Fish Tacos Adobo

Adobo! Is there any protein it doesn't complement? In my experience, nope. You can marinate steak in it overnight, brush it on grilling chicken, slow-cook pork in it, and probably even use it to swank up some tofu. It has a complex taste that will fool people into thinking you are a cleverer chef than you are -- or at least that you worked harder than you did.

I like it on flaky white fish.

Adobo Marinade:
(should suffice for 4-5 filets)

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 medium-sized lime
2 serious tbsp brown sugar (the darker, the better)
2 tbsp paprika
3-5 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 tbsp chile powder (preferably ancho)
1 tbsp salt
a pinch or two of cinnamon

If you have a food processor, you can juice the lime and then throw all this stuff in, but I like noticeable bits of cilantro and garlic, so I just chop finely and mix. If you are one of those unfortunates whose brain chemistry prohibits them from enjoying the zesty freshness of cilantro, I feel bad for you. And you can leave it out.

This recipe works with almost any type of fish, and I think it's perfect for tilapia because of the strong flavors. But I don't like tilapia, on account of how it tastes like mud, so I go with cod, haddock or even red snapper.



Preheat the oven to 350. Spoon a bit of marinade onto the shiny side of a nice large piece of aluminum foil and place the filet on top. Cover the filet with marinade; optionally, you can even puncture the fish a bit with a fork or knife to ensure marinade penetration. Fold the foil flate over the fish, and double fold in along all four sides for a tight seal.

These foil packets can go straight on the oven racks; cooking time varies by thickness of filet. For an average filet, 20-25 minutes should be good. Carefully open a packet and test the center of a filet: if it flakes easily, take them all out and let them rest for five minutes, piercing the aluminum on the top to let steam escape.



Serve on warmed tortillas with cilantro, diced onion and Cholula. Lime wedges optional, but delicious. A side of rice and beans wouldn't go amiss. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Soup

So I was poking around pinterest when I came across this picture of cauliflower soup:

That is some cozy looking soup! I wanted to give it a go, but I wasn't a huge fan of the recipe behind the picture. So I did a googling and found this, very straight-forward, recipe.

To Buy:

• A head of cauliflower
• An onion
• A couple cloves of garlic
• A quart of chicken stock
• About a cup of Parmesan cheese (double what the recipe calls for, but trust me)

To Do:

• Cut up the onions and garlic and cook them up in a soup pot with a little olive oil. 
• Remove leaves from cauliflower and roughly chop. Once the onions are soft throw in the cauliflower and add the broth. 
• Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook til cauliflower comes apart easily (about 15 minutes).
• Immersion blender!
• Stir in the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. I put in a lot of pepper, which I almost never do. 

So, after all those steps I got something that looks like this:

So it doesn't look quite as enticing. I'll blame my shortage of twine wrapped spoons.

Mature Responsible Adult Humor

So, for my first recipe... should I make this?

Barley with Roasted Mushrooms and String Beans

I can't believe I've never roasted mushrooms before!

Last night I tried out this recipe: http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/01/roasted-mushroom-and-green-bean-farro.html with a few adaptations.I don't really understand how farro differs from barley, but I couldn't find farro at my Whole foods, so whatever. Also, walnuts are gross.

Ingredients:
About 9 mushrooms
About two big handfuls of frozen green beans. I like the skinny french type.
About five inch-ish cubes of feta
Some thyme
Some olive oil
Some balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup barley
Salt

• Start on the barley. That shit takes forever.
• Quickly microwave to thaw out the green beans and preheat the oven to 400.
• Toss the mushrooms and the beans in some olive oil with some thyme. Lay it all out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast for about 20 minutes, flipping occasionally. 
• When the barley is done, I dumped the mushrooms and beans into the pot and stirred. I crumbled in some feta and poured on some vinegar. And some salt, duh.

Overall I thought this was pretty delicious. Especially the mushrooms. AND, it was my first time cooking with thyme, so that was a fun experiment. 

It was supposed to look like this:

It looked like this:

Close enough!