Spicy Scallop Tacos with Wasabi-Lime Creme Fraiche

Yummy little flavour bombs. Alone, these were delectable. But in tacos? A-mazing. The creme fraiche added some cool and limey tangy-ness.

Also added some of these…

sauteed red peppers with scallions,

brown rice with tomato and cilantro,

and wasabi-lime creme fraiche,

topped with shaved cucumber and more cilantro.

I cheated and used re-fried black beans from a can and store bought tortillas. Nevertheless, a fun and healthy dinner!

Spicy Scallops:

• medium scallops, patted dry
• 1 tablespoon of butter
•  1/2 tsp chili powder
•  1 tsp cumin
•  1 tsp garlic powder
•  1/2 tsp ground cilantro
•  1 tsp salt
•  1 tsp black pepper
•  1/2 tsp turmeric
•  1 tsp paprika

1. Pat dry fresh or defrosted scallops
2. Mix spices in a small bowl
3. Dredge scallops in spice mixture and set aside
4. In pan, fry scallops with butter on medium-high until opaque and browned on both sides (about 2-3 minutes on each side). Make sure the pan is quite hot before adding the scallops.

Creme Fraiche:

• 1 cup fresh sour cream
• the juice of 3/4 of a small, fresh lime
• black pepper (to taste)
• salt (to taste)
• wasabi (to taste)

1. Mix! This recipe depends entirely on your own preferences for things like heat, sour and saltiness. Play with it to make it perfect for you! I like lots of lime and the wasabi I used was not particularly hot, so I added quite a bit.The idea of the creme fraiche is to cut the heat of the scallops, so perhaps be sparing with the wasabi, or build it slowly.

I’m thrilled to be headed to some of the greatest food cities in the world over the next few weeks including New York, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin. So standby- more to follow!

Fresh Biscuits and How to Keep Herbs Fresh (Totally Unrelated)

Don’t get me wrong, beef stew, although lovely, is basically just a vehicle for the accompanied  fresh biscuits. I must say, these turned out very nicely. I wanted to attempt the basic biscuit before getting all fancy-like with flavours (the fun part!). This will be a staple recipe for me now, and I  may experiment with  cheddar and cayenne or lime with black pepper next time.

Many biscuit recipes call for shortening, which I have never kept on hand. However, one thing I cook with almost everyday is coconut oil. It turns out that one can quite easily substitute the much healthier coconut oil for shortening in almost any given recipe, as long as the textures remain similar (coconut oil melts very easily).

p.s. I normally hate baking.

Beef Stew with Fresh Whole Wheat Biscuits

Biscuit Recipe:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (or all purpose)
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 3 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup salted butter (cold)
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup almond milk (didn’t have regular)

1. In bowl combine dry ingredients, and then cut in butter and coconut oil. Combine until mixture resembles course crumbs.
2. Beat egg with milk, and combine with dry ingredients until just wet (do not over mix!)
3. Turn onto floured surface, and knead no more than 20 times
4. Roll out dough and cut into circles
5. Bake on well greased cookie sheet for 9 minutes at 450

This was so easy. Gotta love the short baking time for the instant gratification.

Like many of the other recipes I’ve posted this month, the beef stew was chock-full of  fresh rosemary. Not that I am completely obsessed with the humble herb (like I am with say-cilantro), it’s just that I have discovered a technique that has made it last and last!   I purchased this rosemary and sage pictured below on January 3rd, and it is amazingly still  fresh! The secret is to keep it in the fridge in a sealed container wrapped with damp paper towel! Totally life changing for someone who adores fresh herbs, yet is sad to see them wilt after just a few days and minimal use. I used to hate buying beautiful  herbs in huge bunches when I knew they would wither and die in a few short days. Same goes for spinach and mixed greens. This has totally changed all that. Goodbye stinky boxes of mixed salad that I didn’t have time to eat yet!

Get ready for February everyone, ’cause someone just bought a whole whack of cilantro!

Maybe everyone else already knows this trick, and I'm just slow?