Dinners these days

I think it's fair to say that T and I have not always been the most structured people. In our personal lives, we are absolutely go-with-the-flow and mellow. And while we love to cook, we've never been good at meal-planning. Dinner conversations would often go like this: "What do you feel like eating tonight?" "I don't know... what do you feel like eating tonight?" "I don't know... want to take Eleanor to the park and think about it later?" Being happy-go-lucky is great and all, but eating at 9 every night isn't really sustainable with a kiddo in tow.

Thanks to Miss H, we've started finally growing up getting real about meal-planning. Our weeks are now a combination of simple go-to dishes, pre-assembled, ready-to-cook meals like scratchDC (looooove them!) or Blue Apron, and maybe one night of takeout or delivery, all planned in advance. Progress!

More than ever, if we're cooking dinner during the week, it's gotta be simple. Cut to Tuesday night, when T said he was stopping by Eastern Market on the way home to take care of dinner. We hadn't made a plan together, so I figured he'd be hitting up the pasta counter (our favorite haunt) or grabbing  a rotisserie chicken. Instead he walks in with some gorgeous tuna steaks and this recipe in hand. Dinner was served in thirty-five minutes, but the main course only took half of that. It was so good that yesterday after work I bought more tuna and we made the whole thing all over again.

Incredibly easy. Incredibly delicious. Tastes like the weekend but perfect for a work night. What more do you need?

Pan-Seared Tuna with Avocado, Soy, Ginger, and Lime

Adapted from Tyler Florence

Ingredients

2 big handfuls fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1/2 jalapeno, sliced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, grated

2 limes, juiced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Pinch sugar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 (6-ounce) block sushi-quality tuna

1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled, pitted, and sliced

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the cilantro, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir the ingredients together until well incorporated.

Place a skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the tuna generously with salt and pepper. Lay the tuna in the hot oil and sear for 1 minute on each side to form a slight crust. Pour 1/2 of the cilantro mixture into the pan to coat the fish. Serve the seared tuna with the sliced avocado and the remaining cilantro sauce drizzled over the whole plate.