Are we there yet?

I can smell Cinco de Mayo from here. It's only three days away! It's actually sort of funny that Americans even celebrate it, however, I will not argue with a holiday that gives me an excuse to gorge myself on Mexican food and margaritas. Fish tacos are a great way to celebrate the Independence of Mexico. Fish tacos come from the influence of Baja California, Texas and Mexico. With their powers combined, we have a light, simple recipe to share with friends. I also made my very special black bean soup to wash it down with!

Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

• Corn tortillas

***Before stuffing the corn tortillas, place in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds.

Fish-

• 2 fillets of tilapia
• 2 tbs of ancho powder
• 1 tbs olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Toppings- Just go nuts and do whatever you want here. Here is what I did:

• Frozen corn, thawed and sauteed in oil until charred.
• 3 tbs Queso Fresco
• 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbs fresh lime juice
• 1/4 c chopped purple onion
• Pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds. VERY Mexican! :))



Heat oil in a saute pan until hot. Season fish with ancho poweder, salt and pepper. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and saute for 4-5 min on each side. Watch for fish to turn white and the sides will crisps. Remove from heat and place on a plate lined with paper towel.

Break fish into small pieces and add to warm corn tortillas. Add toppings to your liking and enjoy!



Black Bean Soup

• 1 tbl olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves quartered
• 1/2 c onion chopped
• 1/2 tbs cumin
• 1 8oz can black beans. Do not drain
• 1 8oz can diced tomatoes. Do not drain.
• 3 c chicken stock
• 1/4 c cilantro

Heat oil in large soup pot. Add garlic and onion until onion is transparent. Season with cumin. Add the chicken stock, beans and tomatoes. Simmer for about 20 min until flavors have combined. Add the cilantro and remove the soup from the heat. Let it cool down for about 5 min. In batches, blend or process the soup and return to pan and let simmer until ready to serve.

You can decide what sort of texture you want. You don't have to puree the soup if you like it chunky. If you want the best of both worlds, only puree about half of the soup. If you are anything like me, you can puree the whole dang pot! It's totally up to you! Just make sure that the less you puree it, the finer you have to chop your ingredients. If you puree the whole thing, it's a lot less chopping! :)

Sprinkle with Queso Fresco and cilantro.