Tacos and Cupcakes

Last night I made fish tacos and blueberry crisp cupcakes for Joseph and our friends Ali and Leila. Everything turned out delicious if I do say so myself, and it seemed to hit the spot for everyone else as well. Ali and Leila are from Iran and had never had tacos or cupcakes so I figured these were must try items!

For the tacos, I grilled fresh Mahi-Mahi and chopped tomatoes and cilantro. I wanted to use avocado, however the ones I picked up last week were still not ripe enough. I used sticky rice and yogurt sauce. The yogurt sauce is what I think really made the taco. I used plain Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, ground cumin, ground red pepper, the juice of a lime, and more cilantro. I wrapped everything up into browned flour tortillas! Delicious! I used a mixture of recipes to put this together, as well as things I've tasted on restaurants' fish tacos. The only thing I will do differently next time, is to add the avocado and make and use more yogurt sauce!
Tonight is two dollar taco night at Fuego Cantina in Birmingham (see last post). Did I mention my newest obsession is tacos? :)

The blueberry crisp cupcake recipe is from a cookbook called "Old Fashioned Bake Sale" that Debbie gave me for my birthday, and I've had my eyes on this recipe ever since. This book has an entire cupcake section, which is wonderful.

Blueberry Crisp Cupcakes

2 1/3 cups flour, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter, divided
3/4 cup of milk
3 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups blueberries
1/4 cup uncooked oats
1/4 brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 30 muffin cups with baking cups.

2. For cupcakes, combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl, mix well. Beat sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl, then add egg whites, milk and vanilla. Beat, then add flour mixture and beat again. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling half full. Sprinkle blueberries over batter and bake for 10 minutes.

3. For streusel, combine 1/3 cup of flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in remaining 1/4 cup of butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in nuts and sprinkle over cupcakes. Bake 18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

'til next time.

Alimento!

So it's been awhile. I'm settling into work and post college life and I'm loving it.  I've never had spare time before! This is causing me to learn a lot more about myself, which is awesome. There is this artsy, creative side of me that is coming out that I never knew existed. I've been spending a lot of time on little home projects and cooking.  A few of them are on my walls and around my apartment, and Debbie and I are going to be working on a upholstered headboard next. My apartment is now almost what I would consider completely decorated.  I will be posting pictures soon. Get ready.

A few days ago I purchased a rice cooker, thinking it would be easy and convenient to cook rice. I had no clue how many cool things you can do with a rice cooker, and you don't have to babysit it, because it turns off on its own! If you're like me and get distracted easily, it is perfect. Yesterday I made a single serving of rice and lentils with salsa. It was delicious for a rainy fall day and very filling. It took about 10 seconds to prepare, 20 minutes to cook and probably cost a total of maybe 10 cents. And it is healthy! When I finished I just threw the inner bowl in the dishwasher.


Some things you can make with a rice cooker include: Beans, scrambled eggs, frittata (this is next on my list), spaghetti, potatoes, stews, oatmeal, stir fry, and many others.



TACOS- Last night was two dollar taco night at Fuego Cantina in Birmingham. This has become a Tuesday night must for my friends and I.  Some of the their tacos include steak, fish, buffalo chicken, crispy shrimp and brisket tacos. My fav is the steak, which has cilantro-lime aioli, pico de gallo and fried crispy jalapeno. Delicious! They are also known for their mojitos and martinis (they make their own fruit-infused vodka and sour mix).

More to come!!

Well here I am...

Recent happenings in the life of Miranda:

New job. Kind of. I started in June, but I still feel incredibly new.  I work with critical heart patients at DCH in Tuscaloosa. Originally, I never would have thought I would have ended up staying in Tuscaloosa, but as all has fallen into place (and I thank God for that), I really couldn't imagine living anywhere else for now. I love my job so far and I'm surrounded by friends and support. I have one week left of orientation, then I am out on the loose! I am nervous, but so excited. This long journey of nursing school, licensure, and now orientation is almost to an end and I am nothing short of thankful.

New apartment. I've moved into my own 2 bed, 2 bath apartment! I love all of the space and I have NINE closets. I also just love having the choice of which bathroom to use... I've actually figured out that the hall toilet is closer to my bed than master toilet... HA :). I am loving all of the shopping and decorating and will post pictures as things come together more. I also know lots of my neighbors, which is a huge plus.

I even have new hobbies! Even though I've working in the roundabouts of 40 hours a week, I still feel like I have so much free time. As mentioned above, I spend a lot of time shopping and decorating for my apartment which is a huge work in progress. I enjoy it, but still cannot wait til it's done.

After weighing options for the last few weeks, I've joined the University Rec Center. It beat the other gym options mainly because I love going to all of the dance, step, water, whatever classes I happen to be in the mood for. And as most of my friends around here happen to be University students, I have company. I'm excited about having a fun way to get into shape.

Joseph and I have taken on cooking through a Gordon Ramsey cookbook. We have make in the roundabouts of 20 dishes so far, and we always look forward to the entire process. The grocery shopping, the company, the cutting (which IS relaxing, as far as I'm concerned), the cooking, and of course the eating is the most important part! We are rating recipes as well to keep up with which ones we like. See Joseph's facebook album for pictures.

We also had our first ballroom dancing lesson last night. We've always wanted to learn, and we found the perfect little place in Northport that is so convenient and reasonably priced.  We learned the basics of the Waltz and the Hustle. Our instructor was so much fun and just a great teacher and everyone we met seemed really nice. They even have a group party every week for all who go there to mingle and practice. We are going to wait until after a few more lessons until we jump into that, but it's something to look forward to!

Today school started here, and most everyone I am surrounded by is caught up in that, however, I am glad to be school-less for now. For the first time in my life, I don't feel like I'm waiting for the next thing. I am just living each day to its fullest and striving to serve God through all that I do. What a good feeling.

God bless!