SALMON!!!
Now, I know that Missy already did a post on salmon but this one is a bit different so bear wth me.
First we're going to wait until salmon goes on sale, because even here in the NW, where we get salmon pretty cheap and fresh, it still runs about $3.99/lb.
Oooooh, 50% off! Nifty. I'll take it.
So, plop it in a pan, skinside down. Chopped garlic on top, in about 2 cups of water and 2 tsp of salt. Set to medium heat, put on a lid.
Now you're probably wondering where the boyfriend part comes in, right? Well, once upon a time, I dated a guy who could cook like nobody's business. He could make ANYTHING. And IT WAS GOOD. One day he made a recipe that had slow cooked lamb on a Greek sauce. *swoon*
( I never really liked the idea of eating baby sheep, so here's my take on it.)
Two cucumbers, peeled, reserve the peel of one. Chop, chop, chop. Nibble a little. If these are from your own garden, pat yourself on the back.
Two small sweet onions (these are field leftovers, you can use scallions, or just a bit of sweet onion). A bunch of dill, to taste. I'm not a big dill fan so I only chopped about two sprigs. (Excuse my pallid dill. It is not enjoying the heat. Nor am I.)
Half a lime, squeezed.
Let's check our salmon. It should flake apart easily. MMMM.
A slice of crusty sourdough bread, one for each person. Some people prefer wild rice with their salmon, which has great fiber, but this bread was getting stale, so we'll make open faced sandwiches instead. (This is from a bakery down the street from me. I love those people. Just love them.)
Guess what else was on sale? Bell peppers! Sweet!! These are the perfect pairing to the lemony-dill salmon.
Spread about 2 TBS of the cucumber sauce on the bread, then (after removing the bones!!) place chunks of salmon on the top. Add little sweet pepper on the side. Now I've got a cool summer dinner that was easy to prepare, didn't cost a whole bunch, used fresh local food and reminded me of boyfriends past.
WAITAMINUTE! I never liked that guy! He told me there were no good women authors. There were only women copying good male authors. THE NERVE.
So, let's forget about him and enjoy this scrumptious meal. And afterward, we'll go read something wonderful. Written by a woman.
Mmmmm. Salmon. You forgot to post boyfriend's past email so we can all debate him. Who was Margaret Mitchell emulating? Rowling? Munoz? Ha, take that old boyfriend.
ReplyDeleteMen know nothing.
DeletePass it on.
heehee! Revenge is best served cold on a sourdough slice of bakery bread.
DeleteAnd he was one of the most brilliant men I'd ever met. Just ridiculously good at EVERYTHING.
But nothing can make up for willful ignorance, eh??
The nerve of old boyfriend. Clearly why he is old boyfriend and not current husband, right? Current husband probably only reads women authors because of their uncanny insights and descriptive prose. :-)
ReplyDeleteUmmmm, current husband reads truck repair manuals and the phone book, when necessary!
DeleteCurrent husband... That sounds bad.
DeleteWell, at least he reads:-)
DeleteHahahahaha! There are also no good male chefs. They only copy women.
ReplyDeleteNummm. Must go by salmon. I like your version better.
Peace, Julie
Ooooh, good answer, Julie!
DeleteMale chefs.... egotistical cooks.
DeleteSend 'em here. I'll put 'em in their place. Virginia, this sounds so delicious. I had salmon once. Loved it. Had it a second time. It was terrible. Both were supposed to be red sockeye salmon... I believe.
What was the difference? If you talk lake perch, I can explain that to folks, living by Lake Ontario. But Salmon? We get the pink Chinook ones here. Fun to catch but not good to eat. But before I try salmon again, I want to know why two different hoity-toity salmon dishes had such different tasting/textured fish. Old, maybe?
Ruthy, probably previously frozen. And I mean REALLY frozen. I've bought salmon that ahd ice crystals from being in the grocer's window, but it didn't change anything. But if they get rock hard, it's pretty difficult to save them without cooking really slowly.
DeleteSo, probably got frozen fish that was cooked on too high of the heat.
Old?? I don't even wanna think about it. YUCK.
And I'm not a salmon fan because it's almost never really fresh. And when it is, it smells SO STRONG. But when you can get it fresh and cook it the way you want, you can get that nice flaky texture.
I've heard the way to tell if it's good is to pu a finger on it lightly. If it leaves a small indent, it's good to buy. If it leaves the hole finger print, it's getting old. Shold have some give.
OF course, that doesn't work for frozen, hahaha!
I know what's for dinner tonight! (insert sing-song voice).
ReplyDeleteI don't have to wait for the salmon to go on sale because in have a freezer full of it. Love salmon (as does my dog, but please don't tell on me.)
I buy the frozen wild Alaskan salmon at Costco so I always have it around.
Thanks, Virginia, you wild pioneer woman, you.
Okay, that's about the only thing that would make me brave Costco!
DeleteWild Alaska salmon???
WOW!
I love salmon, too! And this recipe looks scrumptious.
ReplyDeleteI keep frozen salmon on hand, too - but in small quantities. My dear husband hates fish, especially the smell of it cooking. So any seafood is eaten for lunch :)
Oh my, I just realized he's going to retire someday. As much as eating lunch with him every day appeals to me, I'm going to miss my seafood. I guess I'll just have him take me out for lunch when I'm craving fish...
And Virginia, I have an ex-boyfriend like that, too. There are one or two good things about him that I've kept around. Maybe just one. But otherwise, I'm glad I dodged that particular bullet!
Haha! Yeah, I didn't want to spend my life eating great food and have to lsiten to that kind of crazy talk!
DeleteBut I'll keep all his recipes. :D
P.S. Jan, you have a grill? I saw a quick salmon recipe that had salmon on lemon slices with three small pats of real butter on top, wrapped in foil and put on the grill.
DeleteNo fish smell in the house!
Yes - but still can't use it... (fire bans). But that's a great idea!
DeleteI can't get past the fact you can get salmon for $3.99 a pound!!! Wow. And then you got it half off that price??! Or did I read that wrong? I usually have to pay $7.99-8.99 a pound. It rarely goes on sale, and when it does, $5-6 is the price.
ReplyDeleteThis looks so yummy! I love cucumber salad, and the Greek yogurt is a great idea! Thanks for sharing, Virginia!
Okay, and now that I'm through being stunned over the price of fish, I'm stunned you had a boyfriend who would actually say something like that!! That's just horrible!
I know. He was a goober! :D Prefectly nice guy, really. Just had this problem with women writers. And poets.
DeleteAnd yes, about 3.99/lb and half off that!!
I have no ex-boyfriends. Not really. A couple of junior high crushes.... And a kiss or two.
ReplyDeleteThen I married my high school sweetheart.
He eats anything. He does not cook, although he's learning that writing is more important to me than food right now.
Who said old guys can't be taught?
I love that! I dated four or five guys in college, but nobody made it past the 4 month mark. And that was also the ones who lived far away. I'm picky.
DeleteBut I met my husband when he was 30 and had already dated half the town. We're constantly running into old girlfriends. Grrrrrr. And they're BEAUTIFUL. Double Grrrrrrrr....
Okay, I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for this, but my favorite way to eat salmon is raw. That's right. Sushi. Salmon sushi tastes nothing like cooked salmon (which I really don't care for but this recipe with the sauce sounds heavenly, Virginia). Sushi quality salmon has a buttery flavor that absolutely melts in your mouth. Nothing fishy about it.
ReplyDeleteOh, Mindy, I KNOW!!!! I love lox and smoked salmon and all sorts of salmon sushi.
ReplyDeleteOh, man, now I want sushi.
What happens when I say I dont really like salmon? I do like tuna.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE tuna! My favorite is a sort of tuna salad that has just tuna, mayo, and laid on top of lots of tiny pieces of lettuce. YUM.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite tuna salad has apples and walnuts or almonds added to it. Yum!
DeleteThat sounds... odd!! Now I'm wondering whether to try it!!
DeleteLOL Odd seems funny to me because that'a the only way I ever eat it anymore. Tuna with light mayo, then add in chunks of apple and walnut and mix around. The apple tastes really fresh in the middle of the protein and fat.
ReplyDelete