Thai Fish Fillets with Cucumber Salsa

Let's file this dinner time recipe under ridiculously easy.


Have you ever had Cucumber Salsa?  Homemade Cucumber Salsa is a-may-zing!  Pair that with some fish and you have a meal fit for Lent, or any other time of year.

This particular recipe has a bit of a Thai bent to it.  Given that Thai is a popular type of food nowadays, I thought this might peak your interest.

This is a freezer meal that you can easily prep ahead of time.  Thaw during the day.  Put in the oven when you get home from work or are ready to make dinner.

Thai Fish Fillets with Cucumber Salsa

Fish and Marinade
1 T peeled fresh ginger root, finely chopped - if you can't use fresh, substitute 1 t ground ginger
2 T sesame oil - olive oil works in a pinch, but the sesame oil has great flavor
1 T fresh snipped cilantro
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
4-6 fish fillets - tilapia, salmon, orange roughy

Salsa
1 C cucumber, seeded and coarsely chopped
1-2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 T olive or grapeseed oil
3 T white vinegar
1/4 t sugar
Pinch of salt

Finely chop ginger root. Combine ginger, sesame oil, cilantro, salt and pepper in bowl.  Mix well.  Place fish in ziploc bag and add marinade. Freeze for later.  If you plan to make the same day, allow to marinate 30 minutes.

To make salsa, cut cucumber in sections and remove seeds.  Coarsely chop with a knife.  You want it to be somewhat chunky.  Cut tomatoes in half and remove seeds.  Coarsely chop. Add cucumbers and tomatoes to mixing bowl.  Press garlic into bowl.  Add oil, vinegar, sugar and salt.  Mix well.  

To bake, preheat oven to 400.  Remove fish from ziploc bag.  Discard marinade.  Place fish in 9x13 baker.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Serve salsa with fish.

Note:  Salsa can be made ahead of time and stored in refrigerator for a couple days.

Enjoy!

Coffee...a staple for every morning & used for cooking

I love talking to you all about recipes that are fun and easy. But I know I meander off topic a bit about things that interest me or are going on in my life.

I'm not a big coffee drinker. But I also know I'm in the minority. Those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter know that my family is organizing a coffee drive for Simpson Housing Services in Minneapolis. http://www.simpsonhousing.org

Why? Well, one of their big needs is coffee. They receive a lot of food donations, but coffee is something they frequently buy in bulk. At one shelter, they go through almost 100 cups of coffee a day. Many adults in the shelter get up as early as 3am to take multiple buses to work and coffee helps them get going in the morning. They also have a cup of decaf in the evenings while waiting for a meal.

What would the coffee drinkers of the world do without their morning coffee? I think a lot of times it's taken for granted.

So if this is a small way we can give back and help others, then that's great!

We're about 20lbs short of the goal. And we're delivering the coffee this weekend.

Would you consider donating? If you make a run to the grocery store, consider picking up a bag or can of coffee and let me know where and when I can meet you or pick it up.

And since we're talking about coffee, here's a chicken recipe that actually uses coffee! It's one I haven't used in a while, but was searching my lists and found this one from allrecipes. Even though I'm not a coffee lover, this recipe is actually yumatrocious!

Dave's Mocha Chicken
2/3 C soy sauce
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C sherry cooking wine - actually real wine gives a better flavor, but use what you have
1/4 C strongly brewed coffee
1/4 C olive oil
6 chicken legs or chicken thighs
Salt & Pepper

Put soy sauce, brown sugar, wine, coffee and 2 T olive oil in a gallon size ziploc bag. Add chicken, remove air and seal. Smoosh it around so it's mixed up pretty well. Let it marinate 3-4 hours or even overnight.

Remove chicken and discard marinade. You can either brown in a skillet until juices run clear or place in a baking dish, cover and bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes or until juices run clear.

This is also a freezable make-ahead recipe. Take it out the night before and let it thaw before cooking.

Enjoy!