31.07.13 | ROASTED RADISH & CHICK PEA TACOS

I featured a taco recipe on one my FFFF posts a couple of weeks back and I've been thinking about that damn taco pretty much constantly ever since. So whilst I was home alone pottering about my kitchen a couple of nights ago I finally got around to creating something similar and wow - just wow!

This taco was a dream to make, a joy to look at and of course amazing to eat - result! The colours of this dish are SO awesome ( just look at that pink!) and the flavours and textures are absolutely perfect together and well, the fact that it was a taco was simply an added bonus ;)

Vegan it up if you wish by leaving out the yogurt and replacing it with a smooth salsa, either way you're onto a winner.

So once again, if you love tacos you've come to the right place and if you don't? Man you must be sick of me by now.

So I'm either really sorry or you're welcome!

C'mon, lets make this thing!

01.07.13 | VEGGIE TACOS

I'm trying to work out some good veggie taco recipes because (dare I say it) I'm in a bit of a taco rut. 

Tacos Tacos TACOS, they are all i want to eat - ALL DAY LONG.

I believe I could live on tacos but I normally opt for chicken or shrimp ones which got me thinking that if I do ever get the confidence to follow my food truck dream (ahem, did I just say that out loud?) then I will need a good veggie option, right? 

Right.

So, I found one and it's a really really good one, and it was so quick to make. I loved it, the mister loved it, and as a Brucey bonus, the kids loved it! Whoo Hoo!

I mixed the sides up a little and served them with some pink pickled onions (which are quick and easy to make) & all the flavours went together perfectly. 

So what are you waiting for? Go on, go make!

(you can grab the recipe for the pink pickled onions here)

06.05.13 | SPRING TACOS

Yesterday was cinco de mayo & although I'm neither Mexican or living anywhere close to Mexico, I am as you know a massive fan of Mexican food so i wanted to celebrate the holiday too! I'm not going to lie and say the temptation to sit drinking margaritas all day long in my sunny garden wasn't pretty high but I do have three small(ish) children to look after so instead TACOS it was.
Well it had to be really, didn't it...
I'd already made a similar version to this earlier in the week but these Spring Tacos are so good that we wanted them again. The chicken is rubbed with spices & lemon juice and griddled making these super healthy too. Serve with some spicy jalepeno sauce  and some fat free natural yougurt & you'll be laughing all the way to skinny town. Mmmmm.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

FOOD: BLACK BEAN AND MANGO QUINOA

Sometimes in life you need to just get over stuff.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you gain 4lbs over the summer.

Sometimes, you need to accept that your worn out uggs are not doing their job as footwear anymore.
You especially need to realise this if you slip over and fall smack bang on your ass THREE times in one morning (it's ok, nobody saw you, but seriously, three times?!)

Other times in life you need to embrace stuff.

Stuff like cookie butter. NO! FOOL! Actually not like cookie butter - i gained 4 pounds sneaking spoonfuls of this stuff. I'm warning you, if you ever get the chance, do not embrace cookie butter. 

No, you need to embrace stuff like the leaves that are turning yellow & falling from the trees or the fact that the nights are drawing in & you can call up your chimney sweep to get ready for that first fire of the season. You need to embrace the fun planning of Halloween and then bonfire night and then Christmas! Sorry, way too early to mention that word i know...

Then there are times in life when you just need to man up & both get over it and embrace it. Just like I just did with some corn.
Yes, I am rambling on like a crazy person about corn.
You see I have a funny thing about corn being used in salsas or salads. Don't ask me why because I have no idea. It's just one of those things & i to be honest I hadn't felt like it's something i ever needed to address because it's just corn, right? Er -Wrong! As a Mexican food addict  i totally needed to get over it & embrace that funny little yellow bit of oddness.

So I got brave.

And after i congratulated myself for buying a fresh cob of corn, I made this recipe which blew my socks off! I had it today for lunch in a tortilla with lashings of hot sauce & then tonight, i had it again after the mister told me he was going out for steak (!) but i served it with some grilled chicken. It's a flavour bomb waiting to go off & you need to try it.
Especially if you have a weird unjustified aversion to corn.

Go Make!

SPICY BIRD TACOS

A couple of weeks ago, i picked up this book which is full of recipes for authentic Mexican grub. The first thing i decided on cooking up was these Spicy Bird Taco's and oh my, they were so good! I adapted Thomasina's recipe slightly because i hadn't made my own chipotles en adobo and i happened to have a tin of these ready made ones in my cupboard which my sister-in-law sent over from the States. Luckily, i've seen this brand creeping in a few shops this side of the pond lately, which is good good news!

So, do you fancy something sweet, smokey and spicy? 

Yes?

Great - then these are for you!

We enjoyed ours with some home made pico de gallo and lashings of Cholula and the kiddos had the leftovers the following day in fajitas with some soured cream & grated cheese. Full smiles & full bellies all round. NOM.

TACO NIGHT!

My name is Lia & I am a mexican food addict. Phew- just had to get that out there!
Seriously though, you've caught me right in the middle of a another food obsession. I get these ALL the time, but this one has gone on and on, and to be honest, it shows no sign of waning, and thank goodness for that as I don't want it to. Ever!
I think it all started when I watched Sir Jamie of Oliver make this on TV one night. I went out & got the Jamie's America book the very next day & I got shredding! To say it blew my socks off is an understatement - i fell in LOVE!

From that moment, my mexican obsession snowballed. Fajita's, natchos, burritos, tostadas, salads, beans, salsa's - you name it, i wanted it! But then the best thing happened - I discovered taco's - proper taco's. I say proper taco's because in the past i'd always been put off them in the past because of those disgusting unappetising pictures on those mexican kit boxes you get in the supermarkets. They look like a giant curved dorrito. It looked like it would snap into a million pieces whenever i took a bite & i'd be left with a mouth full of crisps when i was trying to eat a meal. Urgh, no thanks, i'm not up for that!
Anyway, whilst reading my fave foodie blog Shutterbean, I found this taco night party & found that it was easy to make your own shell's using some good quality tortilla wraps. Score! So, it was that discovery, along with this awesome Pico de Gallo recipe, that sealed my fate, and my new favourite meal was born. That night we feasted on shrimp taco's with pico de gallo & black beans. It was awesome & now we have a taco night at least once a week as a RULE! Is that weird? Maybe, but I couldn't give a flying tortilla as it is just so so good.
This week we had fish taco's using cod loins. They were good, but i'm not going to lie to you - king prawns work 100 times better.

So, this is how a Taco night for two goes in my kitchen...


1. For lazy black beans:
- empty a can of black beans into a saucepan (that's the lazy part)
- add 2 crushed garlic cloves
- add 4 corriander stalks
- simmer for about 15-20 minutes. (or long enough so they are not watery)

2. Marinate:
- take either 500g of raw king prawns, or 2 fillets of chunky white fish
- in a bowl add a sprinkle of sea salt
- add the juice of a lime
- add a few shakes of a hot sauce of your choice
- set aside

3. Next up, make your Pico De Gallo:
You will need:
- 12 cherry tomatoes - quartered
- 2 tablespoons of corriander leaves
- 3 tablespoons of finely diced white onion
- 1 fresh red chilli - deseeded & chopped
- fresh sea salt
- juice of 1/2 - 1 lime

Simply combine your toms, corriander, onion & chilli. Then sprinkle with your salt & dress with your lime. How easy is that? C'mon!

4. Make your shells:
You will need 8 flour tortilla's
- heat a large frying pan on your hottest hob. Get it REAL hot!
- when it's hot place one tortilla on, and using tongs keep peaking underneath until you see it starting to crisp & have a few brown spots.
- turn over & repeat for the other side.
- once ready, take off the heat & fold in half. I use the end of a wooden spoon to create the shell shape.

5. Grill your fillings:

6. Gather your sides! Hot sauce is a MUST! Cholula is my fave.

7. Load up your shell!

Flake your fish (or scatter your prawns) & fill!

That's the happiest little taco i've ever seen. Look! It's smiling :)

So there you have it, perfection on a plate! Enjoy x