Monday, October 26, 2015

Make-Fast Mondays: Grilled Fish Tacos


The only thing better than welcoming out-of-town visitors is welcoming out-of-town visitors who show up with a cooler full of fish! Our friends Bill and Jamie recently went to Alaska for a fishing trip and came back with a ton of salmon and rockfish, some of which they generously shared with us. The rockfish worked great for these fast, fresh fish tacos.

Grilled Fish Tacos 
1 pound rockfish (or other white fish such as cod or halibut)
1 ½ teaspoons ancho chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 corn tortillas, warmed*

Suggested garnishes: lime wedges, shredded cabbage, thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced green onion, avocado, hot sauce, cilantro

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in baking dish. Whisk together ancho chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, lime juice and olive oil and pour over fish. Refrigerate and let marinade for at least 15 minutes. Remove the fish from the marinade and place on the grill. Grill the fish for 4 minutes and flip it, cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Remove fish from the grill and flake it with a fork. Distribute the fish between the tortillas and top with all your favorite garnishes.

*A note on the tortillas: I’ve warmed my tortillas a couple different ways and have been happy with the results. Depending on your preference, you could try warm them in a frying pan over medium high heat for a couple minutes, or toss them on the grill for a moment once you're done cooking the fish.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

The Great Green Smoothie Experiment


I’ve become quite the lean, mean, green smoothie-making machine. Smoothies are no stranger to our breakfast routine, but in the past they’ve been heavy on the fruit. Well, times are a-changing and we’re trying to work more vegetables into the mix. A few days I brought home a cornucopia of produce and started what we’ll call The Great Green Smoothie Experiment -- tossing a different mix of vegetables and fruit into the blender each morning aiming to create something that doesn’t taste like a sippable salad. We’re three weeks in and no epic fails yet!


A few notes about this ongoing quest for green-smoothie greatness:

  1. Don’t overthink it or worry about exact measurements when adding your ingredients to the blender. 
  2. A little prep work goes a long way. If you’re making smoothies every morning, spend a few minutes cleaning, peeling and chopping your ingredients in advance so all you need to do in the morning is throw some goodies in the blender. 
  3. Water is your friend. No need for juice when you’re working with flavorful fresh fruits and vegetables! 
  4. Each of the following recipes yields about 32 ounces (enough for two substantial smoothies). 
  5. The ingredients for these smoothies vary but the directions remain the same: combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. 


Green Smoothie No. 1 
1 ½ cups cold water
1 green apple, cored and sliced
1 cucumber, peeled
1 tablespoon peeled ginger
1 tablespoon flax seeds
2 handfuls green kale
2 handfuls spinach

Green Smoothie No. 2 
1 ½ cups cold water
1 navel orange, peeled
1 banana, peeled
1-2 tablespoons peeled ginger
1 cucumber, peeled
4 handfuls spinach
4 romaine leaves

Green Smoothie No. 3 
2 cups cold water
1 red apple, cored and sliced
1 Asian pear, cored and sliced
½ cucumber, peeled
1 carrot, peeled
4 handfuls spinach

Green Smoothie No. 4 
1 cup cold water
1 red apple, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon peeled ginger
Juice of 1 lemon
2 stalks celery
4 handfuls spinach
2 romaine leaves

Green Smoothie No. 5 
1 cup cold water
1 red apple, cored and sliced
1 stalk celery
1 banana, peeled
4 handfuls green kale
1 tablespoon flax seeds
Splash of lemon juice

What goes into your favorite green smoothie?