The Farce

OK, it's official. I'm a fraud. I realized when my dad answered the phone after reading one of my blog posts and said, "hey, skinny bitch". Fresh off my annual doctor's appointment, I realized I was a liar. Maybe it was my fault for scheduling this appointment right after the holidays, but apparently I'm not so skinny anymore. Apparently, I need to go back to the beginning of this journey and remind myself why I started in the first place. I've been having so much fun pretending to be Jacques Pepin and quoting Larousse's Gastronomique that apparently the butter and cream seem to have snuck back into my kitchen.

So I'm back on the wagon. I have to admit, I've gone the past two days being pretty good and safe. I'm trying not to be boring and fall into the soup and salad routine, but sometimes you just like what you like, you know? It's cold here and I keep getting Delta airline offers to whisk me off to someplace sunny and warm. Cozumel, anyone? I'm not boarding a flight anytime soon, so tonight I'm turning the heat up to 85, changing from layered sweats to a tank top and shorts and bringing Mexico to me.

Before I moved to LA for that (very) short period of time, I was your typical Old El Paso, load on the cheese, toast the shell, bring on the Corona kind of girl. But my behind can't take it and neither can my jeans, so I'm going to have to rely on that West Side knowledge of a good fish taco and modify modify modify. So think Playa Palencar, a Los Lonely Boys CD, a not so lonely Papi Rico, and a light, breezy cucumber margarita.

Head over to your local fishmonger and pick up a few tilapia fillets. One fillet will fill one taco, so buy what you need. Also pick up tomatoes, cotija cheese, cilantro, plain greek yogurt (use this like sour cream... less fat more protein), red onion, and lettuce. I find that romaine works best for its stability and crunch factors, but I might try butter lettuce next go round. We'll see. Pick up whatever else you might like, black beans, corn, whatever strikes you.

Before you grill your fish, get yo' meez in place! I'm trying to be funny here, not ignorant. Anyway, ahem, prep your space...

Crumble your cheese, chop your cilantro, dice your onion, cube your tomatoes and line them all up in a nice neat little row so that all ingredients are accessible.

Work with tilapia at room temperature. I find that you'll get a better result if meats and fish are allowed to ease into a new temperature instead of being shocked into it. That's just a little tip from me to you. Make a rub from salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder and generously cover both sides of your fillet. Spray your hot grill pan with olive oil and grill it up. Let the fish grill until it's easy to flip to the alternate side. If the fish is giving you trouble and doesn't want to move, let it sit until it does. About 4-5 minutes each side.

Rinse off romaine leaves and slice about a 1/4" off the white end. We want them pretty. Fill with whatever's in your nice neat little row of ingredients and top off with the grilled fish. Done and DONE.

The Deal

(2 tacos)

Calories: 270; Fat: 12g; Protein: 38g; Carbs: 8