_Yippieeeeeee, I'm back!!!!

The hustle and bustle of every day life once again kept me away for far too long but things have seemingly simmered down (for now) and I'm super excited to be posting today as not only am I back but so it the Secret Recipe Club (woot woot!) and today is reveal day!! 

My assigned blog for February was The Ginger Snap Girl, which I must say is chock full of amazing-ness!  It took every ounce of strength not to lick the screen while I browsed her recipes -  Chocolate Chip Pretzel Bars, Banana Cake with Nutella Frosting, Spring Time Pasta, Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak.....   Oh, oh - and the pictures - the pictures are epic!!!! 

As I browsed Gloria's blog, I was especially loving the diversity of the recipes as I have been finding myself in a bit of a food rut.  I've been eating mostly raw fruit salads, simple crock pot soups,and basic roasted or broth sauteed veggies which is fine by me but said delicious simplicity doesn't exactly translate into hot and exciting blog material.  I needed something new,  something different... and the second I saw it I knew I had found "the one", the most perfect recipe that had everything I was looking for:  Grilled Mahi Mahi with Mango Avocado Salsa.

Mahi Mahi is probably the only fish I would say that  I love and although I only eat it once or twice a year max (yes, I know, I'm a bad "vegan"....), I thoroughly enjoy it on those few occasions.  Along with this, I have never made Mahi Mahi so the prospect of making something totally new was an added bonus!  I quickly called Darin, who just recently discovered this yummy fish (I know, I know!), and set a date to convene for dinner.  For the fish, I followed the recipe as is but due to the frigid temps of New York Winter, I did my grilling on Cuisinart 5 in 1 Griddler .  For the salsa, however, I ran into some difficulty as my mangos and avocado weren't as ripe as they should have been (not only did I buy both way in advance but I tried every ripening technique in the book but to no avail), thus making it easier for me to chop instead of dice. and I skipped the zest.  
    
Grilled Mahi Mahi
from The Ginger Snap Girl

Mahi Mahi filets
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Drizzle fish generously with olive on both sides.  Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Grill on medium high heat with lid closed until fillet looks opaque on the sides (about 5 minutes depending on thickness).  

Note:  If using an actual grill, flip fillet and cook for additional 3 minutes with lid closed until fish just feels firm.  If you don't have a grill you could use a grill pan or simply pan sear the fish.

Mango and Avocado Salad
adapted from The Ginger Snap Girl

2 large mangoes, peeled, pitted and chopped
1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
 2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 Tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except avocado in a medium bowl and stir.  Gently toss in avocado so the juices fully coat the avocado pieces (to prevent browning). 

In a word:  DELICIOUS!  I will definiately be making this again (and may very well start eating Mahi Mahi more than twice a year as cooking fish was a lot easier than I anticipated in that I was able to tell when it was done.  We paired the dish with a salad (pictured above) which consisted of both raw and lightly steamed vegetables.  I later made Darin Banana Fosters (for one.... pictured below....) and I will post the recipe for that later in the week.

_ Big thanks to Gloria & her amazing recipes, which have helped me out of my food rut, as well as all the members of the Secret Recipe Club :-)  I truly appreciate each and every one of you!

Positive vibes to all for a fantastic week ahead