Veggie Pancakes with Spicy Mayo Sauce

This week I went to visit my parents in Chicago, and while I was there I got to enjoy a wonderful thunderstorm.  While growing up in the Midwest, I definitely took thunderstorms for granted.  I don’t feel like the East Coast storms are as grand.  It was nice to watch the lightning and listen to the thunder as your falling asleep.

The gloomy weather has spilled into DC this Saturday.  Today has been dreary and surprisingly cool (for mid-July).  To not just waste a cool day sitting on the couch, I signed up for a composting workshop at Common Good City Farm.  The organization grows food, educates and assists low-income DC residents in meeting their food needs.  They have a lot of workshops, hours open for volunteering- you should all check it out!

Do any readers compost?  If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences and what has worked (or not worked).  What kind of composting system do you use?

But for a gloomy, cool day like today veggie pancakes are perfect.  These are not breakfast morning pancakes, rather they are full of vegetables!  Perfect for lunch, dinner or snack.  Once you make them, they can be eaten warm or cold- and they last a couple of days in the fridge.

These are full of flavor, but they went perfectly with the Spicy Mayo Sauce we used previously on fish tacos.

Veggie Pancakes
Adapted from: Vegeterian Times (June 2011)

2 medium potatoes, grated
2 medium carrots, grated
2 medium zucchini, grated
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

In a large kitchen towel (or paper towel), mix together the potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onion, and garlic.  Squeeze access liquid out of the vegetables.  Add the veggies into a large bowl, then add: flour, garlic, eggs, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  With about 1/4 cup of the vegetable mixture, shape the vegetables into patties and lay them out on a flat surface.

In a skillet, heat up the olive oil.  Once it’s hot, place the vegetable patties 2 or 3 at a time on the skillet.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until it is lightly brown and crispy.  Then flip it over and cook it for another 3 minutes.

Serve with Sam’s Special Sauce (mayo & chipotle’s), which can be found here.

Fish Taco’s

I love Mexican…a lot!  Especially chips and salsa- definitely my weakness.  So this might seem weird- I have never had fish taco’s until about a month ago.  When I did try them, I was already thinking how we could recreate some at home.

Flipping through the Mexican cookbook, I liked how the picture looked, and decided we should have some for dinner.  We’ve made taco’s once that had the red cabbage in it, and I fell in love with the crunchiness of the cabbage with the soft tortilla.  Sam made the fish, so he gets all of the credit- the tilapia was tender and flaky.  Mexican food is great since there aren’t any concrete rules.  You can add any ingredients which you like (extra cilantro for me!).

Lastly, Sam’s Special Sauce was wonderful- we’ve had some in our fridge for a couple of days now and have been using it whenever we could.  (Perfect on panini’s!)

Fish Taco’s with Sam’s Special Sauce
Inspired by: Mexican Cookbook: A Practical Guide to Preparing and Cooking Delicious Mexican Meals

1 lb tilapia
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
1/4 head of red cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
4 tortillas
1/4 cup cilantro
1 cup salsa (we make our own, but that’s another post)
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Sam’s Special Sauce*

Mix together the salt, pepper, chili powder and cayenne in a small bowl.  Then use all of the spice mix to sprinkle both sides of the fish.  In a pan melt the butter, and then add the olive oil.  Cook the fish for 2 minutes on both sides over medium-high heat.

Assemble the taco: 1 tortilla, some fish, small handful of red cabbage, pinch of cilantro, 2 tbsp salsa, 2 tbsp cheese and 1-2 tbsp of Sam’s Special Sauce.*

 

* Sam’s Special Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 of an onion, chopped
1 canned chipotle

In a food processor, add 1 cup of mayo, onion, and 1 canned chipotle.  Blend, until smooth.  Taste, and add more chipotle’s if you want it to be more spicy.