...with their mothers.

(Dinner with the mom and mom-in-law... yeah this is about how happy I would be, too.)

I did these fries right.  I have one small thing I will change next time.  I will cut them thicker.  I had my mandolin set on the wrong size and didnt realize it.

Duck Fat Fries

Enough potatoes for your meal, sliced as you like them, placed in cold water to soak until you are ready to begin.  I filled a heavy sauce pot with enough canola oil to fry the potatoes the first time.  Yeah, this is a "two fryings" recipe.  So heat your oil to 350 and pat dry enough potatoes to fry with them getting plenty of room - if they are touching, they arent cooking.  Fry for 2-3 minutes and remove from oil and drain well.  Pat the excess oil off of them.  Repeat this until all your potatoes have been fried once.  Pour your canola oil into a cast iron skillet (if you dont have one, GET ONE) or other heavy bottom skillet at least 2 inches deep.  To your warm oil add 8 ounces of duck fat ( I will tell you more later on purchasing and storing this lovely fat), heat to 350 again and refry your fries - again just enough of them at the time so they can brown without being crowded.  They will brown quickly - this is an effect of the duck fat, or so I read.  Fry until golden brown - maybe 4-5 minutes, I didnt time them but you know how to make fries...so until they are done!  Immediately remove them to a rack (sprayed with Pam or oiled a bit) that has been placed over paper towels. IMMEDIATELY sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt.  I always use Fleur de Sel but Kosher is fine.

We had been marinating chicken breast pieces in Chipotle Tabasco for several hours and while I was doing the fries Husband breaded and fried the chicken.

And for dessert....

Yeah, we have really enjoyed ourselves lately! If your mouths arent watering by now~~ night before we had Chicken Parm (OMG!) ala Husband, last night we had Penne Rustica. and fresh baguettes - oh and Coconut Cream Pie. Tonight we are having Fish Tacos and Hannah's birthday cake which Rachel is decorating.  Pictures later of course.

Tomorrow is Husband's last day home.  He will fly out tomorrow evening.  I can't believe it is that time already.  When he comes back Autumn should be just around the corner...if you think we cook now...just wait!

All photos in this post by Benjamin Dahlem.

Jon and Jayne brought 2006 Sinskey Vin Gris for our dinner with Brooklyn Guy and Brooklyn Lady in La Jolla.

When Brooklyn Guy and Brooklyn Lady sat down with me over ceviche tostadas, camaronillas (deep-fried corn tortillas stuffed with shrimp), grilled mahi mahi and battered and fried pollock tacos the other night at Bahia Don Bravo the other night in Bird Rock (La Jolla), we mused about the fact that even though we'd never met, we feel like we know each other well from reading each other's blogs and getting to know each other's palates. As it turns out, Brooklyn Lady is from San Diego and went to high school in La Jolla like me (she at Bishops, me at La Jolla High). I was geeked to meet Brooklyn Guy (the masked man of our bloggy blog world), as were Jon and Jayne, Robin, and my wino buddy John Yelenosky. We're all fans of his blog and we had gathered a pretty cool collection of wines for the occasion.

The Rully was showing exceedingly well and its lightness was great with the fish tacos.

Highlights were the 2006 Sinskey Vin Gris (brought by Jon and Jayne), a killer 2005 Rully Premier Cru Les Cloux by Jacqueson (Yelenosky), a smoking 2000 Dessilani Ghemme Riserva (my contribution, drank so friggin' well, if I do say so myself), and not to be outdone, Brooklyn Guy showed up with a bottle of 1996 Fleury, one of his favorite grower champagnes — simply off-the-charts good.

I ventured back into the kitchen and poured Dora a glass of the 96 Fleury.

Brooklyn Guy, Brooklyn Lady, and I actually had a pretty heavy talk about life, marriage, and the mid-life crisis I went through last year. He and I had never met in person but he's been a very generous friend, often sending me notes of encouragement and moral support when he could sense unease in my life through reading my blog. It's one of the most amazing things about blogging: by sharing our thoughts and palates, we somehow form meaningful bonds, woven (thanks to the dynamic medium) into the human fabric of experience in an entirely new way. You might think that friendships born of blogging would be superficial, but as it turns out those ties often reveal themselves to be more significant than those forged in other spheres of our lives.

It's a small world after all...

Lifeguards and tattoos, classic beachtown culture at Bahia Don Bravo in sleepy La Jolla. Roberto and Salvador have been really cool about me bringing my own wine to Bahia but we really outdid ourselves this time: I mean, come on, 1996 Fleury at Bahia???!!! Awesome... They both tasted with us, as did Dora.

still getting married. still want to be married. the process of becoming married could be more fun. i plan on being piss drunk most of my wedding day so i'm sure i'll enjoy it. that and i'll have mad libs. maybe lawn bowling. how could it not be fun?

nope still haven't gone to wal-mart, still can't find any damn good fish around here, i want fish tacos really, really bad and alas no fish to be had, i must post pictures of the garden as it is quite jungle-like, rather sick of the pumpkins but those slow food folks seem to think they're the best pumpkins ever and so they're allowed to grow even though they can get up to 75 pounds!! oh dear. i used to like mario batali but i hate him now. i had a small grease fire due to him and his stupid cookbook. although the food tasted damn good. i can't remember the recipe but it was something like shitloads of garlic in olive oil and then wine and saute it for ages. apparently i promised garden pictures last year and they never materialized. i'm one stop ahead of last year, i've actually taken pictures! david took some from on top the barn, i do hope they come out well.

Cezanne is still right - "The day is coming when a single carrot, freshley observed, will set off a revolution". I had a carrot worthy of just such a revolution, grown by the amish as i'm incapable of growing carrots. they amish also sold me raw, unpasteurized honey, i was about out so i need not worry for awhile. they say people are something like 9 meals from a revolution. i'm thinking those 9 meals really should be up by now. instead i have my own little mini revolution at home. i also give people strokes at work when they smell what i cook and they wonder why my food is good and theirs is bad. my food is real and fresh and their food is icky and comes from boxes and jars and factories. yuck poo.

what else, yah pretty sure god still hates me. he probably hates you too. i listened to this dude the other day who was speaking at princeton talk about how martin luther was a terribly depressed person because he realized for god to be real he must really be fucking evil. at least i'm not complaining about a lack of rain this year.

i haven't heard about people issuing death threats against the hedge funds anymore. they really should. if they were pissed a year ago, holy crap what are they now? oh yeah but the dollar is getting all better now magically right?!! at least people did lower their consumption of gas this year, although they only way to get them to change that behavior is to make them hurt. they won't do it out of the good of their hearts and concern for the fucking planet that they keep insisting they have the right to overpopulate.

oh and i really need to return the god delusion, wow. i know right where it is. i kinda hated it. the guy was full of himself. couldn't get through it. dawkins schmawkins.

the pretty picture i made in 5/07 is gone. sniff.

apparently many many many americans still don't believe in evolution. why i live here i wonder. i think the only thing keeping me around is the fact that my house is paid for and i have great dirt. of course that great dirt makes some great tomatoes.

jerry falwell is luckily still dead.

i still love me some http://www.karmabanque.com/ and yeasty lesbians http://yeastradio.com/ and as terrible as this podcast is i love it too http://www.keithandthegirl.com/ even though it insults the greatness of the other two podcasts. something about those morons...

i don't care to log on to myspace to find out if they brought the gay back.

i honestly haven't bought pants in like a year. how weird is that? i do really want a pair of overalls though. i wanna be all farmery. plus you can wear overalls and like a sports bra and totally be set, no more clothes needed and you're all airy and not confined and maybe not so sweaty.

still love this poem:

Razors pain you; Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you; And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful; Nooses give;
Gas smells awful; You might as well live.

-Dorothy Parker

the people that were dead a year ago are still dead now. then more people died too. it happens, like everyday even.

and i'm still not saying anything that anyone else isn't saying. but more need to be saying it so that the morons can be drowned out.

the secret is still a pile of horseshit and apparently now people with whom i work even believe in it. people i like. i think they got the misguided belief that i like it, but maybe that is okay. i don't need to tell everyone that they believe in horseshit, i could try to be nicer. it is so hard sometimes though.

i still love my geek, a lot. we started a blog together and we seriously cannot remember the name of the blog. at all. dunno where it went. probably for the best. i hate correcting his spelling. i love him, not his spelling. he knows that.

still a public radio member. can barely pay bills, i just wrote out a check for $800 for propane for the winter, but um yay i give money away to an organization that has a gazillion dollar endowment and probably doesn't need the money.

rachel ray is still i cunt i hear, i haven't had tv in a couple years so i haven't seen her lately. i hope she's getting fat.

i still don't sew any of my own clothes. i started a purse, didn't like it, quit. i still sew quilts! though how many quilts can one human being use really? still haven't donated any. i'm a terrible person. what's new. just as selfish as the rest of the country. we did donate stuff to the salvation army. i did also sell some crap on ebay. i think i might also be more patient with the boy, although who really uses 3 q-tips after a shower? i know they're cheap, but 3??? wow.

oh i'm graduating! this week! about fucking time. someome gimme a social worker job that actually pays a bit more than i make now. please.

still havent' fixed up spare room. but i have an excuse. spare room had a leak in the roof above it. so spare room had to wait til i could guarantee leak was fixed. spare room ain't gettin fixed now til after wedding and gardening season are over.

i had this goal to find ways to support myself that don't include working. honestly i've found a lot of ways that i could support myself pretty well i think, if only i didn't feel as if i absolutely have to have insurance. i cannot responsibly live without it. with how things are, i can't quit my job and lose my health insurance. no way. so i don't follow my bliss. sucks don't it? of course it doesn't suck as much as people have it in say the sex slavery trade, people living in borneo (maybe, i dunno i have never been to borneo), i met people in paris that would give their right and left nuts to come to america (of course the french hate the africans, the africans are confused and think george bush really is going to save the world, the man better hurry up as he doesn't have much time left).

oh and i still believe that sex cures all ills, be it physical or societal. however don't share the details with your children. pleeeeeease. kthx.

i'm sad to report that 1/8/07 i found a new sexual position apparently and as of today, a year and a half later, i have no fucking clue what i was talking about. i also can't believe some of the stuff i put on the interwebs. yeesh.

the fairmont sentinel seriously needs to get permalinks for stories and keep em there. i don't think they get the idea of the internet. boo.

i actually got 5 comments on a post! wow.

yah myspace still hasn't deleted the account. they deleted david's for inactivity, but not mine. they just love my even jesus hates you picture i'm sure.

still haven't gotten to norway to see the gay animal exhibition. boo.

i *still* don't have the cone. i do have this plug in thing though, wow. maybe i don't need a cone.

my underwear still means i'm bad apparently.

and i don't have my own universe. really? boo. we're so gonna fall behind the chinese. then they're going to cut us up alive for organs to sell to the russians. i don't like that picture. though we may all be too fat for that, the russians might not want our organs. hmm.

A&B Fish Tacos

Maui Maui or another thick meaty fish

• 2 T. chopped garlic
• 1/3 c. lime juice
• 1 T. cumin

Marinate the fish for about an hour before grilling both sides.

Toppings:

• avocado
• tomato
• corn (we used leftover cut off the cob)
• cabbage
• lettuce
• black beans
• great northern beans
• fresh mozzarella
• mango salsa
• pita bread (toasted

We eat all of these delicious toppings with our fish on a whole wheat, toasted pita bread because they are better than tortilla chips or shells.

It started on the pita...

But it didn't take long before it was all over my plate - I wanted a salad anyway, right?!

I had another helping of "fish taco salad" and was stuffed!

Later tonight, while watching the Olympics, I snacked on a small apple with fat-free caramel and a handful of Healthy Oats cereal.

I love the question of the day idea so here goes:

What is your "go-to" meal for serving when you have people for dinner?!

I am finally in the Eastern part of the USA. It's been a long, arduous move but we're mostly settled and learning how to find our way around town. There are lots of beautiful "country" roads here, but it takes FOREVER to get anywhere.

In this time of high gas prices wouldn't you know that we'd move to a place where the nearest Trader Joe's (TJ's) is roughly 12 miles away? I know, I know, I don't want to hear the rest of you complain that you don't even have a TJ's. And I especially don't want my old friends gloating to me how they have a TJ's right next to their house. I'm in a new house, neighborhood, state, etc. and that gives me license to whine a little. Ok, I feel better now. I guess I AM thankful that I at least have a TJ's.

But I'm also 8 miles from Target! Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Target. And I'm about 11 miles from Barnes & Noble. But worst of all, they don't even have Baja Fresh here. How will I get my Mexican food fix? Sigh. Ok, now I'm really done complaining.

Can someone ship me some fish tacos?

Last night we ate these fish tacos for dinner and they really were dyno-mite! The components were:

Marinated/grilled white fish
Avocado
Salsa
Salsa verde
White sauce
Tomatoes
Pickled onions
Red Cabbage

For the fish:
Brush with a mixture of garlic, paprika and olive oil and let stand for at least half an hour, but more like two if you can

For the salsa verde:
Broil tomatillos and serranos and let char
In food processor combine tomatillos, serranos, garlic, salt, lemon/lime juice, avocado, fresh cilantro

For the salsa:
In food processor combine tomatoes, serranos, garlic, salt, black pepper (i use a lot), lime juice and green chiles, and cilantro -- if you want, char the peppers and some of the tomatoes ahead of time. You can also slightly char some of the garlic.

For the white sauce:
Combine equal parts sour cream and mayo with lime juice and salt to taste

I know I'm not giving quantities and that's because I don't measure these things at all.

Plop it all on warm corn tortillas and have at it.

Oh man. So good.

I'm having trouble wanting anything else but that again tonight.

Aside from all that, consider the following:

My Main Justifications for Starting a Blog

• Everyone else is doing it. (SEE ALSO: My Main Justifications for Using Drugs and Alcohol and Being Gay)
• I grew weary of using the comment section of Heather "The Sunset Lush" Stoner's blog as my own personal blog-within-someone-else's-blog. Say blog again (blog!).
• My life interests you.
• Surly lumps face many negative stereotypes, and I aim to prove them all true.
• People want a blog that's fresh, sassy, irreverent, fun. Something to make those long, dreary hours at work/home/grad school fly right by. A reason to get up in the morning. A reason to fall in love with the Internet all over again. Yes, dear reader, today is the first day of the rest of your life!
• I need a place to paste hilarious excerpts of my gchats with Heather.

So I did it for Alex, I did it for Heather, and most important, I did it for my surly, lumpy self.

I warmly invite you to comment frequently and unabashedly on my posts, especially if you are drunk and/or Big Al (aka Heather's mom).

That's all for now. See you next time. And oh, if you wake up one morning/afternoon with your regret socks on, don't forget to text me.

*Well... OK fine I admit it--usually when Alex speaks, in that rapid-fire jibber-jabbery way of hers, I initially struggle to comprehend what is being said. A minute or two later my eyes glaze over and my mind starts to wander, only to snap back to the present when her voice rises at the end of a sentence, followed by a pause and expectant glance, indicating that a question has perhaps been asked. I then start talking about something or other in hopes that it is relevant to the conversation. Note: this technique is much more difficult to pull off over the phone. Wait... what did you say? Alex is reading this? Oh... um, hi Alex! Had any good fish tacos lately? No? Too busy? How's your knee? How you uh, how you comin' on that novel you're working on? Well, it was nice catching up, bye.

Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos
1 pound mahi-mahi fillets
salt & pepper
4 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
minced hot pepper (which one you use, and how much, will determine the heat of your dish - I used poblano)
2 cups chopped garden fresh tomatoes
taco shells, soft and/or crunchy (your choice, I'm a crunchy gal.)
chopped fresh cilantro -lots
lime wedges

Heat grill to medium-high and oil the rack. Salt and pepper both sides of the fish. Go heavy on the pepper as it will be the only direct seasoning the fish gets. Put the fish on the grill and don't move it until it is cooked halfway through. This will depend on its thickness. Resist the urge to touch, as you want some of the fish meat to caramelize on the grill. Flip and cook until just done. The meat should flake easily with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over a medium flame. Add the onion, stirring occasionally until the onion starts to turn transluscent. Add the garlic and the pepper. This mixture should cook until the onion just begins to brown. Stir occasionally and add salt and pepper to taste. (*Hint: As this cooks, it will steam. Depending on the heat of the pepper you are using, don't take a nice deep breath - you'll pepper spray yourself. Ask me how I know this.) When the onion has just started to brown, add the tomatoes and cook until the give up their water and the mixture is the consistency of salsa. Flake the fish into the pan and mix until well combined.

Scoop taco filling onto a serving platter and serve with taco shells, cilantro, and lime wedges. And margaritas.

This morning Ron began our session with a time of praise.  Each person expressed his/her sincere appreciation for our time and willingness to come and teach, especially Ron & Roger who have been faithful in returning to Mexico over the past five years to order a system of training church pastors and key leaders.  A question was asked why we would spend extended time, energy and financing, and dedicate ourselves in continuous visits to Mexico.  We simply replied that we are doing our part in representing our local churches in fulfilling the Great Commission, and that is the example we would like to leave behind so that the local churches in Ensenada catch the vision of the Great Commission.  That was probably one of the more encouraging moments in ministry that I have experienced.  It was truly humbling.

Now for the important stuff.....tacos, fish tacos that is.  I experience my first fish taco.  My travel companions played up the drama real well.  If you like deep fried fish and you like soft taco shells, then you will like fish tacos.  I Skyped my son Caleb last night and he wanted to know if I received food poisoning from the fish tacos and puked all night.  The answer to that would be "no".  The taco stand was situated right on the street corner.  You simply walk up grab a taco and Coke, and chow down.  When you are done, signal for another one, and bam, you got another one.  You pay after you are finished. A buck a taco, what a bargain.  Mexican version of fast food. The best part was the ambiance.  Eating a fish taco and breathing diesel fumes.  Ya can't get that in the States!  There is no doubt we will visit that stand again before the end of our time in Ensenada.

We head back to San Diego tomorrow to meet the rest of our team.  Please be praying for a safe and timely flight.  I know the frequency of these updates will decrease.  I hope to post one time next week before our departure home.

In between naps yesterday, I watched Alpha Dog and Superbad. Both were really great. I was surprised at home much I liked Alpha Dog. But it was very well done, all of the characters did a great job (particularly Justin Timberlake), and I got sucked into the story from the very beginning. By the end I felt really sorry for JT's character, was completely mesmerized by his acting and complete cuteness, and wanted to buy all his albums. So I'd say the movie was at least successful for him, if my opinion counts at all and is indicative of other females' opinions, which I think it just might be (at least in this case).

Superbad was not only hilarious (which was expected) but also a cute and dare I say it, touching, story. I watched almost all of the DVD extras afterwards, and I can't believe this was Christopher Mintz-Plasse's first movie. He completely ruled.

After movies I listened to myself on the radio, then waited for Baby to get home with my fish tacos. Nice. Oh, and last night I tried the Vick's on your feet cold treatment. I can't remember where I heard about it, but I had read somewhere that if you rubbed Vick's VapoRub on your feet at night it could help with colds or something. Not sure if it was the Vick's or the Robitussin, but I slept fantastic last night and feel a little bit better today.

Karen and Paul came to visit! (We keep alternating between Aunt Karen and Uncle Paul, or Cousin Karen and Cousin Paul. Technically they are first cousins once removed, but who wants to say that all the time.  Hi First Cousin Once Removed Karen, how are ya?  Seriously.  Aunt is inaccurate but it captures the nature of the relationship better than cousin.  Aren't cousins those people who you hung out with when the family got together and you'd go off doing kid stuff while your parents sat around a table playing cards and talking about the good ole days?  Hey wait, now we do that. Anyway, feel free to weigh in on the issue in the comments section.)

So, Karen and Paul came to visit two weeks ago (for the Mud Run, obviously) and we had a blast.  At first Charlie was very unhappy that Aunt First Cousin Once Removed Karen was sitting in the backseat of the car next to her on the way home from the airport (there was lots of screaming).  But that passed in a flash and soon they were like old friends:

The first full day they were here we went to the park and played on the baby swing.  This was only the third time Charlie had been on a swing and she had a great time.  

She loves going fast.  

The first time she went, she wasn't too sure at first, but she soon loved it (we forgot our camera that day). The second time was short but fun.  The third time, she was laughing and looking around and having a bunch of fun.  Then we went to look at ducks.  Some nice people who had bread gave us a few slices to feed to the ducks.  

Charlie stared at the ducks.  

We also pointed out some turtles but I'm not sure if she saw them.  After the park we left to get groceries; Paul and Karen made an awesome pasta and meatball dinner to prepare for the big run the next day.

The next day was the Mud Run so I'll skip to Sunday.  Sunday the five of us went to In N Out.  Karen and Paul had never been, and since they make awesome burgers we decided to go for lunch.  After that, we drove to the giant park near our house because Papi and I (but mostly Papi) were convinced there was a petting zoo in the park.  There was not.  So we drove around the park like we were on safari or something and ended up at the nature center.

What a smirk!

The nature center has a lake, lots of trees, a nature walk, water birds, butterflies and lots of turtles.  We walked around and then sat by the lake for a little while.  Charlie was just looking everywhere, studying the leaves, flowers, dirt, etc.

  Dirt is awesome!

While we were by the lake, Karen and Papi discovered these dragonflies hovering above the water, dropping down and sticking their butts into the water to lay eggs. Well, I don't think it was their butts, I think it was something coming out of them. Karen and Papi can clarify that question as they got up close and personal with the bugs. It was gross. Karen captured the bugs for posterity:

After the park, Charlie took a nap and then it was play outside time.  By this point Karen and Charlie were very good friends.  They played outside for hours, learning about different colors, how to distinguish green from orange and the like.  

Charlie basically didn't need us anymore, she was too interested in playing with Karen and trying to capture Paul's attention.  Charlie and Paul had a quiet understanding of each other:

That night we met Lola and Pop-Pop at our local beach taco shack for fish tacos.  I had A LOT of tacos.  It was a bit chilly so we dressed Charlie in warm, non-matching clothes.  Well the colors went together (more or less), but there were three different patterns.  Plus the hat did not go at all.  She looked ridiculous.

The next day Karen and Paul had to go.  =(  

For a bunch of photos from the weekend, go to the Flickr page and click on the Karen and Paul set.  Thanks to Karen for taking such great pictures.  Almost all on this page are hers, and about half of the photos in the Flickr set are Karen's

Cheers,

Mama

p.s. If you still want to donate, click on the red ribbon.  We walk/run in 36 hours!

Although remixing songs has been around a long time, it's just a bit out of control.

Today I heard a remix of "Electric Feel" by MGMT, and it was all together just wrong. The song is so good alone, nothing will be as good.

MGMT - Electric Feel

Stick with what's good. It's not like Cheesecake gets gross because they came out with a new kind. Trust me, you'll appreciate it in the end.

Sunday- French Toast, Egg Scrambles & Fruit

Monday- Vietnamese Grilled Chicken, Rice & Edamame

Tuesday- leftover chicken

Wednesday- Mediterranean Tuna Panini & Salad

Thursday- Garlic Chicken w/ Orzo Noodles & Salad

Friday- leftover chicken orzo

Saturday- Grilled Salmon Soft Tacos & Cilantro Lime Rice

Check out more menus here.

You have your Girltalk and The Hood Internet, but a mash up is not just a mash up.  It takes a real artist to cut and paste the right clips to make the smoothest song that you'd ever hear. Immuzikation consists of Alfredo Lapuz Jr. has been out there a while, but his work is finally being recognized.  An innovator and the mash up game will definitely have to step up after him.

[audio=http://sq.txdnl.com/mwt/t/o/e/t/toetaps/playlists/187020/1564226.mp3]

Immuzikation - Fish Tacos (Coldplay + Weezer + Cut Copy + The Blow + M.I.A. + Reading Rainbow + Immuzikation ExtraTarTarBlend) [MP3]

We decided to use one of our gift cards from graduation, a gift from my brother - thanks Chris!, and head to On The Border for dinner... It was packed so we hung out in the bar area for a while... I had a Corona Light w/ lime, which was SUPER yummy... I dont drink often but this beer was a huge stress reliever :)

I decided to try one of their new "Border Smart" options all which are under 600 calories... I had shrimp tacos with pico de gallo & a spicy sauce for topping... It came with black beans & veggies... Bill had avocado on his plate so he gave it to me and I mixed it up into my black beans - yummy... Nothing beats avocado two times in one day!  We also had some chips & salsa, I had about 3 chips w/ salsa...

Afterwards we headed to a local bar to meet up with some friends and I had more beer... Miller Lite this time, sorry for the lack of pictures, I completely forgot... Suprisingly I didn't feel too bad this morning, I guess I needed it :)

This morning I was up bright & early because I HAVE to get this paper knocked out today... Unfortunately, I am missing Bill's family reunion which is at a local park... I'd LOVE to be there today b/c it is a great sunshiney-park day!  Oh well, it stinks I'm stuck in my room working on this awful paper, but it's my fault for procrastinating for so long!

I started off this morning, coffee-free (not by choice), with a bowl of oats, strawberries, flax, pumpkin granola, and pb... mmmmmm yummy...

Now it's off to work on the paper... I prob will just combine posting lunch + dinner for the sake of time, so I'll be back tonight... happy Sunday!

When Christa and I hit the farmers' market last Saturday, we picked out fresh corn ears still tucked in their husks and avocados, cilantro and fresh tomatoes. Our mission: fish tacos. Our super-charged team of two whisked together guacamole, fresh corn salsa, homemade tortillas, and pan-fried fish for what turned out to be a perfect summer dinner. Christa became an expert tortilla-maker in no time (check out the picture at right) and we savored those fresh, doughy tortillas.

Last night, I reworked the fish recipe again and coated the dover sole in a mixture of cornmeal, salt and pepper and pan-fried the fillets in their entirety. I put the boyfriend to work on the tortillas (he's a quick learner!) and recreated the corn salsa.

If you want to make your own homemade tortillas (which are faaar better than any you could buy in a store), I would recommend that you get this tortilla press. You don't need anything fancy -- just a cast iron one which allows you to press the moist balls of masa into tortillas. You can find masa harina at many supermarkets these days in the "ethnic foods" section or you can order online at this website (MexGrocer).

Fish Tacos with Homemade Tortillas

Ingredients

Tortillas

2 cups masa harina

1 1/4 cup water

Fish Tacos

1 pound dover sole fillets (you can also use Red Snapper)

1/2 cup coarse cornmeal

dash of salt and pepper

Vegetable oil

*********

1. To make the tortillas, combine the water and masa harina until you have a moist crumbly mixture that rolls up into your hands into a nice, neat ball.

2. Prepare the tortilla press by folding a sheet of waxer paper in two and placing it between the top and the bottom parts of the press.

3. Roll a golf ball-sized mass of masa harina mix into a neat round ball and place in the wax paper in the press. Close the press and use the lever to squish the ball. Carefully peel the tortilla off from the wax paper and place on a plate. Repeat until your masa harina is finished.

4. Fire up the griddle (or use a large sautee pan) and wait until it is quite hot. Spray with cooking oil (like Pam) and place the tortillas on the griddle. Cook until they turn golden brown and flip.

To make the fish:

1. Mixture together the cornmeal, salt and pepper in a plate or shallow tupperware container. Coat the fish in the cornmeal mixture and cook in about 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil until the fish turns white. Be careful not to overcook! When the fish is done, put on a plate.

Corn Salsa

Ingredients:

2 ears of corn

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3-4 small tomatoes, diced

1/2 small onion, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

salt, pepper, Tapatio sauce

********

1. Using a large knife, hold one corn ear over a large plate and carefully slice off the kernels. Repeat with the other ear and place the kernels in a sauce pan with 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil. Cook the kernels until they turn a brighter color and are softer.

2. Combine the cilantro, onion, tomatoes in a medium-sized bowl. Add the cooked corn kernels and season with salt, pepper and Tapatio sauce.

To assemble the fish tacos, top half a fillet of cooked fish on top of a tortilla and top with the corn salsa. Yum!

The National Hockey League (NHL) is holding their championship series called the the Stanley Cup Finals. The two teams competing for the Cup are the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh won game 3 of their series last night 3-2 and now trail Detroit 2 games to 1 in their best of 7 series (first to win 4 game is the champ). That was easy (Thank you Staples).

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is down to 4 teams battling it out for their championship. The NBA is divided into 2 conferences, the Western and Eastern Conference. In the East the Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons (yes Detroit has two teams trying to win a championship in two sports at the same time) last night to take a 3 games to 2 lead. Again this series is the best of 7. In the Western Conference the Los Angeles Lakers lead the San Antonio Spurs 3 games to 1 entering tonight's 5th game in LA. If the Lakers win tonight they will qualify for the NBA Finals against the winner of Detroit and Boston. If San Antonio wins then they go back to San Antonio for game 6 on Saturday night. The Spurs are defending NBA Champions.

Major League Baseball is about to hit the 1/3 mark of the 2008 season. Baseball teams play 162 game seasons so all of the teams will play game 54 some time this week. Baseball is divided into 2 leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). East league is divided into 3 divisions: East, Central and West. The current leaders in each division are as follows: AL East - Tampa Bay Rays, AL Central - Chicago White Sox and in the AL West the Los Angeles Angels. The NL East is currently led by the Florida Marlins, The NL Central by the Chicago Cubs and the NL West by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yes it might be a very exciting summer in Chicago if the Cubs and White Sox continue their hot starts.

Remember your friends Nigel and Graham from last week? Well yesterday they were very happy as England beat the United States 2-0 in a "friendly" soccer (football) match. Maybe they will buy you that fish taco for lunch today.

A few more things to impress your family and friends; just tread lightly here. The French Open (Tennis) is finishing up its first week and so far no major upsets have happened. The College World Series of Women's Softball begins in Oklahoma later today. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is on to the Quarterfinal round later today with the finals tomorrow night on ABC TV.

That should do it for today. Tomorrow we will discuss the Lakers and Spurs, NASCAR, Golf and the World Series of Poker. That should give you incentive to maybe have some fries with that fish taco.....

Your friend in Sports,

Dave the Sports Guru

Owners Rob and John strive to redefine Mexican cuisine on the Outer Banks in this cool, comfortable taqueria. With special cooking techniques and flavors, they turn fresh, simple ingredients into authentic Mexican food. Try the pan-seared mahi-mahi (fish) tacos topped with Jicama slaw and homemade habanero sauce or a giant burrito, prepared just the way you want. Fresh-made salsas and guacamole help separate the Bad Bean Taqueria from the rest of the crowd. There's a casual, family atmosphere where you can watch a surf video on a large flat screen TV and listen to music. Catering and take-out are also available.

Back in DC we talked about the fish tacos from time to time. Then one chilly during restaurant week we ended up at Ceiba after going to see a movie. Without reservations we ended up at the bar drinking beers, and talking to some guys who made copies for lawyers--and who made a ton of money making copies for lawyers. And what should we see on the bar menu but fish tacos. These tacos were a little greasier that the Bad Bean's and they lacked the jimaca slaw and habanero sauce. In the long run they satisfied the craving and I'm sitting here right now thinking about getting an order next time I'm downtown for drinks or dinner.

About two weeks ago we went to Alero to grab a bite to eat. As I looked over the menu i saw that they had fish tacos...made with salmon. They should really be ashamed of themselves.

I am going to be 25 next week and it is high time I started processing things. I am so excited; I've been reading my manual all night. I'm going to make shredded vegetables and french fries (!!!) and falafel and hummus and soup and nut butter.

Not all on my first night, though. The nut butter was most appealing to me, and we have a HUGE bag of almonds because every time my mom comes to visit, she brings a baggie full of them and then leaves it here. I don't really like almonds, and at this point, they are basically taking over an entire cabinet. We have about three cabinets, so this is a problem.

I threw a bunch of them into this guy and let it whirl:

And it turned into this:

Does that look like almond butter or does that look like almond butter? I couldn't really taste it because it was pretty hot (is it supposed to get hot? I hope it's supposed to get hot. Mom?) but I'm definitely having some tomorrow.

In fact, I may be eating all of my food in processed form from now on. I already told Chris I was going to make him carrot juice. He didn't like that.

I can hardly remember what we had for dinner after all the excitement, but it was fish tacos:

There was a lot of extra guacamole because I had a little cumin incident and had to add another avocado to even things out a little, so after this I had some strips of yellow pepper and some more guac. I'm going to post the recipe for the tacos under that page because it was really easy.

And the last ice cream sandwich:

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
1 C all-purpose flour
2 T cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg
1 C beer
½ C plain yogurt
½ C mayonnaise
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 tsp minced capers
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried dill weed
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 qt oil for frying
1 lb cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions
1 - 12 z package corn tortillas
½ medium head cabbage, finely shredded

Directions:
To make beer batter: In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Blend egg and beer, then quickly stir into the flour mixture (don't worry about a few lumps).

To make white sauce: In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and mayonnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly runny. Season with jalapeno, capers, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne.

Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F. Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Lightly fry tortillas; not too crisp. To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce.

Nutrition: (per serving)
411 calories, 18.5g fat (2.7g saturated), 43.7g carbs (4.4g fiber), 17.4g protein

Typically my opinion is that wine doesn't make the best pairing with Mexican food, but rather Mexican beer does a better job of washing down the the spicy and savory pieces of seafood and land animal parts. For instance, a tripa taco or two and cold bottle of Bohemia is one of my favorite meals. In this case however, the slight sweetness of the rosé offset the spiciness of the Tapitio and the crisp acidity complemented the trout. The idea that a German wine would pair well with Mexican food is funny to me, only because I've had "Mexican" food in Germany and the effort had gone pretty far amiss.

However, in the wine-pairing world, German Riesling is generally the go-to wine for all spicy cuisines -- Chinese, Indian, Thai, etc. Again, my opinion is that beer is a superior match for those dishes.  Although I've had some of my happiest moments eating Sichuan food in Manhattan and washing it down with off-dry Riesling, it isn't one of those successful pairings where the food is better because of the wine, and the wine is better because of the food. The cold dishes like tripe and tendon or widowed rabbit drenched in chili oil sort of end up reducing the the fine (and expensive) Riesling to a Sprite.