Fish Tacos on Homemade Tortillas

Fish Tacos.
This made up 75% of my intake in college.  I could eat them everyday and not get sick of them.  I craved them when I was too sick to eat them and will seek out every single fish taco joint in California just to get a sneak peak of the chef's heart.
There are no words...
This being my favorite food for such a large part of my life, the only 2 reasons I had not made them before this year are:
1.  Before living here, I had easy access to them, so never a need to make them
2.  After living here, I had NO access to valid corn tortillas, or masa harina.
  What has changed?
I thought of buying masa on one of my trips back home and decided to try to make tortillas myself.
Major Breakthrough of the Year here!
So, making corn tortillas is actually not so difficult.  You just need to know the ziplock trick.  It's probably even easier with a tortilla press, but hey, it's not a requirement.

Yield 20 6 inch corn tortillas
Ingredients
2 cups masa harina (do not sub corn flour)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions
1.  Mix everything together into a warm ball.
2.  Let rest for 30 minutes, covered with a kitchen towel.  During this time, the masa will absorb more moisture.
3.  Divide the mixture into 20 balls.. or wing it and make small balls that fit into the palm of your hand (I have small hands)
4.  Cut a large ziplock bag so you can open it like a magazine.  Place each ball in between the plastic and press into a tortilla.  Use a rolling pin to help, pressing from the inside toward the outside.

5.  Cook on a flat slightly oiled surface, flipping once.  I don't quite know about the cooking time.. just don't burn them or they will break when you use them as a vessel for your fish tacos.
6.  Place them in a tortilla warmer until ready to use.  If you don't have one, keep them wrapped in a clean kitchen towel.

Sooo easy!
I'll get to my fish taco recipe soon.. with that spicy Chipotle sauce and Guacamole.. mmMMmmMmm!!

Fermented Agua de Jamaica

This summer has been all about the fizz.  Anything sparkly, spicy, or fermented has been floating my bubble.

After successfully creating my ginger bug (which is still active and stubborn and just won't go to sleep), I've been regularly making ginger ale along with other fermented sodas.  I only have 3 glass flip top bottles, so it's not a major production, but it's nice since the quantities are 75cL to 1L at a time, there is a constant rotation of things happening in and around my kitchen.

Only once has the test been horribly awful.  Watermelon soda was really bad.  Really really bad.  Maybe I don't put enough sugar in, but it tasted like rotten tomato juice.  

I'm shuddering just thinking about it.
The sugar thing is psychological.  I know it will be eaten by the lactobacillus and won't actually make the drink sugary.. but it's a real struggle to do it.

Lemonade works really well, though.  Lets focus on the delicious.

Agua Fresca de Jamaica also turns out to be fabulous!  I've often thought that refreshing spiced hibiscus iced tea would be excellent as a bubbly drink...and so it was!
yield 75 cL (25 floz)

Ingredients

1/4 cup ginger bug

1/4 cup lime juice

2 Tbsp dried hibiscus flower
1/2 inch piece cinnamon stick
3 - 4 cups water
1/4 cup sugar (or more if you like it sweet)
Directions
1.  Place 3 cups of water with the sugar, hibiscus, and cinnamon in a pot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes until sugar dissolves.
2.    Let cool to lukewarm.  This is important.  You don't want to kill your ferment.  Then remove the solids (hibiscus and cinnamon)
3.  Using a funnel over your flip top bottle,  pour in the ginger bug and lime juice followed by the steeped jamaica.  Top off with extra water if needed.  Make sure not to overfill.
4.  Do not close the bottle yet.  Cover to make sure nobody falls in.  I used a piece of coffee filter and a rubber band.  Let sit at room temperature for 2 days.
5.  Now you can close the flip top bottle.  Let sit for 1-2 days, but not more than that.  My room temperature is around 25°C 77°F right now.  If it's colder where you are, you may let it sit longer, but at your own risk.
6.  Refrigerate until ready to drink.

As always, open with caution.  Do this outside or as shown in the sink.  That is not my hand, by the way.

Hold the flip top cap down and let the air out slooowwwly to avoid the geyser effect.  This method functions well.

Enjoy very cold while discussing fermentation techniques with people who had no idea this could be done!

Ensalada de Nopales

Say whaaaaat???
These couldn't have happened at a better time.  As I was planning a Baja Fish Burrito evening, I spotted nopales in the "exotic" section of my grocery store.  The dormant Baja Abuelita inside of me woke up and ripped out of my ribcage with such fierceness she took control of my nimble fingers and guided me through the process...
Usually, in France, the "exotic" section is Vietnamese, North African, or Antillais.  I usually find basics but then go to specialty stores for actual Chinese or Indian products.  Mexican food is destined to the boxed fajita items and jarred guacamole in the dry section.  Never in my life have I seen Nopales on this side of the Atlantic (which only means I've never seen them, but doesn't mean they're not here, somewhere).

As you may have imagined if you know me by now, I squealed with joy, right in the middle of other grocery shoppers.  It just naturally came out of me.  They were in a small basked next to the okra, and there were probably only 15 pads, spines already removed.  They didn't look the freshest (brown spots and floppiness), and I probably wouldn't have bought them looking like this in the US, but here,  this was the glowing treasure that came all this way just to be prepared by me.  It was a sign with big neon lights and blinking messages of love and tenderness.  It couldn't be any other way.

With all this positive energy happening around me, shoppers started to gather round as I selected about 1 lb of nopales.  

"What is that?"

"Is it edible?"

"How on Earth does one prepare this?"

"Can you describe the taste/texture?"

Everyone was intrigued.  Here in France, they eat the prickly pear fruit (Figue de Barbarie) but nobody would have ever thought to eat the Mickey Mouse Ears (Oreilles de Mickey) as they are called here.  The glory was all mine as I explained how, on top of being delicious, they are very nutritious and provide many health benefits.

So now, off I went for the preparation phase.  I've eaten nopales millions of times, but I'd never prepared or cooked them myself before.  There was always some woman higher up in the hierarchy who had the pleasure of preparing them long before I started to cook for myself.  I looked up boiling times on the internet and let the Baja Abuelita guide me for the rest.
It came from the heart, and it was perfect.

Ensalada de Nopales
Serves 3-4 as a small side salad

Ingredients
500g (approx1lb) whole nopales
To boil:
1/2 onion
2 chile de arboles
2 cloves garlic, peeled
small bunch cilantro (with stems)
pinch salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
lots of freshly ground pepper
To toss:
1 Tbsp minced jalapeno chile (optional)
1 small shallot or 1/4 red onion, minced
handful sliced cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic, grated
juice from 1/2 lime
pinch fleur de sel
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp freshly chopped cilantro leaves
crumbled queso fresco or feta for garnish (optional)

Directions

1.  Prepare the nopales by scraping the spines and as much brown off with a knife.  Cut the stem part off.  Rinse well, then slice them into green bean sized pieces.

2.  Place them in some water with the "to boil" ingredients.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.  This is to remove the "slime".  They can be eaten raw, but Abuelita said to cook them for my first time.  I still ate a piece raw and it wasn't bad.  I like the texture.

3.  Drain them, remove the boiled onion, garlic, and cilantro, and rinse.  Let cool while you do your other Baja kitchen activities, such as make guacamole, cascabel salsa, mango corn salsa, marinate the fish, make the white sauce, make black beans, rice, etc.  OooOo.

4.  Toss the nopales with the salad ingredients and refrigerate until ready to eat.  This can be a completely vegan salad without the queso fresco.. obviously.

Invite your Baja Abuelita to join you at the table.
This is all thanks to her, by the way..

I had this alongside some Fish Burritos last night.

And then made myself an egg & nopales breakfast burrito this morning.
Best. Breakfast. Of. My. Entire. 33. Years.

Mexican Flan with Rapadura Caramel

My inner Abuelita feels the need to go traditional Mex and my outer Experimental self feels the need to add a touch of Steph... with burned fingertips...

I was recently gifted a package of rapadura, unrefined sugar crystals from sugar cane, also known as panela.  It is blondish brown (not cassonade) and has a deep lasting taste, similar to molasses.  If using sugar at all, it makes sense to use the queen of it all, Rapadura, you will adorn my Flan.

Serves 8 (or fills a 24x10x6 cm mould)

Ingredients

1 cup rapadura (panela) sugar

3 eggs + 3 yolks

1 cup whole milk

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp orange flower water

pinch cinnamon

Directions

1.  Prepare the caramel.  Pour the cup of rapadura sugar into a pan and heat on medium high, continuously stirring, until it melts into a liquid caramel mixture.  The continuous stirring makes sure it doesn't burn, but do not overcook it or it will burn.

2.  Pour the liquid caramel into the bottom of your mould.  Do not wipe the remaining caramel off your utensils with your fingers.  It burns.  I learned that the hard way.

3.  Prepare the flan mixture.  Beat the eggs and yolks together.  Stir the cornstarch into a bit of milk until it dissolves completely and leaves no chunks.  Then add to the eggs and beat well.  Add the rest of the ingredients an beat into a homogenous mixture.

4.  Preheat the oven to 175°C 350°F.  

5.  Pour the flan mixture into the mould over the rapadura caramel.

6.  Place the filled mould in a larger pan and fill the pan halfway up the mould with boiling water.  This is called a Bain-Marie.  Who is Marie?

7.  Cover the entire contraption with foil and place this whole ordeal (carefully) in the oven and cook for 1h10 or until the middle is only slightly jiggly.  I wonder if this would work in the crockpot...

8.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

To serve, slip a sharp knife on all sides of the mould to loosen up the flan from its sheath.  Then, place a serving dish upside-down onto the mould and flip it all over.  It should slide out of the mould onto the dish.. with that lovely rapadura caramel dripping down on the sides.

Serve in slices.. and be satisfied.

Chipotle Barbacoa Beef

As much as I love living and eating in France, there is seriously a lack of Mexicans and Tex-Mex items.  Please, Mexicans.. COME TO FRANCE!!  You will feel exotic and unique here!
I can easily find Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Thai products, but simple things like dried chiles and hominy are literally non existant with an exception once every 5 years.
Yes, you can find fresh chiles, but they are usually the red Thai or the green Moroccan.  No Jalapeños in sight.  When it comes to dried, you can find the spicy oiseau or cayenne ones, and in specialty stores you can find the red Indian ones.. but nowhere in site are chile de arboles, guajillo, moritas, puyas, pasilla, ancho.. or any of the other magnificent Mexican nectar.
For those who know me and travel, my "bring me this" list is always dried chiles and chipotles from a can... (and mango chile lollipops and Tapatio sauce).
Always.
So when I get my hands on some tortillas, I often dream about barbacoa beef.. but I had never really thought it was a possibility here.
Behold my very last can of chipotle chiles (family and friends.. this is a sign).. I have dedicated it to making my ultimate favorite fast/slow food burrito.. the Chipotle Barbacoa Beef burrito.
Just typing those words is making me salivate.
In college, I think I ate one of these at least once a week!
Serves 12 extra large burritos

Ingredients

1 kg (2 lbs) stew beef or chuck roast

1/6 cup apple cider vinegar

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp whole black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

juice from 1 lime

4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (from a can)

3/8 cup vegetable broth

2 bay leaves

Directions
1.  Place the garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, cloves, salt, and chipotle chiles with sauce in a blender and mix into a smooth puree.
2.  Put the beef in your slow cooker and cover with the puree adding the broth, bay leaves, and lemon juice on top.
3.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  I did this overnight.. I had some really hot Chipotle dreams that night.
4.  Using 2 forks, separate the meat into shreds and let it sit for a little while to let let shreds absorb the juice.  I transferred to a baking dish and covered with foil to free my crockpot for black beans.

5.  Now your meat is ready.  If it has cooled down too much, it can be re-heated in the oven, covered, of course!

You can use this for a bowl, on corn tortillas as tacos, or in burritos.

(There are no real corn tortillas in France)

Here's what went into my big fat Chipotle burritos!

With all the fixings.. sautéed bells and onions, black beans, rice, pico de gallo salsa with corn, sour cream, shredded cabbage, avocado, shredded swiss.. mmmmm!

Then I rolled it and wrapped it up Chipotle style for practical eating purposes...

.. and topped each bite with a lovely squirt of lime..

Just heavenly spicy deliciousness.
These are the kind of cravings that make you orgasmic when you obtain them... especially when you realize you made it 10x better than the original version!

The upside?  I ate this for 3 days in a row.. and I froze half the meat for future cravings.
Oooh!

Zucchini is invited into my Fajitas now

So what happens if you only have 1 bell pepper and a mega urge for fajitas?

Use zucchini!

If cooked correctly, it keeps its texture and doesn't become a boring piece of watery mess that takes up space in your plate.

Yes.. it IS important to know how to cook vegetables or you will never be able to appreciate them correctly!  Many people have told me they don't appreciate this or that because it adds no value to the finished product.  You cannot just talk a vegetable into adding value.. even if you DO talk to your food (I know I do).  You are the master of this art.  The thing about zucchini is that it is part of the squash family.  Squash, once cooked, loses its texture and is most often blitzed into a purée or a soup.  If you are not careful, it can get floppy.

This technical issue makes it a perfect candidate for stir-fried type of dishes like fajitas.  You don't cook the vegetables for a very long time so they keep their snap.

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g (1/2 b) chicken breast, sliced thinly

1 garlic clove, grated

few pinches fleur de sel

squeeze from 1/2 lime

few grinds black pepper

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chile powder (optional if serving with spicy beans)

1+1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced into moons

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 large zucchini, cut into bell pepper like slices.. not too thin

1 green chile, sliced (optional if serving with spicy beans)

Directions

1.  Rub the grated garlic onto the chicken slices and sprinkle on some fleur de sel, black pepper, cumin,  coriander, chile powder, and paprika.  Add the lime juice, rub in to make sure everything is evenly distributed.  Set aside and let marinate for at least 10 minutes (while you chop everything else.)

2.  Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil on high in a wok or heavy based pan.  Add the onion slices and stir fry until just translucent, then add the bell pepper, zucchini, and green chile slices with a pinch of fleur de sel.  Cook on high, stirring for about 3-5 minutes.  Reserve.

3.  Heat the other Tbsp olive oil into the same wok.  Add the marinated chicken slices and cook until nicely colored.

4.  Add the vegetables to the meat and heat through.  You want the bell peppers and zucchini to be crisp, so don't over-cook them into mush.

Serve with some Black Beans and Rice.  Don't forget to add some shredded cabbage, cheese, sour cream, and your favorite salsa!

Now if only I could get a hold of proper tortillas...

Fiery Papaya Peach Pico de Gallo

Some days you get lucky and stumble upon an extra spicy chile in a batch of very mild chiles.  

Those are the days you least expect it.  When you realize it.. it's too late.  Only in the aftermath does the chile reveal its true nature.. once it's long gone and into your system.. taking you over piece by piece.

In the case of this intentionally mild fruity pico de gallo, that sneaky chile got me thrice.  Once during the chile taste test.  It had absolutely no heat, so I used the entire thing.  The second time when tasting the salsa.  It had surprisingly more heat than when I tasted it alone, with a pleasurably hot yet controllable aftermath.

And then there was the next day... it intensified.  I had to lay down and drink goat's milk to avoid either having a seizure or fainting.

Just incredible..

Yield 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1/2 small papaya, seeded and diced

1 peach, peeled, stoned, and diced

3 green onions, chopped

1 tomato, diced

1 large light green chile (it's hit or miss, but mine was extra super spicy)

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

pinch fleur de sel

many grinds black pepper

pinch ground cumin

juice from 1 lime

Use over some black beans, in a salad, in fajitas, as a taco topping.. a dip with tortilla chips.

The sweetness of the papaya and peach pairs wonderfully with the crunch of the green onions and the tang of the lime.  You can obviously adjust the heat to your liking.  I personally think fruit and chile are matches made in heaven... 

just have a security net (milk or yogurt) within reach just in case.

Guadalajara Style Ceviche with Blue Ling

I should rather call this Flashback to adolescence Ceviche...
Since I've been recently fiddling with a Tahitian version of ceviche, I've been flashing back to the very first ceviche I've ever had.  I must have been very young, probably a freshman in high school sleeping over at one of my best friends' house whose family is Mexican and where I learned most of the Spanish I still am able to speak today.  There must have been a social event that day or maybe the uncles were coming over, but everybody was cutting or chopping something at the kitchen table around a massive metallic bowl.  Each person had a task, and I happily joined in the fun (being slow at chopping at that age but glad to be participating nonetheless).  When I asked about the final product, I was told it was Ceviche and that I would love it.
Raw fish? No Way!
At that age, I didn't know anything.  I thought I didn't like fish, but oh how wrong I was about that!!
I was told not to worry, that it wasn't really raw because the lime juice would cook it, and that I should at least taste it.  If I didn't like it it wouldn't be a big deal (there were so many other things to eat.)
When the time came, my friend prepared the tostada for me and heavily squirted it with Valentina hot sauce.
I was seduced.
After that, I would order it whenever it was on a menu, and when I moved to France, I never saw it again until I found a Peruvian restaurant that had it (each country or even region has its own version of ceviche).  I found it exhilarating to be eating ceviche again.. especially in France, and made a mental note to myself to give it a shot.
After succeeding with the Tahitian Poisson Cru, and hearing about a wine bar in Lyon that served ceviche.. the time had come to make this myself.  I can't be letting some wine bar give my French friends their first introduction to ceviche!  I have to give them the same debut recipe that started me out on it.
This one.
And it's a perfect debut to the dinner parties I'll be hosting in my new house =)
Serves 5-6
Ingredients
450g (1 lb) blue ling (julienne in French) or other firm white fish
raw shrimp, deveined and cubed (I didn't have this)
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1-2 jalapeños or serrano chiles, diced
few pinches fleur de sel
many grinds black pepper
juice from 3-4 limes
few hefty squirts Tapatio, Valentina, Cholula or equivalent hot sauce (salsa para botana)
1 avocado, sliced
tostadas for serving (I used tortilla chips)
Directions
1.  Remove any bones from the fish and chop into small cubes.  Do not make mincemeat out of it, but keep it only slightly bigger than your cucumber pieces.
2.  In a large bowl, place all the chopped veggies, salt, and pepper and place the chopped fish on top.
3.  Squeeze all the lime juice onto the fish and add some squirts of Tapatio sauce.  Stir well making the mixture homogenous.
4.  Once everything is evenly mixed, refrigerate for 2-4 hours.  This is where the lime juice will "cook" the fish and the cucumbers will release some liquid, making a nice tangy broth.
5.  Serve over tostadas with avocado slices and extra squirts of Tapatio.
If you are like me and live in a land too far away from Mexico for tostadas to be available, no access to masa, and the only corn tortillas available are ridiculously priced, and even if they were reasonably priced, it is too dang hot to be cooking anything in oil....you can in this case (and only in this case) use corn tortilla chips.

The result?
I would have to go back and taste the Madre's version again to be sure, but as far as my brain is concerned, this is exactly how it was (minus the shrimp).  My heart fluttered the same way with the first bite, and the expression on my guests faces satisfied my curiosity as well.
They just didn't have extra Tapatio squirted on theirs.
This is a perfect meal during blistering heat.  I know I shouldn't really complain about the heat.. I do come from the desert where 37°C 99°F is standard and we have even gone up to 53°C 127°F in August.  It's just that I never thought I'd end up missing A/C in France.

I named it Guadalajara Style because the family from which I extracted this recipe (that I based on my memory of that experience 18 years ago but is still vivid in my mind) is originally from that region of Mexico.  After looking around, though, I noticed it's mostly all of Baja that makes it this way.. including San Diego and LA.. and that awesome flea market somewhere near La Puente...
aaah the lovely memories...

Black Bean and Chicken Salad with Pico de Gallo

I'm baaaAaaack!

And I'm broadcasting from a new kitchen.  A much bigger, fancier kitchen!  Unfortunately, it is too hot to light up the stove or the oven.  I'm having trouble keeping the indoor temperature under 90°F.. even at night (most likely because I'm not allowed to open the windows at night because a bird or bat might fly in.)

Seriously?  Who cares.. LET THEM IN!  

I'm going to have to go back to my desert days where I would pour a bunch of ice on my bed and lay in it to keep cool at night.

Once I even jumped in the pool in the middle of the night and came back in, laid my towel on the floor of my room, turned the fan on, and went to sleep without drying off.  That was kind of crazy but at least it worked.

So with temperatures as I have described, the only thing I'm comfortable using is my slow cooker.  I think it's great in the summer months because it really doesn't heat up the house like the oven or stove.  You can even take it outside or in the garage during cooking time if really you think the heat will be a problem.

My favorite thing to cook in my slow cooker?  Beans.  Hands down.

Beans are great for summer because if you eat them hot as a soup in the winter, in the summer you can eat them cold, as a dip, or as a salad (or even a cold soup because that broth is just incredible!!)

So after quite some time in a stressful business trip/remodeling/packing/in laws/moving out/unpacking/moving in/finding my computer and setting it up, here is the first meal I initiated my gigantic kitchen with that I am able to share..

Serves 6

Black Beans

10 oz (30 cL) dried black beans, soaked overnight and drained

1 cube chicken bouillon (or salt or veg bouillon)

2 bay leaves

4 dried chile de arboles

4 dried morita chiles

4-5 cups water

Place everything in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.  Let cool and refrigerate, reserving some of the liquid.  

I did this a day ahead of time without quite knowing what I was going to be doing with the beans, but just knowing I wanted black beans very very much... and ultimately deciding it was too hot to eat them hot.

Pico de Gallo Salsa

(yield about 2 cups)

2 tomatoes, diced

1/2 cucumber, diced

2 jalapeños or serrano chiles, minced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

juice from 1-2 limes

pinch fleur de sel

pinch ground cumin

many grinds black pepper

Stir everything together.

This is a nice refreshing salsa for anything, not just for this salad.

Assembly per plate

handful shredded cabbage (I used savoy)

handful shredded cooked cold chicken (or skip to make this vegan)

generous ladle cooked (cold) black beans with a bit of the juice

heaping tablespoon pico de gallo salsa

extra chiles if you need

I'll be creating many more happy moments like this in due time..

I followed this with Sandia (Watermelon) in tajin.. oooooohhhh!!

Agua Fresca de Jamaica

I have many things, but here are a few things you can't find in my home.

A vase.  Seriously... I like flowers, but I like them outside in plant form.  I hate being offered flowers for the simple reason that I have no idea what to do with them except for putting them in a vase.. which I don't have, and I don't want, because I don't really care for being offered flowers.

Plus, it takes up all the space on the table and just gets in the way and all you're really waiting for is for them to get ugly enough to throw out.  Oh.. and changing the flower water makes me gag.  I don't mind cleaning lizard poop, but flower water.. bleh!!

People who know me well know that the only flowers or plants I love being offered are the edible ones.  

Bouquet of basil?  oh you just made me blush...

Chiles in any form?  oh yes yes yes!

Ok ok, if you absolutely must, offer me flowers.. but make sure they're chive flower, zucchini flowers, or in the dried form.. hibiscus flowers!  Besides, the only purpose for which I would ever use a vase would be as a pitcher (which I don't have either, but for no apparent reason).

Yes, this is my guest etiquette and it's kind of an understanding.. never anything I actually impose.

I've been making hot hibiscus tea for some time now.. just the flowers steeped with no additions, but the weather has been getting sweaty hot, and although it is recommended to drink warm or hot when hot, I just can't bring myself to do it.  I want and crave ice cold water and iced tea!  The upside is that hibiscus has a cooling effect on the body (so does cucumber), so even if you drink it cold, it eventually ends up cooling you.

I grew up drinking agua de jamaica any time I had the opportunity.  I was never one for soda and mostly would just drink water, but whenever this iced tea was available, I would dive head first into it.

On top of being refreshing and deliciously tart, hibiscus has many health benefits.  It is loaded with antioxidants, can lower blood pressure, and reduce chronic inflammation.  Why wait?

Yield 2 Liters/Quarts

Ingredients

1 heaping handful dried hibiscus flowers

1 inch piece fresh ginger

1 cinnamon stick

2 Liters water

1/4 cup sugar or to taste (I completely omitted)

Directions

1.  Place the hibiscus, ginger, cinnamon, and sugar in a large enough bowl.

2.  Boil the water and pour over the arrangement in the bowl.

3.  Steep for 10 minutes, then strain.

4.  Let cool, then refrigerate.

Enjoy chilled, any time of the day.  This is a great "anytime" beverage.

I enjoyed it with happy hour to accompany my Nocellara del Belice amazing olives, slices of cold juicy melon, and some homemade hummus and dipping paraphernalia.

I love the tartness of this drink. Although the restaurants serve it with lots of sugar, I like it better the way I make it at home, sugar free.  Many people find it too sour, but I prefer it this way.

Pollock Fish Fajitas with Navy Beans

Oh California.. I miss you so..
Fajita plates are my transition into outdoor cooking weather.  They make me feel like I'm at a picnic because I could have used my plancha to do the last minute veg cooking, but didn't because it was too cold outside.

Exactly the same as my last fajitas, except for the fish instead of turkey meat... Or just like my fish burritos but with different beans and plating style.

Pollock Fish Fajitas

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Pollock filets (colin), cubed

1 garlic clove, grated

few pinches fleur de sel

squeeze from 1/2 lime

few grinds black pepper

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chile powder (optional if serving with spicy beans)

1+1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced into moons

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 green chile, sliced (optional if serving with spicy beans)

Directions

1.  Rub the grated garlic onto the fish cubes and sprinkle on some fleur de sel, black pepper, cumin,  coriander, chile powder, and paprika.  Add the lime juice, rub in to make sure everything is evenly distributed.  Set aside and let marinate for at least 10 minutes (while you chop everything else.)

2.  Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil on high in a wok or heavy based pan.  Add the onion slices and stir fry until just translucent, then add the bell pepper and green chile slices with a pinch of fleur de sel.  Cook on high, stirring for about 3-5 minutes.  Reserve.

3.  Heat the other Tbsp olive oil into the same wok.  Add the marinated turkey slices and cook until nicely colored.

4.  Add the vegetables to the meat and heat through.  You want the bell peppers to be crisp, so don't over-cook them into mush.

Smokey Navy Beans

Serves 6

Ingredients

3/4 cup dried white navy beans, soaked overnight and drained

1/4 cup dried pinto beans, soaked overnight and drained

2 bay leaves

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 chicken or veg bouillon cube

1 tsp coarse sea salt

5 chipotle ancho chiles with their sauce

4-5 cups water

1 small can corn

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

Directions

1.  Place everything up to the water in the slow cooker.  Cook on low for at least 6 hours.

2.  Add the corn, pepper, and cumin.  Stir to heat through, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

3.  Remove the bay leaves and whole chiles before serving.  If the chiles burst, the beans will be way too spicy.  By removing them, you can decide which plate you would like to add the chile to.. (by the way, it's always my plate that wins).

Fajita Plate Garnish

cooked rice (I used a trio of Basmati, Brown, and Thai Red rice)

shredded cabbage

shredded swiss or gruyère

dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream

chopped cilantro

chopped green onions

tortillas (unfortunately, not pictured, but necessary to call this a "fajita plate")

I love the way changing one ingredient can transform a regular "classic" dish into a completely different work of art.  For the fajitas, I switched out the meat which is usually either flank steak or chicken for fish.  The fish works so well in these types of dishes.  Be sure to use a white firmed flesh fish and use filets to avoid any bones.

For the beans, I switched out the usual black or pinto beans for white navy beans, or "haricot lingot" which I lightly sprouted before cooking.  That part is optional and the sprouts were so tiny that it didn't make any difference in cooking time.

Now I need to find some masa harina (that doesn't cost 12€/kg) and a tortilla press to finish this job...

Turkey Fajitas with Smokey Black-Eyed Peas

A few weeks ago, a coworker brought me back some dried chiles from California upon my request.  As he handed over the package to me, he asked me, "What in the world can you do with those hideous things?"

This surprised me coming from someone who regularly visits SoCal.  If you don't know what do do with them, you at least know they are prized possessions and absolutely not hideous!  

Either way, the comment didn't bother me because I was so dang giddy just to be holding the little plastic bags filled with delight to even make a smart comment back.  All I could say was "Thank you so much" with a permanent smile and images of all the possibilities that were making my brain skip frequencies.

The thing about dried chiles that I don't understand is why they aren't available all over the world?  Seriously, they are dried, so easily exportable with a very far away expiration date (if any at all).  Here in France, you can find the Indian dried chiles, Thai chiles, Caribbean chiles, Moroccan ones, and of course, the prized French Piment d'espelette.  You can even find a variety of these fresh rather than dried, but you can absolutely not find any of the Mexican ones.  No Serrano, Jalapeño, California, Poblano, Ancho, Arbol, Chipotle in a can (come on it's in a can!!!).  So of course, when someone is willing to bring something back from home, I always ask for dried chiles and I give a map to go along with it...

you know, just in case.

So now that I've had a bit of time to ponder what I would do with my precious treasure, I have this lovely fajita plate to show.  The French love fajitas (though they pronounce them farritas with the throaty R) now that Dany Trejo has been doing commercials here for Old El Paso.  They are much much less familiar with the incorporation of various beans on the plate, which I always have a blast helping them discover.  I usually do black or pinto, but I put some black-eyed peas to soak last night and woke up imagining a smokey creamy bean side that I would be able to use as a soup after the fajita deal was over.

So to answer the question, you can make different salsas, marinades, broths, Mole, chili, dips, and pretty much transform any beans into a smokey spicy blissful dream with "those hideous things."

Turkey Fajitas

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g (1/2 b) turkey cutlets, sliced thinly

1 garlic clove, grated

few pinches fleur de sel

squeeze from 1/2 lime

few grinds black pepper

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chile powder (optional if serving with spicy beans)

1+1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced into moons

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 green chile, sliced (optional if serving with spicy beans)

Directions

1.  Rub the grated garlic onto the turkey slices and sprinkle on some fleur de sel, black pepper, cumin,  coriander, chile powder, and paprika.  Add the lime juice, rub in to make sure everything is evenly distributed.  Set aside and let marinate for at least 10 minutes (while you chop everything else.)

2.  Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil on high in a wok or heavy based pan.  Add the onion slices and stir fry until just translucent, then add the bell pepper and green chile slices with a pinch of fleur de sel.  Cook on high, stirring for about 3-5 minutes.  Reserve.

3.  Heat the other Tbsp olive oil into the same wok.  Add the marinated turkey slices and cook until nicely colored.

4.  Add the vegetables to the meat and heat through.  You want the bell peppers to be crisp, so don't over-cook them into mush.

Smokey Black Eyed Peas

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and drained

2 bay leaves

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 chicken or veg bouillon cube

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 dried ancho chile

2 dried morita chiles

2 dried chiles de arbol

4-5 cups water

1 small can corn

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

Directions

1.  Place everything up to the water in the slow cooker.  Cook on low for at least 6 hours.

2.  Add the corn, grated garlic, pepper, and cumin.  Stir to heat through, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

3.  Remove the bay leaves and whole chiles before serving.  If the chiles burst, the beans will be way too spicy.  By removing them, you can decide which plate you would like to add the chile to.. (by the way, it's always my plate that wins).

Fajita Plate Garnish

cooked rice (I used a trio of Basmati, Brown, and Thai Red rice)

shredded cabbage (mine was Savoy)

avocado slices

shredded swiss or gruyère

dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream

tortillas (unfortunately, not pictured, but necessary to call this a "fajita plate")

When meals like this just happen in my kitchen, I truly feel fulfilled.  I know I'm treating every part of my body to a delight, either immediate or deferred.. because, well, yes.. those chiles have quite the effect on me..

Black Chickpea and Turtle Bean Chili with Sundried Tomatoes and Spinach

This meal is the exact incarnation of a voluntary breaking of culinary cultural barriers.

I went going for a slight twist on a Mexican black bean chili by doing half and half with kala chana (black chickpeas), which I essentially use in Indian cuisine.

And then I let all my desires lose... I added sundried tomatoes (whaaaat?) and fresh baby spinach toward the end.  What Mexican dish has ever done that while still tasting "Mexican"?

The one I conjured in my small stubborn heart... which made me release my happiness while exhaling pure joy and forgetting any moments of stress or annoyment I may have gone through during the day.

This chili was so good with a broth so rich that nobody even noticed the fact that it was meatless...

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

3/4 cup black chickpeas (kala chana), soaked overnight

1/2 cup black turtle beans, soaked overnight

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 yellow onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

2-4 whole dried chile de arboles

2 bay leaves

1 can tomato pulp

3-4 cups water

last entries:

1 tsp olive oil

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

3-4 handfuls rinsed baby spinach

10-14 sundried tomatoes, chopped

lots of freshly cracked pepper

garnish:

chopped avocado

chopped green onion

chopped cilantro

squeeze of lime

shredded red cabbage (for under garnish)

grated gruyère or swiss (optional if vegan)

Directions

1.  Put everything but the last entries and garnish in a slow cooker and set on low for 7-9 hours.

2.  About 30 minutes before serving, add the baby spinach and sundried tomatoes into the slow cooker.

3.  Heat the oil in a wok or heavy based pan and sautee the sliced bells.  Add the pepper and cook on high, stirring for about 5 minutes.  You want them to be cooked but still have a bite to them.  Add them to the slow cooker to heat through.

When ready to relax and enjoy, serve with the garnishes of your choice.

For example, over a mattress of shredded red cabbage...

 and then unmake the bed after adding the avocado, green onion, cilantro, and lime...

 Or serve it over some home fries with some grated cheese, Poutine style.. 

Quebec, not Vladimir..

Black Bean and Golden Ball Chipotle Chili

No matter what is going on in my life, this keeps happening.

There's really nothing I can do to stop it, it just keeps whispering to me.

So I decided to just stop resisting, and life seems to be better that way.

My bean urge sprouted on me at noon.. which is normally too late, because I like to do an overnight soak before cooking.  I tried to resist the urge, but before leaving I had unknowingly rinsed a cup of back beans, chopped a bunch of different veggies, and placed all this in the slow cooker.

Life is definitely better with beans.  The difference this time is the addition of golden ball turnips.  I have worked these previously alongside some roasted duck and I was swept off my feet.  They are nutritious, so it's a good thing to include them, but they didn't quite shine alongside all the other additions.  I couldn't taste the distinct sweetness of the golden balls through the creaminess of the egg, the crunch of the cabbage, the spice and smokiness of the chipotle pepper, and the tenderness of the beans in their deep dark broth.  It was a good idea, though, for nutrition's sake!

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 cup dried black beans, rinsed but I forgot to soak them and it was ok

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

1 large chopped red onion

3 small golden ball turnips, peeled and cubed
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, some chopped
1 small can non GMO corn

1 tsp ground cumin

Juice from 1 lemon

1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
8 cups water (less if beans are soaked)

Garnish:
shredded red cabbage

chopped red onions
chopped cucumber
soft "boiled" or steamed eggs (optional)

Directions
1.  Put everything but the garnish in the slow cooker and set on low for 7-9 hours.  Remove bay leaves.

Serve with rice and arrange your garnish.

I've decided that bay leaves are the magic that remove any undesirable effect from beans.
I've also decided that beans are the simple things in life that bring me immeasurable amounts of joy... which is probably why I have an entire cupboard stocked with different varieties of beans and lentils.. but black beans just have this grasp on my heart which can only be felt, not explained.

Especially after the bed is unmade...