Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Coffee Ice Cream

Dear Devon,

Before you put away your ice cream maker for the season, you have to try my amazing recipe for chocolate hazelnut coffee ice cream. I don’t have a fancy name for my flavor like Ben and Jerry’s, so if you think of a better one, let me know. Besides coffee, I don’t go for the rich brown flavors like dulce de leche and rum raisin. Strawberry, peach, and pear are more my style. But every so often I get that craving for something a bit more decadent. Coffee ice cream always hits the spot, especially when laced with chunks of chocolate and crushed, toasted hazelnuts. Each spoonful is delectable. Smooth, coffee infused ice cream balanced against bitter morsels of dark chocolate and smoky, crunchy hazelnuts. I promise you, it’s a recipe you’ll want to repeat.

We have discussed methods for making ice cream several times. While you lean towards more unusual recipes like cornstarch gelato or almond milk bases, I prefer a more traditional custard base for my ice cream. There are a multitude of ice cream recipes, all vaguely similar. In my experience, I have found the most success with a one to one ratio of cream to whole milk mixed with five egg yolks. Cream based ice creams are overwhelmingly creamy, almost like eating a chilled, viscous flavored butter. And 100% whole milk ice cream lacks the luxurious decadence inherent to any good ice cream. Egg yolks impart body and richness, more like frozen custard than just frozen milk. I can’t stress enough the importance of whole milk and cream in ice cream. On this, you and I agree. It’s ice cream after all: If you want a healthy dessert, eat a pear instead.

Barcelona’s ice cream and gelato is addictive. The flavors are intense, pungent, and refreshing. The rainbow of fruit flavors is spectacular. Subtly flavored fruits like melon, fig, and peach are intensified. Fig ice cream goes beyond suggesting the taste of fig but actually embodies a more advanced stage of a fig’s growing process, from tiny seed to fruit to ice cream! I tried an incredible plum ice cream the other day and promise to keep you updated on any other unusual flavors. Still, I’m dying for my ice cream maker. Unfortunately, our tiny excuse for a freezer can’t hold a frozen pizza, let alone an ice cream workbowl. Así es la vida! I’ll have to content myself with the multitude of impressive ice cream shops.



Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Coffee Ice Cream
3 cups half and half (or 1 1/2 cups whole milk + 1 1/2 cups cream)
5 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp decaf coffee beans
1/4 cup coffee (decaf)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, skins removed and chopped
1-12 oz chocolate bar with hazelnuts (for extra nutty flavor)

In a large pot, bring half and half to a light boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat. Pour in decaf coffee and whole coffee beans. Cover with a lid and let coffee steep for 30 minutes. Fifteen minutes would probably be enough, but for a richer coffee flavor allow the beans to steep longer. After 30 minutes, the milk-cream mixture will turn a soft brown color. Remove and discard the beans.

Beat egg yolks with sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale yellow. Gradually add hot milk mixture to the egg yolks one ladleful at a time. Add about one third of the cream mixture, whisking the entire time. The egg yolks need to be slowly introduced to the hot cream, otherwise the eggs will cook and scramble. It's really unpleasant when this happens, and it ruins the texture of the finished ice cream. Combine the tempered egg yolk mixture into the remaining hot cream. Heat slowly over a medium low flame, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened. When the first bubbles begin to burst along the edges, test the custard for doneness. The custard is ready when a line drawn with your finger on the back of the spoon holds it shape. Transfer the pot into an awaiting ice bath to instantly stop the cooking. Pour the cooled mixture into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the custard. Cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, before continuing.


Roughly chop toasted hazelnuts and chocolate bar. Set aside. Pour ice cream base into ice cream maker. Freeze according to your manufacturer's instructions. It should take about 25 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, add the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate. Continue to freeze. Using a rubber spatula, carefully scrape down the sides of the workbowl as the machine spins. This is a bit tricky, but it prevents the ice cream from freezing to the workbowl, giving you more delicious ice cream to enjoy. Remove finished ice cream to a container. Freeze for 30 minutes to an hour more before serving. I use a glass loaf pan with a lid. When storing ice cream, it is always preferable to store it in a container that allows for greater surface area exposure. It is supposed to affect the flavor of the ice cream. After reading this, I noticed that all ice cream shops store their product in long, narrow containers, so I started doing it too. It allows you to make perfect, rounded scoops for nicer presentation.

Hola Barcelona!

Dear Devon,

My apartment is empty. The piano is with a friend. A quarter of our stuff now belongs to the Housing Works Thrift Shop. And... the kitchen has been carefully packed into 80 quart plastic containers and lives in a dark storage space. My carefully orchestrated move to Barcelona has come down to a frantic dash to the laundry room and the vexing task of marshaling my electronic devices (over fifteen of them, not including chargers!). Six weeks ago, I was gainfully employed, enjoying a pleasant New York summer, and writing regularly to you. Today, I fly out to Barcelona for an extended stay. My plans are a bit hazy and my Spanish is almost non-existent. Fortunately, that won't stop me from enjoying the food!

Thanks again for coming all the way from Brooklyn to see us last night. It's always a treat to see you and Jeff. I only wish the bar were a bit quieter and had better seating arrangements. Lucky for us, we had our real goodbye on Wednesday.

The car comes at four o'clock to pick me up. I'll be writing to you from 3,839 miles away.

Hugs,
Michelle

Mint Iced Tea

Dear Devon,

A few weeks ago, you sampled one of my most recent ice teas, a fennel and lime one. I keep empty bottles of Pellegrino and Bombay Gin for my iced teas. I guess you weren't expecting my greenish-yellow fennel tea when you reached into the fridge for some fizzy water. Your look of surprise was priceless. I am still tinkering with the recipe, so I won't be sharing it with you today, but don't worry, it is in the queue of future posts.

With the AC at work broken, I am constantly thinking of ways to cool down. It's absolutely miserable in the office. I have commandeered the fan and am keeping it for myself and Oliver. In the summer, I usually look forward to work because I am surrounded by overwhelming, Alaskan cold front AC. I even keep a sweater in my office to combat the chill. But my current situation is nowhere near Alaska - more like the punishing heat of Death Valley. When I start to wonder if bathing suits count as appropriate business attire, I know we're in the dog days of summer.

I find the easiest way to cool myself is with a large glass of iced tea. This summer, I've brewed a number of iced teas, but my favorite so far is a simple mint. I infuse mint leaves crushed with white sugar in boiling water along with a sachet of English Breakfast black tea. The recipe is super easy, which is good because it has been my main method of refreshment. I only buy sodas and juices on rare occasions, so these infusions are necessary for my survival in the summertime. The smell of mint runs deep, adding a second pleasant dimension to this soothing drink.

Brewing your own iced tea has many benefits. Mainly and most importantly, I control the amount of sugar and the strength of the tea. Commercial teas tend to be over-sweetened. The herbal or fruit flavorings are heavy handed, pounding me over the head with intense, sometimes bitter flavor rather than subtly flavoring the drink. The tea retains its sweet minty smell, even days after refrigeration.

Serve over four big ice cubes and this refreshing ice tea will cool any sweating brow.

Mint Iced Tea

Large handful of mint, loosely packed 1/2 cup mint
1 teabag, English breakfast or other choice
1/2 tbsp sugar

Bring a large kettle of water to a rolling boil. Tea is best brewed with the water at the boiling point, unlike coffee which should be brewed just below boiling. Using a mortar and pestle, gently crush the sugar into the mint. Add mint-sugar mixture to tea pot. I use a teapot with a tea cage meant for loose leaf teas. It helps to separate the mint from the finished tea. Add one tea bag (I prefer English breakfast). Pour boiling water into prepared teapot and steep for 3 minutes. Remove and discard the teabag. Let the mint sit in the hot water for approximately 30 more minutes. Pour into a reserved storage container. Cool in fridge for a few hours. Serve over ice cubes.

Rainbow Chard and Lima Bean Bruschetta

Dear Devon,

My friend Rebecca is seeking her natural path. Her nutritionist has given her a series of food challenges, which require her to avoid foods like cake, dairy, pizza, eggs, tofu, sugar, gluten, and processed foods. So what's left to eat? Surprisingly, a lot of tasty stuff. I offered to help her create tasty dishes within her dietary restrictions. The trick is to create a meal that is healthy, satisfying, and easily repeated.

Rebecca loves hummus. At one point, the only contents of her fridge were carrots and hummus. While hummus falls within the strict guidelines of her challenge, it is often a highly processed food. When it comes to pureed beans, chickpeas get all the attention. But the world of legumes has more to offer than nutty chickpeas. I have always been a fan of beans. Lentils are my personal favorite, but in recent months I have been experimenting with lima beans. I have yet to be disappointed with my local supermarket's selection of dried beans: They have an entire aisle of beans!


After making lima beans a few times, pureeing them seemed like a logical next step. Lima beans are almost a contradiction in terms. They are starchy, almost paste-like but have a rich, buttery texture. These qualities seem ripe for a hummus-esque side dish. The starchiness gives weight to the dish, while the buttery texture allows for a smooth, even spread. A generous tablespoon of fresh dill and pinch of cumin adds a bit of dark, spicy flavoring, while fresh lemon juice provides a bright contrast to the deep flavors. Ground sesame seeds provided an extra bit of toasted nuttiness.

I found this beautiful rainbow chard at the Union Square green market. I didn't go to the market with the intention of buying chard, but the vibrantly colored stalks and large leaves caught my eye. Rebecca was the person who first brought chard to my attention. She didn't know how to cook it, and neither did I, but it still tasted fantastic. Since then, I've discovered that quickly braising the greens, drizzling them with olive oil, and lightly sprinkling them with salt makes an amazingly satisfying side dish. It seemed only appropriate that I somehow incorporate Swiss chard into Rebecca's diet.

I came up with the idea of turning this into a bruschetta because I didn't want my healthy food to end up looking like "hippie" food, an unflattering stereotype to say the least. I didn't want to hide the rustic, natural quality of the dish- I wanted to show that it could be elegant without being overly-fussy. I think the results are pretty stunning, but I'll let you decide. The French bread is lightly oiled and grilled, then generously spread with a thick layer of lima bean puree and casually topped with dark green braised chard. I tossed some lima beans onto the presentation plate, so we don't forget what's in the spread. It's healthy food, it's vegan but it's not dusty cardboard wafers or hemp milk.

Rainbow Chard Lima Bread Bruschetta

1 pound Swiss Chard

1 cup lima bean, dried
4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lime, juice
1 tbsp fresh dill
1/4 tsp cumin
2 tbsp sesame seeds, crushed
1/3 -1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic

1 baguette

There are many ways to cook dried beans. I've said before that I don't know which way is the best. But this seems to work well: Pour four cups water and one cup dried lima beans into a large pot. Add one bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Once at a boil, lower to simmer and cover with a tight fitting lid. Simmer until beans are al dente. At the very end, add salt. Drain the beans and set aside to cool. It can take 1 to 2 hours, just watch the pot, burned beans are not a good thing.

Pick over the cooked beans, removing about 20 of the nicest looking beans. Set aside. Place remaining cooled beans into the workbowl of a food processor. Add lemon juice, crushed sesame seeds, cumin, white pepper, and salt and two cloves of garlic. With the machine set at puree, gradually add olive oil through the feed tube. The mixture should be thick and smooth. Taste for saltiness and richness. Add more olive oil, if needed. Remove mixture to a bowl and fold in chopped dill.

In another pan, heat up a splash of olive oil. Remove thick stalk of chard. Cut into two inch slices. Gently fry chopped garlic until the oil is nicely perfumed. raise chard, about 10 minutes.
Slice baguette on a diagonal. Lightly brush both sides with olive oil and place on a hot grill. Do not touch the sliced bread once on the grill. This will ensure your blackened grill marks. Grill evenly on both sides.

Generously spoon lima bean puree onto grilled bread in one even layer. Pile on braised rainbow chard. Top with whole lima beans. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.


PS. I wasn't entirely successful. I forgot Becs can't eat bread- turns out this lima bean spread is great over cucumbers and with carrots too!

Gazpacho Soup in Ciabatta Bread Bowls

Dear Devon,

Everywhere you turn in France, you will find good baguettes, so it seems almost unnecessary to single out any particular baker. But the baguettes at Eric Kayser's bakery are phenomenal. The crust is crunchy and thick, splintering into large shards with every bite. The inside is soft, pillowy and wonderfully salted. How can a loaf of bread embody heaven in crust and crumb? A fourth generation Parisian baker, Eric Kayser has absolutely, resolutely perfected the baguette...and all of Paris seems to know.

Exhausted from a morning fighting crowds at the Louvre, we decided to reinvigorate our drained spirits with a light snack at Eric Kayser. Unbeknownst to us, we stumbled across one of the most popular lunchtime spots in central Paris. French people are obviously crazy about le dejeuner. Everything stops in celebration of the midday repast. It's funny to note that even the bakery in Dijon closed. Picture this: A throng of elegantly coiffed men and women in business suits scrambling over one another in their quest for a baguette sandwich. The scene was like a desperate game of musical chairs, only with stuffed baguettes. Tuna salad, grilled chicken, ham and cheese, or roasted vegetable. When the music stops, the loser is left without a sandwich, and must walk dejected down the street to the competing bakery. If words fail to capture the essence of this lunchtime struggle, the Kandinsky painting below, which hangs in the Musée National d'Art Moderne at the Centre Pompidou, may help convey the wildness of the scene. Lesson learned: Don't get between a Frenchman and his lunch.

I had been given a copy of Eric Kayser's Sweet and Savory Tarts as a birthday present a few years back. Though the book was much appreciated, I had some difficulty relating to the recipes. Nonetheless, my curiosity was peaked. I had to try some of his delectable creations before leaving France. The experience has left me with nothing but admiration. I had to pack his 2007 release Autour Des Pains into my suitcase on the way back to New York.

I've had a few weeks to study Autour Des Pains. I found the text and images appealing and inventive. Kayser takes bread beyond a platform for cheese and salted meats, transforming this staple into a versatile superstar, comfortable on a coarse wooden table or effortlessly tucked into decadent dessert of roasted persimmons. One of his ideas that struck me was to use hollowed out loaves of bread as soup bowls. I love the idea of drinking soup, and then eating the bowl. It adds a bit of whimsy to your lunch and simplifies the clean up. I had to give it a try. In France the multitude of shapes and sizes of bread makes this soup bowl idea a bit easier to pull off. After much searching, I settled on a medium sized ciabatta. My biggest concern was the integrity of the crust. How long before the soup soaks through the thin walls of the bread bowl? It turns out toasted bread is impermeable to soup, but not to metal spoons.

Kayser gives a recipe for gazpacho. It was definitely hot out, so gazpacho seemed appropriate. I used a recipe that I perfected last summer. My friends have a penchant for gazpacho. After much encouragement, I began to experiment with the soup. I had not been a huge fan of gazpacho, mainly because it tasted too raw and a bit sour. I found that grilling the tomatoes softened many of those harsher flavors. While it's not a true gazpacho and doesn't spare you the hassle of turning on the stove, I think it's a good compromise.

Gazpacho Soup in Ciabatta Bread Bowls
inspired by Kayser, Eric Autour Des Pains Eric Kayser p. 52

2 vine ripe tomatoes
3 plum tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion
1 orange pepper
1 bunch parsley
1/2 cucumber
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ketchup
2 cloves garlic

1 Ciabatta Loaf

Halve the plum tomatoes lengthwise. Grill cut side down for about 10 minutes, until nice dark grill marks appear. Set aside to cool.

Roughly chop remaining tomatoes, yellow onion, orange pepper, and cucumber. Place all chopped veggies in the food processor or a blender along with garlic, parsley, toasted pecans, ketchup and salt. Add the cooled grilled tomatoes. With the machine running, pour in olive oil in a steady gentle stream. The amount of water and olive oil depends on the juiciness of your tomatoes. For richer soup, add more olive oil. Process or blend until smooth.

Set a mesh sieve over a large bowl. Working in batches, gently push the pureed liquid through the sieve. You want to strain about 2/3 of the soup. Straining the soup will eliminate a lot of the pulp and seeds while creating an overall soup with a smoother consistency. Whisk in the remaining 1/3 of the soup (unstrained). Combining the two mixtures creates a nice texture and heartiness to the soup. Place in the fridge to cool for about an hour.

Cut off both ends of the ciabatta loaf, so that you have two pieces, each about 4 inches long. The heal of the bread will be the bottom of your soup bowl. Hollow out the bread leaving a 1/4 inch of bread around the crust. Be careful not to pierce the crust. Sprinkle with a bit of olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes until the bread is toasty and golden. Set aside and cool.

To prepare, cut two thin slice of bread. Rest the bread bowls on the sliced bread. The flat slices help to stabilize the pointed ends of the ciabatta. Pour the chilled soup into the cooled bread bowls. Serve with basil or a bit of parmesan cheese.

Kale and Avocado Salad

Dear Devon,

Ever since trying kale and avocado salad at the uptown Whole Foods, I've been obsessed with this salad. I immediately bought the requisite ingredients, and began tinkering in the kitchen. My first two attempts were good, but I knew I could improve it. Two weeks later, I have what I think is a pretty darn good salad. Since the salad consists of only a few ingredients with minimal seasoning, fresh, high-quality vegetables are a must. Try to pick kale and avocados at the peak of ripeness. Avoid wilted leaves, limp stalks, and bruised fruits. Limp greens are not appetizing.


Some diners might object to the coarse and chewy texture of raw kale. I find that once you get over the sense that you are a horse chewing on straw, it's not so bad. To avoid this unsavory texture, allow the kale to marinate in the dressing for about 20 minutes before serving. The citrus juices will break down the tough fibers of the kale, softening the leaves. Stalks with smaller leaves yield a tenderer bite. The nutritional benefits of kale are numerous, running the gamut from lowering your risk for certain types of cancer to preventing rheumatoid arthritis or cataract disease. These health benefits are pretty convincing, but in the end, I eat kale mainly because I love the taste.

Blood oranges are a recent, happy discovery. I have eaten them before, but only in Europe. I don't often see them here in the States, so when I saw some plump blood oranges at the market, I grabbed them. Unfortunately, I don't think the season for blood oranges is quite here. The oranges brightened the flavors and freshened the salad significantly, but they weren't as juicy as they will probably be later in the summer. Nonetheless, I would still advise using some sort of citrus fruit, whether it be pink grapefruit, tangerine, or orange. The citrus brings nice color to the plate and when mixed with a lime juice based dressing, produces an unusual flavor, light with a sweet tang.

I like to segment my oranges directly over the salad bowl so that I can collect all the precious juice. After removing all the segments, I give the pulpy membranes a hearty squeeze, to extract every last drop. On top of the fresh juice, a squeeze of lime, olive oil, sesame oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Kale and avocado are added directly to the serving bowl and gently tossed. Be careful not to bruise the avocado. While the dressing sets, I cut up some bread and pass out napkins. Allowing the salad to rest is important. It helps break down the leaves while also encourages the avocado to melt into the dressing. The end result is a subtle citrus-avocado infused dressing, studded with vibrant red-orange fruit, dark green kale, and chunky avocado bits. When I look at my salad, I think that summer must be calling.

Kale and Avocado Salad
serves 2

4 stalks fresh kale
1 avocado
1 blood red orange
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
juice of 1/2 lime
large pinch of salt

Segment one blood orange over your serving bowl. To segment, remove the top and bottom of the orange. With the orange sitting upright on its cut end, run the edge of the knife down the length of the orange to remove the rind and white pith. Holding the orange in the palm of your hand, run the edge of your knife in between the white membranes. What should emerge is a clean orange slice, free of any white pith or rind. Give the resulting membranes a hard squeeze. Add the juice of half a lime. Whisk in sesame oil, olive oil, and a large pinch of salt and pepper.

Thoroughly wash kale leaves. Sometimes dirt and mud cling to the leaves and stalks. Don't want that in your salad. Remove the leaves from the stalks and cut into 1 1/2 inch wide strips. Cube avocado. Add the kale, cubed avocado, and segmented oranges into the serving bowl. Gently toss with a large wooden spoon. Set aside for 20 minutes before serving.

Fish Tacos with Two Salsas

Dear Michelle,

Finally, here is the recipe for those fish tacos we made earlier in the summer. It's hard to remember, now, with a chill in the air and the wind rushing through my apartment, that not long ago light dresses and sandals felt perfect and nothing sounded more enticing for dinner than light fish with the freshest sweet-tart-spicy salsas all wrapped up in a fresh corn tortilla.


Although we made two salsas for these, and homemade tortillas, store-bought could be substituted for both in a pinch. If the pinch is laziness instead of timeliness, though, get over it; there's no comparison. Both of these salsas are bright and clean, with none of the bland-if-spicy taste of cooked, jarred salsas. Sometimes when I'm full but I just can't stop eating, I will make a taco with just salsa. Can you say that of store-bought?

Fresh tortillas are new in my life. My friend Amy introduced me to them, and I went out the next week to buy a tortilla press. Not as rubbery or crumbly as those available in stores (and we have a fairly large Latino population around here, so I'm assuming what we can buy is pretty authentic), these are soft and tender, far superior in both flavor and texture. Plus, not only are they fun to make, but you won't end up with 50 when you only need 10.

So, here goes, an ambitious first post:

Tortillas

Masa Harina - this is a particular type of corn flour which has been treated with slaked lime. The brand available around here is Maseca, which has worked fine for me.
warm water
salt (about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon per cup of dough)

Mix some salt into the flour, then pour in warm water in parts and mix till the dough is soft but not sticky. I always use more than is called for on the package. Dough should be soft enough to puff slightly when cooking, but not so soft that it will stick to the plastic wrap when using the press. Nothing I've read calls for the addition of salt, but it really helps with the flavor. If you've used too little, more can easily be added later.

At this point, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit while you make the salsa.

While salsas sit, start making the tortillas. Heat skillet (I use a cast iron) without oil till hot. Line a tortilla press with a large piece of plastic wrap, then roll a ball of dough a little larger than an inch in diameter in your hands. Place in press and press to about 1/8 inch thick. This should be very easy as the dough should be soft. You do not want it to ooze out the sides, and if it is, then you are using too much dough or pressing too hard. Peel plastic from dough carefully, and put dough on skillet. Turn once the underside has colored, about a minute or two. Wrap tortillas in a towel to keep them warm. While making tortillas, marinate fish (see below).

Salsas

Here we have two kinds of salsa, a tomatillo-tomato-avocado and a peach-papaya-avocado. Can you tell how much I like avocados? Salsa is one of those things it's impossible write a recipe with perfect amounts for. I'm going to approximate; so if you like onion, or spice, or whatever, add more, or less if you hate it. You can substitute, too. Hate peaches, but love mango? There you go!

This made a lot of salsa.

1/2 red onion
limes (2-4)
bunch cilantro
2 tomatillos
2 peaches or nectarines
1/2 papaya
1/2 red bell pepper
chili oil or hot sauce
1 avocado
1 medium tomato
1 clove garlic

(Optional) roast tomatillos over gas burner. I use fondue picks to hold them. You could use a bbq, or probably even a broiler. In any case, char the skins and then set aside to cool.
Finely chop 1/2 a red onion and divide between two bowls, then finely chop the garlic and add to one bowl. Zest 1 lime into both bowls, then squeeze half of it into each. This mellows the onion and garlic. Rinse the tomatillos under the faucet, rubbing off the charred skin, then chop and add to the bowl with the garlic. Chop and add tomato.

Now chop peaches, papaya and bell pepper and add to other bowl. Vary amounts of each as desired. Chop cilantro and add to both bowls, reserving a little for the tacos. Drizzle a touch of chili oil or hot sauce in both. Stir and taste. Add the additional lime if necessary, or more heat. Let sit to meld flavors, but the avocado is added just before eating.


Fish

Use any mild white fish, about a half a pound per person, more for heavy eaters.

About 5-10 minutes before tortillas are done, put fish in a large ziplock bag with lime (zest and juice), chili powder, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Don't marinade for too long, or you will have ceviche! I have a DIY vacuum-packing method: put the bag in a large bowl of water, sealed but for the very edge. The water will force the air out of the bag, allowing you to seal it with the marinade touching all sides of whatever it is being marinaded. That way you don't have to bother with shaking it, or flipping it, to make sure it's been evenly exposed.

Once the tortillas are done, add a little oil and then the fish to the pan, cooking quickly till it flakes. It doesn't matter if it breaks apart.

And finally, Tacos

salsa
tortillas
cooked fish
queso fresco
cilantro

Add avocado to salsas. Put fish and cheese in bowls. Dig in.



Ah, well, Summer will come again.