Heather's Bytes

Last summer, Mike and I were brainstorming, trying to come up with ideas for some light summer dinners. One of his suggestions was fish tacos and I agreed to see what I could find. This is significant for two reasons: I don’t like 99% of the seafood I’ve tried (I want to like it, I just don’t), and I’d never had fish tacos before.

I found a bunch of recipes online and discovered that it’s a pretty basic dish. So, since I’m a glutton for punishment, I decided to up the ante a bit with some homemade tortillas, too. Harina is really easy to find here in Las Vegas and is perfect for making some delicious soft flour tortillas. If you can’t find harina at your local stores, though, you can find some recipes online to use instead.

Tortillas are pretty fun to make on your own but they require a little bit of arm strength when rolling them out. Take turns with someone so you don’t get burnt out! Use a cast iron skillet because you don’t want to use any extra fat in the pan (like you’d have to with a non-stick pan), and you have to turn the heat up pretty high. Slap the tortilla in on one side for about 30 seconds, and then flip it over to the other side. I usually just peek to see how dark they’re getting. It’s not rocket science!

Keep them “clam-shelled” in a long paper towel to avoid them sitting in condensation, and then fold over with some aluminum foil to keep them warm and pliable. Just add new tortillas on top and then fold the paper towel and foil back over.

For the fish tacos, I made up a batch of Baja Sauce. Beware, that recipe makes a TON, and even halved it still makes a ton. (And to be honest, we’re kind of over that particular recipe so when I make these again I’m going to dig up something else.)

For the fish I used a package of good frozen fish fillets. We’ve tried frying up our own and just couldn’t seem to get what we wanted. The fillets were perfect and deliciously crispy with no mess. I cut each fillet in half length-wise, then chopped those into threes (for a total of six bite sized pieces per fillet).

To assemble, slather some sauce onto the tortilla, then some crispy shredded cabbage. Next, add the fish, then a little more sauce, and some fresh chopped tomatoes (the ones in the picture above were from our garden last summer).

Needless to say, these are a hit. If you’re serving these to fish taco fanatics, buy two boxes of the good fish fillets since each fillet is the perfect size for one taco.

The poor kids — I’m on a soup kick lately. Well, a soup/stew/chili kick, anyway. Our fall here is so brief that I take advantage of it any way I can, and that includes dinners that take hours to cook and fill up the house with yummy smells. Thankfully, everyone humors me because they know that it also means a lot of baking, too — bread, cookies, you name it.

Anyway, Mike asked me a couple of weeks ago if I’d find a split pea soup recipe, and here it is. We had it last night with a nice homemade loaf of bread (and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert. See how that works out?).

Peas don’t need to soak like beans do, so after you’ve sorted and rinsed them they can go directly into the crock pot. Also, make sure you add everything into the crock pot in the order given, and don’t mix it up when you’re done. It’s important that the peas stay submerged for as long as possible to soften up.

Once it’s done I transfer about 3/4 of it (minus the ham, if I can help it) into a blender to puree, and then add back into the crockpot for another half hour or so. You don’t need to do this but we like it on the creamier side. An immersion blender would work perfectly for this, but I can’t find mine.

You can also make it vegetarian by omitting the ham and using vegetable stock. If you don’t add ham, up the broth to four cups and use only 1 cup of water.

Split Pea Soup

1 lb dry split peas
1-1/2 cups cooked ham, cubed (or 1 ham hock)
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups broth (I use chicken)
3 cups water
salt to taste (after it’s cooked)

Layer ingredients into the crock pot in the order given above. Do not mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.