RAVE: Mango Salsa

Okay so I started cooking again - and this time it's a little scary.

When I was living alone and cooking for one it was easy...and I could experiment without worrying if I messed something up. After all, I could always make a salad and try again tomorrow.

Well, now I'm not only living with the BF, but he's an incredible chef. Seriously, I'm intimidated even stepping in the kitchen (his domain, as we refer to it) these days.

He makes everything from pepperoni rolls to elaborate fish dishes to the most amazing desserts, all from scratch - most of the ideas just popping out of his brain as he goes.

Cooking doesn't come quite as naturally to me, but I do enjoy the challenge. And with the added challenge that I'm a pseudo-vegetarian and he's a diabetic, I've got my work cut out for me!

One way I'm learning is by searching for vegetarian dishes on blogs, recipe sites and even using Google. A couple nights ago I decided to make tilapia with mango salsa - the BF loves white fish.

Of course, I had to Google mango salsa for a decent recipe - and I found that, after looking at it, I probably could have come up with that myself! If there's one thing I know, it's mexican dishes, so the ingredients that went along with the mango made sense.

I used this little recipe from Simply Recipes:

INGREDIENTS

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 1 1/2 cup) (See: How to Cut a Mango)
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño chile, minced (include ribs and seeds for a hotter taste if desired)
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Also good with diced red bell pepper and jicama.

Naturally, I forgot the cilantro, but it was good none the less. I do suggest cutting back on the onion, I used half a red onion and it was a little strong.

But in the end I did get two thumbs up from the BF so I was happy!

Now my adventures in cooking for the type 1/veg combo continue. Stay tuned - I'll certainly be sharing these adventures along the way.

Cheers!

-A

Weekend demos and new commitments

This weekend was filled with driving and skydiving. But for anyone who's actually interested in that, you can head over here to SkydiveChick.com - my other blog - to read about those adventures.

I've even written a short review on Aerodyne and the Pilot canopy that I got to demo in their Icon rig. I'm a huge advocate, to say the least.

Anywhoosits, what I'd really like to talk about on this beautiful Monday (yes, I'm highly caffeinated, what of it?) is photography.

For those of you who have followed me for a while now, you may recall how I used to have a weekly column called Photography Friday. It was a fun little way for me to show off my latest shots and I've even sold y'all some prints that was!

But with this little skydiving hobby of mine, photography has taken an unfortunate backseat these past few months. Well guess what, I'm making it a point to bring that back - both to the blog and on Twitter.

If you follow me on Twitter - if you don't, what are you waiting for?? - you may have noticed a couple tweets for Photo of the Day. This is something I will be continuing to do daily. 

It's a nice little tribute to some of the amazing photographers who put themselves out there on Flickr. So when I see something I like, it becomes the photo of the day. Pretty nifty, eh?

Of course, I'll do my best to bring back Photography Friday as well. It'll keep me on my toes with my picture taking, too.

And yes, I did say new commitments. Plural.

I recently decided to re-commit myself to something that's slipped lately. I'm coming back to strict vegetarianism. 

The last few weekends I've cheated on this diet, and honestly, I've felt like complete crap after doing so. My body isn't used to this. It's time to reconnect with why I started this in the first place and stick with it. For good.

What are some of your recent commitments?

Cheers!

-A