Rosie's First Real Meal Upon Returning Home.

 Rosie had fun today.

Today's lunch was the first real meal

I've made since we've been home

from our 2-week trip.
(We left Thursday, October 4
and got back home on Wednesday, the 17th.)

Oh ... I've made the occasional omelet-in-a-bag,

but I don't consider that a real meal.

I hope you don't mind if I intersperse
trip posts along with posts from home.

Today, I thought you'd like to know the first
real meal Rosie has prepared since returning.

Today's late luncheon will be a Taco salad

with seared mahi mahi, atop shredded greens,

with a Asian-inspired side salad,

and a Rosie-inspired black bean salad.

In addition, I will be preparing 

 rosemary-skewered-shrimp,

 in a citrus marinade.

First, Rosie's version of Asian-ness.

 

 Aren't my peppers pretty?

I love all the colors.

 Whenever I use peppers in any dish,

I like to confetti it up.

I want every color pepper I can get.

 Every year in my garden, I have sweet bell peppers,

banana peppers, habaneros,

cayennes, Anaheims, Cubanelles,  jalapenos, Thais ...

You name it, I have it.

 Today, I wanted to use all that gardeny goodness

in my salad.

Rosie is starting on her slaw.

 Ingredients for

 Rosie's "Asian" Slaw

1/4 large pepper, julienned

(I use different flavored and colored peppers,

from sweet to mild to whatever.

I like to mix and match.

Confetti it up!)

1/2 carrot, julienned

1/4 small cabbage, shredded

1/3 cup sliced red onion

1/2 Granny Smith apple, sliced

and doused with lemon juice

to keep from oxidation.

Or you can just wait 

until the last minute to add in the apple,  

like I did.

Dressing:

1-inch cube frozen ginger *

(yields 1 TB juice)

juice of one lime

1 TB tamari soy sauce

1 TB rice vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TB sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 cup canola oil 

freshly grounded salt and pepper

* I always have ginger root in my freezer.

I buy fresh ginger, cut it into 1-inch cubes,

pop the cubes into freezer bags,

then put in the freezer.

This way, I always have ginger on hand.

I take a one-inch ginger cube 

and nuke it for about 25 seconds.

Then you can easily squeeze the cube

and get all the juice out.

I throw the dried pulp out. 

Mix first seven ingredients.

At this point, I have 1/2 cup liquid.

I slowly whisked in 1/2 cup canola oil

to make an emulsion.

Taste test.

Season with freshly ground salt and pepper.

 

 The only way to get juice out of ginger root

is to freeze it first.

In one-inch cubes.

Then nuke a cube for 20-30 seconds

depending on your microwave.

Squeeze away.

You should get 1 TB ginger juice.

 At the last minute,

I added in my apple slices.

If you slice the apple ahead of time

and leave it exposed to air,

it will oxidize/turn brown/rust.

To avoid this unfortunate occurrence,

either wait to the last minute to add in the apple slices,

or slice them and squeeze some citrus over the slices.

 I love a good ribbon of dressing

cascading into my salad.

 Pour and toss.

Cover and refrigerate.

Next on my luncheon agenda 

is Rosie's 67th adaptation

of the ever-adaptable, malleable, versatile,

and ...????

...  the little black dress of salads ...

... which you can doll up with anything.

... the Black Bean Salad.

 Above, I have the makings of

Rosie's

#67  Black Magic Beanie Salad:

1 cup dried black beans, rinsed, and properly cooked
(about 35-40 minutes)

in salted, slightly simmering water, 

rinsed at the halfway mark,

then back to another simmer.

Cooked beans will yield 1 1/2 to 2 cups.

handful of chopped red onion

1 large tomato, peeled and chopped.

3 TB cider vinegar

1 TB sugar

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp adobo seasoning

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 cup canola oil,

 whisked in delicately, 

 to make an emulsion.

freshly ground salt and pepper

minced jalapeno to taste

(I used 1/2 fresh jalapeno.  

It was very mild.)

cilantro leaves to taste

 Here's my 67th Black Bean Salad.

 Dressing suspended in a delicate emulsion,

back left.

Black bean, tomato, red onion,

pepper, jalapeno in forefront

freshly picked cilantro on right.

That delightful dressing

will pull all of this together.

I added the dressing to the bean salad.

Mix, cover, and refrigerate.

Let the flavors get acquainted.

Now, remember

 I told you at the beginning of this post,

 I'm making a Taco Salad.

That involves a Taco.

Let Rosie hold you by the hand

and walk you through Taco-Heaven.

Any time the Hawthornes are On The Road,

we stop at every WalMart we see.

We want to stock our truck/fridge up with

fresh strawberries, blueberries

assorted nuts, prunes, wheat germ, and turkey jerky.


Plus, Mr. Hawthorne always says,
"Whenever I get homesick,
all I have to do is go to a WalMart.
They're all the same.
Even the people look the same."

 
 So, would you just look at what we found
at some WalMart on the road.
Can you tell what it is?

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Why, it's tortilla pans,

AS SEEN ON TV!!!

And you KNOW the Hawthornes must have this.

I didn't oil the pans.

I oiled my tortillas (both sides) ...

... then pressed them into the pan.

Corn tortillas are not as well-behaved as flour tortillas,

so I had to punish them by 

smothering them in foil and dried beans.
Any mother knows to do this - from Parenting 101.

 

400 degrees, about 10 minutes

 
I set these aside and started on my shrimp.

I skewered my shrimp

on rosemary sprigs,

then I marinated them.

Shrimp Marinade

juice of one lime

juice of one lemon

juice of one orange

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup white wine

1 TB sugar

1/4 cup oil

salt and pepper to taste

Mix first 6 ingredients.

Slowly whisk in oil to make an emulsion.

Taste test.

Season with salt and pepper.

Let the shrimp marinate for about 30 minutes.

When you're ready to grill the shrimp,

take care of the marinade.

Pour the marinade into a small pan,

place over medium heat,

bring to a boil,

reduce to simmer.

and let it reduce.

Mr. Hawthorne grilled the shrimp,

basting with a combination of melted butter and oil.

I loved the infusion of the rosemary flavor in the shrimp.

On to the mahi mahi.

Remove the dark bloodline.

I cubed the mahi mahi

and sprinkled a little Paul Prudhomme's 

 Blackened Redfish Magic over top.

I added a tablespoon of butter

and a tablespoon of oil

to my hot skillet,

let the butter melt,

and seared the mahi mahi cubes

over medium high heat.

3-4 minutes until done.

Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

You should have some goody bits

in the pan in which you seared the fish.

With heat on medium,

add a little white wine to the pan

and scrape those bits up.

Let the wine reduce for a few minutes.

Next, I poured in the marinade, which has been reducing,

 into my wine and goodie bits.

Cook 4-5 minutes at a simmer to reduce.

To give your sauce a little extra richness,

 swirl in 3 tablespoons of butter,

one butter pat at a time.
 Cut off heat, set aside, and keep warm.

First I added a comfy green nest of shredded lettuce.

Place the mahi mahi on top of the lettuce,

add the black bean salad

and the Asian slaw.

Lay the skewered shrimp alongside

and pour some of the sauce over the shrimp.
Scatter some cilantro or parsley over top.

Oooh.  I've missed this.

Rosie Makes A Black Bean And Avocado Salad.

A black bean salad

 is one of my all-time favorite go-to salads.

It's quick.

It's simple.

It's easy.

It's chock full of flavors.

It's versatile.

Today's ingredients:

a cup of black beans, cooked

1 can corn

some red pepper, chopped

some red onion, chopped

1 avocado, diced

cilantro

Dressing:

juice of 3 limes (1/3 cup)

zest of 1 lime

2/3 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Very slowly, drizzle the oil into the lime juice,

whisking constantly.

You want a nice emulsion.

I'm going to show you the secret to my corn.

Heat a pan over high heat

and add in maybe 2 tablespoons of butter.

Pour in the drained corn.

Add about a tablespoon of sugar.

Cook over high heat

until corn caramelizes.

That's intense sweet corn goodness.

I picked this red pepper out of my garden.

Isn't it beautiful?

For the life of me,

I can't figger out why supermarkets

charge out the wazoo for a red, orange, or yellow pepper.

It's just a green pepper at different stages of ripeness.

They all start out green.

I chopped up some pepper and red onion.

If you wanted to add in green, yellow, and orange peppers

for a nice colorful confetti, go right ahead.

After the caramelized corn had cooled off,

I added it to the black beans.

Add in red pepper.

And red onions.

Let's make the dressing.

Zest of one lime.

Juice of 3 limes.

(1/3 cup lime juice)

 Very slowly, drizzle in the oil,
whisking constantly.

See that stream above?
No more than that.

Since I can't drizzle, whisk, and photograph at the same time,
you can see in the picture what not to let happen.
See the oil globules?
You don't want oil globules.
You want to incorporate the oil into the juice
to make an emulsion.

What is an emulsion, you ask?
In culinary terms,
an emulsion is a mixture of two liquids
that would not ordinarily mix,
like oil and vinegar.

There are two types of emulsions -
temporary and permanent.
A temporary emulsion would be a simple vinaigrette.
If you put oil and vinegar in a jar and shake it up
or if you whisk the oil into the vinegar,
the two liquids come together.
Oil droplets are suspended within the vinegar.
Set the bottle down
and eventually they start to separate,
until the oil is on top and the vinegar is at the bottom.

By the way, if you want to mix up a quick vinaigrette,
the general ratio is 3:1, oil:vinegar.
This ratio is not etched in stone,
since different vinegars have different strengths.
I wanted a more tart dressing,
so I used 2:1 in my emulsion.

For a quick vinaigrette,
start with your acidic component first.
Add in whatever flavors you want.
Then whisk in the oil.
If you stick with the basic ratio
of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar,
you'll be fine.
As for the flavors to add in,
there's citrus zest,
fresh or dried herbs,
maybe some Dijon mustard, depending,
and salt and pepper.
You don't need much salt,
but trust Rosie,
a little freshly ground salt makes your dressing pop.
I usually give it three grinds salt
and about 8 grinds pepper, since I like pepper.
Also, when making a vinaigrette,
experiment with different types of vinegars -
cider vinegar, distilled white vinegar,
rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar.
A splash of citrus and a pinch of sugar
will give you a nice flavor package, too.
Experiment.
The best way to test the flavor of you vinaigrette
is to dip a piece of lettuce in it and take a bite.
Don't taste the vinaigrette"straight."

You have no excuse now.
If I come to your house and find bottles
of store-bought dressing in your refrigerator,
I will simply have to hurt you.

Store-bought dressing is EVIL.
Little packages of chemicals are EVIL.



An example of a permanent emulsion
would be mayonnaise.
Egg yolks and oil naturally would not mix together,
but by slowly whisking the oil into the yolks,
the two liquids form a stable emulsion which will not separate.
Hollandaise sauce, made with eggs yolks,
 a little acid (vinegar/lemon juice), and butter,
 is also a permanent emulsion.

Here's my vinaigrette.

Another flavor I've used before in this vinaigrette

for a black bean salad is cumin.

A teaspoon of cumin is a wonderful addition.

The reason I didn't add the cumin this time

was because I was serving the bean salad

 alongside another dish (Chicken Tikka Masala)
which was chock full of cumin.

Consider the avocado,

native to Mexico, Central America, and South America.

The Aztec word for avocado is ahuacuatl,

meaning testicle tree,

because the fruit hangs in pairs on the tree

apparently resembling this part of the male anatomy.

The Aztecs, the first documented avocado eaters,

 used the avocado to increase sexual desire.

The avocado is a traditional remedy for erectile dysfunction.

In the 1920s, an American avocado advertising campaign

denied the aphrodisiac properties of the avocado

hoping to tempt people to indulge in the forbidden fruit.

Reverse psychology worked 

and Americans consumed the fruits of temptation in stealth.

While we're talking about testicles here,

did you know the word avocado

 resembles the term for lawyer in several languages?

A French lawyer and the fruit is an avocat.

A Spanish lawyer is abocado

and the fruit is aguacate,

derived from the Aztec ahuacuatl.

An Italian attorney is avvocato

and the fruit is avocado.

Go ahead and make your own lawyer jokes.

Did you know that avocados do not begin to ripen until picked?

Halve, scoop, and dice.

I added the avocado directly into the dressing

so the citrus would do its magic on the avocado.

Whenever you're using avocado,

you want to give it some lime- or lemon-lovin'.

Otherwise the avocado oxidizes.

In other words,

exposure to air causes the avocado to turn brown.

Whenever you cut into an avocado,

you activate an enzyme, polyphenol oxidase,

which causes the monophenols in the avocado

to hydroxylate to polyphenols, resulting in the browning.

This reaction is stopped by introducing an acid.

Mix the beans, corn, pepper, and onion.

Add in the dressing and avocados.

Cilantro.

You can use parsley if you're in the anti-cilantro camp.

Chop the cilantro - a tablespoon or two - and add.