Spinach Tortillas

Ever since making homemade tortilla some time ago, I can't seem to go back to buying them. I've had store bought tortillas once and they were gross. My boyfriend told me that he never wanted to eat store bought again. I took that as compliment. Everything homemade just tastes better. Of course food always tastes better when someone else makes it.

In an effort to make things a little healthier, I decided to make some spinach tortillas. I love spinach, but when it comes to adding them to things like tortillas or pancakes, I don't want any of the spinach flavor to come through. I guess I got the right ratio of spinach to flour, because you couldn't taste any spinach flavor at all. I will say that they are a little less chewy than regular tortillas, but no one seemed to mind.

We made burritos with them and they disappeared rather quickly. My son kept threatening to take one off the plate as I was photographing them. He's a carb guy. Anything bread, he eats. So if I can make his carb loving diet a little healthier, then I will. Especially since this kid doesn't like vegetables.

Making tortillas is always time consuming, but well worth it. Every once in a while, I threaten to spend an entire Sunday making tortillas and freezing the leftovers. The freeze well and taste just as good as the day you made them.

Spinach Tortillas
Yield: 8 Large Tortillas
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 - 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients
2 1/3 cups flour, plus extra for rolling out the tortillas
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup spinach

Directions
Mix flour and salt in a stand mixer or large bowl. In a blender, add spinach, water and olive oil. Blend well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. If dough seems a little sticky, add a teaspoon or two of flour. Separate into eight balls. Roll very thin with a rolling pin. On a hot griddle or dry pan, cook until bubbly; about a minute. Turn and cook until brown spots appear. Cool on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel.

Enjoy!

White Fish with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Years ago friends of mine made this for dinner. I'm not sure if it came out of a cookbook or something he just came up with on his own. Either way, it was good. I immediately asked for the recipe. I've made several different versions of it depending on what I had on hand and depending on the type of fish I've had. I've made it with and without the parsley, used a packaged basil pesto when I didn't have fresh basil on hand, and one time added a bit too much garlic. I think I tasted that version for days. 

The pesto  recipe makes enough for 4-6. Even when I cut it in half, it makes at least enough for 3-4. It calls for you to add the fish stock to the pesto. Because it makes so much, I usually just put it in half and save the other half for sandwiches or panini. I almost never have leftover fish, but I almost always have leftover pesto. You could always quarter the recipe, but that's too much math for me. 

I've used tilapia, flounder, cod and bass for this recipe and it always turns out good. Tilapia is cheap and can be found in almost every grocery store. Honestly sometimes I think it tastes like dirt and without a good cover I really don't like it. This pesto magically turns it into something absolutely delicious. It also doesn't take that long to make and it feels like a gourmet meal. I paired it with parmesan roasted potatoes and garlic asparagus. By far, the bass was the best. It was also the most expensive. 

If you are trying to add cold water fish to your diet, which some doctors recommend three times per week, this is a good option. It's also great for company, since it seems so fancy.

White Fish with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Yield: 4-6
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min

Ingredients: 

Fish
4-6 fillets of white fish
3-4 stalks scallions or one medium onion, sliced
Zest of one lemon or orange
1/4 white wine
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Pesto
1 cup hot water
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I prefer oil packed, but dry packed works too)
1/2 cup roasted almonds
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fish stock

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. 

Fish

2. Rinse fish and pat dry with a paper towel. Place in a baking dish. Top with onions/scallions.  Sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper. Zest the lemon/orange on top. Add wine and olive oil. Break butter into bits and place on top of fish. Bake until flaky. 

Pesto

3. Blend extra virgin olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, garlic and hot water until pulverized. After the fish is done, add fish stock and stir in basil and parsley. 

Either make a bed with the pesto and place fish on top or place fish on the plate and top with the pesto. 

Enjoy!

Summer Salad

It's cold outside. Really cold. Like most of the US, we are experiencing the polar vortex. It's the coldest day on record here in NJ. I'm not fond of winter. Not even in the slightest. It's only January and I'm ready for spring.

In order to try and fool my brain into thinking that it's not as cold out as it really is, I made a salad I usually only make in the summer. Mostly because that's when fresh strawberries are in season. I added fresh romaine lettuce, fresh pears, fresh strawberries, feta cheese and pecans. I topped it with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. As always, I hardly ever measure, so I'm doing my best to get the correct measurements.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano
a pinch ground sage

Mix together until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over salad.

Enjoy!

Oven Dried Tomatoes

I made this a while back and just haven't posted about them yet. Not only did the house smell great, but they were awesome. I used a few pints of grape tomatoes that I got on sale. I've done this with grape and cherry and they both turn out great. You cut the tomatoes in half and put face up on a cookie sheet. I added fresh garlic, basil, salt, pepper, and oregano. I poured olive oil on top and baked at 250 degrees, for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. You can add them to your favorite pasta dish or put them in the blender and they become the base for pizza. The pizza sauce is soooo good. (I'll post my homemade pizza recipe later.) My two year old son is "helping" me type this. Sorry for any errors.