Loaves and fishes

I've decided to try some new recipes this week. I bit the bullet and included some tilapia in our monthly shopping because, even though I don't LIKE fish, I know we should be eating it. Sigh.

The adventure began with a crispy fish taco recipe that sounded at least edible. I figured I'd give it a try and pray it wouldn't kill me. Since I'm here telling the tale, obviously it didn't! Actually, it wasn't half bad. Music Man thought it was quite tasty and asked me to make them again.

Crispy Fish Tacos
Ingredients

- Peanut oil (or whatever oil you use), enough for frying
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs (in the Asian section of your supermarket)
- 2 eggs, beaten with 2 T water
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds of your favorite white fish (cut into strips if they're thick)
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1/2 head cabbage, sliced thinly
- Lime wedges for garnish
- Fresh cilantro leaves, snipped off the stems
- Chili Mayo (recipe to follow)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Put eggs in one shallow dish and bread crumbs in another. Season egg with salt and pepper. Dip fish fillets in egg, then coat them well with bread crumbs.
3. Working in batches, cook fish in oil until browned on one side, then flip and cook until completely brown. Remove to a towel-lined plate and lightly sprinkle tops with Kosher salt.
4. To serve, warm tortillas. Place one fish fillet on tortilla and add some of the cabbage and a few dollops of chili mayo. Sprinkle top with cilantro and then squeeze lime juice over the whole lot.

Chili Mayo

Mix together 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. Mix well, then sample. Add more chili powder and or lime juice to suit your tastes.

I also made Ezekiel bread. Monday I escaped the confines of my messy house to get to the Breadbeckers for the spelt and millet I needed to make it. I keep wheat and rye, but apparently one needs ancient grains to make this stuff. Thankfully I already had the kidney beans, lentils, and great northern beans to round it out. I'm telling you, this recipe is serious!

After being properly warned that it is somewhat more like a quick bread dough, even though it has a full tablespoon of yeast, I set out. My grain mill responded beautifully to the interlopers, so I was pleased with the flour. Mixed it up, tossed it in the pans, let it rise. Hmm, didn't rise so much. Oh well, figured I'd bake it up anyhow.

After a late-night sampling with apricot preserves, the verdicts: I say it's just OK. Music Man says it's like a symphony in his mouth, and that the texture is outstanding. Um, ok. Heck, at least he's happy.

I also made blueberry millet muffins. I don't know if it's because I got an aluminum-free baking powder (Rumford, you should try it) or because I'd just never made this recipe before, but they seemed salty to me. Oh, and a word to the wise. Do not, I repeat do NOT give your toddler these muffins before they get diarrhea, because the resulting diaper changes are so not fun. So not fun.


And since we already talked about Ezekiel, the name of God that I read about today was Jehovah Shammah, "the Lord is there" (Ez 48:35).