Ceviche Cups

The next time you are having guests over for dinner serve this refreshing appetizer. Ceviche Cups are simple to assemble. Basically you need a  pan of ceviche and a bag of your favourite scoop style tortilla chips. Not only is this a stress-free appetizer to make but your guests will licking the serving bowl and asking for more. The combination of the zesty citrus juices, spicy pepper and fresh cilantro allow the tender flesh of the tilapia fish to cure to perfection for a few hours before serving. You can make more of the ceviche according to the amount of people you are serving and it is also diet friendly for those guests watching their calorie intake.




Ceviche

1 tilapia fillet, cubed
1 lemon
2 limes
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
cayenne pepper (as much as you can handle)
salt (generous amount)
1/2 red onion, diced

Makes serving for 4

1. Squeeze the lemon and lime into a Pyrex dish. Mix in the minced garlic, cayenne pepper and salt.

2. Stir in the tilapia and submerge into the citrus juices.

3. Cover the tilapia with the red onion and cilantro. Mix gently and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours.

4. At to hours into the curing process, stir the tilapia once more making sure all the pieces get submerged into the juices.

5. At this point I like to taste the salt content. You may need to add more.

6. To serve scoop the ceviche into the tortilla cups. Place about half of the ceviche into the scoops and the other half set aside for guests who are watching their carb intake.

Banana Nutella Loaf

I have always been a life long learner.  I decided to become a teacher because I wanted to be in an environment that would encourage professional development. Now that my career seems to be taking a different turn, I'm still finding ways to develop my cooking skills. As you may already know from my previous posts, I am not much of a baker however with the new year upon us in full swing I decided to making baking one of my new resolutions. Today I present to you my Banana Nutella Loaf. The original recipe comes from a follow blogger, Brown Eyed Baker. I modified the recipe slightly to accommodate for our dietary needs but I followed the baking instructions exactly and the result was perfect. My husband thought I had bought the cake. Imagine his surprise when I told him I had made it myself. He nearly fainted.

Try this easy and delicious Banana Nutella Loaf for Family Day.




1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 ripe bananas
squirt of lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp light rum
6 dark chocolate truffles
1 tbsp nutella
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup partly skimmed milk

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Spread a loaf pan with some cooking oil and then sprinkle in some flour. Dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess.

2. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In a small bowl mash the bananas with the lemon zest and juice. Then stir in the rum.

4. Melt the chocolate truffles with the nutella and 2 tbsp of the butter in a double boiler until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

5. I used a hand mixer for the next part but if you have a stand mixer that will be fine. Beat the 1 stick of butter with the sugar and maple syrup until smooth. Add one egg at a time until combined well into the butter mixture. Finally add the flour mixture a little bit of a time.

6. Pour less than half of the batter into the melted chocolate and stir well. Set aside.

7. Mix the banana mixtures into the remaining batter until combined well.

8. To create the marble effect for this loaf pour the chocolate and banana batters at alternative intervals, then swirl the batters together with a knife.

9. Bake the loaf for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a knife inserted deep into the centre comes out clean.

10. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack for 15 minutes before turning it over to remove from the load pan.

Yuca Frita

Yuca Frita or Yuca Chips are an excellent alternative to the Canadian favourite Potato Chips. Also known as cassava in other parts of the world, yuca is a staple in many South American homes. Although, this tuberous vegetable is a good source of carbohydrates it is not high in protein. A couple of weeks ago, as I was preparing for a Peruvian dinner I decided to add yuca chips to my menu. The main dish that I was serving that evening was Carapulcra. A traditional pork dish that is usually served over rice and potatoes. Since dehydrated potatoes in one of the main ingredients in the Carapulcra, I wanted to have a change of textures and flavours. I'm glad that I decided to experiment with this ancient root tuber because my Yuca frita were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. According to my husband, that is the perfect way to eat yuca chips.

1. Peel and boil as many yucas as you want. Bring the water to a fast boil for 20 minutes.

2. Remove the yuca from the boiling water and let them cool to room temperature.

3. Then cut them into 1/2 inch or thinner discs.

4. Deep fry making sure your oil is at 350F. Fry until the yuca float to the top.

5. Spoon out the fried yuca and place in a pan lined with paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

* I served them with a Black Mint Sauce called Ocopa.

West Coast Shrimp Stew

 Over the Christmas holidays I was pleasantly surprised with an amazing parcel that was sent my way from the West Coast. My friend Anne Fairbrother has been teaching in a school out West on a First Nations Community called Lax Kw'Alaams near Prince Rupert, B.C. http://www.laxkwalaams.ca/welcome.php
Turns out that their major source of industry is fishing and seafood products. In the parcel along side the gifties for the boys was this package of Shrimp and Crab Boil Seasoning Mix. As you may already know, I love receiving foodie gifts such as this wonderfully flavourful packet of seasoning goodness.

Seeing how we've been having such as blustery winter here in Southern Ontario, I decided to use my West Coast Shrimp and Crab Seasoning Mix as the base for my West Coast Shrimp Stew. What makes this seasoning mix perfect for such a dish the combination of spices and herbs that compliment seafood to allow their natural flavour to come through. The ingredients in this seasoning mix are: Mustard Seed, Coriander, Allspice, Dill, Red Pepper and Bay Leaves.

To complete my West Coast Shrimp Stew I added a few other ingredients.

1 cup corn
1 diced onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 red pepper, diced
1 lbs. cubed mini potatoes
1 lbs. shrimp
1 cup tomato pulp
Oaxaca Salt
pepper
4 cups of water



I sauteed the onion, garlic and red pepper until they were slightly softened. Then I threw in the potatoes, water and tomato pulp. I brought everything to a nice boil and then lowered to a simmer for 30 minutes. To finish this warm and hearty stew I added the shrimp and corn and continued to simmer for another 15 minutes to allow the shrimp to cook through.

Meegwitch Anne! For this wonderful little packet of yummy goodness. You gave our winter stew another layer of flavour.