Salmon #12: Salmon on Toast

The night before we started summer vacation, I had no inspiration for dinner.  While poking through the freezer to try to come with an idea, I came across a small container of leftover Cedar Plank Salmon I had frozen. With this in hand, I tried a recipe I've been curious about for a long time.

Our review? It was good. Not spectacular, but comforting and good. While I don't think this is a dish I'll rush to repeat, I certainly will consider making it the next time we need a quick dinner and have leftover salmon. Because Jeff is NOT a fan of anything that makes toast wet, he had this on pasta instead of toast and said it was great.

Adapted from All Recipes

2 tablespoons butter
1 clove chopped garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk (or soy milk, in our case)
1 cup frozen peas
chopped dill or basil
1 small salmon filled, cooked and flaked into small pieces (with bones removed)
salt and pepper to taste
bread for toast

In a saucepan or skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a few seconds. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly, until a smooth paste is formed. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Add in chopped herbs, fozen peas, and flaked salmon, stir gently, and set aside for a minute. The sauce should be warm enough to cook the peas and heat the salmon. If necessary, return to the stove to heat through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, and serve on toast. 

Brilliant

We're back from Tofino after a wonderful week away. We caught the Opening Ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics on Friday at the end of our vacation... if you haven't already seen this brilliant James Bond segment, we highly, highly, highly recommend it. 

Buckingham Palace released a statement over the weekend confirming that the footman was not an actor, that the corgis were indeed, Royal ones (Monty, Willow and Holly), and that the Queen had been "delighted" to be involved. Her only stipulation in filming was that she be allowed to choose what she wore (not a bad idea, based on some of the outfits of previous Bond girls). Danny Boyle, who directed the opening ceremonies, also confirmed that the Queen lived up to her nickname of "One-Take Windsor" and said that both Daniel Craig and the corgis needed several takes to get their parts right. All I can say is that this settles it: QEII is utterly awesome. Full stop.

(our other favourite parts of the opening ceremonies were the lighting of the cauldron and this performance by the London Symphony and "special" guest)

Life and Breath

After a spectacular week in Tofino where we feasted on scenery,  lots of time outside and much fun with people we love, this is the song we're feeling like singing this morning.

Amazing journey

The London Olympics start today. We will probably tune in a few times over the next two weeks to cheer Canadian athletes... but there is one American athlete I am really rooting for. The story of Lopez Lomong is nothing short of incredible.

Surfing

While surfing isn't on my agenda this week, Tofino is one of the best places on earth to hit the waves. Check out Rick Mercer's attempt at winter surfing- it's worth a giggle.

My view Wednesday

We're away this week with family to one of our favourite places:

Our view today is, therefore, pretty fantastic.  I'll share photos next week when we're back. 

Salmon #11 Pasta Salad

After making Cedar Plank Salmon, we had leftovers. Jeff and I usually divide leftovers up for our lunches, but with a few 30 degree days here, I seized the opportunity to try a salmon pasta salad recipe (any supper that does not require further heating up the house on a hot day is a good thing). It was really fresh and delicious- something will will definitely make next time we have leftover cooked salmon. 

a hybrid of recipes from Food Tastes Yummy, All Recipes and Simply Recipes

serves ~4 for main course

3 cups of cooked pasta
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cucumber, quartered and diced
1/2 cup of yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup of black olives

1 avocado, diced
1 salmon fillet, cooked through and flaked (about 1 cup)

Dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons sugar (or to taste)

salt & pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons of both fresh parsley and chives, finely chopped

Mix together dressing ingredients in a glass jar and set aside. Combine salad ingredients and toss with dressing to your taste (I used a little less than half). The leftover dressing will keep well in the fridge and is excellent on a simple tossed green salad. 

Dahl Haus

I recently met ceramic artist Heather Braun-Dahl. I've been a quiet fan of her work for a while... and with her launch of a series of beautiful watery blue and green pieces this year, I've become a louder fan. See what I mean?

Photographs by Curtis Hildebrand; all photos copyright dahlhaus studios, 2012

   

Check out more of her work at Dahl House Ceramics or this great video of her in action in her studio. You can purchase any of these 100% handmade items through Heather's Studio or Etsy Shop. If you would like to buy a present for me, I would welcome anything listed above (especially those bottle vases in any of the blue or green glazes). Beautiful. 

Arise!

Most hymns and worship songs are written in major keys- the bright happiness of a major key just works well for music that is meant to uplift and inspire. There are a few familiar hymns written in minor keys, and they always seem so interesting to me. The Advent hymn, O Come O Come Emmanuel, for example, is wonderfully contemplative and mysterious, all thanks to its minor key.

I Will Arise (and Go to Jesus) is one of the few hymns written in a minor key, but it's one that I always thought was a little bland and plodding... until I heard this arrangement. It's amazing how a slightly different setting (and faster tempo) can suddenly make the text of a hymn spring to life. Click on the song title below to hear it.

I Will Arise

Original hymn text by Joseph Hart, 1759 and music by William Walker, 1835

This version arranged by Kenneth Dake

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,

Weak and wounded, sick and sore, 

Jesus ready stands to save you,

Full of pity, love and power.

I will arise and go to Jesus,

He will embrace me in His arms; 

In the arms of my dear Savior, 

O there are ten thousand charms. 

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,

God’s free bounty glorify;

True belief and true repentance,

Every grace that brings you nigh.

Refrain

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,

Lost and ruined by the fall;

If you tarry till you’re better,

You will never come at all.

Refrain

Good fortune

This was in my fortune cookie a few weeks ago.

Tomorrow officially starts our two weeks of summer vacation, and a much anticipated visit from far-away family members we haven't seen in a long, long time. While tomorrow probably won't be productive for us in terms of practical or home-related projects, it probably will be productive in terms of relationships and fun. I can't think of a more wonderful place to be.

My view Wednesday

Baby hydrangeas.

Jonathan's new violin

A long time ago, I played duets in church with a boy who played the violin. He grew up to become the Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony, and then, the Toronto Symphony. And now, he's playing a remarkable violin.

Salmon #10 Cedar Plank Salmon

I am not doing well on my Salmon Challenge- so Tuesdays are going to be Salmon Recipe Day. I have been in a bit of a salmon funk recently, and I know it's because I'm simply bored with the same 7 recipes and need to expand my repertoire. So, here is #10! I have been wanting to experiment with our cedar planks more, so when friends came over this weekend for dinner, that's what we did. The verdict? Really good. I love a simple soy and ginger marinade on salmon, but the cedar adds a layer of smokiness that's just wonderful. I forgot to take a photo- but will add one next time we make this. 

adapted from All Recipes

2 (12 inch) untreated cedar planks
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
2 large cloves minced garlic
2 (2 pound) salmon fillets


Soak the cedar planks for 2-4 hours in cool water. In a shallow dish, stir together remaining ingredients and add the salmon fillets to marinate. Turn the salmon to coat well, and leave to marinate (skin side up) for 15-30 minutes. 

Preheat BBQ to medium heat. Place the cedar planks on the grill to heat and place the salmon fillets onto the planks. Cover, and grill for about 15 minutes. The fish is done when you can flake it with a fork. As always, be careful not to overcook! Make sure to have a spray bottle with water handy to extinguish the planks, should they catch on fire. Next time we make this, we'll probably put foil down on the BBQ and place the planks on top of that so they don't scorch. 

Daytrip

Jeff and I spent the day in Victoria yesterday. We planned to walk around Clover Point Park and I figured my camera would be filled with beautiful shots of the of the view across the Straight of Juan de Fuca to the Olympic Peninsula (like the ship in the centre of my blog header above) to post today... but this was the view we got.

Victoria was completely fogged in and covered in rain for most of the afternoon. Despite the not-so-nice weather, we did have two great visits with friends, a fantastic lunch at our favourite Victoria restaurant, a lovely walk around Beacon Hill Park, great burgers, and a stroll around Craigdarroch Castle before coming home. Not bad, considering the yucky weather. We'll just have to go again when the sun is out. 

Jeff, tree climbing in Beacon Hill Park

Craigdarroch Castle, home of the Robert Dunsmiur family (a pretty famous family in the history of BC.). Their son later built Hatley Castle (now the campus of Royal Roads University) as his home... and now I get WHY he thought building a castle for a home was a good idea. 

Jazzed Up

A friend asked me a few weeks ago about my thoughts on "jazzing" up traditional hymns in church. My thoughts on this are mixed... when it's done well, it's great. When it's not done well, it's painful. I think the hymn needs to musically lend itself to rock or jazz rhythms, and worship bands need to play the rhythm consistently in each verse. Silent Night is NOT a hymn that works (I've heard this attempted in at least four churches) nor is Christ the Lord has Risen Today, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, For the Beauty of the Earth or How Great Thou Art. In my experience, however, when the right hymn is "jazzed up" and the rhythm is played consistently in each verse so a congregation can catch on easily (instead of looking around with confused expressions), the result is fantastic. Gospel hymns are probably the easiest ones to "jazz up" but still need to be done well. Here's what I mean:

I have probably played this video several hundred times over the past four years, and still can't get enough. This is the first video I turn to when mopping floors (because dancing while mopping simply makes mopping better), or if I need a pick me up. So my final thoughts on "jazzing" up hymns? Well, if worship music touches us enough on a personal level that we find ourselves turning to it during the mundane tasks of  everyday life, then I think it's partly living out its purpose. That's a good thing. 

A rose is a rose is a rose...

And so ends our week of the roses. 

Gather while ye may

Ugh. I didn't realize we had rose aphids until I took this photo. Off to the garden I now go, with a bowl of soapy water and a pair of rubber gloves...

War of the....

Red? Pink? Yellow? What's your favourite?

Roses are...

not just red in our garden. They are also fuchsia on the outside and yellow on the inside.

They are also growing as high as my 1.5 story roof...

Stop and smell

The sun came out this weekend. FINALLY! And with it, so did our roses. Because I've been working on work things and can't think of anything more exciting to blog about... this week is going to be rose tour. Here goes.

Little people

This Sunday, Jeff and I are especially thankful for a number of little people in our lives. My dear friend P and her husband welcomed a sweet baby girl this week, and we are so thrilled for them. In addition, two of the little boys in our care group are being baptized this morning. The music today is thus chosen to honour these little ones, and the important place they hold in our lives. Please click on each song title to hear it. 

All God's Children

by Sally Albrecht

Down in the River to Pray

arranged by David Mennicke

Jesus Loves Me

arranged by Tom Fettke

Butchart Gardens Part 2

As I mentioned yesterday, we had a wonderful day at the Butchart Gardens after my graduation. We took our time and enjoyed the entire garden- each section was uniquely beautiful that it makes it hard to pinpoint my favourite spots. I really loved the peace,  and tranquility of the Japanese Garden. It was very green and very quiet- two things that make me happy.

It was a little early for the roses (although quite a number were in bloom) but we did catch the peak of the peonies.

Triple bloom peonies- each flower had a burst of pink petals in the centre

I should have taken more pictures of the irises- they were in every colour imagineable and were really striking.

As were the Whirligig Daisies.

I think, however, my favourite were the blue poppies. I posted about them here last week... they were so delicate and the most beautiful shade of blue.

Since our visit, I've read up on these Himalayan Blue Poppies and it appears that they are quite difficult to grow.  I suspect that since our garden is fairly shaded, they would do very well here... and I think they may be worth the experiment.

The gardens, as a whole, are perfectly maintained, and impressively striking. I think I prefer the more informal areas , but the whole place is certainly worth a visit.  I was just amazed that it was the brainchild of one woman- a woman who set out to make an ugly quarry pit beautiful. She certainly succeeded and her family, who still run the place (very successfully), are making her legacy a lasting one.

Butchart Gardens Part 1

The day after my graduation, my parents, Jeff and I met up with some long-time family friends at the Butchart Gardens. We had a really wonderful day in the gardens and Jeff and I came home with renewed enthusiasm to continue whacking away at our own wilderness garden (!). There's a great history of these gardens (detailing how Jennie Butchart had the amazing vision to turn her husband's empty quarry pit into the incredible Sunken Gardens seen below) at this link.

The famous view- walking down into the Sunken Gardens

Looking back at the Sunken Garden entrance steps from the middle look-out tower

Columbines in full bloom

Famous fountain at the far end of the Sunken Gardens