Fresh Tart

I call anything I wrap in a tortilla - soft- or hard-shell, sprouted grain or corn - a taco.  Goes over well with the fam, for one.  Tacos = yummy in this household.  But I do it for myself, too.  Tacos feel decadent to me, like party food, even my healthiest versions.  Plus they're seriously cheap eats, and on the table in a flash, which makes them pretty much perfect.  I choose small tortillas to keep the whole taco less than 300 calories - load up on the veggie and salsa garnishes without guilt.  Use cheese, avocado, or sour cream in small amounts for big-impact flavor and texture.

Here are a few of my favorite versions:

The Classic American: ground meat in a crunchy shell is pretty tough to beat.  Ground beef, pork, chicken, or turkey all work well.  I choose the leanest meat possible, skip the commercial seasoning, and add chopped onion and garlic, lots of ancho chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and a splash of Frontera Enchilada Sauce (excellent product - most commercial enchilada sauces are blech, this one rocks; available locally at Byerly's and Whole Foods).  Serve with shredded lettuce and cheese, chopped tomatoes, onion, and avocado, and life is good.

Tofu: when I'm alone for lunch, I whip up a tofu taco - yep, tofu makes a terrific taco filling.  I saute a little garlic and onion to start, crumble firm tofu into the pan, add several shakes of seasoning (see above, same concept, don't forget a bit of salt), and saute until hot.  The classic toppings work beautifully, but experiment with spinach, sundried tomatoes, pickled jalapenos, shredded cabbage, fresh lime.  Guacamole is a must.  I like the contrast of the soft tofu in a crunchy shell and with crunchy fillings.  (Pictured, with seasoning in the saute pan above, and in process of being consumed below, with a smear of bean dip, spinach, red cabbage, and a drizzle of tomatillo salsa.)

Fish: ooh, my favorite tacos are fish tacos, including shrimp tacos.  Marinate the fish first in a mixture of lemon or lime juice, minced garlic, minced jalapeno, a drizzle of olive oil, maybe a splash of enchilada sauce or salsa.  Saute or grill the fish and serve hot in soft (corn or flour) tortillas with shredded cabbage.  Make a creamy "sauce" by stirring together lowfat Greek yogurt and Thai chili sauce or spicy salsa.  Serve raw onion, sliced avocado, and lime wedges as garnishes.  (For you cilantro lovers - lots of fresh cilantro!)

Leftovers: tacos make leftovers fun!  If you have a few slices of last night's steak, chicken, or pork roast, you're so jamming.  Chewier cuts work better in soft (warmed) tortillas.  Corn and flour are obvious choices, but sprouted grain tortillas are tasty too.  Pureed spicy beans (or refried) are a great pairing, as are guacamole and leafy greens.  If I have only a spot of roast to work with, I'll chop it up and saute it with onions and some leftover rice, adding salsa or enchilada sauce for seasoning, before rolling it up in a tortilla with a sprinkle of cheese.  Experiment with cheeses - the classic jack cheese is always tasty, but crumbled Mexican queso fresco or feta (they're somewhat similar) are fantastic too.

Beans: all types of beans of course make a delicious taco filling, either whole or mashed.  Since the point here is ease and speed, I choose canned beans, applying the same seasoning treatment as I do to ground meat or tofu (above).  Garbanzos, pintos, cannelini, navy, black - all work beautifully.  Sometimes I crave something soft and comfort-y, so I roll pureed beans and a little cheese into a soft tortilla.  When it's crunch I'm after, I fill a hard shell with whole beans and a few of the garnishes I like with tofu.  Mix rice into the beans for added substance.  Completely versatile, always satisfying.

Eggs: a scrambled egg with avocado and salsa in a soft tortilla?  Oh so good.  And in the same vein, not exactly a taco but I'll mention it anyhow - a soft corn tortilla spread generously with enchilada sauce and warmed in the microwave, topped with a fried egg.  Sprinkle with a bit of queso fresco and salt and pepper.  To die for.

Veggie: any mix of sauteed vegetables could make a great taco - I like mushrooms (for their meaty quality), zucchini, spinach, tomatoes.  Add seasoning while you saute, top with salsa and cheese (for some protein), add raw veggies (for texture), and dig in!

Potato-Chorizo: the tacos that Rick Bayless made famous - really simple (especially if you buy Frontera Tomatillo/Avocado salsa), really cheap, really, really delicious.  Not exactly light, but I've made them with tiny tortillas as part of a Mexican-themed party.  (Barrio is serving a delicious version.)  Recipe here.

Carnitas: slow-roasted, succulent pork - by definition not quick...but still easy!  And so good, I'm including it anyhow, in case you're in the mood to put a pork shoulder roast in the oven and forget about it for a several hours.  When it's falling apart, it's done.  Shred and serve in small, soft corn tortillas with pickled onions, radishes, crema (a slightly thinner version of sour cream), and queso fresco.  Party food.  Recipe here.

I mentioned several of my favorites garnishes above, but here they are as a list.  I'm sure you love others I haven't even thought of.  I think of garnishes as "salad," so I go for the most nutritious, colorful mix I can pull together.  Mix and match for an interesting variety of textures and flavors:

Shredded lettuce
Shredded spinach
Shredded cabbage (green or red)
Chopped fresh tomatoes
Chopped sundried tomatoes
Sliced jicama
Sliced radishes
Sliced bell peppers (raw or sautéed)
Sliced onion (raw or sautéed)
Chopped scallions
Sauteed mushrooms
Sliced avocado
Guacamole
Sliced jalapenos (raw or pickled)
Salsa
Pico de Gallo
Taco sauce
Shredded cheese (jack, cheddar, mozzarella)
Crumbled cheese (feta, queso fresco)
Sour cream (or Greek yogurt; plain or mixed with spicy salsa or chili sauce)
Refried beans (or pureed spicy beans or bean dip)
Whole beans (garbanzos, pintos, cannelini, navy, black)
Rice (plain or seasoned)
Fresh herbs
Fresh lime or lemon

June 1, 2009 Update: great review of the cookbook Tacos (as in the real deal) in the NYTimes.  Check out both the review and the book - ole!

Wild Wednesday coming up! That means a visit from my nephew, Cooper Cuteness, yay! Cooper brightens our week, bigtime, especially since he says "n" for "l" at the beginning of words - that means he nuvs (loves) his new dog Nevi (Levi). Beyond cute. (Of course I haven't talked to him for a week, which means he could by now be saying "l" perfectly well. That's how it goes with a two-year old; one day you're Aunt Settie, the next you're a perfectly pronounced Ste-pha-nie, just nike that.)

Simple is the name of the food game on Wednesdays. Tonight the plan is steaks on the grill with a stir-fry of bokchoy, broccoli, and scallions (that's what remains of my veggie share; reload tomorrow) with a good amount of garlic, Thai curry paste, and chopped fresh basil for some interest and heat. (I'm all about the heat lately, outside and in my food. My aunt Mary got me addicted to the most unlikely-named spicy pickle this past weekend - Norwegian Dills, one of the Gedney State Fair versions. If you, like I, crave salty heat at about, oh, 4 pm, these are your pickle, crazy good.)

Hopefully I'll score some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Monday's fried walleye became yesterday's fish taco - a little chopped cabbage and red onion, slice of avocado, in a small French Meadow sprouted grain tortilla. Delicious. Leftover steak makes a damn good taco as well, and is always good stir-fried with a few peppers, onions, and mushrooms, eaten warm over salad.

On an unrelated note, check out (and chuckle about) this article describing the calorie-shock New Yorkers are experiencing as chain restaurants implement a new law requiring they post menu item calorie counts right next to the prices. Ouch. Maybe it's because I'm a woman who gains weight by merely glancing at unhealthy foods (therefore this blog!), and probably more likely because I cook and therefore know what really goes into making items like muffins, scones, and platter-sized pieces of nut-encrusted fried meats (although I also maintain it doesn't take thinking very hard about it to realize they're loaded with calories), but none of the counts in the article particularly shocked me. I know how I feel after eating food like that (ill). See what you think - do Minnesotans need calorie counts on their menus? I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not the calorie counts alone that freak people out - it's being seen eating the burger that everyone can plainly see is more than 1,200 calories. If shame encourages people to make healthier choices - or skip the chain restaurants altogether and cook their own food - then it works for me? Hmmm...

Moderate it: a small piece of protein (beef, chicken, fish, pork, tofu, lamb, etc.) + lots of fresh veggies (salad, stir-fry, roasted, grilled, etc.) + small amount of grain (whole-grain bread, couscous, rice, corn, pasta, etc.) = healthy dinner in 30 minutes. Of course my kids eat small amounts of fresh veggies + lots of grain, despite my best efforts to encourage otherwise; I try to think about it as a palate-training process, not completed until adulthood... A vegolescence, as it were... Right.)

Happy Bunny to You! Ahh, home. Nathan and I got off the plane from San Francisco this afternoon and went straight to my Dad & Susanna's for Easter dinner with my aunt Mary & uncle Bruce, as well as Stacey& Cooper. Couldn't ask for a sweeter way to ease back in to winter, you know? Garlicky, crusty leg of lamb with cucumber-yogurt sauce; creamy, deadly pommes dauphinoise (a Meyer-family favorite, I believe originating with my aunt Jean, recipe posted in comments below); fresh, warm bread; salad with pears and pecans; and lemon pie with whipped cream. Yeah, the food in San Fran was incredible, but home does not suck when Susanna and Mary are cooking! Even after four consecutive 70-degree sunny days, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it is (mostly) good to be home - no small task, thank you Susanna & Dad!

So, back to San Francisco for a moment...Nathan and I opened our Food Adventure with a Chinese dim sum feast at Tian Sing, near our hotel and very tasty. Shatteringly crisp spring rolls, delicate steamed shrimp dumplings, pillowy-soft steamed barbecue pork baos, and garlicky, crunchy Chinese broccoli... Happy start indeed, woo hoo!

Thursday we hopped on a cable car to always-hoppin' Fisherman's Wharf. It just happened to be lunchtime, so we ducked into In-N-Out Burger before the madness hit (and oh did it hit, about three minutes after we ordered), a major highlight for Nathan. Easy enough to order at this California fast-food superstar - the menu consists of burgers and fries, baby, burgers and fries. Fresh beef + fresh-cut potatoes = deliciousness. We walked off the burger-y excess (ack) along the waterfront, cruising various piers, parks, and shops for the entire, sunny afternoon.

Friday we boarded a ferry for a tour of Angel Island and Alcatraz. The appropriately named Angel Island - as in, heavenly - is the largest island in the bay and pretty much one of the most stunning places I've ever seen. (Nathan and I ate a picnic lunch alongside this charming little cove, with a hill of fragrant eucalyptus trees behind us.) Alcatraz is stunning too, while at the same time entirely creepy and depressing. The audio walking tour is a must-do, lively and fascinating, narrated by gravelly-voiced former guards and inmates and punctuated with (very, sometimes overly!) realistic sound effects.

We made it back to the hotel just in time to be picked up for dinner by my cousin Blake, who lives in San Franciso proper with his wife Tegan, daughter Gracyn (5), and son Knox (3). Blake and Knox (only the boys were able to join us for dinner) whisked us off to Sausalito (over the Golden Gate Bridge, woo hoo!) for bay-side deliciousness at Fish. Nathan had his first fish-n-chips dinner ever (thumbs up), while Knox enjoyed "chicken"-n-chips (wink), and I downed yummy grilled-fish tacos.

Saturday, sweet Saturday, we toyed with the idea of renting a convertible to drive up the coast, through wine country hills, and back to the city to catch all the breath-taking sights and scents of rural NoCal. (We decided we needed two more days - one to drive north of the city, one to drive south, to visit my aunt Jean and uncle Del - Blake's parents - in Carmel. Next time...) But we settled on an even better idea, thanks to Blake's suggestion to head first thing for the famous Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market. Oh Lord, if only we all had access to such glory! A beautiful bounty of fresh, locally grown produce and meat, available year-round (!), along the waterfront to make it, you know, ridiculously (painfully) gorgeous. Man, it was just insane. OK, I was just insane, walking around completely jealous of the locals casually buying fresh flowers, crusty bread, fresh pastries, organic meats, fresh fish and shellfish, artisanal cheeses, Napa Valley wines, local beers, fresh vegetables (including a whole stand of wild mushrooms!) and fruits. Picture our Minneapolis Farmers' Market (which I love) about twenty times more sophisticated and lovely. Foodie. Heaven.

And then...Mexican tasties (yes, here I go again), giddily ordered at Mijita Cocina Mexicana, a permanent cafe in the Ferry Building. Fresh, authentic, a little Mexican cafe like this would clean up in Minneapolis, don't you think? I mean, I know there are lots of yummy little taquerias around, which I've admittedly totally under-explored, but this place was so accessible, and so real, I couldn't help but sigh a bit knowing there wasn't quite an equal 'round these parts. Which is probably a good thing, in the name of moderation and such... (After chowing down on carnitas with tomatillo salsa; a fresh masa quesadilla filled with cheese, epazote, and roasted chiles; guac (of course); and chilaquiles drizzled with crema and served alongside creamy beans, we were a bit, uh, full. Good thing there's such a huge, cool Chinatown in which to walk off a Mexican feast!)

Soooo...as I said, we're back in the black-n-white photo we call home, and it's...good? Lovely Easter dinner definitely smoothed the transition. A good night's sleep never hurts. It's a little sad that Spring Break '08 will soon be but a happy memory, but hopefully a spring of our own is coming to distract us - soon?!