Cilantro Lime Fish Cakes + Arugula Salad

I love easy things that taste complicated. Enter: cilantro lime fish cakes. If you have had a crab cake, it’s the same idea. You take fish, bake it, mash it into spices and binding ingredients and roll them up into cakes to pan fry. There’s so much room to experiment and play with flavor with a dish like this. In fact, I think I’m going to begin cake-ifying all of our food. Since Chris and I first made these, they have been a staple dish in our weekly dinner rotation. These fish cakes are bright and bursting with fresh flavors. They are filling without being overly heavy, so I never feel like a blob after I consume them. We like them a little on the spicy side, but you can always tone down the sriacha and chili powder if you like. You can always dip them in sriacha in post. We like to pair the fish cakes with a small arugula salad and a simple vinaigrette. We have added our easy salad recipe below! If you want to go another route, you can always grill some veggies--brussel sprouts or zucchini perhaps. The cakes go great with many sides. Since it has a Mexican lean, you could also incorporate some elote or homemade guac. Anything!

When it comes time to roll the cakes, you could do your best to cobble them together with a couple of spoons. However, you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t just use your hands. Wash them up thoroughly first but then you gotta get your hands in there. They should stay together as well as possible. If you feel you have done your best to roll them into cakes but they’re falling apart before your eyes. You may want to add a little mayo and/or panko to bind them a bit more. Just don’t overdo it. I’m breaking it down with precise measurements even though tilapia sizes may vary and personal preferences certainly come into play. Use your best judgment and once you’ve made them a couple times, you’ll be able to whip up your ideal fish cake every time.

Have you made a savory cake before? Aren’t they fantastic? And gone much too quickly. Sigh…I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday. Cake-ify something today.

Cilantro Lime Fish Cakes

• 2 Large or 3 Medium Tilapia Filets

• 2 Garlic Cloves (Finely Chopped)

• 1/2 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs

• 2.5 TBSP Mayonnaise

• 1 TSP Chili Powder

• 1 TBSP Fish Sauce

• 1 TBSP Sriacha

• 1 TBSP Cilantro (Finely Chopped)

• Juice from ½ of one Lime

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place tilapia filets on baking sheet. Drizzle each with olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 11 minutes.

2. Prep ingredients while tilapia bakes. Finely chop cilantro and garlic, juice lemon; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, shred the baked tilapia filets with fork as finely as possible.

4. Add mayo, panko, fish sauce, sriacha, chili powder, ginger, cilantro and garlic. Mix well with fork.

5. Using hands, roll combination into 4-6 cakes.

6. Using a large skillet over medium heat, pan fry cakes 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown

Arugula Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

• Baby Arugula

• ½ One Shallot

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar.

• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

• Pinch of Kosher Salt

• Pinch of Freshly Ground Pepper

1. In a small bowl, add dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously until well combined.

2. Chop half of one shallot.

3. Add shallots and salad dressing to arugula. Toss to combine.

That Thursday Feeling: Artist's Dates

Today I want to talk about one of my new favorite activities: the artist’s date. If you haven't heard of them, an artist’s date is time you set aside that is all about nourishing your creative self. At its root, the concept of an artist's date is about reconnecting with your inner child. The point is to explore, be and receive inspiration rather than working on your art or career. I have never believed that there are creative people and non-creative people. If you are human, you are creative. You have the right to express yourself. So, as far as I’m concerned, pay no mind to that daunting word, artist. I heard about artist’s dates when I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron around Christmas. Whether you are an artist or just want to live a more creative life, this book is a wonderful read. I’m also forewarning you that you will surely hear it referenced again in the future, perhaps many times. It teaches you how to thrive as an artist and offers encouragement for all types of creative humans. It’s also chock-full of processes and exercises for putting the advice into practice. Artist’s dates, along with so many other tenets of this life-changing book, changed the way I choose to both make things and treat myself on a daily basis.

If you’re still not sure about artist’s dates or why people need them, allow me to explain. An artist’s date is essential for inspiration and linking your spirit to the greater universe around you because it encourages you to vacate your usual surroundings and do things for yourself that feel inspiring, fun, interesting or joyful to you. The artist’s date is about asking yourself what really sounds good to you, preferably getting out of the house, going somewhere new and creating moments of inspiration that are reserved just for you. That brings me to one of the only and most essential rules of artist’s dates: you have to go it alone. The point is to connect more deeply with yourself, not others. If you’re having trouble identifying a good activity, I have been known to use artist’s dates for shopping, going to a museum, park, bakery, coffee shop, art exhibit or even a cemetery. I also love looking at plants or even baking something. The possibilities are endless.

I wanted to share how I decided to spend my last artist’s date with you. I always set an intention to be present on my artist's dates. Along with the rule about going solo, this intention is another must. Even if you have 30 minutes to walk around the building and drink coffee on your break at work, soak that shiz up. You deserve it. You deserve to give yourself the gift of time and you deserve to put yourself in the way of things that will dazzle you every once in awhile.

On my last artist’s date, I decided to visit a beautiful area in my town, Roebling Point. It’s named for the Roebling Bridge that connects Covington to Cincinnati.

I stepped into Roebling Point Books, a cozy bookstore and coffee shop near the river.

After browsing the stacks at the bookstore, I walked around the Licking Riverside Historic District, stared at the lovely homes and strolled by the riverfront.

Last stop: Chardonnay and onion rings on the patio at The Gruff, an eclectic little cafe on the river. Yum!

During my date,  I tried my best to avoid my phone (except for pictures!) and stay as present as possible. I walked beneath canopies of trees and saw a bird taking a bath in someone’s garden. Freaking adorable. I noticed so many things. Even if this seems silly or like a total non-activity, it's likely you could use a little more time to marvel and pay attention to the state of your heart. Is there something in your life like artist's dates? And, if you decide to embark on your own artist's date, I would love to hear about it. Wishing you peace, love and a happy Thursday, dears.

Goat Cheese + Rosemary Biscuits

Oh, biscuits, I love you. I grew up in Kentucky and live there still. I met many sweet, buttery ones and, of course, rich and flaky ones over the years. The biscuits I had growing up were delicious and extraordinary in their own ways, but decidedly traditional. I believe that a good biscuit is sometimes a simple one. That's true and I may make a simpler biscuit yet. As for today though...today I want a special sort of biscuit. I want it to be aromatic, buttery, tangy even. I want--cheese. Goat cheese as a matter of fact. I also happen to have rosemary in my fridge and decided to give it a shot. Goat cheese and rosemary are historically good together. Why not? Goat cheese and rosemary biscuits it is.

These biscuits are exactly what the doctor ordered. A golden brown, buttery, cheesy treat for the senses. A luscious experience truly. So far, I have had one with a cup of coffee and it was phenomenal. I also tried it with some of my beloved red pepper jelly. Holy cow. Now, I'm seriously contemplating roasting some tomatoes in olive oil and eating them with the biscuits for dinner. Yes, it's happening. These puppies are versatile.

These golden, little wonders are insanely easy. However, if you're uncomfortable with kneading dough, flour your hands generously and just get in there and give it hell. It'll be over quick, I promise. It's only one bowl and in the oven in no time. They are so very easy and I'm stamping them acceptable for any event or circumstance. I'm already marking them down for Thanksgiving. And, so if I have inspired you to get a little adventurous with your biscuits tonight or simply add goat cheese to something, that's pretty wonderful in my book. Happy baking, friends.

Goat Cheese + Rosemary Biscuits

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

Total: 30 minutes

Yields: 8-9 Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

• 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

• 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

• 1 Heaping Teaspoon Kosher Salt

• 1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

• 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Very Cold and Chopped

• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, Chopped

• 4 ounces Fresh Goat Cheese, Crumbled

• 1 Cup + 4 Tablespoons Whole Milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Coat a large cookie sheet with butter and flour. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and black pepper; whisk well to combine.
3. Mix in cold, chopped butter and use your fingers to work the butter into the mix until the mixture is a coarse meal.
4. Stir in the rosemary, then add in the goat cheese and milk. Stir with a fork just until a sticky ball is formed.
5. Scrape dough out onto a well floured surface and knead (with flour-coated hands) until the dough has been worked into a ball; about 5-10 times. Pat the ball down into a 1" thick round, then use a biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as possible, re-rolling the scraps as you go. It will likely yield around 8 or 9.
6. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

Brown Butter Blondies

I’m a brownie enthusiast. Cakey, gooey, fudgy--I don’t discriminate. I have made them and loved them all. On the contrary, I have never tried my hand at a blondie, the brownie’s more carmely, vanilla cousin. Like brownies, there are hundreds of ways to make a blondie and so when I decided to make them, naturally I had to decide what kind I wanted to make.  I considered peanut butter and cream cheese, chocolate, of course. Then, it dawned on me: brown butter was my answer! Only my favorite ingredient in the entire world. So, I researched some recipes and it. was. on. I actually drew some inspiration from this recipe, but opted for a larger pan (creating a thinner-more bar-like blondie) and left out the chocolate. For my blondie, I decided to whip up brown butter frosting to take it the extra mile. Ya’ll. This blondie isn’t playing.

I know I’ve talked about brown butter in the past, but allow me to repeat myself. Brown butter is just butter...that you brown. Yes. Quite simple. But, it packs some very complicated flavor. Basically, it occurs after melting butter in a skillet over medium heat. The goal is to keep a close eye, swirl occasionally and wait for a distinct nutty scent and nice, rich amber color. These blondies have the it factor. I want to put them on a billboard with flashing lights on the side of the highway. I wish I could pass out samples to all of you. They’re really that good.

To take a look at the details, I have to give some sage brown butter advice, which is to leave nothing behind. The little dark pieces in the brown butter are money. You gotta have them. It all gives the blondies and frosting a terrific speckled look and adds to the toasty flavor profile. I also left it in the oven about 25 minutes and found that they stand up well and taste perfectly chewy this way. Otherwise, look for a cracking top and golden brown, firm edges. These blondies are heavenly, decadent and endlessly adaptable. If you make a pan, do your best to share. I know you may be tempted to keep them for yourself, but this sort of nirvana deserves to be known the world over. Have a wonderful day, friends.

Brown Butter Blondies

• 2 Sticks (1 cup) Unsalted Butter

• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

• 1 Teaspoon Salt

• 2 Eggs

• 4 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

• 1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar (light brown is a good second choice)

Brown Butter Frosting

• 2 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar

• 1 Stick of Unsalted Butter

• 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

• 2 Tablespoons Whole Milk

1. Add two sticks of butter to a medium skillet over medium heat. Allow it to melt, bubble and sizzle (3 to 4 minutes), swirling the pan often, When the butter is a medium golden brown, remove from the heat (it will continue browning in the pan over the next 30 seconds or so!) Pour butter (and any solids in the bottom of the pan) into a large bowl and allow it to cool, about 30 minutes.

For the Frosting: Repeat this butter browning process again--this time with only one stick. Likewise, after it has browned and turned the color of amber, pour it into a medium bowl and allow it to cool, about 30 minutes.

1. After butter cools, heat oven to 350° F. Thoroughly grease a 13 X 9 inch pan. Set aside.

2. Whisk together flour and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Set aside.

3. Add brown sugar to the cooled butter. Stir with a spoon for about a minute.

4. Add egg/vanilla mixture to butter/sugar mixture. Mix just until combined and shiny.

5. Using a stand or hand mixer, add flour mixture gradually to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Avoid over-mixing. Spoon dough into prepared baking pan. Spread and press lightly with the back of your wooden spoon until dough is spread evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. You can’t do the toothpick test with blondies because it always comes out clean. Instead, look for a crispy top that's just beginning to crack with slightly-browned edges. And when you press on the center, it should be a little firm. Too soft and it may need some more time.  However, it will firm up quite a bit after it comes out.

6. For the Frosting: While the blondies are baking, take this time to mix up the frosting. Combine confectioner’s sugar and whole milk with browned butter and vanilla. Add more sugar for a thicker frosting or add milk for something more like a glaze. .

7. Remove from the oven. Cool completely before frosting. Cut into desired portion sizes and serve. These will keep up to a few days at room temperature in an airtight container.

That Thursday Feeling: May Favorites

 

Hi loves, I am trying something new! I had an idea for a series called, "That Thursday Feeling." These posts will be going live every Thursday and will discuss a variety of topics not necessarily limited to food. The first installation will be a favorites post and the others will likely examine topics related to things like lifestyle and creativity. It has been my long-held thought that Thursday has a noticeable, lovely feeling: that feeling of possibility and wonder you get at the eve of the weekend. So, that's the name. I have loved using this platform to talk about food and life so far and I can't wait to see the direction it moves me. Without further ado, check out my favorites for the month of May. It wasn't intentional, but they are all media-centric. Check them out and let me know if you decide to try out any of my recommendations!

On Screen

This is going to sound strange, but one of my absolute favorite shows at the moment is The Dick Van Dyke Show. Hear me out. I had seen it as a kid but didn't fully appreciate it then. I know I’m sincerely late to this game, but having revisited The Dick Van Dyke Show, I'm now declaring that it is a timeless, dare I say, impeccable example of sitcom. Starting up right at the onset of the 1960s, its approach to gender roles and family structure are a breath of fresh air. Mary Tyler Moore’s Laura is spectacular and I would venture to say that every character, major or otherwise, is sheer perfection. It makes me laugh and it offers something that is at once wholesome, progressive and clever. It’s definitely TV: Lite for when The Handmaid’s Tale may be a little too much, but that is the beauty, of course.

Another show I’m loving is Splitting Up Together with Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson. I love the idea of conscious uncoupling and living together post-divorce instead of displacing the children. I just wrapped up the season finale and have to say I really enjoyed it and am officially a devoted fan. I also really love that Ellen Degeneres is producing it. Extra cool points there for sure.

My latest obsession is Queer Eye on Netflix!  I didn’t watch the original Queer Eye, but have fallen hard for this one. It is so uplifting and empowering. I am inspired to be myself fully in every episode. Not only do I have all of the feelz when I watch this show but i also desperately want to be best friends with the Fab 5, especially Jonathan. Yaaaasss, queen.

Do you like John Mulaney? If your answer is, “Who is John Mulaney?” I suggest checking out his work on Netflix. He has a slew of stand-up specials as well as his animated series, Big Mouth with Nick Kroll. His latest special is John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City and it delivered hard. I have been really into stand-up lately and Mulaney may be my current favorite. Give him a shot.

Books

I recently finished, Lunar Abundance: Cultivating Joy, Peace, and Purpose Using the Phases of the Moon by Ezzie Spencer. This book is about living your life in rhythm with the phases of the moon. You may pause here. What kind of book is this? Disclaimer: I like far out things. Just give it a whirl. A major part of the book involves directing our focus to our yin and yang (feminine or masculine) energy within the cycle. It's inspired me to study more about feminine and masculine energy. The moon is just cool. I definitely did my science project on the moon in high school, guys. I've got a thing for it. If you do, this is a fun read. 

I’m currently reading Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi because I am fascinated by the idea of creative flow and heard this guy is basically the granddaddy of all things flow. If you want a scientific and psychology-based look at how our society conditions our behavior and responses to pleasure and punishment, this is the book. It focuses on moving away from the learned track of stimulus/response and shifting focus to increasing the quality of your inner life instead. Whoa.

Another book I'm loving is The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer. I watched I Feel Pretty and apparently gained a major Amy Schumer crush. Her written voice is engaging and hilarious obviously and it's more vulnerable than one might expect. I have lol-ed multiple times and I'm loving it. My only regret is wishing I had gotten the audio book for this one. I'm sure it's fire.

Podcasts

My new favorite podcast is Light Work with Danielle Laporte. If you haven’t heard of Danielle Laporte, she is the author behind The Desire Map (which I also highly recommend!) among several other great books. Her podcast is fabulous because it is so multi-layered and quirky. Every episode is chock full of things like breath work, poetry and new agey tribal music. Her voice is wonderful too and she approaches every episode with her own signature, sassy straight-talk. It feels a little like having wine and going to the spa with your girlfriends.

That's all I've got for our first Thursday post. I hope you like this mixing it up. Wishing you peace, love and a happy Thursday.