Easy and Elegant Cinco de Mayo
I wanted to make a full on Cinco de Mayo inspired meal for my hubby and I, and I wasn’t going to let our little kitchen, the limited kitchen supplies we have at hand, or the Japanese markets stop me! I was going to be Fearless! The good news is that I was able to find the beautiful fresh ingredients that I wanted without having to read the label to figure out what they were at the Japanese market! That’s a win in itself. It’s one of the perks of clean eating; a pineapple looks the same in Japan as it does in Florida. One of the things I love about Mexican food is how colorful everything can be! These fresh recipes will literally jump off your plate with vibrant color. I had to make my menu based off of what was available to me, which lended itself to an easy but elegant dinner for two.
Beverage
Watermelon Mint Cooler 
These came out so refreshing! They screamed Summer time and would definitely be something I will be making again and again. We unfortunately do not have a blender in our apartment, so I had to squeeze the juice of the watermelon out with my hands, which actually was a lot of fun! The kitchen smelt amazing with the watermelon, mint, and lime aroma, causing Miles to walk in and ask if he could have a bit of whatever I was making.
¼ cut of a whole watermelon (remove the seeds)
¾ cup of fresh mint (washed and finely chopped)
2-3 limes (depending on how much juice you can get out of them)
4 cups of coconut water (or more or less depending on your taste) I like Zico brand
Through everything into a blender (if you have one) and serve chilled with crushed ice or add your alcohol of choice!
Appetizers
Shrimp Ceviche 
I could eat ceviche everyday! It’s such a healthy, light, refreshing dish that you can eat by itself or atop a salad. Through in a little grilled pineapple for a sweet earthy flavor and you’ve just kicked it up a notch.
2 cups of fresh clean shrimp cut into cube size pieces (you can also used frozen cooked shrimp)
1 lemon juice
¾ cup of lime juice
¼ cup of finely chopped cilantro
¼ of a purple onion finely chopped
¾ cup of pineapple that has been grilled and chopped into small cubes (you don’t have to grill the pineapple if you do not have the time)
1 hass avocado cut into small cubes
1 medium tomato (seeded and chopped into small pieces)
1 jalapeño finely chopped for added heat
1 tps of Himalayan sea salt
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss well. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about 15 mins to allow the citrus to “cook” the shrimp and all the flavors to blend well. Served this in individual chilled martini or wine glasses for added chic-ness!
Guacamole
Guacamole is something I think goes with everything! Add it to your breakfast, sandwich, or atop your grilled chicken…and I will always pay extra for it!
2 large Hass avocado
dash of sea salt (optional)
¼ cup of lime juice
1 ½ tbsp of fresh minced cilantro
½ small-medium purple onion finely chopped
1 tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp cumin
1 clove of garlic minced (or 1 tsp of garlic powder)
2 Roma tomatoes seeded and finely chopped
1 small jalepeno pepper seeded and finely chopped (depending on how hot you like it)
In a large bowl, scoop the avocado out with a spoon, and add the lime juice. Smash the avocado with a fork or potato masher, mixing it well with the lime juice so that it is evenly covered. This will help it from turning brown later! Add in the salt, cumin, cayenne, and garlic. Then fold in the tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeno. It’s as easy as that! I served it next to some tortilla chips for dipping with a spreading knife for our tacos. It was the gift that kept on giving!
Sides
Mexican Street Corn 
Mexican Street Corn is one of my carnival favorites, right up there with funnel cakes, lemonade slushies, and arepas! There are more traditional versions of Mexican Street Corn, but I made it super easy using things you probably already have in your pantry.
3 cleaned and boiled ears of sweet corn
(or more depending on how many you plan on eating)
¼ cup of fresh minced cilantro
Chili powder
Sea salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
6 tbp of butter melted
After you have cooked your corn, lay them out on a foil lined cookie sheet. Pour the melted butter evenly on the corn. Then, hold up one end, and sprinkle your minced cilantro. Then do the same with your chili powder, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. All these ingredients are at your discretion depending on your tastes. Once the corn is beautifully covered. Put it under the broiler on low turning each ear of corn once you start to see it turn a little golden brown. This will add more flavor! You can also grill these for a more authentic taste!
Main Meat
Carne Asada- Skirt Steak Tacos
I made these with Miles in mind. What man 
doesn’t appreciate steak in all its forms? I chose to use skirt steak like pieces I found at the market, which came already thinly sliced. I marinated the steak and placed it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, to allow all the flavors to penetrate the meat well. This also gave me time to make some of my other dishes. Because the steak was so think, and pre cut, it would only take a few minutes to cook to a medium rare temperature under the broiler. I would have probably grilled these along with some sweet onions, if I had a grill at my disposal.
Steak marinade
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup of olive oil or organic grass fed butter
¼ cup minced cilantro
1 tbp minced garlic
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp coriander
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cumin
½ tsp oregano
2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
1 jalapeño seeded and minced (to taste)
After your meat has marinated, take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit for about 10 mins, at room temperature. Place it on a lined cookie sheet, or a broiler pan. Put it under the broiler on high for about 2-3 mins on each side, depending on how thick your meat is, and the temperature you like it at. It was sooooo yummy and tender, and easy to eat out of the tortilla!
Dressing
I LOVE coconut! I wanted to make something to 
complement the flavors in the steak, and add a fresh creamy flavor to the tacos. It was my version of a Mexican tzatziki sauce. This dressing was such a flavorful layer to the tacos and something that I will probably start making and storing for my salads! It really should have been blended, but not having a blender didn’t stop me. I made sure to finely chop everything and mix it well. When the ingredients are as good as this, sometimes, things like blending don’t matter. It made it more of a rustic crunchy addition.
½ cup organic light coconut milk
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
1 whole scallion chopped
2 tbsp lime juice, –then zested (optional)
¼ cup pumpkin seeds (toasted)
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
1 tsp Sriracha hot sauce (optional)
In a small pan, place the pumpkin seeds, on medium to toast. This won’t take long; the seeds will start to pop. It will make your kitchen smell divine! Then place all your ingredients into your blender or food processer and pulse until a creamy goodness.
Taco Toppings
Purple Cabbage Slaw 
This slaw will certainly add more color to your plate with complementary flavors that make it the perfect complement to the steak or beans in your taco!
¼ purple cabbage very thinly sliced or shredded
1 carrot shredded/ or ½ finely chopped orange bell pepper
2 tbsp organic honey
¼ cup finely chopped pineapple (or green apple)
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 tbp chopped scallions (green part)
Toss all your ingredients well, to evenly mixed. You can choose to serve raw, or you can lightly sauté them to allow the honey to caramelize your slaw.
Dessert
Baked Churro Bites
Miles loves churros! So I had to try my hand at them for our Mexican celebration! I had to make them into ‘bites’ because I didn’t have a piping bag to m
ake them the traditional way. I found a recipe that allows them to be baked as opposed to fried. Tip: wet your hands when handling the sticky dough. Needless to say they didn’t last long! These little bites of heaven were the perfect ending to our easy but elegant meal!
Waste Not, Want Not…
I also made black beans and brown rice for the tacos, because I like to have a meatless option, and Miles requested rice for his tacos! It also allowed us to have left overs that we were able to vary and utilized in different ways without getting sick of them.
For breakfast I made a Mexican inspired egg tortilla! 
For lunch I put the left over ceviche over my salad!
We often invite friends for home parties but…it is not really done so much here. 🙁
Do you know taco rice? Some US military guys came up w/it b/c they could not obtain taco shells/tortillas easily. Easy “rice bowl” dinner