill. Plus white balsamic, rice wine vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, mayo. Mmm.

And then checked on the brisket:

See how tender ...

And as much as we licked our lips on this dish...

... leftovers the next day were even better!