Fish Tacos

Sometimes you just have to have a little of the beach, alright?

First Turkey

This was my first attempt ever at making a turkey and I think it turned out wonderful! Like my cousin says, sign me up for the turkey at Thanksgiving. It was a breeze! Quite tender and juicy.

Some Updates:

If you missed the Pirate Cookies, click here and check out a pic of our no-knead focaccia!

Talk Like a Pirate...with cookies....

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day (ok, they are for a birthday party, but really, who needs an excuse to do anything pirate-y?) I made Jack Sparrow's tricorne hat cookies! I thought they turned out quite cute, and pretty easy at that:) The recipe was taken from Diamonds for Dessert, which you must check out!

(ok, so these are the before cooking shots. I didn't actually get any cooked shots. I fail. I know.)

Pumpkin Ravioli - 3 New Recipes in One!

That's right. I made ravioli...from scratch. And I lived to tell the tale (it only took me 2 hours, but hey, who's counting?) However, I have come to a conclusion:

A person only makes ravioli from scratch if:

1. They are Italian.

2. They just LOVE cooking so much that they have to make everything.

3. They really want ravioli but have no money to buy it.

Haha, can you guess which one describes me?

Anyway...

...the recipe for the dough can be found here. This recipe was surprisingly easy and if I can figure out a way to store the wrappers, I may never need to buy them again. Yay!

The sauce recipe came from Gina's Skinny Recipes and was delish. Even Mr. Limon liked it!

The filling recipe came from the book Double Delicious by Jessica Seinfield. I thought the use of pumpkin was genius but I prefer my ravioli more cheesy. I will have to experiment...

Can I just point something out here? There is NO meat in this meal. And Mr. Limon did not die. He dis not even suffer...much. Ah, success...

No-Knead Focaccia, or The Best Bread Ever!

Ok, it's been a while...maybe a super long time. I apologize but I figure that having a newborn is a pretty good excuse for not posting...right?!

Anyway, we've been cooking up a storm these last few months. I'll try to post everything that's been happening.

THIS post however is about bread. No-knead bread to be exact. No-knead delicious bread to be even more exact. This may be my favorite sandwich bread now because it's yummy and SO easy.

The recipe can be found here. Enjoy:)

Slow Cooked Pasta Sauce

I love Italian food.

Actually, I love southern Italian food.

Ok, so I love Mediterranean food in general. But since I got married a Mexican I haven't had much of a chance to eat it because it is not in his palette. And since becoming pregnant and diagnosed with gestational diabetes pasta is out of the question right now. That is why when I saw this recipe I instantly craved it. However, it brought up an interesting question for me. Whenever I make pasta sauce it usually consists of me opening up a can or jar of pre-made sauce and adding herbs or meat or other seasonings. It usually takes about 20 min and it's done. I have never tried making the traditional slow-cooked sauce that simmers for hours. I'm usually content with opening the jar and dumping it over my pasta. But for all you out there with Italian roots or super cooking skills, what is the difference? Should I be making crock pot sauce? Could that be the difference in whether or not my Mexican husband will enjoy pasta and marinara sauce?

Thoughts?

5 Min Cheese!

(forgive the photo quality. It was dark)

While eating dinner Limon suddenly stated with a burst of passion, "Want to see me make cheese in 5 min?"

I didn't believe it could be done. After all, I've lived through almost 10 batches of cheese so far and each one took at least over night.

Limon frantically began heating milk, adding rennet, etc. In a few minutes he had strained a nicely sized chunk of cheese. However, this was special cheese. He began to elongate it until it resembled a long rope of taffy. He worked it for a bit then pulled off a piece. It shredded just like string cheese! He then asked me to heat up a tortilla. I was in for a special treat.

The cheese melted! I have been craving melting cheese the whole time we have been in this cheese-making phase. Don't get me wrong, I like the fresh stuff, but come on...cheese has to melt...

It was done. 5 min queso Oaxaca. I was definitely impressed.

Mexican Lentil Stew

We have so many lentils around so I decided to make some healthy soup for dinner. (Did you know that about half the carbs from lentils are fiber? Amazing!)

This recipe was taken from this one here. It was pretty good, although we did add bacon and would omit the sour cream next time. Limon said it reminded him of soup that his mother would make.

More Cheeses

My husband...the cheesemaker.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

My cousin's 5 year old daughter has decided to host a bake sale in order to buy a cow for a family through Heifer International (so cute, right?). Not only am I excited to help her and a family in need, I'm also excited to bake up some goodies!

Last week I made waffle iron cookies, one of my favorites from childhood. This week I decided to try a recipe for bakery-style cookies, the recipe for which can be found at Newlywed Food Adventures (she had me hooked at the picture!)

Cheese!

For years now (I kind of love that I can say that!) I have heard Limon talk about cheese. He studied food sciences in dairy while attending college in Mexico and learned to make many different types of cheeses in large quantities. For years he has also been saying that if only he had the right ingredients he would be able to make the tastiest fresh cheese I would ever experience and that it was a very simple process.

His dreams finally came true this week. Enjoy this basic overview of the cheese-making process!

Step 1: Pasteurize the milk by heating it.

Step 2: Add rennet. This is the enzyme that allows the milk to separate into curds and whey. Dissolve in water and then add the water to the pasteurized milk.

Step 3: The milk will thicken and resemble custard or gelatin.

Step 4: You know when the rennet is done when you stick a knife in and it comes out clean (this is obviously not done!)

Step 5: Once it sets, you cut the mass into squares. This helps start the process of draining the excess water from the cheese curds. This is usually when you add salt to taste.


Step 6: Once it has separated you place the curds in a mold and leave to drain. We left ours overnight and...


Ta-da! Cheese. This is fresh "queso panela." It is not a melting cheese but tastes wonderful on your breakfast tortillas. We will be experimenting more with cheese later this week.

Tinga

Forgive the unsightly photograph because it really doesn't do justice to the dish that is tinga. Tina is a great Mexican party food because it can be made in large quantities and is fun to assemble. It is a meat mixture, usually chicken or pork, cook with tomatoes, onions, and chipotle peppers. You then serve it on a tostada with sour cream, lettuce, limon and salt. Delicious!

Sunday Dinner

What do you do when you're craving a light dinner packed with veggies?

Stuff some tomatoes and steam some artichokes!



A very happy (and cheesy) pregnant woman.

A typical weekend breakfast...

On weekend days we have more time to prepare breakfast and sit down together to eat it. On the menu this morning was sausage, scrambled eggs with nopales, beans/rice, and homemade corn tortillas.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Here in the Limon house we had to celebrate the 5th of May and the Battle of Puebla with a special dinner.

Chicken fajitas with homemade flour tortillas.


This guy makes our celebration authentic since he actually is from Puebla.

Corazones

Alright. I admit it. My husband and I are not perfect.

Marriage is not a breeze.
It's hard. Sometimes really hard.
And we fight.
And I stomp into my room and slam the door like a child.

Then I hear my husband in the kitchen.
He is cooking.
I should be cooking for him.
But I still skulk in my room.

Finally, I hear a soft knock on the door and my husband walks softly in.
He tells me that he loves me.
Then invites me to come eat.

How can I be upset when this is what I see prepared?

Chicken in the shape of a heart with homemade creamy sauce, rice, and veggies. I love you too, honey!

How to Enjoy a Nice Meal

Happy Sunday Dinner:)

Mexican Style Mango

What is more delicious than fresh juicy mango? For me - nothing. Here is a quick tutorial of how to enjoy fresh mango, Mexican style! You will need:

• a mango
• a stick, or fork, or knife
• one lime (I used a key lime)
• salt
• chili powder
• Tajin seasoning (optional)
  

Step One: Wash the outer skin of the mango. You won't eat it but it's always a good idea to wash it anyway. Then take a fork or knife or strong skewer and stab the bottom of the mango hard! This part is especially satisfying but try not to squish the fruit too much. Once it's on there nice and tight, go ahead and peel the skin away as best you can. (Note: the stick/fork/knife is optional. You can still enjoy the mango without it. This just makes it a little less messy...but only a little....)


Step Two: Slice that lime. Yum.

Step Three: Squeeze the lime juice over the entire mango. I like it extra limey so I use the whole little lime. But do it according to your taste.

(please excuse that salt shaker. It has mango on it...)

Step 4: This is where it gets really Mexican. I know what you're thinking - "SALT? CHILE POWDER? NASTY!" but I promise it's delicious. Sprinkle chili powder over the mango. Again, do this according to your taste and don't make it too spicy! Then sprinkle on a touch of salt. If you want to get fancy you can use Tajin, which is a chili/lime/salt mixture you can buy at the store in the Hispanic isle.

Step Five: Bite into that mango and enjoy it's goodness.

Love me some Mexican Mango:)

Chiles Rellenos a la limonada

Appetizer of the Angels

Chicken and Mushrooms

Chicken Curry

Malawi's Pizza

Ok, so we didn't actually cook these. On a day off we decided to go exploring in a business district nearby and we discovered the joys of Malawi's Pizza! They serve scrumptious pizzas and pastas and for every meal you purchase they donate a meal to help feed people in the country of Malawi. Limon was fascinated by the non-profit aspect of it and I loved the decor - we were sitting underneath a giant tree in the middle of the restaurant!

Hot Chocolate and Saucy Eggs

I realize these two things don't necessarily go together but when it's Saturday morning and you need some good breakfast we can always make an exception. This is a tomato sauce base that we added some herbs and spices to and in which we simmered our eggs to perfection. I was also craving something warm and sweet because it was a cold morning so I made some warm and comforting hot coco.

Pork Pasta a la limonada

Here is another classic example of Limon throwing together whatever we have and making a delicious dinner. This was pasta with cream of mushroom sauce complete with veggies and pork.

Limon's Curry

Forgive us the crappy photo quality as our camera is broken and for now we only have Limon's itouch camera. This dish seems to be a staple in our home. It's sort of like curry and consists of Limon throwing together whatever meat and veggies we have then spicing it up with tandoori or vindaloo and adding a creamy coconut base. We eat it over rice and it's delicious. However, recently since I became pregnant we haven't been eating it as much because for some reason I cannot stand the smell anymore. Poor Limon.