Crispy Fish Tacos from EmmaEats

Our guest for today is fellow Savvy Storyteller Liz from EmmaEats . . . and Katie too! Liz is a busy mom of two, so she knows first hand that time is at a premium. Somehow she manages to create delicious recipes that are big on taste but don’t require tons of prep. Liz and I have something in common; we both have kids with nut allergies. Her collection of recipes is nut-free, allowing me to just follow along without worrying about substitutions. Follow Liz on Food Gawker or Taste Spotting for meal inspiration or her blog, EmmaEats, for good food for busy families.

These Crispy Fish Tacos, adapted from LCBO’s Fried Fish Sandwiches, are perfect for an alfresco summer family dinner.

Crispy Fish Tacos

adapted from LCBO’s Fried Fish Sandwiches

(serves 4)

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4-5 tilapia fillets, cut in half into two strips (~1 lb)
• salt and black pepper
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• tortillas (optional, to serve)
• Zesty Avocado Dip (optional, to serve – recipe follows)
• chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers (to serve)
• sour cream or Greek yogurt (optional, to serve)
• Chipotle sauce (optional, to serve)

In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, oregano, paprika, cumin, coriander, white pepper and cayenne. Salt and pepper the tilapia and rub the seasoning mix over all sides of each strip. Drizzle with lime juice and let marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400F.

Setup a workstation with egg in one platter and panko breadcrumbs in another.

Dredge each tilapia piece through the egg first and then through the breadcrumbs. Arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet.

When all of the pieces are breaded, bake in the preheated oven for ~20-30 minutes, flipping once halfway through baking. The fish should be flaky and opaque with a crispy and golden exterior.

Serve in warmed tortillas, topped with Zesty Avocado Dip, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers with a dollop of sour cream or drizzled with chipotle sauce.

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Zesty Avocado Dip

(serves 4)

• 2 avocados
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Halve the avocados and roughly mash the flesh with the garlic and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with tortilla chips or over Crispy Fish Tacos.

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Summer Salads with Jane’s Adventure In Dinner

We’re excited to have Jane from Jane’s Adventure In Dinner as our guest today. Jane’s blog is a go-to for everything from appetizers to desserts. She’s passionate about food like no other, but as a busy mom she also understands that recipes need to be both delicious and do-able. Regardless of your cooking level (ahem, I am still a beginner after all of these years) Jane is the best teacher and you’re in capable hands with her step-by-step instruction . . .accompanied by gorgeous photos!

Today Jane shares simple salads that are perfect for the hot days of summer. Be sure to follow Jane’s website for meal inspiration and instruction. You won’t be disappointed.

Jane’s Summer Salad

I start with a nice big plate and drizzle it with 2 tsp. balsamic glaze.

I added a layer (about 1 ½ cups) of spring greens.

I took a firm pear (I’m a sucker for Anjou) and cut it into 6 wedges. I took out the core and started to lay it on the greens.

Add 3 T Roquefort (or your favourite blue cheese) to the centre. Don’t like blue cheese? How about some Boursin or an herby cream cheese?

Fold the pear pieces back together, top with toasted walnuts and drizzle with a really good quality olive oil.

Drizzle on a bit more glaze . . .

And add cracked pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Classic Salad Update

We seem to just live off the bbq in the summer.

I love to cook but I really like to keep the house cool and I’m not a huge fan of running the air conditioning all the time.

We’ve gotten used to having our little 1950’s bungalow vent itself for the most part and even though it’s lots bigger after the reno (yes, I promise to finally get all the pictures together this summer, I’ve got 1000’s) we designed the build to allow for our original airflow.

Having said that, if the oven is on all the time then nothing can keep the house cool so bbq it is.

I’ve been playing with a number of salad recipes lately that I’ll be sharing with everyone in the next couple of weeks but this is one that we’ve now had at least six times since I was happy with the recipe.

Hope you love it too.

To serve four adults for an appetizer start with four romaine hearts cut in half.

Bring them to room temperature, drizzle with olive oil, 3 crushed garlic cloves and lots of crushed, crunchy black pepper.

Let sit for 30 minutes.

Grill on high on each side JUST until a little charred.  This is about 30 seconds a side.

While your one and only is grilling your lettuce (thinking that you are totally mental with your weird cooking ideas), crisp pancetta (I got super thin pieces that you blink at and they are cooked), or cook four really good pieces of bacon and crumble.

Put your yummy lettuce on a platter and top with; bacon/pancetta, slivers of parmesan, chunky croutons…

drizzle with lemon juice.

Plate one half per person (trust me, folks will be back for the other half) with plenty of pancetta and drizzle with balsamic glaze (you can find this all over the place OR boil balsamic until it is half its volume).

Follow Jane on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Best of the Blogosphere

I will admit that when I am changing the fourth poo-explosion of the day (ugh, always when I am about to eat something!), and the fighting/whining of the older two seems like the soundtrack to my life, it can be difficult for me to focus on the loveliness of being a mother.  Just before Valentine’s Day, Savvy Mom posted the Top Ten Reasons To Love Being a Mom and I have had this site bookmarked ever since.  Number Three: The After School Hug definitely rates high with me because I know that an expiration date looms. There is nothing like picking up the boys from school and having them run into my arms.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and homemade cards and Cheerio necklaces will always be a favourite of mine, but the wordophile in me would love to have one of these Morse code necklaces from Coattonline.  I would choose to personalize my necklace to read: together we’re one.

A few weeks ago, the moms group that I belong to hosted a seminar by Carlyle Jansen who owns Good For Her.  She brought along (among other things) a copy of Love in the Time of Colic: The New Parents’ Guide To Getting It On Again.  I haven’t read the book, but the title of it made me laugh.

Nancy Ripton of Just the Facts Kid and Matt Damon’s mom made me sleep a bit better this month.  After what has been months (okay, years) of agonizing over the boys “gun play”, I have officially decided to move on to obsessing about something else.  Read what the experts have to say by clicking here.

Every day I look forward to reading Pickle Me This and this month my favourite post by Kerry Clare was her review of Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman.  Perhaps not as controversial as Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom, Druckerman’s book has been garnering a lot of attention.  What do you think?  How are you raising your kids?  Are you like the moms described in Bringing Up Bebe or do you answer to the battle cry?   Or do you make up your own rules?

Disclaimer: I did not receive any product or money for writing about any of the items/posts/websites above.  I just love to share.  To quote my three year old: “Sharing is caring!”

Image credits: microsoft, coattonline, iankerner, pameladruckerman

Savvy Mom’s Favourite Canadian Mom Blogs

Yesterday we received a fabulous surprise from Savvy Mom who listed us as one of their 35 best Canadian Mom Blogs!

Savvymom.ca is the go-to guide for moms offering advice on everything from planning a stress-free birthday party to sleep solutions to what to make for dinner.  So when Savvy Mom says that they sifted through 700 + Canadian mommy blogs to find the best of the best, you can be assured that they have done their homework.

We feel very honoured to be mentioned by Savvy Mom on this list of talented Canadian women writers.

Thank you to our supportive readers who tune in every day to 4mothers, offer comments and join the conversation.

Thank you and welcome to our new readers.

Help! What to do with these kids!?

Stuck on what to do with the kids?  Are the summer days feeling long?  Searching for the perfect activity to do with the family this weekend?

Melanie On The Go to the rescue!

I stumbled across this great website, where Melanie, a mom of two, reviews hot-spots for kiddies in the greater Toronto area.  She gives a complete over view of parks, splash pads, amusement parks and farms complete with pros and cons, which makes planning a whole lot easier.

Melanie’s site is perfect for families with little ones but for kids who have outgrown wading pools and kindergym, check out these websites that I look to for a little inspiration:

www.toronto4kids.com

www.littlepaper.com

www.savvymom.com

 

Click on About Town and Things to Do With a Boy (on the Categories menu) for some other suggestions from the 4mothers.

How about you?  What are some of your go-to websites?  If you live outside of the GTA share the wealth and let us know where to go, someone might be visiting your town!

photo credit: http://www.livingmymoment.com