Savory: Fish Tacos

Fish tacos have very trendy here on the east coast.  The first time I tried them was more than a decade ago out in San Diego, visiting family and and soaking up the local culture.  We were out Coronado, walking off our jet lag and looking for dinner.  We passed a local dive and I was sure that in my state I had read the sign incorrectly but sure enough, fish tacos were on the menu...and they were fabulous.  Simply cooked fish in a spicy sauce, crisp slaw, fresh tortillas - what a revelation.

These tasty SoCal transfers are easy to make, endlessly versatile, and delicious.  The below recipe calls for tilapia but any firm white fish works - try on red snapper, cod, whatever suits your fancy.  Change up flour tortillas with corn.  Swap sour creme with crema or yogurt.  Go nuts with the spices, or even better...add nuts!  There are no rules and everything just seems to work. So have fun, enjoy your summer, and as always, enjoy every bite.

Ingredients:

Fish tacos

• 1 lb tilpia fillets
• 1/2 cup grape seed oil
• juice from 1 freshly squeezed lime
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• Salt, to taste

Slaw

• 1 savoy cabbage, shredded
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• juice from 2 freshly squeezed limes
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• salt and pepper

Smokey Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 freshly squeezed lime
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder or to taste
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut tilapia fillets into 8th s.  Combine spices, lime juice, and oil together and then add fish.  Marinate in refrigerator for 15 minutes.  
2. While fish is marinating, combine all slaw ingredients together and place in bowl. Toss.  
3. Combine smokey sauce ingredients in a small bowl.  Let the chipotle bloom for at least 10 minutes.  
4. Place fish sticks on a lined baking sheet and into the oven.  Cook for 10 minutes or until white and flaky.  
5. Serve with warm flour tortillas.

Savory: Easy Shish Kebab

Spring has sprung and even on the rainy days I do enjoy some shish kebab.  It is quintessential grilling fare, with endless variations and always a crowd pleaser.  I love all the color and creativity that comes with making this recipe, and we partake year round.  That being said...not a fan of skewering. Messy, time consuming, and in the end a shish in your guest's kebab when it comes time to eat.  So years ago I invented this time saving recipe, which is endlessly versatile, great for large groups, and a breeze to clean up.


Enjoy every bite.

Easy Shish Kebab
Ingredients

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup of chopped scallions
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup sesame oil
• 1 pound kebab beef, cut into small, bite size pieces
• 3 bell peppers, cut into small, bite size pieces
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 pint mushrooms, cut in half
• 3 white or yellow onions, rough chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Combine the garlic, ginger, cilantro, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil to make a marinade.  Let sit for 5 minutes and then add the beef.  Marinate for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight. 
2. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the the peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and half of the marinade in a large roasting pan.  Add salt and pepper. Place in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.  
3. Add beef and remaining marinade and cook in oven for 10 - 15 minutes, until beef is cooked. 
4. Serve with rice. 

This recipe serves 6 - 8, but can be easily doubled or tripled.  You can readily swap out the vegetables for whatever you have on hand, but here are some of my suggested variations:

Middle East

Swap the beef for lamb

Exclude the ginger and garlic

Swap the cilantro for a few sprigs of fresh oregano

Swap vinegar for lemon juice

Swap sesame oil for pomegranate molasses

Add 1/4 cup of grapeseed oil

Exclude soy sauce

Use only onions for vegetables

Italian

Exclude the ginger

Swap cilantro for parsley

Swap the the soy sauce for red wine

Swap rice vinegar for white wine vinegar

Swap sesame oil for olive oil

Exclude soy sauce

Sweet: Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Lemon is just the thing to punch up an otherwise ho hum dreary and cold winter day.  It's zing and dazzle cuts cleanly through a wealth of ingredients, complimenting and highlighting everything until it seems that Mr. Clean himself has baked with love.  And poppy seeds, well they are a lovely and wholly optional addition to this wonderful cake.  I love the way they crunch against the fine crumb of the cake, and must confess that I also get a kick out of pouring out what must be hundreds of thousands of them into my cake batter and watching them spread throughout the bowl like stars across the sky.

I have made this cake many times over the years; it is a go to favorite that looks more time consuming than it actually is, especially if you have one of those fun Nordicware fancy bundt pans on hand...people just love them.  My most recent turn with this recipe was on my husband's behalf.  He recently started a new job, and the office has an annual holiday bake off.  "It's on", I told him, as I began scouring for a good recipe to rightly impress his colleagues.  I mixed and baked and glazed and then popped it into a paper box, ready for the next day.  On his way out the door, I reminded him to grab some berries en route to work and to pour them in the center of the cake and let them spill over.  A quick kiss, and he was gone.

He came home later that day, smiled brightly, and told me how much everyone loved the cake.  To prove it, he showed me the remains in the box, in which about a third of the original was left behind.  And then he told me what happened:  the previous office champion, apparently a bit proprietary, took one look at the cake, stared at the box, and cried foul.  "That's a bakery box!" And many others, while they were fond of the fare, took one look at the well formed cake and nodded in agreement.  Which is sort of a compliment.

Happy New Year Readers.  I hope your 2013 is blessed with much love, joy, health, and happiness.  Enjoy every bite.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Adapted From Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbothom

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups of flour (cake is best, but all purpose is fine - do not use self rising)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/4 cups of sugar
6 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp + 2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 cup lemon juice

Method

1. Position rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together,  twice.
3. Beat butter in mixer with paddle attachment until fluffy (medium speed).  Add 1 3/4 cups of sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mix and milk, alternating until the last addition of flour.  Add the zest, vanilla, lemon extract, and poppy seeds.
4. Transfer batter to pan and place in oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes.
5. While baking, make the glaze:  Add 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp zest, and lemon juice to a small sauce pan and stir on medium-high, until sugar has dissolved.  
6. Turn cake out onto a rack and brush syrup immediately onto cake.  Let cool and serve.  

Savory: Lamb Stew (Fasulia)

So, as I have mentioned before, my husband is a lamb fan, like Mary before him.  Loves the stuff.  One of the first dishes I started preparing for him while dating/wooing was Fasulia, which is a Lebanese lamb stew.  Simple to prepare, yet full of delicious surprises mostly brought on from the unexpected heat and flavor the hint of cinnamon brings to the dish.  Even though lamb is more of a spring delicacy, I always find myself preparing this recipe when the weather begins to turn colder, as it is very satisfying and hearty fare, best served over rice or potatoes and with lot's of love.  Enjoy every bite.

Excerpted from A Taste of Lebanon by Mary Salloum

Ingredients
1 pound lamb stew meat, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 tbsp vegetable oil (I use grape seed oil)
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 lbs green beans, fresh or frozen (do not use canned), cut into 2 inch pieces if you use fresh
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. In saucepan (one with a lid), saute meat in oil until meat is browned.  Add onions and cook until they are softened (about 5 minutes).
2. Add beans, stir until ingredients are mixed.  Add water to cover.  Cover with lid and cook until beans are tender, 40 - 50 minutes.
3. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, and cinnamon.  Cook and additional 10 - 15 minutes.  
4. Serve with rice or potatoes.  

Summer on the Vineyard

Summer on Martha's Vineyard is a gorgeous, delicious, parade of wonder and I am blessed to be here on the island again with my family.  I have been doing less cooking and more observing this year, and have a few lovely photos to share with you all, including our annual pilgrimage to Morning Glory Farm, my favorite farm stand on the island, as well as a day trip to the Farm Institute.  I have been a fan of the latter for sometime, and enjoyed their lectures and programs over the years.  But this year my daughter and I ventured out for their "Farmer for a Day" program, which was a wonderful experience, demonstrating how a modern farm should ideally be run.  Imagine seeing cows actually roaming and enjoying clover, grass, and other goodies. Or the spectacle of a heritage chickens anxiously spreading their wings all over the farm; that is something your average chicken can no longer do, and it was a pleasure to see them enjoying themselves.  Pictures are below.  Enjoy every bite :)

Beautiful morning glories flowering outside of  Morning Glory Farm

A butterfly stops to rest outside the farm.

Herbs of all varieties are grown on and available from the farm.  As the sign says, the best way to preserve them is to snip the bottoms of, and put them in a shallow glass, much like you would with flowers in a vase. 

Aren't these lettuces gorgeous?  All of them are grown on the farm.

Yummy tomatoes and peppers...love the nightshades.  Brought home some heirloom yellows for dinner.

Here we are in the friendship garden at the Farm Institute.  In the background, notice the small henhouse.  

Beautiful cherry tomatoes in bloom in the friendship garden at the Farm Institute

Full size heirloom tomatoes are coming into their own.

A few pumpkins have come up early.

Cows...roaming...eating grass.  Who knew?

Kiss my ass!

Week old chicks, still brooding.  Just lovely.

Why did the chicken cross the road?  To get away from the crazy lady with the camera.

A hen eating a fallen egg.  Happy Mother's Day.

Beautiful heritage hen roaming the farm.

Our loot, which my lovely daughter carefully deposited into an egg carton at the farm store. They were then ready to be sold.  So simple.  

Sheep in the meadow.

A very large sow, clocking in at about 400 pounds.  

Overlooked: Watermelon Soup With Chile and Lime

Hello again faithful readers...been a long since I've rock and rolled.  Lots going on here at Chez Noonie, and I apologize for stand still.  When last we talked it was Autumn and now were are in the dead heat of Summer.  Rather than fill in the gaps, I say we get on with it and beat the heat.

Summer is a great time to experiment.  Lots of fresh food coming in off the trucks from the farms, much of it local and at its peak.  I tend to get a little zealous at the markets and grab everything on hand, and then regretfully come home realizing that I have no energy to actually turn on the stove in this weather.  And that is when I hunt for no cook recipes and eye my immersion blender like a hunter oils its gun.

My husband is familiar with this paradigm and has learned to shrug his shoulders and let it go when I excitedly walk in the door with 15 pounds of mixed produce and no real plan.  He mutters quietly to himself and even helps me clear space in the fridge, knowing that some of it will wind up in the trash but much of it will come to fruition...somehow.  Today he silently but suspiciously takes inventory of my haul...watermelon, green onions, jalapeno peppers, mint, limes..."what the hell", he thinks I cannot hear him whisper.  No matter, because today, I actually have a plan.

Watermelon soup my friends is refreshing and unexpected on a hot and muggy day.  It is a pause that refreshes, providing necessary water, carbs, and electrolytes as well as tasty and surprising zing that hits the spot on an otherwise oppressive landscape.  And best of all, it meets my TEN Hat Trick:  TEN  :1) minutes to cook, 2) dollars to make, and 3) servings per recipe.  As an added bonus, you get to use your immersion blender or food processor, which is very satisfying if you are feeling put off or perhaps even pissed off by the endless heat and all the languid aggravation that comes with it.

Enjoy every bite.


Watermelon Soup With Chile And Lime
Adapted from Cooking for Friends
Alison Attenborough and Jamie Kimm

Ingredients
6 cups of seedless watermelon
1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped and seeded
3 chopped green onions
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tbsp rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.
2. Place in a bowl and cover with a top or saran wrap.  Chill in fridge for one hour.  
3. Serve in small bowls - this is a a refreshing but strong soup and should be enjoyed in small portions.

Sweet: Lemon Tart

Every year I try something new for the Thanksgiving holiday. You know, to keep myself sharp and on edge. Maybe even show off a little. But this year all the knives in Chez Noonie's mental toolbox were a little dull, and my plans went awry.

I had planned for a fabulous, complicated 'Lemon Chocolate Ganache Tart', from one of my favorite cookbooks of all time, Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbotham. I know, a lot of alliteration, but worth the tongue twisting. I have been using this book for years, as it is predicated on two of my favorite things in the world: dessert and lemons. The former speaks for itself. The latter, well just take a look at the Chez Noonie citrus decor and you kind of get the picture.

Lemons are a great choice for Thanksgiving, when it is hard to find fresh fruit and people are finishing a heavy, generally somewhat bland meal. The occasion calls for something bright and fresh to cleanse the palate and lift the spirit. Unfortunately for me, the recipe I wanted to use was a bit complicated, involved rolling out dough (which I had over processed - oops), needed to be executed over several one hour increments, and by the time I realized it was not happening, I was in great need of a hug sprinkled with valium.

Anyway, spilt milk aside I still needed a desert for the holiday. And then I remembered that Ms. Longbothom includes a recipe entitled 'The Perfect Lemon Tart'. Now this is a stand by; I bring to occasions, serve it for guests at home, and bake it when my husband needs a quick pick me up. It is easy to make, looks gorgeous, and the taste is over the top lemony and delicious. And fortunately, I had all the ingredients on hand. So this year, an old stand by is about to become a new tradition, as I have decided to literally make the best of things and celebrate in comfortable style.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy every bite.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 pinches of salt

6 large eggs

1 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup heavy cream

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Method

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
2. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Ad 1 tbsp of the zest and let stand for five minutes.
3. Whisk together flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Finely stream in the butter mixture and mix with a fork until it comes together. Transfer mixture to the tart pan and press it in with your fingers until evenly distributed. Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is light golden brown.
4. Process the remaining sugar and zest in a food processor until zest is finely ground.
5. Whisk together the eggs, sugar mixture, lemon juice, and another pinch of salt in a separate bowl.
6. Beat cream with a mixer on medium-high until soft peaks form. Fold into egg mixture gently, until just blended.
7. Place a baking sheet in the oven Place tart pan on top and pour the filling in the still warm crust. Bake 20 - 30 minutes, until the filling is just set in the center. Remove and cool on a rack.
8. When cooled and just before serving, sift confectioners sugar on top and slice into wedges to serve.