Memory Lane + Fish Tacos

One of my favorite memories:

Going to Ensenada with a bunch of friends for my 30th birthday on a cruise.  Getting off the boat, bypassing all the touristy attractions, finding a local person and asking him what he would do if he had one day in his city.

Eat fish tacos, he said, at the fish market.

So that's what we did.  No other foreigners around, just us, in an upstairs room filled with glass Coca-Cola and Fanta bottles, a rickety fan swirling overhead.  The only music was the Mariachi band wandering through the street below and the sounds of families chattering away in Spanish over their lunches in the many open-air restaurants that lined the street.

And those fish tacos, at $2 a person? Delicious, absolutely delicious.

It was a perfect moment.

I can't recreate that moment.  From the food to the company, I could put them all together in the same place, but that moment will probably never happen just like that again.  There is the feeling, you know, that can only happen once.  But I can replicate a part of that memory... they may not be the exact same, but I do make some great fish tacos.

I am pretty sure that whenever I have fish tacos, whether at home or out and about, I will always think back to that day, surrounded by friends and family in a place where simplicity and laughter went hand in hand.

FISH TACOS

Adapted from Everyday Food, January/February 2005

SERVES 4  •  PREP TIME: 35 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 35 MINUTES

ingredients

• ¼ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
• coarse salt and pepper
• 1 small red cabbage, thinly shredded
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound snapper, cut into about 12 strips
• 8 flour tortillas, soft-taco size**
• fresh cilantro leaves, to top

directions

1. In a large bowl, combine sour cream and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Transfer half the mixture to another container; set aside for serving. Toss cabbage and half the scallions with remaining sour-cream mixture. Season again with salt and pepper.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil and remaining scallions half over medium-high heat; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper. In two batches (starting with larger pieces), cook fish until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, warm tortillas according to package instructions.
4. To make tacos, fill tortillas with slaw, fish, and fresh cilantro leaves. Drizzle with reserved sour-cream mixture. Serve immediately.

 ** Did you know Trader Joe's has these AMAZING, hand-made tortillas, totally fresh and delicious, for a great price?  They really have quite the tortilla selection, all made at local bakeries.  Go check them out!

COST: $14.24      COST PER SERVING (4): $3.56

The Rainbow's End (Palau)

No internet or cell phones.  T.V. and radio, nope.  Shoot -- for several days we didn't even have a watch with us.  What time is it?  Well, the sun is up, guess it is day time...

That's how we spent the past ten days.  Well, that and swimming with stinger-less jellyfish.

Yeah, I'm kinda obsessed with the jellies.

I am also kinda obsessed with Palau in general.

This little island nation captured my heart for the first time in 2002 when I went on a mission trip during college.  We laid a waterline for an outer island village, population 300 or so.  It was hot and sticky and I thought surely Hell could not even compare with the heat, but that did not keep me from falling in love -- with the beauty and more so, with the people.

So a year and a half later I packed my suitcases and moved out there to teach 4th grade.  And it was the most amazing experience.

I have had the chance to go back to visit a couple of times since then, but this time was different.  This time I was taking my man with me.

Palau could no longer be "my" place, but it was time to become "our" place.

Days were filled with trekking to waterfalls in the jungle, surfing, snorkeling...

... and eating fish.

Lots and lots of fish.

And then we kept eating fish.  For breakfast, for lunch, for dinner.  Cooked fish, raw fish, fish eyeballs.

Yes, you read that correctly.

What can I say?  When in Rome...

The scenery was beautiful.  There is a reason Palau is called 'The Rainbow's End', right?

But you know what is better than these serene blue waters and vibrant rock islands?  The people.

They may live a simple life by our standards, but their lives are FULL.  Full of love, full of joy, full of compassion.  They share like no other people group I have encountered, even though they do not have much.  It is a rare to find a place where there are no orphanages, nobody living on the streets, no old-age homes.  Like I said, rare.  But it exists.  I have seen the proof.

Really, I have nothing more that I can say about Palau.  Not because there is nothing more to share, but because there is nothing more that mere words typed on a screen can do justice.

All I can say is this: my heart is full.

Tilapia with Bell Peppers and Parsley-Spiked Couscous

A few years back, while teaching on the island of Ebeye, I encountered a problem with words.  It started while reading Encyclopedia Brown with my 5th graders.

"Then Encyclopedia and... and..." the little girl stopped.

"Phoebe," I suggested.

"... and" then she dropped her voice down to a whisper, "Phoebe followed the trail.
Popcorn Manty."  She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back into her chair.

It was Manty's turn to read, but he just looked at the book for a moment.  Finally he read, "Fo-ay-bee and Encyclopedia..."

"Phoebe, it's Phoebe."

"Um, ok... 'she picked up her magnifying glass and looked down at the ground.'  Popcorn Bokjuwa."  Another sigh of relief, another body relaxing into a wooden chair.

Man, I thought, what is with these kids today?  You would think that after me telling them it is Phoebe for the fifteenth time, they would get it.  

But no, Bokjuwa had the same problem.  Except hers was pronounced like Foo-bay.

"Guys, it's Fee-bee.  FEE-BEE.  Say it with me."

Silence.

And then a hand shot up.  "Miss?" Pamela called out, "Um, that name, that word, um..."  She hesitated for a minute and then blurted it out, "In our language it means, you know, a girl's..." Then she glanced down at her crotch.

Oops.

I learned a valuable lesson that day.  Don't name your daughter Phoebe if there is any chance she may live in the Marshall Islands some day.

It wasn't long after that my roommate and I were making some couscous for dinner.  A neighbor girl, originally from the island of Pohnpei, was doing her homework at out table.  Lisa and I kept talking, but every time we said "couscous" Dixie started to giggle.  Finally, I asked her what was up.

"Oh Miss!  Couscous," giggle giggle, "it means something kind of bad in my language."  And then she giggled some more.

So, couscous.  What does it mean in Pohnpeian?  Like she said, something 'kind of bad'.  Not anything I can repeat here, being family-friendly and all.  I will let your imaginations run with that one.  But let's just say that every time I cook couscous, I giggle.

But dinner tonight?  No giggling needed.  Straight-up good.  Good for you, good tasting, and good on the wallet.  Tilapia with bell pepper and some parsley spiked couscous.

Couscous.

*Giggle, giggle*

Recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray, March 2011

  Serves:  4          Prep Time:  10 minutes          Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

TipGrate the lemon peel and stir it into the couscous.

TipDust the tilapia with flour before cooking to give it a light crust.

TipMake fish tacos by serving the cooked tilapia and vegetables with warm flour tortillas and salsa.

• 1 7.6 ounce box  couscous

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

• Salt and pepper

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 skinless tilapia fillets (about 1 1/4 pounds), patted dry

• 2 lemons, cut into wedges

• 2 bell peppers, cut into thin strips

• 1 onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil; remove from the heat, stir in the couscous, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a fork, stir in 1/2 cup parsley, salt and pepper. Keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden-brown and just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, squeeze a wedge of lemon over each fillet and tent with foil to keep warm.
3. Using the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the bell peppers and onion and season with salt and pepper; cook until softened and golden-brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Spoon the vegetables over the tilapia and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Serve with the couscous and remaining lemon wedges.

COST:  $11.12     COST PER SERVING (4): $2.78

The Wednesday Files (San Francisco & Santa Cruz)

Day-cations.  They're a thing.

And luckily for us, we live in a place that has plenty of places we can spend a day out in.  Like San Francisco.

Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes. 

Everybody needs a little bit of big city in their life every once in awhile.  We hit up The Stinking Rose (which is the place to eat if you a garlic lover like myself) and then went to see Beach Blanket Babylon with some friends.  Sure, we all stank during the show, but we laughed.  A lot.

Straight-up-garlic-in-a-bowl.  With parsley.  I seriously need to figure out the right proportions and make this at home.  And then maybe paint a wall like this:

In case you didn't know already, I love color.

LOTS of color.

I also love seeing signs of life, whether they are familiar to me, or not.

Like I said, everyone needs a bit of big city in their life.

And the beach.

I think we need the beach a little bit more than big city, though.

And maybe some burgers.  (Or portabella mushroom burgers, if you are like me.)  With sweet potato fries.  And some to-die-for ceviche.

Give me that garlic spread and this every day and I would be one happy happy woman.  A stinky and happy woman.

Whatever -- stinky and happy sure beats sweet smelling and grumpy.

Oh man, I ate some good food this weekend.  We have been fueling up on leftovers the past few days, but it is time to also get some good food coming up in our kitchen.  Like tomato and ricotta pizza.  Or some baked eggs in leeks and bacon.  It's going to happen.  Watch for it.

A Perfect Day... (Honey Mustard Salmon)

Today was one of those days...

No, not 'one of those days' said with an Eeyore voice.

It was truly a perfect day.  You know, one of those days.

Sometimes you sit down at the end of the day and you think, "Nothing too out of the ordinary happened today, but I am more than content."  The sun was out (which, as you know, is possibly my favorite thing), I spent some time at a job that suits me perfectly (and is filled with children who love to give hugs), and then came home to see my man.  Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary, no surprises or big news or adventures... but when I stop and look at it, I realize this is exactly where I want to be.

And then I got to eat honey mustard salmon tonight.  If my day wasn't great to begin with, this would have put it there.

I mean, really, how can life be bad when you have this food in front of you?  Yeah, that's what I thought... it's pretty much impossible.

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food, September 2012 (Not up on the website YET)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 Tablespoon honey
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced and rounds separated
• 1 lb. salmon, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 lb. green beans, ends trimmed off

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Mix honey, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and some salt and pepper together to create a vinaigrette.  Mix 1/3 of the vinaigrette with the onions and spread on baking sheet.  Bake for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, remove 1 Tablespoon of remaining vinaigrette and set aside in medium bowl (to mix with green beans later).  Mix bread crumbs with the rest of the vinaigrette.  
4. Pull onions out of oven when five minutes is up, and place salmon pieces on top of onions.  Then, cover with the breadcrumb mixture.  Place baking tray back into oven and bake for seven minutes until fish is cooked.  Bread crumbs should be lightly golden brown.
5. Meanwhile, boil salted water and drop green beans in, cooking for about four minutes.  Drain green beans and mix with the vinaigrette that was set aside in the medium bowl.
6. Serve onions and green beans together, and salmon on the side.  Enjoy!

COST: $11.55   Cost per serving (says 4, but we got 3): $3.85

Phil's Fish Market & Other Seaside Stories

We have been on the hunt for good, fresh fish.  Being from a country that has an abundance of a cheap and incredibly fresh supply, my husband has been craving it. 

Enjoying a plate of fish and some pineapple juice this past March.

When I say fresh, I mean one day we actually pulled our boat up right next to another boat in Brazil one day and bought the fish straight from their nets.  That's FRESH.

Fishing boats in Ubatuba, Brazil

But our quest has kind of been a bust.  Everywhere we go, we get directed to a "great place" and then we are left with a big bill and an unsatisfied tongue.  San Diego, Santa Barbara, it doesn't matter... it just has not been RIGHT.

The other day I woke up and something hit me: Phil's Fish Market!  How could I be looking everywhere when what I was looking for was right here, all along?!

It has been years since I last stepped foot in there, but I knew that was where we needed to go. 

Apparently, so did everybody else.  The ling was out the door and almost to the street.

Oh well.  When you are looking for good fish, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Waiting and waiting and waiting in line...

Finally we got our food... fish and chips for me, salmon marsala for him.

We both agreed -- the salmon was good.  The marsala was good.  But salmon and marsala together is not our favorite combination.  But finally!  A fish place that has GOOD fish. 

Thank you, Phil's, you redeemed our view of Californian fish joints!

And now, a couple of shots I got wandering around on the perimeter of the beach as my husband went surfing.  I call this a photo-scavenger-hunt.  What could I find other than the iconic pictures of the beach (you know -- the beach ball/sunscreen/toes in the sand)? 

(This beach, as you might be able to tell, is more of a local beach and not so much a touristy hot-spot.  Excellent for surfing and chilling, despite the morning fog.)