Back to simple, fresh, yummy food!

AHHH. I've been seriously craving fresh food! After some crazy rain cut my morning run short, I decided to make a little breakfast parfait:

I used some Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt, honey, crumbled Nature Valley Oats N Honey Granola Bar, sliced bananas and strawberries. Here's another view because I thought it was a pretty breakfast.

So I learned that bananas and thick greek yogurt are not my favorite pairing. A little too much mooshiness going on. Bleh. Maybe I'll try nanners with regular yogurt instead.

Since it rained on and off all day, I took time to veg and unpack a few items...and by a few, I mean half a box. HA. What? I'm embracing my time off! :) I wandered around downtown for a little bit before moseying over to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner.

I feel like it's been forever since I've cooked a real meal in a kitchen, so I planned on making dinner for me and Selin. I grabbed some really great looking champagne mangoes the other day and figured they should be used in tonight's dinner. I also wanted something light and fresh...result? Thai-Inspired Fish Cakes with Mango Pineapple Salsa:

Thai-Inspired Fish Cakes

1 tilapia fillets, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp lemongrass, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 scallions, chopped

2 tbsp egg beaters

1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

1/4 tsp chili garlic paste

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp cilantro, finely minced

salt

juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 - 1/2 c panko

Combine first 11 ingredients in a bowl and slowly add panko until mixture becomes thick enough to mold. Form small patties and chill for at least 15 minutes.

Heat 1/2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Cook cakes for 3-4 minutes on each side. Top with mango salsa.

Mango Pineapple Salsa

1/2 avocado, chopped

1 champagne mango, chopped

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/4 c cilantro, chopped

1/4 tsp ginger, grated

1/3 c pineapple, diced

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp cumin

salt

pepper

1/2 jalapeno, minced

1 tbsp shallot, minced

Combine ingredients in a glass bowl and chill for at least 30 minutes.

The fish cakes had a pretty subtle flavor (I'd was hoping to achieve more of a kick/zing), but they worked well with the slightly tart, sweet salsa. I intentionally didn't puree the fish (most fish cake recipes require you to put them all in the food processor) because I wanted to maintain a chunky fish texture, not that spongy texture you sometimes get.

I think these flavors would also work great with ground chicken or turkey! A revised version of this recipe might include more lemongrass, lime and/or fish sauce...maybe some ginger?

The cakes were supplemented by a salad a la Selin

Some mixed greens, cucumber, shallot vinaigrette and feta - o so simple and delish! *sigh* All is now right in the world...I've returned to the kitchen :)