Ay! Que Pica!!!

The other evening we got together with another couple for a homemade Mexican dinner.  

I was super-excited as I have have not had good, authentic Mexican tacos since we moved to Pittsburgh from Atlanta!  I have had fish tacos a few times, and I never was a big fan, but these were fantastic.  Chuy told us that is was all in the combination of salsas--he is so right!

First, we had salmon tacos:

Small, corn tortillas were heated up and folded in half with soft cheese.  They used mozzarella, but any "queso blanco" will do.  

The salmon was cut into bite-sized pieces and fried in a little bit of olive oil, then stuffed in the taco.

Finally, it was topped with a sweet salsa called "Chipotle con Miel".  ricisimo!

Next, we tried the ceviche tacos:

I have always been intimidated by ceviche, and only order it in restaurants.  However, it was fantastic and seems pretty simple to make.

You take a mild, white fish (they used tilapia) and cut it into small, bite sized pieces.  Put the pieces into a raised dish and cover the pieces with lemon juice.  Leave it in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, add chopped onion, garlic, and spices like freshly chopped cilantro.

Again, the trick was in how you put together the taco.

Here, we used a crispy round taco, topped with guacamole, then the ceviche, and finally a salsa cruda like pico del gallo.  mmmmmm!

After dinner, all was calm:  the adults were talking (the men sipping "Caballo de La Hacienda" tequila), the babies were sleeping and Victor was playing with their daughter Vale....or so we thought!

We looked up and Victor had somehow reached up to the table, grabbed the bowl of salsa picante and a spoon and was now downing it like a soup!  We noticed just as the jalepenos were taking affect....and the screaming began.  Poor little guy--he didn't want to be left out of the feast!  I just hope that his Mexican food experience will be better next time!

No me llames LENTEJAS!

One of the first "real" solid foods that Victor ate (after the rice cereal, veggie and fruit purees, etc) were lentils.  It was inevitable--my husband LOVES lentils (one of the comfort foods of Spain), and my son cries when he sees someone eating something he is not.  

Seriously, lentils are a fantastic food for babies:

• super easy and fairly quick to make
• you can make a huge batch and it freezes well
• very inexpensive
• rich in fiber, iron, protein
• lend themselves to adding other veggies (carrots, garlic, leeks, etc) as well as yogurt
• no need to puree as the lentils cook down to be very soft
• pretty portable (OK, I'll admit that maybe this is an anomaly as my son likes cold lentils)

I've been pretty surprised as to the amount of questions I have received about making and feeding our babies and toddlers lentils.  Since I have received a number of requests for a recipe, I thought I would share our "base" recipe here:

Ingredients:

1 package dried lentils

1 onion or leek (optional)

several cloves of garlic

3 or 4 chopped carrots

1 cube of chicken broth

any other veggies you want to add

any meat you want to add (we sometimes add chorizo, ham, bacon, or even chopped hot dogs)

Preparation:

In a big pot, bring about 6 cups of water to a boil.  Add chicken brothe and lentils.

At the same time, sautee your onion/leek and garlic.  Add meat (chopped) into pan until lightly cooked.  Add to lentil pot.

Let mixture simmer for a couple of hours (or if you have a pressure cooker like we do, 15 min) until lentils are soft.

Let cool a bit and puree (optional) to desired texture.

Que aproveche!