A Life, Lived

Sesame Salmon With Green Onions and Lemon

This was one of those recipes that we make because the picture looked impressive - only a salmon hater would not be swayed by a photo of this vibrant red-orange fish coated with a combination of black and white sesame seeds! Happily the finished result was just as impressive as the photo.

This is a simple yet sublime dish. The fresh lemon, butter and olive oil provide rich flavor, the sesame seeds a nice texture and the arugula a hit of pepper which added some depth. All in all each bite has the various taste receptors in your mouth singing.

The fact that you're enjoying a meal with less than 350 calories plus all of the wonderful health benefits of salmon just makes it even better.

Sesame Salmon With Green Onions and Lemon

4 (6-ounce) sustainable salmon fillets (such as wild Alaskan)
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups (1-inch) slices green onions
5 thin lemon slices, halved
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup baby arugula

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange salmon in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Combine sesame seeds and 3/8 teaspoon salt; sprinkle evenly over flesh sides of fillets, pressing gently into fish. Bake at 400° for 14 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add green onions; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lemon slices; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle green onion mixture with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place 1 fillet on each of 4 plates. Place arugula in a medium bowl. Add green onion mixture to bowl with arugula; toss. Divide arugula mixture evenly among servings.

 

Progress?

Asian-Style Braised Short Ribs

This has been the winter for comfort foodand slow-roasting in the oven!

A few weeks ago I found 5 packages of short ribs in the freezer. Short ribs are one of those cuts of meat that is done differently in the US than in Canada. I do not care for Canadian short ribs - they tend to be fattier and have a lower meat-to-bone ratio. US ones are far superior IMHO.

Add short ribs to the long list of things I buy in the US and bring back to Canada on our shopping trips.

I have a few favourite recipes that I have used in the pastbut I thought the flavours in this version sounded interesting. This is a great twist on traditional short ribs – the lemongrass, ginger, hoisin, orange juice and soy sauce give it a unique Asian flair. It is less work than you would think. Like traditional slow cooked meals, there is about 30 minutes of work up front, then you just put it into the oven and let it cook, unattended.

This particular recipe originates from Emeril Lagasse, whose frequent visits to Hawaii inspired this dish. His unique balance of sweet and spicy give a great depth of flavor.

I'll give you a hint for better short ribs - they tend to be fatty the sauce can be very greasy. The solution is to spread the cooking over two days. I allowed them to cool after having removed them from the oven. I removed the meat from the sauce. Both went into the refrigerator overnight. The fat rises to the top of the sauce and solidifies allowing you to lift it off and discard. You can then procede with the recipe the next day.

Serve over Jasmin rice, topped with sliced green onion and orange zest. Be sure to ladle some of that amazing sauce over the top too! Love this sauce!

Asian-Style Braised Short Ribs

5-7 pounds beef short ribs, (ideally, but not necessarily) cut into 4-ounce portions
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 (5-inch) stalk lemongrass, halved and smashed
1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 quart water
1/2 cup sliced green onion bottoms, white part only
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Jasmine Rice, for serving
2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind, for serving
Sliced green onion tops, optional for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large roasting pan or Dutch oven, combine the short ribs, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, brown sugar, water, green onion bottoms, crushed red pepper, and orange juice. Make sure that the stockpot is deep enough so that the short ribs are submerged in the liquid.

Bake the short ribs, covered, for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Reserve the braising liquid. Refrigerate to bring fat to the top.Drain the fat off of the cooking liquid and discard. Place the remaining braising juices in a saucepan with 1/4 cup of the hoisin sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the liquid until only about 2 cups remain. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids. Stir in the lemon juice.

Remove the rib meat from the bone and trim additional fat. Return the short ribs and the reduced sauce to the roasting pan or Dutch oven, coating the short ribs well with the sauce. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a pre-heated 425 degree oven, until the short ribs are heated through and slightly glazed. Serve hot over jasmine rice. Season each portion with the orange zest and garnish with the green onions if desired.

Travel Tuesdays - Berlin Wall Art (Part 2)

I posted last week about the art installations throughout Berlin that are created by artists finding their muse on a large piece of the Berlin Wall. Here are some more examples of how artists have turned that hated relic into works of art . . . some with a pointed message!

Be sure to pop on over to Sandi's blog to see what else is happening on Travel Tuesdays!

A Canadian Double, Double

Lynn Crawford's Buttermilk Pancakes

This year at Christmas my sister broke the family 'no gifts for adults' rule. Of course there shall be retribution galore for this transgression at the appropriate time. What she did was send us the latest cookbook by Canadian celebrity chef Lynn Crawford called 'At Home With Lynn Crawford'. I suspect our rush towards punishment would be quicker if we were not so darn pleased with the gift!

Chef Lynn Crawford is passionate about cooking in her busy restaurant Ruby WatchCo, but when she has time off, nothing beats cooking for family and friends in her own kitchen. Simple, real home cooking that’s full of great flavour is the secret to Crawford’s favourite everyday recipes that she serves at home.

 In this cookbook she offers sure-fire recipes that she makes over and over because they’re crowd-pleasingly delicious and keep things easy in the kitchen. From Sunday brunches to grilling to cocktails and desserts, Chef Lynn has got you covered.

The other day we tried her recipe for buttermilk pancakes and they were amazing. I have made lots of buttermilk pancakes over the years and these were amongst the best - the resulting pancakes light, fluffy, and fully of that delicious sweet tang that only comes from the real thing! She serves them with flavoured maple syrups (imagine a maple bacon syrup?) but we went with good old local syrup. We also added some frozen wild blueberries. MMMMM

Lynn Crawford's Buttermilk Pancakes

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 T granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
3 T butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 200 degrees f.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Pour over the flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Grease a large nonstick frying pan or griddle. Heat to a hot temperature. Pour 1/2 cup batter pre pancake on the prepared griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on the top of the pancake and the edges of the pancake have lost their shine, about two minutes. Flip. Cook for another 2 minutes.  Transfer pancakes to a baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve hot, topped with butter and maple syrup.

Photo Hunt - Amber

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'amber'.

This is the Altar of the Chair of St. Peter behind the altar is the famous amber coloured window shows the Holy Spirit as a dove.

Pork Tenderloin Paprikash with Egg Noodles

Every now and then we whip something up for dinner that takes us by surprise. This pork tenderloin, from the January Cooking Light magazine was that sort of a recipe. We were amazed at how good it tasted and 'someone' enjoyed it so much that he had thirds. Yes, thirds.

Paprikash, according to Wikipedia, is Hungarian Stew made with Chicken or Veal, or in this case, Pork cooked with green peppers, onions,  garlic, tomato paste, flour, chicken stock, paprika, spicy or sweet, thyme, wine, vinegar, and sour cream. 

We used the Spicy or Hot Paprika, which adds a lot of spice, and an orangey color. This dish has so much flavor, with all of the vegetables, the spicy paprika, and tender chunks of pork, served over egg noodles.  We used the No Yolk Noodles.  If you don't like a lot of spice, you can use the sweet paprika.

Even better - a serving (including the noodles) has but 441 calories. Add a salad and some steamed veggies and you have a great dinner.

Pork Tenderloin Paprikash with Egg Noodles

6 ounces uncooked egg noodles
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat. Add pork; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove pork from pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; sauté 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add flour, tomato paste, thyme, and paprika; sauté 30 seconds. Add wine; cook 1 minute, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add stock and vinegar; bring to a boil. Add pork; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until pork is tender. Remove pan from heat; stir in sour cream. Serve over noodles.

Flavia de Luce Novels

One of the happiest things in life is finding a new author who's writing you love . . . and then finding out that said author was written 8 books thereby providing you with weeks of enjoyment as you pour through them. I read somewhere prior to leaving for Amsterdam about a book that sounded interesting . . . The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. This is the first mystery in a series by Canadian Alan Bradley and was published in 2009. . . . meaning I was a tad late to the party.

The Flavia de Luce books are considered cozy mysteries. But I suspectfew fans read them solely for the mysteries they contain. More likey they read them to get lost in Flavia's world. Flavia de Luce is a mere eleven year old girl growing up in the rural English countryside in the year 1951. She lives with her family in their dilapidated family estate of Buckshaw. While the de Luce family name is a revered one in England, their financial situation is reduced and the estate is going to ruin. Flavia's quirky family includes her two elder sisters Ophelia and Daphne, neither of whom she gets along with, and her very remote, very stiff-upper-lip father. Her mother, Harriet, is a hazy figure neither Flavia nor the reader get to meet, having disappeared in a tragic Himalayan climbing expedition while Flavia was just a toddler.

Being largely left to her own devices, Flavia discovers a chemistry lab in one of Buckshaw's numerous closed-up wings and commandeers it as her own. Her self-taught adventures in chemistry are a large part of her charm and humor and oftentimes lead her down paths she probably ought not go down. Each character - her sisters, her father, the two household servants who are really more like family, the townsfolk who populate the novels - is endowed with such endearing, funny, and quirky traits that it is nearly impossible not to fall in love with them.

Flavia is one of the most interesting characters I've found in fiction in some time.While Flavia exhibits many characteristics common to 11 year olds she also has some amazingly unique traits - she is a whiz at chemistry and adores her favourite chemical passion - poison.

Bradley had never set foot in England before he won his first mystery prize, but tales heard at the knee of his adventurous grandmother gave him his eye for the English countryside circa the 1950s. She must have had some amazing tales to tell for he writes about the time and place as if he had inhabited it personally.

If you, like me, am late to the Flavia de Luce 'party' here is the list of books int eh series - do read them in order though as there is a central plot arc that develops a wee bit more with each book.

1. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009)
2. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (2010)
3. A Red Herring Without Mustard (2011)
4. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (2011)
5. Speaking from Among the Bones (2013)
6. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (2014)

Celebrating Differences

I'm not a huge fan of sports or sport announcers but love this guy's perspective in this rant!

I'm sure that when an older, white, sportscaster gets on a roll about a player coming out as gay one automatically fears for the worse. This is proof that you can't always judge a book by its cover.