Seared Tuna Tostadas

I made these when we had our friends, Eric and Leah over last week for appetizers and drinks. They are perfect to serve company because a lot of it can be done ahead of time so you can relax and enjoy.

For the wasabi paste:
1/4 cup wasabi powder
1/4 cup water

For the wonton tostadas: (I just used rice crackers and omitted this part of recipe entirely)
Vegetable oil for frying
8 wonton wrappers, cut into quarters (about 2-inch squares)

For the salsa:
1 lb. (about 4) plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (I preferred using avocado)
4 fresh shiso leaves (or 1 Tbs. fresh cilantro), chopped
2 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. rice-wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the tuna:
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. slivered fresh ginger
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 lb. very fresh tuna steaks (ahi is best), cut into rectangular logs about 1-3/4 inches thick and 5 inches long
1 Tbs. vegetable oil

For the garnish:
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1/3 cup chopped scallions

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To make the wasabi paste

At least two days before serving, mix the wasabi powder with the water to form a soft paste. Cover and refrigerate.

To make the wonton tostadas

In a deep skillet, add oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat the oil to 380°F -- a rice noodle will puff into a curlicue within 3 seconds or a cube of bread will turn golden in 15 seconds. (If the oil isn't hot enough, the tostados absorb too much oil and get soggy and greasy after just a few hours.) Fry a few of the wonton squares at a time until they're crisp and evenly golden on both sides, turning them during cooking if necessary, about 5 to 10 seconds. Lift out with tongs and drain on paper towels.

To make the salsa

In a bowl, stir together the tomatoes, shiso or cilantro, scallions, garlic, and rice-wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the tuna

In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and pepper. Marinate the tuna in this sauce for 15 min. or up to 2 hours, turning it halfway through. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat with 1 Tbs. oil. When the oil is very hot -- it will be smoking -- put the tuna logs in the pan and sear, 20 to 30 seconds on each side; they should be seared outside and rare inside. Slice the logs into 1/4-inch pieces.

To assemble

Put a piece of tuna on a wonton. Spread a touch of wasabi paste on the tuna (not too much; it's very hot). Top with a spoonful of salsa. Garnish with a bit of crème fraîche and scallions.

Good Morning!

Final Version of Asher's Pledge

Lemon Meringue Pie

For Moises' birthday "cake" this year he requested a lemon meringue pie. I like to make mine with a graham cracker crust but I came across a pecan-oat pie crust recipe that seemed even better which, in my opinion was.

For the crust:

1 1/3 cup oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1 cup pecans
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

When the oats are done, remove them from the oven. Transfer both the toasted oats and chopped toasted nuts to a food processor. Add the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and drizzle in the melted butter.

Process until the oats and nuts are finely ground and the mixture is cohesive. Happily for us, this stage will be obvious — all the ingredients will be moist and stick together.

Remove the mixture from the food processor and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9- or 10-inch pie plate (not deep dish) that’s at least 1-1/4 inches deep, or a similar tart pan.

Bake at 350 degrees until it’s just barely beginning to brown, 14 minutes. Remove from the over and set it on a rack to cool.

Lemon Filling:

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups tepid water
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Meringue:

5 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Prepare the filling: Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Slowly add the water, stirring until smooth. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Boil to thicken, about 1 minute; remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/4 cup of the hot sugar mixture into the yolks. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice, zest, and butter, then return the pan to the heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil to thicken for 1 minute; remove from the heat. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.

Prepare the meringue: Place the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at low speed until soft peaks begin to form. Increase the speed to medium and add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating just until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat.

Spoon the meringue over the filling decoratively, mounding it in the center and spreading it all the way to the outer edge, so it touches the crust.

Bake the pie in the center of the oven until the meringue is lightly browned on the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes. Do not allow the meringue to over color. Cool the pie on a rack. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

*Some things I do to prevent the pie from weeping is to add a teaspoon of cornstarch to the sugar when beating your meringue. Make sure your filling is HOT before topping with the meringue, this will help it set properly as well. And finally, be sure to allow the pie to cool completely before putting it in the fridge.

All in a row

I'm always finding Asher's toys around the house either neatly stacked up, lined up in a neat little row, or something like this. A mini circus of elephants, sippy cup, airplanes and firetrucks parading through the kitchen. I felt so bad putting them back in his toy box so I took a photo.

Mommy and Elie

Asher's pledge of allegiance

This kid has an amazing memory. I may have recited it a dozen times one day; the following night as I was tucking him into bed I said, "I pledge," and then he finished the whole thing by himself. My jaw dropped.

Mr. Giggles!

Bouncy Boy

I love it when babies kick their little legs and bounce all around when they are happy!

Reading to himself

It's so funny to listen in on Asher playing by himself. He had no idea I was recording him.

I swear...

...you can see him growing in his sleep!

Two Peas in a Pod

(The orange on Asher's face is marker-- he's always got some sort of marker or pen on him these days.)

Papi's Wingman!

Yesterday Moises took Asher flying with him for the second time. I'm thinking we may have a future pilot on our hands!




"Roger that!"

Flying Kites

Over the 4th of July weekend we mostly hung out at home and played in the backyard. We tested out Asher's Spiderman kite. He was so excited to see it in action and thought it was the coolest thing.

Mung Bean and Rice

This is a really satisfying soup that I have been addicted to lately. I like to put a couple of hard boiled eggs in my bowl too.

Serves 6-8

1/4 cup olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil or ghee/clarified butter

1 onion

1/3 cup chopped ginger

5 cloves of garlic chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon black ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes (optional)

7 cups of water

2/3 cup mung beans (pick through beans for pebbles and wash well in strainer)

3 cardamom pods crushed (use the seeds inside)

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 Bay Leaves

2/3 cup rice (wash well in strainer, then let drain)

4 cups of vegetables (I like swiss chard, carrots and zucchini)

Bragg's liquid aminos or Soy Sauce or Salt (add to taste at the end)

Make sure there are no tiny pebbles in your mung beans, then wash them in a strainer. Soak them in a four quart soup pot with the 7 cups of water. Meanwhile, cut up your onion, ginger and garlic. Heat clarified butter or Olive Oil in 10" skillet. Saute' onion, ginger and garlic with one teaspoon of salt for 15 minutes.

Move the onion mixture around to the sides of the pan and put in your turmeric, garam masala, black pepper and optional chili flakes into the center of the pan (there should be some oil in there, if not, roll the pan a bit to get the oil to flow in the middle). When the spices start to sizzle, time 30 seconds. Then mix the spices in with the onion mixture thoroughly. Then add this onion/spice mixture to your soup pot of mung beans. Also add the cardamom pod seeds, dried basil and bay leaves

Bring to boil, turn down, cover with lid and boil for 30 minutes on low heat. Meanwhile, cut up your vegetables. Add veggies and washed rice to the soup pot. Bring back up to a boil and turn down low covering for 20 minutes. Be sure to stir half way through so rice does not stick. If it needs water, add 1/2 cup of water at time stirring and bringing back up to a boil each time. This can be a thick stew like soup or have a thinner consistency. It depends on how you like it.

At the end add Braggs or salt to taste.

You can find ghee, garam masala, turmeric, cardamom, mung beans and basmati rice all at your local Indian Grocery store. Braggs liquid aminos (found in health food stores) is similar to soy sauce, but is healthier and has a delicious brothy taste.