My view

My view yesterday was not that exciting- I spent the day writing a facilitation plan for an all-day workshop I'm leading with a small nonprofit organization this Friday. I sat at the dining room table for most of the afternoon, typing away and catching glimpses of the last of this year's camellias, picked for the visit of some friends Saturday night.

While yesterday was pretty quiet, Jeff and I are off on an exciting adventure today. I'll post photos on Monday. 

Salmon #9: Blackberry Salmon

I am WAY behind posting salmon recipes for my Great Salmon Challenge... while I continue cooking them, I'm less diligent about posting them. In an effort to get back on track, here is a new recipe. The verdict? It's not our absolute favourite (and I don't think I'll crave it the way I regularly crave these Salmon Tacos), but it was a nice change and an excellent way to combine two very local foods. A solid 7 out of 10. 

Adapted from Sunny Anderson, TV Food Network

1 cup water
12 ounces blackberries (I used frozen ones from last summer and just let them thaw)
1 (1") piece ginger, peeled and sliced into coins
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 (8 ounce) skinless salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine water, blackberries, ginger and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until berries break down, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve, using the back of a spoon to smash the blackberry pulp. Return blackberry mixture to the sauce pot, add sugar and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until reduced by half (maybe a little more), about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (**This is important. The first time I made this recipe, I only simmered the sauce about 10 minutes and it was not strong enough to stand up to the flavour of the salmon- you could barely taste it!). The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat and cool.

Place salmon fillets on an oiled baking pan. Brush fillets very lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Brush on half the blackberry glaze and bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes  Brush on remaining blackberry glaze. Turn oven to broil and broil another 3 to 4 minutes or until glaze is caramelized and the salmon tests done.

You can also reserve some of the glaze to drizzle over the salmon right before serving (set it aside before your brush touches the salmon), as shown in the top photo. The extra glaze worked as a great salad dressing when I served the salmon with spring greens. 

In Bloom

The sunniest Sunday afternoon (yesterday) at our house. 

First of the lilacs 

Confidence

This week will be a busy one for us, and for me in particular. I have a few consulting things happening this week that are making me nervous... until I listen to music like this. Is there any better confidence booster?

Song 1: Nothin' Gonna Stumble (click on the title to hear it)

Song 2: This Little Light of Mine

Coconut Goodness

We share a simple soup and bread supper once a week with the other families in our care group. It's one of my favourite points of the week, and many really great conversations (with 2 year olds and 30-something year olds) have been shared around the table. It's so good to have a place to belong, contribute and grow.

When there is a birthday, we venture away from our group value of simplicity and have cake. We really like cake. A few weeks ago I made pineapple chick cupcakes to celebrate the birthday of one of our youngest members and they were very excitedly received by the birthday boy. When another young member's birthday was ready for celebration just after Easter, I decided to try out a recipe sent to me by my dear friend P (the same P I wrote about yesterday). Armed with this recipe, I  went to Google images for inspiration and came up with these.

They were a great hit, not just with the 2 year old birthday boy, but with everyone in our group. My search for dairy-free frosting options (that do not involve copious amounts of Cool Whip) has been a challenge and this is just delicious.


adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moscowitz
yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

1 can full fat coconut milk                                                        soy or almond milk

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil                                                 2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour                                                          1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda                                                                  1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup sugar                                                                     2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F. Shake the can of coconut milk well; open and remove 1/4 cup. Set this aside for the frosting. Pour the remaining coconut milk into a 4 cup glass measure and add soy or almond milk to measure 2 cups. Mix in the oil and vanilla and stir well to combine.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until smooth. Fold in the unsweetened coconut. Fill muffin cups about two-thirds full and bake for 20 to 30 mins; the cupcakes should be slightly browned around the edges and spring back when touched. Cool completely before frosting. At this point, cupcakes can be frozen (and they freeze very well).

Coconut Frosting

1/4 cup nonhydrogenated margarine at room temperature        1/4 cup reserved coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract                                                               2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 cup unsweetened coconut (optional)

Cream the margarine until light and fluffy. Add the coconut milk and vanilla and mix well. Add the sifted confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth. Add unsweetened coconut if you wish (I usually do not because we prefer smooth frosting) and refrigerate until ready to use.

Celebrating Jubilee: More Sparkle

When my dear friend P and I went to England to celebrate our 30th birthdays, we trekked around London to cathedrals, evensong services, museums and all of the Royal Palaces. We happened to be in London for three major exhibits of royal dresses and spent several afternoons unabashedly gushing over the frocks of  Queen Maud of Norway,  Princess Diana, and Queen Elizabeth. P mentioned on the phone the other day that while our feet were sore, we were gloriously happy. It was such a great trip.

The exhibition that surprised me the most was one of  the Queen's ballgowns from the early years of her reign. 1950s couture is something to behold and these gowns were just spectacular. Until this exhibition, I thought that the Queen's ballgowns were more function and less style, but I was wrong. Looking through the Queen's evening dresses over the past 60 years provides an amazing view of how both she and fashion have changed... and a reminder why the 80s are best left in the past.

Photos are courtesy of The Daily Mail, London Telegraph, Getty Images, Corbis, Zimbio, Press Association and the Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor blog. 

My view Wednesday

Camelias.

Celebrating Jubilee: State Glitter

The last two posts in our Jubilee Celebration showed how extensively the Queen has traveled during her reign. These many official tours inevitably involve state banquets; for these very formal occasions, the Queen almost always wears white. White, with diamonds.

But why always white? For state dinners, the dress code is usually white tie and sashes. Sashes are part of the insignia that accompanies membership in an order of chivalry or merit. Most countries, even ones that don't have a monarchy, have some sort of honors to bestow. Each order has its own specific rules regarding who can award it, what it can be awarded for, and who can receive it. The Queen often meets this criteria and by now, 60 years into her reign, she has received an order from just about every country that has one to give. Understandably, the Queen needs to wear these orders when she is visiting the country that bestowed it. The problem, however, is that each order comes with unique instructions of how (or where) to wear it, and a uniquely coloured sash or ribbon. Figuring out gowns to match or coordinate with all of these different sashes simply became too complicated, so our practical Queen Elizabeth took up wearing white evening as it matches everything. I can't say that would have been my choice, but I understand the need for simplicity (because, who ever wants to show up with a gown that clashes with your sash!). Here is a peek at some of the Queen's snowy white gala gowns. 


Photos are courtesy of The Daily Mail, London Telegraph, Getty Images, Corbis, Zimbio and Press Association and the Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor blog.

The Queen wearing sashes from: Jordan, France, Norway, Thailand, South Africa, The UK (Order of the Garter), Poland and Denmark