Salmon Kabobs

“My life is what a salmon must feel like. They are always going upstream, against the current.”
— Laura Schlessinger

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      Loving salmon didn't begin I have to admit, in Seattle.  Rather it began at a small little restaurant now owned by it's employees with a waiter who always reminded me of Albert Einstein on the Mendocino Coast in California.  I think it might have been year

two

or three

or four...

(I can't recall exactly) of our marriage.  Our waiter I guess we will call him Albert told us about a salmon entree with a corn salsa.  I wasn't drawn to it by any means but wanting me to expand my food horizons my hubby convinced me to try it and promised to switch his meal if I didn't like it.

 He had turned my mind around on fish slowly taking me away from my days of fish sticks with tartar sauce. 😖 Now I cringe as you must be doing right now. Unless you make homemade fish sticks! 

 "It won't smell like fish" he told me "it will be fresh."

"It is extremely fresh miss.  Just caught yesterday." Albert agreed standing by the side of our garden side table.

I was unsure, questioning my new found palate.  They both seemed so sure of the fact that I would love the salmon. Heads bobbing up and down and eyes waiting in anticipation of my decision.

  I did like corn especially sweet corn.  It was summer and corn on the cob dipped in butter and covered in salt had always been my favorite treat from the California State Fair.  It can't be half bad if it had corn in the dish right?

"hummm" I hesitated...

"If you don't like it miss we will be happy to bring you something else." the waiter added.

This restaurant was all about pleasing the guest.  It was a favorite of ours and I had never had one bad thing on the menu, well, minus the one time Albert's silver hair was in my cobbler but that's another story.😉

"Okay. Sure. I will try it." I agreed.

My husband grinned from ear to ear. Triumphant.  Albert smiled with his crazy gray hair all around.  I waited.

The fish was a dark reddish color and the yellow corn contrast gleemed like golden topaz gems sprinkled all over my piece of salmon.  Small specks of emerald green jalapeno's peeked through the corn salsa.  

"Looks good" my husband said.

"Yeah. It does." I replied.

I opened my mouth and took my first bite of salmon and corn salsa.  It was good.  Soft, sweet, a little crunch from the corn and a sea salt flavor from the fish with just a hint of piquant from the jalapeno.  

"Like it?" he asked wide-eyed with hope.

"Yeah actually. I do." I answered surprising even myself.

Albert popped over from nowhere and checked up on me.

"Miss?" he asked questioning with his eyes.

"It's good." I said, " Thank you" wanting to add, Albert.

With an empty plate and a full stomach my new found  salmon love started its expansion.  I don't waver over ordering salmon at a restaurant anymore unless I am on the East Coast.  Sorry to my East Coast Foodies but Atlantic Salmon just doesn't cut it for me. (I know, snob)

Now though more than restaurant dining on salmon I prepare it at home. Sometimes I ask for a whole salmon when sockeye is in season even though our household only has two.  We just eat it all week. My sweetie calls it the bear diet.  Summer salmon and berries seems to be what we live on for a while until the fall. Until the Pacific Northwest hibernation begins. 😉☔️ Grrr.🐻 

If the fish is fresh just a little seasoning and grilling is needed and dinner is served.  This Calico fish rub which consists of:

  • Purple Sumac

  • Hawaiian sea salt

  • Black Sesame Seed

  • Chinese Chili

  • Dill weed

is a knock your socks off kind of seasoning good on fish, chicken and even vegetables.  It gives you a little kick and takes you on a world journey taking me to the sea.  You can find it here.  A little goes a long ways.  

Salmon Kabobs

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 pound of salmon per person cubed

  • small mixed blend of cherry and golden tomatoes

  • 1 teaspoon of Calico fish rub

  • 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil

 

Special items:

  • Wood or metal skewers

  • Grill

Step 1

If using wood skewers soak in water for about 20 minutes prior to grilling. Heat grill.

Step 2

After cubing salmon or having your fishmonger do so, rub the seasoning all over fish and then rub with olive oil.  

Step 3

Skewer the salmon and small tomatoes one after the other leaving not much space between each but space at the end of the skewer for turning.

Step 4

On a hot grill, grill until fish changes color and skin looks crispy on skewer about 5-6 minutes total, turning as you go.  Do not overcook as the fish will taste like rubber tires if you do so.  Better to undercook than over.  Let skewers rest for a few minutes before plating.

Step 5

Serve with a green salad and pop your  warm tomatoes over the greens and taste the sweet tomatoes blend with your vinaigrette.  Divine!

Don't forget that glass of dry Rosé🍷(only a red wine emoji...😞)

 

Fresh Sockeye Salmon and Calico Fish Rub

How do you do summer?  What do you love to grill?  

Tips:

  • Look for Fish that has clear eyes with healthy wet and intact fins

  • Touch the fish...No sticky fish! It should be cold and wet and spring back when pushed (if not keep go elsewhere)

  • If buying already filleted fish look for cracks, breaks or pooling water...your fish is or was mishandled or getting old.

  • In salmon the saturated color is a good thing...I promise I didn't saturate the photos in this blog that was the real color!

  • Last but not least if it smells run like he... double hockey sticks!

 

 

leftover mashed potatoes?

“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found”
— Calvin Trillin

Lamb and Lenti Shepherd's Pie

To be perfectly honest I have always had an upturned nose 👃 to Leftover's.  Maybe because it always made me think of the spaghetti sauce in the fridge that was turning green that often just had a bit of scraping done before it was served again.  Or maybe it's because pizza that most people love cold and leftover always has a rubber in the mouth feel for my palate. 👅  And then their is always the "You're just a snob"  😏because the rest of the world loves all things on day two.  

It is an unsettling thing being the only person at a dinner table who has no interest in taking that super yummy plate of food home but knowing in my heart of hearts I just don't want to look at it the next day.  Can you imagine if I ever went to this New York Restaurant?  I would be the only person saying, Thanks but I will skip the  le gourmet doggie bag.  Yikes.  Who came up with the term doggie bag anyway?  It screams at me "this is food for my dog or for me?"  So when presented with...

 Cold...

Gelatinized...

Gray matter...

it doesn't appeal.  I have even known myself to take something home from someone's home because of, yep you got it, peer pressure.  Knowing in my heart of hearts that I won't eat it, touch it, open it, or go near it until I have that weekly let's make sure the refrigerator is clean day.  

Therefore, if you, like me  know full well that the cold lumpy white glob of mashed potatoes is gonna hit the trash in a week this post is for you.  I am helping you face the fear, confront the elephant, take on the tiger...okay, I have run out of metaphors.

As much as I hate leftovers, I hate wasting food as well.  Hungry people around the world always need to be fed so throwing out healthy food tugs on my heart as it should no doubt.  Overcoming the leftover battle as become the Great War in our house.  Except when I have company who love taking leftovers home...I usually push that one first. 😉  

The overwhelming urge to eat "new food" has made my strategy for preparation begin to change.  I don't come from a culinary background of making paté so this new resolve to "use up all the food" as had me experimenting in the kitchen.

Admittedly a friend of mine who is vegetarian made something similar to this Shepherd's Pie and didn't of course use meat so I went from memory on what I remembered and added my favorite meat lamb.  Beef can be substituted but if you have access to ground lamb it's a favorite in our house.

 So here goes:  Leftovers made Lovely!  

And if you make it the mashed potatoes from scratch and don't use leftovers don't worry, your secret is safe with me. 😉

Ingredients:

Serves 4-6

Ingredients for Shepherd's Pie

Mashed Potatoes:

  • 1 pound Russet potatoes peeled and chopped (if you are not using leftover mashed potatoes)

  • 3 oz Butter cubed

  • 1 oz Cream, Half and Half or Buttermilk

  • salt and pepper to taste

 Lentils:

  • 1 cup dried lentils (soak in water for at least 30 min)

  • 2 cups water

  • 1/2 onion

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1 tsp olive oil

Lamb or Beef:

  • 1 pound ground lamb or beef

  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

  • 1 Tbsp water

  • 1 red bell pepper diced and seeds removed

  • 1 yellow or white onion diced

  • 1 carrot peeled and diced

  • 2 cloves garlic minced

  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin

  • 2 tsp ground coriander

  • 3 Tbsp fresh chopped mint

  • 3 Tbsp fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

  • 3 Tbsp fresh chopped dill

How to make Mashed Potatoes instructions (Unless using leftovers) :

Step 1

Rinse potatoes under cold running water agitating in a pan and draining until water runs clear and is not cloudy. This helps decrease any extra starch which will make them gummy. Don't skip this step!

Step 2

Cover potatoes with cold water in a pot and bring to a simmer.  Cook until tender with a fork, usually about 10 minutes.

Step 3

Have butter chopped up into cubes and cream at room temp.  Drain potatoes. Using a potato ricer push potatoes through ricer and place back in warm pot. Add butter and cream to potatoes and stir just until incorporated.  Add Salt and White Pepper if you have it to taste.  Set aside.

How to Make Lentils:

Step 1:

After soaking lentil, place in pot with 2 cups of water or chicken broth, 1 bay leaf and half of an onion and 1 tsp of olive oil.  Bring to a boil then, simmer lentils for 15 minutes or until tender but not falling apart.  

Step 2:

Remove  lentils from stovetop to stop cooking.

How to Make Lamb:

Step 1:

While lentils are cooking, add 1/4 tsp of baking soda and 1 Tbsp water to pound of lamb or beef and blend with your hand and let sit in a separate bowl. Preheat broiler  oven to High.

Step 2:

Using a large saute pan heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and then saute chopped onions, carrots for five minutes or until translucent.  Make sure to salt vegetables with a pinch of kosher salt.  Next add garlic and saute for about 30 sec to 1 minute until smell is released but don't burn the garlic. Add lamb and break up lamb into small pieces in the pan.  While cooking add cumin and coriander.  Cook lamb until just slightly pink.  Add lentils to mixture and if any extra liquid from lentils add up to 2 Tbsp but no more. Remove from heat and fold in fresh herbs of mint, dill and parsley.

Step  3:

Place warm lamb/beef and lentil dish on the bottom of a 8x10 pan and spread over the entire pan covering the bottom of the pan.  While still hot place mashed potatoes over the lentil and lamb or beef filling and spread using a flat spatula until lamb filling is covered evenly and smoothly.

Step 3

Add an X to the top of the middle of the potatoes allowing the lamb/beef filling to heat if using cold mashed potatoes.  Cook in center of oven under the broiler until mashed potatoes are lightly browned and lamb/beef filling is warm.  Approx. 8-10 minutes.

 

Enjoy and remember you saved yourself some time, some money, and  without a doubt made your momma proud!😘😉

Tips:

  • Meat blended with the baking soda will not add flavor but cuts cooking time and creates less liquid so that meat is not being steamed.

  • Garlic mashed potatoes will work well with this as well.

  • It is okay to use mashed potatoes that have not been put through a ricer, it may just not look as smooth but will still taste delicious.

  • If you have a large flat bottom steel pan this works even better than a casserole pan as it heats the bottom filling nicely as shown in the photo below.

  • ENJOY with a bottle of Light Red wine such as a Barbera from Italy 🍷😋

Red Wine and Comforting Shepherd's Pie

Red Wine and Comforting Shepherd's Pie