If there were one food I might be in danger of turning into, well...actually it would be a coffee bean. But second to that would be a taco. It's always my answer whenever my husband asks what I'm in the mood to eat. (He would be a pizza just in case you were wondering.) Whether it's a fried fish taco on Cape Cod, a freshly made bean and cotija cheese taco from Puerto Vallarta or Steak Tacos al Carbon from my favorite Mexican restaurant, I'll try them all. 

At home, I prefer to go a little lighter. This recipe is stuffed with veggies and contains no meat or cheese. Grilled fish, London broil or chicken would also pair nicely with the sauce. If you must include cheese, I would choose crumbly cotija, if you can find it.

Tomatillos, if you've never had them, are citrusy in flavor and texturally similar to a green tomato. After combining all of the ingredients for the sauce, the end result should be creamy, tangy, and a touch salty - not watery and flavorless. If you achieve the latter, try adding an avocado, salt and a bit more citrus juice. Also, the best taco seasoning to use is one that you like. Sometimes I will toss in a homemade version, other times I'll go with a store bought package, so long as it doesn't contain msg or preservatives. Anything goes. Finally, if you can't locate blue corn tortillas, the regular corn or flour variety will do just fine. Disfrute de su comida! (Enjoy your meal!)

Ingredients:
6-8 blue corn 6" tortillas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed
5 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups of water
3 ounces black pitted olives, halved
1 large avocado, halved and pitted
2 medium tomatillos
1 cup cilantro, rinsed well
juice of 1 lime or 1/2 lemon
salt and black pepper to taste
1 handful mixed greens
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped

Directions:
Heat a fry pan over medium heat. One-by-one, toast each side of the tortillas until lightly browned. Fold in half and place the tortilla taco shells on a plate to cool.

Add the oil to the warm fry pan and stir in the onion. Cook until softened and lightly browned. Add the black beans, taco seasoning and water. Continue cooking until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in the olives and set aside.

In a blender or food processor, puree the avocado flesh, tomatillos, cilantro, citrus juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Divide the greens between the taco shells, then layer on the bean mixture and tomato. Top with a dollop of avocado sauce and serve immediately.

Yield: 3-4 servings

How do you tell a true Northeasterner from a everyone else? Watch how we eat a lobster. First off, we don't need lobster crackers or a bib. Our bare hands are extremely adept at breaking through the outer shell without showering in lobster juice. Secondly, we all have a well practiced method for getting in there. Finally, a true Northeasterner (according to my Bostonian family) is never put off by cooking a live lobster. That is where I divert from my roots. I just won't do it. I will buy an already cooked lobster once in awhile. But I won't cook one myself. Not that one is any better than the other from a vegan's perspective, but I can live with myself to some degree if it's already packaged up waiting for someone like me to prevent it from waste.

But isn't shellfish rather unhealthy? Shellfish contains iron, copper, zinc and Vitamin B-12. It is also high in protein and contains low levels of saturated fat compared to red meat. The cholesterol content tends to be high in shellfish, but in a person who generally eats a low cholesterol diet and is in good health, it can be beneficial. Cholesterol is used to make bile acids in the liver, which then travels to the intestines to aid in fat digestion and elimination of (LDL) low-density lipoprotein cholesterol from the body. It also plays an important role in a variety of other functions such as hormone production, vitamin regulation, fighting infections and preventing memory loss. When a higher cholesterol food such as lobster is paired with an ingredient high in plant sterols which lower LDL cholesterol, such as edamame, it prevents the absorption of the unhealthy LDL aspect of cholesterol. Phrased another way, you still receive the benefits of cholesterol while eliminating the unhealthy aspects.

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
6 oz. shelled edamame
2 cups turkey, seafood or vegetable broth, plus 1 cup reserved
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 handful fresh baby spinach
1 lobster, shelled and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 sprig fresh mint leaves, chopped

Directions:
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic and bay leaf. Cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent garlic from burning. Add the edamame and cook another 1-2 minutes. Pour the broth into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat an allow to cool slightly. Transfer the mixture to a blender and remove the bay leaf. Add the spinach and the reserved broth a little at a time, blending until smooth. Pour the bisque into bowls and set aside. 

In a separate bowl, toss together the lobster, lemon juice and mint leaves. Spoon the lobster and juice over the center of each bowl of bisque. Add additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings

In January, my mind always jumps ahead to spring planting. This year, winter in the Northeast has been absolutely balmy, so I really can't complain about a shortage of fresh produce. Look at this recent photo of my backyard in New York. Did I mention it's JANUARY?! Normally, all of this would be buried in a foot of snow by now.

But yet I am. Complaining that is. I miss my peaches. I miss stepping outside and grabbing a handful of fresh parsley. Or mint or tomatoes or anything else I stuck in the ground that year. Fortunately, Florida oranges are finally juicy and sweet again, as opposed to the mealy variety stores try to pass off in the summertime. As are a variety of other fruits like persimmons, pomegranates, kiwis and kumquats. While these items have spent more time traveling than I have, they'll have to do for now.

Ingredients:
2 medium seedless oranges, peeled
6 oz. vanilla soy yogurt
1 kiwi fruit, peeled
2 tablespoon chia seeds
orange slice, star fruit for garnish, optional*

Directions:
In a blender, puree one orange with half of the vanilla yogurt until smooth. Transfer to a jar and mix with one tablespoon of the chia seeds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Dice the other orange and gently spoon over the orange yogurt when set.

Meanwhile, rinse out the blender and puree the kiwi with the remaining yogurt, then mix with the chia seeds. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. When the kiwi yogurt is set, spoon it over the orange chunks. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes or overnight. Garnish with orange and star fruit slices and serve.

Yield: 1 serving