Is it May? Really??? It’s hard to tell here in Minnesota because it is chilly, rainy, and more like March than May. Still, whether it feels like or not, Cinco de Mayo has arrived! Hopefully warmer weather will not be far behind.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but May really snuck up on me. I’m still writing April as the date on various papers without a second thought. Lately, time seems to stand still and fly by at the same time. With so many crazy things happening in the world, I think Cinco de Mayo is just what some of us need to unwind and enjoy some down time.

In the spirit of this holiday, I’ve put together some menu ideas from past posts here on Tokyo Terrace. These are some of my favorite recipes, especially the addicting guacamole wontons and empanadas- delicious and perfect washed down with a raspberry and key lime margarita. Olé!

• Classic Margarita
• Argentine Empanadas
• Guacamole Wontons
• Raspberry Key Lime Margarita
• Blood Orange Margarita
• Fish Taco Cups

What will you be enjoying (or what did you enjoy) for Cinco de Mayo this year? I’d love to hear about some other ideas!

Writing a post about fish tacos is a stark contrast to the weather outside here in Minnesota. Not even 30 seconds ago, the rain changed to snow. And it is the end of April. Just sayin’.

Still, I will power on and write about a recipe that is perfect for enjoying out on the deck in the bright, warm spring sunshine. Some of you may have that right now. Others may be stuck in a bad weather rut. If that is the case, this is the perfect time to make use of a little something called your imagination! Put a summery table cloth down and pretend it is warm enough outside to warrant this delicious treat. A margarita couldn’t hurt…

A couple weeks ago, Kurt from Ursula’s Wine Bar in White Bear Lake, MN, hosted a food and wine pairing class. I was lucky enough to be asked back into their kitchen to provide the food portion of the class! I’ll be posting each of the small plates I prepared for that day over the next week or so here on Tokyo Terrace, so don’t go too far away! There are some great pairings to be shared!

These mini fish tacos are perfect for a party, or can be made as normal sized tacos for a light, healthy family dinner. Rather than deep frying the fish fillets, which is quite delicious but not realistic when you have to serve 30 people, I broiled them. This was incredibly easy to do for a crowd and had the added bonus of being healthy. I used tilapia fillets, which are fast and easy to broil with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. After they were done in the broiler, I simply squeezed lime juice over them and broke up the fillets with a fork. 10 minutes and they were ready to fill the taco shells!

The fish is then topped with a dollop of chipotle sour cream, pickled red onions, and cilantro. Bright flavors and vibrant colors perfect for spring or summer!

There are four posts in this series and I will post the complete menu along with the wine pairings in the last of the series. Stay tuned!

Mini Fish Tacos

Makes about 24 mini tacos

12 corn tortillas, cut in half (like half moons)

1 1/2-2 lbs. tilapia fillets

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt & pepper

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 (about 1 teaspoon) chipotle pepper in adobo, diced

juice from 1/2 a lime

lime wedges

pickled red onions (recipe coming soon in a new post!)

2 avocados, sliced

cilantro leaves

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a muffin tin, arrange each of the tortilla halves so they form the shape of a cup. The points should be up in the air and you may need to play with them to make sure they keep their shape. When the muffin tin is filled, bake the tortilla cups for about 8 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn. If they brown too quickly, turn the heat down slightly.

Remove the tortilla cups from the oven to cool completely. Turn the oven heat up to 425 degrees F.

Meanwhile, arrange the tilapia fillets on a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Let the fillets cook for 10 minutes or until opaque all the way through. Remove the fillets from the oven and season with the lime juice. Break the fish apart into chunks with a fork. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Set aside.

Stir the chipotle pepper into the sour cream in a small bowl. Set aside.

Arrange the tortilla cups on a platter. Fill each cup with some fish, a dollop of the sour cream, some pickled onions, a slice of avocado and a cilantro leaf or two. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

There are few flavors that excite me more than the combination of sweet and salty. These two drastically different tastes are magnificent and used in seemingly endless ways. Usually, I only find this flavor combo in unhealthy dishes. OK, I’ll be honest: that’s probably because the unhealthy dishes win most battles based on my own inability to say ‘no’.

That was the case until this salad came along.

Made with umeboshi, a Japanese plum that is dried then pickled, this salad is simple yet bursting with exotic flavors. The salty and tart flavor of the umeboshi can be strong on its own, but paired with creamy avocado and a walnut oil dressing, the flavor is a bit more mild. Mild, yes. Unnoticed, no. The flavor still pops, just like the pink color, in the midst of the crisp greens and smooth avocado. The addition of walnut oil vinaigrette, made with walnut oil and Japanese mirin, adds a slight earthiness that helps to counter the tang of the umeboshi. Because mirin is slightly sweet, the marriage of the vinaigrette with the umeboshi is perfect. Subtle and beautiful, this salad fulfills the need to quench my salty-sweet cravings in a healthy way. And how gorgeous are the black sesame seeds? The contrast in color is nearly as wonderful as the flavor itself.

I chose to use a bitter green for the salad, but any light, leafy green, such as bibb lettuce, frisée, or microgreens, will suffice.

If you are interested in giving umeboshi a try, check at your local Japanese or Asian grocery store.

Umeboshi & Avocado Salad

Serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side dish

1/2 cup umeboshi, pitted and roughly chopped

1 head leafy-greens, frisée…anything you prefer, washed and chopped

1 avocado, sliced

1/4 cup walnut vinaigrette (see recipe below)

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

Pile the lettuce in a large bowl. Arrange the avocado slices on top followed by the umeboshi. Drizzle with the walnut vinaigrette and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve.

Walnut Vinaigrette

Makes a scant 1/3 cup

1/4 cup walnut oil

3-4 tablespoons mirin

Whisk the walnut oil and mirin together. Season with salt if desired. (If using on the Umeboshi & Avocado Salad, refrain from using salt as the pickled plums are very salty on their own.)

Wow. What. A. Week. I sort of felt like this little frog in the midst of the corn in my parents’ garden over the past few days…

If you read Mr. Terrace’s post from a couple days ago, you may know that we have had quite a bit of excitement happening ’round these parts. Our friend’s brand new baby arrived, then there was the wine dinner at Ursula’s (you can see photos on facebook by clicking here), and I got my wisdom teeth removed. I won’t go into all the gory details, but let me just say that I don’t really want to do that again. Although, thanks to my sweet husband and mother, I have been well taken care of. I can’t quite imagine having to go through all of that while in Tokyo!

Those of you who have had your wisdom teeth removed can probably relate to my menu the past couple of days. Basically anything soft, creamy, and white. Or ice cream. This is all well and good for the first two days, but by the third day a girl gets a little restless! Since I felt well enough today to get myself up out of the chair I’ve been inhabiting since “the incident”, I decided to mix things up a little bit. My mom brought a beautifully ripe avocado home from the grocery store for me, which gave me a perfect place to start something that wasn’t mashed potatoes, vanilla pudding, or water.

So, into the blender went the avocado, some greek yogurt, milk, lemon juice, lime juice, cilantro, fish sauce, hot sauce and a sprinkle of salt. Within 5 minutes I had a creamy bowl of green goodness just waiting to be eaten. We are also enjoying some very humid weather today in Minnesota, so a chilled soup was absolutely perfect for lunch.

Hopefully this Chilled Avocado Soup will tide everyone over until I get back to cooking again! The next post will be the first of a series about the wine dinner at Ursula’s Wine Bar & Cafe, so make sure to stay tuned!

Chilled Avocado Soup

Makes 4 appetizer-sized servings

1 1/2-2 ripe avocados

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup 1% milk

juice from half a lemon

juice from half a lime

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce

Combine everything in a blender and pulse until broken down. Then blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Spoon into small bowls and garnish with a cilantro leaf. (If you don’t plan to eat this right away, store in the fridge until ready to eat.)

One of my favorite week night meals as a little girl was something my mom made with pantry staples. A nice piece of bread, piled with tuna and topped with a slice of Kraft cheese. My mom would turn on the broiler and melt the cheese until it started to bubble and began to brown. Simple pleasures.

These days, Kraft cheese doesn’t always cut it. Call me a food snob or whatever, but sometimes a girl needs something with a little more sophistication- am I right?

Back to the point- I experienced the same delectable simplicity in sandwich form during our second week after moving to Tokyo. Yep, that’s right. The inspiration for this sandwich, oddly enough, comes from a restaurant here in Tokyo called Uncle Sam’s. Their sandwiches are comfort food for me when I don’t really want something sea weedy or raw fishy.

Brad had the day off on Monday and instead of spending all our time in the kitchen (which is usually find with me, but Brad always gets stuck with the dishes) we made this really easy sandwich.

Here is the recipe. I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know what you think!

Grilled Tuna Sandwiches with Cheese and Avocado
Makes 2 sandwiches


4 slices of multi-grain bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can tuna, drained and rinsed (packed in oil if you can find it)
3 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons yellow or dijon mustard (or to taste)
salt and black pepper to taste
2 slices gouda, swiss or cheddar cheese
1 avocado, sliced

Brush the bread with the olive oil. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the tuna, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.

Make the sandwiches with the tuna and cheese only to start. Place the sandwiches in a panini grill, George Foreman grill (this is what I use), or heat on the stove top in a pan until the cheese melts. Remove the sandwiches from grill, take of the bread slice without the cheese and top with the avocado slices. EAT!