More Salmon

Weekly shopping on a weeknight + light lunch = hungry stomach, however, it is nearly summer so think about this:

Teriyaki salmon sprinkled with wasabi sea salt, buckwheat noodles in (my) chicken stock, cucumber in rice wine vinegar and fish sauce. The noodles were the best part (and you know how I love salmon)!

SALT

If you don't like it stop reading.

If you do (and I do) think about this:

1. 1/3 lb (approx) pasta boiled in salty water for 5 minutes (linguine would be good). Ina Garten says that pasta should be boiled in water that tastes like the ocean. Not a bad rule!

2. Three or four cloves of garlic, big mince (I know, I hate it when I read that kind of thing so I mean 1/8" to 3/16")

3. 3/4 tin of anchovies, small dice ( just chop, chop, chop).

Turn the water on and bring it to a boil.

Saute 2. and 3. in a little olive oil. When the fish are cooked they become salty, smoky wonderfulness and not at all fishy.

4. Croutons from earlier in the week (I have been finding that making small dice comes in handy for vegetables or pasta (tonight).

5. Flat leaf spinach

Add the pasta to the anchovy / garlic mixture (reserve some pasta water in case it is too dry). Not the other way around - you want to get all of the good bits from the fish and garlic. Sprinkle with some red pepper flakes. Mix and split between two bowls (this is for two people). Top with the croutons.

Home Alone

Dinner at 9 is late (even for me) and by myself is really unusual. So it was fast food on Irving or a quick salad at home. I chose the salad - partly because the temperature is in the 80's and partly because I have been taking a good look at my midriff lately:

A bag of washed (flat) spinach always comes in handy so I pulled out a bit, made some croutons from a leftover baguette (bread in Chicago is disappointing but makes fine croutons). Slice a little of the frozen, grilled-many-months-ago flank steak that I pulled out this morning (thinking of a different evening) and Green Goddess In A Bottle. For a few seconds I thought of tearing up some fresh mint but decided that it was too late to make a second dinner. :) Still, I have to wonder...

The Green Goddess is from Kraft. I used to be a snob about store bought dressings but life is too short. I like Cardinis's Original Caesar, any of the Paul Newmans because most of the profits go to charity (they say) and the Safeway brands because they are cheap and good enough (especially Jalapeño Ranch).

Salmon

We haven't had salmon here for a while so I pulled out ye olde cauliflower puree trick. Cooked the salmon in a 425d oven for 15 minutes in a pool of lime juice and olive oil with (what else?) scallion / ginger sauce. Roasted green beans for about 45 minutes and served with (what else?) fish sauce! I'm in a rut with those two sauces but it is a really tasty rut.

Refrigerator Dinner

Poke around the inside and see what comes out:

Steak

Cannellini beans

Scallion / ginger sauce

Cauliflower, tomato and spinach

Not bad!

Leftovers

Slow cooked ribs heat up nicely, too. Just put them back in the oven at a low heat for an hour or so.

Cauliflower

My sister told me about this so I gave it a whirl - literally. Coarsely chop some cauliflower then "puree" it in the food processor. You don't want it to be a puree, actually, more like the size of rice.

Sautee with olive oil and salt. It wasn't the most delicious dish that I've ever made but what can be added to it is endless.