Pineapple Pickled Onion Salsa, by Diane

I had some leftover pulled pork from an event this weekend and decided to make lettuce cup tacos, and wanted to make a quick salsa to go with it. This wound up being so good I kept eating it plain with a spoon! It was super quick to make. Yum!

Ingredients:

Tomato (I used plum and grape here), small diced

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Diced pickled onions (I do a quick pickle by slicing them and placing them into a jar covered with white vinegar, shake twice daily and ready after 1 day but can leave for longer!)

1 handful chopped cilantro

1 lime squeezed

1 small can crushed pineapple, liquid removed

1/2 jalepeño, seeds removed and diced small

Salt, pepper

Directions: Mix well, adjust to taste, enjoy!

 

Fish Taco Bowls 2.0, by Diane

 

This weekend I was at the beach and got some blackened bass with peach salsa, with a side of corn and coleslaw. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I decided to mix it all up into a bowl and it was soooo good I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since! I decided to create my own version with cod and mango salsa and it was so great! Plus it was a great meal prep recipe as it got better in the fridge each day, and was a cold dish to eat on hot days. Yum!

(I saw there was another recipe on the blog for fish taco bowls, so these are titled 2.0!)

Ingredients:

Fish (I chose frozen cod filets that I defrosted, next time I'd use fresh)

Seasoning (I used garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt, cumin and merken from Chile but you could use chili powder instead)

Avocado spray oil

Salsa: 2 mangos diced, 2 tomatoes diced, 1 can black beans, 1 can corn, 1 red onion diced, 1 bunch cilantro chopped, 1 lime juiced, salt

Red cabbage shredded

Dressing: 1 cup greek yogurt plain, 1 bunch cilantro with stems, 2 garlic cloves, salt and pepper, 1 lime juiced

Directions:

1. Make the salsa and dressings ahead of time and let them marry in the fridge. I did mine the night before. They get better this way!

2. Season the fish and spray with avocado oil on each side, then air fry at 350 for 15 min or until the fish is 145 internally and flaky. 

3. Serve in a bowl with cabbage, salsa, fish and dressing!

Spicy Fermented Tomatillo Salsa, by Diane

A coworker recently made us jars of this salsa for holiday presents, tied with a little bow. I hadn't tasted fermented salsa before, and I had my doubts, but let me tell you that one bite of this stuff led to me eating almost the whole jar in one sitting- until I remembered it was fermented and full of good bacteria, which made me stop and save some until the next day to be safe (nothing happened!). This is so easy to make and customize. The flavor is delicious, even though I typically don't love tomatillos. What makes it fermented is the salt, so it doesn't have a typical sour fermented taste like other items (kombucha, kimchi, etc). The recipe calls for red fresno peppers, which are smokier than the green version, but after 5 grocery stores with no red fresnos I got so desperate to have more salsa and knew I already had to wait a while for it to ferment that I just made it without (but it looks prettier with the pop of red, and festive for the holidays!). This batch makes about 9 1/2 pint jars, but trust me you'll want it all for yourself :)

Note: this tastes AMAZING with salted corn tortilla chips, but also would go really well as a topping or condiment in Mexican dishes! It would go perfect on my chicken al pastor egg bake, which is what I plan to try next!

Ingredients:

2 28 oz. cans tomatillos (keep the liquid)

6-7 jalapeno peppers, halved with seeds removed (you can reserve one pepper's worth for extra heat)

2 fresno (red) peppers, halved with seeds removed

1 large onion, rough chopped

4-6 cloves garlic

1+ bunch cilantro- discard stems, rough chop

juice of 2.5 limes

2 tablespoons salt Directions: 1. Place the peppers, onions, garlic, salt, cilantro, lime juice, and tomatillo liquid in a blender and blend at high speed until desired consistency (I made them small). 2. Add the tomatillos, blend until desired consistency (small chunks). Taste and adjust for salt and heat. 3. Pour into mason jars up to the neck, then top with a pre-measured circle of wax paper. Flatten the paper onto the salsa ensuring no air bubbles, then place the lid on tightly. 4. Store on a counter away from light for 2-14 days. Refrigerate after fermenting.