Cauliflower and kidney bean tacos

I'm back! After being pregnant and becoming a mum, I've been cooking from my instincts and not necessarily coming up with the most creative dishes. Also, I have often not had time to pause to take photos and blog. Nonetheless, I'm still here and tonight I made a scrumptious vegetarian mexican dinner for my best friend and hubbie: cauliflower and kidney bean tacos! The secret is cooking the cauliflower and bean mixture for a good hour or so--like a hearty bolognese. 

Apparently if you don't cook cruciferous vegetables for 30min they are goitrogenic (inducing goiter formation). They contain enzymes that interfere with the formation of thyroid hormone in people with iodine deficiency. In that class of vegetable includes: cauliflower, cabbage, cress, bok choy, broccoli and similar green leaf vegetables.

Ingredients

1 mexican dinner kit ('requiring' 500g of meat)

1 onion finely chopped

1tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves crushed

1tbsp ground cumin

1tbsp dried oregano

1/2 cauliflower chopped into bite-sized chunks

1 can kidney beans

sour cream

2 cups water

2 tomatoes diced

1 avocado smooshed with lime juice, salt and pepper

Fresh coriander/cilantro

1 green top of spring onion sliced

1 carrot grated

sprouts

lettuce

grated cheese

sour cream

Tabasco, jalapenos and chilli to taste

Method

Fry onion until soft. Add cumin, garlic and caulflower and cook for a couple of minutes. Add kidney beans, taco seasoning packet and water. Simmer on low, uncovered for 30min-1hr, stirring occasionally  and breaking down cauliflower with a wooden spoon. Add 2 tbsp sour cream towards the end as it thickens. Put taco shells in the oven to crisp.

Serve with chopped tomato, salsa, mashed avocado, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, grated carrot, lettuce, sprouts, coriander and chilli sauce to taste. 

Fish Tacos

Look at that cos lettuce and rocket! Wow. :D I love getting food straight off the farm.

For the curious, there's a QEII coronation tea cup that my grandmother bought when she and my dad were in London in 1953. Next to it is a pirate pub shot glass from Pirate museum @ Nassau. I bought it on a Disney cruise with my brother.


Jalapenos are in their prime and limes are filled with juice. It's the perfect time to make mexican food.

Harvest time also means lots of tomatoes! Fresh salsa is so easy to make and stays fresh in the fridge for a week. It's a great way to use up some fresh tomatoes.

Salsa
3 tomatoes diced
1 onion finely diced
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/2 lime's worth of juice
1/4 bunch of coriander finely chopped (including stalks, that's where the flavour is)
A few olives roughly chopped
Jalapeno finely chopped to taste
Salt to taste

Fish tacos
500g hoki fillets
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lime's worth of juice
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 pkt taco seasoning (I was feeling lazy)
3/4 cup water

Mix all the salsa ingredients in a bowl and let sit for an hour or two. The flavours get better with time. Rub the hoki filets in the cumin, oregano, olive oil, lime juice and garlic and cook in a medium oven for 20min. Remove from the oven and add to a saucepan with taco seasoning and water. Heat for 3minutes and serve with fresh avocado, salsa and shredded lettuce.

Today was my first avocado for the season. I made a super-easy mash-up of avocado, lime juice, coriander and salt. Yummy!!!


Lay out ingredients onto a heated flour tortilla


Roll up the burrito into a parcel and enjoy! :)

I forgot to use the gorgeous green capsicum that is also in plentiful supply right now. Next time for sure!