mexican rice

I've always been a big fan of traditional mexican cuisine. I also tend to find that whenever I visit a Mexican restaurant my two favorite foods on the menu are the rice and beans. Too often I'll order a large platter and when the server returns to collect it the main course is largely untouched - but save a few straggling grains the rice and beans are long gone.

After struggling to find a recipe that replicated that fluffy, flavorful rice I've finally settled on this version. It isn't gummy like many of the recipes I've tried and because the majority of the cooking takes place in the oven it's one of the easiest side dishes one can make.

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Swordfish Tacos

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, fish tacos aren't really that different from any other kind of taco. Now that I've spent a good deal of time outside of that region, I've found that it isn't nearly as common as I thought.

Even TA thought the idea of eating fish in a taco was quite odd - and made several dirty jokes about the whole idea.

It really is totally refreshing. Whether it's grilled halibut or beer-battered mahi mahi, fish just seems a natural juxtaposition to the light flavors of fresh mex cuisine. The MiL was kind enough to bring me a cooler full of goodies from Whole Foods last time she visited and tucked a beautiful swordfish steak in with all of the other delicious treats.

Swordfish is very different from the traditional flaky texture of most fish - in fact, almost meat like. TA remarked that the texture wasn't hugely different from chicken. I think it's a great fish to try out in a taco for the first time, simply grilled and seasoned with just olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

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