Creative Spices- By Lo

Heres something you need to know about me, I love cooking and have become increasingly adventurous with it since returning from Korea. Most of my food has a kick to it but it certaintly isnt required. I love trying new styles, countries, changing up old recipes and cooking for friends and family. Do not be mistaken, I am by no means a pro in the kitchen, but I have a passion and if that never takes me out of my own kitchen (or my moms) I will be satisfied with that. So follow me and enjoy giving your taste buds something to smile about.

All too often I watch these great cooking shows, I am obsessed with competitive cooking shows - Masterchef, Hells Kitchen, Next Food NEtwork Star, and they have such amazing dishes that of course I want to recreate them. However, when I open up my cupboards the first things I see are a couple cans of beans, saurkraut and mushrooms. I could get a discouraged and settle on having cereal but instead I decide to get creative. One of the most important things to making any food into a meal is spice. This doesnt mean spicy - although it frequently does in my life - but you should never back down from adding spices to your dishes. This evening for dinner, I started by finding my key ingrediant, a nice filet of fish (Tilapia) and started there. Next, I rummaged around for items that would go nicely with it but perhaps werent the obvious first choice. I found some ears of corn that were about to expire, a half chopped onion and some garlic. Sauteed up, this makes for a great base - to which I added some chili powder for some kick. Lastly is the fish, I love fish because it is so easy to make. In a separate pan I added some olive oil (I used the spray can because I feel I use less of it and it still works) and squeezed some lime juice onto the fish (not necessary just had it in my fridge) and chili flakes, again only if you want the spice. Fish can easily be overdone but if you pay fairly close attention until it starts to flake off on the edges, it will be perfect. To finish it off I just added my veggie mix into the fish pan and let it mingle together for a few minutes. Serve up and Enjoy!

** Night one I made this for myself but my mom was so impressed by the sound of it that I ended up making it for 8 the next night. (Hint: Make the fish and veggies separate, the pan will not be big enough to mingle at all, just add the veggies on the top of the fish on the plate and they will mingle enough before eating.... They all loved it!, even the 4 and 6 year old).

** I have also added black beans to the mix for a Mexican flare and also a little more substance if needed.