Portobello and Eggplant Tacos

Please oh please click on the picture for a bigger shot. It's so pretty.

This truly genius idea came about when I asked Rich one night what he wanted for dinner and he said eggplant, and this eggplant jambalaya dish we make (that will make its way on here eventually...) just wasn't doing it for us. Rich introduced me to the vegetarian taco at Fred's Mexican Cafe here in Old Town and I've ordered it every time since then: portobello mushroom, eggplant, corn, avocado and cotija cheese. So. Frickin. Good. 

And then the lightbulb went off and we realized we can make them. OURSELVES! It was every bit as good as we imagined and then some, and they turned out even better than the ones in the restaurant (if we do say so ourselves). The only disappointment was preparing a whole cookie tray of veggies thinking it would be more than enough, and it so wasn't. We're fat kids... I should have known. But we had leftover raw veggies so this was also lunch the next day, and I have a feeling we'll be eating this again soon and frequently.

Ingredients:

Eggplant

Portobello mushrooms

Corn

Avocado

Mexican cheese (cotija, pepper jack)

Tortillas

Salsa

Seasonings (garlic, salt and pepper)

Chop the eggplant and mushrooms to thick bite sized pieces and spread on a cookie sheet with the corn.  Cover everything with a healthy coating of your seasonings, and flip or stir so the seasons get on all sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes on each side, flipping once.

Once the veggies are done to your liking (the mushrooms get a little brown and juicy) warm your tortillas and spoon the mixture into them. Top with avocado, shredded cheese and a tiny spoonful of salsa. 

We had enough veggies prepared for each of us to have four tacos, but that still wasn't enough. These were so good. So good, in fact, that here's another photo just to showcase the delicious goodness that these tacos are. 

Are the skies opening up and angels singing? I realize this is tooting my own horn quite a bit but they really are fantastic; the ingredients work together perfectly. This would be even better with roasted corn from the cob. Next time!

Total cost: ~$10 (essentially feeds 4)

Total cook time: ~35 minutes

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Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce

Welcome to our new food blog!

Pepper, garlic powder and basil

I think it's appropriate that we're starting it off with fish tacos. Because this is arguably one of the most delicious dishes I know how to make. And it photographs quite nicely, too!

My favorite fish to use in tacos is mahi mahi (oh mouthwatering goodness), but it's expensive so I usually use tilapia. This fish in the pictures is haddock, because it was on sale and looked tasty and the guy said it was similar to tilapia.

Ingredients:

Fish

Tortillas

Cheese

Tomatoes

Bell pepper

Avocado

White sauce (see bottom)

Mmmm golden whitefish!

There are a bunch of ways you can prepare fish for tacos, and grilling would probably be the most delicious, but I live in an apartment so I use the stove. Most whitefish can be seasoned with pretty much whatever you want because they take on the flavors of whatever you cook with, and generally aren't too fishy. I use a few shakes of garlic powder, peppercorns, basil and maybe a bit of sea salt, squeeze a lime slice over it, then cook it in a very thin layer of olive oil.

Crumbly fish goodness is another reason I use the stove.

Mahi mahi will stay in a firm steak form, but tilapia and haddock crumbles like ground meat. Warm corn tortillas either on the stove (careful: my aunt says you need Mexican hands to do that) or in a microwavable tortilla warmer, my favorite kitchen tool. Spoon your awesome fish into some tortillas and top with cheese (pepper jack cheese is the best) while it's still warm so it melts. Top with chipotle sauce (that recipe is a few scrolls down), chopped tomatoes and bell peppers and, of course, avocado. We throw a few black olives onto the pile, too.

Aaaaaand devour. We go back for seconds. And thirds.

Fish tacos get messy, so as delicious and impressive as they may look they aren't great for first dates. Unless you're like us and you're a pro at eating tacos without making a giant mess.

Chipotle taco sauce:

This is my favorite thing ever. I got it from a cook book my BFF gave me and we modified it a bit for our personal tastes. This is the perfect addition to fish tacos, hands down, and is great for dipping chips, which I also make, but I'll be keeping that tidbit to myself. We'll use it for egg tacos, potato tacos, anything taco, and I'm sure it'll be great on pretty much anything else.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (you can use mayonnaise, but that's gross)

A few chipotles and like a tablespoon of sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce

1/2 to 1 full bunch of chopped cilantro

Juice from 1 lime

Sea salt

Mix all ingredients together and adjust for your level of spiciness. Chipotles can get spicy. And this sauce gets really spicy if you let it sit for a while. Like, over night.

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