Category: Edible

Recipe: Cheater’s Ceviche

Until recently, I had no idea what ceviche was. Then I had some that changed my life!

That last bit was a bit dramatic, but ceviche has quickly become one of my favorite things to order at San Diego eateries. What is it? It’s kind of… a fish dip? That really doesn’t sound appetizing, does it. But picture: A strong tortilla chip heaping with refreshing lime-drenched fish, corn, tomato, and cilantro. Sounds better, doesn’t it?

So, after googling around for a few recipes I learned the secret: The fish (usually a firm, white variety) goes into the mixture raw, and while marinating, the lime and lemon juices “cook” it –the fish gets firm and turns opaque instead of translucent… sounds cooked to me, right?

Not quite brave enough to do it the “real” way, we cooked up a bunch of shrimp we had hanging around in our freezer and made up a batch of cheater’s ceviche.

Ingredients

  • Shrimp or other seafood (I don’t know how much… two cups?)
  • Corn (1 can)
  • Tomato (one tomato, seeds removed)
  • Onion (1/3)
  • Cilantro (as much as you like)
  • Lemon Juice (1/3 cup)
  • Lime Juice (1/3 cup)
  • A dash each of: salt, pepper, cayenne
  • Protip: Add avocado, or at least have some slices ready when you serve this–for an earthy balance to the sharp citrus.

Ceviche

I cooked my shrimp with a little bit of garlic and oil, let cool, and carefully cut them into thirds–this dish will be chunky but it’s good to have pieces all relatively the same size. Then I diced my onions and let them chill in a bowl of cool water to remove some of the sharpness (drain the water after a few minutes). I Finely minced the cilantro and seeded and diced the tomato. I squeezed two lemons and five (I think?) limes in order to get the appropriate amount of juice. You should do yourself a favor and buy bottles of lemon and lime juice.

Ceviche

Mix everything together in some kind of vessel (it doesn’t matter what, really), cover, and let chill in the refrigerator at least an hour (ours was overnight). I stirred ours up occasionally.

To be honest, since the lemons were easier to squeeze than the limes, I erred on the side of lemon juice and my first foray into this dish was very tart. Note to self! Using the appropriate amount of lime juice is very important! Additionally, I feel that the addition of avocado would have toned down the tartness and been an incredibly delicious addition.

Ceviche

As I said in the beginning, this is usually served in small portions with chips, but we had this over greens for dinner. Healthy! I love finding fresh and interesting recipes that will be made more often as weather continues to warm up.

Choripan with Pebre

I don’t write about recipes very often, but cooking unique meals is one key to having a fabulous kitchen. Take mine for example–it may not have much going for it in the decor category (currently), but I make up for it by making delicious food! So, when I come across something amazingly delicious, I have to share it with the world!

Right after we moved here, my best friend (since 7th grade!) Angela invited Doug and me to her house for a Chilean Independence Day party–September 18. I’ve loved her family’s cooking for years, so I would have been crazy to decline! Angela has declared me “Chilean by association” so I was happy to participate in the evening’s meal!

Back in high school, I did not know the first thing about cooking so I never lent a hand in the kitchen. These days, I love to cook, so I was given instructions to make the incredibly simple Pebre, which could be classified as a very mild salsa, I guess?

Note: Our dinner contained about six or seven different Chilean dishes. This was just an appetizer! 

Pebre Ingredients: 

1 large bunch of cilantro
6 to 8 green onions
Some tomatoes (I picked these heirlooms up at a farmer’s market. If using Roma, maybe use 5 or 6?)
Olive oil
1 large lemon

This salsa will be very green with a little red in it–very different form the kind of salsa people normally expect!

  1. Cut the tips and ends off the green onions, and dispose. Then chop the onions in small pieces, the green part and the white part, and put them in your bowl.
  2. Dice the tomatoes into very small pieces. Include all the seeds and juice. If you look at the photo below, I suppose my tomatoes could have been diced even smaller.
  3. Divide the cilantro in half. Pull off the long stem part of each piece of cilantro–You don’t have to take each leaf off the stem, just get rid of the longer part (before the leaves start).
  4. Chop the cilantro finely. Use a very sharp knife so you are actually chopping it, not just mashing it into the cutting board. Alternatively, you can use a food processor/quick chop tool.
  5. Combine everything in the bowl, stir, and eyeball the cilantro. If there’s to much red (tomato), repeat step 4 until the mixture is predominantly green.
  6. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze one half into the mixture (watch out for seeds!). Drizzle with olive oil and stir. Then, set aside to allow flavors to mix while you make the Choripan!

Fun fact: In certain regions of chile, this contains no tomatoes whatsoever. It has to do with whether or not tomatoes even grow there. This leads to disputes regarding which recipe is the “right” version. 

Choripan Ingredients: 

Sausage- Linguica (pronounced leen gwee sa)
Hoagie rolls

Choripan is a combination of Chorizo and Pan (bread). The Linguica I used here is a portugese sausage that I was able to find at Vons (here in California). If you are unable to get this where you live, I guess you could try making this recipe with an Andouille sausage? Try to stay away from heavier bratwurst- and summer-style sausages and use a light, slightly spicy kind.

  1. Grill the sausage on the barbecue (preferably) or on George Foreman device, frying pan, etc.
  2. Cut hoagie rolls (toasted on grill, if you want to) in half.
  3. Cut sausage to fit in half-hoagie rolls.
  4. Top with a generous spoonful of Pebre.

This was served to us as an appetizer (hence the small size). The flavors haunted me for days, so it wasn’t long before we were making this at home! The great part about this is although the sausage will be slightly spicy, the Pebre is cool and refreshing, which makes for a great complement. Even those who don’t like spicy foods should give this a try! Or, just come on over, I will cook for you. :)

Also, check out this Huffington Post slide show containing beautiful pictures of Chile!

May Exercise Resolution

My favorite thing about the fact that it’s finally MAY is that now I can finally say we are going to Europe “NEXT MONTH!” Which is exciting, because it’s so soon but also a little sad because the trip will be here and gone before we know it. Additionally, I’m weighing the pros/cons of not blogging during the trip, or just doing photo dumps every few days, or what. Feel free to weigh in on that as well.

Fair warning: this post is about weight, and weight loss. If that scares/offends/triggers unhealthy reactions for you, please come back tomorrow or the day after for a more home-decor related post.

May also means that time is marching onward and I have not met my vacation weight loss goal (numbers: undisclosed) but in fact I gained two pounds since December. Two whole pounds, you say! Oh the humanity! I’ll just say that my weight is frustratingly consistent. I am extremely grateful that I do not gain, but frustrated that despite my best efforts I do not lose, either.

This morning as I bolted out the door with my “breakfast,” a cup of coffee (with milk, always) and a mini wheel of cheese, I thought of one of my favorite quotes from The Devil Wears Prada (love the movie, detest the novel).

It’s for Paris, I’m on this new diet. Well, I don’t eat anything and when I feel like I’m about
to faint I eat a cube of cheese. I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight. 

Well, I am going to Paris, but despite the evidence of my meager breakfast I am not on this particular diet. Let me state the obvious: it’s not healthy! 

I have made a last-minute May resolution: work out 5 days a week. Yikes. As one who rates exercise right down there with mopping the floor (our entire house is tile or wood, too), I don’t want to do it but it must be done. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up liking it. Yesterday I stairmastered my way through half an issue of Real Simple. Perhaps I can justify my magazine addiction by equating it with exercise motivation? Maybe?

As for my “diet,” I’ll let you in on a little secret. Lots of vegetables, some meat, and I could probably make real progress just by cutting out some bread and pasta, but who wants to do that?

Any tips for one who wants to diminish her “spare tire” in six weeks?