Lemony pasta with smoked salmon

Pasta with smoked salmon and lemon dressing.

I have been trying to eat salmon at least once a week but I am really hate how cooking fish (especially salmon) really stinks up the kitchen.

This week I decided to buy smoked salmon instead. While my favorite way to eat smoked salmon is on a bagel with lots of cream cheese - today I wanted something different.

I had lemon dressing left over from my last salad so I cooked up a serving of spaghetti and tossed it with a bit of olive oil and the dressing.

Best decision ever!

 
The lemon dressing really brightened up the flavor of the salmon. 

A simple and incredibly delicious dish. I love it when that happens:-)

Later today I am off to get ingredients to make my favorite curry - massaman.

Happy Friday all!
 

Delectable nibbles

Connor's welcome home meal of red potatoes, avocado, grass fed beef, smoked salmon on a bed of steamed broccoli rabe with a drizzle of yogurt sauce (yogurt+KyoGreen+ Udo's oil) and a smear of peanut butter.

When I busted the dogs out of the kennel this morning we were all delighted to see each other.

They settled down quickly for the usual routine - I cook them (and myself) a nice meal when we all get home.

And here is Abby's meal:

Abby's was heavier on the fish - just the way she likes it.

I spared myself the bizarre food combinations that the dogs love and went with something more traditional:

Grass fed beef with steamed broccoli rabe and a baked potato.

Whenever I return home from a trip the dogs are exhausted from their time in the doggie motel and I am bleary eyed from my excursion so we all have a good meal and just sack out.

Recaps of the Foodbuzz festival to come in the next two days - I just needed to get the beasties and myself rested and well fed before the next posting:-)

Crispy potato rounds with smoked salmon and sour cream

Crispy potato rounds with smoked salmon and sour cream.

I have been falling behind in my salmon consumption so when I was at Whole Foods yesterday I picked up a package of smoked salmon.

And since I had leftover potatoes from a failed cooking project (pictures of yesterday's cooking failure inserted at bottom of post) I decided to make what is essentially smoked salmon canapes. 


I sliced a red potato into thick slices then put it into a steamer until just barely tender.


Then I put them in a skillet with a little olive oil and got them nice and brown.

Then I mixed 1/4 of a cup of Tofutti sour cream and 1/2 tsp. of dried parsley, 1/2 a shallot, chopped fine and a dash of salt and pepper.

Spread each potato with a generous dollop of the seasoned sour cream.

If you are serving these for appetizers, cut the smoked salmon into thin strips and curl them over the sour cream.

I garnished the salmon with little pieces of shallot.

Since I was enjoying this for my breakfast, I added extra salmon.

Oh, and my failed cooking effort yesterday was vegan scalloped potatoes.

It came out of the oven looking OK but the flavors were a bit too dull for my tastes. 

My list of recipes to re-make is getting quite long:

- Stuffed french toast
- Vegan scalloped potatoes
- Dry sauteed string beans
- Massaman curry
- Cheesy quinoa crisps 
- Parmesan chicken tenders
- Coddled eggs


I don't have a lot of veggie or salad dishes to re-make, those always seem to turn out right the first time.

Happy Monday!

Smoked salmon bites

The smoked salmon I gave the dogs yesterday looked so good - I was craving it for lunch today.

This, so far, is my favorite smoked salmon. I has a nice strong smoky flavor.

I cut up a corn tortilla and crisped it in a skillet.

Then I topped each with a spread of Tofutti cream cheese and some smoked salmon.

I also had to do something with this:

Most of it I bagged up and put in the freezer.

I am glad I decided to cut it up today because the pineapple was perfectly ripe and incredibly juicy.

The rest of the pineapple joined some fruity friends to make a very colorful bowl.

Blueberries, apples, bananas and pineapple.

I didn't forget the drink this time - a nice refreshing glass of Pelegrino.

A continuing theme

My food today definitely seems to have a Mexican theme.

And I needed to use these up:

Corn tortilla that are made fresh daily.

One whole tortilla for me and one cut in half for the dog's treat.

I pulled out a bag of cooked frozen kidney beans and popped them in the microwave for 1 minute.

Then the assembly began:

Seasoned rice.

Kidney beans and seasoned shredded chicken I picked up at the taco bar at WF.

Guacamole and Tofutti sour cream.

And I ate a pear.

Check it out - the pear matches the guacamole:-)

The dogs got to enjoy the first taste of this:

I spread some Tofutti cream cheese and topped with some of the smoked salmon.

I rolled them up and dropped them into the beasties gaping maws. 

I think I will be smart and put most of the tortillas into ziploc bags and pop them in freezer.

Well, it's back to the grindstone for me!

A different kind of morning

I woke up hungry this morning.

Which is a good thing. As I strive to eat well and keep my portion sizes small I am slowly finding the right balance between nutrition and calories.

What I am surprised about lately? I am finding it difficult to truly pay attention to my bodies signals without having the mindset, "I want this but I should be having this." 

This is what I wanted this morning.

Steamed broccoli, carrot, potato with marinated smoked salmon.

I woke up with the intent on having oatmeal but when entered the kitchen the idea of oatmeal was completely unappealing.


My stomach just wanted this.

And lately, I have come to realize that if I actually listen to my stomach a strange thing happens. I may end up having 2 Tbsp. of peanut butter and tons of fruit for lunch instead of the healthy salad I had planned. But to my surprise I am full and satisfied much longer.

It seems my body wanted Potassium (potato) and antioxidants (broccoli and carrot) and some omega-3 (the salmon).

I chopped up some smoked salmon and marinated it in a few drops of dark sesame oil and some soy sauce.

Chopped smoked salmon marinated in sesame oil and soy sauce.

I steamed a bunch of broccoli florets, 1 medium potato and 1 carrot.

When the vegetables were fork tender I transferred them to a bowl. I drizzled them with soy sauce and sprinkled some coconut butter over all.

Then the marinated smoked salmon went on top.

But wait! There is more:

The dogs enjoyed the marinated smoked salmon over strips of nori.

Abby was in heaven :-)

So, a breakfast not to everyone's taste but I will tell you that was delicious!

I liked the slightly grainy texture of the coconut butter with the soy sauce and sesame oil. I used to steer away from using oils but now I use them in small amounts and it really makes a difference!

Here's hoping that everyone has President's Day off!

Smoked salmon salad

The dogs were not happy about going for their walk today.

This is Abby trying to walk with her eyes closed. She HATES rain((

 I continued my colorful theme of the day with my lunch.

I gathered a bunch of unlikely ingredients:

Smoked salmon, carrot, red pepper, Miso Mayo, nutritional yeast and some baby greens.

Miso Mayo is one of my indulgences. I love the salty miso taste combined with its rich texture. But be warned: It can be addicting. I have been known to spread it on crackers and just much away.

For the dressing I tried this combination:

1 1/2 Tbsp. of Miso Mayo, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 a mandarin orange whisked together with about 2 Tbsp. of the nutritional yeast.

I added nutritional yeast until it was the consistency of a slightly runny mustard.

The dressing was good but it was borderline too tart. Next time I think I would leave out the lemon and just use the juice of a whole orange.

Curls of smoked salmon on top.

As I was preparing the salad - I realized my knives are getting dull. Does anyone have a knife sharpener that they love and could recommend?