taxes and tacos

gone fishin'

It felt like that kinda day today. 

Everything was completely in its time. 

And I loved every minute of it. 

I happened to get my taxes done, did some hammock laying,
and made some fish tacos...!

I hope you find a nice and easy day this week too.

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh flounder, or any other white fish (tilapia, etc.)

lemon thyme seasoning (store bought, any seasoning you like will do)

5-6 carrots, peeled, chopped into 1" rounds

6 purple potatoes, diced into 1" cubes

olive oil

salt and pepper

small handful of dill, chopped

6 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2-3  garlic cloves, up to you, minced

1/4 red onion, diced

2 avocados, diced

1 mango, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced

3 limes, juiced

1 cup black rice, or white, whatever

2 T. butter

1/4 t. honey

1 lemon, sliced into rounds

tortillas

(the best way to get the seeds out of a tomato, is to scoop it out with a spoon.
And an avocado, with a knife.)

Method: 

When you get in from the store, unwrap your fish and season it on one side, belly side up. If you are ready to start cooking dinner, leave it out on the counter, wrapped back up. If you are going to cook it later on, put back in the fridge. 

Ready to cook? Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, toss potatoes and carrots together with a few drizzles of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Best way to mix it is WITH YOUR HANDS. Spread out on parchment lined baking pan and put in oven. Set timer for 30 minutes and check. Should be ever so lightly crisp on outside and soft on the inside. If not as "quite there" as you think they should be, put back in for 5-10 more minutes. Allow to cool to "not so hot" on pan and then in a large bowl gently toss together with dill (a rubber spatula is best for this one).

before                                                          after

Cook your rice. Heat 1 T. of butter on medium high in bottom of small pot. Add rice and saute for about 1-2 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cut down to low and cover with lid for 40 minutes. 

(1 cup of rice, to 2 cups of water.)

Salsa time, simple. In large bowl, mix together tomatoes, garlic, onion, avocado, mango, and jalapeno pepper, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

As for cooking the fish, when you pull out the carrot-potato combo, bump the oven heat up to 425 degrees. Melt other tablespoon of butter in the microwave and dissolve in the honey. Brush on the fish, and place in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Shred fish with a fork and make tacos. On tortilla layer fish, then rice, then salsa. It's messy eating, but it's real good. Serve with a side of dill purple potatoes and carrots.

the lunch series

"Now that's a loaf of bread!"

If you could hear me say it out loud, you would be able to hear the stress on the words "Now" and "That's".   Imagine it this time, "Now thaaat's a loaf of bread!" 

My Pa, my grandpa, taught me how to talk like that. We were talking about babies one day. Talking about how some babies are cute, and well...how some babies aren't so cute.  But never, ever, would you, ever, admit, out loud, that a baby.is.not.cute. He said to me, if I ever do see one of those babies, all I gotta say is,

"Now that's a baby!" 

And tonight, when I pulled the loaf of bread out of the bread machine, I laughed when I saw it, because that is exactly what I thought. It wasn't as good looking as a loaf of bread could be. It was too dark and about 3 inches too short. Every now and then, it happens this way. And it's no big surprise. It is even half always to be expected. For I am no baker. 

And only Liza lou would mess up a loaf of bread, that was made in a bread maker. When it comes to baking, it's not that I'm horrible, I just self will it. To self will it, basically means, you take it into your own hands. An old boss of mine used to tell me I had a problem with that. And he always kept an eye on me when I made the sweet potato biscuits!

As much as I hated to hear it, he was right about me. I believe that self willing is down right okay...in life, yes. In baking, never! Baking is an exact process, and it does not need my free for all style. But to be honest, sometimes, I don't even know that I'm doing it.

So thank goodness for my bread machine, a much loved birthday present. It still gives me the satisfaction of making bread from scratch, it makes the house smell like a small bakery, and for some reason, it seems to slow time down. And with it, quite possibly, is the only baking that I do.

 It is only because fresh baked bread is so good.

And a homemade sandwich on it is even better.

For bread machine Challah recipe,

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 2 T. water

1/4 cup unsalted butter, in 1/2 inch pieces

1 egg, at room temperature

3/4 t. salt

2 T. +1 t. sugar

2 1/4 cups bread flour

2 t. yeast

Method:

Place ingredients, in the order listed, in the bread pan fitted with the kneading paddle. Place the bread pan in the bread maker, and make appropriate selections according to your machine. Press Start to mix, knead, rise and bake. Ah so easy! When cycle is completed, removed bread from machine and transfer to wire rack to cool. Bread slices best when allowed to cool. 

(Here is where I think I self willed and didn't precisely follow the instructions, causing my "Now that's a loaf of bread" comment.  I cracked the egg straight from the fridge. I didn't let it come to room temp. Oopsie.)

Tip: gently and safely warm cold eggs by placing whole eggs in a bowl and covering with moderately hot tap water for ten minutes.

on eating alone

You taste what you're made of...

(...and Irish Bangers, Apple-mash, with an arugula salad)

I have been working on my confidence.  I don't mean to get all self-help on you, but I will tell you last night, I helped myself to a delicious meal. And I ate it all by myself.

I don't think it is possible for me to cook for just one. I don't know how. Well, sure, I could easily buy one of those trays that feeds one person. It does make some sense, I do like to eat in front of the tv. Who am I kidding, I have never had one of those in my life, and food you actually cook, just doesn't come in single serving sizes.  And my nature in the kitchen isn't capable of such a task. I prefer to share.

I haven't been sharing as many dinners as I used to. And let's just say it's change. different. a bit lonely. Every night that I cook, I make a call, or send a text, saying, "Hey, want to eat dinner with me? I've got enough for two." And I don't have to feel empty or have an empty spot at the bar (or on the couch). I get to share a meal again.

Last night, my request was answered with, "I am sick." "I already ate." While chopping the apple, there was a moment when I realized, "I am eating dinner alone." "Okay, I am eating dinner alone!" I usually get satisfaction, or we can call it an ego boost, when I cook a real good dinner for someone else. Last night, I gave that to myself.  I settled into the kitchen and really made myself proud.  Confidently, with fork and knife in hand, plate on my lap, I ate. Not lonely, but just alone. Well, not completely alone, if my friends from Melrose Place count? And hey, there is still a plate of leftovers in the fridge! And that I can share.

 

One night, make a meal for yourself and eat it by yourself. If you don't know what to cook, make this one...

Ingredients:

2 T. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 apple, chopped

1 celery root, peeled and chopped

water

2 T. half and half or milk

salt and pepper

Irish Bangers, bratwurst, any sausage

foil

2 handfuls arugula, or salad greens

your favorite dressing, or mine

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Saute garlic in 1 T. butter on medium-high heat for about 1-2 minutes, stirring so it won't burn. Add apples and celery root, and just barely cover with water. Bring to a boil, then cut heat down to medium, and allow to cook for about 30 minutes, til mushy, stirring occasionally. When done, drain, return to pot, add half and half, a pinch of salt, two shakes of pepper, and blend with hand mixer, or mash with potato masher. Leave on stove with lid to keep warm til everything else is ready.

In a skillet, on high heat, melt butter and sear sausages about 3-4 minutes on each side. You want them to be brown on all sides. Then wrap in foil pouch and put in oven for 20-25 minutes. Slice one in half to make sure it is cooked all the way (a little pink is okay).

While sausage is in oven, prepare your salad. If you want to make my dressing, whisk together 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 T. chopped dill or parsley, juice of one lemon, and 2 big spoonfuls of mayo. Season with salt and pepper. With your dressing or mine, to dress the salad, start with the dressing in the bottom of a large bowl. Then add your greens on top, and WITH YOUR HANDS, toss together. 

Plate everything side by side, grab your knife and fork, and proudly eat, where ever you want. Alone.

over easy

Ingredients: an egg, a spoon, and a big mouth!

liza lou's cut above the rest

just how I like it.

rare.

I'm not just talking about how I like my steak cooked, I'm also thinking, chances are pretty rare that you know what cut of steak I like best. See, I jot down on index cards, blog ideas. Most posts emerge from what I cook and how I eat on the regular. But I have been holding out on you. Because this one in particular, a weekly staple in my grocery cart, has been on the card for weeks...

I grocery shop in sections. I am in the produce department, I look around, what do I want? A few things green? Always carrots, an onion. If I am into sandwiches, a tomato. And a lemon or two always comes in handy. I then turn the corner and push past the fish department, I just can't commit to eating seafood during an average week. But when I arrive at the meat counter, all I see is red, and my buddies behind the case, all they see is a little lady with a smile on her face.

Even though I act like I am deciding what to take home, it's always the same. I am a Mae Farm girl, and I stick to getting my pork at the Farmer's Market. So, it's just chicken, thighs or the whole bird. And it's beef, ground, or chuck roast, and on any given week, it's Flat Iron. 

Flat Iron is for the dinner nights you don't feel like cooking. Flat Iron is for the rotten days and you just need a good steak. It takes no skill, and no time, just salt and pepper, and high heat. You aren't chewing beef bubble gum all night, that you discreetly discard into your napkin. And when you serve it, you can slice it with a butter knife. It impresses, make it for yourself and others, and see what I mean.  It is way leaner than any NY Strip or Ribeye, and it is the second most tender cut to Tenderloin, fillet mignon, they call it. And compared to all three, it costs significantly less.

It's delicious and now you know,

it's my favorite.

It goes with any sides you like. Potatoes, broccoli, and my brother Adam's top choice, spaghetti squash with blue cheese sauce, which I promise I am sure I will leak out before the winter's through...

Where to find it: I get mine from Whole Foods, if there is a guy behind the counter with a cowboy hat, tell him Liza sent you, he will love it. Also, a tasty marinated version can be found at the Raleigh Trader Joes. I don't know about the other superstores.

Ingredients:

1lb flat iron steak (feeds 2 generously)

salt and pepper

oil or butter for searing

Method:

First, salt your flat iron. Preferably when you get home from the store, get into the habit of salting your meat (chicken, fish, beef, yep). Just a nice thin layer will do, wrap it back up and put in in the fridge. This will make for a juicier piece of meat, more flavorful, and it will keep for a day or so longer than you intended for it to.

Thirty minutes before you are ready to eat, pull it out and set on the counter. With a paper towel dab off the moisture, you want a dry piece of meat, so you can get a real good sear. Pepper the steak and let it warm up a bit before cooking. It's best not to cook meat straight cold from the fridge (the muscle tightens, and makes for a tougher chew).

When you are about ready to eat, in a cast iron pan or skillet (or even better, a grill), turn the heat up to high and allow for it to get really hot. Add a pat of butter or 1 T. of oil. Let it smoke for a few seconds, and then, for rare, sear for 4 minutes on each side. For medium rare, about 6 minutes on each side. For well-done, well, I-don't-know.

Allow it to sit, to "rest", for a few minutes before slicing, and the juices will redistribute. 

Now, let me know if you start putting it in your cart every week, and if so, it's up to you now, to share it with other people!

"EAT. drink. bowl."

What is greater than bowling shoes and sliders?

 

Only that at The Alley, you can eat one while wearing the other. I recently went on a date. As it usually goes, the question asked is, 

"Where do you want to go for dinner?" 

My answer: The Alley. 

It wasn't a bowling date, but a dinner date. Going out to dinner at a bowling alley? I know, I know, sounds very unlikely, especially for a girl's choosing. But little Liza lou had heard they had reopened the restaurant in The Alley, and with a quick google, came to find out, that this bowling alley in particular, has a killer menu. 

Any menu containing a Caesar salad, must be tried. You heard me correctly ladies, salad at a bowling alley. And I will admit, I will judge a place by it's Caesar. This one, thumbs up. Just like I give the menu, which  is pleasantly priced, simple, yet creative (grill cheese bites with tomato soup, come on, how cool). It is true to the South, and from what I tasted, real good too. 

 

It was unlike any other date destination.  As we pulled into the parking deck (that alone, a rarity on Hillsborough St.), the rumbles of bowling balls could be heard above us. And as we walked through the doors, I was all smiles. It is a big place with lots to take in. All kinds of people were hanging out-enjoying themselves, Michael Jackson was playing, and it was more fun than I had seen all week.

 

What I loved most, is it has an old school charm that is hardly around anymore. It can be seen down the lanes, on the walls, even the bathrooms. And every romantic bone in my body adored the checkered covered tables in the restaurant. 

That, the sliders, the salad, the atmosphere, it all said...this is my kinda place. And it really is making Raleigh a better place. I credit the venue for such a hit date, and I even got a lil typs on a beer, okay, two. We didn't bowl, but that's the thing...

You can go to The Alley to EAT, to drink, or to bowl.

 

But with all three, it's a definite strike!

the chicken dance (and the rooster run down)

8:45 pm Monday night: T.G.F.W.

 

Thank. God. For. Wings.

I'm writing this at the end of my day. Next up Tuesday, and Monday will be just another day, long gone. It was a hectic one, filled with go-to's, be there's, and need to get done's. But the day wasn't completely "cuckcoo", because not once, but twice, I got my hands on some chicken.

 

That is one of my favorite thing about the bird, having it in my hands. Once it has made it into my kitchen, I mean. Real life, I'd be real hesitant about holding a chicken. I've cared for chickens more than you'd think. When I worked at Fairburn Farm, in British Columbia, I fed the ladies, collected their eggs, and cooked them for breakfast. But I tiptoed around them. I think I am bothering them, and it bothers me that I don't know their next move. What are they thinking?! And how about that time I met the rooster?? Oh, that rooster. What was he thinking?!!

It was summer, I think the summer after I worked at the B&B. I was back in NC and I was house sitting outside of Chapel Hill, and why, I don't know, but the couple had 28 chickens and 1 rooster. I was minding the coop, feeding and all, and noticed the big guy with the red mohawk at my heels. He jutted at me. So I flew the coop. I ran. He was right behind me. It was the only time in my life, I have run for my life. I ran up a hill towards the house, lost my footing and fell...and I looked back, sure I'd be pecked, but there he was, going round in circles at the bottom. He still got the best of me I tell you.

Tessa, my sister, laughs hysterically at that story. She says she can't help it, the thought of me running from a rooster! Ridiculous. 

So for reasons that I can't even explain myself, I have an affinity for them both. Chickens and roosters. But only in a way I can control. I was the 1 out of 6 children that volunteered to trim the fat off the chicken breast because I liked the way it felt in my hands, cold and slimy. When I tie up a bird with twine before roasting it in the oven, I feel important. Chicken wings are always the highlight of my day...

And oddly enough, I admire, and collect roosters!

(don't worry about the directions, I like em' this way)

Today, for the family that I work for, I made a roast chicken, with a side of stewed okra and tomatoes. And for myself, well, you see me dancing up there. If you haven't roasted a chicken before, put it on your "need to get done" list, and follow this recipe. It's a dinner for the making. And let me know what you think about holding that bird!

Ingredients:

(for chicken)

3-4lb whole chicken

3 lipton tea bags, or black tea

3/4 cup kosher salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 lemon, quartered

6 rosemary sprigs

6 cardamon pods

small handful black peppercorns

water

kitchen twine (which I want to say thank you to my sister, Myriah, for the coolest twine spool ever)

olive oil

1/4 yellow onion, cut into large pieces

bunch of fresh thyme

salt

ground pepper

2 T. dried sage

(for veg)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce, from can, finely chopped

1 T. thyme, leaves removed from stem, and chopped

salt

Method:

First, at least 2 hours prior, you want to brine your chicken. Once, I had it this way, I can't imagine not taking the effort. You are going to want to pull the bag of "goodies" out of the center of the chicken. Nelson enjoys the innards. Okay, fill the tea kettle with water and bring to a boil. In the largest pot or bowl that will fit the chicken with out over flowing, steep the tea bags for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the salt, sugar, 1/2 the lemon, 2 rosemary sprigs, and spices. Stir to dissolve. Add the chicken, and quickly, fill with water to cover the bird. Put in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 

 

When you are ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and pull out bird and pat dry. Drizzle a little olive oil in the inside cavity and sprinkle some salt as well. Then stuff it with the other half of the lemon, the onion pieces, the 2 rosemary sprigs, and the thyme. Now, carefully slip your hand under the skin above the two breasts, and rub the flesh with a little bit of salt (1/4 t.). Next, sprinkle the outside of the bird all over with salt, ground pepper, and dried sage. 

Now the important part, tie up the bird. For help, click here, or ask me. Pour olive oil in the palm of your hand and rub all over the bird, and tuck the last two rosemary sprigs under the top of the twine.

On a parchment paper layered baking pan, breast sides down, place the bird in the oven for 1 hour. Flip over, I use a towel and stick a wooden spoon in the hole to maneuver,  and cook breast side up for 1 more hour.

While chicken is roasting, saute your onion on medium high heat for about 5 minutes, til softens, stirring here and there. Add garlic, still stirring a bit, allow to cook for 5 more minutes. Add can of tomatoes, minced chipotle, thyme, and season with salt (to taste). Mix together well, cut heat down to low, and allow to simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

When you are ready to serve, cut away chicken twine, and cut chicken in to separate pieces. Place in casserole dish, with onions and lemon from the inside, and pour chicken juices all over.

Dinner is ready.