hope yall got all of that cheesy, carb-y, delicious mexican food from last week out of your system, because it is time for a super healthy and super delicious recipe. two recipes- one side and one protein. as usual, i'm more interested in the side. so i'll save that for last.

first up: tilapia. i had never (ever) cooked any kind of fish before, so i was kind of nerval. seemed like the easiest and most foolproof way to go about it was baking. i think i was right. (pipe up in the comments if you have an easier and more foolproof way!) i made skinnytaste's baked garlic lemon tilapia. loved it! i bought my tilapia frozen (it was significantly cheaper) and defrosted under running water. the fish defrosted extremely quickly, so i'm glad i went the frozen route.

Baked Garlic Lemon Tilapia

Ingredients: 

• 6 (6 oz each) tilapia filets 
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
• 4 tsp fresh parsley 
• salt and pepper 
• cooking spray 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter on a low flame in a small sauce pan. Add garlic and saute on low for about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and shut off flame. Spray the bottom of a baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Place the fish on top and season with salt and pepper. Pour the lemon butter mixture on the fish and top with fresh parsley. Bake at 400° until cooked, about 15 minutes.


the fish came out flaky and with just the right hint of the butter/lemon/garlic flavor. because i've never cooked fish before, i wasn't sure how to check if it was done. Praise be to Google, i figured it out. it passed the flake-test (does the fish flake when you cut into it?) and the opaque-test (is it opaque in the middle of the thickest piece? it shouldn't be. it should be white). please share if you have any other fish done-ness tests.

the other dish, which i have given a sexy little preview of in the above photo, is balsamic roasted brussel sprouts. ::salivates:: when i first moved to austin, i went to an "american pub" here called drink.well. they had the most fabulous, decadent balsamic roasted brussel sprouts with little chunks of bacon. sadly, i don't see them on the menu anymore. happily, they inspired this dish. less decadent and still delicious.

Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 2- 3 cups brussels sprouts, sliced in half
• dash salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil

 

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the vinegar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate the olive oil until a dressing is formed. Place the brussels sprouts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle the oil and vinegar over the sprouts and gently toss to coat. Bake for 25 minutes, turning once. Sprouts are done when they are lightly browned.





little green balls of heaven. went great with the fish. i paired the meal with my fave, pinot grigio. what label, you ask? the cheapest one. now you probably feel awkward for asking. your fault.


*title refers to rick bragg's book, all over but the shoutin'. great read if you're looking for something southern-like.

this saturday was the ultimate summer day. i had no plans and thoroughly enjoyed winging it. lucky for me, lots of new and fun things came my way. saturday started as all of the best saturdays do: with potato egg and cheese breakfast tacos from taco shack. simple. to the point. i love potato egg and cheese tacos, and taco shack's have always been my favorite.

up next was some fun in the sun in one of austin's many natural swimming areas, the greenbelt. it is a very short drive and then about a 20 minute walk to the water. it is so worth the short walk in the heat. there were lots of happy dogs splashing around with their equally happy owners, and sangria and cold beers were plentiful.

the greenbelt. i live in a jungle!

pretty greenbelt sky.

after hanging out in the sun for four hours, the crew was ready for some grub. we chose the always delicious tex-mex locale, maudie's, for dinner. one of my favorite things about austin is that it is acceptable at almost any restaurant to show up in wet bathing suits, cover-ups, and flip flops. maudie's was no different and gave great service to our wet and sunburned group. from there we headed to a friend's pool, where summer officially started when i did my first cannon ball of the season. twenty five years young, yall.